We didn't want to say smart casual. We just want you to wear what you feel great in and to be comfortable. It's going to be pretty warm and we'll be outside all day so just wear something nice. I'll be wearing a suit but Nickers won't tell me what she's wearing. I'm assuming it's going to be a wedding dress though. (Don’t assume, Johnny…). There will be grass and small slopes so girls might want to avoid heels or just bring something to change into or go hippy and ditch the shoes all together! Guys might want to avoid heels too unless they really want to show off. Oh, and why not bring your bathing trunks/ swimming costume/ bikini… there’s a pool and we’re in the Spanish summer!
Monday 14 March 2011
Why Spain?
So many people have asked us "Why Spain?" We think the honest answer is "Why not?" Most of our relationship, we’ve travelled to far flung lands and so it seemed only fitting to “tie the knot” abroad. We also kinda wanted something neutral as we're from different countries and our parents live in different lands. But still, why Spain, and why Andalucia?
We just love it. And we just love the Spanish way of life. It's chilled. (So are their cervezas, yum). They have naps when the sun is too hot. Let's face it, with 3000 hours of sunshine a year just in Andalucia, this is a necessity. Then there's the tapas and the olives and the olive oil. There's the passion in the people who are known for their fiestas, flamenco and love of life. It's the birthplace of the guitar. Its a melting pot of cultures - the village Iznajar where we are getting married is one of the oldest Moorish settlements in the world. And it has rolling hills of beautiful countryside, exquisite carpets of silvery olive trees, row upon row as far as the eye can see. No wonder it has inspired writers and painters like Picasso and Ernest Hemingway. Just like it has inspired us, and we hope it will you too.
We just love it. And we just love the Spanish way of life. It's chilled. (So are their cervezas, yum). They have naps when the sun is too hot. Let's face it, with 3000 hours of sunshine a year just in Andalucia, this is a necessity. Then there's the tapas and the olives and the olive oil. There's the passion in the people who are known for their fiestas, flamenco and love of life. It's the birthplace of the guitar. Its a melting pot of cultures - the village Iznajar where we are getting married is one of the oldest Moorish settlements in the world. And it has rolling hills of beautiful countryside, exquisite carpets of silvery olive trees, row upon row as far as the eye can see. No wonder it has inspired writers and painters like Picasso and Ernest Hemingway. Just like it has inspired us, and we hope it will you too.
Where does “Tying the knot” come from?
“They” say that the expression “tying the knot” comes from the fact that beds were supported by nets of knotted string back in the day - way before metal sprung frames were used. So basically, tying the knot literally refers to weaving your marriage bed together. Sounds like a lot of work to us. We like futons anyway.
Directions and Map
Note from editor: Well, good luck everybody. May the force be with you. For some reason Nickers is writing the post on directions to El Molino. And we all know Nickers is absolutely useless with anything vaguely resembling a map or a compass.
From Malaga airport:
- From the airport follow the E15/N34 signs for Malaga.
- After 5 minutes you will pick up signs for Antequera - follow these. You will see a selection of road numbers, including blue signs for the A-45, and sometimes others but it is better simply to follow the signs for Antequera and/or Granada.
- After 10-15 minutes you will be heading north around Malaga; at junction 241, take the A-45 towards Granada/Sevilla/Cordoba
- The motorway heads north, away from the coast, and passes through some short tunnels.
- After 15- 20 minutes, fork right at junction 114, onto the A92-M for Granada (don't follow the other fork for Antequera)
- After 15 minutes, at junction 1, take the A333 to Villanueva de Tapia
- At the bottom of the slip road, turn left & follow the road to the T Junction.
- Turn left onto the A333 to IZNAJAR/RUTE ( look out for the Paloma Rural Hotel/ Restaurant on your right )
- Follow this road for approx 5/8 mins after you pass The Paloma & then take the A328 to LOJA.
- On this road look for the kilometre markers on your right.
- 100 meters AFTER the 2km marker: take the next right turn onto a small unmade road (a small wooden sign says "Camino de Iznajar" - shown in the photo
- After 300 meters (just after the road becomes tarmac) you'll come to the beautiful El Molino del Conde on your left.
- Welcome! Make your way to the pool and get a drink ;)
From Iznajar
Take the A333 out of town and south of the lake. Turn left on to the A328 towards Loja then follow the directions above from step 10 onwards.
Easy!
Plane, Train or Automobile
These are your options for getting down to the wedding. Flying will be by far the easiest, quickest and cheapest but if you’ve got the time and fancy a bit of a road trip then you could drive it. My Dad is doing it, you could try and hitch a lift with him! It’s a long drive but you can take it easy and stopover in some cool places in France…. pop in on Myles in the south of France then go visit Silja in Barcelona on your way down! If you do fancy it then check out viamichelin.co.uk for routes. It will tell you how much it will cost you in tolls and fuel and even give you ideas of places to stay on the way. Or get a camper and wing it.
We’ve been checking and it looks like Malaga is the best airport to head to. Granada is also close but flights there are a lot more expensive. You should be able to get a flight to Malaga for about £100 from London or Birmingham or from within Europe, maybe a little less if you’re lucky. Try Monarch, Easyjet, BA, BMIBaby or Ryanair.
If you’re coming from New Zealand, you need to fly to London first and then get a cheap flight to Malaga, as above. Make sure you make it home in time for Rugby World Cup kick-off!
If you are coming from South Africa, check out options for either flying to London, and then get a cheap flight to Malaga (as above). Or check out the options for flying direct to Madrid or Barcelona, and then get a cheap internal flight or train to Malaga or Granada.
If you’re coming from America, tell us! That would be awesome if some of our pals made it. If you’re coming from Peru, you must be a wedding crasher because we didn’t invite anyone from Peru.
We think the nicest way and definitely the best way for the environment is to catch a train. It will take a couple of days to get down there and will cost in the region of £200-300. You can use loco2 (http://www.loco2.co.uk/) to help you book everything. The only drawback is that you can’t book European rail travel more than 3 months in advance.
There’s the ferry option too but it’s pretty pricey (£800 for two people + car). Why bother?
You will defo need a car in Spain to get around. Try these guys:
Send us an email if you need any more info on travel options or if you want to set up some kind of hire car share arrangement.
Stuff to do
We’d love you to have a holiday when you’re over in Andalucia. It’s the perfect time of year (schools go back on the 1 September so everything is a little quieter) and it’s on average about 25 degrees Celsius. Wow. So what’s there to do?
Iznajar
The nearest large-ish village to El Molino is Iznajar, an 8 minute car ride, a fairly short hitchhike or a half a day’s walk. It’s a beautiful white walled village built around the ruins of a 1200 year old Moorish castle which sits upon a rocky outcrop. It’s gorgeous and with loads of character, 6000 people and 900 million cubic metres of water. Yes, it’s also set on a lake and looks a bit like this.
We recommend a visit to the castle, and just wondering around “Barrio del Coso”, a labyrinth of typical whitewashed Andalucían houses dotted around loads of super narrow lanes (watch for those rear view mirrors on the cars).
You can also swim in the lake, or canoe on it, braai on the beach next to it… or fish in it!!! (Terry, Daddikins: don’t miss the wedding!)Granada
Don’t miss Granada. It’s a beautiful ancient city in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and famous for the Alhambra Palace. The Palace is super old (from the Nasrid Dynasty era - 1238-1492) and is where the Islamic government and soldiers stayed back in the day. Maybe you might even want to stay in the Palace if you feel decadent or just filthy rich. Granada can be done in a day trip and it’s recommended you book for the Palace, particularly on weekends. Whilst you’re In Granada you should really try a Hammam too . It’s a traditional bathhouse. We experienced a few similar ones on our travels (and in Hackney too) and highly recommend them! We’re thinking of building one in our home when we’re big one day. http://www.granada.hammamspain.com/
Cordoba
Did you know Cordoba used to be the capital of Europe? It was also crucial in the shipping of Spanish olive oil, wine and wheat (some of our favourite things) back to Ancient Rome. It’s a gorgeous city with a long history, endless streets and loads of alleyways, plazas and whitewashed courtyards. One of the main reasons you want to come here is to see the Mezquita, one of the world’s Moorish architectural masterpieces. Apparently when the Christians conquered the area, they thought the Mosque was so beautiful that they just built a cathedral right inside it!
