Last week, our European colleagues held their annual sales training event in Malaga Spain. I was honored to be invited to present as I always enjoy working in Europe.

Boy oh boy it’s hard to get to Malaga! Of course, it doesn’t help that I am leaving from Peoria but it’s harder to get to Malaga Spain than it is to get to Australia. It took four legs and 24 hours both ways. Malaga is in southern part of Spain, just 60 miles from Gibralter, right on the Alboran Sea. It reminded me of Fort Lauderdale with a very active beach community if Fort Lauderdale was below a set of mountains.

View from my room. Rainy day but beautiful view.

After work one after noon, we ventured into the city to see the sites.  We didn’t have time to see the Picasso museum but we saw a few of the famous sites.

La Malagueta is the bullring at Málaga which since 1876 has been denominated a cultural asset of Spain.

Castillo Gibralfaro: Gibralfaro has been the site of fortifications since the Phoenician foundation of Málaga city, circa 770 BC. At the beginning of the 14th century, Yusuf I of the Kingdom of Granada constructed on its top the eponymous castle within the Phoenician enclosure.

Selfie looking into the city from Castillo Gibralfaro

Castillo Gibralfaro

From atop of the Castillo Gibrafaro, I snapped this pano of Malaga. Quite a scene! Check out the full size version of that one.

On Thursday evening, we were entertained by authentic Spanish Flamingo dancers.

Friday morning, as I walked to breakfast, I was almost blown over by this sunrise. Too bad I only had my phone.

My first available flight home wasn’t until Saturday. Another “four legger” back home started at 6:00 AM GMT +1, flying through Madrid, Philadelphia, Chicago, and reached  home after 9:30 PM GMT -6. If I did the math right, that’s almost 23 hours. By the time I landed in Peoria, I was about ready to drop but it was quite an experience seeing another beautiful place.