costablog.com » coast

Trip to Nice and the Cote d’Azur

Mirco Rehmeier — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:36:20 +0000

Rolls-Royce invited me to a special event to see their new car, the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II to write an article about it for another blog of mine. The event took place in one of the best hotels on the Cote d’Azur in south France, private and very exclusive with a long tradition, same like Rolls-Royce itself, the hotel is called Cap Estel and overlooks the Mediterranean.

Arriving at the airport I had a chauffeur waiting for me with a Rolls-Royce Ghost who brought me to the hotel. At the hotel a team from Rolls-Royce was waiting for me and explained me different details about the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II. They explained me how they create the interior. The veneer and leather works are all handcrafted, as well the two small lines on the side of the car are painted by hand by only one person. A quality that you can see and feel. The previous car was nine years, but they couldn’t find much to enhance, as the car was already perfect. So only a few small amendments have been made to the already perfect car. One of the biggest changes is the new navigation system and the 8.8″ screen which shows the surround cameras.

A chauffeured drive along the coast between Nice and Monaco showed me how nice the car is and relaxing. In comfortable leather seats with a fluffy carpet you enjoy the ride along the road. The Harman Kardon Sound System makes you finally feel like home or in a concert hall.

After all this presentation of a 400.000 Euro super exclusive car I had time to explore the exclusive and elegant hotel Cap Estel. There are only 18 rooms and my suite was very nice and huge. Prices of the suite were around 2.000 Euro, so you can imagine how nice it was. The hotel has everything to offer, from spa, infinity pool with views along the Mediterranean, private beach or a tennis course. Only the driveway to the hotel was a few hundred meters and very small for the huge Rolls-Royce.

It was a pleasure to see Nice and the Cote d’Azur again after 10 years and to have a closer look a the Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II to find out how exclusive the car really is.

Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia

Mirco Rehmeier — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:51:18 +0000

Now to something absolutely different. As this is called costablog I am now writing about another coast on the other side of the world, Australia or better said Sydney. Sydney is the most popular city in Australia, but actually not the capital, which is Canberra. Sydney is located on Australia’s south-east coast of the Tasman Sea in a coastal basin bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east. Sydney lies on a submergent coastline, where the ocean level has risen to flood deep river valleys carved in the sandstone. One of these drowned valleys, Port Jackson, better known as Sydney Harbour, is the largest natural harbour in the world. There are more than 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach, in the urban area.

Bondi Beach is a popular beach in New South Wales and is located 7 kilometres east of Sydney. The beach is about one kilometre long and receives many visitors throughout the year. A lot of them actually spend Christmas Day at the beach, because Christmas is in summer and they have amazing weather at that time.

Bondi Beach has become famous for a few things. By the 1980s topless bathing had become common at Bondi Beach, especially at the southern end and it even hosted the beach volleyball competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics, obviously not topless.

So if you want to stay near Bondi Beach or another place in Sydney have a look at Hotel Club Sydney, you will always find a nice and good hotel to stay in.

New Seafront promenade opens between Marbella and San Pedro

Emilia Hazell - Smith — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:50:15 +0000

At long last, the work to lengthen the promenade between Marbella and San Pedro is now finished. The new stretch of seafront promenade opened last week in Marbella and this latest addition now stretches for 17 kilometres around the municipality’s coastline.

The section of promenade was opened by the mayor, Ángeles Muñoz and reaches from the Taberna del Alabardero area to the mouth of the River Guadaiza in San Pedro. The project has cost a million euros in total, funded by the Town Hall and the Junta de Andalucía together as part of the “Plan Qualifica” tourism excellence scheme.

Muñoz was quoted as saying that “the previous condition of the area did not fit in the with image we want for San Pedro” and now it can be seen that what was previously a dirt track where cars parked on the sand is now a promenade with benches, manicured trees and lamp posts similar to those in the central part of the Marbella ‘Paseo’.

The project has taken one step further in joining San Pedro Alcántara and Marbella and local residents are of course very pleased to be able to walk between the two towns without having to resort to using either the busy main road, or walk arduously through the sand.

The project met various kinds of resistances along the way and involved negotiations with a number of property owners who had to agree to give up part of their private gardens or even move walls to provide space for the promenade, thus avoiding a lengthy expropriation process.

The municipality now has 17 kilometres of almost uninterrupted promenade between San Pedro Alcántara and La Bajadilla. However, there is still more work to be done, as the path of construction and planning never did run smoothly in Spain. Indeed, work in the Malibú area has only just resumed after a moderate conflict with the community of property owners.

The long term goal is, of course to complete the Marbella promenade, making it stretch to both ends of the municipality, which will result in a total length of 27 kilometres.

