Malaga: Tapas and Interior of Malaga Cathedral

Tuesday we went ti Malaga City because the weather forecast for the rest of the week indicated sunbathing at the hotel and no more.
When visiting Malaga City the only food we eat is Tapas. Yesterday was no exception. For lunch we went to Lo Gueno ( a tourist trap with ok food) but on the way back to the train we once more visited the very special (almost no tourists) tapas bar Meson Iberico. Try it, but dont tell everybody.

We have been in Malaga many many times, but never before visited the Cathedral and experienced the interior. Yesterday the rain came in portions, so to avoid some of the showers, we spent 10 Euros to see what was behind the great exterior.

The leading architect of the works at the Cathedral was Martin de Aldehuela also known for the construction of the Main Bridge at Ronda.

There are many paintings (including glass paintings) around the walls in the Cathedral, but two main works are important to comment:

When Jesus Christ was on earth could a hosting offer his guest water to wash the feet in, give him a kiss and rub his head with oil. The Pharisee Simon neglected to show hospitality at these three ways when Jesus was a guest in his house. When a weeping, sinful woman washed Jesus' feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, kissed his feet and then rubbed them with perfumed oil,  Jesus pointed out how negligent Simon had been, and then said to the woman: "Your sins are forgiven . "- Lu 7: 36⁠-50.

According to writings in the New Testament St. Paul, who was originally called Saul, was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. Christian tradition holds that St. Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Nero around the mid-60s at Three Fountains Abbey. The painter is Enrique Simonet

Food at restaurants

Eating during our long stay here at Costa del Sol can be home, at the restaurant in the hotel or as we prefer, at our favourite places in the city. Tapas are important and in addition to the small snacks together with "un Blanco o Tinto" we have our special "Taperia" La Cepa:

The first dish is "Camembert Frio" which can be taken as a starter of as an afters.
My wife´s favourite.

The next one is "Salmon con salsa de najanja". A homemade extremely nice way to present a salmon filet and should be tried if you visit the "hole in the wall" restaurant.

Afters or desert is probably not a tapa if you are correct down here, but a small caramel pudding with cream is presented as Michelin three star and tastes great.

There are of course many other tapas at La Cepa or other places, but the challenge is to remember to take a photo before you start digging in.
I therefor turn to some dinner (or lunch if that is preferred) dishes that we absolutely can recommend.

The Entrecote with pepper sauce at the Italian restaurant La Pergola is large, tender and delicious. You do not need to have pasta or pizza at Italian restaurants, and this steak is a very good alternative.

 The sirloin at La Farola is also a must during our stay if you want a break from their speciality; the Leg of Lamb

Another recommended main dish is the Salmon with Hollandaise sauce. Some places we feel that the salmon filet can be a little dry down here, but at La Farola you are always guaranteed a fish that slices up perfect when eating it.
An other favourite restaurant here in Fuengirola is Bodega Charolais. Yesterday we tried their Cod with red pepper fruit and small potatoes, and will absolutely return for another before we end this long stay in 4 weeks.

This photo is of a full portion dish, but can also be served as a media portion if you think it looks too large.
Enjoy your meal and Buen provecho

With memories of Arne Johan

This Friday we had a short break in our long stay here in Spain for flying to Ålesund Norway and taking part in the memorial ceremonial for our brother-in-law Arne Johan Leira who passed away on our first night here in Fuengirola this autumn.
The ceremony and the following gathering was a nice event.

In memories of Arne Johan I have collected some of my photos where he (and we) have experienced nice moments here at Costa del Sol. However, first a photo from December 1969 where he entered our family by marring my sister.

 Our common stays at Costa del Sol started a few years after they bought an apartment at Calahonda close to the more famous Marbella.

This is from puerto Cabo Pino September 2004

In 2005 Gerd and Arne celebrated their 50th and 55th birthday in Oslo and the day before we had dinner at Statholdergaarden, Arne and his younger brother Tor met at our apartment for a drink and "bløtkake".

In 2007 we had a tour to Alhambra in Granada,

 and later same year it was my time to celebrate my 60th birthday at Cafe Christiania, Oslo

The next image  from April 2008 is a beautiful photo of Arne Johan in his apartment here in Spain. His smile document the joy he had by spending almost 180 days here in the warmth and lovely country.

