June 16- July 1, 2018

The time has come! Finally I get to spend time with my new husband! As many of you may, or may not know, Caoliang had to leave back to work a couple days after we got married. It was tough to say good-bye, again, but with this situation happening so many times now, I kind of got used to it. It also helped that I was going to see him a short two weeks after though.

I’ve been asked before if I was excited to go to Spain to see him. The answer is a mixture of yes and no. Yes of course it was nice to go see my husband but a little bit of no because I feel like this chase across oceans have just become part of our normal life as a long distance couple.

Anyways, mixed feelings aside, I would be able to spend a good chunk of the summer with my husband and that would be great! The first leg of the summer would be spent in Malaga, Spain. Malaga is a coastal city on the southern coast of Spain. I was excited it would be a beach city because we all know how much I love the beach! We would spend two weeks there before have a two week break and then move to another city.

Don’t worry, I don’t plan to write a day-by-day post about each day in Malaga! Instead, in this post I will tell you about some of the things I’ve been able to enjoy while in the first city of Malaga.

CASTILLO GIBRALFARO

According to Google, Castillo Gibralfaro contains ruins of a Moorish castle fortress high atop Mount Gibralfaro which offers walkable walls and views of the city. Well said Google! This was exactly what it was. Caoliang had gone here before me so I figured I’d go check it out while he had left for work. From our apartment, I took a ten minute bus ride headed near the castle. Once at the base, it took me about a twenty minute uphill walk to get to the castle. Luckily I had read reviews about the walk and wore comfortable shoes! The views along the way were rather beautiful though. From midway, you could already see the harbor, park below, and even a bullfighting ring. Once to the top, it costed 3.5 euros to enter the castle grounds. I made it all that way so I figured I had to go inside then! Other than the castle walls, there was a small bar, bathroom, and small room that had artifacts, historical clothing, and a paper model of the castle and surrounding lands. I probably spent around 30 minutes to an hour here. Really it was just stone walls and views, little vegetation or anything beautiful inside. The views of the city were pretty cool though. The only thing I wish I brought was a hat! The sun was so strong on my forehead!! It was really that, that made my trip there a bit exhausting. The thought of having a too tanned forehead made me not stay at the castle’s edge very long. After a quick restroom break (which was pretty clean) I headed back down to ground level. Would I recommend this castle to other travelers? Hm for 3.5 euros why not. But, if you only wanted to see the view, I think that midpoint view was pretty good already. Also something I really enjoyed was walking through Jardines de Pedro Luis Alonso on the way down. The flowers and greenery were really beautiful this time of year.

PLAYA LA MALAGUETA
Malaga beach was the first beach I got the pleasure of visiting. It seemed like the most popular beach because it was the closest to the city. It was very crowded with sunbathers. The odd thing I noticed was that not many people actually got into the ocean! You would think with so much sun you would need to cool off in the water but nope! I did hear the water was very cold but it was still so unusual for me to see the ocean so empty. I suppose the Spanish only like to soak up the sun. Another new thing to me that I noticed was the freedom to be topless. I had never been on a beach where people were so free! Aside from the crowd, I did like it how Malaga Beach was pretty clean and also had shower facilities for beach goers.

CAC MALAGA, MALAGA’S CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM
It is very typical of me to visit museums when going to a new city. One, they are a good way to spend the day indoors, and two, it makes you see the new city/culture from a different, artistic perspective. Luckily for me, the CAC was free! So after a short bus ride, I found myself in a large, white building with rooms divided by free standing walls. Contemporary art is one of my favorite types of art to enjoy. I feel it is more relatable than traditional art and the chances of seeing something completely new are pretty high. A couple pieces I enjoyed at this museum were a hanging structure of deflated, silver balloons, a neon sign that said “Naughty but Nice” and a sparkly, 3-D ball that hung from the ceiling. All of these pieces were very modern and were something I could imagine in a high class hotel or something. The museum wasn’t too big. I only spent about thirty minutes here before heading out. Biggest perk of this place, FREE ART!

MALAGA POLE & AERIAL STUDIO
So everyone knows doing aerial fabric has become part of my everyday life. One of the things about leaving Houston that is a bit sad is that I wouldn’t be near my aerial studio! But before leaving, Caoliang had found an aerial studio that wasn’t too far from his apartment. I quickly sent them a message to see if it would be possible to train there. To my surprise, one of the instructors, Lai messaged me straight back, despite it being 4am Malaga time!! Awesome!! I was so excited to have the A-ok to train here for a small fee. This really put my mind at ease for the time I would be away from my Houston studio. Trust me, when you train each week and then out of it for more than a month, your body truly feels the weight! At least this way, I would have a place to remind my muscles what it felt like to be on fabric. Since my time in Malaga, I have been able to come here a few times to train. The ceiling is much lower than what I am used to at Hunter Dance Center so it has been a lot of adjusting my usual practice. Lai, though, has been super sweet and a nice friend to have in a new city. She is Filipino and had moved to Malaga six years ago. She is the pole instructor here and even let me join in on one of her beginner classes. It was so difficult but also really fun! I could see how one could get addicted to pole. After getting used to the bruising first though! I was really happy to find this studio and have them be so kind to share their space with me during my time in Malaga.

With my two weeks spent in Malaga, the people from this studio really made this city special for me. Not only did they want to train with me, they also let me join their circle of friends in going to the beach, having meals, and celebrating local celebrations. Special thanks to Lai, Dora, Javi and Ursula (and all their friends) for being so welcoming!!

NOCHE DE SAN JUAN (June 23)
This night is the even of the birth of St. John the Baptist. It is a big celebration here in Malaga and I was lucky enough to be invited by Lai to join her and her friends for a night on the beach. When reading about it online, I saw that traditionally on this night, people celebrate with BBQs and bonfires. They also step over the embers or burn paper to symbolize “out with the old” and to have a new fresh start to a new season. We arrived at the beach about 9pm and left about 1 am. During this time, we watched the sun disappear and the moon come to life, bonfires and fireworks light up the night sky, tons of snacks and food to share, and light hearted conversations to bring in this local celebration.

So my time here in Malaga is coming to an end. Today is Sunday the first of July and tomorrow we are leaving for our Italian honeymoon! I’ve really enjoyed being close to a beach and having such sunny weather everyday. Also it has been amazing to be able to wake up with Caoliang and go to bed with him every night the past two weeks. The apartment we are staying in is so spacious and has everything we need. It really makes me see how life could be for us some day when we have our own place to call home and not have to leave it every few weeks! Like I mentioned before, my new friends I met through the aerial studio have really made this city for me. As a new person to the city, and only staying in the city for a few weeks, it is hard to make a routine – usual hang out, familiar faces, things to do each day – things many may not even think about, but when you switch around to new “homes” every few months, it is one of the challenges. With Lai and her group of friends, they have really made this city special for me. So I want to end my Malaga post with a massive thank you to them. Thank you so much for welcoming me with open arms and spending time with me as if you guys have known me much longer than just two weeks!!

Well Malaga it’s been fun but it’s time for us to leave soon. Thank you for keeping us safe, happy, fed, and surrounded by sun and love.

xx
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