Spain

I'm tanned, broke and honestly, probably a few pounds heavier. My friends and I decided to take our annual Girls trip across the pond to Europe. This was the second time this year I've had to abandon my own agenda for the sake of peaceful group travel, which is surprisingly freeing.  

We all have that one friend (luv ya girl!) who meticulously plans everything. I,of course, am not that friend. I am the tell-me-where-to-be-and-when-to-be-there friend. But, thank God for those people who take it upon themselves to see to it that the group has a wonderful time with a plethora of activities. That's right, we weren't just going to secure tans and a cute pair of espadrilles. There would be much mas!

We missed our flight, and subsequently our connection into Malaga.  We landed mere minutes after the flight had taken off.  Since, I had been dreading the seven-hour plane ride, I was relieved to know it was being postponed for another 24 hours. Consequently, we were upgraded to first class which meant we would be traveling seven hours overseas in style! Free booze, 3-course meals, premium entertainment and seats that reclined into beds!  God is good!

We made the most of our surprise 24-hour layover in New York City.  We rode the subway, visited Rockefeller Plaza,  ate Bolivian and Portuguese food, and got massages.  Before we knew it, it was time to return to the airport. 

During boarding, I had almost forgotten that I had taken a Xanax (my doctor only gave me a few pills for travel and assured me I would not get addicted). When I finished my complimentary glass of wine, I had pretty much ensured my impending slumber.   I woke several hours later, almost annoyed that I had to return my chair to an upright position for landing.

With the 6-hour time difference,  it was after 1 PM when we landed. We waited in a semi-dank Malaga airport baggage claim for our luggage. My bag showed up first (wooohooo!)  but my friends weren't as lucky.  While, I had instituted the DO NOT SEPARATE Rule,  I was the one who wandered downstairs--accidentally exiting customs on my own. This resulted in delayed text messages for half an hour until we finally all found the private shuttle that was arranged to take us to the villas.  A 40-minute ride from the airport ensued.  Through my car window, southern Spain looked a lot like... California. 

Marbella, Spain

Palm trees and mountains set the backdrop with miles and miles of ocean. Simply beautiful. Our hotel clerk spoke English, so it didn't take long at all for us to be shown to our villa. 
The tri-level was pretty nice with 2 sets of sliding doors that led to different balconies. One balcony faced the pool.  The villa boasted two bedrooms, a pull-out sofa, and 3 full bathrooms, with European standard showers, toilets and bidets.

Even though the jet lag gnawed at our fringes, we made ourselves go out on what would be my first official Spanish Saturday night. We walked around the plaza de Naranjas,  ate tapas and even sampled hookah for the first timer in our small group who had never tried it.  We sat taking in the ocean air, glad to be somewhere else for a while.

 The day trip to Morocco was vetoed by the group. The one thing, I had hoped to do. This meant I would have to wait a little longer to actually step foot on the continent of Africa. That day trip was sacrificed in order to fit another day into the impending trip to Madrid.

We took a bus, then a train into Malaga to save cab fare.  We bought our tickets to Madrid there and planned to spend the remainder of the day exploring Malaga. Apparently, everything shuts down on Sundays and what we did see looked a bit  sketchy.  We somehow found a restaurant bustling with Spaniards. My friend ordered the deep-fried fish... heads, bones and fins were still attached!

I wasn't all that impressed with the gravy-like paella I had ordered. I was poking at it with my fork, because the prawns still had their heads, tails and legs too. Ugh. Between the heat, the walking, and the constant conjugating verbs (into Spanish) we were perfectly OK with heading back to Marbella after dinner. We settled into the villa because we had to pack for Madrid. We were leaving the next morning.  

I may or may not have made us miss the bus.  A €27 cab ride to the Fuengirola train station and we were back on track (pun intended). We secured our 142 euros round-trip train tickets to Madrid by way of Renfe.

