My first impression of Malaga is that it is quite a charming place. It is not really big city, but not really small town. Situated beside the Alboran Sea, on the southern coast of Spain, it is a great destination for northern European tourists to (sorta) escape the cold.

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So, I’ve seen a lot of families here, beginning their Christmas vacation. (The city is decorated with a lot of lights and giant Christmas trees everywhere.) This makes the streets pretty crowded most of the time (particularly in the heavy shopping areas).

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But, I have had fun walking around the historic center for a little while (checking out the architecture, scoping out restaurants, getting the lay of the land).

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I’m also observing something interesting. I was never tired in France. I would fall asleep just fine when I went to bed, but I never actually felt sleepy at any other point throughout the day. But, now that I’m in Spain — every single day — I get sleepy around the same time and seriously just want to lie down. What’s that about? Does my body know that these Spanish people take siesta seriously? 

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And that, they do – take siesta seriously. Everything closes by 1:00 p.m. and doesn’t reopen until around 5:00 p.m. (Some restaurants don’t even open for dinner until after 8:00 p.m.) I love this when the crowds are smaller and I can get my daily explorations with a little less shoving (and less smoke). But, I’m annoyed by it when I need something to eat or to get some groceries, and I wasn’t smart enough to get up and out early. (I’m going to have to change that.)

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I can tell that there are plenty of beautiful and interesting things here, and look forward to exploring more.

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