Our Lady of Sorrows in Olde Town Marbella

 Olde Town Marbella is a quaint area of Marbella, the historic district that is a must see if you visit.  We walked, shopped, and ate and never tired of what there is to see.  This little blue shuttered area was a bit hard to see looking up to the 2nd floor, but you can click to enlarge and you'll see a religious symbol.

 Not to mention the most interesting and colorful and OLD Bourgainvillea Vine.  I covers almost 3 stories on this old house and look where the root is.

 Hornacina Virgen De Los Dolores.  Christian Faith was imposed on the city in teh XV century and many niches were made of Saints and Virgins on buildings, and balconies to bless the people and the city.  These are particularly common in areas with an Islamic past such as Marbella.  The house has been dated back to the 17th century.

 You can see the clay tiles on the roof, and there appears to be a pizza place on the top floor..or perhaps that's an old sign?  We couldn't tell.

Another sign talking about the many street niches and their importance.

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Newspaper Man in Malaga Spain

Malaga Spain.  Hubby, our friend Jane and I were strolling about Olde Town Malaga, the historic area.  We spotted this fun Newspaper Man.  I don't know how people do this, get themselves to be perfectly in character and then not move!  I saw 2 such human art forms during our visit to Spain.  This one patted the seat for me to sit down, then held my hand as we read the paper.

We flew from Chicago to Madrid to Malaga airport which is about 45 minutes or less to Mariott's Marbella Beach Resort, where we stayed.  If you missed yesterday's post, scroll back to see the resort.  A few days later our friend Jane flew into Malaga from Paris.  Once we picked her up, we headed to Olde Town for food and possible visit to The Picasso Museum.  We never made it to the museum, as we continued to stroll and explore.

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Marriott's Marbella Beach, Spain

 Welcome to Marriott's Marbella Beach Time Share in Marbella, Spain.  Hang you coat on the hook as you enter and pull up a chair.  The dining room is directly ahead and comfortably seats 6.  With a kitchen off to right in the picture.

 Off the kitchen is the utility room with laundry facilities.  Down the hall from the kitchen is the 2nd bedroom with 2 comfortable beds and full bath, which is to your left looking at the picture.

 Beyond the dining room is the living room and from there is the master suite.  Both bedroom are well appointment.  Love the details with Moorish style carvings, and bright colorful drapes and bedding.  Large closet on each side of the bed with a dresser across...more then ample storage.

 Looking into the bathroom from the master suite, you see the beautiful tile work which is apparent throughout the apartment complex.  In Spain, the time shares are called apartments instead of villas like other locations.

 Roomy, and comfortable living room with patio beyond.  This is probably the largest patio of any Marriott Time Share we've stayed in.  It was very nice!

 From our patio, we had a view of The Mediterranean, pretty flowers and pool and bar areas.

 We walked the beach and spotted some lovely flowers.

 Our Dear Friend, Jane and hubby.  While it wasn't swim suit weather in March-April when we were there, it was still very nice.

 More pretty flowers.

 One of the pool areas.

 View from our patio.

 And the other direction.

We were pleasantly surprised by a gift of a bottle of wine in our room upon checkin, along with a nice note thanking us for our membership level.

Marriott's Marbella Beach Time Shares are 1-2 and 3 bedroom units.  The two bedroom unit has 2 full baths, living room, dining room, patio, kitchen and laundry.  The 1 BR unit also had DR, LR, Kitchen, and laundry.  I didn't see a 3 BR, but the listing indicates the same.

  We found a regular coffee maker in the apartment as well as an Espresso Machine and the special coffee's to use with it, (though be aware, there is an additional charge for using those specials coffee's).  Another European difference was a bidet in the bathrooms.  Sounds like it would take extra time  to go to the bathroom using the commode and then the bidet...getting redressed etc.; but we had them here and in our accommodations in Barcelona as well.  Probably only seems strange to us Americans, which are not the majority of travelers we found staying here.  Additionally, we had nice cups and saucers in the kitchen, something not usually found in other timeshares.  In the states typically there will be large coffee mugs.  I rather liked having a nice cup and saucer.  Daily tidy service is also something we noticed here in Marbella Beach.  Normally, at time shares we take out our own trash, tidy the place, make the beds etc.  Service was a much higher level here at Marriott's Marbella Beach Club.

