Malaga - the food and drink bit (Throwback post)

Malaga

Having unexpectedly found a new flat way ahead of schedule, and with no need to do anything practical for a while, we found ourselves with some spare time in January and February. So we decided to get away from the bleak UK winter, and we set off for a couple of months in Andalucia, Spain.

The cheapest flight to the area at that time was to Malaga, which is not somewhere that had ever appeared on any of our lists of places we'd like to go - it seemed far to much about the sun, sea, sand and sangria loving expats for our liking. However, if we were going to fly there anyway, we figured we might as well spend a few days there - and we were very pleasantly surprised.

Three Kings Parade, Malaga

We didn't go anywhere near the beaches, or the resort towns like Torremolinos. We stuck to downtown Malaga itself, and found ourselves in a city that had culture, history and interesting places to eat and drink.

Malaga

We arrived on 5 January, so the Christmas decorations were still up, and we were just in time to see the Three Kings Parade, marking the eve of Epiphany, when the three kings or wise men were said to have visited the newly born baby Jesus.

Malaga

Malaga

Malaga

We checked out a few churches, and a few more places to eat. There were many nice little restaurants and tapas places, but one in particular stood out, simply for being unusual as well as tasty. We ordered a few different things, including my old faithful, the croquetas, as they are always something I can eat; they came in a pot - a kind of deconstructed croquetas.

Malaga

Malaga

Malaga

Malaga

Churros place, Malaga

Churros, Malaga

We also joined the queues of people that sat or stood outside a little place where they made excellent fresh churros. It was incredibly popular, and we could see why - they were great. 

Bodega El Pimpi, Malaga

We found some good places to drink too. One of the most famous places is El Pimpi, which is probably more interesting for its interior that its food or drink. It was established in 1971, in an 18th century mansion house, and they keep barrels on display that have been signed by some of their customers over the years.

Bodega El Pimpi, Malaga

Malaga is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, so that is a family name that appears often, alongside many famous Spaniards and a few others. Some names that we spotted were Antonio Banderas, Tony Blair, Rafa Nadal and John Malkovich.

Antigua Casa De Guardia, Malaga

Our favourite drinking place though, was somewhat older. Antigua Casa De Guardia was established back in 1840, and the barrels that they have on display along the length of the narrow bar, are not decoration, that is where their wines are stored. It is a lovely old place, with excellent wines and real atmosphere. I love that they chalk the drinks that you have on the counter next to you and tally it up at the end.