Spain- Málaga – Nov 15th

We had breakfast at La Canasta at Plaza de la Constitucion then toured the Málaga Cathedral (called La Manquita (the One-Armed Lady by the locals). The altar piece and choir stalls were really impressive. The ceiling detail was also beautiful, but sadly the ceiling adornments are falling off so they have huge nets strung up to catch the pieces. Next we headed to Castillo de Gibralfaro which sits up on a hill overlooking Málaga. It was originally built in the 10th century and then expanded by Yusef 1 (Sultan of Granada- the same guy who expanded Alhambra around this time) at the beginning of the 14th century as a fortress and royal residence. It is famous for its three-month siege by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella –which was the first conflict in which gunpowder was used by both sides.  Next we headed farther up the hill/mountain (this walk was really painful!) to the Alcazaba – a palatial fortification built in the early 11th century. The one in Málaga is the best preserved alcazaba (citadel) in Spain. The view from up there was really beautiful and that was the main thing to see- the walls surrounding the alcazaba were just about all that was left. When we got back down to the bottom of the mountain (near the entrance to Castillo de Gibralfaro) we passed the Roman theatre which dates from the 1st century BC. Way before Málaga was part of the Roman Empire it was founded by the Phoenicians in 770BC, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Other claims to fame – Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas were born here.

We ate lunch sitting outside by the theater, watching a couple kids throw oranges repeated up at an orange tree trying to knock more down. By the end of lunch there were probably 20 oranges on the ground and they had annoyed several people passing by who they nearly hit with flying oranges. It was pretty funny! After lunch we walked around the shopping area a little more and ate some ice cream sitting on a bench in Plaza de la Constitucion. After that we ran home to change into something warmer before it got dark and then checked out Iglesia de Los Martires – which is one of the four churches built by the Catholic Monarchs in the walled perimeter of the city after conquering Spain in 1487. We had some time to kill before the place we were eating dinner was going to open, so we walked around a little more down by the water and then grabbed a drink at La Tranca before getting dinner at Tepito. Tepito is a restaurant owned by a family from Mexico and it was amazing!  We haven’t found a good Mexican place in Osnabrück, so it was a real treat to have some delicious Mexican food! As you can see from the picture, the restaurant is literally 12 feet wide- only the kitchen is inside.. it is all outdoor seating so I was glad we had changed first. I guess they can get away with it since the “summer” season lasts about 8 months in Málaga!

We did a calculation on the plan home Saturday – we’re pretty sure Morgan ate about 150 olives while we were in Spain. Most places (bar or restaurant) give you a bowl of olives when you order and we’re guessing each time you get 15ish. Since I’m not an olive fan that means Morgan at them all! You’d probably think Morgan would need a break from olives, but no, he has already bought a spoonful from our farmers market.