Sevilla is not the only reason that the South of Spain is special. Thanks to one of the stereotypical qualities of Southerners—being that they are so relaxed to the point of laziness—, Sarah and I ended up with an extra day to travel with our Eurorail ticket when the train station staff of Sevilla failed to mark our passes two weeks ago. We decided to make a day of it and go back to the South, but this time to Málaga.
Málaga is on the Andalusian coast, is one of the oldest cities in the world (dating back to 770 BC when it was founded by the Phoenicians), and is currently one of Spain’s most important port cities. Even though its home to over 550,000 people, the city centre of Málaga is fairly compact but nonetheless charismatic. Small plazas tucked between gorgeous building facades are full of people from morning until night. Palm trees fan out from their flowery beds, flirting with their neighbouring fountains as they sway back and forth in the light breeze. The eye-pleasing cathedral, nicknamed La Manquita (The One-Armed Lady), sits nobly in the middle of palm trees and plazas, its bells sounding the hour from its lone completed bell tower. Under her imperious watch, SK & I had a satisfying breakfast of toast with tomato and jamón Serrano, sipped on some coffee, and enjoyed the restful atmosphere.
Later, we followed a mangled brick path up the hill of the Alcazaba, the 
ancient Moorish fortress that still maintains its dominant position over the city from a large hill just to the side of the city centre. There we passed through Moorish arches and lovely rose gardens, all the while adoring the architecture and admiring the spectacular view.
I’ll be honest; the main reason why we chose to spend the day in Málaga is because we wanted a day at the beach. The weather in Madrid has been absolutely horrendous and we wanted to have just one good day in the sun and the sand. And that is what we got. I’ll continue to be honest; I did something I’ve never done before in my life. After almost two years of living in Spain, I have finally accepted and taken on as my own one of their distinct customs, one that is quite contradictory to their more conservative history. For the first time in my life, I laid out on a beach… top-less. (Gasp! Sigh! How scandalous!) Yes, it’s true. I bared my breast to the sun and my fellow sun-bathers. And you know what? I’m not ashamed to say it. I’ll admit that my actions were anything but modest. However, I am learning how to suspend my judgments of the Spanish people and their crazy ways, and the best way for me to do that is join them in some of their craziness! And hey, I was wearing sunscreen.
With lots of sun soaked into our skin, SK & I spent the last couple of hours
enjoying food and drink in cool shaded plazas. It was the perfect ending to our glorious day in Málaga, and I thought it was simply perfect that we happened to choose to sit in the wicker chairs of the Café del Viajero (the Traveler's Café), where we ate crepes and sipped on fruity cocktails. Indeed, what a beautiful Saturday it was!
Later, we followed a mangled brick path up the hill of the Alcazaba, the 
ancient Moorish fortress that still maintains its dominant position over the city from a large hill just to the side of the city centre. There we passed through Moorish arches and lovely rose gardens, all the while adoring the architecture and admiring the spectacular view.
With lots of sun soaked into our skin, SK & I spent the last couple of hours
enjoying food and drink in cool shaded plazas. It was the perfect ending to our glorious day in Málaga, and I thought it was simply perfect that we happened to choose to sit in the wicker chairs of the Café del Viajero (the Traveler's Café), where we ate crepes and sipped on fruity cocktails. Indeed, what a beautiful Saturday it was!
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