Spain 2018: Malaga

by | Dec 16, 2018 | Food & Drink, International Travel, Travel

For Thanksgiving Day we decided to go into Malaga since we could mostly stay in doors (it was drizzling) and because of the wide selection of restaurants. Navigating into town was definitely a challenge, as there are lots of one-ways, street name changes, etc, but we eventually parked by the Alcazaba which is close to everything we cared about. After a few minutes walk we saw the old fort and the even older amphitheater.

Roman amphitheater in Malaga

And then the cathedral… (a Euro more expensive than our last visit)

Malaga Cathedral

Calle Marqués de Larios is the main shopping street, and Leandra found several good clothing deals.

Malaga ready for Christmas

We stopped for a quick snack at Nacalú. A beautiful little spot with food to match – we were quite impressed with the service and our food. I had the canary potatoes with green and orange spicy sauce, while Leandra continued her trend of ordering morcilla. Mom refused to share her brownie, so I can’t say for certain but it looked delicious. :)

Nacalu

blood sausage @ Nacalu  salted potato app @ Nacalu

We definitely wanted my parents to experience the famous and historical Antigua Casa de Guardia sherry tavern (we visited in 2014), so we stopped by before it got too busy with after-work folks. As on our first trip, Leandra started with a semi-sweet, so the server mixed Pedro Ximenez with seco, then ordered straight Pedro Ximenez (somewhat light with raisin). I started with Moscatel No2 (great flavor, dark and syrupy), then ordered the Guinda (dark, med sweetness, a little cherry – very nice, would definitely get again). We also watched the barman drawing images of the bar on clam shells… that made a nice souvenir.

the artist at work

After the sherry bar it was time for dinner at El Gastronauta. We had stopped in to make a reservation earlier in the day, and it was a good idea at this small restaurant as several walk-ins were turned away or had to come back later. Dinner was very tasty especially the jamon platter. We each ordered a toast and something else not realizing portions are huge so two plates per person is more than enough food!

El Gastronauta

jamon @ El Gastronauta

Unfortunately, the Christmas lights weren’t on yet, apparently they are lit the first weekend of advent, so we were just a little too early this time.

Our Itinerary

2025 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina (Feb)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)