Sandals and Shorts

After September’s happy events (our son’s wedding and family over from Oz), life seemed bit flat after our lovely daughters and grandchildren returned to Sydney.  A trip to sunny Javea before the winter sets in was just what we needed to restore our joie de vie.

We missed the storms of the previous week and enjoyed blue skies and sunshine the whole time. It was great wearing shorts and sandals in late October and eating breakfast and lunch outside, though we needed warmer garb in the evenings.

Some plants (and weeds) in our Spanish garden have made phenomenal growth since August. We spent hours weeding, cutting back palms, oleander and bougainvillea, tidying up and make endless trips to the dump. The oranges and lemons are ripening well – just needed a feed and an insecticide spray.

Sadly, there was still not a single fruit on our spiky little lime tree, but we were cheered up by seeing the frangipani in flower, especially as we missed the blooms last year. It was hard but satisfying work and a good tidy up.

I’d wanted to revisit the spa at the Marriott Hotel near Denia  and also try the facilities at El Rodat Hotel, just down the road from the villa, but didn’t have time to organise. I’ve added both to my growing list of Spanish spas to review and hope to catch up on the Spanish and international spa scene at next month’s World Travel Market.