Kitty's Scratch Pad

Spain - The rest of our trip

Now that the test is officially over, I can finish up my posts about Spain...  Unfortunately, my stamina isn't what it was a few weeks ago.  Here is the streamlined version with links to our photos of each day.  Some details are missing - I will update once I do a little more research. 

Day Seven: Park Guell, Lunch at La Venta, Afternoon at Sagrada Familia, Dinner at ???, all in all a super fun touristy day.  Pictures here...

Day Eight: MACBA, Boqueria, Lunce at Casa Calvet, Casa Milla, Casa ???, Beach, Tapas.  Pictures here...

Day Nine: Alex gets food poisoning from last nights Tapas :(  It is Good Friday so most shops are closed.  We spent most of our day wandering around town window shopping and eating gelato.  Pictures here...

Day Ten: Walked around the Gothic Quarter, went to the textile museum, the chocolate museum and the Picasso museum, had dinner at the Biblioteca.  Pictures here...

Day Six - Travel to Barcelona

After returning home at a semi-reasonable hour from the wedding, Alex parked the car on the side of the street near our hotel and when doing so, had to block the drivers side door.  He crawled out the passenger side and we all walked back to our rooms to crash before an early rise of 7 am to haul ourselves to Malaga for our late morning flight to Barcelona.  All went well and we were up and rearing to go on time.  The cute "mom" of the hotel brought us some food wrapped up to go.  We sat by the luggage waiting for Alex to pull the car around.  Instead, Alex came in through the door and announced that the battery in our car was dead.  Apparently, the night before, he had left the lights on.  Because he went out the passenger side door, the car never reminded us that this had happened.  The bigger problem was the key-less entry would not work and there didn't appear to be any keyholes in the car.  I went out to double check that Alex wasn't still just drunk from the night before and sure enough, there was no way to use a key to get in.  We looked for secret buttons, tried opening the trunk and hood and couldn't figure it out.  Stacy got on the phone and began trying to get a hold of Avis to find out what the heck to do.  Thank goodness she was there.  She spent over an hour calling tons of different places trying to get it figured out.  In the meantime, Fen fell asleep after some sword play in the lobby.  The "mom" looked at us with sympathy and then instructed us to go eat breakfast.  She kept saying that nothing was open and we might as well go eat.  She must have thought we were crazy.  Alex decided to take Stacy to the Paradores next door to see if anyone there could help.  Apparently, they told them the same thing - just go eat breakfast.  Everything will be better once you eat breakfast.  This sort of seemed to be a theme.  Sure enough, by 10 am just as we were about to give up, Alex went out one more time to see if he could figure it out and he pulled off the plastic cover that was over the keyhole.  Apparently this is some sort of weird aesthetic and totally impractical design.  Alex and Stacy got the car jumped and after some crazy maneuvering to get the car around to the front door of the hotel, we finally got on our way.  It was very clear we would miss our flight.  During the hour of phone calls, I made one to the airline to be sure we could fix our flights.  They told me it would be 57 EUR each - I said fine.  I called again before getting to the airport and I was told it would be 200 EUR + 90 EUR.  I figured that was fine too.  I was just looking forward to going.  When we finally arrived at the airport, we were then told it would be 200 EUR each and 90 for Fen.  HA!  Almost 700 EUR to just change a flight time - I don't think so.  We check two more airlines and one was cheap but the flight had just finished boarding 10 minutes prior to us checking, the other wanted to charge us 290 EUR each.  I then asked where the internet cafe was.  I took Alex and we walked down to the computer area and proceeded to sign in to Expedia.com.  We found tickets online for 500 EUR cheaper than our quotes from the ticket agents in the airport.  Unfortunately, we couldn't book anything sooner than 7 pm.  At that point it didn't matter - we booked the flights and met back up with Stacy and Fen.  Alex wanted to go to town and Stacy and I decided we would rather stay there.  I could just imagine hopping in a cab only to get hit by a garbage truck.  The way our luck was going, it wouldn't surprise me at all.  It took some more argument getting checked in but we eventually made it.  We quickly learned that Spaniards don't do stand-by.  We hung out for 5.5 hours playing Scrabble and reading.  We finally made it to Barcelona and grabbed a cab to the hotel in Raval, Casa Camper.  I had been looking forward to this part of our trip for a while and we had already lost one day to a travel fiasco...  We tried to make the best of it and got settled in.  Once unpacked and changed, Alex and I headed out to find some food.  We ended up walking quite a ways before being sent to a Tapas bar beyond the Plaza Catalonia.  It was actually quite good.  We had vino tinto and lots of little bites.  It wasn't outstanding but it wasn't airport food either.  We finally made it to the second half of our trip!

Pictures here...

"Mommy, what's that???"

