Day 1 - March 14, 2009

This was arrival day into Malaga, Spain. Ned and I met up with Neil and Amanda at the Madrid airport for our final flight to Malaga, Spain. They had flown in from Chicago and we flew via Miami to Madrid. Upon arrival at Malaga, we picked up our two station wagon type car rentals and headed towards the Marriott in Marbella, spain. Somewhere along the way from the airport to the Marriott, Neil and I (we were driving the two cars) got separated. I had the directions to the Marriott and he did not. Ned and i found our way there and then I freaked out when i realized that i had lost Neil and Amanda. and they had no directions with them. we checked into the Marriott and our villa was ready for us. i was beside myself since i had no way to contact neil. i was even contemplating sending him an email from the marriott's computer room when they drove up after having been lost a while. I was very glad to see them. We had an enjoyable lunch out on the patio at the Marriott. (see Marriott Timeshare photo and photos of the girls on beach of the mediterranean sea).

Neil and amanda had to go back to the airport to pick Lisa up when she arrived from Paris and ned and i had to go the Malaga train station to pick up Ryan, Holly and Pax. We found the train station just fine and they were standing out front waiting for us so we picked them up and were on our way home (we thought). we got lost coming back to the Marriott because we took the toll road instead of the coastal road (also happened to Neil once). Eventually we made our way to the Marriott, but i was pretty frazzed after all this not to mention considerable jet lag i was experiencing. we finally had everybody together. lisa's luggage hadn't arrived at malaga but it did arrive the following day so she wasn't inconvenienced and it was delivered to the Marriott. Ned and ryan went to the grocery store and bought considerable food and we had pasta, salad, good bread and wine on our first night in marbella and called it a day pretty early the first night.





Day 2 - March 15, 2009

Every morning that we were all together Ned fixed a big breakfast and we usually ate about 9 AM. Our days tended to start either before or after Pax's nap depending on whether we were driving a distance to see something or staying local. After his nap on this day, we headed to old town Marbella for lunch and sightseeing in the old town. We found a tapas bar that i had read about in someone's trip report on Trip Advisor and it was fantastic. we ate outside and they kept bringing us hot tapas (the cold ones we served ourself from inside the bar) until we told them we had had enough. Very good food and reasonable. they actually count the skewers left on your plate at the end to determine how much you pay. (see photos of us at the tapas bar and having ice cream and at the port in Puerto Banus).



we had lunch for 7 adults and Pax plus beer and wine to drink for around 75 euros which was very reasonable. we walked down to the waterfront for a while for pax to play at the playground and then got some ice cream and headed back to the cars. On the way back to the parking garage, we walked through an esplanade that had statues by Salvador Dali so they were all very abstract. From here we drove to Puerto Banus. This is where all the rich and famous people come and park their huge boats. Quite a people watching place.


we stayed and observed all the huge boats and very high end shops and then headed back to the Marriott. By this time, i was no longer a driver of the cars. Neil and Ryan did all the driving from here on out with occasional back seat driving from me. Mostly when i was directionally challenged would i offer my opinion and it was always wrong. we went back to the marriott and had a light dinner. Some evenings we would go to the hot tub, sauna or steam room. The Marriott property here is wonderful and we had a great set up for our accommodations. Neil, Amanda, Lisa, Ned and I were in the 3 bedroom villa and right next door (we were the only villas on our floor) Ryan and Holly and pax were in a one bedroom villa. we had plenty of space and privacy for everyone.

Day 3 - March 16, 2009

This morning again a large breakfast and we were on the road to Ronda about 11 AM. Ronda is one of the pueblos blancos settled in Spain in the 800-900s. It is up in the mountains so a windy mountainous road to get there. I failed to mention for the previous day's posting that there basically is no such thing as street parking so everywhere we went in the cars to a town we had to park in underground parking garages. i had read about this so was aware of this. (see photos of the gorge and us walking to see the gorge).


In Ronda, we found a parking garage not too far from the center of town and left the cars. Fortunately i wasn't leading the gang to Ronda as i don't have a very good sense of direction. we made it to the information booth which is adjacent to the indoor bull ring (Ronda is the home of bull fighting) and a few more steps we would be treated with a view that Ronda is famous for. It sits on top of a huge mountain and there is quite a gorge to look down into the valley. we found the restaurant that i had again read about on Trip Advisor and had our lunch. It was called Dona Pepa and was fantastic. Again wonderful outdoor dining and everybody had a great lunch. we then lined up in front of the old church in the plaza where we had lunch and took one of our group photos. neil had brought his tripod. we did some more sightseeing around Ronda - narrow cobblestone streets, lots of shops, lots more views of the gorge and the "new" bridge over the gorge - new is a relative word since this town is so old. we went back to the plaza for some desserts, coffees and ice cream and headed back to the parking garage. we were looking for the arab baths in ronda to see before we left town. No street signs in town to direct you and after a couple of attempts to find them we were finally successful although it meant driving down what Ronda would call a road and what i would call a narrow alleyway. we parked the cars and walked down to the arab baths only to find that they had closed at 4 PM that day but we could see from outside what they would have looked like. Ronda was settled as was most of this part of Spain by the Moors (arabic people) and these baths were down on the lowest level of the city by the river where bathing took place. We headed back to the marriott and had a lite dinner in our villa.

