Viva España

When fed up with the darkness of winter, many Swedes go in search of sunlight. What better place to sojourn than the Costa Del Sol in Spain and what better company to do it with than Mandie, Derek, and Ella!

We arrived in Marbella to our awaiting chauffeur Derek in the very Euro Volkswagen Caddy. Kind of a boxy 7-seater that you would picture carting around a crew of Eastern European painters listening to the Talking Heads.

Ella and Amblen were ecstatic to see each other and fell right back into their old routines which included coloring, hugging, and colluding to manipulate their parents.























Downtown Marbella was beautiful and featured a promenade of Dali sculptures.
































We spent a good deal of time replenishing our vitamin D levels in the sun.

















Andalucia, the southwestern region of Spain on the coast, is known for oranges, beautiful small villages, Moorish influence, and a wonderfully relaxed attitude.











































On one of our day trips we toured the countryside and visited the town of Ronda which is built astride a giant gorge. The weather was perfect and the strollers rolled over kilometers after kilometers of cobblestones.

















































































































































Every evening was capped with a pitcher of sangria on a small square.































We hiked to the top of a peak hoping to see out across the Mediterranean to Africa, but the clouds rolled in as we reached the top.















Upon returning to the car we found Mandie sketching the natural beauty of the forest (with one ear open for sounds from the napping niños!)
















¡Hasta la próxima vez!