So the next day unfortunately Michael wasn't supposed to walk very much with his knee, so Grandpa volunteered to stay with him while the rest of us headed of to another country.
You can see the rock in front of us. We are still in Spain and haven't crossed the border yet.
We made it across the border. They don't even really glance at your passports as you walk through. When we arrived in Great Britain there were the famous red telephone booths!! Julie was all smiles hitting her third country in less than two weeks.
The peninsula has evolved from a place of reverence in ancient times
into "one of the most densely fortified and fought-over places in
Europe." The territory's area measures only 6.7 square kilometers (2.6 sq mi).
Most of the land area is occupied by the steeply sloping Rock of
Gibraltar which reaches a height of 426 meters (1,398 ft).
It is a little bit of a walk into the city center so we decided with the kids that it might be better to take the bus. Mom and David enjoying the ride!!
The gang in front of the Grand Casemates. This is the main entrance in and out of the city by car.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was warm and we were almost all together.
We all got a kick out of this restaurant, I am sure you can see why. :-)
Al fitting in with the locals, strolling down the street.
Everywhere we go if there is a coin, we collect them. So since Michael wasn't there
This is the Governor's
residence. The British governor of Gibraltar took over a Franciscan
convent, hence the name of the local white house The Convent.
I rarely get pictures with David, so I took advantage of having other people around and had a photo with my husband!
This was one of the watch areas for the rock. I don't think I would want that job, too small a space for too long.
Gorgeous day with a gorgeous view!!!!
Our first sightings of the famous monkeys!!! Legend has it that as long as the monkeys remain here, so will the Brits. According to a plausible local legend, when word came a few decades back that the ape population was waning, Winston Churchill made a point to import reinforcements. Also the guide told us that a little while ago one of the packs kept going into town and terrorizing the citizens and the tourists. They tried to keep them on the mountain, but they kept going back so they ended up having to send them to a zoo.
This was hilarious!! A tourist got too close to this monkey with his can of coke and he was not getting it back at all!! This monkey was keeping it no matter what and licking it off his feet when it spilled!
According to the legend, this rock is one of the Pillars of Hercules (paired with Djebel Musa, another mountain across the strait in Morocco), marking the edge of the known world in ancient times. Local guides say that these pillars are the only places on the planet where you can see two seas and two continents at the same time.
Mom and I in Great Britain with Spain on the right and Africa on the left.
Al and Kaitlyn enjoying the view!
Al, Julie, Gabby and Kaitlyn with Africa behind them! It was neat to be that close, almost made me want to go over there and visit.
The three of us with Africa behind us.
AJ holding the weight of the world, my strong man!!!
When the queen came this is the famous place where she stood and checked out her territory.
This was her view, I have to say it is quite stunning.
AJ taking photos of the monkeys. I wanted to show how close you can get to them. But you are also warned not to touch them or have anything open that they might grab.
Look at the baby monkeys - sooooo cute!!!
This one looked mean and was like "don't mess with my family." I believe the tour guide said he is the alpha male of the group.
AJ standing in St. Michael's Cave. It is over 300 m (980 ft) above sea level. According to the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similar grotto in Monte Gargano in Italy where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared. This is the largest cave and named the Cathedral Cave.
The cave was created by rainwater slowly seeping through the limestone rock, turning into a weak carbonic acid which gradually dissolved the rock.
Through this process, tiny cracks in the rock's geological fault grew into long passages and large caverns over thousands of years. The numerous stalactites and stalagmites in the cave are formed by an accumulation of traces of dissolved rock deposited by water dripping from the ground above.
During the 19th century, this cave was used for picnics, parties, concerts, weddings and even duels. As you can see the seating in there and I am taking the photo from the stage. They had the lights which changed and made the cave look very different and cool.
AJ and Grandma standing next to the rock formations, you can see how big they are compared to them.
I know I needed to stop taking photos of the monkeys, but they are just sooooo cute!!!
You can see the sheer face of the cliff here and it goes way down.
The North Face of the Rock is a nearly vertical cliff 396 meters (1,299 ft) high overlooking the isthmus
Al and David up near the top of the rock.
You can see the monkeys don't care where they are, on top of the mirror, on top of the cars, in them. Our tour guide made sure all the windows and doors where closed quickly as we left because they do try and jump in them.
These three looked like they were having a nice conversation.
Then I got the "look" from them, I don't think I would want to mess with these monkeys.
This is the tallest point on the rock. You can see all over the different
I love the color of the water - it is so clear and beautiful blue!!!
Then we headed into the Great Siege Tunnels. The Great Siege (the 14th siege here) began in 1779 and lasted 3 years, 7 months and 12 days. On 25th May, 1782, thirteen men began work on the tunnels. It took them five weeks to drive an eight-foot-square tunnel 82 feet into the rock. After six weeks of toil, miners were almost suffocated by the fumes of blasting, so on reaching this point a hole was opened for ventilation. This is one of the first holes to the outside that housed a cannon. This was the first tunnel, but eventually there would be about 30 miles of tunnels inside the rock.
A picture of what the miners looked like digging out the tunnels.
A view from inside the tunnels looking out. You can see the runway below. They actually have commercial flights that land here on a regular basis. Though they have to stop the traffic coming in and out so the runway is long enough for landing and take off.
Al coming back up the tunnel - you can see how low some of the ceilings are. Either they were tired of cutting out the tunnel, or the miners were short at this point. :-)
Grandma, Gabby, AJ and Kaitlyn outside the tunnels - such a great looking group!!!
AJ is king of the world!!!!!
Here is a little clearer view of the runway and you can see where the road crosses it.
Check out these monkeys - they have some good hops!!!!
Al and Julie up near the top of the rock.
You can see a couple of the big guns down the hill a little way protecting the South side of the rock.
This is a picture of the border crossing.
This is the other way up the mountain and then you have to walk. The cable cars are crowded and hard to get a view on the way up. We are so glad that Grandma said we should do the van tour!
This is the Charles V wall - a reminder of its Spanish military heritage - built in 1552 by the Spanish to defend against marauding pirates.
Many times the Gibraltians were asked to come back to Spain, the last time they were asked they painted the British flag on these stairs to say they will never leave the queen.
This is a statue of Admiral Lord Nelson. He famously defeated the combined Spanish and French fleets on October
21, 1805. He also famously died during the battle ("Kiss me Hardy").
The crew in the middle of town after our tour of Gibraltor.
We have to keep the tradition alive - our ice cream on our trip to Great Britain!!!
We had two royal Alberts with us on our trip!!!
We headed back towards the beginning of town and stopped in to check out a glass blowing store. The kids loved watching them make it.
The way back into Spain. It was really nice that customs were quick and painless.
We all got a kick out of this vending machine - we didn't try any because we had no idea how long they have been in there. It was a great day, a beautiful day in Great Britain! We were told that if we would have gone the day before it was PACKED and hardly room to breath. So we choose a great day to go with the weather and the amount of people.
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