December 26, 2007<\/u>.\u00a0 Marbella town was just as cute as we remembered it, with narrow streets, a castle (what town doesn’t have one), the Plaza de los Naranjos, etc…\u00a0 It was a bit too cold and windy for the boys to hang on the beach so we went back to the hotel and let them watch a video (sometimes we just take the path of least resistance) and then down to the “quiet” pool which was occupied by some loud French people with their kids so we were among the better behaved.\u00a0 They got some water time in at the heated pool, did some laps, and got some energy spent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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December 27, 2007<\/u>.\u00a0 Off to Jerez we went to see the Andalucian<\/strong> school of Equestrian Art<\/a>.\u00a0 Here’s the review I posted on trip advisor:<\/p>\n We visited today and were sorely disappointed. First, even with tickets purchased on the Internet, expect to stand in an unruly line for up to an hour (50 minutes for us). Second, the show itself, while the horses display some very thorough training, is schmaltzy at best and cruel at worst. At one point, to applause of the audience, the horses are whipped so that they stand on the hind legs and rear up. My thinking is that if you whip them hard enough, you can probably get them to do a flip — they are real athletic.<\/p>\n DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!<\/p>\n ______________________________<\/p>\n What I didn’t say was that the announced at the beginning that no cameras were allowed.\u00a0 Most people were either so disgusted with the whole deal (me) or just didn’t listen or care, that they just ignored the warning.\u00a0 One woman next to me actually had a video camera going.\u00a0 A woman kept walking down the isle and telling people not to film.\u00a0 I walked out I hated the torture so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n December 28, 2007.<\/u>\u00a0 This morning we decided to stay another day in Marbella, given the weather forecast for clear skies and warm weather, and the daunting drive in front of us, no reason to jump into the car.\u00a0 The hotel agreed and extended our stay another day (at the same discounted travel agent rate).\u00a0<\/p>\n We walked to Puerto Banus<\/a>, which I’d already run to twice, injuring my left ankle in the process.\u00a0 In any case, we walked there which took a while since first, we forgot the camera and second, David and Joshua stopped every 200 feet to play in the sand, and third, the dog was trying to go every which way.\u00a0 Anywho, we made it after an hour plus, found water, bathrooms, and lunch and took a look at some of the boats, including one with a helicopter on top.\u00a0 Joshua said he thinks we should buy a house boat.<\/p>\n Joshua, David and I took a cab back to the hotel and Annette and Anne and Rocket walked back.\u00a0 I hung out on the beach with David and Joshua, and they finally got their beach time, and then when the girls and Rocket got back, we all went to the pool and ended dinner at the same place we’ve eaten now for three nights in a row (large no-smoking area, nice service and good food).<\/p>\n December 29, 2007<\/u>.\u00a0 We drove this morning, after a great breakfast at the Don Pepe (“Boys – eat everything you can, you won’t eat again for a long time.\u00a0 You’re full, you’re not full until you can’t stuff anything more in.”) back to the Montbolli, which is about half way back to Barcelona.\u00a0 Once we got here after about six hours and a nice picnic lunch<\/a>, and realized how nice it is (it is), we decided to stay an additional day.\u00a0 That’s an additional day we stayed in Marbella and an additional day we’re staying here.\u00a0 Nothing requires that we get back to Barcelona in any rush, so…\u00a0 The boys especially enjoyed the Knights<\/a>.<\/p>\n