Marbella

One of our Spain day trips took us to Marbella.  Instead of driving there though we caught a ferry from Puerto Banus, far more relaxing and fun!  You can take either a ferry (which is what we chose) or a catamaran.  The catamaran seemed to be aimed at the bikini clad twenty somethings whilst the ferry seemed the more family friendly choice!  The ferry takes about an hour and along the way you get to enjoy a warm sea breeze and the coastal scenery of this part of Spain.  They run regularly and It's definitely worth doing as a nice alternative to driving.  The ferry leaves Puerto Banus right in the heart of the marina near the bars and shops and docks at Marbella harbour which is just a short walk from the old part of the city.  So you don't need to worry about long walks at either end or ending up in a port miles from any civilisation!

Once we arrived we stopped at a coffee shop close to the harbour.  This was a place to people watch or sit and read a good book as the owners seemed happy to let us sit as long as we wanted.  I didn't get any photos (stupid moment) but the place was decorated in a beautifully bright and garish way and had gorgeous and uniquely decorated coffee cups.  I was so impressed with my husband's cup that I ordered a coffee after my soft drink just to see what cup I got.  I don't even know the name of the place!  Hopefully though if I ever return to Marbella I'll be able to find it again, as long as I go by ferry.

Plaza de los Naranjos

From here we walked towards the Plaza de los Naranjos which dates back to 1485.  There are, as you'd expect, several historical buildings lining the square but also lots of cafes and lunch spots.  Unsurprising then that this was where we made our lunch stop.  It was here that I managed to have my first sangria of the holiday as well as a delicious pepper salad.  All washed down again with a lot of people watching as the afternoon passed us by.

Plaza de los Naranjos

Before we visited I was not sure what to expect from Marbella.  For many the Costa del Sol region of Spain is a place where some Brits go because they can get the food they eat at home and everyone speaks English but the weather is far more reliable than it is in the UK.  I admit that Marbella was not a location that had ever appealed to me to want to visit when I'd been to Spain before.  I think it is one of those places that I imagined there would not be much to see so I was pleasantly surprised by the old part of the city.  We did not explore far and perhaps the old part of the city is the best part from a tourists point of view but I do now feel that it justifies a further visit someday to find out for certain. 

Our day concluded with the ferry ride back to Puerto Banus (which for me made the day even better), a lovely, lazy, people watching type of day.  I guess I shouldn't have written off Marbella before I'd tried it. 

Saw these tiled shop signs in many of the cities and towns we visited and fell in love with them

Marbella harbour