Each year Michael and I like to try to plan a trip for our anniversary- in lieu of gifts for each other we prefer to splurge on an experience and some time away together. If I can have this trip land us somewhere with a beach (like Croatia or Italy)… all the better. This year we were deciding where to go when our dear friends, the Fines, asked us if we would like to take a trip together before they moved from Germany back to the states. Of course we were more than excited to take this trip with them and spend some extra quality time together. (Don’t worry- Michael and I still had a proper anniversary celebration just the two of us. We went to a romantic dinner at a local restaurant, Puur, while Brittany and William watched David for us.) We originally had our sights set on Morocco but ultimately decided against it since we were still very new at traveling with babies and Morocco is a whole new ballgame requiring a lot more research and planning which requires more TIME- something we were short on as new moms. We ultimately decided on Spain since its quick and easy to travel to, the Ceci’s favorite European country, and William had never been! We opted for Malaga since it has a little of everything: old town, beautiful old buildings and cathedrals, good shopping, great food and a nice beach!

Day 1

The trip began with quite a rocky start (and I started to think I just might be travel-cursed after the Paris trip!) Our flight left at 7:45pm (just after baby bedtime) on a budget airline (read: NO AC) on the HOTTEST day of the year. We grabbed dinner at a “Cuban” restaurant near Frankfurt Hahn Airport before we left. I put that in quotes because one page of their menu had Mexican style food, one page had pizzas and pastas and one page had hamburgers. Michael, Brittany and I opted for burritos (that seemed the most Cuban thing… right?) but William went off the enthusiastic recommendation of our waitress and ordered a burger. At a Cuban restaurant. In Germany. Remember that for later.

Henry was an angel on the flight while David did not sleep a wink. We landed after 10pm and made our way across the LARGE Malaga airport to find our private shuttle that would be waiting for us, car seats and all, for a direct drop off at our AirBnb. Except there was no shuttle. Further research yielded a 2 star review on Google for this specific Shuttle Direct company. YIKES. We called the number on our reservation- no answer. We called the desk at the airport- they were closed. We asked around. No dice. With the babies getting fussier by the moment, these exhausted parents searched for another option and luckily there was a train leaving in EIGHT MINUTES to the downtown area (another wouldn’t come for 45 minutes) so we hustled, bought tickets, ran to the platform, and made it just in time! After a short train ride and 20-minute walk down construction-laden cobblestone streets with suitcases and babies- we made it to the AirBnb (sweating) and ready to lay these boys down to bed ASAP. Except there was one problem. There were no pack n plays set up in the apartment which we specifically reserved and were paying extra for. LUCKILY, we were being physically checked in so we asked the guy about it and he said he could get them for us from their offices, but it would be about an hour because he had SEVEN more check ins to do that night! That just wouldn’t do- so I convinced him to take Michael to the offices and get him the pack n plays so he could bring them back. Meanwhile William is acting quite dramatic about how tired he is and all I can think is “dude lock it UP- we are all exhausted and hot and want to get in bed but there are things we need to take care of first!” When I awoke at 2am to the sound of someone being violently ill in the bathroom- I realized I may have been a little tough on William. And so was that Cuban hamburger. He had serious food poisoning that kept him up much of the night. He even went downstairs for water and was unable to make it back up the stairs so he slept the rest of the night on the couch. Brittany didn’t hear a thing and woke up to my texts asking if William was okay and an empty bed beside her. (Don’t worry- I sent Michael in to check on him and see if he needed anything- so he didn’t suffer totally alone) Luckily it passed quickly and Michael made a run to the pharmacy for some medicine and Spanish style Gatorade to get him back on the mend.

Day 2

That morning Brittany, Michael and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a gem my mom, sister and I found a year prior on our trip: Recyclo Bike Café. We spent the day leisurely wandering the town, taking in the sights. We hunted for a good lunch place, only to find our destination was not baby friendly, so we ended up at No Piqui – a delicious place with both hearty and healthy options. I ordered a “fruit bowl” of sorts for David and ended up with a huge bowl of banana, avocado and mango cut exactly as I asked! That evening we had our tapas tour with Tapas in Malaga. I found them last minute before our trip last year and had such a lovely time it was the ONE thing I wanted to do again this time around! We booked our tour with Laura again and she took us to some absolutely wonderful places, ordering the exact right things – some traditional, some more contemporary and some very adventurous! Last time I tried shark and this time blood sausage, among other things! David even tried sardines (and loved them!) The babies snoozed in their strollers and we got to chat with Laura all about Malaga and her life there! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone traveling to Malaga. It is a private tour, reasonably priced and she orders all the food and drink for you, dietary restrictions and preferences taken into consideration, explains what it all is, and of course it’s all included in the price. Book it!

