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Anger mounts over Michelle Obama's £150k Spanish holiday bill...ooted by U.S. taxpayer

Mail Foreign Service

t updated at 3:25 PM on 6th August 2010

chelle Obama today faced a fresh wave of attacks over her lavish break in Spain with 40 friends which has cost U.S. taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds. 

e First Lady has been lambasted for her extravagance at a time when the economy is still struggling. One blogger went so far as to brand her a modern-dayrie Antoinette.

e exact cost of the trip is unclear as Mrs Obama, 46, and her friends are footing personal expenses - including accommodation at Marbella's five-star Hotela Padierna - themselves. 

t the taxpayer will have to pick up the tab for the First Lady's 68-strong security detail, her personal staff - and the use of presidential jet Air Force Two. 

e cost of accommodating the secret service team runs at around £172 each a day which amounts to nearly £60,000 for the length of the summer break.

e of Air Force Two, the Air Force version of a 757, comes in at £91,900 for the round trip. This does not include time on the ground.

e American public will also cover the cost of the only official part of the holiday, a visit to the Spanish royal family on the island of Majorca.  

conservative estimate puts the total amount at around £150,000.

ck in the U.S., anger was mounting - especially as it has emerged the First Lady will have enjoyed eight holidays by the end of the summer. 

ese include a trip to Los Angeles in June, a visit to the Florida's oil-hit Gulf Coast next weekend and a ten-day trip to Martha's Vineyard later this month.

No ordinary holidaymaker: Michelle Obama (in bright top with dark belt) is

surrounded by a substantial security detail (wearing sunglasses) in the city of

Grenada, Spain

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hite House press secretary Robin Gibbs was asked at a briefing if there were any concerns about how the visit was being viewed by the public. 

e First Lady is on a private trip,' he said. 'She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. I think I'd leave it at that.'  

sterday New York Daily News columnist and blogger Andrea Tantaros likened the President’s wife to French queen Marie Antoinette, who was famously

ravagant with her spending.

ntaros wrote: ‘To be clear, what the Obamas do with their money is one thing; what they do with ours is another. Transporting and housing the estimated 70cret Service agents who will flank the material girl will cost the taxpayers a pretty penny.’ 

e accused the Obamas of hypocrisy for preaching the values of sacrifice and austerity to Americans while seemingly refusing to heed their own advice.

Quiet moment: Michelle (left) and her younger daughter Sasha toured the stunning

Alhambra Palace as part of their visit to Grenada

Criticism: The First Lady has been attacked for taking such a lavish and high profile

trip at a time of economic difficulty

Fan club: Granada residents hold signs in the street supporting Mrs Obama and

welcoming her to their city

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e said: ‘Instead, Michelle Obama seems more like a modern-day Marie Antoinette… than an average mother of two.’ 

e added: ‘I don't begrudge anyone rest and relaxation when they work hard. We all need downtime - the First Family included.

s the extravagance of Michelle Obama's trip and glitzy destination contrasted with President Obama's demonisation of the rich that smacks of hypocrisy andrpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders'

s Obama, who has been accompanied by her youngest daughter, Saha, nine, spent yesterday in the historic city of Granada.  

e visited the spectacular Alhambra Palace, the 16th century cathedral and the pretty Albaicin neighbourhood, famous for its narrow winding streets and smalluares

crowd of several hundred people shouted 'Obama!' and 'guapa!' (beautiful) as the Obamas entered the cathedral with a large security detail in tow. 

e party also had time for ice cream in the main street Gran Via.

 

People had turned out in their hundreds to welcome the American First Lady and her

daughter

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s Obama later attended a f lamenco performance by Juan Andres Maya where other members of the audience were delighted when she tried out some danceves at the end.

rlier in the week, Mrs Obama had strolled around the shop's of Marbella's old town with daughter Sasha in tow.

e First Lady was surrounded by burly Secret Service agents as hundreds of locals sought to catch a glimpse of her in the Costa del Sol resort.  

earing black trousers, a black and white top and dark sunglasses, the 46-year-old walked through Marbella's cobbled streets, nipping into a number of shopsore having dinner in an Andalusian restaurant.

s Obama arrived by plane at Malaga airport yesterday/on Wednesday morning and was driven in a 14-car convoy to the five star Hotel Villa Padierna, wherer entourage has reserved 60 of the 129 rooms.

e told owner Ricardo Arranz she had come to 'relax and unwind'.

 

e hotel is nestled in the hills overlooking Marbella, and at 6.30pm she and nine-year-old Sasha were driven to the historic centre for their shopping trip.  

cals and British expats and holidaymakers crammed the streets or leaned out from balconies to get the best shot of the First Lady on their cameras. Someen climbed orange trees to get a better look.

s Obama bought two white Egyptian cotton dresses for 84 euros (70 pounds) from a shop called Blanc du Nil after asking shopkeeper Irene Aivar for advicestyles and sizes.

Private citizen: Mrs Obama (seen here in Granada) is paying all personal expenses

herself. Her security detail and transport are paid for by the U.S. taxpayer

Presence: Mrs Obama and her entourage go walkabout in Marbella on Wednesday

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e then took a business card from another shop called Samira, which sells silverware and crafts, before heading to a restaurant for dinner at 8pm.  

ey had a reservation for 14 people at the Buenaventura Plaza restaurant, reportedly eating lobster with rice and oysters followed by a Spanish breaddding called torrijas.

esident Barack Obama, who turned 49 on Wednesday, is not expected to join them in Spain, and oldest daughter Malia, 12, is at a summer camp in the US. 

ports in Spain said Mr Obama telephoned his wife at the restaurant, and she sang him Happy Birthday down the phone.

e party enjoyed red wine with the main course and a local sweet white wine with dessert before retiring to the hotel at 10pm. 

mments (0)

Luxurious: The Obamas and their party are staying at the Villa Padierna in Marbella,

which is rated as one of the top hotels in the world

Calvacade: The First Lady's convoy arriving in Marbella on Tuesday after she

travelled from the States on Air Force Two

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Find this story at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1300852/Anger-mounts-Michelle-Obamas-150k-holiday--footed-U-S-taxpayer.html

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

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