Marbella… Spain
It is a 2.5 hour flight from London. In that time one goes from gray, rainy sky to cool breezes, sunshine and palm trees. It is located on the southern Mediterranean coast, 45 minutes from Gibraltar and a short ferry ride from Tangiers. I was tempted to take the day trip to Tangiers but my friend who went the day before explained that you had to leave the hotel by 6:30am (not good for me) where you board a bus that takes you to the ferry and then you board another bus for the Tangier’s tour where they take you to shops that sell rugs and jewellery. Evidently the sales people apply a lot of pressure and one of my friends bought a rug and another some shirts. I decided that a long walk on the waterfront and swim in the pool was much more to my liking. Good for me because I didn’t even wake up until 11:30am!!
Oh, why was I there? I was there for a Seagate regional sales meeting. All of my colleagues from the sales and marketing teams were invited. Some of my US colleagues were also invited. Teresa King, my work partner for 12 years was one of them. It was so great to hang out with her again. (Did help the homesickness that I have been feeling lately) Also, a surprise, on Thursday night, my daughter’s childhood friend, Chrissie Dahl and her new husband, David Burns, arrived in Marbella, as they are travelling in Spain for the honeymoon. We were able to get them a room at the hotel and they went off for dinner while I attended the last night’s festivities, themed as “White Night.”
We asked all the attendees to wear white and the entire dining room was decorated with black and white table linens, white candles, silver accents, with black lights rotating from the ceiling. It was very dramatic and good fun. The meeting ended on Thursday night, so Friday and Saturday were ours to enjoy.
Chrissie and Dave found a last minute.com condo rental close to Marbella for only 50€ a night for three nights. So, since they are on basically no plan, this was good for them. Teresa and I took advantage of the pool and lounges. I swam in the overly warm lap pool and then laid in the sun, enjoying the sound of a flute being played somewhere below us on the beach. Teresa’s husband John came in around 8:30pm. (They are planning on travelling around Spain by train for the next 10 days.) It was so nice to enjoy one of these resorts that we have meetings at…oh, also, Teresa and I, like true old ladies, went down to the beach and hunted for perfect sea shells. We were able to get quite a few… Teresa says she is going to make wind chimes… not me, I admit I don’t have that much creativity…
Anyway Chrissie and Dave met us at the hotel that night and we walked to old town which is about 1.5 miles for Tappas.. We followed the signs for Tappas and ended up at a traditional Spanish restaurant where we enjoyed traditional Paella, fresh steamed prawns, meatballs, octopus salad and a wonderful potato dish. To compliment, we had a good Roja wine (Spanish Merlot) and a light Blanca bottle. All in all a great Spanish meal… eaten on Spanish time! By the time we got there it was 10:30pm… they like to eat late. We walked back along the sea and got back around 12:30pm, you have to love that Spanish time… at the hotel several older (older than me) couples were dancing to salsa music…
Loads of fun…
It is a 2.5 hour flight from London. In that time one goes from gray, rainy sky to cool breezes, sunshine and palm trees. It is located on the southern Mediterranean coast, 45 minutes from Gibraltar and a short ferry ride from Tangiers. I was tempted to take the day trip to Tangiers but my friend who went the day before explained that you had to leave the hotel by 6:30am (not good for me) where you board a bus that takes you to the ferry and then you board another bus for the Tangier’s tour where they take you to shops that sell rugs and jewellery. Evidently the sales people apply a lot of pressure and one of my friends bought a rug and another some shirts. I decided that a long walk on the waterfront and swim in the pool was much more to my liking. Good for me because I didn’t even wake up until 11:30am!!
Oh, why was I there? I was there for a Seagate regional sales meeting. All of my colleagues from the sales and marketing teams were invited. Some of my US colleagues were also invited. Teresa King, my work partner for 12 years was one of them. It was so great to hang out with her again. (Did help the homesickness that I have been feeling lately) Also, a surprise, on Thursday night, my daughter’s childhood friend, Chrissie Dahl and her new husband, David Burns, arrived in Marbella, as they are travelling in Spain for the honeymoon. We were able to get them a room at the hotel and they went off for dinner while I attended the last night’s festivities, themed as “White Night.”
We asked all the attendees to wear white and the entire dining room was decorated with black and white table linens, white candles, silver accents, with black lights rotating from the ceiling. It was very dramatic and good fun. The meeting ended on Thursday night, so Friday and Saturday were ours to enjoy.
Chrissie and Dave found a last minute.com condo rental close to Marbella for only 50€ a night for three nights. So, since they are on basically no plan, this was good for them. Teresa and I took advantage of the pool and lounges. I swam in the overly warm lap pool and then laid in the sun, enjoying the sound of a flute being played somewhere below us on the beach. Teresa’s husband John came in around 8:30pm. (They are planning on travelling around Spain by train for the next 10 days.) It was so nice to enjoy one of these resorts that we have meetings at…oh, also, Teresa and I, like true old ladies, went down to the beach and hunted for perfect sea shells. We were able to get quite a few… Teresa says she is going to make wind chimes… not me, I admit I don’t have that much creativity…
Anyway Chrissie and Dave met us at the hotel that night and we walked to old town which is about 1.5 miles for Tappas.. We followed the signs for Tappas and ended up at a traditional Spanish restaurant where we enjoyed traditional Paella, fresh steamed prawns, meatballs, octopus salad and a wonderful potato dish. To compliment, we had a good Roja wine (Spanish Merlot) and a light Blanca bottle. All in all a great Spanish meal… eaten on Spanish time! By the time we got there it was 10:30pm… they like to eat late. We walked back along the sea and got back around 12:30pm, you have to love that Spanish time… at the hotel several older (older than me) couples were dancing to salsa music…
Loads of fun…