Thank you Brittany for this lovely shot!

Day 3

We were up bright and early and headed to El Ultimo Mono Juice and Coffee for smoothies and muffins before making our way to the Alcazaba to tour ourselves around. It was already pretty scorching for the early hour so instead of continuing up the hill to the Castillo de Gibralfaro, and even more spectacular views of Malaga, as planned, we headed back to slather in sunscreen and hit the beach! We were staying in Old Town which is lovely because it is pedestrian only and where most of the beautiful historical buildings are as well as the best shopping and restaurants. This meant, however, we would have a 20-minute walk to the beach.

We quickly learned one thing: Michael and I are complete beach BUMS… and Brittany is NOT. Sand between our toes and everywhere else, refreshing swims in the water, a cold beer in your hand, sunburn welcome, umbrella optional, junk food and music a must. Brittany on the other hand HATES sand, needs plenty of shade for her fair skin, doesn’t like getting in the water and prefers to eat healthy. Uh oh. (How had we been friends for over 2 years now and never realized this?!) We HUNTED for chair and umbrella rentals and William finally found a spot for us while Michael went to find food and drinks and Brittany and I dragged the strollers and sleeping babies through the soft sand. We ended up having a great afternoon and the babies did wonderful. Again, Henry slept most of the time and David did NOT. We did, however, get some fun photos in the water – even if David was terrified of the ocean and hated the cold water. We will be working on that. (Already took him to the Bosenbach pool twice and he really warmed up to the cold water!) That night we opted for carry out pizza at the AirBnb and on-time bedtimes for the boys. It was wonderful to relax on the couch in PJ’s, nurse our sunburn and sip some Spanish beer.

Day 4

Our third day was also deemed a beach day. We thought we had it figured out but Saturday proved difficult for finding chairs and umbrellas. Specifically, the umbrellas. So we cut our losses and bought two from a Spanish man running a stall near the beach for 30 Euro and then used every ounce of Spanish we had to negotiate with the chair/umbrella man to get our set up with HIS chairs and OUR umbrellas since he only had chairs left. Finally settled, we dove into our lunches we had gotten to-go from Recyclo- which was a GREAT call.

Funny story: getting settled really was a bit of an ordeal and took a while. On top of that, while Michael and I brush off last minute purchases like the umbrellas, Brittany and William are much thriftier travelers and were still a bit annoyed we had to spend that much on them. So, Michael and I kept joking we would sell them to someone or better yet back to the guy we bought them from to recoup some of our money. The Fines A. didn’t believe we would, and B. figured even if we tried we would not be successful. We ended up deciding our best bet was to try to re-sell to the man with the beachside hut since we literally used them for 5 hours and still had the bags with tags on them. That way he could turn around and sell them again full price and make a nice profit. Michael and I approach the man (who speaks NO English) and I start off with a nice smile and “Tenemos una pregunta…” to which he perked up and herd us out. 2 minutes later we were walking back to B&W, mouths gaping, with 15 Euro in our pocket! We still can’t believe it worked, but the guy knew a shrewd business move when he saw one! Lesson learned: you never know unless you ask.

On our way back from the beach we stopped at the famous and bustling Casa Mira for Gelato. They had so many flavors and let you try whatever you wanted- for such a busy place I assumed it would be touristy and the service would be a bit staunch- but I was wrong! Delish and super friendly service!

That evening we enjoyed dinner at one of our Tapas Tour locations: KGB. The tapas there are a fantastic blend of new and traditional. We got a table full to share and enjoyed every last bite!

Day 5

Our last day only left us with a bit of time to sleep in, pack up and grab brunch before heading to the airport. We ended up at Brunchit Espana and it did not disappoint! They had a wide variety of options, both healthy and indulgent. Michael and I split the pancakes in addition to our main meals which was a lovely choice. Luckily our trip back to the airport was without incident. William played phone tag with the shuttle company the entire trip trying to get his money back. (They also had a shuttle booked with the same company in Greece but thankfull their pick up and drop off went smoothly!) Our flight back was wonderful- David slept almost the entire time! I learned a new trick – I put one of Michael button up shirts over my new wide brimmed hat to create a cozy, dark nook for David and rocked him in my arms with a not-so-subtle “SHHHHHH” on repeat until he fell asleep. Traveling with kids made the trip fly by even faster than normal, but it was a great time with friends and we feel very lucky to have soaked up a bit more of them before they moved away! Until next time…