Our rather famous ‘wild’ inhabitants here in Gibraltar just had to feature in this week’s photo challenge! What are they talking about I wonder?
My favourite place here has to be the Med Steps, and they are covered with ‘wild’ flowers in Spring.
It’s not just the Rock which has ‘wild’ inhabitants, we have beautiful dolphins in our waters too…
Next week’s Postcard from Gibraltar Friday Photo Challenge is ‘sunset’.
My regular climb, apart from up the stairs to our apartment is the Med Steps. But another big climb which we made at Easter time this year, was to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Up and up we climbed to the very top. It felt rather odd peering down through the little window in the floor of the upper room to the huge cathedral below. 
It was a wonderful day out with some very dear friends. 
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘wild’.
Well it’s been a lovely half term week, we escaped to Portugal for a few days, and it was fab. Here’s this week’s Portuguese Sunday Sevens (well actually it’s Sunday Eights this week):
Hello Lagos
We woke up on Sunday morning to bright blue skies in Lagos, in the eastern Algarve. It’s a lovely seaside town which we visited for the day on our Portuguese holiday in summer 2017 and fancied seeing a bit more. There are a few pictures here in Sunday Sevens but a longer post will be coming your way soon…
And relax…
We did a few things while we were away, but it was overwhelmingly a holiday for doing nothing and it was delightful. I felt so relaxed and recharged, just what the doctor ordered!
Lagos Zoo
We took the Little Postcards to Lagos Zoo and were very surprised to see this pair of pelicans waddling towards us down the footpath! Where possible, there were no railings or fences, and it was great to see the animals up close.
Bad weather
While Gibraltar was being drenched with very heavy rainstorms midweek, we had bad weather too, but thankfully not quite as much rain as Gib.
Homeward bound
Our lovely time away came to an end and we hit the highway to head home. It’s always lovely to see the Rock come into view, so we know we’re nearly there.
Med steps and blue skies
It was gloriously beautiful day yesterday, I simply had to make the most of it and head up the Med Steps. It was like spring, and there were even narcissi out in bloom..
Instead of heading straight home as I usually do, I took a detour towards the Skywalk as it was such a beautiful day. I happened across a levitating ape!
That’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens, back to normal from tomorrow as school restarts and we get back into a routine again. As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
Hmm tunnels, you would think the person who came up with this challenge lives in a place with tunnels! Well if you believe Wikipedia, Gibraltar has 34 miles (55 km) of tunnels, which is quite remarkable considering how small the Rock is (2.6 square miles/ 6.7 square km).
We have tunnels you can visit as a tourist (top) and ones you back walk or drive through to get about (Keightley Way).
There are tunnels you really shouldn’t drive a bus through! And some just for pedestrians (Med Steps).
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Remembrance’.
Hello and welcome to this week’s Sunday Sevens. We have had some rather windy and wet weather today, although nothing compared to what many people elsewhere have suffered this week. Hurricane Leslie was on a direct collision course with Gibraltar a couple of days ago, but luckily for us (but not for Lisbonites) it took a detour and hit land near Lisbon in Portugal.
As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series. Here’s what’s been going on in my world this week….
Med Steps on a Monday
It was pretty murky on Monday morning when I took a trip up the Med Steps. There were loads of apes about again. This little family group made me smile – there seem to be quite a few babies around at the minute.
Sandy Bay blanket
My Sandy Bay blanket post last week got some truly lovely comments. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and comment on the blog, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you made my day :-).
Pretty flowers
Before my parents left last weekend, my Mum bought me some lovely roses. This one, with the dark pink edges to its petals was my absolute favourite – it’s so pretty.
Watercolour class
The Busy Lizzie’s are finished. My next project is a little landscape…
A visitor
On Thursday evening Mr Postcard got the shock of his life when, as he was sitting by the open window, a mantis flew in and landed on him! It then moved to the curtains! It’s only the second time in almost 10 years that I’ve seen one up close like this – the last one (which was rather aged and brown coloured) landed on our washing line and stayed there for a few days before it died.
This one was caught and put back outside!
On top of the Rock
It was a stunning morning on Friday when I did the Med Steps, not a cloud in the sky, just vapour trails. It was really rather hot though due to the lack of cloud cover!!
Beautiful Marbella
Yesterday we took a trip along the coast to Marbella for lunch and a wander. It was a beautiful day, we ate tapas in a chiringuito on the beach and meandered through the old town. I stumbled upon this shop…
I wish I’d seen it before my ‘purple’ photo challenge entry last week!!
