I found the umbrellas

Before I arrived in Spain, I saw a photo of umbrellas high  above a Village plaza in the Costa Del Sol near Malaga.  I found the beauties in the white village of Torrox. I looked at the map and told Lynn we needed to have a day trip. Today was the day, and oh how beautiful it is.

Our first view of the hilltop village was spectacular, and I guessed the plaza might be near the center area.  MINI Lola climbed upward, clung to the serpentine curves and drove us up the narrow streets and then we saw the umbrellas! Every color of the rainbow could be seen from the street, but no parking spaces.  I maneuvered Lola downward, saw un underground parking lot by the police station and then we started walking upward again.  Lyn saw steps that seemed to go up several levels, but I wanted to walk the street where I was sure the umbrellas waited.  It turned out we were both right.

 

We passed a tiny plaza near another tile-lined stairwell, named for Pablo Ruiz Picasso before we started our ascent.  The umbrellas beckoned us from there and then we were beneath them.  They billowed above us, swinging in the slight breeze as if to welcome us.  We were mesmerized...and then hungry.

 

We found several outdoor cafes at the end of the plaza, which we learned was Plaza de Constitución.  One café offered seven (7) tapas and a beer or wine for ten euros.  Lyn didn’t look excited about it after walking through the patrons and looking over their tapas nonchalantly.  Haha - so we moved on.  We both agreed La Casa Bar was perfect on a cozy patio, so we soon had food, her beer and my tinto verano.  Then, we watched people and continued to smile up at all the gloriously colored umbrellas that were open and suspended on long wires above the plaza to diffuse the sun.  Amazing.

Afterward, we walked up and down the tiny village streets, took photos of doorways, patios and unique tiles steps that seemed to go upward on and on.  It was hot and we were tired, but we were not done for our day yet.  My friend Cristóbal Navas Pérez sent me a text while we were eating to suggest we see the beautiful village of Frigiliana, about twenty minutes further east.  So, that’s what we did.  

  

Frigiliana was easy to find above the coast, I drove Lola to the underground car park without a snag, and then we started walking.  The hills had streets made of small, round stones that were artistically embedded on the streets and abutted to the shops with narrow sidewalks.  It reminded me of Córdoba, where the moors left their distinct mark with their stonework and beautiful gardens.

After an hour of leisurely walking along the many streets, we were parched and found a quaint plaza across from a church.  And a wedding party was dodging all around us.  The church bell clanged at 4:00, all the beautifully dressed men in suits along with their women in spiked heels, pretty dresses and fascinating hats perched on the heads, entered the church.  As we drank our beverages, along came a black car and all the gorgeous bridesmaids crawled out.  A few moments later, came the bride and daddy.  Beautiful.

Lola drove us home again, Lyn fed the dogs, cleaned the leaves out of the pool and we jumped in.  I am definitely going to miss this pool.  Another sweet day here in Spain.
TOMORROW, family time with Angela Ruiz Fernandez and the big family.