I have taken only two trips out of Granada since I arrived. One was with my group of 25 students, and the other I took by myself.
Malaga was the first trip. Picasso's birthplace, an Arabic fortress, and the Mediterranean. We rode in a charter bus through the Spanish hills down towards the coast, about and hour from Granada. On the way, the skies were a perfect shade of blue, and the olive and grape vineyards patterned the hillsides.
Our first stop was Picasso's birthplace...basically a restored version of his childhood home. I didn't know this, but his father was a b
rilliant painter who inspired Picasso's creativity. It is said that Picasso's father gave up painting the day that he saw his young son perfectly finish one of his father's paintings. I also didn't know that Picasso only began painting with the Cubist point-of-view later in his life. Before Cubism (the crazy style!) he was a Realist who painted and drew numerous
works of art (that nearly look like photos they are so accurate).
Next stop, the Alcazaba de Malaga. A giant Arabic fortress...and when I say fortress, I mean turrets, battlements, enormous walls, multiple palaces, and huge gardens. This fortress was AWESOME. My friends and I ran around and became so preoccupied with our surroundings that we lost our tour-group....3 times. Then, we lost them a fourth time and realized they had left the fortress without us . I really could have stayed there and explored for hours, but we had to regroup...so I led my friends through the winding cobblestone streets of the fortress to the bottom (about a 5 minute run to let you know how huge it is). Once reunited with the group, we visited the enormous cathedral of Malaga.
The catholics had a lot of money when they built this cathedral. Seriously. Shrines, mosaics, marble, gold, paintings, columns, two organs, towering ceilings...amazing.
The afternoon was free, and I spent it with two new friends, Mia and Victoria. We went to a small Italian restaurant and split a pizza, then walked along the main shopping district of
Malaga, to the coast. We didn't actually walk on the beach this day. Here are some photos from the day:
Me kissing Picasso
Picasso's Birthplace
Outside the Alcazaba
The Cathedral
Me with view from Alcazaba
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