Marbella, Spain: Day 8

Another lazy day is okay by me.  It is much more difficult to blog when you don't do anything all day.  I woke up late again this morning and headed straight to the pool with Nick and Sister. Nick ended up taking a walk on the beach with the rest of the family while Melissa and I stayed poolside.  After laying around under an umbrella for a couple of hours, I was getting pretty hungry.  We headed to one of the resort restaurants for lunch at their salad bar. 

Den standing in the Med. 

Nick's iced tea was almost double what my beer cost. 

From the salad bar I made myself two different kinds of salad.  A fully loaded up green and an Italian style pasta salad.  I was the more full after these two salads than I have been this whole trip. I had to waddle back to our room to lay down. 

Den got a pepperoni pizza.

After flopping around the apartment for a while, we got ready to head to Puerta Banus, which is only about 20 minutes away from our resort.  Puerta Banus is similar to a Rodeo Drive but on the water.  Tons of giant yatchs and fancy cars.  At one point during dinner Nick and Dennis were leaning so far out of the restaurant with their chairs tipping that you would have thought they spotted a good looking lady.  There are plenty of those around too, but they're all about the cars.

Those apartments overlooking the water must be really pricey. The beach itself was a little hot and stinky. 

Yacht after yacht after yatch. 

Not so complimentary potato salad.  The bread also cost us around $25.  Can you believe that?!  $25 for dinner bread.  I think we're going to start telling them that we don't want the appetizers since they cost an arm and a leg. 

We also have to make sure to ask for ice otherwise they don't give it to you.

That's one fancy Fanta.

Fried Calamari

Seafood soup

Muscles in wine sauce appetizer.

Salmon tartar appetizer

Garlic wine sauce clams.

Nick got the filet of Sole in a cream sauce. 

Dad got a whole fish baked in salt, but they didn't crack it open right in front of us so I was shooting through a window. 

Mom literally got a pot of mussels.

She is so pleased by the size of the pot. 

I got the spaghetti fruitti di mare. I actually thought that it was really tasty and they gave me a good amount of seafood. 

Mom did work. 

Chocolate mousse. 

There was a Lamborghini Aventador parked in front of a shop and there were literally people crowding around to take pictures of it.  Women were actually laying their leathery skin on the hood of the car.  

Den put together this collage of the women laying on the car and then Dad running up to mock them.  He didn't actually touch the car like they did, of course.

You know it's a good vacation when you find yourself saying, "I'm bored".  It's nice to slow down every once in a while, but it also means that there isn't much for me to report back.  Tomorrow will probably be about the same.  Maybe we will venture into the Old Town section of Marbella in the evening to check things out, but most of the day will be spent laying by the pool or sleeping.  It's going to be hard to go back to work and have to stay awake all day.  At least I've been catching up on my reading. Until then: Enjoy Labor Day.

Marbella, Spain: Day 7

Note to reader:  If you're sensitive about eating baby animals, please do not continue. 

Today was a lazy day.  I mean, really lazy.  I woke up at 11am and completely missed the foie gras and toast breakfast that the family made.  Therefore, this post will be lazy.  I literally stole these first few scenic pictures from Den.  He went for a four-mile walk with the parents while Nick, Sister and I were laying by the pool sweating and roasting like pigs.  I have a feeling that the lazier the days get, the lazier the posts will become.  Though, we do still have pretty substantial dinners which always makes for good posting.

Jerng Jerng, Mom and Ye Ma.

Mom and Ye Ma on the Mediterranean beach. 

Den said that they actually had a large amusement float like the American show "Wipe Out". It would be pretty cool to try this out, but our group isn't much for swimming.  

These beers don't look that big here, but you'll notice that sister was holding hers with two hands and I was squeezing mine into an oblong shape to get a good grip. 

For lunch we ate at one of the resort pool-side stands.  I got a lamb wrap. 

Nick got a beef sandwich.

We met a nice couple from Minnesota who we exchanged travel tips and Marriott experiences with at the pool.  After our long talk, I was feeling rather pink and headed back to the room before the others.  This was nice as I was able to shower and hang out with Dad watching clips from 2014's Fashion Week in Paris.  I will never understand high fashion.  Once Nick came back, we both hit the bed for short naps before dinner.  I could get used to this.

For dinner Dad made a reservation at El Rodeito because we found that they make suckling pig.  If you're in the Marbella area, I highly recommend this restaurant.  The service was as excellent as the food.  It was a little pricey, but as I'm sure you've seen, we live by the motto: Go big or go home.

This looks like an old-school torture device, but really is for the Jambon.  We had a 7:30pm reservation, which by Spanish standards, is so early it's unheard of.  Most people don't start showing up for dinner until 10:30pm.

I'm sure these were added to the tab, but there were some tasty appetizers on the table when we arrived.

I know that this oil doesn't look like much, but it was amazing.  Nick and I studied it for a while trying to figure out the seasoning and spices within.  It was very spicy while still having a light olive oil flavor.  

The local chorizo was so delicious.  Probably the best that I've ever had.  The waiter said that it is a recipe from Northern Spain.  As goes with chorizo, it was quite greasy, but it didn't have that oily texture that coats your mouth and the flavor wasn't extremely salty like the chorizo that I have at home.

Baby lamb sweetbreads.  Not just lamb sweetbreads, but baby lamb.  Cruel to say, but the younger the tastier. If you're squeamish, just forget what I said and pretend that it's sausage. 

House salad with white asparagus.

Onion "Black Pudding". (blood sausage)

Lamb kidneys

Close up of the lamb kidney.  We had enough offal tonight that Sister said that our hearts would stop mid-meal. 

Seafood paella

The star of the night was the suckling pig, of course.  The waiter said that they've looked into opening a restaurant in the United States, but because of the US regulations on age of the animals, they wouldn't be able to stay true to their roots.  Their suckling pigs are about four weeks old before they are killed. 

This was the cool part.  The waiter said that he would cut the pig in front of us with plates.  I didn't really think that he was going to chop the meat with a plate.  I thought he would chop the meat and then put it on our plates.  Oh how wrong I was.  He cut the meat with the plates.  The force of the plate against the tiny bones of the baby pig cut right through like he was using a knife. Teppanyaki, move over!

That missing hole is where Mom ate out the eyeball.

On the other side of the skull she ate the brain.  She looks so happy about it too.
No wasting in this family. 

Nick got a carrot cake for dessert. 

Dennis got a banana mocha pie.

Aperitifs for digesting all of that protein. 

Because we were such good customers, aka we ordered a lot, the waiter gave us complimentary shot glasses.

Hung on the wall by the exit is a breathalyzer.  They need these in bars at home.

I feel like I'm going to die of a cardiac related problem in my sleep, but I will die happy.  Tomorrow we plan to go to the ritzy part of Marbella where they have fancy cars and shops that we can't afford.  Perhaps we will do some good eating there as well.  Most of the day, however, we plan to camp out by the pool and soak in some extra strong rays. Good thing I brought 55spf sunscreen and there are lots of umbrellas. Until then: Make like a zombie and eat the brains.