Little Britain

Well unfortunately I was too late in organising a visit on the Oasis of the Seas whilst she was in Malaga last Thursday, so ended up in Gibraltar or Little Britain as we like to call the rock.

Left mega early as the boarder can get rammed and long queues, didn’t want to take the risk of sitting in Traffic for hours on end, also our friend whom works in Gibraltar advised of traffic works at the boarder so gave ourselves plenty of time. If you have ever travelled over to Gibraltar from Spain then you will know what a nightmare it can be.

By the time we got there we did hit a smallish queue and waited approx. 30 minutes to get in, not bad considering waits have been 2-3 hours or longer in the past.

We got through and crossed the runway towards to town center, Gibraltar is having a bit of a face lift in certain areas which is great because every time I used to go there it always reminded me of Woolwich but by the sea and in sunshine! This is because obviously it was mostly occupied by service boys and girls so had a very barrack type feel about it.

With the brand new airport that has been built and now used (the old airport was no more than a shed) it has made a difference.  Gibraltar is one of the most expensive real estate areas in Europe and personally I would not want to live there. It is full of high rise apartments, albeit on the waters edge but there are a lot of people there for a small rock.  Some of the most beautiful properties on Gibraltar are those built up the side of the rock or facing out towards the straights of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar is a tax free haven for booze and fags but you are limited to what you can purchase and bring back across the boarder or take out by plane or ship.

The day before we got there was Gibraltar’s National Day and by all accounts was a massive party, so if anyone was lucky enough to have docked for the day on the Celebrity Eclipse, they would have walked straight into a party atmosphere in the sun, My dad’s old naval friends had come over to stay in Gib for a week so that was one of our reason’s to go and visit (plus me and mum got a chance to do a bit of shopping at Morrisons).  They,  including my dad had been based in Gib at one point or another, whether it had been long term or short term and wanted to see how much it had changed.  They said the National day was great, fireworks, live bands all except all the pubs closed by 12pm!!

When we was parked up at a bar having a quick coffee in the main square, they was taking down all the stage area and cleaning up from the day before, within an hour you wouldn’t of known that they had had a massive party just hours before. So we left the boys to it, to do a bit of male bonding and repeat the same old naval stories we had heard a hundred times before and headed off for a bit of a shop. There isn’t really much in the way of shopping in Gib, mostly electrical shops and duty free shops for perfume, cigarettes and alcohol. You have a few typical high street brand names like M&S and BHS but other than that, it is very limited. So after a quick browse and a puchase in M&S we headed off to meet our friend Janet for lunch.

Us girls ate in a beautiful restaurant called the Little Rock in the main square, the food was plentiful and very good and at reasonable price, especially for being in such a touristy area.

After lunch and Janet had to return to work, me and mum hit Morrison’s to grab a few bits that us Brits can’t live without – mostly Cadbury’s chocolate (without paying extortionate duty prices in Spain)  and some other bits and pieces. We then headed off towards the Marina to meet up with the drunken sailors before heading home. I managed to get a sneak at the new floating hotel in Gib and a walk around the beautiful marina.

The only downside to a great day was the exit from Gibraltar back into Spain as we was kept queuing for just over an hour to get out, again could have been worse and been longer. The mad thing is, there is no need for it, it is just the Spanish being difficult for entering and departing at the boarder.

So next blog, I will do a bit more on Gibraltar or Little Britain for some ideas of what to do on the rock when visiting in port for a day..

Dawn

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