13 Wednesday Dec 2017
Posted in getaways, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel, trips
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One more sleep until the annual Christmas Málaga Getaway. As always, looking forward to seeing the fabulous lights again. This incredible photo was taken by my friend Victor @welovemalaga last week, from a very strategic location.
This will actually be a mini-getaway, just two nights instead of the usual week away, but I plan on making the most of it, with a couple of Christmas lunches planned, visiting friends, etc. Yay!
01 Friday Sep 2017
Posted in azahartravels, getaways, hotels, sevilla, sevilla staycation, travel
I lived in the house on the right for 18 years and remember when Hotel Casa 1800 @hotelcasa1800 was actually someone’s house. Now one of the finest hotels in Sevilla, I was thrilled to be invited to spend a night there this week. You can see my gorgeous room and a few other details below. Full review coming soon on Azahar Travels.
28 Monday Aug 2017
Posted in andalucia, food & drink, gastronomy, getaways, Malaga, malaga getaway, spain
I had planned to do sea walks every morning while I was here… ha. Finally ended up doing ONE yesterday, out to Pedregalejo to have lunch at Andrés Maricuchi. It was like going home. As soon as Andrés saw me he came rushing out to give me a big kiss and Julián set up a nice table for us that caught a refreshing sea breeze. As the afternoon began to cloud over we walked back to the centre of Málaga for rooftop cocktails. An excellent final full day in Málaga.
Today is rainy – actually the forecast is for thunderstorms all day – so it will be a morning of museums before a final lunch and then HOME to the gatitos. I can’t wait to see them again.
beach boat barbecue
sardines, breaded rosada, tomato salad, boquerones al limón
sundowners at the rooftop bar of Roommate Valeria
26 Saturday Aug 2017
I always love taking day trips with Victor @welovemalaga when I am visiting Málaga, and this time we chose to go to Archidona after I discovered that Victor had never been there. A rare treat for me to show him something new! As Peter @svqconcierge would be arriving in town Saturday morning we decided that would be a good day for all three of us to go, though I should have done my homework better as we missed the opening time for the Virgen de Gracia convent and castle. But we went up the mountain anyhow and were treated to some spectacular views.
We also had lunch at Arxiduna Restaurant, uniquely located inside caves in the main square (also unique for being the only octagonal square in Spain). I’ll be updating their page soon. I’d let them know that I was coming back and booked a table and, well, we were treated like royalty and given a special tasting menu. But more on that later.
On the way home Victor took a detour through the beautiful Montes de Málaga, a magnificent natural park and, as always, I learned so much more about this region and its history. Victor is not only a fount of knowledge but a gifted story teller. By the time we got back to Málaga we were zonked, so Peter went to crash at his hotel and I came “home” to shower and spent a lovely evening in Netflixing. The only thing missing was Morcilla…
Peter & Victor in Plaza de la Victoria, Archidona
Restaurante Arxiduna
25 Friday Aug 2017
Posted in andalucia, food & drink, getaways, Malaga, malaga getaway, spain, travel, trips
So I was in the Atarazanas Market yesterday and saw a couple of tourists looking over the display of various meats in manteca, which for those of you who don’t know are meats preserved in pork lard, often (but not always) coloured and flavoured with paprika. The man even leaned over to smell one of them at which point the vendor came over and said in his best English, “That is pork meat in butter!”.
Trying to be helpful I said to the couple that it was actually lard, not butter. Then I explained to the vendor that he was telling them it was pork in mantequilla (butter), not manteca (lard), and we all helped him with pronouncing this new word. The couple went away happy and the vendor said to me, “So what are you, a teacher?” And then he said, “I always say butter to them and they always understand me perfectly.” Well, I tried…
casa azahar 