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Posted on 09/08/2026 6:02:59 PM PDT by simpson96
Michelle Obama remains in love with the Balearic Islands, where she travels every year in style. Her love affair leads her to enjoy the emerald waters, the interior corners, and the sophisticated (and expensive) Mediterranean lifestyle she discovered in the gardens of Marivent, when in a distant August of 2010 she had lunch at the Mallorcan palace with the (then) princess Letizia and they hit it off.
The chemistry of high politics and the globalist slogan progressivism has been gradually replaced over the years by leisure and royal-like disconnection, which Obama practices in the archipelago surrounded by all comforts, relying on her friendships and influences.
The wife of the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, usually travels without her husband. Her usual destination is usually Mallorca, where she has a host who knows the island perfectly: the former US ambassador to Spain, James Costos.
The former diplomat and his husband, the interior designer Michael Smith, have a magnificent villa in the Mallorcan countryside, an estate - not a traditional Mallorcan possession, as they say to give it more grandeur - called X'arbet, which the couple has turned into a paradise.
Decorated with refined Italian aroma, gatopadersco, the house was rented for more than 7,000 euros per night. It has seven bedrooms, pergola fountains, and a Versailles-style maze. Now the Costos enjoy it with their friends, like Michelle Obama, and showcase it to top magazines.
But this time Michelle has not chosen the largest and most crowded of the islands in the archipelago. This time she has traveled to Menorca, the island of the wind, less known but turned into a trendy destination, colonized by silent great fortunes, triumphant among the French jet set and a historic summer destination for the Catalan bourgeoisie.
Obama arrived last Friday night on a private jet - a Gulfstream G650ER with a capacity for 15 passengers - after ten o'clock at night at the small airport of Mahón.
From there, as sources consulted by LOC explain amid strong security measures that piqued the curiosity of the locals, with whom she did not mingle, she headed to Isla del Rey. It is an islet in the splendid bay of the port of Mahón, a place with a long and rich history.
Named in honor of the landing and conquest of King Alfonso III of Aragon in the 13th century, the island historically played a strategic role, hosting a military hospital for years.
Today, however, it hosts a very different activity: the renowned Swiss contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirtz disembarked there. In its renovated facilities, works by artists from around the world are exhibited in an idyllic setting, with a restaurant and boat ride to the charming docks of the islet.
After the visit, the wife of the first African-American president in US history (who governed the nation between 2009 and 2017) dined at the island's canteen. She tasted brioche bread with anchovies, cold fennel and leek soup, and ham croquettes, as revealed by the newspaper 'Menorca'.
After the visit, which also takes place while Mahón celebrates its popular patron saint festivities, the former first lady planned to embark on a yacht to round off her vacation, her annual disconnection in the Balearic Islands alongside her friend Costos.
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From there, as sources consulted by LOC explain amid strong security measures that piqued the curiosity of the locals, with whom she did not mingle, she headed to Isla del Rey. It is an islet in the splendid bay of the port of Mahón, a place with a long and rich history."
Race-baiting and America-hating pays off, for some.
And nobody was in the least bit worried that the island would tip over?
“The wife of the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, usually travels without her husband.”
Libtard females everywhere see nothing unusual or strange about this. Their husbands don’t like them, either.
Good point!
Note to self: avoid Balearic Islands in September....
I recall all the “thumb in the eye” touches the Obamas did to the WH.
I just got back from there. I’m surprised I didn’t run into her.
/S!!!
GROKIPEDIA
Costos was born in 1963 and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. He is a second-generation Greek-American, whose father served as a U.S. Marine and was stationed at Camp David during the Truman administration. He is the first in his family to graduate from college. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1985.
After graduation, Costos launched his career in New York City as a fashion and retail executive, advancing to Vice President of Retail Operations for the Italian luxury brand Tod’s S.p.A. and similarly for Hermès of Paris. These positions involved overseeing international retail strategies, consumer marketing, and operational management, fostering skills in global brand development and licensing that proved foundational to his business expertise.
Transitioning to entertainment, Costos assumed leadership in promotions and consumer products at Revolution Studios, followed by founding and serving as President and CEO of Eight Cylinders, Inc., an entertainment marketing and licensing agency, from 2005 to 2006. These early roles emphasized strategic merchandising and cross-industry partnerships, bridging his retail background to media operations and influencing his trajectory toward executive responsibilities in content distribution.
Costos joined Home Box Office (HBO) and advanced to the role of Vice President of Global Licensing and Retail, serving from 2007 to 2013. In this executive position, he oversaw the company’s global licensing, retail, and consumer marketing operations, focusing on strategies to protect and monetize HBO’s content portfolio.
President Barack Obama announced his intention to nominate James Costos, then vice president of global licensing and retail at HBO, as the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra on June 14, 2013. Costos, a California resident and non-career appointee, underwent Senate confirmation proceedings, including a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 25, 2013, followed by committee approval on July 30 and full Senate confirmation by voice vote on August 1, 2013.
Upon arriving in Madrid in September 2013, amid revelations of U.S. National Security Agency surveillance on Spanish communications, Costos engaged in immediate damage control efforts. Spanish officials summoned him on October 28, 2013, to protest the interception of over 60 million phone calls, deeming it a breach of trust. In response, Costos assured authorities that NSA activities operated legally and played a critical role in counterterrorism, while emphasizing continuity in bilateral security cooperation.
Following his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, which ended in January 2017, James Costos assumed the role of strategic advisor to FC Barcelona in America on July 12, 2017.
Costos has advocated for the advancement of LGBT rights internationally, emphasizing their integration into U.S. diplomatic efforts to enhance America’s global image on human rights. During his tenure as ambassador to Spain from 2013 to 2017, he hosted multiple LGBT-themed events at the U.S. embassy in Madrid and ensured the rainbow flag was displayed prominently during local Pride celebrations, positioning these actions as symbols of U.S. commitment to equality and diversity abroad. As part of the first openly gay married couple to serve in such a high-profile ambassadorial role alongside his husband Michael S. Smith....
Costos and his partner, Michael S. Smith, amassed an extensive private collection of modern and contemporary art, including works by American artists such as Andy Warhol and Philip Guston, alongside pieces by Spanish artists like Carlos Saura and Old Masters.
Primarily based in Los Angeles, he maintains residences in Madrid’s Chamberí district—a 6,500-square-foot apartment in a 19th-century palazzo—and on Mallorca’s Finca X’arbet estate, blending Mediterranean aesthetics with contemporary design.
https://grokipedia.com/page/James_Costos
I hear those ham croquettes are nearly as good as Stir Fried Grits, Arugula & Vienna Sausages!
And there are democrats who think that ugly grifting pig would EVER run for office or get a job.
They couldn’t even stand each other after she was arranged to be Barry’s beard at the “church” downlow club. Neither daughter was conceived the old fashion way.
Finca X’arbet:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCFO9YAy5vq/
The employees of her hosts know how to set a table.
Sure is the right shape for Big Mike.
Me bad!
Would have been better if you'd run over her.
That arbor, and all the flowers on the table won't keep the flies from landing on Big Mike.
Where is Robin Leach?
Lifestyles of the rich and obnoxious.
: )
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