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Marbella is the upscale city on Spain's Costa del Sol, its Grosse Pointe or River Oaks. It's an old place and people have been living here since the stone age. Lately it's become the stoned age as the town went upscale. The center of the old town is a lovely garden called Plaza de los Naranjos. It's edged by stately 16th and 17th century buildings with elegant facades.
About two blocks away, the parish church of Mary of the Annunciation anchors the other end of old town. (The church isn't this crooked in real life, just an overzealous camera lens.)
Streets are pedestrianized, but still fairly wide. Shops are upscale. Some think of this place as a bunch of white buildings breaking up all of the golf courses nearby.
Most roads seem to lead to the church as its tower projects high above the whitewashed homes.
Most enter the church through the side door...
...below this tiled depiction of Gabriel hailing Mary.
The church's front door has a baroque portal with...
...details such as this.
Inside features include a lavish pipe organ called the "Organo del Sol Mayor." Note the sun at top and the name on the bottom.
And, of course, a gold retable on the altar -- a Spanish touch.
Marbella was a sleepy fishing village (like much of the Costa del Sol) until a nobleman's Rolls broke down here in the 1940s. He liked the place and invested in tourist infrastructure and eventually persuaded his buddies into making this a jet-set destination.
Sean Connery and Antonio Banderas live (or lived) nearby. We spotted this celebrity but agreed to leave her unnamed lest the paparazzi find her through a Google search.
Between the old town and the sea are two parks -- one old and remodeled, but still with a bit of rakish charm.
It holds onto its past, sometimes with a bit of style.
A newer park has arisen at the edge of the Venus Beach.
This is a modern park with plenty of parking hiding below its manicured surface. It's nearly empty -- given the shade of the old park to its north and the sun of the beach to its south.
Many of the sculptures are by Salvador Dali. This may also contribute to the scarcity of humans on these stones.
What really kicked Marbella into the jet set was its marina named after Franco's buddy/builder Jose Banús. Puerto Banús can hold 915 boats with slips up to 160 feet long. The better slots have views of Mount LaConcha at far right.
The King of Saudi Arabia kept his yacht here for many years. His retinue could run to a thousand people and often included the obscure Osama bin Laden who apparently preferred life in a cave to this.
This picture pretty much sums up the place: expensive cars parked before much more expensive boats. The shore is lined with upscale retail stores found in most big cities with money. Chicks strut on the boardwalk hoping to attract a billionaire or two. It did not remind us of Morocco although the buildings and the sea used the same color scheme. THE END: See all of our travel pictures by cutting and pasting this link into your browser: http://www. dickschmitt.com/travels.html
