Thank you for the use of your Spanish home for the past 2 weeks. We had a
truly relaxing time and feel as though we have had a taste of authentic
Andalucian village life and hospitality. Frigiliana (or ‘Friggily Giggily’,
as Sam rechristened it) is without doubt a picture postcard town, and it
would be no exaggeration to say that we fell in love with the place and the
pace of life – so much so that we find ourselves giving serious
consideration to seeking out a property in the region - or perhaps that is
a bit of a pipe-dream on our teachers salaries!

We were lucky to meet Kieran and Alan as they gave us some useful tips about
places to go and how to negotiate the tricky one-way system in Nerja.
Unfortunately we felt unable to provide them with a similarly helpful
response to their enquiry as to whether there were any places of cultural
interest for their imminent visit to Luton, although we did assure them that
they would probably stumble across several Alhambras.

Much as we would have liked to have gone sightseeing we were really content
with the beach life and the relaxed and long evenings spent eating out at
several of the restaurants you suggested, however we did visit the Alhambra
– although we should have pre-booked tickets for touring the palaces and
therefore found that we were only able to tour the gardens. But that was
consolation enough, as they were very impressive, especially the view of
Granada from the fortress tower. We also went to Malaga, specifically to
visit the Picasso museum, which, although not the best collection of his
work, does contain some gems; and the museum itself is set in a beautifully
renovated building in the old town. Also, as you come out of the museum,
there are some atmospheric tapas bars and restaurants.

We went to several of the beaches in and around Nerja – Maro, Calahonda,
Playazo, Burriana and Salon. We liked Salon because it is so accessible in
terms of parking and it had a good atmosphere, and Sam enjoyed the surf.
Also the locals seem to know how to enjoy themselves without being too
raucous – noisy, yes, but not loud. One day down there we were disturbed by
some San Miguel-swigging ghetto-blasting youths covered in Beckhamesque
tattoos, but they were – surprise, surprise – English, probably lost
en-route from the return passage of Euro 2004.

As for the restaurants, La Romantica has excellent cuisine and of course a
fabulous terrace view – although the proprietress seemed somewhat taken
aback by my enthusiasm to sample her mashed potatoes. I assured her that
they came very highly recommended . We were also impressed by the
hospitality and value for money at Las Chinas – Sebastian certainly lived up
to your description - as well as experiencing the local cuisine at La
Bodeguilla – the one behind the church, not the one with the terrace view.
However our favourite was El Mirador for both the food and the breathtaking
views – literally breathtaking, as an oxygen mask may be required for some
in order to get up there. We also learned the hard way about making sure we
wore the correct footwear for negotiating the slippery cobblestones when
walking down from there!

Once again – thank you very much. We will definitely be recommending Casas
Maria and Junio to our friends.

C. Reck

We had a fantastic time and were really pleased with the accomadation it was everything that you could want. The house was done in such good taste and had everything that you needed. We will definatley be going back to Casa Maria.

Thanks Mrs Roxburgh

Wayne,

We're back and we had a wonderful time (got back at 4am this morning ). Thank you for letting us stay in your very comfy house - everything seemed perfect and we really enjoyed everything about it.

Reuben benefited greatly from being outside on the beach in the sunshine and from not having any access to 'Cbeebies' for a week - plus, he got plenty of TLC from the locals who were very responsive to his smiles and newfound Spanish tongue !hola!.. and an active snow-filled time at Sierra Nevada too ...........packed it all in we did.

Rob and I had a fab time enjoying just about everything there is to enjoy: from the valley walk at the bottom of the hill in Frigiliana (although wellies would have been wise)... to dinner at Los Chines and our predictable inability to get tickets for The Alhambra! The sites and sounds of the snowy hills of Sierra Navada were beautiful - although way-too-busy there (however, can't complain: sun one day, snow the next :) ... then a longer trip to Hurricane Hotel in Tarifa to witness the winds & the mad surfers and their amazing tricks & stunts. Can't say that 'Faro do Cabo de Gata' was worth travelling to, but Rob begs to differ as the baron seascapes fuelled his imagination more than mine (I think when you're preggo there's an innate need for more comfort - perhaps 5 star occasionally!)

Best regards,
Salli

Mary and Wayne
First of all thanks a million for offering your place.
Some comments for the website..
"So near the Costa, yet so far..."
"Great local swimming pool, I made loads of friends there." (Austin - aged 8)
"Wonderfully central, something for all tastes and persuasions."
"The perfect place to while away the hours, days, weeks..."
"All good things in one little village; great accommodation, loads of old world charm, excellent food & wine and friendly neighbours"
"The perfect place to do a lot or a little..."

love claire

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