Malaga, Te Quiero

I had every intention of writing this post last weekend, honestly. But then I ended up staying out until 5:30am on Saturday night (or Sunday morning, I guess you could say). Let's just say the couch and I were best friends the next day and I accomplished absolutely nothing.

This weekend wasn't quite so crazy, so I'll give it another go.

Let's just say a big part of the reason I ended up working here in Spain was my friend Antonio. I met him at UWEC, and we had a few Spanish classes together. One night, I ran into him at Brothers and he told me he was about to move to Spain. We chatted about the program he was working for a little that night, and I guess the rest is history. 

We've kept in touch while he was in Spain his first year, as well as during my time here. I had mentioned coming to visit him in Malaga, but never planned anything. So finally, a few weeks ago, I asked him if what weekend he was free, and from there started the trip planning.

I had the BEST time on this trip, it has honestly been one of my favorites so far. Malaga is absolutely beautiful, and it was great to see a friendly face so far from home!

Antonio & I out and about on Saturday night

Antonio was nice enough to let my friend Fanchon and I stay at his place, and he was basically our own private tour guide. We explored the local market (which was amazing!) and made some homemade soup from the goodies we picked up there, created our own version of homemade sangria, walked along the beach, explored the port, hiked up a crazy huge hill (in my opinion) to explore the castle at the top, visited the Picasso museum (Malaga is where Picasso was actually born!) and traveled to a nearby town with some breathtaking views. 

I think I had a smile on my face the entire weekend, and honestly couldn't stop taking pictures. Everything just seemed so beautiful, and those of you who know me know that I absolutely love the beach, so I was happy to be able to see it again! 

At the port for the afternoon

Antonio, Fanchon and I exploring for the day :)

Everything about Malaga is just gorgeous

View from our hike up to the castle

In addition to Malaga, we made our way over to a neighboring town called Rincon de la Victoria. It definitely has that small town charm! I think we walked along the sea and the beach for a couple of hours, just basking in the sun and realizing how lucky we were to be enjoying that moment. I couldn't stop snapping pictures, it was just that beautiful!

The sea, the sun, good friends --what more do I need?

Love everything about this

Beautiful views all around

Oh hey there, Antonio

This is me, wishing I could live in Malaga!

It was great being able to catch up with Antonio after so long, and some day I would definitely love to go back to Malaga!

Until then, I'll keep exploring more of Europe. I'm off to Belgium soon to enjoy my five-day weekend and take in copious amounts of chocolate, beer and waffles (...see ya later, diet).

Hasta luego!