artist impression Bosque de Málaga 2019

Walking through Calle Larios, the main shopping street in the lively centre of Málaga, I witnessed the construction of the Christmas lights for the approaching holidays. Every year the city attracts visitors and tourists from far and wide with its beautiful atmospheric lighting on Calle Larios as the highlight.

With the impressive light show of 2018 still in mind, we are looking forward to the new concept with the promising, fairytale-like name El Bosque de Navidad, ‘The Christmas forest’ which will bring Christmas to the main street. 

The huge arches that spanned the shopping street in 2018 and the three previous years, were inspired by the beautiful cathedral of Málaga. When you were under these arches in the heart of the city, you actually imagined to be inside ‘La Manquita’ the beautiful cathedral, with only one tower. Many colourful stained glass scenes and other Gothic and Renaissance elements gave this light artwork a devout appearance that even non-believers were speechless.

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Hotel Puerta de la Luna in Baeza

Early this spring we decided to take a road trip to Jaen province to visit two of the most historic cities in Andalusia, Ubeda and Baeza, both declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO in 2003. The drive from Sedella took us just over three hours; there are a couple of other routes but the quickest is on the motorway A-44 via Granada. It's a great drive through the mountains and lakes and you will even have a glimpse of the Sierra Nevada!

We stayed right next door to the cathedral at the 4 star Hotel Puerta de la Luna in Baeza, formally an old palace which was beautiful and very central to the city. We were even upgraded to a suite, as it was off-season! There was an open fire in the hotel lounge for cosy winter evenings, which we found extremely welcome, as the change in temperature was noticeable compared to the sunny warm days we enjoy during the winter living in the South! There is a pretty outdoor area with a pool and alfresco dining for the summer months with a great view of the cathedral bell tower.

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© Jan B van der Marel

A lot of villages and towns in the Axarquia have weekly markets on a fixed day where bargain hunters can buy the most delicious locally grown fresh fruit & vegetables. At the colorful and lively street market each vendor has a fixed spot. Some villages also have regular flea markets which are usually held in the summer months during the fiestas. We usually go to Caleta de Velez on Saturdays and Torre del Mar on Thursdays. Sometimes we also explore the flea market held in Algarrobo on Saturday or Nerja every Sunday (so called Rastro in Spanish).

Most of the market stalls offer a variety of fresh products including vegetables, fruits, nuts, olives, herbs & spices, flowers & plants, etc. Furthermore you will find craft stalls selling jewelry, pottery, ceramics and many other creative products. Other products you will find are clothes from all over the world, watches, handbags, shoes, luggage, sunglasses, kitchen items, CDs, linens & towels and seasonal products such as blankets and swimwear.

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Three years ago we were last in Andalusia at the invitation of our old neighbors from Huizen in Holland, so it was about time for a new visit!

This year we decided to go on a round trip to see more of beautiful Andalusia. The kids looked after each other and our 2 dogs at home in the Netherlands, so we could leave together safely. We flew to Málaga and were again able to enjoy the hospitality of Jan and Marita in their beautiful casa near Canillas de Aceituno. Two wonderful, pleasant and relaxing days we talked, walked in the campo, swam, lazed and enjoyed the Spanish cuisine, including Chivo (goat), the local specialty in restaurant La Sociedad, in Canillas de Aceituno and green curry with shrimps on the beach in Torre del Mar, my favorite resort.

On Saturday morning we said goodbye and left for Seville, where we arrived in the afternoon after a beautiful journey through vast fields of olive trees, sunflowers and here and there of course the Osborne bull. On the way we drove into a village for a nice cup of coffee in a real Spanish bar with super friendly people who didn't speak a word of English (and we spoke little Spanish). However, that is never a problem here, the people are so nice and helpful, you can also get along well with sign language !

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