We made it back, yeah! The flight from London to Los Angeles was long but uneventful. The individual TVs in economy in Air New Zealand helped a lot to pass the time. After going through customs, we gave Mike a hug and said goodbye as he took a Super Shuttle back to UCLA. The rest of us got ready for our Southwest flight back to Sacramento. The flight ended up leaving an hour late and we didn't get back to the house until midnight (9am Spain time). What a long day! Here's our Top Ten experiences from our trip: 1. Sintra [View Full Entry]

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We flew from Malaga to London and are spending the night at the Marriott Hotel at Heathrow. We gave ourselves a day in London since our flight from Malaga (British Airways) and flight home (Air New Zealand) were on unconnected airlines and a delay from Malaga could leave us stuck in London. It was a pretty quiet day as we had dinner in the pub at the hotel and then watched some more episodes of Lost before going to bed. Everyone is ready to come home! [View Full Entry]

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Our last day in Spain was a trip to Gibraltar. The day started out with a very hard rainstorm and we were a bit concerned what our day would be like. We had a leisurely morning and the weather seemed to be improving so we hit the road to Gibraltar. Since we were unsure what the weather would bring, the fact the cable car wasn't working, and the prospect of the bus on some tight roads, we decided we would do the taxi tour of Gibraltar. We started off by having the taxi drop us in the main square so we [View Full Entry]

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We woke early to get picked up at 7:05 for our tour of Tangier, Morocco. It was nice to be part of a tour as they bypassed some of the entry and control checkpoints boarding the ferry that everyone has to go through. The 40 minute ferry ride (catamaran fast ferry) was a bit up and down as the seas were a little rough. However, we arrived in Tangier with no one getting seasick. Whew! We started with a bus tour of the different sections of Tangier. Tangier was an internationally controlled city for much of the 20th century so that [View Full Entry]

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Today was a quiet today for all, especially for the kids. In the afternoon, Mark and Deb went out for a few hours while the kids relaxed around the Marriott. We started in Benahavis where we walked around the small town which was quiet except restaurants which were open on New Year's Day. Deb liked the hanging poinsettias in the town and of course the Santas hanging outside several of the windows. We decided we'd drive toward Estepona to have a drink outside in the sunshine. We stopped at Laguna Village which is just between the Marriott and Estepona. They have [View Full Entry]

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A sleepy morning was followed by a croissant breakfast on our balcony. Mark and Deb had a nice walk in the sun on the beach. We then headed out toward Marbella. We stopped and walked around Puerto Banus to see it during the daylight. It was very pretty with the white boats and white houses in the bright sunshine. We drove on to Marbella and after finding a parking garage for the bus, walked around the old town of Marbella. Deb found several nice shops for some small gifts. The Plaza de Naranjos (oranges) was a nice spot to sit down [View Full Entry]

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Today was our day to go to Granada and tour the Alhambra, one of the most famous places in Spain to visit. Granada was the last vestige of the Moorish influence in Spain and from the 11th to early 16th centuries the Moors built a series of fantastic palaces at the Alhambra, some of which survive today. Tickets to visit the Alhambra had been sold out in advance (often the case) so we had to purchase tickets through a private company that included a guide. That turned out to be very worthwhile. The guide we had was very knowledgeable, both in [View Full Entry]

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Today was a relaxing day at the timeshare in Estepona. Everyone slept in and we spent the day relaxing in the beautiful sunshine. We were very happy with the resort and its amenities. The kids had a fun day playing basketball and soccer with other kids on the sport court and in the indoor pool. Mark and Deb enjoyed lying in the sun reading. For dinner, we drove to Puerto Banus and had dinner at an Italian restaurant recommended by Nancy, Amore y Fantistico. The pizza and pasta were great. Thanks for the tip Nancy! It was then back to the [View Full Entry]

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We had a long day planned today as we were leaving Sintra for Estepona, Spain but wanted to spend half a day in Sevilla. So, we were on the road before 6am which was fine as everyone slept except Mark and the roads were empty. Mark and Deb had previously been to Sevilla, so we hoped to give the kids a flavor of the town with a half day visit. We were first confronted with parking difficulties. All parking garages we immediately found were full. So, after a tour of downtown Sevilla we parked across the river in an underground lot [View Full Entry]

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After a late morning, we got to see our beautiful hotel during the daylight. After a brief walk around the grounds (includes a monastery and golf course) we started off to Sintra. We started off with some croissants and hot chocolate at a cafe on the main square. We then toured the Palacio Nacionale which was a residence for Portugal monarchs. There were some beautiful rooms with painted tiled walls and painted or engraved ceilings. Deb then shopped for azuelos (painted tiles) while the boys grabbed more croissants and bread from a pastry shop. While in Sintra, it's hard not to [View Full Entry]

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