Greetings from Granada

     We took the train from Malaga on Friday, March 18th, excited and anxious to meet Scott and Deanne in Granada. We arrived at the Melia Granada and found a lovely room with a balcony waiting for us. 

Melia Granada

Deanne and Scott were a bit late arriving from Orlando due to very long custom lines in Madrid. They adapted beautifully, though we were a bit more anxious. They arrived all set to go and soon we were on our way up to Estrella Restaurante in Plaza San Nicholas. What a view!

Estrella Restaurant with the amazing view

View of the Alhambra

The next morning we were waiting for our driver and guide to the Alhambra and waiting and waiting. That is a very long story and now we are waiting and waiting and waiting for a refund for a guided tour that never took place. Thanks to Deanne we have lots of documentation but we are still waiting and waiting. She was able to get them to send us our tickets for the Alhambra. Then into a taxi we went up to the entrance, got our audio guides and away we went.

What an amazing sight. The Alhambra is a delightful feast for the senses, gorgeous sights accompanied by orange blossoms scenting the air.

The old people took a taxi back but Deanne and Scott walked up hill and down returning to the hotel in time for an evening of tapas and wine. We started at our hotel and went on from there, not returning until after midnight. We're getting the hang of being in Spain!

Happy Spanish Father's Day!

We're still awake. 

A final word from Dennis:

    It was such a wonderful experience sitting in the lobby of the Melia Granada Hotel in Granada, Spain and watching Dee and Scott emerge from their airport taxi. Cindy and I had arrived a few hours earlier and were happy to see that they had cleared customs in Madrid and were on a plane to Granada. There was quite a back-up in Madrid and they were concerned they would miss their flight which they did. But here they were, meeting us over 5,000 air miles away from their departure in Orlando. Whoda thunk??

Waiting...

After catching up, we went to the beautiful restaurant that Cindy wrote about, overlooking Granada and the Alhambra. My biggest concern was if Cindy and I could keep up with these "kids" while they explored the town. We did our best but it was no contest. They were always ready for more vistas to conquer. Us? It's almost midnight. Isn't it time for bed? More to come. On to Malaga by train.

  

A Perfect Rainy Day

 It's raining and the rain is badly needed in Malaga. But what do the turistos do when it rains? Especially when there is NO whining allowed? We go to the large market. Moving through the aisles of fish, meats, chesses, iberico jamon, fruit of every kind, an adventure in tastes and smells, sights, and sounds. And everything FRESH, fresh, fresh!

    As you move through the aisles you are treated to tastes and it is very hard to resist the jamon, the queso, the huge strawberries.  The olives are tangy, firm and crisp. They've not been stored in jars on the store shelf for months (or years). It's not possible to get better olives anywhere in the world (opinion warning). 

    We exited the market to go across the street as the rain again began to pour. There we had a quick breakfast--cafe con leche with a croissant. A small bar but one with a bathroom, perfect!

    We headed home meandering through the small streets of the old town always heading north and west. Finally home!

A rainy day for Dennis...

    I must admit, many times I like rainy days. Even when I'm home in B'ton. On those days, I can't golf. I can't work in the yard, so I get to putter inside, or just sit and read. Perfect. Same here in Malaga, Spain. We've been pretty busy with day trips in both cars and buses so sometimes it's just nice to sit and relax. 

    Since it was raining today, we planned to walk to the huge market between when the weather man said it would be DRY outside and when it would start to rain. The knowledgeable sage said it wouldn't start raining until 1:00 PM. We left for the market (about a mile away) at 10:00 AM and with a comfortable stride, arrived before 11:00 with a backpack, shopping bag, and umbrellas, just in case. Fifteen minutes later it started to rain. So much for the sage but we were already inside the market so we started shopping. An hour later, it was still raining so coffee and croissants were in order. After that, still raining. So we popped our "umbrellies," shouldered our foraged goods and headed back to camp. Of course, there were possibly 200-300 shops on the streets for Cindy to ogle or linger at on the way back. But after 45 - 60 minutes we were back home. Now what should we do?

