WOOHOO!!!! Confirmed into Marriott Marbella Beach

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I just got confirmed into Marriott Marbella Beach for June 07. I can't wait......

Now I'm thinking of seeing if SFX has anything in Europe, so that I could extend my vacation another week. I have a week sitting with SFX, as well as a bonus week.

Any ideas?

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Angela, how wonderful. Spain has some very interesting places to visit but some of them too far away from where you are staying. I lived in Cadiz which is the oldest city in Europe. I would love to go back one day to see the rest of Spain. I hope you can add more weeks while you are there or stay in a few hotels so you do not have to go back and forward each day. Distances are far from one place to another.

From the pictures I have seen, it looks like a beautiful resort. I am happy for you.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Angela,

That is so exciting for you, congratulations! Have fun planning the rest of your trip!!

[bigrick Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigrick]

Now I'm thinking of seeing if SFX has anything in Europe, so that I could extend my vacation another week. I have a week sitting with SFX, as well as a bonus week.

Any ideas?

First off I suggest extending for 2 weeks and use BOTH your SFX weeks.

How far do you want to travel these extension weeks?

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

No suggestions, but that's terrific!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Emmy,

I wasn't sure how far Cadiz was from Marbella, so I goggled it. I think it may be about 3-4 hours away, so I don't think that we will get to see it, this trip. However, it looks like it is a beautiful city, filled with history. Their carnival, is still the most extravagant, in all of Europe.

Cadiz..........


122km (76 miles) S of Seville, 625km (388 miles) SW of Madrid, 32km (20 miles) SW of Jerez de la Frontera

At the end of a peninsula, Cádiz separates the Bay of Cádiz from the Atlantic. It was here that Columbus set out on his second and fourth voyages.

Cádiz (pronounced "cah-deeth") was founded, according to legend, by Hercules himself some 3,000 years ago. The seafaring Phoenicians settled here around 1100 B.C. and in 501 the conquering Carthaginians landed. They were followed by the Romans in 206 B.C. Cádiz was to see other conquerors, notably the Visigoths and the Muslims. The rule of the Moors came to an end in 1262 when King Alfonso X brought the port under the yoke of Spanish rule.

In 1587, Sir Francis Drake, whom Spaniards still refer to as a pirata, sailed into Cádiz and caused much damage in a raid. The attack of the British forces delayed the Armada. In 1596 Cádiz suffered its most devastating attack yet when combined Anglo and Dutch ships arrived at harbor to burn the city to the ground.

Cádiz bounced back and in the 1700s reached the zenith of its power and prestige -- enough so that it attracted Napoleon's greedy eye. French troops invaded and Cádiz became the capital of occupied Spain. In the 19th century, the loss of the American colonies, on which the prosperity of Cádiz depended, plunged the port into a long slumber, from which it only started to recover in the 1970s. Long a bastion of liberal thought and tolerance, Cádiz saw more bloodshed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s when its townspeople fought -- but lost -- in their struggle against Franco's Fascists.

Today, this modern, bustling Atlantic port is a melting pot of Americans, Africans, and Europeans who are docking or passing through. The old quarter teems with local characters, little dives, and seaport alleys. The narrow cobblestone streets, which open onto charming small plazas, evoke an old city in North Africa. Despite its vibrancy and diverse influences, however, Cádiz isn't of major interest for most visitors. What the visitor confronts today is an industrial hub of activity with one of the busiest ports in Spain, dominated by its shipbuilding and naval dockyards. Cádiz is also a big fishing center, and also a major departure point for ships sailing to the Canary Islands, a Spanish possession. It is regrettable that many foreigners have yet to discover the charm of Old Cádiz.

When visitors, mostly Spanish, do flock to Cádiz, it is for the summer beaches and for the famous Carnaval in February, one of the most extravagant in Europe. Music fills the air from mandolins, tambourines, guitars, and even whistles. Seemingly everybody in town parades through the streets in costumes. Singing, dancing, and riotous street behavior characterize the event, which lasts all night long, ending when revelers flood the cafes for freshly cooked churros (like doughnut sticks), which they dunk into steaming hot cups of chocolate. The Cádiz carnival usually takes place during the second week of February.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Thanks all. I have really been hoping to get this exchange, so I'm real excited.

Bigrick

First off I suggest extending for 2 weeks and use BOTH your SFX weeks.

