Malaga

Vera makes scrambled eggs for breakfast and we plan the day in Malaga

We walk up to the station

The graffiti here is a cut above your usual offerings

Our first stop is the bus station to get tickets for tomorrow's bus to Salinas. Being a Sunday, all of the ticket booths are unstaffed, so we join the queue for the machine. A random stranger helps us through this process. Vera also goes to the city sights seeing bus desk to ask about local busses. I think this a waste of time, as we don't want to pay €20 when the local buses would be as cheap as chips. But she comes away with tickets for the Picasso Museum at their standard price and directions to the right stop for the local bus to the castle

We head over to Avenue de Andalucia for the number 35 bus. At first sight Malaga is not very charming, although we are some distance from the centre, and spectacular fountains abound on many of the roundabouts

I'm also impressed by the pedestrian lights, which provide a countdown as to when they will change to be in your favour

We board the bus, standard fare €1.20, for the trip up to the Castillo de Gibralfaro

The views over the city, the sea, and the surrounding country, are impressive, and the walk around the walls very enjoyable. But there is little in the castle itself, having been blown up by the retreating French army when Napoleon was staying in these parts

We get the 35 bus back into the city centre

This is much more the Spain we have been conditioned to expect: beautiful buildings in pedestrian friendly streets. Above is the side of the cathedral, the front is quite awesome, but impossible to get far enough away to give the perspective for a photo

The Picasso museum is in a charming building built around a courtyard. It would be worthy of a visit in its own right. I am also impressed with the Picasso exhibits on display.

I was obviously aware of him as a famous Cubist painter

but hadn't appreciated that he was an accomplished artist before developing the cubist style

and worked with so many other materials and forms, ceramics, collage, constructed sculpture, developing such a wide variety of styles

The museum had a great cafe with a very peaceful garden

a shallow fountain that attracted many birds

After our late lunch we go to the Alcazaba, a sprawling palace come fort that sits below the Gibralfaro castle. Being a Sunday, after 2pm, this was free to enter

This was a maze of amazing buildings, with great views

and beautiful gardens, full of fountains and running water

Bus and train back to Torremuelle, it is so easy to travel around here. We meet Andy, one of Dave's bridge friends here and fellow Canadian from Montreal, before heading to Fuengirola on the bus for tapas in one of its many bars and restaurants. Great food 

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