Malaga: Art and Food, Part 2, Malaga, Spain

It was the 2nd day of my 2-day tour of modern art in Malaga with Hotel Alphabet. We were meeting at Centro de Arte Contemporaneo at 10.30.

Sunrise isn’t until about 8.30am and I’ve found it strange to get up relatively late in the dark, so have been pleased I added breakfast to my hotel booking. I like to have just some cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurt and juice first thing and go in search of a good coffee and pastry a bit later - once it’s light! Even at 9-9.30 it’s very quiet everywhere. Life in Spain starts late and goes on late. It’s not unusual to see families with even very young children arrive at a restaurant at 10.30 at night for a meal and tapas are traditionally just a snack to have with an early evening drink.

I was planning to have coffee in a historic cafe in Plaza de la Constitucion, which, my guide book told me, opened at 8.00am. However, even after 9.00 there wasn’t much sign of life, just a couple of waiters slowly putting out tables. This is Spain: don’t try to be in a hurry. I went to another cafe almost next door where I had a good coffee and croissant overlooking the pretty square, still relatively deserted at this early hour.

I had about an half hour walk to the art gallery but set off early enough to take things gently. From the square I walked down the wide, pedestrianised Calle Larios (where the day before I’d enjoyed ice cream at Casa Mira), a street lined with historic houses over 100 years old, though now mainly shops and restaurants. The far end opened onto the port area. The port is the oldest continuously operated port in Spain and one of the oldest in the Mediterranean. At the point I arrived it was very industrial and I couldn’t walk along the coast so instead followed the next road inland towards the art gallery. It was still a nice walk. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).