Spain - Malaga - Chilln in our Room

We are having our first down day, meaning, nothing artsy, cultural or historical allowed. We needed this very much. We found a supermercado closeby and indulged in fresh warm bread, bottles of beer, cheddar cheese, yogurt drinks, gala apples, bottled water, 99% cacao chocolate, fried corn nuts and a tasty snack mixture of peanuts, etc. After shopping, we popped into the cafe and each had a delicious cafe con leche, our stomachs first visitors of the day. We came right back to the hotel, giddily carrying our bags of sin, and headed straight back to our room for a day of doing not much of anything. That's actually not true, since Vee wrote emails, and I wrote postcards. It just felt like we were doing "nothing" since we weren't out exploring historical and/or cultural sites. I went a bit nutso at the market, and bought 5 bottles of German beer, of which I have finished 3 so far. Each has been delicious, inspiring pipe-dreams of opening a beer-and-baguette boutique in Philly upon our return. How much fun would it be to travel the world, tasting beer, eating bread and cheese, and shipping the best of it back for premium sale in the City? If someone is not doing it already, someone will. So, we're just enjoying our time together, doing not much of anything in our hotel room. Bonus, the wee-fee (Wi-Fi) Internet connection actually works here in this hotel, just not rip-roaring fast like at the Internet cafe that we had to pay for in Sevilla. We took a still-life snapshot of our indulgences that you can check out in our photo gallery in case you are curious about the beers I am enjoying. We also just went online, to bookings.es, and booked another night for even LESS here at the Zeus Hotel. Tomorrow, we're actually going to get out and experience the city. There is a Picasso museum that I am excited to see, as they have more than 200 of his works. Maybe, we'll also hop a bus to some of the beaches and see what that's all about.--*!##!*--Last night, we made another trip to SuperCor, to get some ham, more bread, mustard, marmalade and more beer. I finished the first group of 5 delicious German beers, and bought 5 more bottles, all Czech and one Argentinian, and finished those too. We watched Nadal beat Federer in the Dubai Open, and then shot a quick video of my beer bottle opening technique since we do not have a bottle opener. We are going to have to invest in a combo wine and beer bottle opener if we expect to survive this trip. With all of our newly purchased provisions, we made ham & cheese sandwiches, bread with marmalade, and ate some other munchies. Vee finished up alot of video, and we moved those to the website, then went to bed around 1am.This morning, we walked into the city's historical center, and had a quick couple of cafes con leche and pastries. Next, we went to the information center and learned about how the bus system worked, where some pretty beaches are, and what to do and see in the historic section of the city. Our first stop was the cathedral, and although they had a big sign out front asking people not to enter for tourist purposes because they were having church services, everyone was going in anyway, and we did too. It was actually very inspiring to see the service going on, with a congregation seated, 5 or 6 priests, singing and organ playing. This cathedral was different from the others we've seen, and actually, I think it may be my favorite so far. The architecture was just so beautiful, yet simpler. It resembled a huge romantic tastefully decorated mansion. The walls were tastefully adorned with paintings and wood and/or marble carvings but not to the extreme that has been the norm in the other cathedrals. The marble used was particularly colorful and unique. We watched the service some, and walked around the insides, then exited and took some pictures from the gardens outside. Next, was the Picasso museum which was just across the street and down an alley, in a place called the Palacio de Buena Vista. The building itself was magnificantly restored and a wonderful place for art to be displayed. The security was tight, and we left our bags with the security people. As for the art, hmmmmmmm... Maybe Vee and I have different opinions and appreciations here. I personally am not a huge fan of Picasso, and I have a very difficult time "getting" his genius. Many of the works we saw were "woman seated on chair", or "naked woman on chair", or "woman with hat and chicken", or "indecently exposed fat man and naked woman on chair". Not to degrade Picasso, and I mean no disrespect to him or his work. I just don't like it. And that is the beauty of art. I am allowed to say that no matter how respected he and/or his body of work is by those who are supposed to know better. So, after the Picasso museum, which housed about 200 pieces, we went to La Plaza De La Merced and shared some bread and did some people watching. I even fed a few hungry looking pigeons, showing particular favor for a pure white one that seemed to be doing figure 8's between my feet. Next, as it would be our lucky day, we entered the Castillo de Alcazabar, for free, which is the case each Sunday. It was a huge ancient palace built by Romans, with many gardens, pools, and beautiful views of the city, in amazing condition considering it was originally built in the 6th century B.C. After wandering the grounds, we continued up the hill and into the Castillo De Gibralfaro, which was at the very top of the mountain, providing breathtaking 360 degree views of all of Malaga. The wind was quite strong at the top, and it was somewhat unnerving when trying to navigate the narrow ramparts. I did walk down into a very tight twisting tower stairwell that took me down a few levels to a whole new series of winding ramparts, but the wind was blowing too strong, and the walls were too low for me to continue on much further. It was quite a thrill to be at the top, and the views were captivating. The walk was tough too. It was quite a steep trek, and a good leg workout. We got lots of video and photos, then made our way back to the hotel for a bit of a break, then back out for a bit to eat. The distance back to the city center was an unattractive option, so we stayed closeby, and actually ended up right back at the Pizza Pino, as we really enjoyed it the first time, and didn't want to spend much on our meal. Vee had a salad with chicken (and too much mayonnaise...whats up with that?!) and I had a delicious spinach and ricotta cheese stuffed pasta in a red sauce. After dinner, we went across the street and capped off the evening with some coffees and dessert at the Jamaica Cafe. Tonight, we'll be reserving our room online in Madrid, and figuring out where exactly we'll be going next and how to get there. Until next time, buenas noches.