A nice trip to Nerja & Almuñécar
Last Sunday, we decided it was about time we'd go check out two big flea markets in the costa tropical. After being up since 7.30 in the morning, driving for 1,5 hours and then strolling over two different markets in Nerja as well as Almuñécar, we were hungry with a capital H. Whenever we're in a new area I love to look for "restaurants near me" on google maps and then check the pictures, menu and reviews to decide which place is the one we go to. I did the same this Sunday and found a Belgian restaurant (sorry I forgot the name) only 10 minutes from where we were. When I saw decent pictures of food and a picture of steak tartare, I was sold! This is the one! Let's gooo!
Parking
We quickly noticed the area was in the middle of a crowded street with shops and I figured we are in the centre? I had no clue because we've never been there before. We drove through a few streets with all parking spots taken and I slowly started to feel discouraged finding a parking spot within a close walking distance because after two flea markets I could barely walk anymore so walking for too long was not optional.
Then we turned around the corned and I saw an underground garage, it was easily missed but I said it at the exact right second because my boyfriend could just turn the wheel and make the turn to the garage lol. If I was a split second slower, we'd missed it as there was a car behind us as well. The parking gods were on our side!
We walked out of the garage entering the remains of a medieval market wondering which way to go. It only took 1 minute walking to see the restaurant was closed as can be, while Google maps said it was open until midnight. I really hate when businesses don't update their opening hours, it happens a lot here in Spain that you see something opened and arrive to a closed door.
Is that the beach?
Then we noticed that if we walked through that tiny street, we were walking on the beach. We just arrived at the boulevard and everything looked so nice. There were plenty of restaurants and it was buzzing as can be. The weather was still lovely and we all removed our vests hours ago to walk in our t shirts. Whenever the sun would disappear if we'd enter a shady street, we'd put on the vest for a bit but the sun made up for it as soon as we'd take a corner to a sunnier street.
The beach was so lovely we had to walk to the water for a bit and take it all in. We were happily surprised by how beautiful the area is and how different it is from where we live. I'm grateful to be here either way but we just love the green surroundings a lot, it felt like being on holiday in our own country. Spain sure feels like my own country, I wouldn't want to trade it back for the world.
Where to eat?
Next problem, where will we eat? Our daughter set her mind to the playground she saw. We didn't mind if she'd play there if we could find a table with her in sight but all terraces were full, the one restaurant with free tables was the one we didn't want to eat at, lol. We walked back and forward twice to finally decide to sit inside at a restaurant where it was most crowded.
This was a solid choice, we had a table inside, so we didn't burn, I kind of liked being out of the sun for a bit. While we sat there, we could overlook the terrace and then the boulevard and sea. So lovely! What a joy to be there.. The question was, what to eat?
My boyfriend went for mussels as he loves these and they did not disappoint as you can see in the picture.
My daughter went for the chicken croquettes and fries (gosh this makes me nostalgic for Dutch croquettes lol). They were so good!
I ordered secreto Iberico and this is always very tasteful. Sadly for me it turned out this time the meat was HUGE and therefore a bit too chewy to my liking. Check my boyfriend's hand added to the next picture to see the size:
I ate the edges where it was not too chewy and let my boyfriend finish the other part. He still couldn't eat it all so half went home in a doggy bag. Although I regret ordering what I ordered, I wasn't hungry anymore and nothing could really spoil the wonderful day we had.
Time to go back home
When we left the restaurant, it was clearly time to go home because people were slowly leaving as most kitchens close around 4 pm. We enjoyed the beach boulevard for a bit longer and took some pictures while also making a quick round over the medieval market that took place right where we parked our car.
I mean, I have to say it was quite refreshing seeing everything so green as it is at the costa tropical, compared to our coast here, where it's dry and mostly sand and feels like the dessert. It's not really appealing looking at the mountains around us while in the costa tropical these mountains are filled with trees and look so green.
It sure came up to check this out for when we are finally buying our own home, but until then, we will just enjoy some weekly flea markets and that's exactly what we'll be doing tomorrow. Wish me luck for some good finds!
Have a good rest of the weekend!
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