Random photos and thoughts.

A sculpture in the pedestrian area of Malaga. More than one face. 

A bench with a sense of humour. 

With close up. 

The menu of the local café-bar on our street. This is a Sunday menu because at the bottom it says "Chocolate and churros all afternoon". On weekdays they are only available until lunch time. And the note that says "Rabo Toro, supplement, 2€"? That's bull tail. 

One of the desserts (postre) available as part of the menu del dia. An ice cream cone (Drumstick to me) on a plate, with a napkin.

On the way to Fuengirola this Bull looms over a hillside. They once advertised Osborne brandy. When the Spanish outlawed outdoor ads like this, the howl of protest for the loss of the iconic bull meant that the signs were allowed to stay, minus the text.

A patio of a Mozarabic palace in Fuengirola. A combination of Moorish and Spanish architecture. 

Some of the gorgeous stucco work. 

And one of the windows on an exterior wall.

One of the menu del dia offerings - scrambled eggs with mushrooms and asparagus. It's a starter, not the main course. 

Here's a main course - Bacalao a la riojana, salt cod with a tomato sauce. And the ubiquitous patatas fritas. 

We are on our way to the campo here to visit friends at their finca. The two trains you see are part of the high speed rail line - they travel up to 300 km an hour. Not our train for this journey. 

Here's the interior of our train. Clean, well maintained, not graffitied and not covered with advertising. 

Here's the countryside from the train. We are heading to Cártama where Bertrand will pick us up for the drive to his finca (basically a large acreage in the countryside (campo),

A lemon tree on the property.

And a view from the main house. 

With gorgeous flowers in bloom. 

This is the guest cottage on the finca. An intense blue. 

Bertrand with Alek, me with Oscar.

A contemplative spot.

Bertrand and Alek. 

Alek cozied up. She is quite old and glad to rest. 

The buildings below are also on the property. They include another guest house, an African yoga tent and several small guest cottages. 

A man and his dog. 

And an al fresco meal. 

Now on to Benalmadena, which is a 20 minute walk from our apartment along the paseo. 

This is a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive oil from the Malaga area. We stopped in at a trade show with over 50 producers of the oil in Benalmadena. This one comes boxed with a poetry book. And a jar of olive oil caviar - bubbles of olive oil that pop on your tongue. 

Two of the producers displays. 

And no doubt this man is sharing the secrets of olive oil here. 

Another producer. 

The displays offered tastings - a small dish of oil, and pieces of bread for dipping. 

Some of the many products available - samples of most of the producers at the information counter. 

Mmmm, lunch at a beach Chiringuito. Sardines grilled over an open fire. Deliciosa!

And a little philosophy with your morning coffee. 

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than to be totally boring". Marilyn Monroe. 

And... "Books cure the most dangerous of maladies - ignorance". Radko Tichavsky.