Malaga Day 3

Our day started in the same way as yesterday's - with churros and hot chocolate. It was still delicious!

We jumped in a taxi up to the botanic gardens cos we couldn't be bothered waiting on the bus and we are wild with our money abroad since it isn't real. On the way we got stuck behind a car crash for a while, it was all very cinematic - people from 4 different cars got out to argue in the street even though some of them weren't even involved.

The gardens are free on a Sunday so this saving covered the cost of our taxi. We spent a couple of hours wandering about enjoying it all - my favourite section was "Around the World in 80 Trees". It was getting pretty warm by this point so we stopped at the cafe for a wee soft drink before heading for the bus. The bus is a 12 minute walk away from the gardens but once you get on it it goes all the way to our hotel so pretty convenient.

Cos of the heat, we weren't really in the mood for a big lunch so we went to Spago's for a bowl of pasta each. Picture the scene - fresh pasta with a sauce of your choice and a soft drink (including beer because Spain) for €6. This includes an al fresco table on one of the busiest drags in the centre of the old town! Bargain. I had red pesto made with cashews and K just had olive oil and parmesan.

Our cheapo day continued with a trip to the Alcazaba which is free after 2 on a Sunday. The Alcazaba is a moorish fortress above the city and as such has amazing views. You are allowed to climb about quite a lot, it is deffo worth a trip. It next to the old Roman Theatre too so you can easily see them both.

Our next plan was to head down to the waterfront so we thought we'd cash in our free ride on the scooter hire scheme to make the journey easier and more fun. Unfortunately, K couldn't get her scooter to work so we just took one and took turns on it. It went much faster than I expected, much faster! It was pretty exhilarating flying along but it was really busy so you had to be careful not to hit anyone.  We got to La Sureña which is the furthest point on the port but when I tried to end my scooter hire it said out of area so I ended up having to scoot back to the other end and then walk back to K. By the time I got back I was roasting!

We quickly ordered the bargain 5 bottles of beer in an ice bucket for €5 and a delicious salad (€4!) to cool me down. The view across the water back to city from La Sureña back to the city is incredible and we always make sure to visit when we are in Malaga.

K popper next door to 100 Montaditos to get a couple of chocolate rolls filled with nutella and oreos, not for me! At least Sunday is euromania day so they were only €1 each - bargain Sunday continues!

We sat there for ages just enjoying the view and the beer then headed back along the water to the Pompidou which is free on a Sunday from 4-8pm! We'd been before so we probably wouldn't have bothered if it hadn't been free but there were some new exhibits that I enjoyed so not a wasted trip.

Post-Pompidou we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner but K suddenly felt very queasy so we ended up cancelling our dinner reservation. I was hungry after a bit so I used Glovo (like deliveroo) to have some dinner delivered to the hotel - I love the future. I got the food from TGB a Spanish burger chain that I like. I had a burger with bacon jam and fry and cry on the side which is half fries half onion rings. It came within 20 minutes and was quite delicious so I'm not too upset about missing dinner. We can go there next time!

Other than that we've just been chilling and K is feeling a bit better so hopefully she will be ok for tomorrow!

Malaga Day 2 photos

Malaga Day 2

It was our first full day today but because we've been here a few times before we knew we could take it easy.

Our first stop, obviously, was Casa Aranda for the churros y chocolate of my dreams. Of anyone's dreams tbh. K always gets cola cao with her's (pish instant hot chocolate) cos she's weird but I get the good stuff. Casa Aranda is proper old school and has about half a dozen separate rooms but we always sit outside so we can see what's going on. It's next to the main food market so there is always a lot of hubbub.

Once we were sated we went for a wander round said market and K bought some dehydrated vegetables as a snack- as I said she's weird. She ran up to the hotel room to drop them off and I waited on the street below so I could take photos of her on the balcony.

Our first non-food related stop of the day was CAC which is a wonderful, free, modern art gallery. The exhibitions change frequently and I have never been disappointed. Today was no exception, the main exhibition was a brilliant photography show by Dionisio Gonzalez, I would highly recommend checking out his work.

