Malaga - Day 6

Tuesday, September 6

Another hot day here, so we set off for the beach again. On the way we stopped at the Bullring to see if there was some sort of museum, but all we found was a clever sculpture! Due to animal cruelty concerns the bullfights in Spain don't result in the bull being killed, but they still get a good run around trying to gore the protagonists silly enough to get into the ring with them!

Noelle found a shady spot while I enjoyed the cooling waters of the Mediterranean, and for a Tuesday there were plenty of people on the beach and in the water. Lunchtime rolled around again and we found another espetero who was barbecuing fish in a little boat, so we sat at the restaurant which was literally on the beach and enjoyed some more sardines and fried anchovies.

It was then time to head back to our apartment and pack again in preparation for our journey to Seville tomorrow. After dinner we walked around the old town for the last time (on this trip anyway) and joined the many people doing the same thing. We'll miss Malaga but we have some more of Spain to explore, as well as the different customs in the different regions to come.

Malaga at Night

Malaga really comes alive at night, and not just on the weekends like at home! Every night we have been here we've been amazed at how many people and families are out and about until nearly midnight, either eating in restaurants, shopping or just strolling around enjoying the cooler temperatures. This lifestyle works here as a lot of shops and businesses close for a couple of hours during the heat of the afternoon, and then reopen around 4-5pm and stay open until 8-9pm.

On Saturday night when these pictures were taken it looked like everyone in Malaga was out, and in many restaurants you couldn't get a seat after 9pm unless you were prepared to wait. We loved the atmosphere and felt perfectly safe strolling around, and there wasn't as big a police presence here compared to what we saw in Italy and France.

                                                             Plaza de la Constitution

                                                        Contemporary Art Museum

                                                               Malaga Cathedral

Malaga - Day 5

Monday, September 5

Today we set out to find out more details about the early life of Malaga's most famous son, Pablo Picasso. The house where he was born was only a few hundred meters away from our apartment, so we didn't have far to go! Inside the house is a museum dedicated to him and his family, with lots of personal effects including his christening gown and baptism certificate, pictures of him as a baby and others with his parents and extended family and drawings he did when he was young. There were also some paintings done by his father, who taught art at the local university, and by contemporaries of his father. It was easy to understand why Pablo became obsessed with drawing and painting!

The family home where he lived for the first 10 years of his life is on one of the corners of Plaza de la Merced, and there is a statue of him on a bench. It makes for a great photo, and Noelle couldn't resist sitting next to the statue to gain some inspiration for her artwork! There was also a temporary exhibition in another house nearby and this explored his later works and the variety of mediums he worked in - again just enough to appreciate his genius without getting overloaded.

We opted for a healthy lunch today, and we were both happy with our choices. I opted for sashimi tuna while Noelle chose confit duck. Both were excellent choices!

After some retail therapy we moved on to the Malaga Cathedral, a magnificent building both inside and out. The most outstanding features were the two massive pipe organs on either side of the choir stalls, and the carving of the choir stalls themselves. Unfortunately we didn't hear the organs playing or any singing during our visit today.

There is also another Picasso Museum in town which is run by a different organization, and this contains hundreds of his works as well as others by his contemporaries. However we decided not to go into this one as it would be overload and spoil the appreciation we gained from visiting his home and the more personal approach the earlier museum has taken.

Malaga - Day 4

Sunday, September 4

The Spaniards certainly like to party hard, especially on a Saturday night! It was noisy outside our apartment until about 3am this morning, so we slept in a bit longer than normal. We have learned on this trip that Sunday is a quiet day in most Mediterranean countries with lots of shops and restaurants closed for the day. As it was forecast to get to 33C today we chose to explore the beaches of Malaga.

On the way to the beach we visited the museum of local artist Felix Revello de Toro, and we really enjoyed seeing his works. We had never heard of him before but he is a very good portrait painter who uses colour and light to great effect in his portraits. The house the museum is in was the workshop and home of a 17th century sculptor, and is one of the few examples remaining of domestic architecture from this period.