How romantic is was, moving cross-country on a speeding train along the Spanish countryside.  I marveled and imagined millions of stories and lives playing out in love and war on the very lands I passed by.  Like in the US,  the majority of people seem to live in big cities.  Spain is roughly the size of Texas (with almost double the population of the Lone Star state), that's 48 million people who mostly live around Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia!

We climbed the last flight of stairs to the street's surface. We took in the sights and it truly looked like Spain! The images of what I've seen on TV, in books and on film were alive before me. The stucco roofs, the arching windows, and suddenly the African-Moroccan influence was obvious.  It was hotter too, there was no breeze from the coast. We found our hotel on the corner of Calle de Prado and Calle de leon.

The Bear and the Strawberry Tree

We were beginning to grow weary of trying to decipher menus in Spanish when, an American woman said, "Hola" to us. She must have heard our American accents. In excited chatter we found out she was a Washington D.C. native who had been living in Madrid with her sister. Her dark eyes lit up as she rattled off a whole list of sights we had to see.  I almost asked her for her contact information, as she was very helpful, but we didn't need it because we would see her again by chance that evening.

Later in the day,  we got dressed us for a later dinner at Ginger restaurant. Afterwards, we went to karaoke but only one of us got to sing.  

The next day we opted to get off of the sightseeing tour before it had ended. You see, we believe that we were thrown into a random tour (not the one we had signed up for) because our bus driver got in a fender-bender making us 20 minutes late! The tour guide we ended up spoke very broken English and yelled over the PA system. We gave each other looks and took off the moment the bus stopped for a restroom break.

We did some shopping for extra outfits because we decided to stay another night in Madrid.  Pizza sounded good but after we split one we somehow got lost walking back to our hotel. We walked in the blistering heat that was at  the day's high of 101° for two hours. We  passed the same churro shop,  murals, and that pizza place more than 3 times. I struggled as my cheap sneakers gave little support. I was just about to turn on my GPS and risk the enormous roaming cell phone bill when,  we ran into that same American girl from before!  She and her sister, helped us find our way back. We were so grateful that when they further offered to show us around we couldn't resist. Although we were exhausted, we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity.  I took a cool shower and somehow worked my swollen feet back into my shoes before we were off again. We went to the temple of Debod.  When we got there, I told my friend we had to investigate the Game of Thrones  chair and the film crew. When we did, we got to do fan promos for the Movistar Spanish channel!  it was awesome! The whole crew clapped after I did my 15-second spot! 

Me sitting in the Game Of Thrones (throne) doing a promo spot for Movistar (spanish cable network)!! Can someone call my agent?! I'm international!

It rained. Thank God, the temperature cooled after that. This made our trip to the castle bearable.  

The next day, we had breakfast at the Brown Bear Cafe, then off we went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Museum. Later, we bought souvenirs and tried to save our steps, still exhausted from the day before. In time, we headed back to the Renfe station to catch the train back to Malaga. 

I wanted to sleep in, but our last day abroad was in effect and I forced myself to get up and go to the beach! The resorts have "members only" access to the best spots. Marriott have signs that read: Beach Chairs €7.50 for members and   €25 for non-members. Seriously?!  So we walked along the sandy shores. It was magnificent and to think a short distance by ferry was the tip of Africa!

The rest of the day passed like a warm breeze and on it was our eagerness to return home. We had secured our Spanish tans,  packed everything and after snacks, not really wanting to eat full meals, we went to bed.

This time we did not miss our connection. 

THINGS I NOTICED WHILE IN SPAIN: 

They may say they speak English, but they don't, trust me. 

Spaniards eat very light meals (tapas), drink wine (drinking age is suggested at 16) a few times a day. 

Spaniards are smokers too, like the French.

And for some reason, there's ham (and sometimes eggs) on everything!  

IN SUMMARY:

I gave the trip a B+, based on my ability to communicate (in English and in Spanish), the natural beauty of the country, its inhabitants of course and finally, our accommodations. 

Would I return? Claro!