Blogs from Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, Europe

Well, I'll just be quick the flight bit...crying all the way to the airport with my mum. So very emotional, but I got chatting to a lady in the queue for luggage check in and started to feel a bit better. All went pretty, smooth. I didn't even bleep when going through customs. Flight was ok, but I can see why Ryan air flights are the cheapest (not that I'm moaning). I got chatting the lady next to me who was lovely and I was getting excited. Arrived in Malaga.. A relief as I collected my backpack, which luckily was the 2nd down the conveyor belt and I strolled out into the foyer, took a deep breath and smiled. Found the taxi rank, the driver did not know where my hostel was so he gave me ... read more

Salut! La semaine dernière, je suis allé prendre des couleurs dans le sud de l'Espagne en Andalousie, où j'ai été rejoindre Catherine qui y fait son échange. Il faut dire que ça fait vraiment changement de la Suisse! J'ai donc pris l'avion direction Madrid vendredi le 19 octobre dernier pour ensuite voyager 7 heures en autobus de nuit jusqu'à Málaga. Un plan parfait non? En voyageant de nuit, je ne perdais pas de temps en transport pour mon séjour. Toutefois, quand notre siège est disfonctionnel et qu'il s'accote sur la dame obèse derrière nous dès qu'on y met un peu de pression, ça fait qu'on doit se tenir droit durant tout le trajet, sans pouvoir vraiment dormir... Par chance, elle a débarqué de l'autobus une heure avant moi, j'ai donc eu une super heure de sommeil ... read more

Well, we arrived in Malaga on the 21st, and had such a great time that we decided to stay until the 25th! We made some pretty awesome friends at the hostel we were staying at, so that also influenced how long we wanted to stay. Malaga is a fairly small town, but we made the most of it. After having a low key day and night our first day which included a trip to the beach, we decided to go out and do a walking tour of the city on our second day. Our guide Brian who is from New York, showed us some hidden areas that were great for overlooking the city and port. We started in Plaza de Merced, the main plaza in town, Teatro Romano a ruined Roman theatre, Malaga´s 16th century Cathedral ... read more

When I think of Malaga, I think of one thing - holiday resorts. The last leg of my trip was a day in Malaga before flying home to Ireland and my expectations were low. Fortunately I was proved to be wrong! I was staying in a hostel in the Old Town within easy walking distance of the centre. Malaga's history outdates Cadiz. Founded around 770BC by the Phoenicians, it has seen rulers from Ancient Carthage, the Roman Empire, and Arab Empire before coming under Christian rule again after the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments all these eras have had the effect of making the city "open museum", displaying its rich history of more than 3,000 years. After setting myself up in the hostel (with people again yay) I walked downtown to see what the city ... read more

Journey through Spain You could tell it was disembarking time on the ferry – the rain was hammering down outside and you could see little more than a thick drizzle grey everywhere. As the motley collection of bikers headed down to deck 2, the perennial fat hard “characters” who were always on the ferry or the chunnel, usually on cruisers, these ones on Goldwings, cited they didn’t need waterproofs ‘cos the Goldwing shielded them from anything, and of course because they were “hard”. They were nice enough lads but any moron could see they would have been soaked within 10 miles. Shame about the weather because the route once out of Bilbao’s environs was really quite stunning, carving its way through rock formations, weaving through tunnels and winding along pristine, albeit wet, blacktop. Only a short ... read more

Couple more photos on the way for previous blog entries. The stupid computer doesn't like my camera and won't let me upload them. I'm now one week down of a two week Spanish language course and my brain is very much ready for a rest. My vocabulary has increased a little, but I'm still only about 0.0001% into understanding what and how to use the little words that tie a sentance together. I'm in the suburbs of Málaga, which fortunately means it's only about a 10 minute bus ride to the city. I've seen a little bit of the city centre and will hopefully see some more this afternoon. Apparently this is the birthplace of Picasso. Hopefully I will see some of his artwork when I travel to Madrid later in my trip. I'm not as ... read more

We walked out of the train station in Valencia right into the middle of Las Fallas - the biggest fiesta in the region - which, from the four hours we were there, seemed to be about eating, (mainly paella and chocolate coated churros) drinking, spontaneous loud and fast brass band music on street corners, very loud fireworks and huge cartoon-like satirical sculptures on every available plaza. I'd read that effigies are set alight on the last day of the week long fiesta - but these giant tableaux were so artfully and professionally constructed - surely they wouldn't meet a firey destruction days after they were errected? We found out through the local TV channel that this was the case - we watched (without understanding a word of the commentary of course) as dozens of Disney-styled 3D ... read more

Amazing shopping, could have spent tons. Explored Alcazaba - gorgeous stonework leading up and up through stunning gardens. Spanish gardens are wild and lush and passionately overflowing, not prim and proper as English ones are. The structures worked with the landscape to create an inviting maze of architecture and nature. Took lovely pictures. Found a much-needed bathroom at the top. This was the best part of all. Saw the remains of a Roman ampitheatre. Much like the pictures I've seen of the remains of Roman ampitheatres. Went back to the boat and beat Vince at ping pong. I did this many times throughout the trip, he never won. I am a ping pong superstar. Due to bets won 1) an awesome steak cooked by Vince upon return to the states 2) The pleasure of watching Vince ... read more

Whew, sorry I haven't updated this in a few days, I've been busier than normal! I had an exam on Thursday so I was studying for it on Wednesday night. I went out on Thursday night with people from my program and then I met up with my Finnish friend who was still in town. It ended up being a pretty late night because we went to club Abril again (where women got in for free, hehe) and staying until around 4 a.m. On Friday we had to wake up early to go to an included trip to the neighboring town of Italica to see some old Roman ruins. I wish I could say it was really cool, but I didn't personally find it very interesting. However, on Friday night my roommate Samm and I went ... read more