May 23, 1969 Torremolinos, Spain

Well, I discovered that I spelled this city's name wrong in my diary.  Not once, but every time I wrote it down.  Anyway, we arrived here on the train from Granada in the morning.

We met a very charming woman on the train and got to talking about our itinerary.  She convinced us to forgo out future visits to Milan and Genoa and to stay in Torremolinos for an extra day.  That should put us back on schedule.  BTW, I have never made it to Milan or Genoa.

We met another couple on the train, Gus and Jenny from California, and we all head to the beach.  The ocean is beautiful, but too cold to go swimming.  We are on the Costa del Sol and I will always remember these beach days - and I am NOT a beach person.


By Hans Olav Lien [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

This picture below is from 1960 and probably is closer to what the beach was like in 1969.  I certainly do not remember all that construction.

By Biblioteca de la Facultad de Empresa y Gestión Pública Universidad de Zaragoza (Flickr: Playa (Torremolinos)) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

We are staying near the beach at the Hostal Europa.  This hotel is now closed.  With all that new development, it is no surprise.

This evening is spent doing Shar's hair.  Shar was a platinum blond.  Her sister was a hairdresser and before we left for Europe, I was taught how to color hair.  My only comment in the diary is "Oi!".  I would spend one year of my life as a platinum blond on our return from Europe.  Believe me when I say that one year is more than enough.  I remember reading about how the singer Peggy Lee had her hair touched up every few days.  Too much time sitting in a chair.  In my old slides I did save one of me with platinum hair.  It was taken the following year, January, 1970 at Niagara Falls.  It was cold and this was a side trip from Toronto where a couple of friends and I traveled to see the musical "Hair".

Expenses today are $3.22.