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Post by robert on Feb 12, 2022 8:59:33 GMT
Flight left 15mins late but made up time on the way. It was an almost full flight which is good for the Costa.
We had all the correct paperwork but were not asked at all by anyone for our Spth QR codes although we did have to present them in Malaga . No queues worth talking about at passport control. Straight to the train and into Arroyo where we met friends and had dinner in LuLus.
Thursday morning I was up early did all my usual first day things. Trimmed plants, weeded flower beds, checked irrigation system, got some necessities up from our store room and did a small shop at the local Carrefour.
The paint on our small Terrace wall had started to flake in places so I took a scraper to it and scraped all the loose paint off. The paint that I had, had congealed and was more like filler which actually worked out well as it filled all the holes I'd created That's enough for today so now it's Chawkey time.
Walked down to the coast (30 mins) and called in Weatherspains for a pint then up to Potters Lodge. We actually managed to get a table and had dinner there for the first time ever 🤣. Pie and chips, simple food,but very nice and friendly service.
Walked through the square and up to Arroyo where we called into Luisa's for a nightcap before getting the last bus home.
Friday morning and back to work at 8.30am sanding the terrace walls much to our neighbours annoyance 🤣.
We set off to Malaga around 11am as we needed to get our fire extinguisher checked but as it was 5 years old it needed to be depressurised which meant leaving it with the company for a few days so it was easier to spend an extra €5 and get a new one. Made a second stop to get an extra garage key fob.
Next was Wortens to see if we could get a new DVD player but Wortens had gone 😭
Do now my wife decides we shall look for new sun lounger cushions so off we went.
IKEA, (&all the surrounding shops), Leyroy Merlin, Verdecor to name a view and all in vain but we did end up with a new sideboard and TV unit for the lounge.
Back home at 5.30.
Unfortunately my wife is not a member of the forum and doesn't know Chawkey so the next four hours were spent putting up one of the new units.
When that was completed we were allowed to pop into Arroyo for an hour to get a burger 🤣.
It's a little overcast this morning and a bit cool although it was quite warm by mid afternoon this last two days.
More later.
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Post by robert on Feb 13, 2022 22:49:45 GMT
We decided that the side board unit we purchased yesterday could actually double up as a TV unit so off we went early morning to return the said TV unit. No problems getting a refund however it didn't last long as we went into Conforama and bought two ceiling fans. 😭😭😭.
Back to Arroyo to drop off some sofa cushions that somehow had been stained and needed recovering. Popped into Ocampo and booked a table for Monday evening.♥️.
Then back to our apartment to start work on the fans.
Started off well but that didn't last long as whilst drilling into the ceiling to fix the bracket for the fan the drill caught a plastic bag that had been left in there and long story short we ended up with a six inch hole in the ceiling. Nothing is ever easy in Spain 😭.
Anyway after a slight change of position the bracket was fixed to the roof and I decided to sleep on the hole.
Chawkey time saw us head to El Bar De Los Motos for a few beers and a Queen tribute. Place was packed , atmosphere was brilliant, beer was flowing, and a good night was had.
Up early this morning, wired in the fan packed and cemented the hole and left to dry. Moved into the second bedroom to put up the second fan and managed this one without any major dramas although when we unpacked the box the glass cover was broken so it looks like a trip back to Conforama on Monday.😭😭😭.
Chawkey time again and that consisted of lunch in the Lemon Tree with friends. The evening was spent indoors watching TV after I changed the TV for another one we had in the store ( don't ask ). The dvd player packed up and the original TV didn't have HDMI ports to connect a new DVD player too whereas the one in the store had. So probably shopping for a dvd player tomorrow as well.🤣 It never ends.
Looking forward to Chawkey time tomorrow #Ocampo.
