MALAGA
Friday , February 27, 2009

We have a flight at 21:45 out of JFK. Nina and Henry were kind enough to drive us there. The traffic wasn’t bad except for a short distance on the Staten Island Expressway. We had elected to go to JFK which can be a bit of a hassle since it was the only direct flight to Malaga. Nothing from Newark. Our check-in was quick and easy and we went to the Delta lounge. We flew on Delta but it was an Air France ticket. The lounge was very nice with a good selection of salads, fruit, and sweets. And, of course, the usual bar. We relaxed until boarding time. The flight was almost full, with many Spanish-speaking people. The flight was uneventful and we arrived on time at the airport of Malaga.

Saturday, February 28

We arrived in late morning and were met with the usual wheelchair making it easy for Alexandria on the long distances and for getting through passport control. We got our luggage and went to the Avis office where we picked up a Fiat Fiorino which is sort of like a small van. We started out toward Benalmadena. The roads were a bit confusing so we called the resort three different times for directions. After driving about for over an hour (it is about a 20 minute ride from the airport). we finally found the place, Sunset Beach Club. We checked in and went to our room. It was nice for this type of resort. A smallish bedroom, a larger living room, and small bathroom and kitchen. There was a balcony that looked out over the beach and the city.

We settled in for an hour or so and then went out to explore the complex. We stopped in to the super market (yes, there is a small one right in the complex) and purchased a few things for the room. We went upstairs to the lounge and had an aperitif there. It is a large room with several TV monitors scattered around. There were 50 or more Brits with beer who were watching an important rugby match from England. Most of the people we saw here seemed to be Brits or Irish. The hotel has more than 500 rooms so that means lots of Brits. We heard some Spanish but not much. We went down to the restaurant for dinner, being too tired to go out. Actually, it is rather good. We both had a nice meal, It was early, about 8 o’clock, but not having slept very much on the night flight. We got ready for bed, did a crossword and suddenly about nine o’clock, we were so sleepy, we went to sleep. We both woke up once for a while but back to sleep and didn’t get up until after eleven Sunday morning. We really needed to sleep.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

After getting up so late, we missed the breakfast buffet. Oh, well. We’ll try it another day. By the time we got going, it was after one o’clock. We walked along the main street for a while, noticing all of the typical Spanish restaurants. Following are some pictures of them.

See what I mean about the Brit influence? We found a Spanish bar/restaurant and went in. The room was ¾ filled with a large family of about 25 people including parents, grandparents and children. We had good feelings about the place since we were the only non-Spanish there. We had a good paella followed by a crème catalane (similar to crème caramel) and we each had a carajillo which is espresso with a local brandy added. We first learned of these on a previous visit to Spain. The Italians call it café correto. We continued our walk along the main street which runs along the beach. We were even stopped by an English woman who wanted to know if we wanted to join them to sing prayer songs. We regretfully declined her invitation. The area reminded us similar resorts on the Spanish coast south of Barcelona, or those in Ocean City, Maryland, or the coast of Portugal near Estoril and Cascais. But it was neither seedy nor overly commercial like Atlantic City. Back to the hotel, I worked on this blog while Alexandria read. We went out for a light dinner, again in the resort restaurant. This time we each had an individual pizza which we couldn’t finish. We brought them back to the room for another time. Some more reading and crosswords and then we wen t to bed trying to establish a routine and to get over the jet lag.

Monday, March 2

We got up to a rather dreary day. No rain but overcast. We went down to the health club to do some exercise, but were disappointed to learn that the club was not a part of the resort . Their fees were about $12 a day each or $55 a week. We decided to pass on that experience and just do a lot of walking. The city is amenable to lots of walking and sightseeing. We spent the morning on the lounge where Alexandria and Erwin worked on this blog.

In the afternoon, we went for a walk, had tea in an English restaurant/tea room and watched the world go by. It is amazing the number of Brits and Irish that are here. In this tea room there were five or six tables, all occupied with English speakers. We then went to the nearest super market (supermarcado) where we picked up items for breakfast. It was a modern. well-stocked place at good prices. We went back to the hotel where we had an aperitif. The lobby/bar room was filled with people probably since it was happy hour. Then went to dinner in a nice restaurant opposite the hotel on the beach. It was still raining lightly. It was a very nice place.

We were the second, and last, table to have dinner. We had a very good meal and a lovely chat with the waitress. My Spanish was adequate to talk a bit with her and to understand what she said. She told us that this had been a colder, rainy season in Malaga. We concurred since we had been here since Saturday and have seen no sun. I guess that their business suffered due to the poor weather. Then, too, it was a Monday evening. Back to the hotel and bed.

Tuesday, March 3

It was rather chilly and overcast so we did some things in the hotel. In the afternoon, we decided to go for a walk and guess what? The sun came out and we went out to the left instead of the right as we had been doing. We walked along the coast road which was along a bit of a cliff. The sun stayed out and it was a lovely afternoon. We stopped and had our usual tea in a nice cafe along the road.

On the way back to the hotel, look what we passed!

I didn't check it out to see if it actually worked or not. In case you don't recognize it, it is a British telephone booth. Ah, the British influence again.