Category Archives: Axarquía

One trip EVERY month: Glass and Crystal Museum, Málaga

Posted on by under Axarquía, Photo challenges, Places

You might have noticed I’ve not been around much for the past couple of weeks.  That’s because I’ve been back in the UK visiting family and friends, as well as a six-day trip to Iceland to cross off a “Bucket List” item ….. to see the Northern Lights.  

I’m back home in Spain now and I’ll get to see your new blog entries and respond to your kind comments over the next few days.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, and to satisfy my One Trip EVERY Month Challenge, I want to tell you about my recent visit to the Museum of Glass and Crystal in Málaga.  I’ve noticed for some time on Trip Advisor that this is Number One rated attraction in the city, so it was time to pay a visit.

Tapas of tuna and prawns in Malaga

We had spent the earlier part of the day at the wonderful Atarazanas food market, enjoying delicious tapas of fresh tuna and prawns at Marisqueria El Yerno, so it was a relatively short stroll towards Plazuela Santisimo Cristo de la Sangre to find the Glass and Crystal museum.

I have to admit that it could have been a bit easier to find, but eventually we arrived after a couple of wrong turns.

Glass and Crystal museum, Malaga

The Museum of Glass and Crystal is privately owned and housed in a beautifully restored 18th century building complete with inner courtyards, and displays a collection of more than 3,000 pieces of mostly European crystal and glass, as well as antique furniture and works of art.

There are a number of stained glass windows from British churches, including a particularly magnificent one by William Morris.

William Morris stained glass window

What was particularly enchanting about our visit to this museum was the fact that it is housed within a family home, and we were fortunate to be given a private guided tour by one of the owners, Professor Ian Phillips, whose knowledge and enthusiasm of this unique collection shone through.

My only regret was that we had limited time available for our tour as we had to get back to our parked car, some distance away, before the meter ran out.  I look forward to returning to enjoy a more leisurely tour – perhaps when our next visitors are here in the summer.

 

Collección del Vidrio y Cristal de Málaga
Address: Plazuela Santísimo Cristo de la Sangre 2, Málaga  (in front of the main door of the Church of San Felipe Neri)
Telephone: (+34) 95 222 02 71
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday  11am – 7pm.  Closed on Mondays, Christmas and New Year’s Days and for the whole of the month of August.
General admission: 5 euros (reduced for certain groups)

One Trip EVERY Month Logo

This post is my contribution to the One Trip EVERY Month Challenge.

If you’d like to join me, here’s how:

  • Each month, visit somewhere and then write about your trip or describe it using photographs – whichever suits you best.
  • Don´t forget to title and tag your entry ’One Trip EVERY Month Challenge’, and link back to this page.
  • Display the Challenge logo on your post or in your sidebar.
  • HAVE FUN!

Are you ready to join me by taking ONE TRIP EVERY MONTH? What are you waiting for?

GO!

 

Lighthouse at Torrox Costa

Posted on by under Axarquía, Places

Lighthouse at Torrox Costa, Spain

The lighthouse at Torrox Costa is approximately 50 kms to the east of the city of Málaga.

This stretch of coastline has bamboo fringed beaches and is immediately east of the “Balcon de Torrox“, constructed as a lookout to the sea and headlands, with transparent flooring looking down on the Roman necropolis unearthed beneath.

I particularly like the contrast of the white-painted lighthouse against the clear, blue, Andalucián summer sky, fringed with the wild bamboo fronds.

The perspective of the height of the structure is completely lost in the vegetation.

 

One Trip EVERY Month Challenge: February

Posted on by under Axarquía, Challenges, Further Afield, Places


Vejer de la Frontera, Spain

I’ve a couple of trips to tell you about this month.   My February began in the delightful Andalucían town of Vejer de la Frontera, on the Costa de la Luz, where I was a guest at Annie B’s Spanish Kitchen.  Annie not only showed me around her home-town, where we feasted on delicious tapas, but she also took me to the fish market at the nearby town of Barbate, where we bought the delicious fresh ingredients we would use for our cooking weekend.

 I’ll be telling you all about Annie B’s fabulous Spanish kitchen in a separate post, later.

Border crossing from Spain to Gibraltar

My second trip was somewhere that many British expats take regular visits to.

Gibraltar.

Just three hours along the coast, it’s a popular outing to stock up on British goods and groceries we can’t always get hold of in Spain.  You know how we English love our cups of tea, so a trip to British supermarket, Morrison’s, can be a bit of a treat.

I’ve been to Gibraltar many times before, but I’ve always driven through the border on previous occasions.  This time, I was on a coach rather than in a private car, and as there was a bit of a queue of vehicles, some of us decided to hop-off the coach and walk across into Gibraltar.

No sooner have you crossed into the British Overseas Territory, you are faced with the following sign:

Airfield crossing sign, Gibraltar

Because  Gibraltar is so small (just over 6.5 square kilometres), and within that area is the famous 426m high Rock, space is at a premium.  This means that the peninsula’s runway is bisected by its busiest road, Winston Churchill Avenue.  Each time an aircraft wants to land or depart, barriers come down to prevent motor vehicles from crossing the airfield.  

As you can imagine,  it causes quite a spectacle …. and a queue!

Walking across the runway in Gibraltar

So there you have it – my contribution to the One Trip EVERY Month Challenge this month is two for the price of one!

One Trip EVERY Month Logo

If you’d like to join me, here’s how:

  • Each month, visit somewhere and then write about your trip or describe it using photographs – whichever suits you best.
  • Don´t forget to title and tag your entry ’One Trip EVERY Month Challenge’, and link back to this page.
  • Display the Challenge logo on your post or in your sidebar.
  • HAVE FUN!

Are you ready to join me by taking ONE TRIP EVERY MONTH?  What are you waiting for?  

GO!