TRAVEL DIARIES/ Gibraltar 

I went to Gibraltar for the first time in June. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it’s a lovely place and wanted to share my experiences. One thing I didn’t expect was for the border to be right across the airport runway. So, if you’re crossing on foot, you walk right across the landing strip, which means that the border has to be closed every time a plane takes off or lands. Quite random really!

I went on a day trip during my holiday to Marbella (see my Marbs travel diary post here) it’s a little over an hour away by coach so it kind of seemed rude not to, and I was intrigued as to how British culture was interpreted.

For me it felt as if it was very “Spanglish” – a real mix of people with broad British accents telling you they had change for a tenner, Spanish workers that worked in the city, and those who switched between the two languages at will! They accept GBP and euros, they also have their own currency which is only legal tender in Gibraltar which was a bit awkward when Mama Alice went to the cash machine expecting pounds.

There are some very distinct British touches throughout the city though- red phoneboxes, traffic lights and crossings.

You have to visit the Top of the Rock – since it dominates the whole landscape,my oh can’t not go really! Tickets cost about  £11 each which included our cable car ride to the top, wandering around the main part of rock and 3hrs wifi connection (which is superb, but the way). As you can see, the views are stunning. If you were staying here for a full blown holiday, there are some great looking hotels built into the rock side which will give similar views over the city.

And of course, there’s the monkeys. I was a bit nervous to be around them as I’d heard that they will steal things from you and can sometimes event pull your clothes/hair, but they seemed pretty chilled. Quite a lot of people were getting really in their faces and trying to pose for selfies with them which seemed a bit much and I’m shocked that they put up with it. We made sure we kept a decent distance and didn’t make sudden movements or take too many photos of them which seemed to work well. They go everywhere though – inside the cafe, on top of the cable car wires, in the back of the van delivering confectionary…we we also lucky enough to see this beautiful little monkey family – mummy was feeding her teeny baby while daddy looked on all proud (people were even going for selfies with them too and they didn’t appear to get angry once)One thing that Gib has in common with its Spanish neighbours is a super stylish harbour area to eat, drink and play. It even says so on the sign! It’s a lovely place to spend a lazy afternoon chilling out. 

Mama Alice warned me that the shopping here was a bit rubbish before we arrived, however I disagree. The high street has pretty much all of the key UK stores I’d normally go to (though smaller they still carried pretty much all of the same stock) coupled with perfume and electrical stores that you used to see everywhere when you went on holiday in the ’90s. They even have a little M&S food tucked in the back of their reasonably sized branch!

There were a few touristy bits that we didn’t quite get to, such as the botanical gardens and the caves, but it’s a lovely place to visit and you should definitely go if you’re in close enough proximity to do so. I think I could spend a weekend here chilling out but would probably struggle to have enough to do on a full blown holiday without travelling into Spain.

Be sure to share any other Gibraltar sights and delights with me that I may have missed!

Stay stylish, 

J 😘xx