Post museum we stopped for a wee coffee and pastry. We had the local tarta loca which is a delicious puff pastry and custard affair. While sitting outside the cafe we discovered that Malaga has a motorised micro scooter hire scheme kind of like Boris Bikes. You can just leave them anywhere though so the city is just littered with micro scooters. We're going to give it a wee try tomorrow.

We wandered about for a bit just enjoying the street art and sunshine before heading up to Casa Lola for lunch. We knew we'd have to wait a bit for a table cos it's a super popular place but it wasn't too bad. We got a table outside but the stool was on a gentle slope so I kept sliding off! We ordered all the food in the world but the best things were ox tail croquetas and the patatas bravas. K also loved the courgette stuffed with mushrooms but I took no part in that horror.

We wandered about for a wee bit post-lunch then headed to the Museum of Malaga which is pretty new in it's current form so we've never been before. It's in a big beautiful old customs house near the cathedral so we'd seen the building plenty of times so it was nice to go in. It is free for EU citizens so lucky we got in when we did! The museum itself was great, super informative and presented in an interesting way. The top floor was archaeology and the history of Malaga and the 1st floor was art. We were surprised to enjoy the top floor most and we were in there for ages (and ages).

Post-museum we were in need of a wee sit down so we had some al fresco beverages (tinto de verano for me, pepsi max and a coffee granita for K) and they gave us a couple of bowls of popcorn - bonus!

By this time it had gotten dark (not til nearly 7pm excitingly) and the temperature suddenly dropped. K was freezing and regretting her decision to only bring a cardigan on the trip. She was so cold that she ended up popping to El Corte and buying a jacket- luckily the sales are on!

Dinner wasn't booked til 930 so went back to the hotel to get changed and chill for an hour. We'd booked dinner at Meson de Cervantes, we've been before but it was a few years ago so we were ready to go back.  Tbh I've regularly thought about their pork since we were last there. We ordered a lot of food but it all sounded too delicious. We had a half portion of rocket, goat's cheese and red fruit salad (amazing), a tapa of padron peppers (k ate all of these and says they were delightful), a tapa of croquetas with pineapple sauce (delicious), a half portion of patatas bravas (very good but not as good as the sauce at lunch), a half portion of pork with butternut squash and pineapple salsa (delicious but didnt live up to my dreams) and a half portion of steak with potatoes (amazing, the flavour was incredible). We were too full for pudding so we ordered piña coladas instead, the waitress was delighted!  This whole thing came to €54, an absolute steal.

By this time it was 1130pm so we just wandered back to the hotel so that we can make the most of our day tomorrow.

Malaga Day 1 photos

Malaga Day 1

Our annual birthday mini-break this year is probably going to be our last European jaunt before the horror of brexit so we decided to come back to Malaga cos we love it.

Our flight was delayed so we didn't land til 8pm, luckily it is Spain so we were right on time for dinner.

We jumped on the train into town and by 845 we were checked into our hotel - Hotel Atarazanas. We've stayed here before so we knew it was decent and for only €60 a night it was a perfect choice. It's across the road from the central food market and also out favourite breakfast place, but more about that tomor.

After checking in we headed up to Bar Orellana hoping to have food there but it's tiny and it was rammed. Giving up, we grabbed a seat outside Pepe y Pepe and had a couple of tapas and a couple of cañas and decided what to do. We sat there for a while enjoying some jamon croquettas and patatas ali oli and decided we'd go back to Orellana in a wee while and see if it had calmed down.

When we arrived back it was still busy but we managed to grab a wee shelf so we decided to stay. They had the local Victoria beer which always delights me so we ordered a couple of cañas then ordered some food. We shared some really really spicy potatoes, a giant meatball and some unbelievably delicious roast pork. We even managed to get a seat at the bar half way through. Orellana is tiny and cramped and oh so good, I can't recommend it enough.

Stuffed we decided to head back to the hotel for a reasonably early night.  Our beds have really comfy memory foam mattresses so I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep before our first whole day tomorrow.