I hate to be so Plain Jane and blog from vacation point A to Z, but I do not hate it enough to not do it.

'Maggie's Last Hurrah', as we often referred to the trip in the planning phases, began in Málaga, Spain. The Andalusian city worked its way onto the itinerary for no other reason than another cheap Ryanair flight temptation, but we made sure to soak up the sunshine and stuff our bellies in the 24 hours we spent in Málaga.I normally do tons of research before a trip. Ok, fine that's an exaggeration, but I usually at least grab some reading material for the plane. This trip though I was super lazy about it knowing that we had a tour guide for the entire Morocco excursion, so we arrived in Pablo Picasso's birth city plan-less and expectation-less.

The sixth largest city in Spain, Málaga seems much smaller, despite the line-up of high-rises along the beachfront property and the airport with more check-in windows than they could dream of using. The city is very walkable, has super shopping options, and an absolute pleasure to stroll. The streets in the main areas of town are glossed up and cleanly, perfect for all the pedestrians.

Málaga Cathedral

We arrived pre-check-in hour at our hostel after a 6 am flight departure in Baden-Baden earlier that morning. Loads off our backs and a map in hand, we set out to the Alcazaba after deciding to skip entry into the Málaga Cathedral (once you've seen one cathedral, you've seen 'em all #amiright or #amiright?). The Alcazaba is an 11th century Moorish castle and fortress sitting atop a hill with spectacular panoramic city views and beautiful gardens throughout.

Alcazaba

The "climb" to the top worked up an appetite and as with any coastal city, the decision for lunch was easy: find seafood on the beach. Due to low season, this task proved to be more difficult than we initially imagined, but after a trek down the nearly deserted beach on the 75F and sunny day, we found a modern, open air dining option. Despite it looking like a tourist trap, I was too excited about the open fire in a boat under a hut for their grilling to skip out.

Espetos, which are whole sardines grilled over open fire with garlic, are a regionally speciality. Normally, I prefer my fish filleted and offer the bone, but I took the dive and ate my first sardine. It was no Chilean Sea Bass, but I can confidently say they were a treat since I never get eat fish other than salmon here in Germany. It also helped that we had a jug of yumm-o Sangria to wash it down.

The Beach: La Malagueta

Chiringuito El Cachalote

Espetos

As with any first day of vacation, the eating and drinking just did not really stop from there (no? just me?). We were excited to get our first real tapas experience (apparently missed this in my other trips to Barcelona and Madrid). We found a back alley restaurant called Be Happy, where many locals were hanging out. It was pretty obvious why once we saw the €2 for a tapa and a beer special. Sold! It was shortly double sold when we discovered the Cubata: a €3.50 cocktail where they bring out the liquor and your mixer and the waiter pours until you say stop - my kind of drink.

We eventually headed over to another tapas bar, where our previous waiter came in and begged us to come back to Be Happy. Needless to say, he enjoyed our presence. We enjoyed his, too, after he introduced us to a popular chupito (shot) in Spain: vodka + caramel.

We had to skip out on the late Spanish night life to wake up at 6 to begin our Moroccan adventure. It was A-Ok with me though. I might be able to handle the pub life, but pub life hours still have nothing on the wild Spanish nightlife.

Overall, Málaga lacked the old charm of other Spanish tourist destinations, but who can complain about an affordable, clean, lively city with a beach that looks like that? Not me, that's certain.