Málaga, Spain

Sorry it has been so long since our last post, but we have been traveling the world as well as a few US states in between. We are now back in Chicago for a whopping three weeks until our next trip, woo hoo. We figured we could write a post or two before we are gone again.

So, where have we been...let's start with Málaga, Spain. If we are going to start, we might as well begin with our flight from Aalborg, Denmark down to Spain. Málaga happened to be a destination with very attractive flight offers and thus became the logical choice for us to begin our tour of Spain. A word of caution for those 5'10" planning to use CimberAir as your means of travel from or to Denmark. Not only was it bad enough waking up at 4:30 am to catch our flight, they decided to make the space between seats comfortable only for those as small or smaller than Elizabeth. Needless to say, we made it safely but the person traveling in front of Rob was immediately taken to the hospital to treat his whip-lash.

Day One
We arrived in Málaga at 10 am and walked over a mile to our hotel. We would have never done this if Rob understood kilometers because he was carrying three out of the four bags as I had the bag with wheels. Anyways, we checked into our hotel and immediately proceeded to raid the FREE minibar to refresh before hitting the coastal town of Málaga. The first thing we decided to do was hit the streets and get a feel for the town by walking around for a bit. We had many impressions from our early hours on the streets...
1. All the streets were marble. It was amazing to think that Americans long to have this in their kitchens and bathrooms yet in this region, it is so plentiful they use it for people to walk on.
2. We were not accustomed to the lively hustle and bustle of people being out and about. Instead of three hours of daylight we could see others well past 8pm. Instead of shops closing at 4 pm, we could get an ice cream 24 hours a day. Instead of dodging old ladies on bikes, we were watching street performers and the lively Spanish culture live their daily lives.
3. We had the chance to eat outside in a typical Spanish plaza for the first time of our trip. What is a Spanish Plaza like? Well, they are typically large squares surrounded by beautiful buildings full of history and many little cafes with tables and chairs scattered throughout the open space. Also, if you are really lucky, you may have a beautiful fountain or street musicians to entertain you while you eat. It is something straight out of a romantic movie. For example, the plaza we ate at in Málaga was right next to a gigantic cathedral that was hosting a wedding.

We also went to the Picasso museum on our first day. Pablo Picasso is the most well known painter in all the world. It just so happens that he was born in Málaga and lived there until he was ten years old. Of course they had a museum dedicated to him with many of his works. We spent a good deal of time in the museum. Not only were his works fascinating but the building, a renovated 16th century mansion, was gorgeous. Another word of caution...for those of you with small children, we want you to know that Picasso really liked boobs. In most of his works there would be a woman's breast in some part of the painting whether it be left corner, right corner, or upside down, it was always there. We do not understand why, but we thought we should pass it on.

Day Two
On day two we began the day by walking through a garden/park on our way to La Plaza Merced to meet for a private bike tour. These gardens/parks are everywhere in Spain and were a great part of our trip. Anyway, on to the bike tour. Our guide, Kay, told us to meet her at La Plaza Merced by 10 am so that she could take us to her shop to get our bikes and start the bike tour. In American fashion, we arrived 10 mins early eagerly waiting and looking for our guide. We began to think there was a problem when no one was there five minutes past ten, so Elizabeth and I began to discuss options, when we spotted another touristy looking family walking around with a map and looking around the plaza like we were. A few minutes later, they started walking in the direction of the bike shop, so we did the most logical thing and started to tail them without acting as if we were following. After walking back and forth on the same street, we finally introduced ourselves and worked together to try and find the illusive bike shop. We eventually found it but the street was gated and locked. Luckily, Kay, needed to go in to clean the bikes and unlocked the gate as we were trying to figure out how we were going to get in. Basically, we ended up getting lucky because Kay had us scheduled for the following week and was only there by chance. She quickly apologized and we started our tour 30 minutes later than scheduled. Before we get started about the bike tour, we forgot to mention that the family we stalked was actually from Toronto and their son was wearing a jacket from Hockey Opportunity camp, the same camp Rob went to growing up. In the words of Walt Disney "It's a small world after all."

Our bike tour consisted of...
1. The famous cathedral called La Manchita (The One Armed Woman) by the locals. This is a massive church right in the center of town with four different sides based upon what period each side was completed. The reason it's called the one armed woman is because only one tower is completed and now because of the nickname, they may never finish it. Either way the inside is full of history pertaining to the religious timeline of Spain. Like most cathedrals, it was very beautiful and eccentric.
2. We biked around town and found out some local history. One thing we learned was that during the Holy week around 50 "brotherhoods" march around town holding their own platforms, which are very extravagant floats. This activity takes the whole day and is a big celebration. One of the "brotherhoods" is led by Antonio Banderas, yes, he was Zorro, and born in Málaga. He attends the Holy week festivities every year with his family in tow. We learned about the cities multicultural development and this was seen in the variety of architecture. The city was first founded by the Romans in the first century. In time, the Ottomans, which were the fathers of Islam, came to conquer this city and left their mark on top of what the Romans had already produced. Finally, Christianity sought to regain control of Spain during me devil times and Málaga was one of the last cities to be taken from the Arabs.
3. Lastly, we pedaled towards the harbor and the beach, where we stopped for a quick bite on the beach. While snacking, Rob took a stroll down by the sand and found a photo op. As he took a picture of the beach, somehow a woman, topless, landed in the picture. Our guide, Kay, said do not be alarmed as this is a normal custom in Spain. The coast was beautiful and captured the essence of Málaga. Out of the three cities, Málaga, felt the most like a laid back coastal town where people came to vacation.

After the wonderful 4 hour bike tour, we decided to visit Alcazaba. This was a Moorish (Islamic) fortification built in the 8th century on a hill overlooking an old Roman amphitheatre. We spent many hours walking through the many passage ways and gardens of the compound. Since the fortress is built on a hill, when we reached the top we stood in awe of the great views of the city and coastal line.

The best part of this two day stay was the bike tour because we learned so much history and saw so many different things. We hope to go back one day so we can catch a real Spanish bull fight instead of looking at an empty stadium from the outside.