Málaga

Last Monday, Matt came across a good deal on tickets to Málaga, Spain. He told me that Málaga was in southern Spain, and promised sunshine and warmer temperatures. That was all I needed to hear! I found out later that Málaga was one of the places my parents stopped on their grand honeymoon to Spain in 1989. Cute! We really didn't formulate much of itinerary before leaving, which, in this case, worked wonderfully. We were able to explore the city, eat some delicious food, and enjoy the Moorish baths. We also attended a Spanish ward on Sunday morning, which was really cool!

Our flight to Málaga was at 6:25 AM, meaning we were heading to the airport at 4 AM... but we arrived in Spain before noon! I was relaxed simply by the presence of sunshine upon our arrival. Scotland is great for many things, but one does not see a lot of sunshine in Scotland in January. Once we arrived in the city center, we dropped our bags off at the Airbnb and got ready to walk around and explore the city. Highlights from our first venture outside include seeing the old Moorish fort Alcazaba, climbing up to said fort and enjoying a spectacular view of the city, walking along the harbor and seeing warships, seeing the old Roman theatre, and simply enjoying the warmth and sunshine.

About halfway up our "hike"

Along the harbor

The view from the top of our hike

Found this cutie in the garden

Roman theatre. Built in the first century BC under Emperor Augustus when the Romans occupied the city. 

After working up an appetite, we were ready to EAT! Unfortunately, siestas are a real thing and restaurants were all closing up. We actually got kicked out of a restaurant when we walked in! So, we made our way back to the Airbnb and waited it out. Most restaurants didn't open until 8, so being American tourists, we naturally arrived at 8 PM sharp and were the first people there! After a delicious dinner, we walked around in search of dessert. We found a delicious gelato place along this road, which was lit up and full of locals enjoying their Friday night. After walking over 14 miles and having been awake since 3:30 AM, I was so excited to climb into bed and pass out.

 Although we didn't have any concrete plans for our time in Málaga, I knew that we had to try some authentic churros. Apparently, churros are a completely appropriate breakfast food in Spain! We ordered a big plate of churros and two mugs of hot chocolate, which basically tasted like a melted chocolate bar. YUM!

Expert tip: dip your churro in the hot chocolate for maximum deliciousness

On Saturday, after our delicious churros, we made a quick stop in a store to buy me a sweatshirt. Although the weather was sunny and lovely, I had underestimated what 60 degrees really feels like! I am actually wearing the sweatshirt right now too, so I think that qualifies as a good purchase! After some delicious sandwichs for lunch, we headed to the Moorish baths. Men and women go to their designated changing rooms to put on a swimsuit, before being led to the baths. In the middle, there was one swimming-pool sized warm pool. On one side there was hot tub sized cold pools, and the other side had a medium sized hot-water pool, steam room, and a room full of warm marble surfaces. We devised a little plan where we got in up to our waists in the cold pool, scurried into the hot pool to warm up, relaxed on the warm marble chaises, then recovered in the medium temperature pool. We repeated this several times, (and lost track of time... it smelled heavenly and there were only about 10 people in the huge space) before being led upstairs for our massages. There were massage tables all set up in a big room, which smelled like amber and roses. The message was about 15 minutes, and it was the perfect way to top off the experience. Overall, it was one of the coolest and most relaxing things I've ever done! Matt and I kept looking at each other and saying "This is amazing, I can't believe we are here right now!"

The baths from the outside

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around, and even made our way to the beach! That night we enjoyed another "late" dinner, and somehow ended up back at the same gelato place... that cookies and cream gelato was no joke!

The next morning, we checked out of our Airbnb and walked to church. It is so cool that no matter where you are, you can find an LDS church. Everyone was incredibly nice, and even though I didn't understand a single word of the meeting, I felt the spirit as I sang those hymns in Spanish! After church, we hung out at a really cool nearby mall, where we actually were able to catch a train to the airport! Convenient publish transportation always comes in clutch! Once at the airport, we FaceTimed my mom and ate dinner before boarding our flight back to Edinburgh. As soon as we got back to our flat, we were streaming the Superbowl! I am so happy the Eagles won. Well, that's all for now!