Malaga/Torremolinos

March 18th-20th in Malaga/Torremolinos

We took off for the southern coast of Spain with Teri and Bobby to Malaga via the fast train on Friday evening. We arrived in Malaga in 2-1/2 hours. A 25 minute taxi drive got us to our hotel in Torremolinos. We went for dinner immediately in the hotel restaurant since we had paid for a half-board. After dinner we went upstairs to the bar where they were having a Flamenco show. It became clear upon entering the bar that we were in the geriatric hotel. We think they were the snowbirds of Spain. The show was good and at one point one of the lady dancers came into the audience looking for a partner to bring on stage. She tried several of the older men but they all refused her because of one physical limitation or the other. She came to our table and it was between me and Bobby. I was pointing at Bobby and he was pointing at me but she chose me. So I got up on the stage and did my best to dance Flamenco with her. It was fun and everyone gave me a big applause when done. I knew Robyn did not have her camera but I forgot about her Blackberry so they got some photos that hopefully won’t come out very well. After the show we went to the beach to check it out and take a walk. It was a lovely evening and we were having a good time walking and relaxing in fresh air for a change. We walked a while and then headed to the boardwalk next to the beach to walk back. After walking a short distance, Robyn heard live music and wanted to check it out. Well, I would not have believed it if I had not seen it for myself, but there was Elvis playing in this little bar. We went inside and ordered sangria and listened to the young skinny Elvis play his songs. Robyn and I danced to a couple of the songs and it was a lot of fun. We finally came to the conclusion that Elvis owned the bar and that is why he got to play. We were all tired so we headed back for a good night’s sleep before our big day on Saturday. Saturday was a beautiful day so we took a bus to Malaga which is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 700 BC. Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas were born here for those who care. We got on a hop-on/hop-off bus to see the city. The first place we got off was the Gibralfaro which is an old Muslim castle built in the 14th century which overlooks the city and Mediterranean sea. The views were spectacular and the castle was very interesting. The Gibralfaro is connected by a walkway to the Alcazaba which is an older castle built in the 11th century. We took the bus down the hill to eat lunch before visiting the Alcazaba. Lunch in these places always takes a long time because no one seems to be in a hurry here. After a good lunch we went to see the Alcazaba and the Roman theater next to it which is still in the process of being excavated. The Alcazaba is in such a state of ruin that we were not able to view the extreme interior of the castle. It was really amazing and we were very glad we decided to come into Malaga for the day but it was time to head back and get ready for more fun in Torremolinos where they were having a food festival on the beach. After a short rest Robyn and I took a walk down to see when the festival started. It was not starting for a little while so we stopped at this Irish pub where we heard men singing. We thought they were Irish but it turned out they were from Wales. They were here because the man wearing the funny looking outfit was getting married. One of the men came to our table and talked with us for nearly an hour. He was really funny, very opinionated, and we enjoyed talking with him. One thing all the men had in common was they hate the U.K. The festival opened so we decided to go eat some food. The first thing we tried was razor clams. I had never eaten them before but they were really delicious. We walked around and we stopped and got some shrimp, ceviche, and some other clams after I got to taste one first. It was all good but the ceviche was the best. After dinner, we took a walk to see if we could find some entertainment and came across a bar with live music. It was not Elvis but another guy who played guitar and sang. He was really good and had been a part of some awards thing in Nashville years before. And you guessed it, he owned the bar. I think that is the only way anyone can play their music is to own the bar. We spoke with a woman from Finland who has a house here so comes often and she said she had never met an American in Torremolinos. Most of the tourist here are from England, Ireland, and Germany. It was late so we decided to go to bed and get some rest. The next morning we ate breakfast and headed to the beach for a couple of hours before we had to leave. We found a beachside restaurant with a table out back so we stopped there for something to drink and to soak up the scenery. It had been a nice getaway and our first time to see the Mediterranean sea. The sand was soft like ours but darker. I picked up a few shells to bring home and we got a taxi to take us to the train.