Marbella At Night

A couple of weekends ago (I know, I know, I'm still behind) I took a spontaneous trip to Marbella. Marbella is a city in the province of Malaga, and about 30 minutes away from Malaga capital (where I live). While Marbella is an immensely beautiful city with it's own sub-climate which actually makes it warmer than Malaga, it is more widely known as being a vacation spot for the super rich. There is an area of Marbella called Puerto Banus that literally looks like an episode of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." 

In this one area I counted at least six Bentley's, two Lamborghini's, two Ferrari's, and this new, all-white, four door Porsche Panamera that was to die for (I don't know if I ever mentioned it but I l-o-v-e cars so I definitely enjoyed this area). As if all of these luxury cars in about a three block radius wasn't enough, the tourists who didn't feel like getting the Bentley out of storage just pulled their multi-million dollar yachts directly up to Puerto Banus :)

Unfortunately, I did all my sightseeing in Marbella at night because we went to the pueblo during the day (more on that later), so here are a few shots. 

This was probably one of the weirdest statues I've ever seen. All I kept thinking was "why can you see that horse's ribs?"

Me and my friend Christina. Please excuse my awkward poses but this fountain had so many different colors and they were all so brilliant!

El Parque del Retiro

I previously heard people talk about Parque del Retiro in Madrid, but on my first visit (when it was 30 degrees and snowing), I didn't even come close to seeing it. So on my second, and much better trip to Madrid, I made sure to stop by. I was expecting a large park, with a lot of trails and greenery, but what I got was this amazing mix of beautiful landscaping, elaborate statues, and the cutest little pond with dozens of rowboats full of people enjoying a beautiful, romantic afternoon.

Your First Impression Is Not Always the Right Impression

The first time I was in Madrid, I was not impressed. It was the middle of January, about 30 degrees outside, snowing, AND I was sick. Needless to say, I was not in the best mood to sight-see, and deal with the millions of residents and tourists of Madrid. But, just like everything else in life, your first impression is not always the right impression.

This past Halloween, my second trip to Madrid, was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The weather was nice, I had great company (heyyy Tina), and I was able to explore Madrid at my own pace. The first time I was there I didn't even notice how beautiful Madrid actually is; The architecture is extraordinary!

Here are a few pictures of my walk from Puerta del Sol, the center of Madrid, to El Parque del Retiro, kind of like Central Park in New York.

Me and my friend Tina. 

***2,000***

*****2,000*****

I know I haven't done one of these posts in awhile but between getting settled in and starting work, I didn't even realize that I had passed 2,000 views!!! I remember the first day I started my blog, and how I was so happy to reach 100 views, now I have over 2,000!

Thanks to everybody for reading my blog and keeping up with my adventures in Spain :)

Scenes From Malaga

Not a cloud in the sky...

You have to love a city where you can still spend every afternoon at the beach in mid-October :)

Best.Orientation.Ever

Last Thursday (three days after we started work) we had our orientation as Auxiliares de Conversacion in Malaga. There was a meeting where we went over the basics like our salary, how to get your NIE (foreign identification number), work expectations, and health insurance. I heard that afterwards there was some type of lunch, so I was thinking that we were going to have sandwiches, maybe some tortilla, and a few bottles of water. 

WRONG! As we headed to the lunch room, we were greeted by this beautifully dressed woman pouring glasses of wine before we even got into the door. 

After entering the room, there was a wide array of tapas spread over the whole room. The event was catered and there were waiters who came around with freshly sliced ham--Spaniards love their ham--, hot tapas, and of course...more drinks!

Just when I thought this orientation couldn't get any better, we found out that they had hired a live band! The band opened with Bob Marley and I instantly was in love. 

Just to recap, we had an open bar, unlimited tapas, paella, and dessert, and a live band....for FREE!

Have I ever told you how much I love Spain??

First Run

I've mentioned that one of my goals while I'm here in Spain is to run a half marathon; I've run a few 5k's before, but nothing as substantial as a half marathon. A couple of days ago I went for my first run here in Spain...and it was along the beach :) I'm really out of shape so I just did intervals-- 3 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, and even though I was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf, during my run I couldn't help but think of how lucky I am to be here. Here are a few pictures I took during my run so you can see why I felt such happiness.

Have you ever had a moment that reminded you that you were truly blessed?