When we were having lunch near Marbella on our way home from the beach, we saw this balloon on tied to the chair at the table next to us.  I thought it was sorta funny... (be sure to click on the image to get the full effect)  :)

Day Five - The Wedding

We slept in a bit but still made sure we were down in time for breakfast.  So far in five days we have been very careful not to miss breakfast.  To me it has always been my favorite meal of the day but here in Spain, it is the most relaxed too.  The best pastries and the best coffee.  We decided to hike down to the viewpoint below the bridge.  The walk down was pretty easy.  The hills are lined with almond and fig trees.  The grow here like Blackberries grow in Washington.  The view from below is incredible.  There was a minor bug incident with ginormous black beetle but no one was hurt...  Fen and Stacy headed back up and Alex and I went down a bit further to explore.  After we met back up, we went through town to look around.  Ronda is very cute.  It is a beautiful town with lots of activity going on all around.  There are two main streets although one is way bigger than the other.  We found some more yummy Gelato and some traditional Semana Santa bread called Torrijas.  It is bread that is soaked in white wine and then fried and sprinkled with sugar and Cinnamon.  We ventured through shoes stores and toy shops and bars with Jamon hanging along walls and eventually turned back around.  I had to head out to help with Lauren's hair.  I grabbed my things and took a taxi to the hotel just outside of town.  The others stayed back and relaxed.  Alex did some more exploring as well and finally got himself a Bocadillo.  We got Lauren's hair up in good time and then we all met for the Ketubah signing.  The ceremony itself was beautiful.  The surroundings were amazing and Ken and Lauren looked very happy.  We headed to another hotel afterward for the reception and dinner.  We drank some great wine that Alex brought and the kids danced.  We left around 11:00 p.m. and drove back to our hotel.  The next day we were to fly out from Malaga at 11:00 a.m. which would mean an early start from Ronda.

Pictures here...

Day Four - The Beach

When we were told a group would be heading in tour buses to Gibraltar we opted to stay back and go to the beach.  Besides the fact that it is an entire days trip to go see a rock and some monkeys, we thought the circus might be too much.  We wanted a day of relaxation and so we headed to the beach.  We drove from  Ronda to Marbella and headed down the coast for a quick while and then parked the car.  We walked down the boardwalk to a small beach where a bunch of guests from the Crown Plaza were soaking in the sun.  We laid down and relaxed there for a few hours.  We took in the sunshine and read our books.  Stacy and I played some Scrabble.  Fen played with a couple of kids from the UK and all was perfect.  We decided we should start heading back to the hotel.  The dinner that night was scheduled at our hotel.  First we drove in circles trying to find some food, then we drove in more circles trying to get out of town and back on the road to Ronda.  We eventually figured it out.  We got to our hotel, parked the car just a few blocks up and even had time to relax a bit before dinner.  We were told by the people at the hotel that dinner was moved from 7:30 to 8:30 - even better!  We meandered down for dinner only to find we were the only ones there.  Apparently, the bus had picked everyone up an hour late.  The bus stopped back at the hotel to let people off to change for dinner and would be on it's way soon.  The only catch was it was now past 8 and there was a huge procession starting in the middle of Ronda and the route went right over the bridge just next to our hotel.  The bus stopped at the depot almost on the outside of town and wouldn't go any further.  From what I understand, the guests had to walk all the way across town and through the procession like fish upstream.  They didn't arrive at dinner until past 10:00.  The bus was also scheduled to pick everyone up after dinner at 11:00 so instead Lauren planned for Taxis instead.  Dinner was nice and we had fun visiting with everyone.  Everyone seemed to be very relieved to be sitting down and not on a huge bus driving on windy mountain roads or being harassed by crazy monkeys.  In the end, I think our decision was by far the best.  I did get a little sunburn on my bum but it cleared up the next day.  The next day was the wedding...

A few pictures here...

