we have just had a week of mixed fortunes this week. On a positive note we have now got both our NIEs and Spanish bank accounts, the pets are registered with the vets and we had two wonderful days out with Niall – Granada (including the Alhambra) on Tuesday and then Fort Bravo on Thursday. However unfortunately on the house hunting front we had two disappointments, firstly the house we put on offer in was discovered to be in an incorrect tax bracket by our solicitor. This could have resulted in an additional £10K and a 2 year battle to resolve – if possible! so we decided to put n offer in on our previous favourite cave – only to find that they had already accepted an offer. So back to square one and a very solemn Friday.

Our NIEs and bank account mean that we are now fully in position to buy a property once the correct one becomes available.

Granada on Tuesday was absolutely brilliant, what a lovely city and definately worth further days to explore in detail. But we went there to see the Alhambra with Niall and what a wonderful complex and gardens with some spectacular views of the city and the surrounding landscape. It was amazing to think that this was originally built by the Moors before Isabella & Ferdinand finally conquered the Nasrid dynasty of the Emirate of Granada to reunite Spain.

We also visited the Cathedral where both Isabella & Ferdinand are buried. An interesting fact that was told to me by Niall is that on their funeral dais the effigy of Isabella has been shown with her head resting lower on her pillow denoting higher intelligence than Ferdinand!

On Thursday we went to the film set of many of the Spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone such as ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ starring Clint Eastwood. This set is outside the town of Tabernas near Almeria. The sets are now split between three theme parks including the one we went to at Ford Bravo – all I can say is its well worth a visit if you’re ever near there. They have character actors who play cowboys, sheriffs and can-can girls and they put on shows and allow you to pose for photos with them. Suzi had an absolute ball and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

But now the bad news – we are back to the start of finding a property. We have several more lined up but to lose the favourite we have watched since before we came out here was a major blow.

More to follow!