Malaga

Thanks to Delta, there is a direct flight now New York-Kennedy to Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, Spain's Mediterranean coast. I'll admit my lack of knowledge of this city being the Spanish coast's gateway and the new Delta flight spurred my interest. Plus last year's icefest same weekend in Berlin.

No thanks to Delta we paid maybe 100 more bucks than we had to as fares collapsed in the buckling economy between booking and flight time.

No thanks to Delta for not renovating their horrid Terminals 2/3 at Kennedy and sending us on a Groundhog Day-like circle looking for a way in after the obvious entrance was closed for the night. Not a great flt over- unusually cold, no map, packed full flight. Families and older folk, no yuppies like us- what does that mean?

But all worth it as we strolled over to the airport train in 65-degree dry Mediterranean heat at noon on Valentine's Day in Malaga.

They say 1/3 of traveller to the region never see the working-class Malaga when they come, bypassing it for the builtup resort towns. We did the opposite on our 48 hour plan, never venturing more than 2 km from our old city 4-star hotel.

Pedestrianized old cities of Europe never get old as they are lined with shops, cafes, churches, and tapas bars (in Spain)- beckoning one to enjoy the long weekend and in this case demanding it during Carnaval.

Malaga Carnaval would never compare to Rio or Barcelona but for our first time, it works- the spontaneous singing guy groups in the squares and the random music players are unforgettable and would seem lamely and sadly out of place in the US.

Not much in the way of conversations- an old full-white-bearded Irishman lying to us about being on vacation (while dressed in a suit during Carnaval), racist Spanish kids yelling Chine at us and sticking their thumbs up at us, and an adorable boy dressed up as a tiger as if it was Halloween (well it was- it's Carnaval)

Malaga has a nice castle/fortress well worth the 20-min walk up and a surprisingly impressive cathedral, a great showpiece beyond the expectations for a mid-sized city. Tapas and Spanish wine (both the reds and the sweet whites) were revelations. No touristy BS and no rudeness- big pluses.

Pleasant trip back thanks to a 70 pct full flight- beautiful views of the Mediterranean, Seville, and especially Lisbon from up above.