    It's technically afternoon so how about a glass of wine? She poured red, I poured white. Cindy washed the fruit and got out the tomatoes, olives, cheese and jamon we just bought at the market and made a pleasant presentation on our kitchen table. After each of us filled a small plate, she headed to the laptop in the living room and her Ethiopian project and I got my book and headed to the couch. The only question? Hmmm, which restaurant should we walk to for dinner tonight? There's probably about 20 - 30 within a half mile. Like I said, I like rainy days. 😉

 

Here, There, and Everywhere...

 These last few days leave us wondering where to begin the story? We have seen the most beautiful and unusual villages and cities imaginable. This  will be a little bit of everything. If you want all of the details you will have to plan a visit to our home. There we will sit you down, give you some vino or cerveza, a bit of jamon and queso and put in the DVDs (there's bound to be more than one).

    First we began with a visit to the Picasso Museum. 

I swear I heard Dennis say, "Oh, I'm so confused."

    The next day we were on a bus trip to Setenil de las Bodegas.

The town of about 3,000 inhabitants dates back to prehistoric times. They say the name Setenil comes from the Christians trying 7 times and finally taking the town from the Moors. Initially the caves (bodegas) were used for storage. The people discovered that the caves provided an ideal home, cool in summer, warm in winter and all that was needed was the façade. Voila! An amazing village!

    Back on the bus we left the province of Cadiz behind and return to the province of Malaga and the city of Ronda. Ronda sits on each side of the El Tajo gorge, spanned by the "New Bridge" which was completed in 1793. The gorge is 328 feet deep (think a 30 story building). It is also known for its bullfighting history. And as aficionadas of bullfighting, both Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles have been immortalized with sculptures here. Both of them spent many summers in Ronda and Welles' ashes are buried on the property of a famous bullfighter.

Yes, I had Rabos de Torres and it was delicious!

We got lost on the way back to where we were supposed to meet but eventually found the bus station and slept all the way back to Malaga.

    The following day Dennis explored the port area and beach while I worked on the virtual service project for Ethiopia and did a bit  of painting, inspired by Picasso.

    On Saturday we were once again on our way out of the city heading to Nerja. Nerja is a very picturesque city on the costa del sol. We spent a bit of time there learning about the area from our guide Mano (Manuel) with another couple Matilde and Antonio. 

 

    From here we went on to (for me) the highlight and challenge of the day--Frigiliana!

Frigiliana began as a Moorish town. The old quarter is filled with winding cobblestone streets all of which go UP HILL! The houses are all painted white so it is quite dazzling. The doors are of a variety of colors. No two houses next to each other will have the same color of door unless they are both owned by the same person. It is a beautiful town. As a reward for not whining, the tour was followed by a beautiful lunch.

    Sunday found us on a bus to Marbella, another beautiful town in the province of Malaga. It is little wonder that so many visitors return to retire here. We were met at the bus station in Marbella by Cristina, a former Spanish teacher in Cicero who showed us a very gorgeous day. Cristina is now a principal in one of the top one hundred schools in Spain. It was a wonderful day that included a chance to see her school.  The highlight has to be lunch with her parents. They are absolutely fantastic and it is easy to see why she has been so successful. We put ourselves in their hands and they ordered a most fabulous lunch!

Churros!

Carmen, Pepe, Cristina
What an incredible week!

And now for a word from Senor Dennis:    

    Wow! Did we really do all that over the last few days? Seeing what Cindy's pictured and written is  an act to tough to follow so I'll keep my post short. (Getting fat and lazy also helps tp facilitate this position.) 😄 Regarding the Picasso Museum? There was a quote near the end of the tour that I think summed it up for me. I'll paraphrase. He was nearing the end of his life when he said, "I spent eight decades of my life learning my art in an attempt to paint again like a child." That's how I found it--confusing... The cultural gene was somehow deleted from my anatomy when I was conceived. 

    Churches and museums have dropped a notch or two on my "must see" list. Although some, such as Gaudi's Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona and the Prado in Madrid have become forever imbedded in my memory. This being said, the past week has been wonderful. The things we've seen as well as the people we've met have made it so. As Cindy and I have discussed many times, we've been very, very fortunate to have the time and ability to still do things like this. We're also glad that we can share them with you. Stay with us.