How far do you want to travel these extension weeks?

Unfortunately, my husband can't take that much time off. Two weeks at one time, seems to be his limit. He did suggest that I stay on for another week, or so. I doubt that I will do that, tho.

I think we may use our points, and go to Paris for a week. I think it will be too difficult trying to get a timeshare to fit into our schedule. Maybe after our week in Marbella, we can do a weekend in Madrid, and then a week in Paris.

Haven't looked into hotel availability for points yet, so we've got our fingers crossed.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Thanks all. I have really been hoping to get this exchange, so I'm real excited.



Unfortunately, my husband can't take that much time off. Two weeks at one time, seems to be his limit. He did suggest that I stay on for another week, or so. I doubt that I will do that, tho.

I think we may use our points, and go to Paris for a week. I think it will be too difficult trying to get a timeshare to fit into our schedule. Maybe after our week in Marbella, we can do a weekend in Madrid, and then a week in Paris.

Haven't looked into hotel availability for points yet, so we've got our fingers crossed.

Sounds like you may have use for a companion for that third week

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Sounds like you may have use for a companion for that third week

Do you want to play in Europe for a week????

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Do you want to play in Europe for a week????

Wish I could, but I will still have at least one kid home in late June/early July...

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Wish I could, but I will still have at least one kid home in late June/early July...

Too bad........

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I looked on line for Marriott hotel in Paris. I want to use my points....The choices are not too good, for my dates.......

Marriott Paris Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center, or Renaissance Paris Hotel La Defense.

I looked at Trip Advisor's, and neither have great reviews. The Paris Rive Gauche Hotel seems to have a slightly better location.

I can also use my points for a '3 European City' special that Marriott offers.....Split your week between any three European cities. I found Rome, Naples and Venice available. Venice hotel is an Airport Courtyard... Rome and Naples were nice hotels.

I'm going to call my adviser tomorrow, and see if I'm missing anything. I'm not really sure what to do, at this point.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I wasn't sure how far Cadiz was from Marbella, so I goggled it. I think it may be about 3-4 hours away, so I don't think that we will get to see it, this trip. However, it looks like it is a beautiful city, filled with history. Their carnival, is still the most extravagant, in all of Europe.

I had a feeling too that Cadiz is too far and the center of Cadiz is very small. Yes, the beaches were very nice and the water was warm. It seems to be crowded now. It has changed a lot since I was there as Seville was then the city with the most famous "Semana Santa" and well worth seeing as well as Cordoba. This is an old Moorish town with a Mosque. Madrid has beautiful museums. I lived there too.

http://www.red2000.com/spain/cordoba/photo.html
Some photos of Cordoba and Seville as well as other interesting cities.

http://www.red2000.com/spain/index.html
All about Spain and gives you the distances too from Seville to Marbella and other cities.

However, staying at any of the major and old cities in Europe is a treat because we don't have them here. You walk the streets and you pass history. I am curious what you decide to do. Looking forward and preparing for such a trip is half the fun.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Emmy,

Thank you so much for the wonderful links. Wow, now I'm really excited.....

I think that we are going to stay in Spain for 9 days. 7 in Marbella and then two nights in Madrid....We will do day trips to Seville, Cordoba, Rhonda, Malaga, and Tangier.....We will be busy.


I'm not sure where we are going from Madrid. From what I can see online, the choices are France, both Paris and Monoco....Portugal and Italy.

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

Cadiz is worth the trip!

When we stayed in Estepona, which is slightly west of Marbella, we took a day trip to Cadiz with several stops along the way ... including watching the wind surfers at Tarifa, lunch at an excellent restaurant overlooking a wild Atlantic Ocean beach and then walking along this beach, stumbling onto a huge Roman ruins overlooking the sea and seeing the whole thing, and driving up to a white town.

It was a wonderful day! We didn't have quite as much time *in* Cadiz as we would have liked, but wanted to see it because of its history, and we did wander its ancient little streets for awhile in the historic center, plus walked along the harbor and thought about all those civilizations. I believe Cadiz is also thought to be the home of flamenco, and still a major center, but didn't know that at the time.

It's a very doable day trip from the Costa del Sol, if you don't mind a drive and if for you, getting there is half the fun. We did this trip on a whim on our last day in Costa del Sol (we even thought we might make it into Portugal but of course we stopped too often), and it was one of our most memorable.