182. Mon 2/10/17: Café-Bar Vetusta, Benidorm

Beer: San Miguel 5%
One of the more significant reasons why Steph’s folks love Benidorm, I reckon, is that so many of their friends and acquaintances (mostly from Line Dancing circles, or rows) do too. That’s perfectly understandable – and what better than to spend extended holidays than in the sun with friends and family? I’m not entirely sold – but I can see the point.

Anyway, we’re out with a group of friends – it's Kim’s birthday. Steph and I don’t know Kim, and I do harbour doubts that we’ve ostensibly gatecrashed a family do. No, it’s fine, apparently, but I wouldn’t necessarily inflict a party of strangers to my dubious company for a few hours on their birthday. But, no, again, it’s fine. I haven’t written up the meal, ‘cause it’s a restaurant… I have a locally brewed beer, and the steak. Ice cream for dessert.

Post-meal we wander somewhat aimlessly en masse around the Old Town and, having accurately identified us as the incoherent gaggle of foreign tourists we are, we get set upon by the Vetusta hawker who corrals us to a table outside his employers’ bar.

We wouldn’t have picked it ourselves, but the beer was ok. The coffee (my shout, the coffee – happy birthday) wasn’t.

434b. Fri 22/6/18: The Painters Arms, Luton

Beer: Heineken International Foster's 4%

A pre-Bricks Friday night visit. There had been some talk about the pub's recent refurb paving the way for real ale and CAMRA crowds. Sadly, there's no ale tonight. This and the enthusiastic singing of ballards in the saloon suggest that the Irish in The Painters is still very much alive and well. And why shouldn't it be?

The disappointment of the de-clipped ale pump and missing a bland though quaffable Doom Bar or Pedigree is mitigated by my mouth zanging, having just been brushed through with one of those posh, long lasting gritty toothpastes. These recipes, which taste like liquid nitrogen and the dentist's floor are designed for people like me, who fear losing their gnashers almost as much as they fear fat dentist fingers in their mouth. On the plus side, any taste the Foster's may have had is hidden.

Steve arrives in good time and has a Guinness. We sit under a huge screen showing the Switzerland vs Serbia game and watch the Swiss winner, scored by a player who was both fat and muscular. Well suited for dentistry.

L8s arrives. We talk about Dutch buckets. The question of when to leave is neatly solved by the appearance of a musical duo and amplification.

64. Sun 16/4/17: Bar Europa, Seville

Beer: Estrella Galicia 5%

After yesterday afternoons (thru to this mornings) unfortunate incident, it’s almost 14:30 before we’re back to “back in a bar” normality. After the trauma it’s hard to get into the mundanity of the cups.

The Bar Europa is a nice enough place though. It seems to harbour some memory toward a past age of decadence – Art Nouveau and/or Deco? – I don’t know. But it’s a nice quiet and relaxed pub on the corner of the bustling square round the corner from us.

It’s nice. Nice to be back although I, let alone Steph, am exhausted.

SA insight: Very traditional. Nice tiles.

431. Fri 15/6/18: The Bricklayers Arms, Luton

Beer: Shardlow Narrow Boat 4.3%

Come in (slightly later than I’d wanted/expected) halfway through the second half of Portugal v Spain in the World Cup. The games/teams I’ve seen thus far have been very ordinary – but these are two exceptional sides. Ronaldo is, of course, the best player in the world but – I suggest – even if he played for the Town, you couldn’t love the arrogant sod. He’s scored two already – Portugal are 3-2 down – he buys a free kick just outside the area and scores a beauty. Like he does.

Steve and me brother out – bearing birthday gifts, for me, which is nice of them. It’s my birthday on Sunday.

The talk is of Clod Magazine (next issue out soon) and The Knockouts.


I take lots of pictures using the bulb/manual setting on me camera – a mainstay before I sussed out the “no-flash” setting, which makes life easier and photographs generally better. The bulb can be ok but, at my level of expertise, results are patchy and invariably too murky. I don’t know… there may be one or two goodies (amongst masses of murky underexposed rubbish).

The excitement of the World Cup is replaced later with boring bloody golf – presumably live from some part of the USA. It’s bright and pristine and deadly bloody dull; and seems to kill the mood completely.

80. Tue 1/4/17: La barro del teatro, Madrid

Beer: Mahou 5%

Right next door to the theatre in the square and apparently owned/staffed by Indians, which is odd but good to see.

Mind you, it is WAY too hot in here. The pub is wide and open (not airy), with a single bar pump serving Mahou.

Disappointingly the tapas are pretty standard fayre – would it be too much to suggest Indian food? I could kill a curry (upon my return to Blighty, I kill two in two days). There’s a smell of curry coming from somewhere – it smells lovely, and makes me feel homesick.

There are big queues for the theatre outside. Not sure what’s on – there are giant billboards for two shows outside (I should have photographed them). The queues die down by the time we depart.

 

361. Sun 18/3/18: Mariatrifulca, Seville

Beer: Cruzcampo 5.0%

Don’t be fooled, this is the rat bar. We saw rats around the riverbank – under the Triana Bridge - from this place a few years ago. This bar has been gentrified since – as, apparently, has Seville - I bet the rats have been asked to move on from this stretch of the Guadalquivir. Seville seems more affluent, generally, than a few years ago. There’s loads more tourists too.

Good for Seville, I suppose… we liked it a little more shambolic.

Is this a Cruzcampo tank pub now? I’m not sure, the bar area seemed to be bedecked in brass fittings. The seafood looked lovely… again, they could more than likely do without scumbags like us – only here for a beer – these days.

I forgot to take any pictures with my phone – something I only realised once we’d left – so the picture is a snap taken from the other side of the bridge. Mariatrifulca is the building partially obscured by the lamppost. That big window was the one from where we saw the aforementioned rats.

9. Tue 7/3/17: Frog & Rhubarb, Luton

Beer: Purity Pure Ubu 4.5%

We saw the 1990’s in down the Frog…

These days I sometimes go in en route to “Curry Club” at my Dad’s house – dialing a meal in with my father and siblings and niece.

The Frog isn’t a bad pub – airy and light, when it’s light outside. The Pure Ubu was nice, and I had a couple of pints, then went on my way.

Pictures are a bit crap aren’t they? I’ve cleaned the lens, we’ll see if that helps. It might be the printer (the composition isn’t great either).