PABLO AND ANTONIO 

A remarkable opportunity presents itself -again! A flight from Marrakech to Madrid for just $70.00.  Upon my arrival in Madrid, I promptly board a three-hour train journey heading south to Malaga, a stunning city situated on Spain’s southern coast, directly across from Morocco. Despite their proximity, the two places are strikingly different in every aspect.

 I learned that both Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas were born and raised in Malaga, and the city boasts museums dedicated to their legacies. Antonio operates a SOHO theater here and visits annually to perform.

Picasso is celebrated as the founder of the cubist movement and was instrumental in the development of sculpture and collage. The Picasso Museum in Malaga has many of his most famous works. Pablo’s father was a painter and a professor at the School of Fine Arts. He immediately observed that Pablo had talent at a very early age. Pablo was admitted to a famous art school at age 13, which was unheard of at that time.

I will write this quietly so my daughter remains unaware, but I must admit that I am not a big fan of Picasso’s work. Although I paid to explore the museum, as I paused to reflect on various paintings, my predominant thought was, “I could do that.” I have a preference for Impressionist art, which I am certain I could never replicate.

When I accompany my daughter to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City, I often find myself bent over in laughter at the notion that someone would invest millions in a white canvas featuring a blue dot the size of a ping pong ball at its center. My daughter, totally embarrassed, typically walks away, shaking her head and insisting that I simply do not understand. She claims that the meaning is profound and beyond my comprehension. However, I cannot help but question what there is to “understand” about a blue circle on a white canvas.

I stayed in a nice air B and B for $30.00 a night in Malaga. The subway station was a 3 minute walk, which took me into the center of town. It was a 20 minute walk to the beach. In addition, there was a nice restaurant across the street that was packed each evening for tapa hour.  I love tapa hour in Spain. A nice bite or two and a glass of wine. Three nights in a row I ordered the gazpachuelo malagueno, a local dish made with potatoes, fish and mayonnaise- sounds awful but it was delicious. I found the recipe on line and will make it for you in exchange for a few nights at your place. –

Malaga is conveniently situated just an hour and half to Ronda, Marbella and Seville. I hopped on a bus each day and took a trip to each city to spend the day. Ronda was the most amazing

Ronda is known for its stunning cliffside setting and a deep canyons  that carries  a picturesque  river dividing the town. Ernest Hemmington and Orson Wells both spent many summers here dedicated to writing. The famous German poet Rainer Maria Rilke also spent extended periods in Ronda creating poetry. They were inspired by Ronda’s beauty and famous bullfighting traditions.

I only realized upon my return home how serendipitous it was that I discovered my way to this quaint town in southern Spain, a location once inhabited by numerous renowned artists and writers. This experience exemplifies the joy of traveling without a set itinerary; I spotted an attractive airfare, seized the opportunity, and found myself in a place I had never known, sharing the same space as Pablo, Antonio, Orson and Ernest!

While not every impulsive decision I make yields such positive results as this one, I must admit that the majority do. There is a certain value in approaching situations without a predetermined plan or expectations, trusting your instincts, and seeking the silver lining in every circumstance.

There are things you can not reach, but you can reach out to them all day long- and that will make all the difference!   Mary Oliver

Life is amazing and then it’s awful, and then it is amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it is ordinary and mundane. Breath in the amazing, hold on through the awful and relax through the mundane. That is called living, – amazing, heartbreaking, awful, ordinary and it is all breathtakingly beautiful.

Ronda is located between Malaga and Seville

Malaga beach

Malaga Street

Ronda

Ronda

Picasso and me

Painting in NY Museum- I am still working on my version of it.

My grandaughter – the next Piccaso!