After breakfast we headed off to the house where Lanzarote’s most famous son, Cesar Manrique, used to live. His house, with several rooms made from lava bubbles, is a haven of peace and tranquillity, full of beautiful works of art (I saw two Picassos) and sculptures. As well as his own sculptures and paintings he has works by other Spanish artists and I tried to work out, without any success, what some of them symbolised. His trademark contrast of white floors and walls, against the black volcanic rock and the deep green of various plants and cacti was everywhere and is something I particularly love.
We wandered through the fantastic rooms looking at his furniture and admiring the water features and plants dotted about. Outside, one huge white wall is covered with a multi-coloured mural and a tinkling fountain adds to the serenity and calm of the building.
The children had an ice-cream and I had a cup of coffee before I discovered a gift shop crammed full of beautiful jewellery, bags and scarves. I couldn’t resist buying a gorgeous handbag, totally different to anything I’d seen back home, and I spotted a lovely scarf and necklace as presents for my mum.
I really could have stayed at the house all day and just enjoyed wandering around the gardens, but Keith and the children were growing restless (they don’t appreciate his works of art as much as I do) so I reluctantly followed them out to the car. Keith had a yearning to go to the Papagayo beaches, just outside Playa Blanca so we set off across the interior of the island, meandering through sleepy little towns and villages and crossing a fertile plain where herds of goats grazed. We also passed through the region of La Geria again, where most of the wine production is located and gazed at the distant volcanoes, all different colours under the blue sky.
Papagayo is a natural reserve and we had to pay 3 euros to visit the area. There is no proper road, just a very dusty and rough dirt track and I drove Lump very slowly, just in case I got a puncture on the sharp stones. Several other rental cars had no such qualms and passed me very quickly in clouds of dust. It was a bumpy, uncomfortable journey but the beaches at the end of the road are well worth the effort of getting there. We hadn’t intended to stay so we hadn’t got any swimwear with us, but if you’re a beach bum they’re definitely the place to head to. Several boats were moored some distance from the beach and we had a fantastic view over to Fuerteventura. There were no bars or cafes and if we were staying any longer we’d definitely go back and spend some time there with a picnic…maybe we should have gone there on Christmas Day!
After another bumpy ride back we drove into Playa Blanca and had a pizza at a restaurant called L’Artista overlooking the beach. The portions were very generous so after lunch it was back to the villa and a long snooze by the pool!
In the evening we decided to try a new restaurant which went by the rather long name of El Horno de la Abuela. Sophie told me that “Abuela” is Grandmother but we had no idea what the rest of the name meant! Forever afterwards it was known, rather rudely as "The Horny Grandmother"!
We drove into the resort for a change and parked on a side street and then walked the short distance to the Galeria Bar. We were a bit later than normal, owing to the large late lunch we’d enjoyed so by the time we were ready to eat it was almost 8.30pm. Unfortunately, El Horno de la Abuela was “complet!” so Keith didn’t get to eat the suckling pig he fancied after all…perhaps there’s a conspiracy amongst the piggies!
We drove into the resort for a change and parked on a side street and then walked the short distance to the Galeria Bar. We were a bit later than normal, owing to the large late lunch we’d enjoyed so by the time we were ready to eat it was almost 8.30pm. Unfortunately, El Horno de la Abuela was “complet!” so Keith didn’t get to eat the suckling pig he fancied after all…perhaps there’s a conspiracy amongst the piggies!
We opted instead for a restaurant right on the front called Brisa Marina. It was pretty busy but they managed to squeeze us into a table at the back. It was an enjoyable evening, the food was very good and the waiting staff efficient and friendly without being overbearing. We skipped starters for obvious reasons and plunged straight into the meaty main courses. I chose escalope (veal, I’m afraid to say) with a marsala sauce served with green beans, carrots, a little heap of rice and chips. Not sure I needed both lots of carbohydrates! Sophie had a chicken escalope, breaded, with chips and veggies, and both Keith and Mikey went for lamb. Mikey opted for shoulder (not as big as the Volcan de Timanfaya) while Keith had a leg. Again, his wasn’t massive, but he said it was very tasty. I chose a Marques de Caceres Rioja to wash it all down and very good it was, too, despite the waiter giving the glass to Keith to taste…as a woman am I not supposed to know anything about wine?!! Hmph!
Brisa Marina was the only restaurant that didn’t offer us a complimentary glass of honey rum (or a liqueur of your choice if you were a valued customer) at the end of the meal. We didn’t mind, but it was the exception to the rule. We passed on the dessert at the restaurant and went to our ice-cream place for a couple of scoops on the way home.
Back at the villa we had the last few dregs out of a bottle of Lanzarote red and then to bed, with only two more sleeps until we’re back in our own bed…and I’m looking forward to that!
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