Marbella Inside & Out

Discover the magic of Marbella from an "insider" point of view – by Liz Glazer

Category Archives: Places to eat


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The Outdoor Farmer’s Market in Coín – a glorious collage of edible goodness

Every time I step into Coín’s Sunday outdoor Farmer’s Market, as I did last week, I get the sensation I’m entering a glorious 3-D collage of edible goodness .

Stalls stacked to over spilling with a kaleidoscopic array of  fruit and vegetables of all shapes, textures and sizes; some seemingly gargantuan; a feast from Mother Nature’s pantry, perfect in its imperfections.

In contrast to the dimly-lit hustle and bustle of the flea market that is also held every Sunday in the nearby underground car park of Coin’s La Trocha shopping centre, the open-air setting of the Farmer’s Market with softly etched out mountains as a distant backdrop,  makes the ambience here one of rural languor and good cheer; with the stall holders seemingly beaming with the health and the happiness they infuse into the produce they so lovingly cultivate from the land, as shoppers stroll around in this pleasant phantasmagoria of earthly natural abundance.

The wafts of earthy, citrusy and herbal aromas that impregnated the early morning summer air as I strolled around taking photos, intensified as the day slowly heated up, teasing and tempting my palette.   I stopped off at one of the stalls for a glass of freshly-pressed beetroot gazpacho and although I’d already stocked up on fruit and vegetables from my favourite local fruit shop in one of Marbella Town’s side-streets, I couldn’t resist the glowing-with-goodness allure of the radishes, beetroots, spring onions and succulent dew-fed figs, which crowned the salad I made later that day…

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This is definitely one of my favourite regular outings from Marbella Town and setting out on an early summer morning, makes for a deliciously refreshing drive  – windows down, breathing in lungfuls of chilly nature-scented air, as the dew evaporates in the still sleepy sunshine, past pine forests, olive groves and the fertile fields of the Guadalhorce valley,  in the midst of which the market lies.

Text and photos by Liz Glazer

If you would like more information about the Sunday morning markets in Coín and their location, click here to read an earlier blog post  (FYI – the Artisan market mentioned, is closed for the rest of the month of August).

 

 


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A mooch around Coín’s “La Trocha” Sunday morning markets

by Liz Glazer

With cloudy skies and a chill in the air, the weather was perfect for my planned outing with a group of friends last weekend, to visit the inland town of Coin´s weekly  Sunday morning markets. Held in the grounds of  La Trocha Industrial Estate, there are three separate market areas: an outdoor farmer’s market, a small artisan produce and crafts market and the enormous covered flea market, held in the car park beneath the La Trocha shopping centre building.

Driving along the inland roads above Marbella to reach Coín,  there was a magical  moment when the landscape changed from winding mountain roads, to Coin’s vast valley landscapes of ploughed fields and open skies with the sierras etched out softly in the background, swathed in a light morning mist.  Winding down the car window, I sniffed in the delicious smell of damp rich earth. The Valley of Guadalhorce in which Coín lies, is renowned for its fertile agricultural land and is referred to locally as “La Despensa de Malaga” – Malaga’s pantry.

We got there just before 10 a.m, for the early pickings of fresh local-grown produce from the organic farmer’s market.  I read somewhere that Coín is one of the first “transition” towns in Andalucia that aim at creating a more sustainable local economy through initiatives such as this one – a platform for small-scale farmers to sell their produce to local consumers.  What a great idea-  and it’s certainly going down well, judging from the people that streamed around the stalls while we were there, despite the relatively early hour. Continue reading →


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Marbella Walkabouts – an early Sunday morning stroll around Marbella’s historic Old Town quarter and Parque de la Represa.

1Happy 2017! Made all the happier for me, by Chewa, the four-legged companion I´ve had the pleasure to dog-sit for the past couple of weeks since I got back from the UK. Having a dog to take out, inspired me to revisit some of my favourite walks around Marbella Town, as a change of scene from the fabulous beachfront promenade seascapes I witness every day from my doorstep.

Avenida Ricardo Soriano, MarbellaAccess to Marbella Old Town via Huerta Chica streetWaking up to a fresh sunny Sunday, I decided to take an alternative route up through Marbella’s Old Town – with no particular sense of purpose other than to absorb the quiet that pervades before everyone starts stirring just before midday, after a long lie-in. Continue reading →


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An outing from Marbella Town to visit the Art Gaucín Open Studios 2016 Event (20-22 & 27-29 May)

Gaucín

open studios art gaucin If you are an art lover and feel like a day away from Marbella Town over this holiday weekend,  you might be interested in visiting the whitewashed mountain village of Gaucín, just under 70 km from Marbella Town,  for the second stage of the Art Gaucín Open Studios event (May 27-29).This annual event showcases the work of the thriving community of Spanish and foreign artists that live in Gaucín as they open their studios, homes and gardens to the public to display and sell their work (download information: http://artgaucin.com/open-studios-map/).