Euroworld – Inflated prices begone!

Emilia Hazell - Smith — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:03:11 +0000

Picture this…

A typical UK ex pat takes a trip to go and do his weekly food shopping with his partner. After stocking up on local produce, they decide to finish their shopping experience with some good old UK products. They have to make several trips to different supermarkets to find what they want, and when they finally do, they choose several products and… then happen to look at the prices.

They end up only choosing one or two particular products, deciding to leave the rest behind. Unfortunately, either their budget just can’t quite handle the cost this month or they are just appalled at the prices.

Sound familiar?

Well, this nightmarish experience can be a thing of the past, thanks to a new supermarket which is opening in Parque Miramar in Fuengirola. Euroworld is a brand new establishment which claims to stock all types of UK branded products, from British food products, kitchen and bathroom cleaning products, toiletries and greeting cards. And – this is the best bit, for only one or two euros!

Hayley Singh, the Director of Euroworld was quoted as saying the idea behind the new supermarket is that many UK products, whilst being readily available in Spain, are inflated beyond belief and there is demand for good quality items at reasonable prices. She even went so far as to say that when goods at Euroworld were on offer, they are even cheaper than you would find in the UK.

You can find Euroworld on the ground floor of Parque Miramar, near the Eroski entrance. They are open all day from 10am until 10pm – Monday to Saturday.

On a personal note, I think this supermarket is truly a brilliant idea.

I am British and make no secret of it. Whilst I have lived in Spain for nearly 10 years, consider myself truly immersed in the culture, speak Spanish fluently, enjoy Spanish food, and even make my own – nothing on the Spanish food market quite compares (in my opinion) to various English brands of sausages, breads, gravy’s and even some sauces.

When you consider exactly how much English produce costs in various other Supermarket chains, i.e. Supersol, Euroworld is truly a Godsend for UK ex pats.

And of course, what better time to launch a low cost supermarket, than this?

No related posts.

San Juan in Sabinillas 2010

Mirco Rehmeier — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:52:38 +0000

Just one day left until the night of San Juan. As every year the small town of Sabinillas in occidental Malaga prepared a nice castle on the beach which they will burn down in the night from June 23rd to 24th, this Wednesday. This years castle features some old heroes like Hulk, Superman, Captain America, Batman and Robin with Joker, Spiderman and a few more. As well there will be some nice fireworks around midnight. In the center of Sabinillas there will be some bars and music the whole night.

Holiday rentals offer diversity for Costa del Sol holidaymakers

Mirco Rehmeier — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:30:46 +0000

The recent times of economic downturn have seen many of us reconsidering our annual holiday plans, and whilst few of us have cut out a holiday completely the trend has certainly turned towards cheaper destinations. Holiday resorts outside of Europe have benefited from an increase in visitor numbers as Brits turned their backs on the previously popular destinations of Spain and France. However no sooner than they began to boom the bubble appears to be bursting for destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, as the tables begin to turn back in favour of tried and tested destinations like the Costa del Sol.

Figures released by various online travel agencies suggest that Spain has regained its position as one of the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers and with such a wide range of holiday homes available to rent it’s easy to see why the Spanish Costa’s are so favourable with British holidaymakers.

Renting a villa or apartment offers holidaymakers the chance to enjoy a relaxing break under the Spanish sun in luxury and private surroundings. There’s not an area on the coast of Spain that offers more choice of holiday rentals than the Costa del Sol.

With such a wide variety of resorts and self-catering holiday homes the Costa del Sol offers the ultimate in diversity ensuring that there is something that will suit all tastes and requirements. From the quaint white washed villages of Nerja to the all out party town of Marbella.

Choosing to rent a holiday home on the Costa del Sol will give you some advantages over hotel accommodation. One of the main advantages is the privacy of having your own property and in many cases your own swimming pool. If you choose to rent a villa you can also enjoy a generously spacious living area, with many of the larger villas having more than one lounge and luxurious en-suite bedrooms. Whilst holiday apartments on the Costa del Sol often offer great views across the Mediterranean Sea without the noisy surroundings associated with family orientated hotels.

There are numerous websites that offer holiday rentals in the Costa del Sol that are available directly from the owner, which give holidaymakers a great chance to take advantage of lower rates. There are also plenty of villa agencies that offer a variety of luxury villas in the Costa del Sol. So next time you’re planning your holiday in the Costa del Sol why not consider renting your own private holiday home.

Costadelvillas.co.uk offers a wide variety of holiday villas and apartments across the Costa del Sol, all available to rent directly from the owner.

