Category: malaga

Málaga Street Art

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malaga street art (1)
Just before Christmas I took a trip to Málaga and stayed at the Room Mate Lola, smack dab in the centre of the new Soho district, which turned out to be an excellent location for getting around. The “Barrio de las Artes”, once a dodgy area of town, has been transformed into a bohemian rhapsody of street art with international artists being invited to add their creations to the walls of the neighbourhood buildings. Somehow I missed getting a photo of the two biggies – massive murals just behind the Contemporary Arts Museum put up by D´Face and Obey – but you can see them here at East of Málaga.

My favourite is the chameleon by ROA, and below you can see some others that I liked. Click on any image to enlarge and begin slideshow…

As much as I like the new Soho, it feels a bit like doing things backwards. “Traditionally” in most urban areas you’d get artists taking over low rent places filled with the usual array of drug addicts, prostitutes and other ne’er do wells, and as they upped the “trendy” the middle class would start moving in and jacking up property prices, eventually pushing the artists out to start the cycle over again elsewhere. But this Soho is a government promoted project, with “street art” being commissioned by city hall, creating an artificial boho feel to the area, which is pleasant to look at but yet feels somewhat contrived. It’ll be interesting to see how it develops.

Málaga | Laboratoria de Sabores

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laboratorio de sabores
While I was out on a Soho Graffiti Tour with my friend Victor @welovemalaga during my recent Málaga Getaway, we turned a corner and Victor suddenly said, “you have to come and meet these people!”. Clearly we had stumbled upon a cooking class in session but co-owners Luís and Amparo were happy to take turns showing me around and telling me all about the Laboratoria de Sabores (the Flavour Lab). It is primarily a space where students learn the art of Mediterranean cooking in a relaxed and very “hands on” environment. Amparo is clearly passionate about keeping the old-style cooking alive and showed me several examples of not only dishes “on the verge of culinary extinction” but also of once-popular food items that are seldom used these days. Her mission is to keep these traditional recipes alive, and from what we saw being prepared by the students that morning, it is indeed a worthy mission.

Aside from offering a variety of cooking classes (beginners, fusion, vegetarian, cooking for singles, cooking for couples, kids classes…), the Lab can also be booked by others to use for their own classes, wine tastings, or private dinners. It’s a lovely and bright space, and Luís and Amparo are clearly in love with what they are doing. Do check them out if you’re spending some time in Málaga and would like to learn more about Mediterranean cooking. Week-long gastronomic holidays can also be arranged, including accommodation.

Laboratoria de Sabores
Duquesa de Parcent 6
Málaga
tel 951 391 487 / 634 552 625
Laboratoria de Sabores Website

Málaga | Hotel del Pintor

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hotel del pintor room
After three fabulous nights in Málaga mid-December I realised I needed/wanted to extend my visit by one more night. Unfortunately the lovely hotel I’d been staying at had no availability and they asked me if I would like them to call somewhere for me. Well, back in July while I was on summer holiday in Málaga a friend of mine came to visit and spent the night at Hotel del Pintor. I’d seen her room and, while not as nice as where I’d been staying, I thought it would be fine for one night. But imagine my surprise when I showed up at the hotel and saw that my room was nothing like the one I’d seen before. In fact, it was barely a room at all. There was one single bed in a room just slightly larger than the bed itself, with two small windows looking into two other small windows across the patio. Small, dark and uncomfortable. There wasn’t even a place for me to put my carry-on suitcase and I ended up leaning it against the door. The (surprise!) very small bathroom was clean enough, though the toilet seat was soaking wet when I arrived, and the toilet made odd gurgling sounds throughout my stay.hotel del pintor

I spoke to the receptionist who told me she couldn’t change rooms because they were fully booked and when I asked to speak to the manager I was told he was away in Sevilla for a meeting and couldn’t be reached. What? This was at midday on a Friday. I was pretty much resigned to spend my final night in Málaga in that dreadful room but certainly didn’t want to spend 54€ (the same price my previous – and much superior – hotel had charged per night) and so asked for something to be done. When I returned to the hotel in the evening to change for dinner (I’d stayed out as long as possible so I wouldn’t have to spend time there) I was told that the manager was still unavailable. I told the receptionist – a different one this time – that it was scandalous to charge so much for what was little more than a walk-in closet and was told that this was because of the hotel’s “excellent location”. Yes, on grimy calle Álamos, with no parking, no restaurant… all of which was available at my previous hotel (which is actually in an excellent location). Whatever. I left to meet my friends feeling very upset.

That night I had a terrible sleep on the small bed that creaked whenever I turned over (receptionist: “oh, that must be because the bed is new!”) on a too-soft pillow that was full of lumps. The next morning I got dressed and got out of there as soon as possible, and while checking out yet another receptionist told me that the manager – who was now unavailable because he was off for two days – had instructed her to tell me that they would not adjust the price for me. Unbelievable. What kind of hotel has no manager available from mid-day Friday until Monday morning?? Totally unprofessional. When my friend stayed there during peak season in July she paid 48€ for a room that was easily twice as big, yet management maintained they could do nothing for me. Trust me, there are plenty of other places to stay in Málaga where you will be treated much better than here.

