Oh yes!

S's treat for me was spending our last couple of nights in the Helios. Of course, the snag with staying here is that you don't get a view of it. So here's a slightly confusing view from our 8th-floor balcony. Inside, it's minimalist and white with beige furnishings.

Another fairly active day ... we were out early and had a wander round the open-air market. It was only ten o'clock, and within minutes my brain was fried from the heat, so pausing only to buy S a pair of 5-euro shorts, we retreated to a bar for a cold drink. Then S went to do more cycling, and I walked a long way to collect the car and rejoin him.

The room wasn't ready when we got here, so we went for lunch at the nearby Italian while we waited. After a tomato and mozzarella salad, we shared an absolutely delicious dish of faggotini pasta with pears and ricotta, in a cream sauce garnished with sultanas soaked in PX sherry. We were fit only for a siesta afterwards.

In the evening, by a happy chance, Mercedes the boss of the intercambio (Spanish-English conversation group) had suggested a get-together of whoever happened to be in town, an invitation passed on to us by French friend J, whom we'd already arranged to meet for drinks this evening. So we ended up at a very lively table for ten, all of whom bar two we already know. It was lovely to catch up with them. It's been 18 months with no meetings; during the course of the evening, Mercedes negotiated with the new owner of the bar, who said he'd be happy to host the intercambio on Thursday evenings. So that's something to look forward to when we come back.

We'd got to the bar at 8:30, and it was midnight by the time we left. The night was young by Spanish standards, so when we got back to the Helios we went up to the rooftop bar for a leisurely nightcap overlooking the bay. All my photos from there were rubbish though, so this is it for today. Here's what the view looks like in daylight.