Hola querida familia y amigos!

Hey everyone!  I feel like I've been gone forever, but now I'm back & eager to get back into the swing of things.  Do you want to know what I've been up to?  Does my title give you any kind of clue?  It means "Hello my dear family & friends."  The Man & I took a 2 week vacation to Spain!  We took a tour called "The Best of Andalucia" and soaked up the sights and sounds of the southern part of Spain, Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean.   We had a wonderful time, & I'm very eager to share some of our photos and experiences with all of you.  I'm going to break it up into several blogs so as not to overwhelm you with photos, & because I have a "mountain" of laundry to do & a vegetable garden "gone wild" that needs lots of attention.  I'm also very anxious to catch up on all of your blogs to see what everyone has been up to.

Today I just want to share a few photos of our first sights in Malaga, where we stayed.  This was my first trip abroad, so I was pretty awe-struck & very "picture happy!"

Hola!

Our home away from home for 2 weeks.

I was amazed with this huge rubber tree & the well-manicured plantings around the hotel.

Just inside the lobby -- all marble & elegance!  And yes, the floors were always this shiny & clean!

This was the lounge-bar area in our hotel.  Are those not the most awesome chairs?  Dreadfully uncomfortable, however!

The view from our room balcony.  You can see the cruise ship in the distance.  We saw several during our stay.

The same view (minus the ship).  Plenty of lounge chairs & umbrellas right on the beach.  There must have been two-hundred little restaurants like this one within walking distance.

This was the view in another direction from our balcony. 

The hotel pool area.

                        

Beautiful pots filled with all kinds of flowers & small palms.

One of the little "retail therapy" streets just a short distance from our hotel.  I may have had a Sangria at that little restaurant....lol!

This board walk stretched for a couple of miles in both directions from our hotel.  Lots of restaurants & little shops.

On the ocean side of the boardwalk, were lots of lounge areas for enjoying the sun and sand.  They had a beach sweeper out every morning keeping everything clean.

And all the sidewalks were well maintained by some of these guys.  All city workers wore these uniforms, but in different colors.  They were always extremely polite & willing to help.

I think that's enough for today.  I don't want to bore you with too many photos at a time.  Besides, the laundry is beckoning (more like screaming), & I'm in desperate need of a nap....LOL!   

Thanks so much for being patient with me while I was away.  It may take me awhile, but I do intend to catch up with you as soon as I can.

CAS