Europe, early this year. Sole Sister Julienne from the far east was freezing her a** off in Madrid, so she decided to escape to the warmest place she could think of in Europe - Costa del Sol, in the southernmost tip of Spain.

I found myself flying back into Spain last February to continue my Spanish studies in preparation for an exam I had to take this year. I was due to start a new full time job in Hong Kong, but while waiting for my employment visa to get transferred, I decided to return to Madrid - one of my favourite places in the world.

It made sense since I have a tita (aunt) based in Madrid, as well an amazing Madrileña girlfriend with a spare room in the city (lucky me!). Covering utilities like water, cleaning, wifi, electricity etc. I basically paid 350 euros a month for a room in a sunny and sizeable apartment in the north of Madrid. It took me around 35-45 minutes to get to the city centre, but that was a great time slot to cram in my homework while on the metro.

Temperatures refused to go over 10°C when I first arrived, and freezing my miserable butt off, I searched for a warmer and sunnier escape before school began. In 2015 I had hit the major cities of Andalucía with my family (Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba), so this time I had to venture further out to find something different.

It was a toss-up between Cádiz (Costa de la Luz), Almería, and Málaga, but in the end I chose the latter because of its easy access from Madrid (it’s also an international hub for those flying in). Plus, upon further research Málaga seemed to pack far more punch in in terms of options (culture, nightlife, cuisine, activities) beyond the beach. It was sunny (isn’t it always here?) but there was no way I was swimming in the frigid Mediterranean in the throes of winter.


Travel Tip! Booking train tickets last minute in Spain / Europe can be very expensive (ie. more than twice the original price). I was able to get “resold” tickets through the website Truecalia where people can super efficiently search, buy and sell train tickets in Spain. I got mine at a good price (30-40 euros) as if I had bought it weeks in advance. The private seller just sent me the QR / bar code after I transferred the money, and that’s all RENFE needed - no paper copies required.

And so I boarded the high-speed train from Madrid Atocha one morning and took off for Málaga. Less than three hours later, I was at Estación de Málaga-María Zambrano, stepping into the sun! It felt so good after dreary Madrid, you could not imagine how my whole sun-loving yet sun-deprived being was rejoicing.


Worst Restaurant: Bodega Bar El Pimpi

On my first night there, I went to a resto-bar that all the websites had recommended: Bodega Bar El Pimpi. Apparently, it’s a “malagueño” institution sitting at the foot of the Alcazar: a massive 11th century Moorish castle in the city centre. The location was fantastic - it was also right in front of the ancient Teatro Romano de Málaga (Roman Theatre) - but the food was sub-par. I was a little bit disappointed, since many articles had hailed the city as an emerging gastronomic hub.

I would say almost the whole 6km stretch from La Malagueta (the main beach) to the end of Pedregalejo is jampacked with restaurants, cafes, bars, local dives, shops - and barely any tourists the time I went. If it was lively towards the end of winter I can only imagine what it’s like in the summer. If I were to come back I’d be on the beachfront everyday!

Rent a bike in one of the shops around Plaza de la Marina - ask the Tourist Information centre in the middle of the square for directions.


Best Churros: Casa Aranda

I didn’t mean for this post to be a food-focused one, but going through my photos I found so many food shots which brought back too many delicious memories for me not to share: