Feliz Navidad - Puerto Banus

We flew into Malaga, Spain and arrived at night.  Our resort was outside Malaga, but I didn't realize how far, and so because we left at the end of the week at the crack of dawn, we never really saw the city.  We stayed in the little town of Puerto Banus, which is where the rich and famous like to vacation. It was like being in Dubai - lots of fancy cars and expensive shops, but very beautiful.  Thanks to a banked week from RCI and my parent's generosity, we had a two bedroom apartment for the week.  When we arrived, Will's first question was, "Where's our Christmas tree?"  Nate and I had worried that having Christmas away from home might take some of the excitement away from Will, but with a little luck in the form of a slightly dusty ficus tree, and some Christmas Eve 50% off sales, we made a tree!  Will was really excited to decorate it, and the red lights added good ambiance to the room, as well as worked as a night light for him. 

I copied a tradition from some friends, and ordered some Christmas picture books that we opened each night, and my mom got to read multiple times.  She is Will's favorite story reader.  And I shelled out some dough for Christmas jammies at the Carter's store in Dubai, so we were ready to celebrate.  We used the semi-decorative re-usable grocery bags, a couple of rolls of wrapping paper and masking tape (we seriously couldn't find any other kind) and presents were ready to go under the tree.

Rain, thunder and a little lightning woke us up on Christmas morning, and Nate ventured out to the 24/7 grocery across the street for some pastries for breakfast.  I forgot to include a picture of our Christmas Eve dinner - delicious salmon!  With our own kitchen and a couple grocery stories to choose from, we got to eat Nate's cooking, and didn't risk being served pig tongue and ears again.  

For once I actually got some Christmas shopping done early... We found a cool stilt fisherman for my dad in Sri Lanka, and a Turkish lamp for my mom in Istanbul, and they brought us some great stuff from Costco, Wal-Mart, Old Navy and some great gifts from our family.  It was awesome to be with family for Christmas, so we are looking for anyone who wants to travel next year - but probably just to Dubai:)  

All Finley needed was a ball - she chased it all over, and Aunt Lisa sent some great animal puppets for Will.  

The sun came out, so we went out for a walk by the beach and explored a little of the town.

Turns out hanging out with us is exhausting.  Every time we stopped, or sat down, my parents fell asleep:)  But we did make them walk all over the cities, and listen to our sometimes super loud children, and take late night and early morning flights, plus there was some jet lag to contend with as well!  

The resort had 4 pools, and really pretty grounds, but none were heated, so all that space we wasted on swimwear could have been filled with, well I don't know what.  But Will had fun looking for crocodiles in the pond.

Marbella is another town near where we stayed so we ventured in there one afternoon and evening to explore its charms and see the promised Christmas lights.  It did not disappoint - the narrow winding streets, cute shops and beautiful Christmas lights and decorations were just what we were hoping for when we left Dubai for the holiday.  We found a recommended restaurant for tapas - a dinner tradition in Spain where they serve appetizer size servings of lots of choices, so we got to try several different things - but stayed on the safe side, and the English menu helped too!

Side note:  Getting around was a pain - and made me cranky.  Taxis wouldn't take more than 4 people - even the van taxis, so we had to take two taxis everywhere since they counted both kids.  And when we got to the airport in Madrid, none of the car taxis could fit all our luggage, so we had to hire a special airport shuttle!  Bonus though- turned out it was cheaper than the taxis so ha ha.  But man, every time we tried to get in a cab, I got so irritated. Anyway....

Everyone in Madrid (mostly adults) were wearing these reindeer hats, and Will loved wearing his all around. Last year he spent all of Christmas Eve in his Santa hat - even at lunch in the mall, so this was a fun new hat for this year. I guess my parents weren't the only ones who were worn out!

My parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on the 27th of December.

Along with the Christmas lights everywhere, lots of stores, churches and parks had nativity scenes set up - ranging from simple Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus to elaborate ones with whole villages and moving sheep, camels cows, cats dogs, goats etc., little fires in the bread ovens, turning wheels on the blacksmith things (not sure the technical/historically correct terms...) and Will loved stopping to see the Baby Jesus's everywhere.  I'm sure all the animals that were included were a draw as well.

One of my - and my mom's favorite things is playing games, so each night my parents and Nate and I played Quiddler - a fun, but sometime frustrating word game.  Nate won most of the nights. We were party animals:) what with all the naps, and walks and cooking at home.  Travelling is great, but can be stressful, and it was so nice to have a real apartment to stay in, and a quiet, laid back week.  And then, on to Portugal...