Malaga: Art and Food, Part 1, Malaga, Spain

Apart from the obvious reason of wanting a holiday, I have three other reasons for wanting to be in Malaga: Art - enjoying its rich modern art scene with the brilliant art historian Marie-Anne Mancio of Hotel Alphabet; food - Malaga has a reputation for having some of the best food and wine in Spain; and sun. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t playing today but hiding instead behind dark grey clouds that burst into heavy downpours during the morning. However, the art and food was everything I’d hoped for. So, on balance, it’s been a very good day indeed.

The day began, after breakfast in the hotel, with a 20-minute walk through the old historic centre to the harbour area where the Centre Pompidou Malaga is situated; the art group’s meeting place this morning.

Despite the inclement weather it was a lovely walk through mainly pedestrianised streets, passing beautiful elegant buildings, narrow streets, and the cathedral.

What struck me on my walk was the beauty of the city - a glorious surprise as I’d had no idea it was so lovely before I came - and its greenery: lots of trees and plants. It’s a city that seems cared for.

As I arrived at the seafront and looked to my left, the Pompidou Centre was easy to spot, its colourful exterior a mirror of the original Paris Centre. Getting into it was slightly more difficult. I walked round completely puzzled by how to get inside. A local elderly man came to my rescue and walked me towards the entrance down a nearby ramp. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).