Today was our first full day in Malaga. We jumped right in with a bike tour of the city. It started in El Centro and we had to get down there ourselves on "el once" (the number eleven bus). El Centro reminds me so much of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The buildings are about five stories high and there are narrow streets between them filled with shops and bars. Not to mention the road is made of marble. The tour ended up being several hours long and a good work out. Some of the highlights were ancient ruins of a theatre from when the Romans controlled the Iberian Peninsula, the oldest church in Malaga, the outside of the home of Pablo Picasso (he was born lived in Malaga until he was 10), the church where Picasso was baptized, the Plaza del Torres (where they have the bull fights), and the main beach in Malaga. We rode along the beach on the marble boardwalk which was beautiful. Unfortunately on the way back the chain on my bike broke and I got lost from the group a bit, but I found them soon enough with a different bike.
After the tour, we headed back to El Palo (the neighborhood that most of the students live in) to eat lunch with our families. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day in Spain and it takes place usually around 2 or 3 pm. My host mother Isabel made me paella which is a traditional Spanish dish and it was delicious!! After lunch is traditionally the siesta, but I just relaxed instead of sleeping.
A couple hours later we headed back to El Centro for a small celebration with the Program Director Profesor Bartosik-Velez and her family. Her apartment has an amazing view of the beach! We toasted to a successful and fun time in Spain.
(view from apartment)
Below are some pictures from the tour. I will write back soon! Adios amigos!
No comments:
Post a Comment