The Best Thing about Gibraltar

Some things just can not be planned…they just happen. And sometimes the things we did not plan turn out to be the “best” thing about a visit. Maybe because it was unexpected. Maybe because it appeared at just the right moment. Whatever the reason, the experience is forever embedded in our minds. That is what happened to us in Gibraltar.

Wandering Main Street in Gibraltar we came across a fish and chip shop. Smith’s Fish & Chips. A tiny little shop. A very traditional British shop. The kind of fish and chip shop that one used to find so easily in England (but now is difficult to find there).

So, of course,  we just had to go in.

Well, the fish and chips were very good…one even could order mushy peas. What is it about mushy peas? I love green peas, but mushy peas! Really! But my hubby loves them so an order of mushy peas we had.

But I digress. The food was very good ,  but that was not the best thing about the experience.

The “best thing” was the proprietor. Peter is a gem who, in my opinion,  the tourist board of Gibraltar should hire as an ambassador.

A photograph hanging in the shop started the conversation…a photograph of Prince Charles and Princess Diana as they drove past Smith’s Fish & Chips at the start of  their honeymoon.

(If you look at the top of the photo posted here you will see the one I am talking about.) The royal newly weds had just paid a courtesy call on the governor and were heading towards the harbor to board the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Well, the small chit chat about the photograph and the royal visit morphed into one of the most delightful conversations we have ever experienced on a trip. This man is a gifted story teller!  He can take the most ordinary topics (such as the history of coins in England and Gibraltar) and make them seem extraordinary.

But then again, some of the topics covered were rather extraordinary. Like the one about the man who looked exactly like David Niven (for the young readers, you will have to Google that famous actor’s name). Or the antics of “pulling rank” in the harbor during the Royal Yacht Britannia’s visit.

We learned so much about daily life in Gibraltar…such as the story behind the airport runway,  the long lines at the frontier crossing,  the politics of the region, and…well I think you get the idea.

We were totally enthralled for almost an hour by this entertaining gentleman.

When you are in Gibraltar, make a point of stopping in at Smith’s Fish & Chips on Main Street and saying hello to Peter.

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Happy travels