Málaga, Spain: Costa Del Sol
Road Trip (Part III)
Next stop was Málaga, a charming beach town which like Granada glowed of an orange hue at night. We stopped on the way at Playa de Torrox, a mellow white sandy beach full of little white dime sized shells that sparkled in the sun. Winston romped around in the ocean, played fetch and then smelling like a wet dog hopped back in the car.
Winston helped us find a treasure trove of smooth seashells along the shore too! We got our share of beach walks in but Málaga didn’t have the typical beach town vibe, which we’re used to along San Diego’s North County coastline. I guess it lacked those local souvenir shops, boutiques and restaurants that usually liven up the atmosphere, and instead you just took in the beauty of the water.
Our airbnb was central and directly across from the city’s cathedral. Everything was so clean, the architecture is majestic and there was plenty of green space! We strolled around the harbor which was hosting the El Zoco Arts + Crafts Market, peeked in (but didn’t tour) Picasso’s family home, and walked up to the Alcazaba to soak in the sunset. Since dinner is always after sunset in Spain we hopped over to the Andino Gastrobar where we had peruvian ceviche with tiger milk (don’t worry tiger lovers, it’s not actually from tigers!) and pastel de choclo chileno which was a chilean sweet corn pie filled with all sorts of goodies, and you can’t forget about the delicious pisco sours.
After hitting an outdoor market and exploring the beach I was pretty content, but my favorite thing we did was cheese tasting at the local shop called Picnik Artisan Food. Christian (Kris-t-on) the Romanian cheesemonger spent so much time with us, educating us on the origins of all the cheeses as we tasted and he sliced sample after sample! We ended up getting a blue cheese that was spicy and unlike anything we’ve ever sampled. They also stocked the famous Rogue River Blue cheese from my mom’s hometown in Ashland. I guess that makes sense since it was named the Best Cheese in the WORLD!
And speaking of cheese, which may happen often in this blog, we’ve been spoiled with burrata being on 99% of the menus in Spain. A two-minute walk from the Cathedral (and our Airbnb) is an Italian place called Gusto where we had a tri-burrata plate. One regular, one smoked and one truffle infused - definitely drool worthy. Our favorite breakfast place was called BYOKO where my chai latte came out with a timer so I knew when it was done steeping, during road trip travel it’s the little things!
Taking a moment to relax after our day trip out to Cuevas de Nerja, 5km of caverns, we ended our stay at Malaga's Hammam Al Andalus baths. I’m now a little jaded but this experience was so relaxing and just reinforced my love for Moorish baths! We soaked in a thermal bath with walls lined in Arabian blue and orange tile patterns that met at a dome above us with star cutouts that shined light through to the bath, took in the steam room and then fell asleep on these large stone slabs warmed from within. It was paradise.
