Monday, February 18

Málaga-Day 2


Andalucia is very catholic and it's where the most extravagant celebrations take place during holy week (the week before Easter) which is called Semana Santa in Spanish. This is a photograph I took in one of Málaga's cathedrals of the iconic Andalucian image of Christ carrying the cross, it has a very baroque style with the Virgin looking down on him. I thought it was really tacky that this church used coin operated electric candles for prayer, they just seem so artificial and uninspiring.






I spotted this big dove-hand statue in the main pedestrian street of the city. I thought it was perdy. Just as a note, Málaga is the birthplace of Picasso (as well as the less respected Antonio Banderas) and so many public displays pay homage to him, his work and ideas. Visiting he Picasso Museum on my last day is one of the best memories I have of the trip.


Beautiful orange trees, like this one, were everywhere. This, plus the palm trees and ocean breeze, gave the city such a clean and fresh atmosphere. A real change from Madrid.






Exploring the pretty yellow side streets.

















Street musicians are all over the place in Spain. Everyday on my way to work, I hear trumpets and accordians play. I like it, it's a nice soundtrack to add to your daily commute when you don't have an ipod.

























The Alcazaba (which is Arabic for fortress) is the name of the great stone wall surrounding the historic district of the city. Located on the port, overlooking the ocean, it's over 1000 years old and is the best preserved arabic fortress in Spain. I got a girlfriend to snap a picture of me with the water to my back.




























Paco's mother invited us over for a big Paella dinner. We started with a dish of unshelled shrimp... very typical in Spain. After shelling it, I dug out the poop lines with a knife, the mom probably though I was just another crazy American. They were quite tasty actually. There were 12 of us, so the paella dish was huge. It was the first time I'd had homemade paella. Clams, muscles, chicken and cod were all thrown into the mix... muscles are the only thing I still can't stomach.



The beach was pretty chilly and windy but we still chose to stroll along the shore and pick up sea glass and shells. Then we sat down at a cafe and sipped coffee and chatted about this and that. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

dude, i am so jealous of you for A) having friends B) having graduated with college and C) live in espana