In 2010 we had at least 3 common happy times together.
In Malaga City in January, In Puerto Banus in February and at their cottage at the Norwegian mountains in August

I have chosen two photos from 2011. The celebration of their common birthday celebration at Puerto Fuengirola  in February and one from a visit to Crispy Cod where they had a great Fish and Chips dinner.

The two photos from 2012 covers a lunch at the Asian food restaurant Mr Wok in March, and our trip to Ronda in October.

In the spring 2013 we once again visited Puerto Banus (an establish tradition if the weather was "no sunbathing" and Sunday)

and later during the same long stay we went on a trip to Benalmadena and the interesting arabic puerto

The photos from 2014 is limited but this photo at the Fuengirola Beach after a lunch somewhere, show how we all are happy

Tullen´s birthday party at Restaurant Charolais and our lovely Sunday lunch at La Cala de Mijas makes the end of this photo collage showing how we remember Arne Johan from our common activities at Costa del Sol.

Arne Johan always saw himself as a sailor after he went to sea only seventeen years old and sailed to Americas, Asia and between European harbours. Now he is sailing the thousand seas and we will remember him the way he was. RIP Arne and thanks for the memories.

Sunday activity

Yesterday the weather here in Fuengirola was really challenging if we were here for sunbathing only. However, the long stay periode goes over several weeks so the reason for being here is more to escape from the normal weather up north. Therefor we try to live as usual except more often having lunch or dinner at restaurants instead of home. Yesterday was no exception. Between reading, and playing with digital games my passion for making images out of colours took almost all the day as seen above.

The results can be seen on the image covering 9 sketches almost ready to be transferred to canvas later at home in Norway.

By the way: this is my blogpost number 2001. And more will com so stay tuned in.

Visiting Toledo and Madrid

For 11 years ago (in March 2004) we visited Madrid for the first time. It was a town that we always have wanted to return to, and this week it became a reality. However, the reason was that Toledo was on the top visiting places this autumn and the speed train (up to 300 km/h) from Malaga goes to Madrid. This blog will therefor include some images from Madrid, but mainly from the amazing Cathedral of Saint Mary in Toledo.

First some photos from the city including the documentation of our short stay in this city in Castile-La Mancha.

The statue of Cervantes under the Arch of Blood starts our outdoor presentation. The narrow (and very steep) streets give an understanding of the old city.

 The sunset from the bar at the top of our hotel (Carlos V) was beautiful

and turning around we also almost could touch the walls of Alcazar (a stone fortification located in the highest part of the city)

A photo of my wife on our 38th marriage day at the same place in daylight, are included.

El Greco (Spanish painter born in Crete) moved to Toledo in his 36th year and a visit to his house and museum was on the agenda.

Some of his paintings will be covered in the tour at the Cathedral, but here i include "the tears of Pieter" A masterpiece which are (in original) in the Cathedral and in the Museum of El Greco

Outside the museum the view down to the river makes a good description of the hight difference in the city. The museum is much lower than the Alcazar fortress, and the railway station is on the river level.
Here is an image from Wikipedia

Describing all the images in the following sequence is not possible unless I have the audio presentation available, but I hope these images will give you a brief understanding of the amazing Cathedral:

The Gothic columns with the Rose window.

The High Altar

Virgin Mary and her son

The sealing in the Sacristy

The Golden Paso (Throne) which is carried in the Easter procession 

The smiling mother and her child in the Choir area.

I continue with the painting of ST Peter hanging on the inverted cross at the entrance to the Sacristy

and follow up with the paintings of El Greco and Goya. Just use some seconds to feel the development in art from late 1500 to late 1700.

In the Choir this piece from the conquest of Marbella (one of many others) gives a good presentation of the connection between the church and the military forces / the ruling king

I end up with an external photo of one of the three main doors to the Cathedral. This is the one in the middle and called the door of forgiveness.

Maybe that could also be a symbol to forgive our intake of the huge dinner we had in Toledo on a small restaurant called Sancho y Panza at Plaza de Magdalena. Chicken, pork, lamb, beef and green pimientos on a bed of potatoes. Fantastic.

It has been a long blogpost if you have read everything, but I promised some images from Madrid too, so here we go:

The huge buildings along Gran Via including shops for everybody

A selfie at Puerta del Sol 

Another image from the summit bar at hotel Santa Domingo and below the beautiful garden in the shaft to the ground flor.