Tuesday 10 January 2012

Ringing in the New Year

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The London winter hasn't really eventuated, so maybe we were being a little pessimistic booking a week in Lanzarote. At the time we were motivated by my friend's recent visit which involved tracking down a Famara beach house bungalow, as seen in Broken Embraces, but we'd left it too late as all the good ones were booked out. Plan B was an all inclusive resort, the Costa Colero, which turned out to be pretty awesome (review on Trip Advisor to come...).

Anyway, it was a balmy 12 degs celcius in London over most of Christmas - and since we've been back - vs 24 degs in Lanzarote. Warm enough for the kids to swim, well, one kid as Marlo had a burst ear drum and was on antibiotics all week. The true highlight was the bonkers public art and architecture mostly influenced by Cesar Manrique - prolific and jaw droppingly awesome. You can see his work all over the island as shown here...

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On a roundabout.

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In the Jameos del Aqua (yes that's a bar inside a cave).

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At the Mirador del Rio...

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And most impressively (to me) at the Lag-O-mar residence... (also pictured top):

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90% of guidebooks say the residence was designed for Omar Shariff, but a visit to the site reveals that he owned for one day having stupidly lost it in a game of Bridge to the European Bridge champion. You'd think he'd have not honoured that bet given the unfairness of the situation but no, he paid up and left it. Shame as it would've been an unbeatable party house.

If you do go, eat elsewhere first as the restaurant onsite offers up the most over-priced and pretentious food I've had the misfortune of wasting money on in ages.