Home Base in Place… It’s time to Hit the Road Again!

I have been woeful at keeping up with the blog. It has been a combination of a lot going on and also nothing going on at all! A lot in that we bought a flat and had it completely remodeled over the last few months. And nothing, because like many others our travel wings have been clipped significantly with the COVID pandemic.

But we are starting to get itchy feet and travel plans are being made. So I thought I would start updating the blog again, because it really has been a great way to stay connected with friends & family. 

First things first, how are things going with the flat? Well, we are loving the location. While, by any standard, times have not been normal since we moved in last summer, the pueblo of Benahavís really has felt like the right place to be. It’s a beautiful location surrounded by lush green foothills on all sides. We can hike in many directions from our front door, and hop in the car to find some of the most stunning trails you can imagine. The bars and restaurants in the village are lovely and welcoming, and we continue to find new favorites. Plus we are starting to see green shoots of economic recovery, with new places opening up as the summer approaches. If we jump in the car we can be several fascinating places, each offering something different. Old town charm – Estepona, a charming Spanish working town with great restaurants – San Pedro, people watching (and Lamborghini spotting) Puerto Banus, Marbella. 

And our flat, well it’s been a work in progress but we finally have it pretty much how we want it. It’s small but perfectly formed. We have new floors, new bathrooms, new doors, new kitchen – almost new everything. We didn’t do any of the work (we’re realistic about our skills) but choosing and supervising everything, and getting out of the way while it was finished (we moved out for 7 weeks) was tiring and we are glad it’s behind us. What we are left with is a perfect home base, where we can spend time in between trips and adventures we have planned as the world opens up.

I will do a separate post with a before and after gallery for our place for those of you interested in what the perfect home base looks like for us.

So of course the best thing about creating such a wonderful lock up and leave place is… you can start planning when you will lock up and leave it. Road trips are afoot. As the weather heats up in July, and we both complete our two doses of vaccine,  we are planning to head north and really spend some time exploring northern Spain & Portugal. Let the adventures begin again!!!