Laguna Village – Exclusive Shopping

Mirco Rehmeier — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:17:38 +0000

On the Costa del Sol you find a lot of beaches, sports facilities, real estates and… shopping centers. The biggest shopping center on the Costa del Sol or better, in Andalucia is La Cañada in Marbella. But there are some other shopping centers, which are just small and nice like Laguna Village. It is located first line beach on the New Golden Mile in Estepona, right next to the stunning Kempinski Hotel, Km 159 on the N-340. The commercial center opened its doors to the public in 2006, and now it is nearly full of shops, nicely decorated and finished. As well as there is the Puro Beach Club, which is one of the nicest beach clubs in this area. This gives the whole shopping center a more glamourous and beautiful touch. And very important, there is plenty of parking.

Here is a list of the stores and restaurants, which are all in Laguna Village

Just Cavali
Apriori
Egoiste Por Home
Egoiste Por la Femme
Galeria Art
Soho Trend
Sauer Real Estate
Escada & Escada Sport
Royal House
Taboo
Delicatessen Bodega Pata Negra
Flamant Home Interiors
Coco Beach Australia
Capital Collection
Bang & Olufsen
Spanish Star Café
Viva la Moda
Glossy Sun Glasses
Karin’s Salon
Breaking News
Elle Morgan
Elle Morgan Kids
Sotogarden
Fashion Sushi
Mai Tai Bar by Traders Vic

If you have time, just visit the Laguna Village Shopping-Center and enjoy a walk on the nice beach next to the Hotel Kempinski and after that enjoy the nice food at the Mai Tai Restaurant, which is excellent.

More about the Nerja Fair – Feria de Nerja

Mirco Rehmeier — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 08:53:43 +0000

Now I got more informations about the Feria de Nerja on October 8th – 13th and I can tell you when the concerts on the Nerja fair are. The town spends 403,000 euros for six days of party and they think of an income of about 182,000 euros.

Wednesday, October 10th
- 00:00h Kiko y Shara (Caseta Municipal)
Thursday, October 11th
- 00:00h Antonio Carmona (Caseta Municipal)
Friday, October 12th
- 00:00h Manuel Orta (Caseta Municipal)
Saturday, October 13th (Día del niño – childrens day)
- 13:00h María Figueroa (Caseta Municipal)
- 00:00h La Unión (Caseta Municipal)

Feria de Nerja October 8th – 13th

Mirco Rehmeier — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:19:36 +0000

The Nerja Fair (Feria de Nerja) has been running since the late 1980s to the familiar formula of decorated tents called “casetas” set up by some people to entertain and to party. The fair is every year between October 8th – 13th, because October 12th is National Holiday of Spain or Hispanic Day (Fiesta Nacional de España or Día de la Hispanidad). It is a national holiday which commemorates the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set a foot to America. So the last days of the fair people can enjoy, because nobody has to work.

The fair begins with a morning parade of the feria queen and giant caricatures, through the streets of Nerja. The women are wearing their flamenco dresses as well the the men do. During this parade you can see them on horses riding through the streets of Nerja. Parades, dancing, musical and theatrical performances, street theatre, fairground rides and fireworks all go into the lively mix of entertainment. So you can start during the day with some fairground rides and some tapas. At night there are normally some concerts of well known people in the casetas, which will be packed with people. And after that you can just drink and dance until the morning hours when you can have a small breakfast on the feria, e.g. churros.

The fair is easy to find. It is situated between the Hotel Parador and the Balcon de Europa. I’m sure you won’t miss it. There are enough signs or just go where everybody is going to.

If you want to visit the Nerja fair but don’t know where to stay I can always recommend the Hostal Casa Mercedes. It’s only a stone’s throw away from the fair, but enough not to be disturbed by the music.

See you on the fair.

Puerto Deportivo Nerja-Torrox

Mirco Rehmeier — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:24:56 +0000

Yesterday the mayor of Nerja José Alberto Armijo Navas has anounced that they are going to build a marina called Puerto Deportivo Nerja-Torrox, between Nerja and Torrox near the Arroyo Frontil and next to the Playa de Vilchez. The marina is outside of Nerja more towards Torrox. This project will cost about 33 Million Euro and will take two years time to complete when they start in 2008. The new port will offer 500 new berths for boats between 8 and 25 meters and will offer some space for bigger boats up to 35 meters and last but not least it offers a storage yard of 18.000 m² and 300 car parking spaces. All together it will occupy an area of around 23 hectares from which 7,2 hectares earth’s surface and 15,7 hectares is build on water. The area for activities like restaurants, cafeterias, shops and so on will occupy a surface of about 3.500 m².

The left picture shows in which area the new marina is going to be situated more or less. It is taken from the website Ministerio de Medio Ambiente.

