Malaga | We Love Tapas

Wheels Up!

September 1, 2015March 26, 2019 WeLoveTapas

Update January 2017: The Seville wheel is no longer operational.

Ferris wheels have been around as a fairground attraction for a long time now (the first was designed and erected by George Washington Gale Ferris for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago), but over the last couple of decades they have become increasingly popular as a sightseeing aid for tourists, especially since the opening of the London Eye in 2000, and the trend has now reached southern Spain, with observation wheels (called norias in Spanish) having been recently erected in both Seville and Malaga.

Seville Wheel

At 50 metres (Seville) and 70 metres (Malaga) high these are not particularly big compared to the giants of the genre (the London Eye is 135 metres, and the world’s largest, the Las Vegas High Roller, is a vertigo inducing 167 metres), but they’re still tall enough to get you up above the surrounding buildings and give you a good view of their surroundings.

view from the Seville Wheel

Seville’s wheel can be found at the end of the Muelle de Las Delicias, near the new aquarium, a part of town that is being improved to attract visitors, and its best views are along the river towards the city centre. There are 3o capsules (including a VIP capsule), and rides last about 15 minutes (4 circuits), at a cost of 7.50 euros, or 5.50 for children under 4 years old. Open daily from 10 am to 11 pm (midnight Fridays and Saturdays).

Malaga Wheel

The Malaga wheel is on Avenida de Manuel Agustín Heredia, near the bus station by the port, and is an extension of the Muelle Uno harbour development. There are 42 capsules (but no VIP one), and there are great views across the harbour and old city to the Alcazaba and beyond. Rides last 15 minutes (3 circuits) and cost 10 euros for adults and 6 for children. Open daily 11 am to 11 pm (1 am weekends).

view of the Malaga Wheel from Muelle Uno

Day Trip to Córdoba

June 1, 2015March 26, 2019 WeLoveTapas

Just an hour by train from either Sevilla or Malaga, Cordoba is one of a string of romantic Andalucian cities stretching across southern Spain. It was an important Roman city (you can still see, and walk across, the Roman bridge over the River Guadalquivir), but its glory days were in the 8^th to 10^th centuries, when it was the capital of Islamic Spain, and one of the most important cultural centres in Europe, where Moors, Jews and Christians lived together with a degree of religious tolerance remarkable for its time. The Mezquita, or Grand Mosque, one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in Spain, was built during this time.

Part of the charm of the old city today comes from the atmosphere of slightly faded greatness that fills the old courtyards and narrow streets, and make it an enchanting city to stroll around. Cordoba is also famous as a city of flowers, and in spring and early summer in particular is vibrant with colours and smells. Not surprisingly, there is an annual competition for the best patios, courtyards and balconies, but you can also visit one of our favourite places in Cordoba, the Palacio Viana, which has 13 garden courtyards each in a different style.

Number one on everyone’s must see list is the Mezquita (the Grand Mosque, now a cathedral), the symbol of the city, with its famous horseshoe arches. Despite the number of visitors it still feels like a calm and peaceful oasis, though people have mixed feelings about the cathedral that was built in the middle of it. It didn’t impress the Spanish king of the time either; he said of it “You have destroyed something unique to build something I can find in any Spanish city.” Also nearby and worth a visit, especially for the gardens, is the Alcázar of the Christian kings

Perhaps the most picturesque area of Cordoba is the old Jewish quarter, a neighbourhood of small courtyards and narrow twisty streets inside the remains of the west wall of the city. Here you can find the old synagogue, the Sephardi house and the zoco (market), a courtyard with small shops and workshops still making the jewellery and leather goods for which Cordoba is famous, and a good place to come for a souvenir or two.

Cordoba is the home of salmorejo, the thick tomato soup often served with a garnish of hard boiled egg and jamón, of the flamenquín (rolled pork and cheese fried in a coating of breadcrumbs), and of fried aubergine/eggplant with a dressing of cane sugar molasses. You can also find the biggest tortillas de patatas in the world, available from Bar Santos next to the Mezquita in calle Magistral Gonzáles Francés. Each one is made with 30 eggs and 5 kilos of potatoes. They do a mean salmorejo too.