Thanks for stopping by, Sunday Sevens should be back again next week… I wonder what this week will have in store for us? 🙂
Sunday again… here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:
By the waterside
Last Sunday afternoon I found myself down by the water at Camp Bay. It was lovely to be able to take a few moments to listen to the lapping of the waves and look up at the huge boats. I noticed just in front of me was a huge shoal of fish swimming round and round in circles and coming up for air. They looked like mini sharks!
The last September sunset of 2018
A third photo here from last Sunday, but it was a beauty so I had to share it!
Med steps on a Monday
What better way to start the week than with a yomp up the Med Steps. I wasn’t as quick as I was last time, I didn’t manage to get up there at all the week before and I was a bit out of breath! I also had an encounter with an ape who didn’t seem to want to let me past! I gave it a bit of a talking to and after a few moments, I felt brave enough to go past it…
Dressmaking class
Tuesday saw me back at my Dressmaking class and for this first time this academic year, after weeks of pattern drawing, I was able to actually do some sewing! I have to make a toile first before setting about making my jacket for real.
Watercolour class
I had been trying to paint a picture of stormy seas off Europa Point at my watercolour class but that was proving rather difficult. I decided to make a change and opted for some busy Lizzies instead.
Last rays of sunshine
I was passing Europa Point on Friday evening as the last rays of sunshine were shining. I just had to stop the car and take a photo.
Street art
I featured this art work as it was being painted a few weeks ago and promised I’d show you again once it was finished. It was painted by a local artist Gerry Martinez and is much needed boost to this rather unloved underpass. It’s a great addition to Gibraltar.
September
Here are a few highlights from last month…
As always I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
Thanks for stopping by!
This week’s photo challenge theme is ‘purple’, I spied this autumn crocus on my Monday morning walk up the Rock. But how about some purple stalactites? You can find them in St Michael’s Cave…
I spotted this purple Bee in Manchester, you can read all about the Bees here.
I just love a hydrangea…
And a little purple plant I painted at watercolour class…
So that’s this week’s photo challenge entry done, now to take a look back at what everyone else has been up to over the summer:
As things got a bit hectic at times during the summer I didn’t manage to do a monthly round-up, so here’s a mega round-up of some of the entries to the weekly Postcard from Gibraltar Friday photo challenge (the photos are from Instagram and were taken by other people taking part in the Postcard from Gibraltar Friday photo challenge), thank you to everyone who’s taken part!
Week 27 : Golden
A golden sunrise (above) and 4th July fireworks (below)
Margaret at The Crafty Creek joined in with this one, she included a golden retriever and some stunning shots of golden roses in her entry.
Week 28 : Favourite
Animals are always popular!
…. but if you fancy an adorable tale about a precious favourite toy, hop on over to Wild Daffodil.
Margaret has a lovely selection of favourites in her entry over on The Crafty Creek.
Week 29 : Button
Aren’t these button pictures cute? Sandra at Wild Daffodil made some beautiful crocheted buttons…
Week 30 : Seaside
Seagulls always bring the seaside to mind…
As does a funfair!
Sandra at Wild Daffodil shared a fabulous pebbly picture and poem for the seaside theme this week!
Week 31 : Garden
Our beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens featured this week as well as the garden at Kensington Palace.
A lovely walled garden in West Wales features in Sandra’s post on her Wild Daffodil blog.
Week 32 : Steps
From Kuala Lumpur to Upper Town in Gibraltar….
….to paddy fields in Bali with The Crafty Creek!
Week 33 : Reflective
Isn’t this quilt stunning?! And that sky…
Over on her Wild Daffodil blog, Sandra featured the most stunning baptismal font for her entry for ‘reflective’.
Some gorgeous reflections feature in Margaret’s Crafty Creek post.
Week 34 : Stitch
This marvelous cross-stitched wolf has his eye on you…
Margaret’s beautiful silk ribbon embroidery is just breathtaking in her Crafty Creek entry for stitch…
Sandra at Wild Daffodil has been creating things since she was a child, and judging by her Instagram account she is a prolific crocheter, here is her ‘stitch’ entry.
Week 35 : Viewpoint
Randall made me giggle with this one…
…read the comment.
And it was a scenic rather than moral viewpoint which Margaret at The Crafty Creek opted for for her entry.
Week 36 : Waterways
The Crafty Creek waterways entry features some beautiful waterways too…
Week 37 : Pride
Different definitions of ‘pride’ featured…
Week 38 : Autumn
Margaret at The Crafty Creek has some stunning autumn colours in her blog post!
Week 39 : Delicate
Sandra at Wild Daffodil featured a beautifully delicate dahlia in her post.
Margaret at Crafty Creek had some incredibly delicate creations…
Thank you all for taking part in the photo challenge this summer!
Next week’s theme is ‘nocturnal’.
