Three years ago (was it really that long?) I spent a wonderful whirlwind pre-Christmas weekend in Málaga with Peter and Jessica. It almost didn’t come to pass, but thanks to my Christmas angel I got there in time and the three of us had a great time.

Last year I also got to catch the tail-end of Málaga lit up at Christmas when Peter and I popped down there for a couple of days to celebrate my birthday.

And this year I get to go again – next week! This all came to pass after doing a fun tapas tour last Friday afternoon with two friends from Chicago (Wendy & Belinda) and a solo traveller from New Zealand (Justine). Well, we all hit it off and had a great time. So much so that the three ladies met the next day to have tapas together, and then I saw Justine again before she left for Córdoba. After hearing me wax lyrical about Málaga Justine decided to put it on her list of places to visit and then I thought, hey, might be nice to have an excuse to pop down there again. But I didn’t want to wear out my welcome at Manolo’s place as I’m really hoping to be able to stay there for an extended holiday this spring.

So I asked a holiday rental site I’ve been in touch with over the years if they might have a place available for a couple of nights in exchange for an article and some social media lurve… and they did! I was hoping for a place in the centre of town, in order to have a different Málaga experience, but ended up with a beachfront place just up the road from Manolo’s. What the heck. It’ll still be Christmas in Málaga!