Marbella is Just Beachy...

The rest of our trip to Marbella and Puerto Banus was relatively uneventful which is probably why it's taken so long for me to do my next blog entry - the highlight being the trip to Gibraltar on our first day.  We stayed in Puerto Banus and really only spent time there in the evenings but the boardwalk was a beautiful area to walk, and started just outside our hotel's door.  After walking about 10 minutes along the boardwalk we would come to the center of town which went along the harbor.  You could tell we were no longer in Kansas any more and I can now understand why this is considered to be such a ritzy area.  The docks were blocked with fancy metal gates and as we would eat dinner, cars like Ferraris, Mercedes and Bentleys would go by at a frequent pace.  At one point a VW went by and Josh and I were like, hmmmm doesn't fit in!! 

A cute little cove near our hotel before it opens up to the Med

Palm trees along the beach

The boardwalk in Puerto Banus

The boys found exercise equipment along the way and had to try

An accident waiting to happen

On Halloween we ate down by the water again and the restaurant that the kids chose was similar to Hard Rock - good old American food.  And the food was good which was nice.  But what was nicer that since it was Halloween, a holiday not really celebrated here, they gave the kids little goodie boxes filled with treats.  It made their night!!!

Liam with his Halloween box walking down by the water

But really that's all we saw of Puerto Banus and so we definitely would like to make a return trip there so we can see more of it in the daylight.  We think the beaches look to be nicer than those in Marbella.  Marbella is a famous spot along the southern coast and is known for it's wealthy visitors.  I can't say I was super impressed though.  It's more of a city than a town and I didn't think anything about it really stood out to make me think, yes, this is an amazing place.  Pretty, yes, stunning, not so much.

We took the kids to Marbella on our second full day (our last full day as we only had 2 1/2 days for this trip) to schmooze around.  TripAdvisor had recommended the Old Town but disappointingly, we didn't do it.  We drove thru a bit of it and then the kids had no desire to walk back to it.  So we did the boardwalk along the water.  And while it was a nice boardwalk with a ton of restaurants and a stunning view, the beaches themselves looked a bit dirty.  I know that's a bit of a contradiction given that beaches are made of sand/dirt, but it wasn't like a soft white sand but more of, well... dirt.  I know that's not how they all are and we weren't there to swim anyways.  It was warm out but not quite that warm. 

Around the center of Marbella

When we arrived by the beach

Trying to take an artisitc shot ;)

Quick snack by the water to recharge

But getting a ride regardless

Strolling along

One of several playgrounds

There were a ton of playgrounds along the way so we would let the kids stop and play for a bit in order to break up the walks.  The playgrounds were nice and well maintained and often had benches overlooking the water so Josh and I could just hang out.  There were also a ton of restaurants that lined the boardwalk.  We chose one our hotel had recommended and while it wasn't something to write home about (although here I write), it was decent. 

Very cool sandcastle - the sign says how long it took and now I can't remember but I think it was something like 500 hours.

Panoramic feature on my new camera - yes you will be seeing a lot of these in coming entries I'm sure!

Another cool sand creation complete with bloody hand next to the alligator's mouth!

We spent a good chunk of the day in Marbella and headed back to Puerto Banus around 3:30 in the afternoon.  The kids wanted to swim and Josh and I wanted to relax for a little bit.  So swimming it was!  Liam spent about 2 minutes in the outdoor pool and then realized that the indoor pool was a wee bit warmer than the outdoor one!  Aidan insisted on some video of him "diving" so here it is:  http://youtu.be/KEoXiRTuX6Y.  It was a fun and relaxing day overall and a great weekend getaway! 

Josh and Aidan

Liam now loves the water!!

Swimming out in the middle!

Julie