Malaga

Ahhhhh Málaga, the first trip to the Mediterranean on this fine adventure.

Well, after Ronda, we went straight down to Málaga, arguably the second oldest city in Western Europe – right after Cadiz. Upon our arrival, the smell of the sea was too much to resist. We ended up making a B-line straight to the sea where we hung out well past dark. We knew that we had an entire day of tours the next day as well as some free time, so we, again – making decisions based on the sea, decided to hit up a supermarket for food, have a reasonably early night, and wake up early to see the sunrise on the beach.

European Travel Tip #1:
If you’re not exactly sure that you want to eat in a restaurant, get a Baggett at a supermarket. You get an entire loaf of bread for 0.60€, and it’s way better than any bread you’d be having at home.
As you can see in the picture, Bert and Ernie were even on our pack of cookies (which may or may not have played a role in why we chose those cookies), and they made the evening much better.
Well, the next morning we woke up early and watched the sun rise (see pictures below)… I’m not sure if the Mediterranean, with its palm trees and clear blue water, quite compares to Ocean City, MD, but I tried to enjoy it. Remember what your parents always told you, “it’s better to live in the present than in the future.”
We made it back to the hotel just in time for breakfast and to meet a few of our classmates who were having a tough time staying awake/ conscious. It seemed we had made the right choice. Our tour took us through the city of Málaga, which is mostly new because of the bombings during World War II that leveled the majority of the city, and to an old Arab fortress that was actually built before the Alhambra. There was even a small Roman amphitheater.
Finally, we had some free time to roam the streets on our own, so we went to the Pablo Picasso museum that was only 3€. Picasso is actually from Málaga, so his nephew founded this museum in his honor and put a lot of his sketches and lesser-known works of art in it. It was actually a really cool museum, and below the museum was an archeological site where there were Phoenician ruins from 800 BC… pretty stinkin’ old if you’d ask me.
After the museum, our little group split because I had a Baggett and didn’t feel like eating at a restaurant, and Devin (girl) just wanted a banana… So off we went in search of a banana, which ended up not being too difficult to find, but we did find a big street packed with people and performers… Carnaval! Although at night it’s much bigger, there were a lot of people dressed up in costumes, including the cutest kids you’ve ever seen, and some really appetizing food. We ended up succumbing to the miniature donuts with chocolate syrup on them… a pretty healthy option.
Well, that about wraps up Malaga. We ate are delectable donuts of deliciousness, made our way to the meeting point next to the huge cathedral, and headed home.

Interesting Side Note:
Granada is really starting to feel like home now. Whenever we return from trips or even when I just return from class, I get the “whew… finally home” feeling. It’s nice. Maybe it’s the people, or maybe it’s the tons of food and crazy, cross-eyed cat that greets me as soon as I walk through the door.