Málaga, Spain

There were many day trips that we took while in Spain. One of them was to the coastal city of Málaga. Málaga’s population and popularity has increased significantly over the last decade. It is the home of Pablo Picasso and is a large shipping port.

Because the last decade has been huge progress for the city, it’s long history is often overlooked by tourists. There is wonderful Spanish architecture that you would expect. The Catedral de Málaga was a highlight of this architecture, as seen below.

Beautiful gardens near the Catedral

The amazing Catedral

The Spanish architecture

The details

Tapas in Málaga

As you all can probably tell by now, Maxwell’s main goal of this trip was to eat. Unfortunately we explored this city the Saturday before Three Kings Day which is a significant holiday in Spain. This meant that the city was at capacity and it was hard to find places to eat without an exorbitant wait time and a high price tag.

We settled on a small tapas restaurant that did not look like anything special. It was compact and seemed too busy for the one waitress on staff. It was such a tiny and insignificant place that I did not bother noting the name. We were not expecting much, but the food was fantastic. As we found in Spain, everywhere appreciates quality food and the standard is just plain higher than it is in America.

Tapas (a torta)

Amazing cheese and jam!

As Spanish do, we took our time eating and enjoying each other’s company.

We decided to go to the Pablo Picasso museum and see his pieces. As you can imagine, cameras were not allowed inside, but it was quite the extensive collection! Most of the pieces were noted to be from the very beginnings of his career and then the very end of his career. Nothing too famous of note because those pieces came from his prime, but it was interesting to see his style evolve.

As the day came to a close, we realized that we had parked over a mile from the downtown area. As we were trudging back to find the car in a distant parking structure, we stumbled upon a festival of lights. This was also a part of the celebration of Three Kings Day. The main pedestrian only walkway was lit up with beautiful lights! Although it was not snowy as it is in Michigan during the holiday season, it still gave me excited Christmas butterflies. To experience that feeling after the New Year is special.

The lighting for Three Kings Day

A different perspective

The day was beautiful and the city is trying to catch up with the influx of people. Because we saw the architecture, visited the museum, ate the food, and got a feel for the city- I don’t think it would be on my to do list for Spain again. We missed out on Sevilla and chose Málaga instead. Next time in Spain, I will be going to Sevilla! Though, I will be interested in another decade what Málaga transforms into!

-Leeann