Margaret's birthday

This year we booked Margaret's birthday weekend at Peñiscola just as we did last year. We booked it months ago and little did we realise it was also Easter weekend.

We also didn't realise that we were booking a different hotel, this time the Peñiscola Palace, all we knew was that it had a spa.

The view from our room on the 5th floor was very good but if we go again we'll ask for a south facing room - they all have sea views.

We arrived on the Saturday afternoon. That evening we had a full moon rising over the Mediterranean, yet another "blue" moon.

The food in the restaurant was superb.

All courses were great but they really excelled with the dessert course. I just had to try so much!

On Easter Sunday after breakfast we had a walk along the sea front. Last year the hotel where we stayed was further away from the centre, this hotel was in a better location.

Although there was a brisk wind there were people on the beach sunbathing!

The sand sculptor had been very busy getting ready for his Easter offering.

Our hotel is one of the ones to the right of Margaret's head. The hotels seem to go on for ever.

Evening meal and I had to take a photo of the dessert table - wonderful!

And so to the birthday breakfast on the Monday and a glass of cava to wash it down...

...with the traditional English breakfast. They go together surprisingly well.

After breakfast a session in the spa which was very enjoyable then in the afternoon a visit to Jardín del Papagayo just a few minutes drive from the hotel...

...to see an assortment of tortoises, birds and kangaroos.

Someone had had a great time building this centre with wooden pathways weaving through the well established tropical gardens.

The great feature was that we could actually enter the cage with the birds...

...and having purchased a packet of seeds to feed them, we were very popular although the parrot in the photo above seemed to like the new nesting material it had found.

It was very well thought out as the first parrots encountered were small...

...and the next were a little bit bigger until the ones at the end were massive and made very loud screeches.

Inbetween, were the kangaroos, although they seemed to be having a siesta apart from this one posing with his back to us.

These were the very large, noisy parrots which were also very friendly.

What a great day out and a lovely way to spend a birthday!