Saturday - early start, getting up before 7am and took the train to a Algericas which is very close to La Linea, where Ian's grandparents live. The train wasn't as nice this time and had strangers sitting either side of me. Long trip (five and a half hours) but got there without much fuss. Met Ian's grand-folks who graciously put us up and have been feeding us great food. Had sardines on the bbq and chorizo and other local food.
In the evening, hit the casino in Gibraltar and had a flutter on the blackjack table. Won a few hands but blackjack is a mug's game -- the odds just don't pay very well unless you bet high. Lost 50 quid, but no big deal as I had budgeted for it.
Sunday - chilled out. Watched the Wimbledon final. Took it easy as the last few days had been quite full on.
Monday 6th - Quite a busy day, was Monday. Got up early (8am, which is pretty early in Spain) and went into Gibraltar. Passports are a must heading in there but they don't really check 'em. First up we decided to do all the sightseeing things on the Rock. The rock itself is 413 metres high so to get to the top quickly we took a cable car that showed the surrounding views.
We walked around various sights on the rock that filled us in on the history of Gibraltar. First of all we saw the monkey enclosures. The Barbary Macaques are tail-less and unique to Gibraltar and are allowed to walk freely amongst the public. Supposedly you're not supposed to feed them because it makes them fatter than they already are. Needless to say, the monkeys were excellent. At one point we witnessed some fighting going on between some males so we didn't get too close, except for poor John who was stuck in the corner where they were fighting and screeching. Ha ha ha. Once he got out he admitted to nearly shitting himself. And who wouldn't? Those things screech like banshees. We got chased a couple of times too and while I think I could beat a monkey in a fight, I didn't want to get thrown out of Gibraltar for spanking a monkey. Ho ho ho.
Gibraltar has an interesting history, having been a point of contention in many wars throughout the centuries. Strategically it holds a lot of military significance due to it's place between Africa and Europe but if you want to read more, check this link on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar which does a much better job of explaining it's Moorish, Spanish and British history than I ever could. Britain has ruled it since the 1700's when Spain conceded the territory and as such, even though it's only about 6.8km long, and surrounded by Spain, it's incredibly British. It even has it's own form of British pound.
Anyway, we went around other sights, such as the siege tunnels which covered (I think) a 400m stretch of land and was loaded with cannons to deter invaders over various warring periods. We also visited the Moorish Castle which was really impressive, although had quite a lot of reconstruction done to it. Finally, after we'd seen most of the sights, we walked back to the city centre and had a late lunch followed by some beers.
There's not really a lot to do in Gibraltar really, so we hit the casino again. I ended up getting roped into the poker table (Texas Hold 'Em) but gave it a go anyway, seeing it as a chance to apply John's tips he had given us throughout the holiday.
For those of you that don't really know Texas Hold 'Em, it's what you see on the TV these days. You get two cards and then you throw in money to see the next three (called the "Flop"), followed by two lots of one card (the "Turn") and (the "River"). From the seven cards, you have to make a poker hand.
I won quite a few rounds and even beat John from time to time, but that was more down to me having cards I couldn't lose with. Even managed to force a couple of players out by going 'all in' as I luckily got 4 of a Kind of Jacks with the last two cards. So at the end of the night I finished with more than 100 quid in my money belt. Not bad for a 25 quid buy-in. Was at the table for over three hours too.
So the gambling days are over, but really enjoyed it. Turned out to be a big night for all of us but it was a good finish to the holiday.
Tuesday 7th: Yesterday's walk around the Rock and casino antics left us feeling worse for wear so we just chilled out and got ready to go back. Went into La Linea to buy some chorizo sausage, flowers and wine for Juan and Christine (Ian's GP's) but couldn't get a taxi back. Took ages to walk home. There's not really a lot to see in La Linea anyway, to be honest.
Wednesday 8th: So all in all, it was a great trip. Probably could have done a little bit more but you gotta give and take, especially if others want to just take it easy. I think you have to do what you plan to do on the day, otherwise you run out of time to do it later. Still, I think we got a good balance of doing stuff, doing nothing and seeing the 'real' Spain, instead of just seeing tourist sites.
A plane and train trip later, we were back in England - where everyone was much fatter than they were in Spain. It was great to be able to speak the local language again. I felt like saying 'G'day' to everyone I met, knowing that even if they responded with 'Fuck off, you dick,' at least I would be able to understand them. While I got more confident with Spanish as the trip went on, it was a bit wearisome at times.
Thursday 9th: So now I'm back in Sheffield, trying to edit this video of my trip. Heading back to London on Saturday afternoon to stay with my mate Tim Coughlan from Uni. He lives in Islington which is a nice wee area. I think I'm gonna finish off my resume and online portfolio and start looking for games jobs. Not necessarily limiting myself to London either. I quite liked Sheffield and Leeds and wouldn't be against living there.
Right, take care all. Will update in a week or two or whenever I have anything of interest to say. The next week in London will be pretty quiet, just job hunting stuff but the week after, I'm off to Scotland to visit Steve Duncan and a few of the Verdon boys.
Jono
