Preview: Malaga

As I mentioned, this year's adventure is to Andulucia, Spain, to just outside the town of Malaga. Dave's friend Andy did junior year abroad in Valencia and ten years later married the Spanish beauty he met there. We planned this trip thinking that Carmina would show us around. Sadly, Andy and Carmina are no longer married but Andy's coming with us and we're hoping to see a pseudo-insider's view of the Costa del Sol.

This house is a bit different from the others we've rented. Its grounds are more extensive with several buildings on it. The main house has four bedrooms and there's also a pool house and three other buildings with guest accommodations. The property is used frequently for weddings and has been in several films. The owners have received rave reviews on Trip Advisor and are young and British; I anticipate that they will be as lovely as were John and Lydia, who set the bar exceptionally high.

My brother is not coming with us this time as they just bought a new house. My parents are. They joined us in Italy we barely saw them. Really and truly. We had dinner with them two nights and they joined us in the pool for an hour one afternoon. The rest of the time they left before we got up and busily worked on their check offs. We'll see if this year is the same.

People seem to love Spain. My brother spent three weeks there after college. My husband has been there. One of my colleagues just came back from a trip with his husband, their 2-year-old and their extended family. I'm a little scared about a place where dinner begins at 10p. When was the last time I spoke in full sentences after 10p?!

After our two weeks on the Costa del Sol we're heading north to Barcelona before flying home. Ever since I took a European architecture class in college I've been dying to see Gaudi's Sangrada Familia Church there. The day is quickly approaching! I've watched Cheetah Girls 2 enough times to know that Barcelona is my kind of town!

If you read my previous post and think this is your kind of trip, speak up. We just had a cancellation for the second week and have room for four more people. The airfare is at an all time low as I type.

The fun begins Sunday as we are having the Week 1 families over for brunch. Strangely enough, three of the four Week 2 Provence couples are going on a wine tasting trip together in Paso Robles this weekend. And they weren't all best buds before the trip, either!