Go mbeannaí Dia daoibh agus bhur gcéad fáilte isteach chuig The Bluffer’s Guide to Irish.
Well, the Bluffer was on his travels again last week with a return trip to Málaga i ndeisceart na Spáinne - in the south of Spain.
He’s been there before, in February and fell in love with the place.
(Thit mé i ngrá le ... - means I fell in love with...).
The city has everything.
It is surrounded by the sliabhraon - the mountain range known as the Montes de Málaga and on his next trip the Bluffer will get on his hiking boots for a trek up one of the lower ones.
But there is so much to do in the city. If you like laethanta saoire cois na trá - beach holidays, Málaga is the place for you with miles of beaches along the coast.
Bíonn an aimsir go breá i gcónaí - the weather is always good with temperatures averaging 30 degrees i rith an tsamhraidh - during the summer months which run from June until September.
Springtime temperatures are in the early 20s.
The Bluffer visited the same places he had in February, so much had he enjoyed them.
There is Gibralfaro, whose summit you can get a taxi up to but the Bluffer girded his loins and walked to the top of the mountain which has been a fortification since the times of the Féinícigh - the Phoenicians (1200 BC–539 BC if you must know). Indeed at 3,600 years old, Málaga is one of the oldest cities in the world.
The views from Gibralfaro are mórthaibhseach - spectacular and thankful there is a bar at the top where you can have a glass of wine and a pizza and escape from the heat.
Beside Gibralfaro is Alcazabar, a former caisleán Múrach - Moorish castle with beautiful gardens and Arabic symmetry all around.
I tried to work out what the daily lives of the Moors would have been like, what they thought but the job was too big.
Málaga is full of great iarsmalanna - museums including the Picasso museum in the town where he was born, Museo Carmen Thyssen and many others but the Bluffer and his companion decided to study the drinking habits of the Malagueños with a visit to La Casa Antigua de Guardia.
Behind the counter is nothing but barraillí - barrels of wine, sherry, ports and suchlike bevvies. Every time you buy a round, they write the price down in chalk and after a while, the list can get fairly long (hic).
Then it was off to La Reserva del Olivo for a meal of sliogiasc - shellfish and other delights.
The restaurant is run by a guy from Monaghan, Dave Duggan, and is highly recommended.
We stayed in the Hotel Maestranza (which is right beside the bull-ring) and after walking the city it was great to get back to the hotel to head up to the roof for the jacuzzi, a big glass of orange juice and sit back and admire the scenery while soaking up the rays.
As Van the Man would croon, “wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time?”
