By the time we are done with the museum, we’re ready to eat. There are a few restaurants outside the museum, one of which is really busy and another is Mexican.  Uh, no.  we are in Spain.  It’s Spanish food or nothing!  Since it is so close, the central part of Malaga is very walkable, we go back to the Plaza de la Merced, to the first restaurant we wanted to try when they were only serving breakfast.  Café Calle de Bruselas sits on the corner of the plaza, and appears to be mostly locals. We are definitely the only people here speaking English!

The menu is one laminated sheet (they do have an English sheet, just in case) and there are a ton of interesting items, most that you can order as tapa or an entrée. We go for the Raviolis de calabacin (zucchini), Pinchos de Secreto Iberico (secret meat!!  How fun!) and of course Pulpo.  Oh my gosh – always go with the cute divey little places!  The food was the best.  The ravioli was stuffed with a pulled beef mixture that was some of the best barbeque we’ve ever had, and it was topped with this incredible mustard crème sauce.  I could have had another plate of those, for sure.  The secret meat turned out to be chicken skewers in a very good sauce, along with roasted potatoes, and the octopus was huge and perfectly done on top of a heap of mashed potatoes infused with so much cheese they were almost solid, but in a really yummy delicious way.  That and 2 glasses of wine and beer, and we were very happy campers, sitting in the waning sun on the square. 

After lunch, we backtrack along the pedestrian walkway to find the entrance to the Alcazaba, which the guidebook says is beyond the ruins of the Roman Theater we have seen.  Google maps shows it elsewhere, and well, we know how much to trust Google maps on these things now, so we head to the theater and fortunately find the entrance right there. 

This turns out to be the highlight of the day.  The Alcazaba is a fortress begun in the 8^th Century and Malaga was under Moorish rule.  Most of the structure is from the 11^th Century, and Ferdinand and Isabella lived here while conquering Malaga in the 1400s.

It is an amazing structure, and much more interesting than the Castilo.  Walking up the outside walls leads you to an interior courtyard with orange trees and fountains and greenery that is set off by the amazing Moorish architecture. 

Arched entryways, carved columns and stone stairs are offset by incredibly stunning views of the city and the port. 

In addition there is a small museum that still has frescoes and incredible tile work on the ceilings, along with displays of ancient pottery and artifacts found in the fortress. So glad we bought the combo ticket for this, and we actually found it!  Excellent place to tour.

Once done, we head back down the street to catch the bus and continue on our circuit of Malaga and back to the ship.  On the circuit we pass the river (dry river) and some of the murals we remember from our bike tour here (in the hurricane!) years ago. It is still windy and chilly, and we are watching the front of the bus to see if we can move up under the protected awning of the front seats.  As it turns out, a couple up there leaves, and we make the move – but then a woman, who was sitting in the 2^nd row behind her husband who is in the front row, and who is now standing up and taking pictures, says she’s going to move there.  Ok then.  So you’re going to take up a the whole row of the best seats for one person, while your husband takes up the other side of the row for one person?  Nice.

We dutifully go back to our seats, in the wind, and try to ignore the rudeness of this act.  A little while later though, much to our surprise, she turns and makes some excuse and asks us if we want to move up there.  Well, yes, we do, and sincerely thank you very much.  After moving up there – and getting protection from the wind – she continues to chat and we find out that she and her husband are from Florida (no surprise) and they are trying to get off the ship the 1^st day in Miami but the ship won’t allow that.  This begins a harangue about the ship, CBP (and how the ship is paying CBP and don’t want to pay them more….um…wrong) and then onto COVID and how Mexicans are being bused into our country and they aren’t even tested for COVID and they are being bused into Florida and living in Hovels and the government is trying to give them all this money….blah blah blah.  I’ve just totally turned her off – but Ed is so good about still talking to her, and not arguing the point, and just politely saying “It must be local news” when she asks if we haven’t seen the news about this!  Sigh. 

Oh well, at least we got the seats for a few stops…..even if at a “cost”….

…and then it is back onboard for our normal afternoon activities, then dinner and we actually have a show to go to tonight…Rumours again, only this time escorted down by David so we don’t have to stand in line.

Another excellent show – even though it is literally the exact same show, word for word, that they performed last cruise.  Although the drummer is not the normal band drummer – he is part of the Million Dollar Quartet – but beyond that? Nothing is different, and it is an excellent end to a very good day.