Day 4 - March 17, 2009

This morning found us going in 3 different directions. Neil and Amanda left very early for the airport to fly to Barcelona for the day. Ryan, Holly and Lisa also left early to drive to Tarifa to take the high speed ferry across to Morocco to meet Aziz for their tour. About 9 AM Ryan called to say that because the winds were so high, the ferries had all been cancelled for that day. He and i both got word to Aziz that the tour for today was off because the kids could not get on the ferry. the kids were disappointed but drove on to cadiz and several other pueblos blancos for the day and enjoyed their sightseeing. They were on their own with what to do and see because i had done no research on this part of Spain because we hadn't planned to visit. Ned and i were taking care of pax on this day and after he got up from his nap, we took a taxi to the Fuengirola Zoo for a couple of hours and then a taxi back to the Marriott. Very enjoyable and Pax was so cute seeing all the animals. About 5 Ryan, Holly and Lisa made it in from their daily adventure. We debriefed about their day and what they did and then walked to one of the beach restaurants just down from the marriott called Cristina's and had a wonderful meal. Neil and Amanda were not expected back from Barcelona until about 10:30. About 9:30 PM the phone rings and it was Neil. I think the kids debated whether to tell me he called or not. I was already in bed. They had gotten on the wrong train in Barcelona that was not headed to the airport and missed their flight back to Malaga. They ended up having to overnight in Barcelona and take an early flight back to Malaga wednesday morning.

Day 5 - March 18, 2009

Neil and Amanda arrived back from Barcelona about 10:30 and we chatted about their "adventure". Shortly thereafter, we piled into our cars again and headed to Gibraltar for the day. Again, Pax napped in the car on the way. This was another windy day and down right cold in Gibraltar. We found the parking garage recommended by Rick Steves and left the cars and walked from the Spanish side of La Linea across the border into Gibraltar which is british and you do have to show your passport to enter. I had done lots of research on what there was to do in Gibraltar but most of it centered around using the cable car to get to the top of Gibraltar and to the Apes Den. As we were going through the airport terminal (you actually walk across the runway at the airport to enter Gibraltar) we were asked by a nice gentleman if we would be interested in a guided tour. he also told us that the cable car was being renovated with new cables and closed for a couple of weeks. That sealed the deal on booking the guided tour. We all fit into one van and Alistair was our guide. He was fantastic. Is a native of Gibraltar and one of his kids is in Scouts so we chatted about that, too. Some of the things we saw in Gibraltar we probably would not have seen had i been planning our day there so he really made our day worthwhle. We had lunch at the Cannon Bar which is like a British pub and almost all of us had Fish and Chips. ned had bangers and mash and the beers were good, too. After we concluded the tour, we stopped back and had some scones and tea/coffee at Figaro's. Then we caught the bus back to the Frontier (the border). I cannot wait for you to see the pictures from this day. Amanda and I both had an up close and personal experience with the Barbary Apes that live on Gibraltar. (see photos of Amanda with the "monkey on her head".)


she had one on her head and i had one try to climb onto my back. They are a tourist attraction there so are overtly friendly to tourists. we drove back to Marbella and had another light dinner.

Day 6 - March 19, 2009

This morning we departed about 8:30 for our drive to Granada. The big attraction for the whole country of Spain is the Alhambra Palace in Granada. Again, this part of Spain was settled by the Moors in the 800s+ and one of the last Moorish rulers built the Alhambra Palace. It is an amazing palace. I have never seen anything like it. The intricate painting, detailing, color schemes, water everywhere, gardens everywhere. holly took some amazing pictures at the palace so i will post those when available. (see photos of the Alhambra Palace).



Also near the Alhambra is the first Christian king's palace - Charles V - which looked just like a round coliseum when you compared it to the Alhambra Palace. Also available for us to visit was the watch tower area which is only viewed from outside. we left the Alhambra Palace to go to a restaurant that i had selected for lunch that was supposed to offer a traditional Moroccan type meal. I had read that you cannot easily navigate the inner city of Granada and we found that to be an understatement. We spent 90 minutes trying to find this particular restaurant and when we finally did find it, they were closed. it was like all the energy had gone from me at that point but we walked across the street and had some tapas at a hotel restaurant and then picked up some desserts and headed for home. because we were looking for a lunch place about 4:30 PM - it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner and any place that was open would only serve you what foods they had for tapas - thus our tapas for lunch. we got home and some of us went for a late dinner at the marriott and some of us stayed in for the evening.

Day 7 - March 20, 2009

Today was basically an unscheduled day which we all needed. we found a flea market within an easy drive and went there for about an hour. Lots of good items to choose from and reasonably priced and easy to get to and adjacent parking to the flea market (amazing!!!) we got home about the time for Pax to start his nap. Several of us had massages scheduled for this day.

See photos of our final day in Marbella.


I drove neil and amanda to the airport as they were leaving on this day to fly to Rome for a few days before coming back to DFW. After the airport run (i did not get lost - hurray) we all enjoyed some beach time and pool time. It was a beautiful day. we headed down the beach to another beach restaurant for an early dinner (called Tony's) and we were their only customer for dinner at that time. everyone in spain eats dinner very late (except for us). Again we all had wonderful seafood dishes and shared some sangria and our final meal together.

Day 8 - March 21, 2009

Lisa, Ned and cathy get up at 4 AM to drive to the Malaga airport and return the car and catch their flight to Madrid. Ryan and Holly and Pax stay at the Marriott until check out time and then transfer to another time share on the costa del Sol for another week with friends who are flying in from the states and Paris on the same day we are leaving. Lisa meets her friend Courtney in madrid and they are still touring Italy as of this posting.

After 10 months of anticipating our family vacation, it was beyond my wildest dreams of what a great time we had experiencing Spain - the Costa del Sol- together as a family.