I love spending my birthday abroad. I had booked my actual birthday (Friday) off work and decided I wanted to do a nice long weekend somewhere.
For months I was thinking of places to go to. I considered seeing my lovely friend Peta in Dubai, I thought of exploring Transylvania (Romania), I even looked at Tel Aviv (over 5 hours on an Easyjet flight didn't really sway it). However, I still came back to visiting those cute little monkeys in Gibraltar.
Being a bit of a numbers whore, it did put me off that I wouldn't be getting another country under my belt however I've always wondered what Gibraltar would be like to visit.
I was surprised with how long the flight was to Gibraltar (nearly 3 hours). When I landed there, it was pretty smooth exit as it wasn't too busy (although it was a full flight). What I found strange was, you walk out of the airport and if you turn right you straight away cross the boarder to Spain.
I turned left and walked across the runway. Yes, the runway is actually open to the public as it has the main road, Winston Churchill Avenue, which connects Gibraltar to Spain. Obviously when planes are landing, the road is closed to pedestrians and vehicles.
After the little stroll across the runway, I located my rather exclusive hotel. The Sunborn Gibraltar is impressively the World's only 5 star super-yacht hotel. It's located in the Ocean Village area and once I stepped on-board, it was pure luxury.
Whilst waiting to check in, I was offered a glass of bubbly. Once checked in, my room was very spacious with a balcony overlooking the landside and a partial sea view. After the excitement of seeing my room, I headed straight for the pool.
Surprisingly the area wasn't too busy and I rather swiftly had a cocktail in my hand - it was officially my birthday!
Whilst sunning myself by the pool, a wedding party appeared. I found this a little strange as it wasn't particular exclusive and I'm not sure how I'd feel as a Bride having girls in their bikinis in the back of my wedding photos?
After a relaxing afternoon on the boat, I decided to pop over to Spain for dinner. Walking across the boarder was surreal, the 'Passport Control' didn't even look at my passport- Simply waved me through. Although dinner in Spain was lovely, I had one slight flaw - money.
In Gibraltar, they use GBP so I didn't have any Euros on me. Thankfully after a slightly dodgy exchange with a taxi driver, we had funds to pay for dinner.
Gibraltar is rather small. It covers an area of 6.7 square km. It would have been great to explore on a bike however I opted for the local bus. On Saturday morning I headed to Catalan Bay, to go for a swim in the sea.
As a whole, Gibraltar doesn't seem very touristic. Yes there are a few shops and bars but generally it has a real local feel. After relaxing on the beach for a bit, and getting soaked twice by the waves coming right up to my towel, I bought a combined ticket for a dolphin boat tour and cable cart to see the monkeys.
The boat tour departed from opposite the hotel so this was ideal. Within 15 minutes, the Captain had spotted a pod of about 8 dolphins. Seeing them in the wild is far more magical than seeing them in captivity. They were very playful creatures and loved to swim close to the boat.
From the boat tour, I walked about 20 minutes to the cable car. It was lovely strolling through the town centre. Seeing the locals sit outside talking, the children playing games and the beautiful buildings was lovely.
What I still found very amusing was seeing these tanned people talking with a British accent. I assumed they would sound Spanish however most sounded more common than I do (and that's saying something!).
I was advised before heading to see the monkeys to not take any bag with me. I decided to go with the safe option of a fanny pack (don't judge!). As I walked off the cable car at the top, straight away a monkey (or Macaque's as the Gibraltarians call them) was sitting on the steps.
It was nice walking around the top and seeing the stunning views but I always had one eye open. Another lady didn't see the 'no bag' memo and a monkey decided to steal her backpack and jump on top of a roof. Luckily, someone was able to give the monkey some food to then leave the bag.
I walked around with a can of drink and as I stopped for a moment, a monkey came to grab it. Straight away I left it but when it was putting it's tongue inside the can, I was so worried it would hurt itself. After coming back down from the top, it was time to consider party night...
Sadly I discovered the nightlife in Gibraltar is pretty tame. I didn't realise that Friday is the busier night. The pubs near the hotel were very noisy on Friday night which wasn't great as I was so tired after being up since 4:00am however when it came to Saturday night, not much was open. I opted for a nice dinner, a traditional seafood paella, in a restaurant close to the hotel.
Sunday was a day of walking. I pretty much walked the length of Gibraltar. It doesn't sound much however I walked up and down the rock. After getting a local bus, I walked to St. Michaels Cave and discovered the incredible venue for concerts. For £10, you get access to a number of museums and points of interest - that set the day.
Next stop were the Great Siege Tunnels. These fascinating tunnels date back to 1779. It's an incredible host of tunnels which demonstrates how intelligent man was when it comes to a defence system.
Walking along the rock between these sites, I saw lots of little furry friends. These ones seemed a little more chilled on the bag front (although I was still hanging onto my Ralph Lauren bag for dear life!). Although they are cute to look at, it's important to remember they are still wild animals so I was careful not to get too close (especially when taking my selfies).
Moorish Castle was the last stop of the day. It was the perfect place to climb to the top and see the military planes flying over.
I felt like a bit of a plane spotter most of the weekend. When I was on the dolphin tour boat, the Captain stopped close to the runway as a British Airways flight was due to take off. We were about 30 meters away from the runway and the Pilot even waved to us before take off. That was pretty cool of him.
Gibraltar is the perfect place for a quick weekend. I felt it had the right balance of exploring a new place, relaxing by the pool and lovely food. The hotel I stayed in was a little pricey but it's nice to treat yourself once in a while - after all, it was my Birthday.
