Sitting in my room at home because of cold rainy weather made me recall some nice literally warm memories from the hot sunny December days in the south of Spain.
First biggest "culture shock" was tangerine trees growing on the streets here and there just like that. It was very unusual considering that just a few hours before landing to Spain and seeing this scenery I could grab them only from the shelves of our supermarket.
What I like about "marine" cities is air. It's different: sometimes it's a little bit saulty and very distinct and spreads around the whole district, but sometimes you can feel vivid smell only when you stand at the shore.
It seems that those cities can't be really cold, since even architecture is made in a warm palette where yellow, orange and brown colours predominate.
One of the most beautiful streets in Malaga, my first destination, was central shopping street, which had an arch above, decorated with plants and big crystal lamps.
I also observed a lot of happiness and "life" among locals, especially in the evening and at night. There were a lot of people on the streets, watching local music bands play some typical Spanish songs and dancing with them. A lot of cafes were overcrowded with people eating out and having fun.
The only 2 things that reminded of upcoming Christmas was this Christmas tree and some Christmas markets, where mostly little figures of saints and kings were sold out.
Going up the hill to the castle revealed a very picturesque view upon Muelle Uno, the harbour.
Although sun was unmercifully shining into the eyes, blinding the view, a nice panorama of the whole city made me feel ultimate calmness and close my eyes to hear the sounds of the city.
Except for Malaga I also visited 2 nearest villages that amused me with taxi donkeys...
... and colourful pottery
Those villages seem to be a nice place to have a vacation house.
Next stop happened to be Granada - a city with so much arab influence which made it even more interesting. Tickets for famous Alhambra were sold out a long time before I decided to come to Spain, however I still had opportunity to enjoy observing it from outside.
The other 2 things that caught my atention were the perfect combination of palm trees with the snowy mountains in the background and cave houses all over the hill.
Of course I can't but mention local cuisine which was insanely tasty. Even though I don't eat pork usually I couldn't resist jamon. Also, probably the biggest, cheapest and best tapas I could find was in Granada, which makes me like this place even more!
Song of the day:
