Sun, sand and sorbet

This morning we left Seville and headed for the coast. We took the train from Sevilla south-east to Málaga. While you can take the fast AVE train between these two cities it involves backtracking through Córdoba before heading south again so it isn't that much faster. We elected to take the direct route by 'commuter train'. The train made about six stops at small towns on the way but overall we really enjoyed the slower speed for admiring the stunning scenery. It was pretty fun taking pictures out the window as the scenery is so different from New Zealand.

We reached Málaga at 1.30pm and walked the 1.6km to our hotel. We immediately noticed a difference in temperature: it's cooler here by the coast, and there's a very pleasant sea breeze. Apparently, Sevilla is known as the frying pan of Spain as it gets so hot! The hotel staff are super friendly; we're staying at the same chain as the hotel in Madrid, Room Mate. The man who checked us in was impressed that we were on the complete opposite side of the world from home. Our room wasn't quite ready so we headed down to the Marina for a walk and to grab some lunch. The marina reminded us a bit of the Sunshine Coast in Australia; it's not like anything we've seen in Spain so far and is filled with tourists (mostly British). 

Later in the day when it was a bit cooler we ventured into the old town area. We're staying on one of the main shopping streets, which is between the marina and the old town - the perfect location. The old town is completely different from the marina and beach area with narrow, winding streets and historic buildings. On the hills behind the town you can see the Roman and Moorish walls which are spectacular, especially in the evening when they are lit up.

It was such a nice temperature that we extended our walk and headed from the old town area back to the beach and marina to watch the sun set.

Since arriving in Spain we've seen ice cream and candy shops on every corner. Tonight we finally gave into temptation and bought some sorbet as we walked back to the hotel - yum!