A marina in Nerja was planned 20 years ago, so finally they reached their aim to build it. In this area around Nerja is no marina. The next one is in Marina del Este. So this will be perfect for the whole area and I am sure it will raise the porperty prices again. Let´s hope they finish it on time and build something nice.

Weather on the Costa del Sol during October

Mirco Rehmeier — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:22:36 +0000

If you are visiting Malaga or the rest of Andalucia during October you can experience some dramatic weather changes from sunshine to thunderstorm and lightning. In some years the weather is quite nice with sunshine, light winds and temperatures around 20º C. But in other years cool air is coming from northern Europe and crosses the still very warm sea. The results are some spectacular thunderstorms and rainfalls of 25 to 50 millimetres in a very short time and local flooding is usually a problem in these situations. After this rainfalls it feels noticeably fresher, and when you are still out at a restaurant or bar and you are leaving as midnight approaches, you will need a sweater or light jacket.

On the following day, the Andalucians will be wrapped up as if we have winter, while the tourists remain in shorts. The weather during the day will be sunny with some changes. The visibility is crystal clear with fantastic views to Africa and Gibraltar from some parts of Andalucia. And in the afternoon it’s getting warmer and the temperatures arrives 22ºC or 23ºC. Of course the beaches are empty, so you can enjoy a nice walk along the beach. And after all you can say “Autumn has truly arrived”. But just remember how the weather would be in Germany or England for example. The same, only 10 to 15 degrees less.

BladeRun Rally – Marbella to Ibiza

Mirco Rehmeier — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:35:07 +0000

If you want to see the fastest and sexiest speed boats, then you have to go to Puerto Banus on monday morning the 24th of september. The BladeRun Rally is a famous Rally between London and Amsterdam, which takes place every year. But this time they want to go from Marbella to Ibiza. The party is starting on sunday the 23rd in Marbella and ends on the 26th in Ibiza with stops in Almeria and Cartagena. On monday morning the boats will start at the Ocean Club in Puerto Banus. It’s going to be four days of sun and speed and four nights of exclusive parties. Check out the website www.bladerun.com

Nikki Beach – exclusive Beachclub

Mirco Rehmeier — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:23:00 +0000

Beachclubs became more and more popular in the last years. An absolutely exclusive Beachclub is the Nikki Beach. It is not only a simple Beachclub, but rather the most exclusive chain of Beachclubs at the best beaches of the world. People who go there should dress up in white to keep a low profile. The Beachchlubs are amongst others in Spain in Marbella at the Don Carlos Beach Resort in Elviria, in Portugal in Portimao, as well as in Saint Tropez, Cabo San Lucas, Miami, Puerto Vallarta and New York.

The Beachclubs offer hammocks, sofas and cosy beds directly in the sand or at the additional pool, playing relaxing chillout or house music until late into the night. In addition there is a special VIP zone, as well as a restaurant. The Beachclubs are primarily known for its regular champagne parties. Nikki Beach offers amongst others its own music, clothes, hotels and shortly also their first cruise ship. Normally you can also get a massage directly on the cosy beds.

The pictures shown here show the Nikki Beach in Portimao in the Algarve in Portugal. Beautiful sand beaches like in the carribean combined with a fascinating view to the rock coast of the Algarve as well as the largest yachts, which drive past on the way to the port of Portimao.

Mini driving on water in Sotogrande

Mirco Rehmeier — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:49:19 +0000

A few days ago, on the weekend of the 21st and 22nd of july you could see something very ridiculous on the water. A Mini Cooper. Yes, the car. It is a kind of advertising or publicity for Mini. So they took a big Jetski and put the car body of a Mini Cooper on top of it. So it looks like there is a Mini driving on water. I found this photos on the spanish blog motorpasion.com because I havn´t taken any photos by myself. The first photo is taken in the port of Sotogrande (Cádiz), driving around. The second and third are in the port of La Duquesa (Málaga). I have read on another blog that this car is driving along the coast until the end of august. So maybe you can see in some other ports or on the beach.

Beaches like in the Carribean

Mirco Rehmeier — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:57:06 +0000

If you want to see white sandy beaches like in the carribean, you have to visit the coast of Cadiz. Try the beaches at Tarifa, Barbate, Conil de la Frontera or Chiclana de la Frontera. But one of the best beaches is in the small town of Zahara de los Atunes. In the southeast of the town you have a big beach which is normally not that full like other beaches on the coast. Like you can see it on the picture you have wide sandy beaches and fantastic blue water. You won´t realise that you are in Spain instead of the carribean. If you want to enjoy the sun and the nice warm weather in august try it there.

No related posts.