Malaga is an easy 2h45m bus ride from Seville. By 11a I was checking into my hotel. I have 2 days here until my next big adventure.

First up was taking care of a little shopping. There’s a big mall nearby and I got seduced by all the clean, shiny, bright stores. I wandered and wondered and window-shopped; you’d think I’d been lost in the hinterland for the last 2 weeks, not walking from town-to-town. Anyway, job done I went on to explore Malaga.

The historic part was across the river from my hotel, which made a nice walk along the wide boulevard lined with huge trees, cafes, and flower stalls.

The boulevard leads into the city’s park, which is really just a narrow, lush green space between two busy roads. But once you’re in the park with all its paths and benches and temperate trees and tropical plants, fountains and statues, one can almost ignore the traffic just beyond.

I strolled thru until the sight of a castle wall high on the hill to my right caught my attention so I veered left to check it out.

My castle was high up the hill, so saving it for another day, and the “wall” turned out to be the Alcazaba, 11th C Muslim Governor’s Palace. As I just saw a magnificent example of a royal palace in Seville, I skipped the tour and kept wandering.

Below the palace is the old town, with its cafes full of tapas eaters; the souvenir shops buzzing with cruise ship passengers; and locals and tourists alike strolling the pedestrian lanes checking everything out – it all made for a lively and entertaining atmosphere. (Of course in my photos I tried not to get people in them!)

I really enjoyed my afternoon here. I’ll have to see what other exploring I can get up to tomorrow….