To mark the first anniversary of our wedding, and to celebrate my birthday John treated me to a few days in Aguadulce, in April 2022. In 2024 we decided to go away again and that time we visited the city of Murcia. Last year John had just started the kitchen renovation, and it made no sense to stop and start, so we delayed our celebration weekend until September, when we went to the city of Almeria.
This year we booked to go to Cartagena however, as the Sunday closest to 8th was Easter Sunday, we decided to go the weekend before, staying from Saturday night until Tuesday morning.
On arriving at our hotel, The B&B Cartagena it appeared a little basic, there was no grand entrance hall, or wide check in desk, just a narrow entrance with a high desk and two computers for checking in, which we had done online before anyway. To the left of the check in desk was a basic area with tables and chairs where you could have breakfast or at any time, 24 hours a day, you could enjoy a coffee or a hot chocolate for free. We soon established a routine of taking a hot chocolate to bed with us!
On that Saturday night, after checking in we went up to our room, which surprised us greatly as it was a very spacious room, with a king-sized double bed and a bathroom with walk-in shower (with a rainfall shower head) and Dove handwash, shower gel and shampoo!
Leaving the unpacking to the next day we walked … 1 minute from the hotel entrance to a bar called Sabor Andaluz. With one of John´s favourite beers and a delicious glass of white wine we perused the tapas menu. So many delicious options, I did not know which to choose first! After several more tapas, we decided to go the other side of the road, again 1 minute from the hotel to a most interesting bar, called Rick´s Piano Bar. Inside it is an eclectic mixture between a museum of memorabilia and a junk shop! We had an enjoyable time there enjoying a gin and tonic and looking around. Each night we finished up here, and I still do not think, even after three nights, we saw everything there was to see! The other aspect we enjoyed in Rick´s was that there were lots of comfortable sofas everywhere!
The next morning it was Sunday, so we decided to walk towards the old town and the port, stopping on the way for breakfast. And what a breakfast! Tostada with tomato and tuna for John, and jamon serrano and cheese for me, and two coffees. Ah, but what coffees they were! The local speciality, Café asiático, espresso coffee, condensed milk, brandy and Licor 43! Yes, two alcoholic drinks in one glass! For breakfast! Why not, we were on holiday!
From there we continued down towards the port where we saw some Roman soldiers marching along, not the normal Spanish Palm Sunday procession we expected! Then it was on to the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which was quite interesting. After that, as it was quite windy and a bit cold, we tried to go on the Tourist train, but they were not running that day, so we went on a catamaran trip around the bay. This would have been better if we had not been so cold! But there were interesting things to see including two big grey ships with the numbers A06 and A07, which are stationed in Cartagena and are used as logistics transport vessels for the Spanish Army and Navy.
Once we landed, we headed for the closest bar to get warm, with another café asiático each! Then we decided to see another museum and gradually work our way back to the hotel via interesting sites and perhaps a tapa or two on the way. We visited the Casa Fortuna, which is an excavated museum of a house in the Roman times.
Having found a tapas bar, we asked for a menu … Spanish or English? We opted for the Spanish menu, but soon I had to ask for an English one, not that I could not understand the Spanish but whereas in Andalucia tapas are called what they are made of, tortilla (omelette), magra (pork), gambas (prawns) in Murcia the tapas have names, nothing to do with their ingredients! Outside the bar there was a statue that had no head. Apparently, it is Augustus and when they excavated his statue it was headless, so the replica was made the same. We saw many interesting statues, including a huge jamón.
That night we went for an Indian, really tasty food, especially the main course and accompaniments, however the place had obviously previously been a café, as the walls were white and the tables and chairs plastic. Unfortunately, hanging a few pictures did nothing to enhance the atmosphere at all.
The next day, Monday was a little warmer and with less wind. This had been the reason for wanting to go on the tourist train yesterday and the tourist boat today. However, we first moved our car, which had been parked from when we had arrived on Saturday evening until Monday 9 am for free on the street. Whilst moving the car we took the opportunity to do a little shopping, in a Centro Commercial ( shopping centre). Then, we parked the car in an underground carpark, again really close to the hotel, it was all so convenient. Now it was time for breakfast, this time with café con leche, not an alcoholic start to that day!
Then it was off, down to the coast, where we were going to go on the tourist train. First John took my photo in between the arms of a huge statue, raised to honour those killed by terrorism.
The tourist train was a particularly good one, with a knowledgeable guide giving information of what we were passing and also general historical information about Cartagena, in both Spanish and then English. One of the reasons we like tourist trains so much is that, one you get to see all the important sites, and can choose which you wish to return to and two, you see parts of a town with a different vibe than where you are based, or a particular square with lots of tapas bars that is a must to return to.
After the train we went to the panoramic lift that took you up to the castle. Unfortunately, once we got up there, we discovered that the castle was not really that interesting, as there was little of it left. However, the views over Cartagena were worth the look.
Then it was down in the lift and walk up towards an area where on the tourist train, we had seen some nice bars. We had a couple of tapas and drinks there, then we walked towards the hotel and enjoyed another drink and tapa at the Sabor Andaluz, before returning to the hotel to rest before going out again that evening.
We selected a Mexican restaurant for dinner that evening and particularly good it was too. After leaving there we walked towards the hotel, and found a very locals type Spanish bar, where we had a couple of drinks, but no tapas. Then on to Rick´s for a gin and tonic before retiring to bed for our last night in Cartagena.
The next morning it was back home to Luca, and also for John to go to work. Our trip to Cartagena was a good one, and we like the city too. I can see us returning one day, there is so much to see! I hope you enjoy this blog and the photos too!
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