We are on the Costa del Sol with new old friends ( none of us old you understand) to enjoy the sunshine and the golf  and some sightseeing as well ( currently it is raining” Cats and Dogs” and has been all night) The rain has curtailed our trip To Cadiz the oldest inhabited settlement in Europe .

However we have been to Malaga, to the old city and had a driving tour of the old villages of Axarquia . Very pretty white Peubla villages nestled in the mountains up very steep and narrow roads.

Growing up a neighbour ( and mother of an old boyfriend) used to come to this part of Spain, she had the bleached blond hair with the dark roots showing and skin like leather. My Mother ” tut tutted” and talked about the Costa Del Crime. I think over the years the area has had a bad rap. True the unfinished developments are there to be seen and from parts of the freeway one could be forgiven for thinking that one was in the outskirts of Delhi or another developing country. But away from this the countryside is beautiful and Malaga city centre is fascinating, the narrow streets, the cafés spilling out onto the streets and the Market!

The market is housed in a beautiful  19 th Century Iron Clad building in the middle of the old town with the original Moorish gate, that once connected the town to the port. and is open daily ( 8- 2 but not Sunday’s ) we were there late morning along with the rest of Malaga, but these were real people and not the tourists and ” foodies” of Borough Market fame.  These were local people doing their weekend shop. And Oh I could have bought everything there, the fish, the snails, the clams, the meat, the sausages, the olives, the mushrooms, the spices, oh the list is endless! And the prices! Compared to London, as cheap as could be! Look at the pictures and decide for yourself .

Whilst here, wehave been sampling the local food ( and wine)! Just down the road from where we are staying is a restaurant called ElJinete, there you can dine outside and have a three course meal for €17 (€22 on Thursday and Saturday when they have live music) the entrecôte steak is excellent. Further along the coast is a restaurant called Da Bruno, again eat out under the stars, the service is excellent as is the food. And the wine was extra special.