Beach babies!

Well not really 'babies' at all but definitely the beach!  The last week has been beautiful weather-wise, so I thought I'd take full advantage of the empty beach before people head to the coast for Semana Santa.

My two little Elfdoll Monnaemi Sisters (14cm tall), who I call Sunny Song and Minx, wanted to take their horse to the beach and ride him in the edge of the surf.  The waves were a bit too choppy for them to get too close to the water but they enjoyed taking their 'magical' horse for a trot along the sand.  Magical?  Well if you look at my photos you might spot one glaring error on my part!  The horse doesn't have any footprints!  LOL!  Oh well, next time!!

The girls did have one little 'mishap', a wave came further up the beach than I anticipated.....

Fortunately no harm done, just a bit wet....and they soon dried off on the sand!

Two other little girls wanted to join us on the sand, my Fairyland Little Fee Antes, Fiona (normal skin) and Tyrone (tanned).  They were a little disappointed that they couldn't go in swimming but it really was a bit rough and they are not strong swimmers! ;)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the girls at the beach, and that you're all having a lovely weekend.  I hope the week ahead, leading up to Easter, is a great one for you :)

Big hugs Sharon x

Out and about with the Two Antes....

Today I took the two Antes, Fiona and Marisol, with me when we went out for lunch (my goodness, does it seem like we're always going out for lunch!!!!  It's just that this is when I take the dolls with me for photos! Honest! )

The weather today was really bright and sunny, but it was sooooo windy and the wind was really chilly.  However, it didn't stop us taking a detour up to the top of a cliff to take some photos of the view.  It wasn't till I took the dolls out of the car to photograph them though, that I realised just how windy it was.....poor Fiona nearly lost her wig!!!!  And my camera was jiggling all over the place being tugged by the wind!  (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!;) )

The water looks really chilly...

 

Not many people on this little beach today! 

Even Fiona looks cold, it's a good job she has on her nice warm hoodie.....

 

 Sheltering from the wind, the perfect spot to catch her breath after the climb...

Where she is joined by Marisol who had opted to stay in the car whilst we went to the top of the cliff, as she'd insisted she'd not be cold without her cardigan! 

Back at sea level again, most small towns have a place where locals can go and collect drinking water from communal taps.  The water points are either natural stone with a trough or highly decorative Andalucian tiles like this one below!  Of course the water that comes from the mains taps in our houses is completely clean and drinkable these days but some people still like to collect their drinking water from a local water point.  Often the water comes from a natural spa so people prefer the taste.

Since she learned this 'sign' Marisol seems to want to do it in every photo I take nowadays ;)

Well we are already almost one full week into the New  Year......and I have already taken two lots of dolly photos in public!!!  Must be a record for me! 

Lunch in Torremolinos...

On Thursday we went to Torremolinos which is situated on the Costa del Sol in the Province of Malaga.  Before the growth of tourism in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was a poor fishing village and one of the first resorts to develop on the Costa del Sol.   The town is particularly popular with British and Irish tourists and in the summer months it is very crowded with young tourists in particular and has, in the past, had a bit of a bad reputation because of the rowdiness of these tourists who are attracted by the abundance of bars and nightclubs.  However now that the height of the season is over, the place is now back to being a regular but bustling town.  There are still lots of tourists but these are of a different generation....I have to say that when I visit Torremolinos at this time of year, I almost feel like a 'spring chicken'!!! 

Although many people probably only think of Torremolinos because of the above, it does in fact have a very interesting history, here is just a small sample to whet the appetite! 

Archaeological finds including human bones, tools, and pottery prove that the Torremolinos area was settled as early as the Neolithic Age. Some remnants are neanderthalians and dated 150,000 years old by radiocarbon dating.


According to the Egyptian Greek geographer Ptolemy, the Phoenicians had founded here a colony named Saduce, but the Romans are the most likely to have founded the current town, as shown by findings of edifices and a necropolis (from whose size it has been deduced that the settlement had around 2,000 inhabitants). They also built the road joining Cadiz with Malaga, passing through Torremolinos.  (Courtesy of Wikipedia, where much more can be found on the history of this interesting town).

All that aside my reason for wanting to go there is an art shop in the high street that I wanted to visit for some supplies, and after that we had our lunch in a lovely Asian restaurant that served Chinese, Japanese and Thai food.  The restaurant was very bright and airy and they had a roof terrace but we preferred to eat out of the sunshine as it's still very hot.

I thought I'd just share some photos that I took, hope you enjoy them.....

Looking out over the rooftops down towards the beach...

 The modern mixed in with the traditional architecture...

 The restaurant's roof terrace, which is particularly lovely to sit on in the evening...

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Toremolinos, and hope you all have a lovely week ahead.

Brodie goes to the playa....

I'm trying to be more brave about taking photos of dolls in public so yesterday took Brodie, my new Iplehouse BID Bordy, out with us when we went to Torrox Costa for our lunch.  The lunch itself was lovely, we went to our favourite Chinese restaurant there and had Peking Crispy Duck, it's delicious....and the restaurant itself is on the promenade next to the beach, so it's a great place to relax and watch the world go by!

It was very hot so I didn't take that many photos really but what I did take I thought came out well...being tanned Brodie is perfect to photograph in the bright light here.

You'll see she got to wear the sunhat today!!!  This hat is worn by so many of my dolls, it's a wonder it's not falling apart!!!

Firstly she sat for a while and watched the kids practising their basketball moves!

Then she wandered along the wall above the beach, the sand here is lovely and fine but Brodie decided to keep her socks and shoes on....she didn't want the scratchy feel of sand between her toes!  

  She has the cutest profile, don't you think?

Watching for dolphins....unfortunately it was a bit late in the day for dolphins, they tend to be seen more in the mornings!

Thank you for visiting, I hope everyone has a good weekend!

A stroll along the Prom....or Teddy visits Torrox Costa!

Today we went for lunch and a stroll along the promenade at Torrox Costa which is situated between Torre del Mar and Nerja, Torrox Costa is also the site of the remains of a Roman necropolis and villa located immediately west of the lighthouse, the remains are clearly visible even today.

I decided to let Teddy, my Gotz Toddler Erik, come along with us as he has been a particularly good boy modelling for me last week!  He borrowed his baby brother's dungarees (which were a little bit tight!) as somewhere in the middle of modelling he seems to have lost his only pair of shorts!!! Oooops!  So I know what I'll be making him when I next get a moment! :)

Excuse so many photos, I just love this boy to bits! :)

Brian said "tell HER to wave at the camera!"  I said "It's a BOY!  Teddy, give us a wave!"

This cannon is situated near the lighthouse, there's no plaque or anything but it looks like it's been hanging around there quite some time!

The good thing about being small is when your little legs get tired, you can have a nice snooze in mum's handbag :) 

Brian says "Take a photo of HER in front of the lighthouse!"  I said "how many times do I have to tell you, he's not a girl, he's a boy!"    "Looks like a blooming girl to me!" he says!
Men! Honestly!!!!!

This is a working lighthouse which was completed on the 1st May 1864.  It has a height of 39 metres above the sea and 26 metres above the ground.

The lighthouse was built using one of the towers of the ancient Castle which was destroyed by Napoleon´s troops in the early nineteenth century. In the walls you can see remains of a Roman villa with numerous mosaics, which we have yet to visit.  Next time we go to Torrox we plan on visiting the Roman remains as I believe they are particularly well preserved.

The sweetest little profile.....