Day Three - Drive to Ronda

Again we woke up lazily and had another wonderful breakfast.  More pastries and cafe con leche.  We had a drive ahead of us and we needed to be in Ronda by 9:00 p.m.  We took the road out of Granada and headed west towards to Sevilla until the road switched towards Jerez.  The plan sort of morphed into going to Jerez to explore and taste some Sherry but we decided to stop in Arcos along the way for some food.  We drove through the country side and finally made it to Arcos.  We found a great lunch spot with a park right next door.  Fen made friends with a local boy, Danny, and they got to run around on the big toy.  It is cool that there is a universal language for playing.  Stacy turned us on to these super refreshing drinks that include Vinos Tintos and Fanta Limon mixed together over ice.  They go down very smooth and are perfect on a hot afternoon.  After lunch we decided to walk up to the church at the top of the hill.  Along our walk we saw a series of signs that showed each years Semana Santa procession.  They showed a picture of the procession and that particular years color scheme.  The series started in 1970 (I think) and went on through 2006.  We got to the top and took some photos.  There is another Paradores there and this one looked pretty amazing.  Alex has stayed there and said it was great.  We hiked back down and grabbed some ice-cream for the walk back to the car.  By the time we got moving we realized we wouldn't have time for Jerez.  Instead we sort of stumbled on a road that eventually took us to a sign pointing to Ronda so we took it.  It wasn't the main route but we figured that was better.  It turns out this is the road that leads you through Parque Sierra de Grazalema a.k.a. Spain's National Park.  This had to be one of the highlights of this trip so far.  The tiny mountain road twisted and turned and kept taking us further and further into the green hills and over the passes.  We came to a town hidden in the hillside that was amazing.  The road continued on until we hooked up with the main road we had originally been on prior to Arcos.  We made it to our hotel and even found parking.  The streets here were even more narrow than those in Granada.  We dropped our stuff and hopped back in the car to make it to Ken and Lauren's hotel for dinner with their family.  We managed to get slightly lost but eventually found our way and sat down for a lovely meal.  The next day, a huge group was scheduled to take a tour bus to Gibraltar and then everyone was to meet back at our hotel for dinner.  We decided that was a recipe for disaster (or goat rodeo) and opted to go to the beach instead.  Later we found out that turned out to be very good foresight... 

Pictures here

Day Two - The Alhambra

I have already posted some pictures.  I will do my best to write about our visit through the Alhambra.  I should say now that words will not do this place justice.  It is a pretty amazing place.  According to Wikipedia:

The Alhambra, a famous Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most remarkable item of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian historical legacy that makes Granada a hot spot among cultural and tourist cities in Spain.

Granada is also well-known within Spain due to its prestigious university and, nowadays, wild night-life (though in the 1920s Federico García Lorca described the granadinos as "the worst bourgeoisie in Spain"). In fact, it is said that it is one of the three best cities for college students (the other two are Salamanca and Santiago de Compostela).

The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.

We started our day off lazily and slept in.  It took some shaking to get Fen up from the previous nights sleep which was a good thing.  I was a bit worried he would wake up in the middle of the night because his internal clock was all screwed up but that wasn't at all the case.  I think he would have slept until midday if I had left him there.  Our breakfast was lovely.  Small pieces of bread and sweet buns, yogurt and cafe con leche.  We started our tour through the palace at 11 and had a half hour to kill before Lauren was able to get inside - her ticket was for 11:30 and they are very strict about time.  This is a good thing because it keeps the crowds in check.  I think my favorite part was the Generalife.  The gardens leading up to it were amazing.  The architecture is breathtaking.  I love the detail and artistry of the mosaic and the incredible amount of thought that went into each room and structure.  There were doorways and windows and prayer rooms and courtyards and waterways and fountains and they all somehow intertwined together.  The kids did great.  It was a pretty long day and it took all day.  The camera trick worked like a charm.  Fen did a great job capturing his favorite scenes and landscapes.  After our tour ended, we grabbed a quick snack.  I have discovered an ice-cream bar that puts Dove and Ben and Jerry's to shame - Magnum double chocolate bars...  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  Too bad we cannot ship them home with us :(  We walked down to town for lunch and found some kebabs and falafel.  We went to the Plaza and enjoyed our food.  Afterward we walked around some more to find some cell phones.  Then we discovered that Spain has really good Gelato.  Alex and I shared some Truffa, Fen had Limon and Stacy went with Dulce de Leche.  After, we grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel for Siesta.  The others went on to Ronda.  We awoke and walked back down to town for our dinner.  We tried one place that was recommended by the hotel but it was booked.  We walked around a few different places.  Alex was looking for something "authentic".  Stacy tried to explain that Spaniards do not eat out.  It makes sense.  They close shop for lunch, go home to be with their family and rest.  They go back and finish business and then come home for dinner together.  We did find a nice place and enjoyed a very good meal.  We decided to grab a cab back to our hotel but we were turned away by the cab driver.  Apparently the Policia had blocked off the only entrance to the Alhambra and we would have to hoof it.  We figured out that this was because there was a procession going on.  We are here during Holy Week or Semana Santa.  More from Wikipedia:

Holy Week (Sp. Semana Santa) processions are Christian (specifically Catholic) religious ceremonies traditionally held in several Catholic countries of Hispanic heritage. They consist in the marching of cofradias and hermandades, and the displaying of pasos, elaborate sculptures depicting the most important events in the life of Jesus from the day he arrived in Jerusalem until his resurrection as told by the Bible. The processions are distributed into 5 days, recognized by the Church as:

• Palm Sunday: The day when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem.
• Holy Thursday: The day when Jesus gave Last Supper, followed by the beginning of his passion.
• Good Friday: Jesus' crucifixion, performed in 14 stations.
• Holy Saturday: Loneliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Easter Sunday: The resurrection of the Christ.

