When I arrived in Lisbon, Jamie and I had decided to do a week vacation exploring some Spanish cities.
Our plan was to land in Seville and rent a car. We wanted to visit Cordova, Granada, Malaga and then return back to Seville for a few nights. All summer we continued to check the weather and decided at the last minute to change our itinerary. Even though it was early September, it was still very hot and we had read that Seville was known as the "frying pan "of Europe, meaning it’s the hottest country in Europe! So we decided we just wanted to go to Marbella and rent an Air B&B on or near the beach. We would make it our homebase and travel from there on day excursions.
Our apartment was lovely. It was in a beautiful community, walking distance to the beach. It had a large pool where I could swim some laps. The apartment was very large with everything one could want for a vacation including beach chairs and umbrellas. It had a fully stocked kitchen with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
We were not that impressed with Marbella or Malaga. The beaches reminded us of Santa Monica beaches in California and not even as nice.
We did find a nice beach club near our apartment, called Cocoa Beach and had a fun day renting some chairs and an umbrella.
We really enjoyed the "Old Town " of Marbella with it's beautiful historic buildings and wonderful cafes and restaurants.
We also visited Puerto Banus which was the famous wealthy, jet setter town of Marbella. We were not very impressed thinking Newport Beach was so much nicer in California. Perhaps if we were younger in our 20's or 30's it would be more alluring and fun to hangout and party.
Malaga has a wonderful Picasso museum, but other than that we were a little disappointed.
Seville on the other hand is a must if you have never been. I’m actually thinking of returning there for three months to learn Spanish because I would love to explore the city in depth. Beautiful restaurants, beautiful architecture, and friendly people. It really was lovely and very affordable. I would say 1/3 the price of what we pay for groceries and restaurants in the states.
The highways are excellent getting to and from all these cities. Easy driving until you hit the cities of course! Parking was always a challenge. Google maps was exasperating at times but we always got to where we were going!
We paid 150.00 Euros for five days in a mid-size car with complete coverage. Gas was a bit expensive but there were plenty of gas stations along the highway.
We flew round trip on Ryan Air for 100.00 Euros in and out of Seville. The trip from Lisbon is only 45 mi nutes so it's a perfect getaway. I will add that the service for Ryan Air from check-in to service on the flight was excellent!
All in all we had a fun time, saw a lot and can cross Marbella and Malaga off our list. Seville is a keeper and I can't wait to return .
