3 days in Malaga

I don't know Malaga, but in general:

• Take a walking tour as you suggested.
• Ask the Tourist Office what interesting/attractive nearby towns can be reached easily by public bus. I've been known to get on a bus, ride to the end of the line through pretty countryside to a beach where I had no intention of swimming, and stay on the bus to return--paying the fare again, obviously. The bus driver is typically puzzled, but so what? Just check the return schedule before you head out.
• Consider a bus tour to somewhere you haven't been. I assume there are trips run from Malaga to Ronda, which is very picturesque. Driving time is 90 minutes to 2 hours, so a day trip wouldn't involve too long on a bus.
  

Picasso was born in Málaga, there is a little museum in his birthplace at the Plaza de la Merced and there is a larger one nearby, the Museo Picasso Málaga. Hopefully this is of interest for you.

I just read about a foodie tour in Malaga that looked great. If nothing else, check out their blog as they have loads of insider info about the town.
http://devourmalagafoodtours.com/blog/

" Part of me wants to just hang out in the hotel room and read a good book. But really, how lame is that? "

I absolve you of all guilt! The Picasso idea sounds great. How about an evening tour of the area after your honey finishes the meetings?

Thanks for the suggestions!

I decided to head out to the downtown area and just walk around for a few hours without any plan ... or map. It was wonderful! One of the reasons I was feeling "meh" about going out were the huge piles of trash we saw everywhere on our taxi ride in last night (there was a sanitation strike apparently). I suppose the strike has been resolved because the piles of trash disappeared over night and the city center area was clean and beautiful. Wandering around, I saw a sign for a Hammam (sp?) and almost went for a treatment, but I really wanted just the massage, not all the other stuff (like the baths) and they only had a package. So, on through the city center until I came upon a gorgeous garden near the port. Better yet, I could tell the garden was full of birds, including parakeets. So I hurried back to the hotel to get my binoculars. I birded the downtown area, the port, the gardens and nearby gardens around a castle for 4 hours and found more than 22 different species of birds! Wow! And I thought Malaga was going to be a biological wasteland.

Might do more of the same tomorrow. But I also found a good number of books stores. I might try to pick up some easy books in Spanish and work on my language skills.

Did the park have any likely spots for reading your book? Some of my best vacation-from-my-vacation days have been spent that way.

I really enjoyed Malaga to simply wander around, do some shopping, and try out some restaurants.

I love 'lame' days, actually 'lame' vacations (by some standards) but those are often the best memories. I don't need a list of stuff to see, it is more about the ambiance and energy that I feel in a location and whether I have an amazing day (by my standards)...
I am a photographer, so I love time to just wander around and take photos. I don't need any more photos of the Eiffel Tower, Vatican, etc... it's those places that most people have overlooked.