What isn't clear about this description is that these processions really last seven days and every one of them is different.  The people are usually dressed up in robes and wear hoods similar to those that we Americans know as the Ku Klux Klan attire.  It can actually be a bit disturbing at first but you soon realize you are the only one who is bothered by this.  There are usually 20 to 30 men that will carry these sculptures which are quite heavy.  There is usually a marching band that follows and plays traditional music.  The men will sometimes go barefoot or will wear chains around their ankles.  These processions can last up to 12 hours.  The one we watched was very small in comparison but for being my first one, I have to say it was pretty damn cool.  They carried this sculpture up a massive hill, under a huge archway and into the church that just so happen to be right next to our hotel.  It was past 1:30 a.m. before we got into our rooms.  We all fell asleep quickly after.  Here are some more photos.

Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from our first full day in Spain/Granada.  I will be uploading more but now it is time to rest.

Day One

24 hours later we finally made it.  We started in

Seattle

at 5:30 a.m. and hopped our flight to

Chicago

leaving at 7:00 a.m.  We arrive in

Chicago

and set ourselves up for a 4.5 hour layover in the Admiral Club.  The kids played Yahtzee and the adults caught up on reading, email and rest.  Alex and I decided we should take the opportunity to find a good hot dog spot.  I went to grab something out of my smaller bag only to find it wasn’t there…  Apparently, when I had pulled some money our for Fen’s lunch the bag didn’t make it into my other one and fell out into the overhead compartment.  The really bad part was this was the bag that held Fen and my passport along with credit cards and cash.  Yikes!  We ran back to the gate – got back onto the plane (luckily it was holding in the gate for a direct flight to

Newark

) but it wasn’t there.  We were told to find a ticket agent so we went back to the club area – they employees there are apparently not agents.  We ran to another gate where we finally found someone who was able to help and low and behold, my bag was returned with everything inside.  Phew!!!  Luckily, the crazy long layover worked in our favor.  We boarded our flight to

Madrid

on

Iberia

around 4:30 but were having some trouble getting seats together.  One seat was 20 rows behind the other three in coach which would have meant one small child or Stacy by themselves.  Stacy was a master and got a bunch of people to shift their seats and she was able to find the two kids together and her only one row up on the isle next to them.  Fen had a hard time sleeping.  He only slept a couple of hours and when we finally made it to

Madrid

, it was nearly impossible to wake him up.  We had another almost 5 hour layover in

Madrid

.  Again we found the club and got settled.  This time we played Scrabble.  The kids were pretty tired but happy there were snacks and places to play and run around.  We boarded our flight to

Granada

at 12:30 p.m. and arrived around 1:30 p.m.   We grabbed our luggage and rental cars and made our way to the Alahambra.  We are staying at Hotel America and the others are at the Parador which turned out to be right next to one another.  I had originally had us at the Parador but when I saw the cost, the frugal part of me said forget it and we went next door.  I am now really happy about this decision.  The only upside I see next door is parking.  Our place is very cute, way less stuffy and it has a quaint little courtyard with seating and a kitchen that serves a pretty mean Gazpacho and Huevos Frito.  We finally gave in to our exhaustion and took a three hour siesta before heading to dinner.  We ate in town at a Moroccan place inside the Arabic district.  It was amazing.  So far I have been super thankful that Stacy is with us.  I have no idea how we would have stumbled through many of our lost in translation moments.  I am sure at some point we would figure it out but this is so much more efficient.  She is quite the trooper. 

Some of the things that saved us on our long travel time were:

Game Boy – Micro and DS

Travel Scrabble

Travel Yahtzee

Zen Vision M

Sony PSP

Laptop w/movies loaded

Two sets of headphones with a splitter for listening to movies on laptop

Timberland backpack/roll away

Alex had a great idea to give Fen a budget.  We are going to give him $4 Euros a day which he can choose to save up or spend how he chooses.  This will not count normal meals or anything else we would do as a group.  We tried this trick at the State Fair last Fall and it worked out really well.  Starting tomorrow, we are also going to have him do his own documentation of the trip.  He has his own digital camera and he takes whatever pictures he sees fit.  Each day, he has to choose 2 or 3 and write a few sentences or small paragraph about what they are.  Tomorrow we head for a tour of the Alahmbra.

Leaving for Spain

We leave at 7:04 a.m. on Wednesday.  It will be a rush trying to get everything organized and packed for the trip.  Traveling on our own is hard enough.  We have most of our time filled with stuff to do in Barcelona.  The question is what are we going to do with our time in Granada and Ronda.  We have two days in each city.  We will visit the Alhambra while in Granada but aren't clear what we will do on day two.  We will be doing wedding stuff for one of the days in Ronda.  In a way it is sort of nice not having any itinerary...  Stay tuned, we will be posting along the way.