Streets, alleys, parks and squares  (or plazas as they call them here) throughout the city do not have a spec of litter on them – as a visitor I am so amazed  by this and it tremendously impacts my impression of the city.

Here everyone seems to smoke but you never see a cigarette butt anywhere – I’m not kidding. Boy, Vancouver could learn something from Malaga and since most of life here is enjoyed in the street, the smoke doesn’t bother me which is a definite bonus.

Women and men wear perfume or cologne and the scent lingers in the air after they breeze by – I know in Vancouver we are more sensitive to allergy issues but it’s nice to remember how enticing scents can be. I have had to curb myself from stalking people just to enjoy their perfume a little longer!

No one ever seems in a hurry – people actually saunter.  It’s a city that suits sauntering:)  People walk arm in arm and enjoy human contact as opposed to avoiding it – if you do see someone hoofing it across the square you can bet it’s a kid or a tourist.

Wine is often cheaper than coffee or soda pop so it follows suit  that I am becoming a lush – my friend Jim left this week so I shall miss popping into a little tapas bar for a drink after dinner – doesn’t stop me from popping a cork at home though, especially since I can purchase a great bottle of wine for $3 at the little store a few blocks away – dangerous actually! Here are a few labels to look for at home. Los Molinos is my favourite.

Sporadic, free concerts in the square below provide delightful entertainment – all I have to do is open the French doors that grace my place and let the music waft through the apartment – an unexpected bonus of renting in this location!

The cathedral bells announce a new day each morning and mark the end of the day each evening  – there is something charming and other worldly about this – a sense of being transported back in time. The bells occasionally ring at other times throughout the day but it’s difficult to determine the significance. The whole “Centro Historico” is totally pedestrian which makes sauntering and shopping so civilized and enjoyable.  Gathering places are important here so you find little squares/plazas all over the city where people sit and chat or have a cafe largo and some churros at a street cafe while watching the world go by – maybe even two plates of churros:) And if you forget how to properly order a coffee here, no worries, there is a tile on the wall outside the cafe with the guidelines. There is a real sense of community reflected in these gathering places.

The city feels very safe, even late at night and crime isn’t rampant.  As a single woman this is something I appreciate and it enhances the quality of my time spent here. Tapas bars are open until the wee hours of the morning and on the weekends the streets are full of people traipsing home at 2:30am perhaps wandering home from watching a flamenco show like the one I saw below.

With two weeks ahead of me I wonder what other discoveries will endear me to this place called Malaga – this place that is already beginning to feel like home.