There are multiple pools, both inside and out.  Hot bread available daily in the market place.  The market place here is much larger and better equipped then what we're used to.  There are multiple options of dining, also right at the resort.  The first time since staying in a timeshare with a full kitchen that we've not cooked meals in.  The food in Spain, truly part of the experience.

We loved our stay and hope to return.


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La Alhambra, Granada Spain

 Palace of Charles V.  Which we did not get to see when we visited La Alhambra in Granada, Andalusia Spain.  Purchasing tickets for La Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Spains major tourist attractions is a bit of a feat.  Though we had pickets for the whole area, entrance into Nasrid Palace is time stamped.  Nasrid Palace is the main attraction there so you're told to make sure you're there on time, then view the other areas.  We had been told by multiple people if you show up 5 minutes late, you will not get in.  So, we passed by Palace of Charles V.

 We had arrived a good hour ahead of time, but the queue to pick up our tickets (even though we had purchased them almost a year ahead of time) was HUGE.  You walk from one of the many parking areas, to get in line to either purchase your tickets or pick them up at will call.  The line for will call didn't move much faster then the line to purchase.  However, they only sell a certain number of tickets each day, so you risk being turned away by not purchasing ahead.  Once through that line, we headed to the area to buy (you must in addition to the ticket price), our audio tours.

 La Alhambra is a medival complex, a fortress, and a palace and amazing Islamic Architecture.  It's a Royal Complex that's been around in part from 889 ...the 9th century when Sawwar ben Hamdun built a small fortress there on the hill top.  This is a view out one of the windows of The Nasrid Palace at one of the surrounding Palaces.

 You can see it was pretty cold the day we toured, and then it got colder and rained which hampered our seeing much after existing the Nasrid Palace.  This is the view of Granada below in the valley.  Off to the right you can see part of fortress, the walls and walk area.

 Thankfully the Marriott Concierge told us it would be 10-20 degrees colder there even in nice weather due to the altitude so we did dress warmer.  Seeing me just in front of one of the doors gives you a feel for the enormity of The Palace.  Look at the awesome detail and colorful tiles of the Moorish Architecture.  The small fortress that Sawwar ben Hamdun built was for protection and ultimately it became not much more then ruins.  Then in the 11th century,the Moorish King  Mohammed ben Al-Almar rebuilt and renovated it.  This was The Kingdom of Granada.

 A close up of some of the beautiful details.  We were told there are both Christian and Muslim tributes in the carvings throughout the Palace.  At times the Moors were here, and times Christians.

 I imagine this is quite beautiful in summer when the bushes are out and the flowers blooming.  Many areas opened onto this beautiful courtyard.  More building, additions and renovations took place when Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada made this his royal palace in 1333.  He was responsible for the most of the additions.

 In 1492 after The Reconquista, Catholic Monarchs were in control of the area.  Though Christian symbols were added and some changes made, they didn't destroy and rebuilt.  They thought it too beautiful and so Cathedrals were often built inside, or on top of Mosques throughout Spain.

Notice this large door, the door has a door within the door.  The brass bar you see is a more normal size door to let people in and out vs opening this large very imposing door.  Perhaps it was to attempt to keep out the elements?  It's high on the hill in area more mountainous then other parts of Spain and so by nature is colder.  There were no heat sources.  I posted about the 1 and only fireplace, take a look HERE

 One of the beautiful rooms..so much color and detail.  Truly is hard to take it all in.

 In 1527 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor lived here and built his castle within the Alhambra.

 This is a ceiling that was particularly colorful.

 Looking up at the color and detail again...and the columns and arches.  Truly breathtaking.

 The Alhambra once again fell into disrepair and was virtually forgotten until it was rediscovered in the 19th century by European Scholars.  Restorations began and continue.  This is The Court of the Lions.  Water, fresh water came out of their mouths, and notice the trough of water in the center of the marble floor.  Water was pumped up the hill.

 The Court of the Lions was a favorite photo spot.  Our Dear Friend Jane, and Hubby.

 More color, and more color and through the arch windows

 one of the many beautiful gardens.

 There are examples of The Roman language in areas also.

Looking skyward to try to show you more of this incredible structure.

