BACK TO PORRIDGE....

We are, of course, interlopers. We discovered this little oasis, this little slice of Holland, in the south of Spain in January 2018 when we were forced to look for an apartment pdq. If the apartment itself were no better and perhaps even a little worse, (no wi-fi connection), than others we had stayed in, its south-facing and very large balcony sold it; we had the sun on the terrace from early morning until it set.

The location, too, was less problematic than I first thought; two minutes to the promenade and beach and about fifteen minutes to both the train and bus stations as well as a couple of excellent supermarkets and the Myramar cinema complex. I also discovered I could walk to El Cortes Ingles in about twenty-five minutes which, as Mary-Kate herself would say, is just a good stretch of the legs.

The apartment block itself is called Embajador and we liked it so much we made enquiries on long-lets and found we could get a booking in the winter for 815 euros a month which is why we are here now for the whole month of November. If I could buy one of the apartments I certainly would but the owners won't sell individual apartments; with this location and this terrace they would probably retail at around 180,000 euros at least.

I said it was a little slice of Holland and so far finding anyone not from that part of the world has proved elusive; even the signage is largely in Dutch and Spanish and the first half dozen television stations are Dutch only. No matter, as my friend the late Michael O'Sullivan would say, old bones need heat and while the sun shines as it does most days I can think of nothing better than sitting on my terrace warming them old bones. There is also a very good-sized swimming pool which I may yet dip my toe into and a nice bar restaurant on the ground floor where you can pick up the internet. This is only the fourth day of a month long holiday. Cadiz is yet to come. (Back to porridge is to be taken literally; we are having it every day at breakfast).