Malaga, Spain

After Seville, we took a train to Malaga, our final destination in Spain before our flight to Poland. Malaga is a beautiful city on the shore. The weather was also better, though too cold to swim of course. However, we did have one negative interaction. While we were sightseeing the 11th century fortification on Alcazaba, we were approached by a young couple with a map, asking for directions to the bus station. While I tried to figure out which bus station they were talking about, I noticed Caryl wasn't paying attention to them. Apparently, while they were distracting us, a third guy had snuck up behind Caryl and was trying to open his backpack! When I turned to Caryl and asked him about the map, his response was, literally, - I don't know, bit this guy is trying to pickpocket me. At the sound of the word pickpocket, all three quickly walked away, smiling and saying, - oh, no problem! I'd say it was a problem! Thankfully they didn't take anything, as Caryl was vigilant and noticed the other guy right away. A few minutes later I overheard an upset older Polish couple talking about the woman's backpack - apparently the same guy had tried to steal her tissues and water as well! The whole experience left us feeling pissed off and violated.

But, Malaga is lovely, and we did get to see Alcazaba after all:











Interesting exhibit showing tools used for excavation and archeology:







Roman ruins:





And Malaga cathedral:

Seville, Spain

We planned on being in Seville for Santa Semana, the holy week. We made it on Saturday evening, and watched the processions. Very surreal experience:











The next day we toured Seville, checking out the Maria Luisa Park. It was really incredible, even though it rained. The city was still packed with tourists and locals:





















And the cathedral:













View from the cathedral tower:











Back inside:









The cathedral museum:





And outside:



And one more:

Rock of Gibraltar!!!

The next day we got up early, left our bags at the hotel, and walked to Gibraltar. Which is an autonomous city, officially a British Overseas Territory. But it's not really technically a part of Great Britain... We were told this is because that way they can skirt around British banking laws. Apparently, Gibraltar is a very wealthy city run by bankers.

Anyway, since we only had a few hours until our bus to Seville, we took the gondola to the top and hiked around. The Rock of Gibraltar is known for its macaque monkeys, which are everywhere! But they are mean and like to bite. I tried to avoid them.

Gibraltar:





The city:



The gondola:







A map of the Rock:



The monkeys:









The old fortifications:



And one more: