Leaving Sevilla after breakfast Doris the GPS lady didn't let us down today, we ended up in Gibraltar in just over two hours and in the right place. Checked into the hotel, settled in and went exploring the Rock. The hotel was on the Spanish side of the Border ((El Frontier) and was booked because of the price and none of the five hotels in Gibraltar had any rooms for the night.
Deciding to eat before we crossed the line we idled into a Burger King, this franchise is the most rampant in the Country, more of these than Mickey Ds. However the menu is the same as home and the prices as good. Following the crowds across the line was easy and this is the most relaxed border I have ever seen. The Spanish guys could not care less and the Brits really didn't want to hold up the traffic so we waved our passports at the bored looking Gib guy and passed through. Rick, our guru, Steves had told us that the way to get down Town was to board the red double decker and get off at the third stop - we did and then another bus took us to the Cable Car - our destination.
This site was overpriced and there wasn't much to do at the top except admire the view and walk down. Doreen got to achieve one of the bucket list items - see the Apes, plenty of those hanging around. After taking a few piccies we got back in the Cable Car. On the bottom, still following Rick's advice we walked back to the bus stop. This was on the Main St. of the Old Town. Pity it was Siesta time on a Sunday, the worst time to be in a shopping area, but we survived. The scenery was good and the architecture old and amazing. Took the bus back to the Border and were back in time at the hotel to catch a drink.
In the morning, when sitting down to the ritual of writing the travelogue, technology let me down - again. The netbook froze on opening and with me not knowing enough about my hated windows 8 the words didn't hit paper until a few hours later (my pal Michael googled the problem and we managed to reboot) so there was no post this morning. I am writing this on the plane to Barcelona. But back to the morning. I still wanted to see the Tunnels in the Rock. Doreen certainly did not want to so I left early and got caught in the morning rush hour, couldn't find a taxi and had to take the #5 bus again. Arrived at the bus terminal and discovered that the Tunnels were not on a bus line. Found a nice taxi driver who told me the tricks of the tourist business. In the pricing of the attractions they are bundled and I only wanted one of the bundles, so a 'walking pass' was purchased and he dropped me off at the ticket office. 
Walking the first two hundred metres - uphill, did I say the Tunnels are halfway up the Rock?, a static display was looked at. This depicted the Great Siege, a three year blockade by the Spanish and French, mannequins and artifacts got the message that it was not a good place to be at that time. Another two hundred metres uphill brought me to the the actual Siege Tunnel. This tunnel had been dug, by hand in an attempt to get the large guns higher up the Rock to fire down on the besiegers. The idea of firing from the tunnel was discovered by the tunnellers when they vented the tunnel to get rid of the blasting fumes. Having cracked a hole in the wall somebody must have said this is a great way to fire the guns. After all they were only trying to get to the "Notch" a flat piece of land high enough to fire on the Spaniards. At this attraction the bundled pass was needed to get in. Explaining to the ticket guy that I had little time and only wanted to see the Tunnels he said, "OK take a quick look and I won't charge you" Terrific, thanked him profusely on the way back ad he refused a tip.
Nipping into the free Heritage Centre to see what a Victorian Gun Placement looked like, walked down the hill to the pickup place, which happened to be outside the WW2 tunnels (this one was a 45 minute guided tour) and I definitely did not have enough time for so settled for a quick look around the artifacts at the front. Amongst the artifacts was this tribute to the Canadian tunnellers. Time to phone Douglas the taxi driver for a ride home.
Another trip in the car - the last one back to Malaga, but before handing the car back we had a sidetrip to Mike and Sue's house at Fuengirola - on the way. Doris let us down, and the phone lost its service so when we pulled into a small restaurant near where we thought they lived, we did call them, settled in for a drink and then went back to their place. A very quick trip to the airport and a late flight to Barcelona. When you consider that you can fly from one end of the Country to the other for the price of a good bottle of wine it is no wonder that the plane was full.
Tomorrow we move into the jewel of the vacation - downtown Barcelona.
Deciding to eat before we crossed the line we idled into a Burger King, this franchise is the most rampant in the Country, more of these than Mickey Ds. However the menu is the same as home and the prices as good. Following the crowds across the line was easy and this is the most relaxed border I have ever seen. The Spanish guys could not care less and the Brits really didn't want to hold up the traffic so we waved our passports at the bored looking Gib guy and passed through. Rick, our guru, Steves had told us that the way to get down Town was to board the red double decker and get off at the third stop - we did and then another bus took us to the Cable Car - our destination.
This site was overpriced and there wasn't much to do at the top except admire the view and walk down. Doreen got to achieve one of the bucket list items - see the Apes, plenty of those hanging around. After taking a few piccies we got back in the Cable Car. On the bottom, still following Rick's advice we walked back to the bus stop. This was on the Main St. of the Old Town. Pity it was Siesta time on a Sunday, the worst time to be in a shopping area, but we survived. The scenery was good and the architecture old and amazing. Took the bus back to the Border and were back in time at the hotel to catch a drink. Walking the first two hundred metres - uphill, did I say the Tunnels are halfway up the Rock?, a static display was looked at. This depicted the Great Siege, a three year blockade by the Spanish and French, mannequins and artifacts got the message that it was not a good place to be at that time. Another two hundred metres uphill brought me to the the actual Siege Tunnel. This tunnel had been dug, by hand in an attempt to get the large guns higher up the Rock to fire down on the besiegers. The idea of firing from the tunnel was discovered by the tunnellers when they vented the tunnel to get rid of the blasting fumes. Having cracked a hole in the wall somebody must have said this is a great way to fire the guns. After all they were only trying to get to the "Notch" a flat piece of land high enough to fire on the Spaniards. At this attraction the bundled pass was needed to get in. Explaining to the ticket guy that I had little time and only wanted to see the Tunnels he said, "OK take a quick look and I won't charge you" Terrific, thanked him profusely on the way back ad he refused a tip.Nipping into the free Heritage Centre to see what a Victorian Gun Placement looked like, walked down the hill to the pickup place, which happened to be outside the WW2 tunnels (this one was a 45 minute guided tour) and I definitely did not have enough time for so settled for a quick look around the artifacts at the front. Amongst the artifacts was this tribute to the Canadian tunnellers. Time to phone Douglas the taxi driver for a ride home.
Another trip in the car - the last one back to Malaga, but before handing the car back we had a sidetrip to Mike and Sue's house at Fuengirola - on the way. Doris let us down, and the phone lost its service so when we pulled into a small restaurant near where we thought they lived, we did call them, settled in for a drink and then went back to their place. A very quick trip to the airport and a late flight to Barcelona. When you consider that you can fly from one end of the Country to the other for the price of a good bottle of wine it is no wonder that the plane was full.
Tomorrow we move into the jewel of the vacation - downtown Barcelona.
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