We’re Off to See the Queen, The Wonderful Queen of England

Tarifa, Spain (Atlantic Coast)

This morning I tried a new breakfast and it was amazing. First you put granola cereal into a bowl. Instead of milk you put a cup of yogurt on top. Alonso insisted that the correct way to get the yogurt out is to flip it upside down and stab the bottom with a knife so that it all comes out in one glob. On top of the yogurt you add some cooked apples that have cinnamon on them. To top it all off you add some honey and voila you have a wonderful breakfast. 

 

View from Tarifa Mountains

Today we went on another road trip and we got to see many amazing things. On our way to our first destination we stopped on the side of the road in the mountains of Tarifa to take pictures of the beautiful view. We then made our way to Conjunto Arqueologico De Baelo Claudia where we got to see ruins of a Roman Temple. It was on the beach and it was very beautiful. Some of the columns and statues were still standing which was really cool to see. We also got to see another Roman Theater. There were sheep running around and some British people! You can read more about it at www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/baeloclaudia.


Me and my new Roman friend

One of my most favorite parts of the day was what came next. From where we were located we could look out over the Atlantic and see Africa! I’ll repeat that because it is so exciting. WE GOT TO SEE AFRICA! It was so close and people often take boats over. You can see the mountains and at night you can see it all lit up. It was very beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. On the road we passed by these small cars completely decorated with stickers. Alonso explained that students can drive these cars from Paris to Africa carrying school supplies. The have to raise 3,000 Euros from sponsors who get to put their sticker on the car. We saw a ton of the cars and it was really cool!


See those mountains in the back? That's Africa.

Ok, so the title of this post is a little misleading… We didn’t go to see the Queen, but we did go to England. Once again I’ll repeat that because it was so exciting. WE WENT TO ENGLAND!

Drinking tea in an English Pub

The city we went to is called Gibraltar and we had to show our passports at the boarder which was very exciting. After crossing the border we had to wait a while because the Gibraltar international airport is right there and the road goes right through the runway so we had to wait for a plane to land before we could enter. Gibraltar is known for its big Rock, monkeys, and rock n’ roll history. John Lennon and Yoko Ono had their wedding in Gibraltar in 1969. I was extremely excited to be in England for the first time and it was also very exciting because I knew the language. We ate lunch in a little English Pub where I ordered tea and fish and chips. I felt very British. After some shopping we drove farther up the mountain to see another view of Africa and to look for the monkeys. We saw about four monkeys digging through trash at a distance but that was it.

You can't go to England and not take this picture

There are thought to be about 230 Barbary macaques on the rock, the only wild population of the monkeys in Europe. Last year, more than 50 people were sent to the hospital due to attacks.

After leaving Gibraltar very late we drove to what is known as the "Golden Mile.” It has lots of prestigious nightclubs and coastal estates. We walked around this town and got to see the Puerto Banús marina which is filled with luxury yachts. Clara described it as the richest city in Spain and it was easy to see why. Between the cars we saw parked on the streets and the shops we passed and the extravagant yachts it looked like something out of a movie. We didn’t get home until very late which I think is very typical here in Spain. It was a long and tiring but beautiful day.

Recap: We started off in Spain, got to see Roman Ruins, the beach, and Africa, went to England, and got to go to a rich town and see yachts. Not a bad day. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us.


Maria and I casually pretending we own one of the yachts