Alhambra means Red Walls or Red Castle, and though some has faded over time, the walls must have looked very red long ago.  There are many areas: The Royal complex, Court of the Myrtles, Hal of Ambassadors, The Court of the Lions, Hall of the Abencerrajes, General Life and many other features.

It's suggested that you allow about 3 hours to tour, however we spent well over that and didn't see much of the outside areas (those we did weren't photographed due to the downpour), The Gardens, or The Palace of Charles V.

• Allow yourself lots of time
• Don't be late
• Buy tickets ahead and print them before hand if possible.  There are only a few places you can print them, but it would have saved time.
• Dress Warm
• Wear substantial shoes.  Even in summer do NOT wear flip flops or sandals.  Even with good shoes on, we all had a hard time walkinig.  Very un-even surfaces that were really slippery when wet, AND the rough cobblestone hurt the bottom of your feet...even with substantial shoes.
• Beware of the Gypsies.  They very very aggressive and expect to be paid about 5 Euro's for giving you a sprig of Rosemary and telling you a fortune even though you don't understand their language.  The descend on you the minute you get out of your car.
• Leave the kids at home, this is a very difficult area for children and you can not push a stroller in The Palace.

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The Kasbah, Tangiers Morocco Africa

We went to The Kasbah...hearing those words made me think of Humphrey Bogart and the movie Casablanca.  However, the word means a place local leaders lived and were protected behind walled cities.  Often built on a hill on high ground as added defense.  We took a day trip (through Julia tours, please see previous post as you do NOT want to take their tour), from Spain to Tangiers, Morocco in Africa.  I expected a historic area of interest, almost thought of it romantically.  What I saw instead was a bit like a ghetto.  Old, dirty, poor area not well preserved or taken care of.  You can see bricks, above as there is some new construction and or rehab going on in some places.  The man with the cap is our tour guide for the African side.  You see the back of my head...I'm the one in the teal sweater.  You can get a feel for the hill, the archway ahead takes us to The Kasbah.  We were walking in the Old Medina.

 Tangiers is basically devided into 3 sections, Old Medina (center of the old town), The Kasbah...walled area, and New City...up the hill away from this area.  A small residential area.  You can see 3 doors and addresses all very close together, with a mailbox.  We were told colors have meaning, but we actually didn't see many colors, not did he tell us what they meant.  One would assume this residences are quite small but how close the doors are.

 One of prettier doors, no doubt this is a more wealthy residence.

 Notice the wall on the left and how narrow the streets/pathways are.

 We saw very few women and virtually no children in comparison to the number of men we saw.  Twice a week the peasants bring in their farm goodies and set up shop, right on the ground.  You see all kinds of dress, but the men seemed to wear more western wear then the woman did.

 Another such business area.  Hard to imagine driving here with the narrow areas, people and commerce.

 Hard to see, all pictures though can be clicked to enlarge, the sign says Kasbah.

 We saw less then a handful of pretty doors.  This Green door is photographed alot.  Seems all tours stop there to have the guides point out this is wear  HenriMatisse, the famous French painter lived.

This is in fact titled Window at Tangiers.  Clicking on the photo will take you to the info on Wiki.  Looks like it was prettier in his day, if this was what he saw looking out his window.

 The wall from the outside.  Kasbah's were also often built on a harbor...again for protection.  Here they had both high ground and a harbor so would have had a good vantage point.

 Scales and a bag of green beans being sold right in the street/walk way.

 Many little store front type shops in the narrow walk area's.

 Nothing is seems comes in containers

 Some areas were a bit wider.

 I can't take credit for these pictures of the snake and the snake charmer.  I needed to be able to run so was well back with camera away.  As a person who can't even go through the snake house at the zoo....I wanted no part of this.  The few children here in this picture were about the only ones we saw all day.

 Shortly after this the snake was put back into his box.

Another photo where you can get the feel of the up and down nature of the area.  This was a little nicer area then many.  That's hubby on the left in the black.

My bubble was burst regarding going to Africa and Tangiers and The Kasbah.

• You don't even get your passport stamped showing you were in Africa, instead you get a stamp that shows you left Spain by boat and reentered by boat at Tarifa
• "The Kasbah" was nothing like what we all saw in the movie, Casablanca.  Just a poor area that's old and dirty and fairly uncomfortable.  (however I think with a different tour, or a private tour one might actually see and learn something about the area).

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