A Whole Lot of Hanging Out by the Pool in Malaga

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So again a blog entry that is going to cover the three days that I spent in Malaga. And again, this is not a sign that Malaga was not interesting ... not at all. It was kind of part of the plan that I would do a little sightseeing in Malaga but mainly it was added as part of the itinerary because of the fact that there were beaches.

Ironically, I spent maybe an hour or two at the beach and made most of my new freckles by the pool at the hotel. I didn't even know that the hotel had a pool until I walked down the hallway towards my room and caught a glimpse of it. I was already doing a dance of joy simply based on the fact that my room had a bathtub (for those of you who do not know ... I hate showers ... too violent ... so the fact that I have not seen a bathtub in over 60 days has been ... ummmm ... almost traumatizing ... okay slight exageration but not by much!).

I will say this ... the weather is considerably hotter than it was when I first started this trip and that kind of heat also slows you down a bit. To give you an idea ... it was 27C the morning I left Granada to come to Malaga ... and that was at around 9 am. Scorchers is what we have been having. I love the heat but again it definitely slows you down a notch!

So that is exactly what I did ... a bit of sightseeing in the morning and the better part of the rest of the day by the pool. Oh sweet loveliness by the pool. And to even top that ... there was a dry sauna as well as a steam bath. So imagine two days of sauna, pool, nap, steam, pool, nap, read a book, re-apply sunscreen, pool, steam, pool, sauna .... you get the gist.

So what did I end up seeing in Malaga ... still quite a bit. Of course, there's the cathedral which is enormous and gorgeous. It is so huge that I was never able to get a full shot of it. And it's not even finished ... one of the towers is missing.

The Alcazaba was the highlight for me though. Just having seen the Alhambra in Granada, the Alcazaba is very similar in that it is a fortress but there is also a Nazarid Palace. The scale is much smaller and unfortunately the palace is not as well preserved but you can still see the arab influences in the small amount of detail that has been preserved.

Then of course, there was everything related to Pablo Picasso. He was born here after all so it is appropriate that there be a few museums dedicated to him (although he did leave at the age of 19 never to return!!) One is actually housed in the home where he was born. There was a temporary exhibit being held with amazing lithographs he did, all of which were on the theme of women.

I also visited a small museum called Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares. The museum itself is housed in an old inn and houses a collection that spans the different trades such as blacksmith and fisherman to recreations of a typical household. The second floor also has traditional dresses and costumes. A small museum filled with really interesting things. And only 2 euros to boot!!

I also got the chance to visit the museum of contemporary art although part of the permanent collection was closed off. Don't really know why. There is also a "branch" of the Carmen Thyssen museum here in Malaga (I also visited the museum in Madrid) which was holding a temporary exhibit which included Monet, Picasso and Renoir to name a few. I would have liked to actually view the permanent collection but because it was Sunday, the museum was closing early and the guy at the ticket office said that I would probably have to rush through it before closing time.

I was also lucky in that I took a stroll through the incredible Parque del Oeste and found a group of young girls performing traditional dances. They were accompanied by a live band. It was really interesting to see. One little girl just made me laugh. She had her turn at performing first. Then when it was the others turn, she would stand in the sidelines and dance along ... she twirled a lot too. She was just precious.

So a quieter time in Malaga but still a great time. So now it is off to Cordoba ...

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Photos

1 Room
At Monte Malaga Hotel

2 OMG ... a bathtub!!!
I hate showers so 60+ days without a bathtub is like torture. I did a little dance of joy when I saw it!!

3 And a bath sponge
I would have outright cried if that had been a loofah

4 Bullfight this coming Sunday
I actually ended up watching it on TV ... yes it is broadcast live!

8
396 photos of women from Romania (or was it Poland???) ... all taken from the back

9
What Europeans do best ... lovely pedestrian areas

10 Peluqueria
Hairdresser ... oh God I need one of those!

13 Cathedral
At the back of the choir

17 We have Ketchup chips
and here it is Jamon chips ... yum!

18 Seriously I love this room
It has one of those red lamps that heats up so that you are not chilly when you step out of the tub!

21 Dipping into the mini bar
Not something that I've been allowed to do too much ... there's a budget after all!