Having never been to Gaucín before, when my friends Keris and Cate asked me to join them on a trip to this event last Friday, I readily agreed… Continue reading →


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Freewheeling in & around Marbella Town : Leisure Harbour to Marbella’s Banana Beach (2.7 km) & beyond…

Banana Beach dunes

If you’re staying in Marbella Town and don’t have a car or don’t fancy the relatively long walk from the town centre to reach the fine-sanded expanse of beach known as Banana Beach, some 700 metres to the east of the fishing port, an alternative way of spending a few hours enjoying this lovely stretch of coastline is to pack up your beach gear in a rucksack, rent a bike and cycle there. Continue reading →


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Freewheeling in & around Marbella Town: Marbella Leisure Harbour to Puerto Banús (7.4 km)

Puerto Banús on a bike

When my friend Alison came over with her family recently, I thought a fun way for them all to see Marbella’s luxury harbour complex Puerto Banús, would be to rent some bicycles and set off westwards along the beachfront promenade, stopping off for lunch there and having a wander around before heading back.

This makes for a great small group day outing from Marbella Town, and while I don´t tend to go as far as Puerto Banús when I head west from Marbella’s leisure harbour on one of my daily cycle rides, I started out at about 10.30 from there on a sunny morning last week to retrace the route we took, in order to share this with you… Continue reading →


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The Sunday morning outdoor flea market of Benahavis and a walk through the Las Angosturas Nature Reserve

Benahavis Sunday morning flea market

If you’re looking for something different to do on a sunny Sunday that’s not too far from Marbella Town and enjoy a good rummage around a market as I do, I suggest you take the short drive to the picturesque mountain village of Benahavis, and spend the morning strolling around its weekly morning outdoor flea market… Continue reading →


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Freewheeling in and around Marbella Town. Leisure Harbour to Fishing Port (1.8 km)

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I´m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions but a debilitating bout of flu throughout Christmas that took me out of action right up to New Year’s Day, made me yearn to have my health back and I resolved to improve my overall fitness and wellbeing this year with a daily cycle ride along Marbella Town’s 8 km stretch of beachfront promenade.

This is a resolution that’s been very easy to keep. When I inherited my bike from a friend last October, it had been 15 years since I’d last owned one. Propped up in my entrance hall for a swift no-excuses exit, I have rediscovered the joy of cycling and have become healthily addicted to that delicious feeling of freedom it brings me as I freewheel along the promenade in all weathers with the sea air swirling about me…

2One of my favourite shorter cycle rides is to Marbella Town’s Fishing Port, heading east from the Leisure Harbour. Just under 2 km away, what used to take me 25 minutes to walk one way, has been cut down to a 10 minute cycle. Continue reading →


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The forested paths of Marbella Town’s “Gunpowder Plains”

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I read an article a couple of months ago about “the lost art of getting lost” and was mulling this over as I walked back from my favourite supermarket at the far west end of Calle Jacinto Benavente, the street we locals call the “post office road” that runs parallel above Marbella Town’s high street, Avenida Ricardo Soriano.

2For years when walking back along this route, I have simply passed by these two squat tower-like buildings with steps leading up to a now unused fountain some 30 metres above street level, with a forested area beyond but never thought to explore further. I was put off from so doing by the signs on these tower-like structures which read “Club de Golf Marbella” and more intimidatingly, “Motoclub Los Mentirosos” (The Liar’s Biker’s Club!), imagining that these steps led to an incongruously mismatched shared private sports practice area, where leather-clad bikers dodged around tartan-trousered golfers.

However, in the spirit of “the lost art of getting lost”, I cast aside my trepidation of trespassing and climbed up the steps… Continue reading →


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A stroll through the park that grew out of a forest nursery – Parque de la Constitución, Marbella Town.

Whenever I feel like a complete contrast from the continuously changing, awe-inspiring seascapes I witness on my daily walks along Marbella Town’s beaches and beachfront promenade , I love to plunge into the ocean of greenery and oasis of tranquillity offered by its most lovingly maintained park; the so-named Parque de la Constitución.

To access from the promenade, you can either turn right at the lighthouse, cross over the road and turn left, where there is a side entrance right next to the park’s children’s playground – or via its main entrance just opposite the emblematic Skol building, an apart-hotel complex built in the early 60’s and one of the first to be built in Marbella Town.

Although the park as it stands today, was created relatively recently back in 1987, the reason there is such a proliferation of monumental trees, Continue reading →