The Blairs spend Easter on the Costa del Sol, and get star treatment…

Bernardino León, Antonio Banderas, Cherie Blair, Tony Blair & Mayor of Málaga Francisco de la Torre

While David Cameron was getting away from it all in the Canary Islands – and famously getting stung by a jellyfish in the process – former British PM Tony Blair and his family chose to spend their Easter break on the Costa del Sol this year, where they are said to have been staying with friends who have a mansion in exclusive La Zagaleta…

The Blairs were spotted in Marbella last Wednesday

Blair, wife Cherie and two of their four children were spotted in Marbella last Wednesday, as they strolled the streets of the Old Town surrounded by three bodyguards, before visiting the town’s beautiful La Encarnación church.

Then, invited to the Costa del Sol by Bernardino León – the EU Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean Region – the Blairs were certainly given the star treatment on Good Friday when, with Málaga-born, Hollywood A-lister Antonio Banderas as their host and personal guide, they dined on freshly caught fish and seafood in a well-known restaurant in Fuengirola, before heading off to Málaga to watch the city’s world-famous Easter procession.

And since Antonio Banderas makes sure he returns to Málaga for Semana Santa virtually every year, not just to watch the processions but to take part in them too, they couldn’t have been in better, more hospitable or more knowledgeable company. Watching the pomp and pageantry from a balcony at the Hotel Room Mate Larios, where they were later joined by the Blair’s eldest son Euan and their daughter-in-law Suzanne, they had a bird’s eye view and were clearly fascinated by the spectacle being played out beneath them.

It’s not the first time the Blairs have visited the Costa del Sol, they were here in 2012, too. Nor was Blair the only former PM relaxing on the Coast this Easter. Coincidentally, José Maria Aznar – Spain’s Prime Minister from 1996 to 2004 – was also enjoying a break here last week, when he and his wife Ana Botella, currently the Mayor of Madrid, were staying at the luxury villa they’ve recently bought at Guadalmina, one of Marbella’s most distinguished of addresses.