Chillin' with the Brits in Costa del Sol, Spain

Guess what?  We figured out where all the Brits escaped to, to get away from their homeland during the Olympics - Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean in Spain!

We are guests of a friend at a resort near the town of Fuengirola, who happened to be vacationing in Spain with her friend during the same time period we would be here.  They already had a condo booked on the Spanish Riviera, and invited us to join them for the week.  Isn't that generous?

Apparently, we came to a primarily British destination resort.  We may be the only Americans here, which makes vacationing with a bunch of Brits very fun and interesting.  Dorothy, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore!

For starters, all the kids sound so polite when they speak with their English accents.  Can't get enough of the accent.  They can also tell that we are not from England (quite obvious), but cannot necessarily discern if we are Australian or American...interesting.

The resort restaurant menus have an eclectic mix of Spanish (e.g. paella), American (e.g. burgers, tacos), British (as in Indian curry, which has practically been adopted as their national dish), and Italian (surprisingly good lasagna!) food.   Service is quite slow and terrible, as with most European service we've encountered in the past.  Nothing new there.

Also, consistent with many European style lodging, we do not have any air conditioning in our condo, which gave us a minor heart attack when we arrived on a 105F degree day.  However, the ocean breeze is constant and has kept us very comfortable.  We really have had no need for A/C.  

And, we are definitely in Europe since we are surrounded by plenty of topless (and occasionally bottomless) sun worshippers.  Yup, whole families with their teenager daughters all hanging out on the beach, topless; and a middle-aged man leaning against a stone wall, smoking a cigarette, completely naked.  There's a reason bathing suits were invented - to protect the public...

Big resorts aren't our usual style of vacation, but the coast is beautiful and it's been nice to catch up with our friends and have a week of easy living where we don't have to do a lot of planning or problem-solving.

The Mediterranean coast, at least in these parts, has a pebbly and sometimes rocky shoreline.  Our friends spent hours collecting beautiful beach glass and terra cotta fragments worn-down over time by the waves.  The water was deep blue and very cold.  One guy was saying that the water temperature is usually 2-3 degrees Celsius higher, but for unknown seasons, much colder this year.  Since it has been over 100F degrees, the water felt quite refreshing.

Here are a few photos of our week at the resort.