Some of our other favourite bars & restaurants are:
Blanco Enea
Plaza de San Pedro, 1

La Regadera
Ronda de Isasa 10

Casa Pepe de la Juderia
Calle del Romero 1

Garum 2.1
San Fernando 120

Casa Mazal
Tomás Conde 3

El Churrasco
Calle del Romero 38

Postcards from Andalucía | Antequera

February 15, 2015March 26, 2019 WeLoveTapas

We love Andalucia! And to start off our series of “postcards” from our travels around the most southern region of Spain – where we live! – we’d like to introduce you to one of our favourite places, Antequera. Andalucía is justly famous for its great classical and mediaeval cities – Seville, Málaga, Cádiz, Córdoba and Granada – but its riches are by no means confined to these. Beauty, culture (and good food) can be found almost everywhere you look in this part of Spain, and we hope our postcard posts will encourage you to explore further afield, and perhaps enjoy some things that not everyone gets to experience.

Antequera, in the province of Málaga, is officially the centre of Andalucia, and has a plaque and small pillar in the Plaza San Sebastian to mark the spot. It’s easy to reach by train or car from Córdoba, Granada, Málaga or Sevilla, and as well as its picturesque small town charm it boasts a number of monuments that reflect its complex and fascinating history (including the Alcazaba fortress on a hill on the southern edge of town), and a number of unique attractions nearby.

Just outside the town, and easily visible from the Alcazaba Hill, is the strangely shaped mountain of Peña de Los Enamorados (Lovers’ Rock) A poem by Robert Southey reflects the story of two young lovers from rival Moorish clans who are said to have thrown themselves to their deaths from the top while being pursued by the girl’s father.

view of Antequera from the Alcazaba

A little way to the north are the burial mounds of Viera and Menga, which are more than 4,000 years old, and among the largest in Europe. Further afield, but worth considering if you’re here for more than a day trip, are the nature reserve of El Torcal, famous for its bizarre limestone rock formations, the gorge of Los Gaitanes and the King’s Way, and the Fuente La Piedra, a saltwater lagoon that is a major breeding place for the pink flamingo. Also worth a visit is the wolf sanctuary of Parque Lobo.

The Alcazaba was built by the Moors in the 13th century after the Christian kings conquered Cordoba, and finally fell to the future Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1410. It’s well worth a visit, with an excellent audio guide to the castle, and panoramic views of the town and surrounding countryside (look out for the golden angel on top of the San Sebastian church tower). Antequera is also famous for its large number of churches, convents and palaces (it’s sometimes called the city of churches), mostly built in the period of prosperity after the discovery of the New World, and an important museum which you can find in the Nájera Palace in the Coso Viejo.

But now let’s talk about what you’ve all been waiting for … the food! Antequera is the home of the mollete, a special type of soft bread bun, typically served for breakfast. Though the debate still rages about whether to toast the mollete before or after cutting it open (we agree with our friends @PolloyEnsalada that the latter is preferable).

breakfast mollete with olive oil, tomato and jamón serrano

Another thing we liked about breakfast in Antequera is that you can order their crispy and delicious version of churros by the ring…

two rings of churros please!

Porra, a thick cold tomato soup similar to salmorejo, is also an Antequera staple. There are a lot of good bars where you can sample this, and other local dishes, but be sure to pay a visit to Arte de Cozina, our favourite restaurant in the town, which specialises in old traditional, often forgotten, local recipes (chef Charo Carmona will even give you the recipes to take home with you). Opt for either the tapas bar or restaurant and enjoy some of the best traditional food in Andalucía.

three types of porra: tomato, blanca and orange

Have you visited Antequera? Did you love it as much as we do?

Málaga | City of Museums

February 1, 2015March 26, 2019 WeLoveTapas

Once considered something of a high rise beach holiday city, in recent years Málaga has been bringing itself into the modern age, with pedestrianisation of the old centre, a complete redevelopment of the old harbour, and other projects to attract visitors to what is actually one of Andalucia’s most beautiful and modern destinations.

You’re here for the food, of course, and there’s a thriving bar and restaurant scene, and the recently renovated Atarazanas Market which now has gourmet food bars alongside its more traditional market stalls. But you can’t spend the whole of your holiday eating and drinking, so you’ll be looking for other things to do between meals. And there’s actually plenty. As well as monuments such as the Alcazaba, Roman Amphitheatre and Cathedral, some beautiful gardens and the Muelle Uno harbour development, all of which you’ll want to visit, Málaga has become a city of museums, which is our subject for today.

