Weekend in Marbella

This past weekend, Alex, Lucy, Danielle, Marni, and I flew to Marbella, a beach town in the south of Spain.  We figured out the route to get from our homestays to the airport just by taking the Metro, and although it takes about 30 minutes, it's a really easy transfer and costs only 1 euro.  We were proud of ourselves for navigating our way to the airport (even though Alex and I initially took the train going in the wrong direction...).  In the airport, we saw a massive group of men in suits and paparazzi with huge cameras moving together like a swarm of bees. We figured it was someone really important, so naturally, I got out my camera and took some pictures myself just in case it was a true celeb spotting.

 Casually posing for some photos on the way to catch her flight.

Note the amount of people in this entourage.

We soon learned that the star of the show was Esperanza Aguirre, the President of Madrid! According to some online sources, she is President of Madrid's People's Party and the first female politician in Spain to have held the office of President of the Senate and Minister of Education and Culture in Spanish democratic history.  So basically we had a great celeb sighting, and I should probably sell my photos to Us Weekly or Enquirer.  

We arrived at the Malaga airport after a short 1 hour flight and were all instantly confused when we saw German written on every airport sign.  The announcements were made in German and they even had German beer restaurants throughout the airport.  After a 30 minute bus ride to Marbella, we arrived at our hostel and were greeted by the owner, a Scottish man who later told us he was mostly blind, and from what we gathered from conversations with him, mostly deaf too.  We chatted with him and his strange British friend for a few minutes until we settled into our rooms and went to the recommended restaurant just down the street. The restaurant was called La Pesquera and had a menu the size of an encyclopedia, with translations in just about every language.  We ordered an absurd amount of food and every dish was better than the next.  The seafood paella was my personal fave, but I also loved the homemade lasagna, roasted veggies, grilled fish, and shrimp and avocado salad. Great way to start off the weekend.

After dinner, we explored Old Town, a quaint village in Marbella with cobblestone streets, narrow alleys, and adorable toy stores and candy stores. 

 Marni, me, and Alex in an alley way in Old Town.

We then stumbled upon Plaza de Naranjas, a dimly lit plaza lined with about a dozen outdoor restaurants and cafes.  The lights and trees and fancy cafes made the plaza look so beautiful at night. We also visited it during the day (photos later).

The next day we packed up our backpacks with towels and bathing suits and headed to the beach.  To our dismay, however, it was overcast and a bit chilly.  We went to the beach anyway and reveled in the view of the Mediterranean and the sandcastles we past as we walked along the boardwalk.  

 The sand artist's tools.

 Sandcastle monsterpiece.

 Me, Rivkin, and Danielle

Pretending to tan.

Just when it started to drizzle, we took shelter under a big umbrella at a cafe called Cappucino.  This restaurant was a little more upscale than other beachy shacks down the boardwalk, but the food and drinks were amazing.  Plus, the service was more similar to that of the U.S., and we were so relieved to finally get some attention from Spanish waiters.  

 Yummm caprese salad.

 Yes I also had some of that salad.

Apparently when you order a burger off the menu, they bring you two burgers.

Later that night, we brought food back to the hostel and ate on the rooftop. The restaurant next door to the hostel had live music playing all night, so we were able to hear some familiar American tunes throughout the night.  The piano player/singer was pretty good; he played some Elton John, David Bowie, and Beatles music, but definitely threw us off when he switched to Tina Turner songs. Nonetheless, it was a really relaxing night on the roof. Later, we went deeper into Marbella to the Buddha Lounge, a discoteca that we had heard was really nice.  We got there around 1am, and the place was completely empty. And I'm not exaggerating- we were the only people in the entire place.  At around 3am, people starting showing up, but we were super tired and left not too long after. 

Marni, me, Rivkin, and Danielle at the Buddha place.

The next day it was sunny! So once again, we grabbed our towels and bathing suits and headed to the beach.  But first, we stopped at a restaurant along the way to get the English breakfast I've been craving for two weeks.  Finally we got some eggs, toast, and bacon! So good. At the beach, we all napped in the sun and took out some rafts on the Mediterranean. 

We then walked around Old Town again before heading to the airport back to Madrid. 

Plaza de Naranjas in the daytime.

Needless to say, it was a great mini-vacation! It really made me appreciate studying abroad in Europe, where we have so many opportunities to travel outside of Madrid and explore the cultures that surround us.  It was also really nice to feel like we were coming home when we got back to Madrid.  It's taken a while to feel comfortable in this apartment, but through traveling I've gained a better sense of what home feels like in a place so far away from my real home.