One thing I was looking forward to when my children grew up was not having to go away during the school holidays.  However two of them decided to become teachers.  When my son asked if we fancied going to Spain for half term I leapt at the chance.

  I am pleased to say I have managed to pass on my love of history and languages.

He wanted some late sunshine and suggested a visit to Malaga the southernmost large city in Europe.   The southern Coast of Spain is known as the Costa del Sol, sun coast and is only about 80 miles from the north coast of Africa.  I had never stayed in that part of Spain but my daughter, my son’s twin, spent three months in Seville working in a primary school as an English language assistant with the Erasmus scheme a couple of years ago.  We loved the photos she sent us of Andalucia.

We were able to get a last-minute Easy Jet flight from Bristol and my son found an apartment to rent close to the sea.

Malaga

Malaga is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It  was probably founded by the Phoenicians about 700 B.C. and seems to have kept the same name with slightly different spellings for over two thousand years. Now it is the sixth largest city in Spain and the fourth largest in terms of economic activity.  It has over six hundred thousand inhabitants. Today Malaga is a large cosmopolitan city with a good public transport network, lots of shops restaurants and best of all a long sandy beach. The cathedral is known as the one-armed lady as curiously one tower was never finished.  I was surprised at the large number of parks and trees.  I think this year has been unusually rainy which meant that everywhere looked very green which I had not been expecting.

Antonio Banderas and Pablo Picasso were both born in the city.  The airport is named after Pablo Picasso and there is also a Pablo Picasso Museum.

Archaeology

The centre of the city has remains from the Roman, Arabic and Christian Era.

The city has a Roman Amphitheatre which was only rediscovered about a hundred years ago.

The Moors occupied Southern Spain for about 600 years until 1492:  The same year as Columbus sailed to America. Malaga was an important city and the Alcazabah  (the Kasbah) which was their fort and also the site of a palace for the Nazerini family is very interesting and suprisingingly well preserved with lovely gardens and thick walls.  It is surrounded by palm and pine woods.

A combined ticket for the Gibalfaro  and the Alkasbah costs about 5 Euros. The Gibalfaro  which is higher up the hill can be reached on the city hop on hop off bus or by a steep climb.  At the top you are rewarded by beautiful views over the city.

I also learnt a new Spanish word abuelita (little grandma) as I was climbing up. It was steep but we made it.

Trips from Malaga.

Many British tourists who visit the Costa Del Sol fly to Malaga airport. However, there are many places in Andalucia that are worth visiting.  If you want to venture inland, I recommend a visit to the beautiful city of Seville.

We enjoyed a visit to Granada and the Alhambra palace.

On the other hand if you want a taste of the millionaire lifestyle take a trip to the coast and the city of Marbella where long sandy beaches are set against the backdrop of the Sierra Blanca mountains.