Taking time for a few extra days in Malaga after the course was a great idea. Malaga is a great city for walking around. I waited to visit the outlying town of Ronda on a day bus trip and do any clothes shopping until my friend C. had taken off. Wandering around the city by myself, from street to street finding all sorts of fun bargains wasn't a problem and I managed to locate a small shop that sold Mango fruit bars dipped in dark chocolate! Of course on my last day I treated myself to the luxury of a dip in the local Arab baths which I would highly recommend! Of course I wasn't always alone as I managed to chat with others and on my last night, as I said a new Russian friend found us a restaurant to watch Flamenco dancing at!
The thing is that there is so much to see, you hardly want to stop and of course as I am one of those "don't want to miss anything" people, my poor legs and feet barely know what horizontal feels like after consistent 8+ hours days of walking around the towns and cities sightseeing! There was another Thyssen museum here that was related to the one in Madrid I had gone to and they both have amazing art. This one also had an Regoyos exhibit which I really enjoyed. I just HAD to visit the Picasso Museum (which has a very convoluted hard to find entrance) and also found their extra exhibit on a Russian artist fascinating. The Prado museum in Madrid had a great El Greco exhibition I managed to get to also.
RIGHT there in the city is this amazing entrance to the Alcazaba of Malaga - an impressive group of buildings, mostly dating from the 11th century. They formed a sort of palace-fortress during the Moslem rule and the views and architecture are just wonderful. Then C. and I took a taxi to Malaga's Botanical Gardens and walked around there for 2 hours (I'll have to add photos!!) which was so relaxing and green! During my walks around the city I just happened upon the entrance to the place where they store the gigantic floats (over 200 men carry them) that they take out on festival days... usually once a year - truly impressive! (will add photos - sorry have to wait until I get home to find them all!)
It turned out that even our hotel had ancient ruins directly beneath it. As you walk in the lobby door the floor is transparent and you can see it below you. If you follow the stairs down, there is even more! Directly to the right of the hotel was a smaller museum that held a treasure trove of amazing information about the city and the history of the culture of Spain.
There always seemed to be music somewhere around on the streets, violins or guitars being played by street musicians. There was even a roaming Mariachis band! As we sat outside at a table having dinner one night we realised we were in for a treat. A car barely managed to drive by us in the street we were on (I pulled in my feet), and it stopped at the end by the street by the tall church doors. Later we realised it must have been the bride's mother stepping out as we saw the very large church doors open and we could see inside. We walked down to see people standing around waiting for the bride to arrive. When her car came, she stepped out and was just stunning with a lovely long lace mantilla over her gown.
No comments:
Post a Comment