November 22nd, 2014. I rented a place in the city center, cause my plan was just to enjoy a Saturday in Malaga. It was a special day for me but no plans were already made. I know when you are in Malaga, there is something to discover… so I just let myself go!
I recalled there was a place I wanted to visit but during my daily life I still didn´t have time to stop and watch it properly. It was an archeological digging they were doing just by the Marriot Hotel (commonly known as Malaga Palacios). So I went to this place early in the morning, and the view was worth it. You were able to see the top part of the maritime wall of the city. Yes, the very wall that has been there for hundreds of years that defined the limit of the city to the sea. This is one of the stories we explain in our Le Grand Tour, and finally I had the chance to see it live!
Happy to see it, I continued to Calle Larios, to see how the Christmas light looked like. They are promising, like a cathedral of light. It must be wonderful when lit up!
We reached Plaza de la Constitución and we found some street art going on. Graffiti painters were adapting old 19th century paintings to these days. Great event supported by Museo Carmen Thyssen!
My partner then suggested taking a massage in a hammam. Why not? So we made a booking for later that morning. Meanwhile, I found something to do. I had somewhere else I wanted to see in Malaga from a long time. It was Museo Jorge Rando, a local and famous expressionist artist who has put up a new museum that everyone says is well worth to visit. So we head to it.
The building was an old convent, now refurbished and turned into a museum. It was a real surprise but we couldn´t enter in the end. They told us there was a choir singing at the museum’s chapel (in fact, it was the original convent’s chapel). By chance we went to see this chapel and hear the choir, which is normally playing on Saturday mornings. We had a good time, as we discovered Renaissance chants, Romanian songs, and a whole interesting and mixed set list inside this small and nice chapel.
Finally we went to the Hammam. I had never been to this one. I knew Hamman Al-Andalus, which I love, but this is another kind of experience, also recommendable. This is called Hammam Open Spa. We had a one-hour full massage and later on we could wander around the hammam and lay on top of a heated marble bed that I have to say, it was my favorite.
Relaxed and feeling well, we set up for lunch. I was in the mood for discovering a new place, as that was the theme of the day, and we had a hit with this place. A small tapas bar where everything we ate was delicious. It is named El Carpintero, at Calle Beatas, not easy to find but totally recommended.
After lunch, what else to do in Spain better than a siesta? And if you have the chance to have your sleeping bed just around the corner, this is a total luxury. On our way we passed by the Teatro Cervantes, and there was an interesting play that night, so we got tickets for it!
Once we had siesta we dressed up for the afternoon / evening. We heard there was an extraordinary procession that day from a very much-devoted image, called El Cautivo (Christ as captive). News said they there were 100.000 people attending, but we thought that it was anyway interesting to see. Previously on our way, and just around the corner, we had a snack in one of the many coffee shops with home made muffins (who can resist!), which are so in fashion these days.
The procession was, as expected, over crowded, but we had the chance to see it from not a very far place. I´m not mad about this, but I have to say the put up a real show!
Once we saw it, I noticed we still had the chance to see the presentation of a book by a fellow architect. His name is Luis Ruiz Padron. In my opinion he makes the most beautiful drawing / sketches of Malaga. The book is about his drawings all over the town, and I had finally the chance to see him and buy the book. I couldn´t stay the whole presentation as we had to be soon at the theater.
It is always a pleasure to enter Teatro Cervantes, the main theater in town. Its elegance and importance just make you feel good as you are entering to the main space. But the play was positively surprising. A new twist for the “Dangerous Liaisons”, famous by the film starred by Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. At this Spanish version, the actors were quite good, but the most surprising thing was the staging of the play. It was quite modern; they were all the actors at the same time at the stage talking to one or the next. They used live instruments and they all played like in a band at some time. I just loved it, very original and interesting to watch.
Our Saturday in Malaga was ending, and a new night was beginning, but we were too tired to spend a full night in Malaga also! On our way to have dinner, we met crowds queuing for pubs, discos and many other places. But we decided this time we just wanted to eat something. And, as the theme of the day was to let yourself go, we passed by an American restaurant. Well, it is not originally American but they do mainly burgers, etc. with a nice scenery, like if you were at the first scene of Pulp Fiction. The choice was really good, as the burger was made to our likes, with ingredients to choose.
When I reached back home, I realized how many things I had done in one day without already made plans. Malaga is like this. It always surprises you. Each day there is a whole bunch of interesting things to make and discover. And then I remembered why I love it. Still has the power to amaze me!
