Sparklers on a pizza at Palm 5 for The Madam's birthday!Sigh.
We're back, in full recovery mode after a fabulous week in Benalmadena Costa for M. Arcati's birthday. Definitely a week of contrasts - we went from three days of this...
...to this, overnight!
Of course, despite the apocalyptic weather that could have otherwise put a damper on proceedings, we were undeterred. Our fave beach bar Palm 5 (and just about everything else along the paseo) may have been closed for two days, but we sniffed out the plucky couple of places that did decide to open and ate (very well), drank and made merry, as is our wont.
Special mention must go to a new discovery [to us, anyhow; it was always there, and always looked a bit forbidding, but has had a makeover and evolved into a very decent restaurant, indeed], Beny's:
Yes, that's us (around 10 seconds in), centre stage as ever!
Not content with that, of course (after the obligatory siesta) we ventured out to sample the nightlife in the gay bars in La Nogalera in Torremolinos every night as well:
Causing mayhem wherever we go!
All in all, it was a faboo and much deserved break, indeed!
...But what did we miss while we were away?
The biggest (and most horrific) news was of course the 30,000 deaths and devastation left behind by the earthquake on the Turkey-Syria border; other items occupying the headlines included (one year on) the continuing Ukrainian war, the scandal over that suspicious loan to Boris Johnson and the role played by the current BBC chairman, continued paranoia about China, more nasty violence in Israel, and - shock! horror! - Amsterdam is clamping down on marijuana usage in public places.
We missed celebrating the centenary of the utterly faboo Dora Bryan:
...(and Franco Zeffirelli's today) and the 75th birthday of Alice Cooper (as well as the birthdays of Hylda Baker, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lana Turner, Mamie Van Doren, Carmen Miranda, Ida Lupino, Leontyne Price, Dame Mary Quant, Holly Johnson and heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo).
We also missed marking the very sad departure of the peerless Mr Burt Bacharach for Fabulon [see my previous tributes here, here and (by association) here], and so, by way of a tribute, here is one of my personal faves written by the maestro:
But did we bring anything back with us for your delectation? I hear you ask, dear reader.
Of course we did! The remarkable and [ahem!] sylph-like Soraya and her anthem to that "Little-Holland-by-the-Mediterranean", Carihuela!
Are we glad to be back?
NO!!
