Grand Costa Del Sol Mijas

... mostly while in the bathroom and in bed) I have realized how badly I need the nature. In Colorado whenever I am feeling stressed I hop in my car and drive somewhere beautiful. I want so badly to do that here but it is a lot more difficult than in Colorado. I want so badly to smell the pine trees, hear the birds, and hear the flow of water. Within the next few days I am going to go searching for this but I am in one of the driest parts ...

... Real Andalucia), Marbella won´t spring to mind at all.......... Ronda for sure and maybe nowadays Malaga as well, as they have done up the City center!

In all the building boom over the last 15 years, the Quaint Old Town of Marbella has not been
touched at all and this beautiful authentic small Andalusian fishing village, called Marbella, still remains in tact!

One can feel the new rush into the Old ...

... find - we headed back up the cliff. We ended up at another great restraunt with a view of the cliffs. This turned out to be one of the better days on the trip. No stress...just taking our time enjoying the sights. I loved the paella so much at lunch we ordered it again for dinner. It was even better. I'm on a role. So far food has been so-so. It's a hit or miss whether you'll get a good meal or not. So far we're about 50-50.

... There is no reason for me to go to Burger King (which was have in Malaga) because I can just by a bocadillo for less than two Euros at half the cost of a sandwich at Burger King. And I really like Burger King. On the ride back to Malaga from Ronda I just slept. It was nice. Overall, Ronda was very nice. I really hope to bring my mom and someone special there someday. Seeing this nice mountain town in Andalusia really makes me want to ...

... new bridge). Which had the most amazing views of the cliffs on both sides of the bridge. There was a little square with a cute park where shae played in the playground. We took a carriage ride with an old codger driver. He was cute but ******ety. We also took a tour of the Ronda Bullring which had a museum with bullfighting memorabilia. It's amazing that bullfighting still exists today. It's so brutal. We actually saw dried blood in the middle of ...

... in Malaga yet (locals) but I am really hoping that I do. That and studying vocabulary are on my priority lists. I also can not wait to explore Andalusia and figure out what "Spain" truly is. I have an idea so far....easy going people, siestas, friends, partying, staying up extremely late to party, but I have yet to put my finger on "Spain". I ...

... those of you who don´t know, in Spain everyone goes out to the bars really really late and stays out really late. Usually the party starts at around 2 am and people stay out until 6 am or so. I haven´t done it yet. Last night we were out until about 3:30 or so and that was going home early!
The Spanish siesta is also an interesting concept - between 2 pm and 6 pm usually almost everything shuts down and people go home to eat lunch and take a ...

... until the 1830’s. The Church where the non-Catholics were tried is on the south end of the bridge. That could be anyone who was Jewish, one of the radicals from the new English Church of Henry VIII or of Luther, or pretty much any woman. It was the worst of times.


Sunday July 12

Someone this week said, despite the Catholic culture and endless churches, Spanish don’t go to church except on Good ...

... to be in her 20s or early 30s now. She's now a soloist and chamber musician, and also professor for violin and chamber music at the Hochchule der kunste Bern in Zurich. The conductor was Maestro Giovanni Pacor, also a former child prodigy, from Italy. His august career seems to be concentrated in Italy, Germany, and Vienna. The program was classical, and included: Mozart's Overture to Cosi fan tutte Mozart's Violin ...

... high in the hills above Fuengerola and about half way between Malaga and Marbella if any of you have been down there. Where I was staying was in this complex I suppose you could say, that has 16 apartments, and nearly all owned by rich english people (mostly older and retired but not all) and a lot of them were down there on holidays. And when they're not there they rent them out, (www.balcondemijas.com if you want a place to stay!) and that's where I used to stay ...