Fun in the sun and a little bit of rain – Málaga, España

Posted on by tobyo

Málaga captured both my husband’s and my hearts when we visited for the first time in May 2010 (my post from that trip is here: fun in the sun….). So when we got some surprise money we knew exactly how we wanted to spend it: a trip back to Spain for our 20th anniversary in March 2011. Following are the highlights from our second trip to Málaga. At left is Casa Aranda(Calle Herrería del Rey, 3), a great place for churros y chocolate and people watching.

We didn’t manage to get to the Atarazanas market while it was open this trip, but I had to get a pic of the beautiful stained glass window which we missed seeing our first time in Málaga. Admittedly this is not the best pic but at least we saw the window! And I managed to snap it just as the market was shutting down for the day.

The weather wasn’t fabulous like it was the previous May but it was fairly pleasant nonetheless.  When we landed it was close to 70 and it was in the upper 60s the entire time with a little bit of rain for our day trip to Córdoba.  We walk everywhere when we’re in Málaga and we had a nice stroll along the Paseo del Parque where there are some interesting sculptures. We saw some great tilework as well.

The bird of paradise reminds me of growing up in southern California. And, the orange trees were in bloom and oh! the aroma of orange blossoms also brought me back to my youth in California.  Such a sweet, sweet aroma wafting through the air.  Spring is a great time to visit southern Spain.
We walked all the way to Malagueta beach, we just had to put our hands/feet into the Mediterranean Sea!  We also picked up several shells to bring back home.
What visit to Málaga would be complete without at least viewing the Roman Theater and the Alcazaba behind it?  Well, none, so here are a couple of those pics. The Roman Theater dates to the 1st century.  Wow…….
Wandering musicians regaled us with their tunes while we took refreshment at El Pimpi.
One place that I read more about after our first trip to Málaga was Antigua Casa de Guardia for Malagueñan sweet wine.  We needed to check it out.  And what did we find? An old, stand-up type bar with many barrels against the wall, stacked 3 high. Wine is all that they serve too. I had jotted a couple of the names of wines that I wanted to try and confidently asked the waiter for the first one.  Yummy!! Can I have some more please?
The fun thing about this place is that it’s like the Spain that I lived in more than 30 years ago. Nothing is automated.  Our bartender(right) kept track of our bill by writing the amounts of our wines in chalk on the counter in front of us.  When the customer is done, he adds it up, the customer pays and then he wipes it clean so he can start again with a new customer.
Yep, we stumbled out of that place!  But we were very happy and full of sweet wine.
At the train station to catch our train to Madrid I saw some Picasso-esque paintings whilst waiting to go through security.
And, finally outside of the ticket taker booth waiting to board our AVE to Madrid.  Train travel in Spain is just great and so much more improved than when I lived there!  The fast trains then were the talgo trains.  I recall a couple of overnight train rides, one between Madrid and Barcelona.  It was about an 8 hour trip then and we took overnight trains to save on travel time. And did I marvel at the quick 2.5 hour trip on the AVE the previous May.  I was in awe and continue to be.  I can’t wait to travel by train again in Spain.
Au revoir Málaga.  Until we see each other again.

16 thoughts on “Fun in the sun and a little bit of rain – Málaga, España”

  3. Andalucía is really nice in the spring indeed! Nice blog, nice photos. Come to Alicante next time you visit Spain!

    Reply

    1. ¡muchísimas gracias! me gustó el video tuyo de Madrid de anoche. Me encanta Madrid….y me encanta España en general también. el próximo viaje no creo que tenemos el tiempo de visitar a Alicante pero cuando nos moveremos a la Costa del Sol (dentro de 8 años, espero!) claro que visitaremos Alicante. ¿Eres de Alicante entonces? (¿hay 166 kilómetros entre Madrid y Alicante?)

      Thanks for your nice comment and for visiting my blog! muy agradecida :)

      Reply

      1. Yeah, I am from Alicante. But actually, there are 166 kilometers from Alicante to Valencia, which is another city that you definitely ought to visit ;) – Manuel

      2. I was in Valencia for Las Fallas in 1981 but it’s definitely on the list for our next visit. Aha! I finally know the meaning of 166 kilómetros. Muchas gracias ;)

  5. I missed this post – you were here! And you went to all the good places – especially El Pimpi and the Antigua Casa. Sounds like it was a wonderrful celebration of 20 years together – congratulations!

    Reply
  6. Pingback: My first blogoversary and I’m late! | travels with toby

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