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Post by rosebush on Feb 15, 2022 14:34:58 GMT
Robert so sorry but i am laughing out loud at your daily tasks  you really should have stuck to Chawky time 24/7  Hope you can get new DVD and new glass cover for your fan or replacement.  As it was Valentines day yesterday, presume it was chilling all day & evening  Pleased to read you finally got a seat at Potters Lodge, Karen & Dave are lovely and their Son Callum, does a great job as Manager... Enjoy the rest of your stay the weather looks very promising even though its still Winter..xx |
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Post by robert on Feb 15, 2022 15:09:00 GMT
Monday started with an early morning trip to Conforama, beside IKEA to get a replacement cover for the fan. No problems at all. Then a stop off in Carrefour Torremolinos to do some food shopping and get paint and a dvd player.
Bonanza next to get some money changed (€1=17).
Home for a cuppa, then ceilings rubbed down and painted , fans put up and fingers crossed. All good,PHEW !!! ) DVD player connected up the it was " Chawkey does Valentine " So bus into town for a pre dinner drink at the wine barthen on to Ocampo. Sausage, black pudding and chips and Prawns pil pil followed by a 500g shared steak and baked potatoes washed down with a few beers and a bottle of red. No room for pudding 🤣. Across the road for a nightcap in Luisa's before home.
Chawky must have gone home in the middle of the night because when I got up this morning I was ordered down to our store room which was to be " gutted" ( her exact words were if we don't need it or can't use it .....bin it.).
Four hours and two dump runs later it was done. Our next door neighbor is an estate agent and when she saw the state of the garage she gave us one of her business cards as she thought we were moving out 🤣🤣🤣.
At least the store room looks a lot better now 🤣
This was followed with a well deserved lunch on the terrace next whilst we decide what to do later.
Oh by the way Carnaval starts on the 18th Feb and runs until the 27th.
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Post by rosebush on Feb 16, 2022 9:05:52 GMT
Robert i presume you are now 'all done with chores' and it's full on Chawky time Shame the carnival ends just before we arrive, we are normally there to enjoy it, but had to cut stay down from 100days to 90!! Enjoy the rest of your stay, i know Benal needs rain, but hope it pours down 'only during the night' x |
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Post by robert on Feb 19, 2022 22:15:02 GMT
Tues evening saw us drive into Arroyo to collect our sofa cushions which couldn't be fixed ( we'll no doubt come back to this later in the year😭) then a drive to the park for a dander around.Not many chickens but lots of wabbits. We ended up on Weatherspains for coffee hot talking to Jane and stayed for dinner. Back home to watch a movie.
Up early Wednesday morning and fiddled with the TV box in the second bedroom.Couldn'y get it working so contacted Richard and arranged for him to come on Friday morning to fit a new one.
Early afternoon we went into Arroyo for a drink in the square but it was rammed so Chawkey time was delayed for a half hour while we walked around. Decided on Cerceveria Arroyo because it was in the sun. So we had Chawkey hour......which turned into Chawkey time ( she's learning 🤣), walked through the park stopping of for coffee then on to South Beach for a beer. On to Bonanza square next but hardly anything open so ended up in the Halfway Inn for their fish and chips. Continued up into Arroyo.It was blowing a gale by this time and freezing cold so home to bed.
Thursday saw things return to normal as we headed to the Miramar centre in search of padded seat covers for the chairs on the terrace. I don't know how many shops there are over there but we were in them ALL and nothing suited. Home to sunbath and try and explain who Chawkey was . She was getting interested in this now as we were allowed to get a bus to the Pueblo and had dinner in Le Cepa. Unfortunately hers wasn't nice so Chawkey time finished early.
Friday morning Richard fitted the new TV system and we went off to the local Chinese shop where she got her seat cushions ( we actually did look here first before going to Fuengirola but I guess it's a woman thing. Anyway that was filled by lunch in a cafe beside the golden globe roundabout and then coffee in another restaurant on the other side of the roundabout.
Back home and had friends round for drinks before heading to La Terraza for dinner. Lovely meal and reasonably priced. I guess that's as close to a Chawkey Day that we're likely to get 🤣.