Hotel del Pintor
Álamos 27
Málaga
tel 952 06 09 80

Málaga | Hotel Room Mate Lola

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lola
Those of you who know me know that I usually opt for holiday apartments if I’m staying somewhere more than a night or two. I just like the extra space and having a small kitchen for making coffee and snacks. But on this recent trip to Málaga I came across a nice 3-night online offer at Room Mate Lola, where my friend Annie Bennett had stayed not long ago and, based on her positive experiences there, I thought I’d give it a try. I was also interested to stay in the new hip Soho barrio, so it suited me quite well. I liked that I could walk to the hotel from the train station in less than 15 minutes (no problem with small carry-on bag with wheels and laptop). I wondered if the “standard” room might feel a bit cramped, but although it wasn’t overly spacious and only had one window looking over a side street, it actually felt quite cosy and pleasant. Nice use of mirrors helped make the room feel larger and added more light. There was also lots of closet space (with a mini bar and safe inside), a good-sized desk and comfy armchair in the corner.

lola collage

[click on image to enlarge]

Lola’s retro-chic style totally fits in with its location in the newly designated “Soho” neighbourhood of Málaga. What used to be a rather dodgy area of town is being transformed into a trendy barrio filled with galleries and boutiques, and almost daily more and more buildings are being covered in street art and graffiti, some by quite famous artists. And the Contemporary Arts Museum is just a short walk away. In fact, I found it a comfortable walking distance to pretty much everywhere I wanted to go: the Atarazanas market, the recently refurbished port Muelle Uno, Larios street and the surrounding shopping areas, and even Plaza Merced.

I opted out of the breakfast (an attractive buffet served until noon) but was still able to enjoy a cup of coffee in the bright dining area on the main floor. There was excellent free WiFi throughout the hotel and the staff were very friendly, professional and helpful. The only “negative” I can think of is that the lighting in the bathroom was a bit too dim for doing hair and make-up, but it was nice having both a bathtub and shower. I honestly felt completely at home and comfortable at Lola and look forward to future stays there, and to trying out some of their other hotels in Spain.

Hotel Room Mate Lola
Calle Casas de Campos 17
Málaga
Tel 952 579 300

Mijas Mini Day Trip

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mijas

[click on images to enlarge]

It’s hard to believe that a week ago today I was sitting in the pretty white coastal village of Mijas enjoying an impromptu tapas tour led by my friend and culinary hero Janet Mendel. This is a story that actually began about twenty years ago, shortly after arriving in Sevilla, when I was given Janet’s Cooking In Spain as a birthday present (you should see the state of it now). Many years later I connected with Janet on Facebook after I was given a copy of her Tapas: a Bite of Spain and since then we’ve been trying to meet up during my trips to Málaga. The “catch” was always that I would somehow have to find time to get out to Mijas, where Janet has lived for over 40 years now… somehow it just never happened.

janet mendelWe did finally meet in person when Janet came to Sevilla this past September to attend the Andalucía Sabor International Fine Food Exhibition and we spent a very enjoyable couple of days at the conference and also doing as many tapeos as we could possibly fit in. Which were many.

And which also led to me taking this photo on the right. I never would have thought twenty years ago that twenty years later Janet Mendel would be sitting in my living room signing my battered and well used copy of her wonderful cookbook. Isn’t that fabulous?

Getting back to last Saturday… I suddenly found myself staying a day longer in Málaga than I’d originally planned and, because my friend and Málaga expert Victor (upon hearing of my change in plans), suddenly said to me “hey, let’s go to Mijas!”… well, we went to Mijas!

Happily Janet was happy to drop everything and meet us at her favourite local “breakfast bar” Café Bar Porra, where we immediately tucked into a lovely plate of jamón Ibérico accompanied by some nicely chilled manzanilla. A perfect start to any tapeo. Both Victor and I enjoyed having someone else be the “guide” for a change – and what a guide! Next Janet took us to the beautiful Museo del Vinos where I was thrilled to find my favourite white wine Botani (local dry moscatel). We were brought some fabulous “spicy” olive oil with bread for dipping, and a bit of cheese, and then we ordered some lightly grilled scallops. Heaven.

mijas burro

Our last stop was a more modern style “gastrobar” called Bodega El Placer. Here the tapas were a bit hit and miss. Some just had too much going on, like they didn’t know when to stop with the sauces and other squirty stuff all over the plates. My favourite tapas were the more simple ones: the squid ink croquetas and the most perfectly fried egg I’d seen in quite awhile, served with hot crispy potato straws and bits of jamón.

Far too soon it was time for us to get back to Málaga so I could get back to Sevilla in time for a previously booked Sevilla Tapas Tour at 8 pm. In the end Victor did get me to the station in time to change my clothes and freshen up a bit before getting on the train. Upon arriving in Sevilla I pretty much hit the ground running with just half an hour to get to my tapas tour meeting point. Was that all just a week ago? It feels like just yesterday and also like an eternity ago all at once. How does that work?

Thanks so much for a lovely day in Mijas, Janet. And thanks for making it happen, Victor. Hope to see you both again very very soon.

You can read Janet’s blog post about our tapeo here: Time out for Tapas