Marbella
This is the old center of Marbella, a Mediterranean coastal town that has been around since Roman times (don't let the modern tourist-friendly name fool you). Marbella is a mix of many things - ancient and beautiful Spanish architecture, elegant seaside restaurants, tacky tourist traps, high-end shops, too many Brits, not enough Spaniards, and a healthy dose of Middle East oil money.
Most importantly, it is the second home for two of my favorite relatives, my Aunt Tammy and Uncle Manuel, whom I now refer to as the Duke and Duchess of Marbella.
We arrived late on a Sunday afternoon, particularly drained as this was our first trip abroad since moving to the West Coast. That extra 5 hours of flight time (and 3 additional time zones) do make a difference. But the Duke and Duchess gave us some time to freshen up before serving a fantastic bottle of Ribera del Duero alongside tasty chorizo, idiazabal cheese, jamón ibérico and green olives. After that it was off to La Pesquera, a delightful restaurant on the water, the waves of the Mediterranean Sea softly crashing in the dark as we ate our meal. It was a lovely introduction to the south of Spain.
As we walked down the hill towards the sea we passed a mosque, just as dusk descended. I happen to love Islamic architecture and design, which was one of my main motives for this trip. We would be visiting the Alhambra in Granada and La Mezquita in Córdoba within a few days. This pretty, modern mosque was a welcome preview.
The Duke of Marbella regaled us with stories of the Spanish Foreign Legion and the differences in several southern towns' Easter processionals. I do not remember exactly which town it is, but one of them uses the image of Christ just fresh from the cross, i.e., dead. Manuel's description, with his suave Spanish accent and its rolling Rs will always, for the rest of my life I am sure, make me smile,
"The Christ is dead. I mean, he is rrreally, rrreally dead. He is flat."
Maybe you had to be there. I am just glad I was.
The next day we took a morning tour of old Marbella. The Duke (pictured above with Rob and myself) and Duchess took us strolling through its old streets, lush gardens and many shops. We took lots of pictures, but didn't have our act together enough to actually buy anything, a fact we came to regret later.
Finally, we had just enough time for churros y chocolate, before heading off to Granada. It was technically not the right time for churros - "actually we should be having a sherry" said the Duke, but this particular churreria - Churreria Ramon - is known for having some of the best around. Indeed, they were the best of our entire trip, and we ate a fair amount of churros y chocolate.
It was a fantastic beginning to our Spanish road trip. Our only regret? We didn't stay longer. Next time, no matter where in Europe we go, we are going to end our travels here, spending several days living the good life with the Duke and Duchess of Marbella.