We walked beside the gardens along the waterfront, taking a detour past the Pompidou Centre and also checking out some market stalls around the Harbour. Malaga has lots of gardens and is very green considering the hot sunny weather they have, especially compared to Almeira further north along the coast. The esplanades and footpaths around the beaches are charming with lots of palm trees offering some shade. We found a nice restaurant on the beach and enjoyed fried anchovies in lemon with salad for our lunch. A number of restaurants along the beach were also barbecuing the sardines and fish like we had for dinner last night, and they certainly smelt good!

After a swim we made our way back to our apartment, just loving the walk in such beautiful surrounds and in such glorious weather. We love Malaga!

Malaga - Day 3

Saturday, September 3

After breakfast we set off for the Central Market in Malaga to get some more provisions, passing Plaza de la Constitution on the way and walking along Calle Larios, a famous pedestrian high end shopping strip. The entry into the market is via a 14th C Arabian archway which used to lead into the shipyards, but today it was filled with the freshest fish and seafood, as well as the best looking fruit, vegetables, hams, cheeses and other goodies. We stocked up and enjoyed a delicious lunch back at our apartment on the rooftop terrace that we have access to.

We did a bit of shopping after siesta then got ready for dinner. We had read about some local traditions on how the locals cook fish and went searching for one of these restaurants. We found one and went in, quickly ordering a lovely rose to enjoy with our barbecued sardines followed by a barbequed sea bass - both were so fresh and tasted fantastic. The person who cooks these dishes is called an espetero, and the fish are cooked over a fire using olive wood in a little boat filled with sand. We will look out for these guys again!

The best way to follow this meal was with a gelato, followed by a stroll through the old town along with thousands of the locals enjoying the warm weather, eating outdoors and socialising with friends. It certainly made some great memories of summer nights in Malaga.

Malaga - Day 2

Friday, September 2

We set off in bright sunshine again and headed for the main attractions (to us) in town. First up was the Roman Ampitheatre which was built in the 1st C AD when the Romans were in charge of Spain. It is situated at the base of the walls of the Alcazaba and was only rediscovered in 1951 when some slums were being demolished! There was a very good interpretation center nearby to explain how this theater was used in Roman times, and what had happened to it over the centuries.

We then visited the Alcazaba, a place I had been to in 1974, and the wonderful memories from then have made me want to come back here and share it with Noelle. It is a palace fortress and is one of the most important preserved Arabic constructions in Spain. The impressive group of buildings mostly date from the 11th C, and was built by the Arab rulers of the city, following the contours of the hill it is built on. This added to the defensive capability of the fort and the palace inside.

The views from the fort are fabulous, while inside the palace there were beautiful gardens and fountains fed by gravity that gave a cooling effect as you walk around. Some of the palace buildings and features were built between the 11th and 16th centuries, and the architecture depends on who was in charge at the time! Some of the doorways, ceilings, cornices, tiling and carving have a real moorish feel about it, and it's certainly beautiful to look at. Again I'll let the pictures do the talking!

After a late lunch we again rested up, and went out later on to soak up the night time atmosphere of Malaga - I'll make Malaga at night a separate post before we leave.

Malaga, Spain

Thursday, September 1

We were up bright and early and on our way to Barcelona airport by 7am! Our flight to Malaga arrived about 11am and we finally reached our new home for the next 6 nights, the Suites Del Pintor about midday. This was after another hairy taxi ride where the driver thinks he's a Formula 1 driver!

After settling in we had a delicious lunch - a healthy salad for a change, and then we set off to explore the area around us. As it was siesta time not a lot was open, so we decided a siesta was a good idea and we would explore some more after a rest. We are staying in the old part of town so it's always fascinating walking around and seeing how different each town is. There is a lot to see here so we're looking forward to our stay in Malaga.