Malaga, Spain March 4, 2022

We sail into Malaga and are greeted with blustery winds and temperatures in the upper 50.  But at least it was not raining.   I have been here three times and was looking forward to exploring the city as the other times Bob and I  took day tours that took us to Mijas, Ronda,  and Granada to the Alhambra Palace. Margit took the 9 hour tour to Granada, while I took the city tour.  I had never been as cold as here, winds were up to 35 and gusting even stronger through city streets.  At one Plaza a wind gust blew over the outdoor tables, chairs and everything on the tables included hundreds of napkins, that flew around like confetti.  None the less I enjoyed the tour and did not mind being by myself.  I even went out later that afternoon to town,  via the complimentary shuttle service,  for some more browsing and taking in the city’s a ambiance.    The afternoon was a bit warmer and got up to 63 and the wind calmed quite a bit.

Malaga is of course a port city on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol.  It has many high rise hotels and resorts.  Generally a modern skyline.  Two massive hilltop citadels grace the city: the Alcazaba Palace the best preserved citadel of Spain built during the 11th century;  and ruined  14th century Gibralfaro Castle  are remnants of the Moorish rule.   Quite impressive, below the Gibralfaro  was also an old Roman theater .  The Renaissance cathedral is nicknamed La Manguita ( one armed lady ) because one of its towers was strangely left unbuilt.     Another point of interest was the house where Picasso was born,  there is a museum dedicated to him as well as a sitting-pose bronze statue the Plaza de La Merced. Tourist take pictures of themselves and Picasso;  I had to do the same.   

Art in Malaga
Typical building in town
One of the churches we visited
Great view overlooking Malaga city below

Looking the other direction another great view of the city with a Bull Ring just at the base of the hill

The Moorish Ruins, Gibralfaro  and Roman Theater below

The Cathedral with the missing second tower


Typical street in town,  it was early in the morning so not much traffic 


The restaurant we went to warm up.  Had a wonderful cappuccino there.

Round-abouts are very popular in Europe and generally nicely decorated with plants and or fountains.  

The Traveler’s date!  Don’t Pablo Picasso and I make a wonderful couple?   We are at Plaza de La Merced.  The building behind us is the Picasso Museum.  


One of the entrances to the Alcazaba.  It is a huge complex with wonderful grounds around it. 

Part of the grounds of the Alcazaba.  

View of the Alcazaba from the street.  


One of many impressive buildings.  


UFO cloud hanging over the city Malaga and its beautiful bay.


View of Malaga from the ship, you can see the high rise buildings, many hotels with lovely beaches and a boardwalk.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Montevideo, Uruguay. City tour and La Rabida Working Farm

Image
 We arrived February 13th in Montevideo and will be staying overnight, as our port of call to Punta del Este was cancelled due to sea conditions not being favorable for tendering.  And, Punta del Este is a tender port. We were greeted with, while cool temperature, bright sunshine and fair winds.  We booked the 7 hour tour to the La Rabida Working Ranch for the first day.  The tour started with a brief glimpse of the city which did not impress me at all but then proceeded for an hour and half through the lovely Uruguayan countryside, which was absolutely gorgeous, even though generally flat.  The gentle rolling hills and its varied vegetation with blue skies and puffy white clouds just was such a pleasant site after many days at sea.  We arrived at the ranch and were greeting by some members of the family on horseback.  We were directed to a large pasture field with many huge shade trees and open-air buildings where we were given a brief history of the ...
Read more

Scenic Cruising Amalia Glacier and El Brujo Glacier

Image
 February 6, we awake to very cold, overcast and low hanging cloud day and wonder will we actually see the glaciers.  The ship was gliding through the fjords ever so slowly and as we got closer and closer to the Amalia glacier more and more ice chunks and mini icebergs floated around.  And then miraculously the low hanging clouds lifted and allowed us to see the majestic glacier.   This glacier skirts the northern rise of the Reclus volcano located right behind it.  The ice flow goes all the way into the water.  This area was once the world’s largest continuous ice field, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.  Today it is merely a fraction of it’s former self.  Though still very impressive.   There we were also blessed with a glimpse of  some marine otters.  The ship did a 360 to make sure everyone was able to view the glacier.   We continued at a slow speed to the next glacier the El Brujo glacier even more impressive than Amalia...
Read more

Istanbul, Turkey April 18-19, 2022

Image
 Istanbul,  what an incredible city, one that deserves a second visit, but not when it is in the 40s, rainy, windy and a real-feel temperature of the 30’s.  The at-sea-day before already was an indication of the miserable weather to come.  We could not see anything of the passage through the Dardanelles Strait, Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus Strait due to the heavy mist.  I truly had seconds thoughts of getting of the ship and going on our tours, but as Margit reminded me, you have never been here and who knows if you ever will be again.  So I mustered all my energy and braved the cold.  I am glass I did.   Part of Istanbul (formally called Constantinople) is on the European continent (60%) and the other 40% is on the Asian Continent with the Bosphorus Strait between the two sides.  It’s the only transcontinental city in the world, which alone makes it unique.   Depending on which tour guide you believe there are about 15 to 18 million inh...
Read more