Things to do when its raining
Things to do when its raining.
Manilva hit the news today as having had the most rainfall in Spain last night
It doesn’t rain very much in Manilva but when it does you certainly know about!
Its a bit of an inconvenience in that you can’t do the things that you are used to doing in the good weather, your washing takes ages to dry and the kids go a bit stir crazy inside – but there are benefits.
Apart from the obvious benefits in that our reservoirs need filling up and our crops need watering, it makes us change our plans and think of other things to do that we don’t normally do because we are outside enjoying the good weather.
For example on Sunday we went out for a lovely Sunday lunch at The Clubhouse in Los Hidalgos and enjoyed a lovely meal ( try their vegetable soup it is delicious). While waiting for the food to come we taught our two children how to play the card game Rummy. They learnt quickly and we all enjoyed playing the game and interacting with each other rather than seeing them lost in their world of Nintendo DSi’s and iPods!
We were able to do that because our kids are old enough to play cards now but a few years ago it was a different story and what we really needed when it rained was an indoor play park for them to run off their energy. There weren’t many about when my kids were really little but thankfully a few have opened up in recent years within a 20 minute drive of Manilva.
I have decided to compile a Top Twenty of things to do when it rains in Manilva but l need your help so please can you email me at Lucy@barringtonhomes.eu with your suggestions or add a comment at the bottom of this blog.
Off the top of my head the things that we would do and the places that we would go when it rains in Spain are as follows: (in no particular order):
- Go shopping to Palmones in Los Barrios -Bahia Azul in Algeciras or La Canada or Puerto Banus in Marbella
- Watch a movie – any suggestions for family films associated with Spain?
- Go to the cinema – we are lucky that we have Gibraltar only 30 minutes away which shows the latest cinema releases in English. There are also cinemas at Guadacorte (Los Barrios), Puerto Banus and La Canada in Marbella but you need to go to the VO (versión original) or VOS (versión original subtitulada) screenings which show English language films with Spanish subtitles. .
- Do the housework or declutter!
- Go Ice – skating in Gibraltar
- Go to indoor play park – AgroJardin in San Roque has a great indoor play area for kids. There is also Kidz Kingdom and Blue Planet in Estepona.
- Do some arts and crafts
- Play Chess, cards, Monopoly or other board games or have a family game on the Wii
- Learn to play Basketball or handball as they are generally played indoors
- Go for a walk on the promenade and watch the waves and get wet!
- Teach your kids or yourself to cook/ bake
- Read a book – can anyone recommend some good books with a Spanish link to it? I will compile a list of good ones to read.
- Learn Spanish – yes you really should try as it makes living and visiting here so much more rewarding.
- Go to a museum – what museums are near here?
- Take kids swimming at Estepona indoor swimming pool
- Go chocolate making in Mijas
- Go to a spa and get pampered
- Go to the Butterfly park in Benalmadena
- Go to the Sealife centre in Benalmadena
- Look on www.yougodo.com for things to do
Any other ideas would be gratefully received 🙂 Please email them to me at lucy@barringtonhomes.eu or leave a comment at the end of this blog.