All the countries we have visited so far serve olives with EVERY meal. I’m talking all colors… green, yellow, orange, red and black. The color depends on how long it stays on the tree. In Morocco, black olives are essential for breakfast.

Settling in at the Costa del Sol (Spanish Rivera), in the small but prosperous seaside town of Marbella… sitting on the banks of the Alboran Sea (a few miles east of the Strait of Gibraltar), we once again find olives every time we sit down to eat. And, now… Sangria (loaded with bunches of fruits) and tapas (small dishes of different delicacies to taste). Sitting at a sidewalk cafe on the seawalk …people watching…seeing ALL kinds of people is the perfect afternoon activity for 2 senior ladies that have exhausted themselves shopping in the old town of Marbella.

I’m gonna nick name this city “the flower pot city”. There are flower pots full of colorful fresh blooming flowers EVERYWHERE you look…even built into the white walls. Our hotel has a bridge within its grounds that was actually build in the 1st Century AD… complete with a small stream that is home to
several graceful swans that float by regularly. Each morning there’s a gigantic buffet breakfast… not an overstatement. Then it’s time to give our poor feet a break… so we spent a leisurely afternoon on the beach with our white legs shining and a book in our hands listening to the waves breaking endlessly and the seagulls squawking tirelessly. Up until this “fancy” hotel, Nobu Marbella, (located on what is referred to as The Golden Mile due to price of real estate) which we managed to spring for with Hyatt points (my first time in a Category 7.. not to brag cause I didn’t even know there was a category 7😜…) there’s been no tv…so we are now watching reports that the Coronavirus is spreading thru out Europe and wondering if we should head back early. But finally deciding …not today😜