Europe 2014 - off again!!

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Hola everyone,

Wednesday – we toddled off to Marbella to check out some places on a list that a golfing mate of John’s gave him - this time it was the Orange Square. We weren’t sure what it was, well I wasn’t anyway so we went there and were completely charmed by the whole area. It is a square in an older part of Marbella with many restaurants surrounding it, plus gardens and beautiful flower pots on the apartments above the restaurants etc.



Also close by in the side streets were many shops… and this was before Siesta time – certainly timed it well today!! John bought a shirt and I bought a dress, very nice, have resisted buying clothes this time and have stuck to shoes and bags… am hoping to lose some weight when we get home….



There is a lovely old church in a square very close by to this one – quite different to others we have seen and much smaller. In just about every European country we’ve been to, there are beggars and this was no different – a beggar standing right in the entrance of the church – think some people thought it was an entrance fee!



Afterwards we went to La Quinta golf course and resort – very beautiful modern and trendy homes there… and expensive. The golf course was just as beautiful as most of the ones we’ve been to – it would be in our top 3 of them all. Mind you we have only seen a few here – there are lots of them.



We had our usual swim and siesta on arriving back home before heading to a beach shack for dinner. There is a special name for them but it eludes me…. The food was nice, the ambience was just lovely watching the sea and the sun setting.



Thursday we ventured to find the elusive Cable car up the mountain. We knew the Hop on Hop Off bus went there so wandered around the area we had seen the bus before and finally it passed it so off we went after it until it came to Tivoli World – which not only is a place like Movie World but also where you can buy tickets and get on the cable car. It was absolutely amazing with the most incredible views from La Cala through to Malaga – plus from the mountains down to the sea. We were so pleased that we did this. There is so much to do and see here and we are really getting to know our way around so it’s not taking quite so long to get to places – even the GPS is behaving itself now. John has become quite used to driving in the car from the left hand side and driving on the left as well – could be a problem when we get home… better that I drive when we get there.



Today we’re packing up ready to leave at a decent time in the morning but woke to the news this morning that the Italian traffic controllers has a strike on – am hoping it’s very short term. We’re supposed to be flying to Rome tomorrow and from there to Korea. If the strike continues we may just fly to London and then home if we can’t get to Korea from there. Just another adventure for the mighty Mitchells!!



So to wrap up our Europe component of our trip -



Another magnificent day here today and we have vowed to come back again with our good friends to share it with us – it’s just really fantastic, things are much cheaper and easier here – as they are in most places – we are so totally regulated and overpriced in Australia.



We’ve noticed in a lot of restaurants that only 2 – 3 people can run a 50 – 70 seat restaurant – wonder if it could be done in Australia? Certainly keeps the costs down and the meals reasonably priced. They’re huge meals too, sometimes John and I have shared a meal.



There are many people here from the UK, Scotland & other parts of Europe who only need to fly a couple of hours or so to get here – no wonder they buy apartments here for holidays, renting, or just for weekends – it’s worth it. Pity we’re so far away.



The entertainment has been great here, cost us around 8 euros here – have some videos on FB from one place we’ve been to a couple of times and may go back for our last night.



We have come across a lot of partly built complexes which obviously haven’t been finished due to the GFC and oversupply, similar to what we have seen in Portugal. They have just been left to rot, quite a shame.



While we haven’t played any golf, the courses, the restaurants and the views of all of them have been incredibly magnificent. I might even take up golf, rather than being a social player… but where else do you get the backdrop of both mountains and the Mediterranean and incredible weather like this. We have felt safe and have wandered around pretty late at night without worrying if we’re going to be mugged.



We’ve had quite a lazy day today – went to one of the best golf courses for lunch – has an incredible outlook from the terraces there and other than that we’ve stayed home and just relaxed and packed.



We love Spain!



Our next blog will be from Seoul, Korea.

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Photos

At the top of the mountain
Incredible views down over the cities and the villages in between and the Mediterranean sea. Yes, that's me.

Cable car ride up to the top of the mountain
Looking back down when about 3/4 way up - it was pretty high

John cooking dinner
This was taken at La Cala Grill & Bar - we had the hot stone where you cook your own meat at the table. We had 4 types of meat including Swiges - turned out to be sausages...

Golf Club Flamingos
Just popped in for an orange juice - yes it was an orange juice.

Entrance to Marbella Golf Country Club
Very impressive entrance - not sure if you can see the sitting lions either side in the portico..

Flamingos Golf Club
John out on the terrace under the vines overlooking the magnificent views.

Buildings never completed
One part of a huge complex which was never completed due to the GFC and oversupply.

Vitania Residences - Complex completed
While this one was completed it appears that parts of it weren't sold and just left but the rest looks great - this is only a short distance across the road from the uncompleted complex in the earlier picture.