So we have just arrived in paradise. We have sunk our feet in the dusty sand and in the bubbling waters. We are parched. So we come back to the shopping area and find a place to settle in. This restaurant offering a Indian and Mexican mash up lures us in with 5 Euros drinks. So we sit for a drink or two and ultimately decide to eat dinner there as well. We start with some tropical drinks, have parantha naan and then decide to get a few apps to share. I remember having the most amazing samosas and guacamole. We were seated outside directly in view of the sunset. The waitstaff rolled back the sun shades as the night began to come. Malaga has endless nights moreso than France. There was no twilight until around 9pm with an official sunset between 10 and 10:30pm. The night was forever young. We realized for the next nine days we can drink like that, eat like that and swim whenever we wanted. We were seriously in paradise.
She looked up at the mountains during dinner and noticed people walking a steep path to those Moorish castles. At that moment she was all about climbing that mountain and getting to the top. My fear of heights had already been tortured in Paris so I told her that was her adventure and hers alone. We later learned of the Andalusian palace and conquered it in our own separate ways. Walking back to the hotel we discovered Sengalese music in the park, gay club posters at the bus top and all the ports bordering the city. Once back in the hotel we drank grape Postabon and watched "The Simpsons" in full Spanish. Then came the monkeys … or what we thought were monkeys. All remaining nights we tried to find out what that noise was. We never found out anything but more and more trivia about Malaga.
First Malaga is pronounced Mal Ah Gah not Ma Lay Gah like we had been calling it. Malaga was home to Antonio Banderas and Pablo Picasso. Malaga does protests big, way bigger than any other country we visited. Malaga has the best ice cream known to man. The water in Malaga pretty much belongs to Africa and the tippy top of Africa is owned by Spain. Beneath your feet in Malaga the original Roman city still remains. There are also remnants of bullfighting which is now illegal in Malaga. The best Greek pita is just down from the Museo De Picasso. Taco Bell there has fries. The oldest cask bar is still serving with tapas. Dunkin Donuts is a thing. Malaga is the farthest point in Europe. Malaga is also world's oldest city. Truthfully, Malaga is a place of distinct and historical magic.
During my stay in Malaga people just went above. From real coconut in my Pina Colada to the hotel letting us use the expresso machine after midnight to a girl at Orange cutting my SIM card about six times to fit in my iPhone. Seriously, people of Malaga are crazy hospitable. There were a few that had off days from the woman who kept slamming the ice cream drawers while making scoops of different Spanish flavors and the waiter who stood behind his bartenders awful margarita. However, most days and nights were filled with directions, compliments and kind gestures to the American girls. Even the Muslim boy forced to work all morning during Ramadan with some of the longest sunsets in all of Europe mustered a smile when we placed coins on the counter. The museums were pleasant, the beach hustlers non-intrusive - even the invisible monkeys quieted as we went to bed.
Personally, Malaga was my favorite destination. If I ever live in France, I will always take holiday there. I want my mother to retire in Malaga and take to the streets at night like all the other expat seniors. I can totally see her in a yellow high-rise, beaching by day and dining out at night. I would join her a few times a year for lavish meals of Spanish cheeses, wine and Russian salad. We would walk the boardwalk and shopping promenade and laugh about "those" days. Why would anyone want to be anywhere else? Malaga is impeccable. Malaga is The Garden of Eden. Malaga is the hidden treasure of the world, Perfect weather day and night. Gracious, loving people including Picasso and Banderas. Hey, no more bullfighting and day trips to Morocco.The only things I didn't conquer while there - the entirety of the mountain, some of the museums and a party boat in the bay. I still feel like I must go back and do all that I missed. So now onto the whys - if I was there for nine days and loving it how could I miss anything, right? Well, wouldn't you like to know...
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