Marbella

Marbella is the Beverly Hills of the Spanish coast where the rich and famous come to vacation.  One can rub elbows with European business tycoons and Arab Sheiks looking to burn some of their oil money.   I was concerned this place would be devoid of character due to how built up it has become and envisioned an over-Americanized town with strip malls and chain restaurants.  Luckily, Marbella has managed to maintain a lot of its character.  The old town area of Marbella turned out to be very charming and extremely well kept.  We spent a lazy afternoon strolling through the maze of whitewashed buildings and exploring the neighborhood squares.

In the evening, the Christmas decorations gave the old town a soft glow and created a warm and inviting ambiance.  We had an amazing gourmet dinner at La Paloma Bistro, which we stumbled upon purely by chance.  The kids were really well behaved.  I am amazed how well they do at restaurants now compared to when we arrived.  We are so proud of our little travel veterans!

Our hotel was pretty average but we had a nice balcony with a view of the Mediterranean, so nobody was complaining.  After sunset, the Atlas Mountains of Morocco were backlit with a pinkish glow and really stood out.  Amazing how different life is across that narrow stretch of Sea, and truly amazing how good we have it on this side.  I have to remember this when we get too caught up in our first world problems.

Almost all of the buildings are painted white

The bistro where we had the amazing dinner is on the left (the best salmon ceviche!)

Old town charm

Playing with "Tigre," the local cat

One of the many Virgins around town

The Christmas lights were great for the girls

Very narrow street

We loved Marbella

- Dave

Almunecar & Nerja

We drove out of Granada due south toward the coast.  Before we left, we were having breakfast with families heading off to ski in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  An hour later by car, we were at the coast staring at the Mediterranean Sea.  Amazing right?

Our first stop was Almunecar, a small coastal village with a hilltop castle overlooking the harbor.  The girls played in the sand for a while and daddy had his morning coffee and strolled on the beach.  Nice sleepy town.  Next stop, Nerja.

Nerja was a pleasant surprise.  The main town square was an incredible area of sheer cliffs and magnificent views of the coast.  We had lunch overlooking the sea and enjoyed the afternoon sun.  The food was about what you would expect from a restaurant with expansive views of the sea in a tourist area of Spain.  Essentially, average in every way, and they were generally inconvenienced that you were there.  At least it only cost about 60 bucks for one kids meal, an appetizer, and one entrée.  Despite this, the town was really amazing and we enjoyed our visit.  From here, we headed up the coast to Marbella just in time to catch the sunset from our balcony with the mountains of Morocco in the background.  Pretty cool.

 Playing on the beach in Almunecar

 The sand is much darker than we're used to and has smooth rocks instead of seashells

 Off the main highway in the Costa del Sol

 Waiting for lunch in Nerja

 Right below our restaurant

 Nerja is one of the typical "white-washed" towns along the coast

 There are small areas of beach nestled between the rocks

 View from the town square in Nerja

 Same view but with a couple of Pettigrews added

Some very old cannons that used to protect the town

Sunset from our balcony in Marbella.  Those are the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  Incredible to see Africa  from your hotel room!

- Dave

We can laugh about this now

As we mentioned earlier, the trek up to the Mirador de San Nicolas in the Albaicin neighborhood was a difficult one due to the winding cobblestoned streets and hundreds of steps.  Isa rode in the stroller the whole way while Camila took turns riding piggy back on mommy and walking.  When we got to a somewhat flatter street she decided to take off running and I turned to hear Dave say "don't run, you'll fall Camila!" and of course she didn't listen.  I repeated the exact same thing except in my "louder-mommy voice" and as I finished my sentence, Camila trips on the street and flies, in slow motion, like Superman with arms outstretched.  She landed on the street, on her belly, and started wailing immediately.  As we picked her up off the street and started examining for injuries, Dave notices that she had landed perfectly onto an old, dried smear of dog poop the size of a salad plate.

Poor thing, she was okay except for being mortified upon learning she landed on dog poop.  For Pete's sake kids.... listen to your parents!!

~ Ali

Granada, Spain

We found ourselves with a unique period of time where I had no Spanish instruction (my tutor was on vacation) and the kids were on break.  At the last minute, we rented a car and arranged for a hotel in Granada, which would be our first stop on a five day road trip through Andalucia.

You have seen a few pictures of us at The Alhambra, which was amazing.  We were fortunate enough to have near perfect weather.  Additionally, as sometimes ignorance is bliss, we showed up to The Alhambra without any type of reservations, and apparently, they only allow so many entries per day.  Luckily, we squeaked in at the last minute and were able to see the whole complex.  The kids did amazingly well considering we were there for over 4 hours.

The next day we explored The Albaicin, which is the old Arab quarter of Granada.  We drove downtown and parked the car in a public parking garage and then decided to walk up to a viewpoint famous for its views of The Alhambra.  Funny how the city maps don’t give you any sense of the elevation change.  The route to the viewpoint was a steep, cobblestoned sidewalk with hundreds of stairs that wound like a serpent through the hillside.  As an additional bonus, none of the streets are marked. It was quite the effort, but we made it.  Damn the torpedoes!

Turns out it was worth the effort.  The views were truly breathtaking and the ambiance was classic Spain with a flamenco guitarist playing in the plaza and the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas in the distance.

Afterwards, we headed back into downtown and checked out the main cathedral.  I was reluctant to check out yet another church, but as I hope the pictures reflect, this one was truly unique.  Granda has a very different feel than Sevilla with a stronger Arab influence and a more hippy vibe as well.  The girls particularly enjoyed the Arab market and took away a few drums for souvenirs.

Enjoy a few pictures in no particular order.

 In the Arab market checking out genie shoes

 The girls with their drums

 Inside one of the arab shops

 Moroccan tea room

 Dave in the distance pushing the stroller up in the Albaicin.  It took us a good hour to get up to the lookout.

 Taking a break during our hike

 Trying to find our way through the maze

 Street in the Albaicin

 Typical Moorish doorway in the neighborhood

 We were so lost at one point

 Ali checking the map for the thousandth time

 We made it!  Views were spectacular.

 La Alhambra on the right, the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas on the left

 La Alhambra is a palace and fortress that was constructed in mid-14th century by Moorish rulers

 We saw a lot of skiers in town heading to the slopes

 On our way down back to the centro.  We were so excited to find a road with no steps!

 Inside the Granada cathedral

Closer look of the main dome which was so impressive

On The Road

The Pettigrews are on the road!

We rented a car last minute and have gone rogue through Andalucia. 

First stop, Granada, The Alhambra.

Enjoy!

Overlooking the city of Granada

Birdie

Snow-capped mountains in the background

At the entrance of La Alhambra

The Generalife gardens

There are water fountains everywhere

One of the towers of the Alcazaba

Taking in the view

Arabic writing inscribed on the walls inside La Alhambra

Another palace, another day

Sunset as we were leaving

Enjoying room service in our hotel

-Dave