Costa Del Sol

This past weekend the UK was hit with severe rain and gale force winds (80+ mph) but I knew nothing of this as I was sunning myself in Puerto Banus, Spain where it was a mild ~70F. I went to Spain this past weekend for yet another training session and asked my friend Tonya to join me once again. By the time the trip came we were both excited to get out of London and head for some sunshine. I think it's just about this time of year when people are the most affected by the gloomy weather and neither Tonya or I were spared. We only stayed a couple of days but it was long enought to get a slight tan, some mojitos, and the requisite dish of paella.

Althought it was fantastic to feel the warmth of the sun again, I probably won't be returning to Puerto Banus in the future. As much as the Europeans may complain that the Americans have no sense of culture/adventure to explore new destinations, I think that the Europeans are much more exposed to this criticism. In my travels I've discovered that the Europeans (mainly the Brits and the Germans) have a tendency to seek out or create places that offer warmer climates and then completely homogenize them by sucking out any sign of local flavor. Puerto Banus is an excellent example of this since it is basically a destination that was artificially created in the likeness of what Brits and Germans believe a city on the coast of Spain should be. There are marinas with expensive yachts, alleys with designer clothing shops, and hotels filled pools and lagoons. However, there are no signs of local Spanish culture. For a small fortune, every restaurant serves either fish and chips or paella and sangria, which is not a Spanish dish or drink typical of the Andalucia region where Puerto Banus is located in. You also didn't need to go far to find your local Irish pub. This was most apparent to us when, trying to get a drink before dinner (since dinner starts at 10pm), we entered a romantic looking Italian restaurant. The cheesy owner in his "Miami Vice" outfit seated us in the bar where the walls were decorated with pictures of him with celebrities. For 30 minutes we watched as couple after couple of 80+ year old Brits came in for their "early bird" dinner special and he kissed each one on both cheeks.

We were much luckier in our choices though since we were able to find a couple really good authentic restaurants that had food we wouldn't likely see in London or San Francisco. In the pictures you can see the traditional dish of espetones de sardinas (sardines roasted on bamboo spits).

Sorry I haven't got much to write about this time but I didn't make it back from Puerto Banus until ~1am last night so I'm completely exhausted. It was also a serious downer to come back to some horrid weather after spending two days laying out by the pool. I did manage to take a few pictures though.