Week 2

This last week and a bit has been a fairly busy week for me, with a mixture of touristy activities, fun nights out, slightly frustrating administrative tasks to do, and one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. But more on that later…

The week started with a bank holiday that was specific to Málaga, which meant that there was no language course that day. However, it also meant that nothing was open in the city, so I couldn’t do anything that I had planned on getting sorted out, such as getting a bus pass. This turned out to be a bit of a mission in itself, as the first time I went to the Málaga transport office to buy the monthly bus pass, I found out (after queuing for 20 minutes) that I needed a photocopy of my passport. However, I eventually got it sorted, and at 27€ for a month of unlimited travel around the city, it seems like a good deal.

In my spare time between language classes I have doing a bit of sightseeing. Before one language class I decided to find the view of the city of Málaga from the top of the Gibralforo hill, which overlooks much of the city. This turned out to be quite a tiring climb up to the top in the 33 degrees heat, and it did make me question how wise it was to wear a black t shirt and jeans that particular day… But it was definitely worth it; the view from the top is stunning, with the bullring, city centre and coast all surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea.

The Bulring

On Sunday my housemate and his friends introduced me to a great tapas bar in the city centre. Everything on the menu was 1€, including beer, so it ended up being a great place to hang out. I also feel like I’m gradually getting better at understanding spoken Spanish. The Andalucian accent is still a bit of a struggle for me, but being surrounded by it all the time is definitely helping me, and I am enjoying the challenge. They also say that if you can understand Andalucian Spanish, then you can pretty much understand any accent, so it’s good practise…

Playa Malagueta

Perhaps one of the highlights of the week came for me on Friday. This was the day of the Steve Vai concert, which was held in the bullring in La Malagueta. With stunning guitar licks, incredible showmanship and a fantastic atmosphere in a quite a unique concert venue, the gig was pretty much exactly as I had expected it to be. Steve Vai just seems to command the attention of the entire audience, and he knows how to put on an incredible show. Definitely worth the 33€ ticket price!

That’s all for now… Nos vemos!

The beach in El Palo

Steve Vai!