Mrs L had been chirruping on about replacing the chair in our lounge all week. There's nothing wrong with the chair . You sit in it and it's comfortable.It works .It does what it's supposed to. So I'd had enough by now and put my foot down and told her straigh that the chair was fine she has spent more than enough already and we didn't need s new chair. End off !.
Sat morning up early and off to IKEA ( well it's been four days since we've been ). After another hour or being dragged around we returned home with her new chair which I then had to build. Whilst she was rearranging the apartment around her new chair I went outside and painted the weight for the parasol. She must have been pleased with her victory as we were allowed out to go to see the Carnaval parade in the Pueblo. Then back down into Arroyo for a drink in a newish bar called Clink and finishing the night with a pizza.
Can't wait for tomorrow 🤔🤔🤔🤔
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Post by chawky on Feb 21, 2022 12:41:17 GMT
Enjoying your trip report...brings back memories of my wife's obsession with IKEA - it got to the point were I stayed in Plaza Mayor so she could only buy what she could carry!. I wouldn't have minded so much that our IKEA in the UK is less than half a mile from our front door.
My favourite do nothing story from my last trip; We're on the ground floor and have garden border running along the side of our apartment. It belongs to the community but nobody else can see it or really cares about it. Occasionally it does look like somebody has tidied it up. On this trip I noticed it needed weeding and put it on my to do list. It gets the sun in the morning so in January not the sort of job I was looking forward as mornings were nippy. I continued to procrastinate when late in my trip I heard noises one morning and opened the curtains to see our concierge busy at work giving it a good tidy up, pruning and weeding. My input for to the job was to put the kettle on for him. To be fair he has much better garden tools than me!
As an aside, when I first bought the apartment I started increasing the size of the border by about an inch each time I visited. I presumed nobody had noticed until on one return to the apartment a nice curved brick border had been put in place putting a stop to my land grab!
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Post by rosebush on Feb 21, 2022 12:52:46 GMT
Robert don't know how you fit so much into one day This shopping lark is what we enjoy doing, but in doing so, we are always on the look out for something our man might need....like a new paint brush, screwdriver etc, so you see you are never to far from our thoughts while we are shopping Hope your remaining time is eating drinking and a spot of sunbathing, i can see the sunbeds are out on the beach we have storm winds again here, so cannot even go for a walk  Chawky so sad to read your land grab was scuppered but well done on getting the gardener to stop his chores and have a cup of tea with you... xx |
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Post by robert on Feb 23, 2022 9:17:29 GMT
Drove down to the Marina on Sunday morning for a walk around and a coffee ....then a beer 🤣Later we met friends for Sunday lunch in Sopranos in the Pueblo. Three courses for €12 so excellent value. The evening was spent watching TV ( a full Chawkey Day ).
Monday we were out for a birthday lunch with friends in Arroyo then back to their house for drinks
By now I thinking that Chawkey has moved in so I checked the spare room just toake sure.
Tuesday morning I did a few small jobs before getting ab bus down to Yucas for a light lunch, this was followed by coffee on a cafe in Torrequebrada then a gin in Las Arenas followed by dinner in Fados and quite a few gins in Brian's Bar. Stayed till it closed at 2am.
Up early today as we go home tonight and there's a few things to do. The plan is to have lunch in Arroyo before heading on to the airport for our 7pm flight but we'll see.
Until the next time ( May) adiós amigos.
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Post by rosebush on Feb 24, 2022 14:34:33 GMT
Robert nice to read your last few days in Benal were chilled out one's Hope your flight departed at 7pm yesterday and you arrived home in time for a G&T. Our flight only has a few seats left now, folks just seem to have book very quickly after the masks outside rule was dropped ! must admit i was so pleased to hear the news as well.. Weather forecast for next 4 days out there is wet  so not sure what Monday will be like, just have to cope with my mask now for 9hrs Have a good weekend everyone..xx |
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so not sure what Monday will be like, just have to cope with my mask now for 9hrs