Many of the new museums are quite small, but the range of subjects covered is broad and eclectic, from the arts and history, to local culture, and a number of “niche” museums that you probably wouldn’t expect.

At the forefront are a number of important arts museums. Best known of these has to be the Picasso Museum. Pablo Picasso was born in a house on the Plaza Merced (which has another small museum), and it had long been an ambition of the city to have a museum in honour of its most famous son, an ambition finally realized in 2003. The museum can be found in the Palacio de Buenevista, a beautiful 16th century building near the Cathedral. As well as nearly 300 artworks donated by the Picasso family, there are also ruins from Phoenician, Roman and Moorish times in the basement.

Picasso Museum
Palacio de Buenivista
San Agustín, 8
Tel: +34 902 443 377

As well as a number of artworks, the Museo Casa Natal remembers the early life of Picasso, his family and his connections to Malaga.

Casa Natal
Plaza de la Merced, 15
Tel: +34 951 926 060

The recently opened Centre Pompidou Malaga, dedicated to 20th century art, is the first branch of the Pompidou museum to open outside France, and can be found beneath the big glass cube (an obvious reference back to the famous pyramid at the Paris Pompidou) on the corner of Muelle Uno and Muelle Dos in the harbour. There’s a permanent exhibition of around 80 paintings and other works from the parent museum, themed temporary exhibitions and workshops for children and teenagers.

Centro Pompidou Malaga
Muelle Uno
Tel: +34 951 926 200

Other must see art museums are the Carmen Thyssen museum, which has a collection of over 200 paintings focusing on 19th century Spanish painters, and the Contemporary Arts Centre in the Soho neighbourhood, which features art workshops and events alongside its regular exhibitions.

Carmen Thyssen Museum
Compania, 10
Tel: +34 902 303 131

Contemporary Arts Centre
Alemanía s/n
Tel: +34 952 120 055

The Centro Arte Tauromaquia is another Malaga museum that’s widely regarded as the best of its kind – in this case art and memorabilia relating to bullfighting, with 300 pieces from the Juan Barco collection, the biggest and most comprehensive in the world.

Centro Arte Tauromaquia
Plaza del Siglo

Another favourite is the Automobile Museum, and you don’t need to be a car enthusiast to enjoy it. This is one of the world’s most important collections of Vintage and Classic cars, and there’s also an exhibition of the fashions (especially hats) that went with them.

Automobile Museum
The Old Tobacco Factory
Avenida Sor Teresa Prat, 15
Tel: +34 951 137 001

Also in the old tobacco factory is the new Russian Museum, with an exhibition of Russian art from the State Museum in Saint Petersburg that ranges from Byzantine icons to Soviet Realism. This is a fascinating collection that’s well worth making that little extra effort to see.

Russian Museum
The Old Tobacco Factory
Avenida Sor Teresa Prat, 15
Tel: +34 951 926 150

The newly opened Malaga Museum in the 18th century Palacio de la Aduana (Customs House) houses the collections of the former Fine Arts and Archaeological Museums. The exhibitions are well laid out and are a fascinating treasure trove of the history of Malaga. One of the most important museums in Malaga this is a definite must see.

Malaga Museum
Plaza de la Aduana S/N
Tel: +34 951 911 904

Other more specialist museums include those dedicated to glass and crystal (this one is excellent, with the exhibits displayed in domestic settings in a historic palace, with period furniture and other accessories), wine (from the local region, with a history of advertising, and grape-growing and wine-making equipment), music, and popular arts and culture. Also in the pipeline is the full opening of the Aduana Palace, which will house both the Fine Arts Museum and the Archaeology Museum.

Wine Museum
Plaza de los Viñeros, 1
Tel: +34 952 228 493

Popular Arts & Customs
Pasillo de Santa Isabel, 10
Tel +34 952 217 137

Glass & Crystal Museum
Plazuela Santísimo Cristo de la Sangre, 2
Tel: +34 952 220 271

Interactive Music
Beatas, 15
Tel: +34 952 210 440