Day 12

WHEW! Traveling really can wear a girl out!

But I must interject and first take a moment to present the INTERNATIONAL REESE Best TRAVEL SHOE award to ....the people in China who made my "off brand" Crocs! According to my friend Rachel, nurses have been wearing these shoes for years to accommodate their extensive standing and walking. But after trying them here in Spain, I must confess that these shoes are the TRUTH! They have kept me stepping with a smile!

I don't know what it is about the rubber sole but they accommodate my foot like no OTHER shoe can. And add a pair of socks any you will be in foot heaven. Now, please note that when I say these shoes win the award for travel, they by no means win anything for style or fashion. In fact, these are some of the ugliest shoes I have ever laid eyes on. But when your feet feel this good, you won't care how much of a monstrosity they are.

Ok, now where was I???? Oh yes!!! MALAGA!!!
Malaga has been a PURE delight.
I started the morning with a crossaint and zumo naranja (orange juice) at 8:30AM, then proceeded to the Pablo Picasso Museo. Once again I dined at the table of art and history and left well satiated. Pablo Picasso was truly a genius, in a very unstable way. It was obvious from the texture of the paint on the canvas, particularly in his later paintings, that he was given to strong impulses of passion and furry. In a sense, its like a signature. I became so enraptured in his madness that I have cultivated a strong appetite for more of his work. I now aspire to own a Picasso original. (Until then I purchased a poster from the gift shop of one of his works, that will have to do.)

I also realized that Picasso and I both share a love for the expression of the eyes. No matter what he painted, drew or sculpted, be it during his early works or later years, his works all had a central focus on the eyes of the subject he painted. He was able to speak volumes of expressions, even if he was using his "Cubism" style, and one of the eyes hung near the ear, and the other near the mouth of the picture. The eyes are always big and bold, but not in a caricature sense, but in a sense that allows for greater depth, when looking into the soul.

I've become a great fan of his "Cubism" style as well, in his pictures, I see the duality of mankind, which is why the face is often seperated into two sides, painted in two different shades. Just as Paul Lawrence Dunbar said in "We Wear the Mask" human nature is Always dual-sided, and unlike conventional paintings, which only show one side, Picasso uses color, angles, and shapes to reveal the often darker side of the subject.

Next, I headed to the Catedral, which was a huge GOTHIC era Catholic Cathedral, simply massive. A little spooky with a 40 foot Organ as soon as you entered the door. But overall, had some amazing details and handiwork.

Next I visited the remains of the Alcazaba Palace (not Alahambra). Also breathtaking. Although the Palace is not as grand, it only further wetted my appetite for Alhambra Palace. So when I got home, I changed my ticket, to leave from Granada, instead of Malaga, and booked a tour for the Alhambra Palace tomorrow. I REFUSE to leave this region until I see it.