Málaga

Málaga will forever be one of my most memorable vacations of all time.  Not only was it the starting and ending point of our trip, but it's a gorgeous port city with sunshine and mountains.  Mom and I had a beautiful hotel over looking the ocean on Christmas Day.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate our first Christmas abroad.  Although we had a poor internet connection, we were still able to Skype with our family in Iowa.  This Christmas wasn't about presents for us, it was about being together and enjoying a well deserved vacation in a beautiful country.  To be perfectly honest our Christmas dinner consisted of champagne and the free nuts served along side it.  You know one of the reasons why I love my mom so much? Because she was perfectly okay with that :)

It was super windy up there!

 

 

 

The gorgeous view thanks to the Marriot Malaga hotel

We spent Christmas Day walking around Málaga.  The boardwalk, the park, the town square, pretty much everywhere worth seeing. After we left Granada, we were back in Málaga on January 1.

The Cathedral isn't finished so they gave it the nickname "The One Armed Lady" because only one of it's two towers are complete.  You are looking at the unfinished side.  



Málaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso (this is a statue of him) 

After Mom flew out on January 3rd, I was lucky to have my friends Tara and Kate to travel with and distract me from the sadness I felt when she left. Since our Christmas vacation wasn't over yet, we decided to book a hostel for the next three nights and do day trips.  The whole southern coast around Malaga is absolutely gorgeous with many little villages worth visiting.  We decided to make a day trip to Nerja and another to Ronda, which will be in my next post. 

Random Facts about Málaga

-The home of Antonio Banderes and Pablo Picasso

- Where London Beefeater Gin is made  (out of the oranges)

- They get 330 days of sunshine out of the year.

- 53,093 foreigners live in the Malaga provine, mainly on the costline