New Year holiday in Andalusia

Forget about exotic islands! We have discovered this year for New Years Eve celebration the magical Costa del Sol -Spain.

This region  belonging to Andalusia is famous not only for its magnificent beaches, elegant beach resorts such are Marbella, Sotogrande or Estepona, but also for its pitoresque white villages  nested in the mountains, with old churches that belonged to all religions on the world . ( Mijas, Casares, Ronda, Frigiloana).

This territoy was disputed during the years between  Romans,  Christians and Muslims, devastated by Spanish Civil War and having even a small British enclave -Gibraltar.

In its southern point -Punta del Tarifa, near Cadiz, Europe is only 14 km away from Africa.

 Being under  Moors occupation more than 700 years, Andalusian art and architecture is a mixture between Cristian and Arab styles, creating astonishing masterpieces such are Alhambra palace in Granada or La Mezquita in Cordoba.

Four days are definitely not enough to explore such a terrific region, so we have to choose wisely what to visit each day.

We landed in Malaga, after a 2,5 hours direct flight from Paris with 
Vueling.  

We had accommodation in Torremolinos, near the beach esplanade, which we used every day for a short run or walk.

The climate is mostly subtropical, with December day averages of 20 degrees and sea temperature of 15-16 degrees. We didn’t dare to take a bath,although there were a couple if people in the water( probably British), but we enjoyed every day a bare foot walk in the sand and sea shore.

The region is very popular among British,due to good weather, excellent food and cheap prices, so you can easily find British pubs and British products in the supermarkets.

We cannot say a lot about Malaga, apart from Plaza de la Constitucion and being the birth place of Picasso. There is also a Picasso museum and Gibralfaro Castle from 10th century.

During winter holidays Malaga is very crowded and does not worth to celebrate New Years Eve on a restaurant ( like we did), because is expensive and at midnight we couldn’t reach Plaza de la Constitucion  to see the fireworks. More convenient is to have dinner in one of the beach restaurants in resorts, as most of the sea resorts have their own fireworks and celebration for New Years Eve.

Not far from Malaga, hidden between the hills, hides the beautiful white 
city of Mijas.It is a place full of poetry, art and crafts. Park the car at the entrance and explore  the narrowed streets of the village by foot, right to the top, where you can admire the panoramic views of the city and the valley. Allow ti e to admire the “solar” XMas trees made out of plastic bags, recycled materials, bows and textile and vote for the most beautiful XMas tree of the year!

Before leaving, enjoy a tapas and a glass of Rioja o  the panoramic restaurants from the top.

For souvenir, try the homemade chocolate and sweets from the local shop Sabor a Espagna.

 Next day- another country- as we visited the small British territory of Gibraltar.

Do  not fear, they drive on the left hand side like us, but here stops any similarities with Spain:))

The atmosphere is typically British, with pubs that serve ale,shepherds pie and fish&chips( try the Nelson pub,right on the main square) , British stores along the main street and even the famous red phone boxes, that made us very,  nostalgic...

Even the weather changed when entering in Gibraltar, from bright sunny to cloudy sky, wind and even a bit of rain.

 Due to the bad weather the cable car didn’t work, and you are not allowed to go by car up to the top, so we missed Europa point, St Michael Cave , Moorish Castle and Apes’ Den. We’ll keep it for the next time!

As a bonus for the disappointed tourists, you can see several apes ( macaques) on the road, take some photos and admire them, but be careful, you cannot touch them or feed them! They are a special treasure for Gibraltar, and the legend says that when the apes will disappear from the Rock of Gibraltar, the territory will no longer be British😀 During WW2, Sir Winston Churchill was very concerned of the diminishing 
population of apes and ordered special care for the funny creatures, so monkey population can grow again.

Back to the sunny Spain-: if you plan to visit Marbella, do not stop only to the beach promenade(Paseo Maritimo), as this resort has beautiful white narrowed streets that go to the old city-a hidden gem not very promoted and quite difficult to find.

Ask for the Plaza de la Cathedral ( Eglisa de Santa Maria de l’Encarnacion) or for the Plaza de los Naranjos( Orange Square) , where you can enjoy a drink o  terraces surrounded by orange trees😀

Finally, take a bare foot walk on the sand and sea and experience Spanish cuisine right on the beach, at the chic and expensive Soleo 
Marbella Beach Club.

That’s all for this trip, much more left to be discovered and enjoyed next time: Granada and Alhambra Palace, Old city of Ronda, Cordoba, Cadiz( the old city in Spain) , Caminito del Rey...