This week started quietly but grew to rather noisy climax with the MTV Gibraltar Calling Music Festival last night. Here’s this week’s installment of Sunday Sevens:
The submarine
Last Sunday we went for a bit of a walk and ended up quite close to the visiting nuclear submarine HMS Talent. Later on in the week I saw a military and police convoy (presumably bringing important stuff on board) it was quite impressive as it went past.
Med stepping
I went up the Med Steps twice this week, the second time I did it in 30 minutes. I was rather happy with that time. I was a bit tired afterwards!
Sewing class
Hurrah, my dressmaking class has restarted this week. It’s jackets this term… I’m going for grey with a shocking pink lining.
Border queue
I made a ‘quick’ trip to the shops in Spain midweek and ended up sitting for an hour in the border queue to get back into Gibraltar. The border queue can be so unpredictable and is a right pain in the neck at times.
Who’s idea was this?
At my watercolour class I had the rather foolish idea that I’d like to paint the photograph I took of the rough waves crashing at Europa Point in a storm…. easier said than done! I think it may be too hard!
Drama on the high seas
There was a bit of drama off Europa Point on Thursday afternoon. As I was driving along the road towards the lighthouse on the Eastern side of the Rock, I spied the submarine I mentioned before, heading out to sea with a flotilla of other boats. I stopped the car and joined the many other by-standers at the side of the road who watched the sub leave. Heading towards the flotilla was a Spanish police boat which had to be seen off by a couple of Royal Navy boats, one using a flare. It was quite dramatic to witness.
A change of view
I had to park out by the small boats marina on Friday morning when I headed into town. I do like this view of the Rock, it’s nice to see it from a different angle.
Music festival
Friday and Saturday saw the MTV presents Gibraltar Calling music festival. I only went yesterday, but it was a good day out. I’ll share a few more photos taken yesterday in due course.
That’s all for this week, I hope it’s been a good one for you. Thanks for stopping by. As always, I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
We may not have autumn in the same way as in the UK with falling leaves and all the beautiful colour that goes with that, but we are experiencing autumnal mists at the minute.
Yesterday’s trip up the Med Steps was very atmospheric. Don’t think it was cool though, I was really hoping for a bit of cool weather because it’s been so very humid since the height of the summer. It was warm and humid all the way up until the ninth set of steps towards the summit and all of a sudden I walked into a cool blast of breeze coming up from the sea – it was so welcome!
It’s this cool air which causes the Levanter cloud to form on the top of the Rock, and that cloud is what seals the hot humid air in for those underneath, yuck!
Many of the plants on the side of the rock are dead and burnt to a crisp after a long hot summer, but this clump of purple flowers took me by surprise. Not everything has gone to sleep!
Sunday has come round remarkably quickly this week, I’m not sure I’m ready! I hope you’ve had a good week…
Back up the steps
Last Sunday I took the bull by the horns and headed back up the Med Steps for the first time since the Med Steps 5 in May. It had been too warm to attempt it before then, but Sunday felt a bit cooler, so I thought I’d have a go.
I was amazed at the progress being made at the building works for the Island Games (above) since my last visit.
I took quite a few breaks en route (including a stop off in one of the caves: above). And on my way back down, I spied the visiting submarine HMS Talent down below me in the harbour.
National Day
Monday was 10th September and around these parts that means it’s Gibraltar National Day. You can see more pictures in my last post for the Friday Photo Challenge.
Are you looking at me?
Wednesday morning saw me heading back up the Med Steps. On my way up, I came across a group of about 8 Barbary Patridges. They were so tame and very close to me, this one was giving me the once over though!
Murky night
Wednesday evening saw a sea mist come into the Bay and envelope all the ships out on the water. It was funny how the beams from their lights spread through the mist.
Watercolour class
Term restarted for my watercolour class, and I had a go at some poppies to get back into the groove. They were meant to be covered with splatters which was handy as they covered the area where I dropped my brush on the paper!!
I’m really looking forward to my dressmaking classes restarting next week!
Out and about
I had a nice walk on Friday morning with a few friends, it was calm and sunny and lovely to have a catch up. Unfortunately my walk was cut short this time with a minor crisis at home (which was resolved without incident) hopefully next time, I’ll get to walk further!
Birthday boy
We have a birthday coming up in the household soon and on Saturday we had a bit of a celebration. Pokémon cakes were the order of the day. Thank goodness for the stick-on pictures, they distracted from the wonky icing and burnt bits!!! They tasted ok thankfully!
That’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens, a big thank you for everyone who’s taken the time to read it! I have had a bit of a spike in activity on my blog during the last 24 hours with lots of views from the UK, so hello to any new readers, it’s lovely to have you along. As always, I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
