A Fun Reunion In Fuengirola

We drove the 90 minutes or so from Gibraltar back east to our next hotel on the Med beach in Fuengirola.  After swearing for years I would never go to the Spanish beaches on the Med, there I was (flexibility is important in life).  

The reason was a good one, however.  Geoff Lawler, the former Member of the British Parliament for whom I interned way back in 1984 (my FIRST overseas trip) now has a condo down there as a get away from the English weather.  

So we arranged to meet for dinner.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

After checking into a basic hotel with quite the view of the Med, we headed down by the pool for lunch.  Then we went up and promptly took a nap.  Avoiding monkey attacks is tiring, but we at least  could sleep of the unattacked.  (Editor's Note: Uh, that's not a word.  Writer's Snippy Retort: Well, according to Merriam-Webster online, it is a word, so stick it!  Editor: Touchy, touchy!).

Since Geoff wasn't getting into town till late, the four of us went for a walk along the beach.  The area was chock full of Spanish families enjoying the holiday.  The beaches looked beautiful.  On the shore side, there were lots of tall apartment/condo buildings.  We passed the castle on the hill, but, in what is definitely a Glen/Carol first, we had exactly zero stirrings to hike up and go through the castle.

This is the first castle we've seen that we

did not feel the desire to explore.  Am I

losing my fastball?

We did not go into the center of town, which apparently is cool, but we did stop for ice cream.  Then, we got to a certain point and headed back to the hotel.

Idyllic view.

And a bit of whimsy, as the concessionaire

gets ready for the impending season.

We met Geoff at Los Marinos Paco, a seaside restaurant on the east side of town.  The food was great (and huge portions), but just catching up with Geoff was great fun.  We shared a number of bottles of Albarino, which is my favorite white wine of all time (Galacia, Spain) and caught up on life, politics, and reminisced.

Not sure how much things have changed, but back when I worked for him, Geoff had a snarly secretary Roz (she grew to like me, but doesn't everyone?).  (Editor's Note: Are you really looking for an answer?  Writer's Note: Uh, well, hmmm.  No.)  And then he had me.  So it was a great internship, and Geoff was a great boss (and still a great guy).  I've probably seen him, on average, once every eight years or so, including the famous time Carol and I spent a day during our honeymoon campaigning with him in the 1987 election.

Of the good people I've known over the years, and the mentors who have influenced me, Geoff is definitely one of them.  It was a fun evening.

After dinner, Geoff walked us over to the town brothel, where there is always a line of cabs, and we headed back to the hotel.  It's always good to see him, and it meant a lot to get to spend some time with him.