Visiting Puerto Banus... and Being Rich...

Another early morning rise today... something in the air?  so making the most of this morning I went for a nice run and walk along this beautiful coastline... so peaceful early in the morning, a little chilly, nice and quiet... the wind was brewing and as I looked up natures artist was creating a cosmic muriel in the skies...

Today we are going to visit Puerto Banus... we've heard a lot about it but it is nice to see it for your self...

Within half an hour, travelling on the toll road AP 7/E15 we were nicely parked in the underground parking at Puerto Banus... (4 euros an hour...) First stop of course was a nice cup of coffee at a corner cafe we found... with a beautiful view of all the mega yachts and the sun pouring down... relaxing and people watching again... and listening in on the people sitting near us talking about their latest purchase of a Ferrari and what they were going to do with the 1. 5 million euro they had just made...

The buildings, yachts, restaurants and shops all stood tall and grand... We took a picture of a Mega Yacht and sent it to our son with a message saying... 'we've put a small deposit down, waiting to hear when you can pick it up and make the final payment'.

I loved the name of a jewellery shop... Be Rich... it stated just what this whole corner of Marbella was expressing... Richness... and what everyone could allow themself to be... as richness dwells in the depth of every person... waiting to express and create their unique richness and have it reflected in their surrounding... what a wonderful world that would be...

I found a lovely boutique Custo, Barcelona that had some gorgeous and unusual designed clothes... for a reasonable price too... Time for lunch and we chose the Azul Marino Restaurant, 1 Linea, Puerto Banus... Reservation 952 811 044... specialising in fish, seafood and paella.  We had a 3 course meal for 17 euros... and a red tempranillo Castilla y Leon, Almenada.  They gave us a lovely warm soup and crunchy bread from the house to start with, as a starter we had Green asparagus au gratin and little squids & tarter sauce and for the main meal... fillets of sole in white wine sauce and Entrecôte.  For dessert we had lemon sherbet with cava and crepes... It was a delicious fine dining experience... for a very reasonable price...

  

January 2013... New Times...

You can feel it in the air around you, something different... life feels different... It's as if life is communicating with us on a higher frequency... the air feels charged... the dynamics have changed and it calls for ACTION...  and we are off on a journey down south... to explore a town Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol... We'd heard several people mention the place, so we thought it was about time to take a look for ourself...   It took us a good 5 hours from our home in Mazarron, with a short stop... to arrive at the four star Hotel Benalmadena Palace... We eventually settled into a great room... (we paid half price for an upgrade to have a room on the front with more sun).  This was quite a strange happening, because at the check in when we were given room no 313, I made a point of saying 'my lucky number!'   So you can imagine how disappointed we were upon entering the room, we felt quite 'unlucky' for a moment... It was situated at the back corner end of the hotel and was very dark.   We didn't like 'this unlucky' feeling and quickly took this opportunity to practise communication skills and changed the room.  

Now time to explore the hotel... down one floor from the reception area which has much 'local' information, a wifi section, library and comfy sofas to relax inside and outside on a small terrance...we found the snack bar/cafe and sat outside on a terrace, facing the 2 swimmings pools and sunning area... they served us 2 lovely bocadillos and refreshments.   Next door was the restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Down another pair of stairs or by lift was the Spa with indoor swimming pool, gym, beauty & hair salon... same floor as the indoor parking.

Just before sunset we took a brief walk to see the surrounding area... we walked towards the port, the marina... but after quite a walk, we realised the port was a long way... and we needed the car... We drove to the port, a good 10 mins away by car, parked up and walked around the marina...  which we thought was very impressive... lovely apartments (Las Islas) in the middle of the water and shops and restaurants circling the outside of the marina... very majestic... We stopped for a cocktail in one of the bars before deciding to indulge in some 'Benalmadena' cuisine...

We finally chose the Italian Restaurant Metro, Puerto Marina, Benalmadena Costa... Reservation 952 446 460.   We ordered a glass of the house red Rioja... very tasteful... We shared a Classic Caesar Salad to begin with, followed by a Puerto Marina Tagliattelle - a delicious dish with red mullet, shrimps, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, garlic and white wine...  and the Bolo Classic - Spagetti Bolognaise...  It was a very good choice, friendly staff, richly decorated room and tasteful cuisine...

Metro Italian Retaurant