Seville
“Seville” wrote Byron, a famous 19th Century poet, “is a pleasant city famous for oranges and women.” Ok, so it may be seen as a bit of a chauvinist comment, but it apparently captures the romantic spirit of Seville, Andalucia’s capital. We haven’t been there yet but this place sounds wicked. It apparently has quite a reputation for fun, an electric atmosphere, some of the best street theatre in the world and some of the region’s most beautiful monuments. Sounds like the place for a wicked party.
Malaga
Visit the Picasso Museum, 45 minutes away in Malaga - need we say more? Ok, well try the fine old Moorish fort too if you want.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Lists, glorious lists! 101 things to do. Seriously.
You guys know how we love lists. But we have to give a big nod to Casa Le Celada in Iznajar for this amazing list of 101 things to do. http://amanda-hamilton.com/clc/101-things-to-do/
Places to stay
Book a place to lay down your heads ASAP! It’s summertime guys, and we’re getting married in a small village so we want to ensure you have the best stuff to choose from. There are some AWESOME places to rent!** I wish we could stay everywhere. Hope this is some inspiration for you.
**DISCLAIMER: We haven’t actually been to any of these places, so please do check them out online properly.
The lovely couple who own El Molino, Nick and Amanda, have told us of two houses to rent which are very close to the wedding house. If you are keen to rent one of these places, please let us know so they can talk to the owners directly to arrange for rentals less than a week if you need.
El Cortijo - sorry, this one has been snapped up already...
"Casa Cristina", a house 1 kilometre up the same valley. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, sleeps up to 8. (Tell Nickers and John if you want to rent this).
The best closest village to stay in is Iznajar, about 5 min (really) in a car. There are loads and loads of beautiful private villas and houses to rent from 2 sleepers right up to party houses. We’ve listed a few here to get you started and please let us know if you have any questions or need any help.
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/lake-iznajar.htm (loads here)
For B&B accommodation, try these:
Casa Rurual Olivar http://www.casaruralelolivar.com/
Cortijo La Haza (about 5 km away) http://www.cortijolahaza.com/
Cortijo Andalus http://cortijoandalus.com/accommodation/rooms/ (also villas)
Stuck for what to buy us as a present? Here are a few ideas
a) Don’t worry about it! We really just want you to come over and have some fun with us. We really appreciate you splashing out on a trip to Spain to do this! So please don’t worry…we’re not expecting it.
b) Worry a bit. Well yes, some of us feel strange not giving anything. If you do really feel this way, we’d like to make a wee request and say a hearty thank you! We’ve had a taster for great John and Nickers’ adventures, and we think there is another waiting in the curtains. We’d really love it if you could contribute financially towards “John and Nickers: The Great American Roadtrip”… a little travel fund goes a long way.
c) Splash out. John’s always quite fancied a Ferrari
d) Just forget to do it. Everyone knows Nickers has the worst memory in the world
e) What is this post about again?
Andalucia in pictures....
All of this is on your doorstep!!
Has anyone seen my Nickers?
So where did the nickname “Nickers” originate? And how does it fit in with Zoo, Zoopot Sausage and Princess?
I have a friend at work whose name is Sasha Manners and so I thought it fitting to call her Bad Manners. She in turn called me Naughty Nickers and soon everyone started it.
It was Tipi who really got it mainstream by just running with it from the minute he heard it. Nickers I became!
But I knew I had reached a whole new level when the mad Luanne Beale (a.k.a. trouble) was seen wondering around a London garden centre on a terribly busy Saturday morning shouting: “Where’s my Nickers? Where’s my Nickers? Has anyone seen my Nickers??” There was no turning back after that.
Some essential Spanish
Don’t worry, the ceremony will be in English, with “un poco espanol” thrown in for good measure. But just in case you wander around, here are some essential phrases to get you just what you want. If you really want to sound local, just throw in the word 'Entonces..' (then) at the start of every sentence. And remember: Spanglish goes a long way (See number 5 for example).
- Two beers, please: Dos cervezas, por favor
- Where is the toilet? Donde esta el bano?
- Can I have wine please? Yo quiero vino por favor.
- Where is the party? Donde esta la fiesta?
- It's hot! Awesome! Hace calor! Magnificico.
- You're hot. Te quiero.
- I like it a lot. Me gusta mucho.
- Delicious! Que rico!
- Beautiful! Que bonito!
- How pretty! Que linda!
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