HI!

Wow, it has been entirely too long since I have been on here!  I’m actually typing this up from the back deck of my parent’s beach-share house in Ventnor!

But today I’m not going to share anything about being home or at the beach (yet…coming soon!), but I’m going to share pictures from my final trip before heading back to the U.S. for 6 weeks.

This trip was to Malaga- a beach community on the southern shore of Spain.  You may have read awhile back, but we were in Malaga just a few short weeks ago.  This time we were there for a longer time, with a few more beaches thrown into the mix.  With a few bumps in the road that changed our plans, it ended up being an amazing trip- just like they all are!

We started in Malaga for 2 nights, where we spent the days on the beach, one of the evenings working out, and one of the evenings at the port, which was upbeat, full of people, and really nice.

On Monday morning, we headed to our first stop- Conil de la Frontera.  Conil is 2 hrs and 30 min (give or take) from Malaga, but we had some car issues, which put us back a few hours.  We eventually made it and were able to enjoy the (very windy) beach!

It was too windy to comfortably sit, so we walked for awhile and played in the water.  Afterwards, we had dinner in the town.  Conil is one of the traditional white towns!

We read approx. 234 menus before deciding on a restaurant with a traditional menu and packed terrace.  I was starving.

After finishing all of the food and all of the wine (plus some), we got up relatively early to catch the bus to Tarifa (no car = bus).  It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been and it’s fun to have an adventure every once in awhile.  (RIGHT??)

The bus route takes a bit longer than driving, but it was nice to look out the windows and marvel at just how open and rolling Spain really is once you leave the city.

Once we found our little apartment, we had lunch.

In case you are wondering, the Spanish tortilla you see above is, in fact, NOT tortilla de mama espanola.

Eventually we headed to la playa.  I loved all of the winding streets of Tarifa, the white buildings, and how quaint it felt

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Of course, the beach itself was absolutely beautiful as well.

Unfortunately, like Conil, it was WINDY WINDY, so we walked and talked and took in the views.

😉

Eventually stopping for a beer in one of their chiringuitos!!

I really liked the decor of this place – open, beachy, lots of plants, but there were also pops of bright color in some of the furniture.  Ventnor, take note.  We walked back to our apartment with the sunset.

^^he will kill me for this photo…..it was a joke!!

And then took a boat to Tangier, Morocco.

We didn’t really do that, but it’s possible!  And very easy!

Dinner that night was at this amaaaazzzziiiing little place that we found near our apartment.  We were so hungry and it was so late by the time we showered and dressed, but the food was worth it.  We couldn’t get a table, but eating at the bar was a decent second option.Tapa of some sort of zucchini lasagna

Tapa of homemade tortellini

Tapa of tagine

Rabo de Toro

With wine

And then the next day, we took the bus BACK to Conil for a car that wasn’t ready when the mechanic said it would be.  Irritating in the moment but it all worked out, just like it always does.

Finally, we were able to get the car and make the loooooooong drive (at night) back to Malaga with just enough time to shower off the sweat, sunblock, and grease from the day and then head to bed.

The next day, we relaxed on the beach and then at night, we drove about 20 minutes to Torremolinos, which is a nearby Port town and popular with the tourists.  It was popular with me for the ICE CREAM!

And then finally, on our last day, we relaxed on the beach and then went into the “downtown” part of Malaga for one last hurrah…basically some food and some beer and an early night because we were exhausted.

Our trip to Malaga marked the end of my “first year in Spain”, but it was the perfect ending to what has been an incredibly amazing year.  I am so happy with everything and can’t wait to see what next year will bring!!