Marbella is a town of two halves, the old and the new.
Old town Marbella is a labyrinth of cobbled streets filled with cafes and restaurants, frequented by as many locals as tourists giving it a somewhat authentic feel. Classy boutiques outnumber the tourist tat shops and being Sunday, the organs from the catholic church in Plaza de la Iglesia compete with flamenco music spilling out of the surrounding tablaos.
Wandering through the quiet narrow side streets, old whitewashed buildings covered in an explosion of vibrant pink bougainvillea are punctuated by flowering purple jacaranda trees. Meanwhile the impressive Sierra Blanco mountains reveal themselves in the distance beyond the palm trees.
A stones throw from the old town is beachfront Marbella. High rise apartments and hotels stand sentinel along the promenade and sun loungers line up on the beach with military precision.
Beach bars pump out euro pop and pour cocktails while young beautiful people flock together like gulls, to see and be seen.
Meanwhile along the promenade, street vendors sell fake designer handbags and football shirts and flee faster than Mo Farrow just seconds before the regular and random police patrols roll through the area. They either have a sixth sense or more likely, someone keeping watch and tipping them off.
In my late teens and early twenties, I would have loved beachfront Marbella, I can still understand the attraction yet my older self prefers the charm of the old town.
Old town Marbella, you are indeed Bella.
Lovely places and evocative writing! It sounds like Dreams is behaving well. I understand how easy it is to forget procedures when you’re dock bound for a while.
The stuff of postcards and beautiful romance stories. Love it.
I smell the Jacaeandas and hear the flamenco. The quality of your writing is so pleasing. Were you by chance a professional writer at one point?
Once again, Toni, your narrative is absolute prose. You take us into your experiences so vividly. You must collect these writings and publish them!