May 9, 2015: Lanjarón with Rachel and Shawn

Today is our first weekend with Rachel and Shawn at the house and today is really my only free day as tomorrow I need to get all ready to head to London early Monday morning. To get ready, Dominica and I needed to hit the grocery store so we left the kids with Rachel and Shawn and ran down the mountain to Órgiva to start the day.

We hit the grocery store and got stocked up on what we needed since I am going to be gone and no one is able to go down the mountain to get groceries again until Thursday as tomorrow is Sunday and everything is closed and I will be gone Monday through Wednesday.  So this was pretty important.

After the grocery shopping we went to the Moroccan restaurant that we liked so much and got take away pita wraps to take back to eat up on the hill.  We got coffee and ice cream while we were waiting, though.

Once we were back up in our village we set up on the terrace and ate lunch.  The food was awesome.

We had a bit of logistical stuff that we wanted to do with them today as this is really the first that they have been stationary anywhere for a few months and they needed to deal with a few things.  A big one was just finding a tee shirt for Shawn which, you would think, would be pretty easy but really is not.  We could think of nowhere in Órgiva to get one but felt that Lanjarón would be more likely to offer something.

We all slept in a lot today and then had a lazy start. It was around five when Shawn, Rachel and I drove out to Lanjarón.  This is their first chance to leave Cáñar since arriving a few days ago.  They have gotten to see nothing except for the village.  Dominica and the girls could not go with us as only I can drive and I can either fit Rachel and Shawn in the car or I can fit the family but I cannot fit both.

We got out to Lanjarón and parked in the municipal parking and walked up the hill to the main street to see what we could find.  We started by going east as that is the direction that I knew the least and there was every possibility that we would just find a clothing store.  At the main circle, where there is the giant, awesome fountain that must be thirty feet high or more and is a giant stone girl drinking from a water fountain shooting up from the ground, we took the northern road that I have never been on before.

There were really no stores on the northern walk.  We found a grocery and a bakery but it was a very residential street.  We did find some really cute plazas and neat little nooks where people lived.  It was a nice walk and a great introduction for Rachel and Shawn to what life in a city like this would be like.

We returned to the circle and took the southern road to the east from the circle this time which had many more businesses, but not the type that we needed.  We walked all the way out to where we drive by when we enter the city from Cáñar and discovered where the big grocery store, the Dia, was located.  But no clothing shops.

Now to go west.  We walked all of the way through the city, ducking into every little bazaar and souvenir shop in the hopes that they would be selling shirts of some sort.  There was tons and tons of women’s clothing available everywhere but nothing for men.  Some stuff for kids.  But not for men.

It was a lot of walking and a lot of hunting around in stores.  We did find a nice gelato place and stopped to get Rachel and Shawn their first ice cream here.  I got the pomegranate (granada) which was amazing.

We walked all of the way to the park and spa on the far west of town.  It was in the very next to last shop that we finally found one store selling men’s souvenir tee shirts.  So Shawn’s one tee shirt is now a blue Lanjarón shirt that he will be using for the next few seasons around Europe.  He won’t be forgetting Lanjarón anytime soon!

As we walked back towards the center of town we talked about getting some food while we were out.  As Dominica and the kids are not here to feed, and I am happy just eating cheese, it was the perfect time to take Rachel and Shawn to a jamoneria (a specialty ham shop.)  There are two in town that look really nice.  One way out to the west that we took a look into but felt that it was going to be really expensive (I am pretty sure now that that assessment was incorrect) and one in the center of town.  So we went to the middle of town and got a seat out on the street.

We ordered a round of wine and this was the first time that Rachel and Shawn got to really experience Granada tapas culture – along with the very low cost wine came a huge plate full of expensive jamon.  They were really impressed.  You could not get the wine nor the food for twice this money in the States.  Nor could you get this quality.

We looked over the menu and decided on a media (half portion) meat plate and a full racion (full plate, basically a ration) of mixed goat and sheep cheese (they had never had goat cheese or even seen sheep cheese before.)  The cheese plate was amazing.  So many awesome cheeses.  It was an awesome dinner.  We also got another round and more tapas came along.  Rachel was so full that she could not eat the tapas that came but the cheese (with meat in it) was so good that she sneaked all of it into her purse (they don’t do take away in Europe) so that she could make grilled cheese sandwiches with it tomorrow.  We also discovered a very low alcohol beer called a Shandy which is beer and something like lemonade mixed together.  Very tasty.

It was dark when we got back to the car and drove back to Cáñar.  A long day in Lanjarón but ultimately it did end up being productive.  At one of the bazaars I had managed to find replacement clothing line for the terrace too.

After getting back home for a bit, we decided to go out to Bar Piqui, which was open for the first time since Rachel and Shawn had come to town.  It is always a challenge to figure out what is and is not going to be open on any given day.  So this was a chance to explore a new place.

It was a busy night at the bar with lots of locals (and their dogs) hanging out.  Tonight someone had a guitar and people were singing which was really interesting.  I managed to get a video up to YouTube of the bar singing.  This is something I have never seen back in the US.

We had a few beers then called it a night.