Sheep Guarding Llama

Today is Sunday.  Tomorrow morning I have to leave for London to attend (and speak at) SpiceWorld London 2015.  So today needs to be a catch up on rest and get everything packed sort of day.  No big plans today.

We all slept in and then went to lunch at the meson in town.  It was a bright and warm day here in the village.  We enjoyed a nice, relaxing lunch in the afternoon.  The girls decided to go down and play in the playground while we ate which is handy because we can sit on the balcony and be right next to them while they get some exercise.

The girls wore themselves out pretty quickly and ended up coming up to eat with us.

While we were at the meson there were actually some tourists who came to get a drink there.  They turned out to be Belgians who were driving through the region for the day.  So we chatted with them for a little bit.

This evening was very slow.  Watched some of The Love Boat with Dominica and got to bed quite early.  I have a long week coming up.

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.

Everyone was exhausted last night and slept in quite a bit today.  Dominica got up when Luciana discovered ants in her chocolate milk carton from last night.  I got up at ten.

Shortly after getting up, I opened the basement window and discovered the remains of an umbrella sitting on the street outside the window. Our umbrella.  Argh.  That is going to take a lot of effort to deal with one way or another.

Shawn and Rachel slept in until after two.  Everyone was pretty tired today and struggling to function.  It is Thursday and this entire week has been an exhausting one.  And I only have a few days to get caught up on rest before I am off to London early next week and will be tired all over again.

This evening there were fireworks in Órgiva again.  This is our second time seeing them and this time I managed to grab a quick shot of them with my iPhone.  You can check that out on YouTube.

Was up at ten minutes until eight this morning, way too early.  Only two or maybe two and a half hours of sleep.  That was a bit rough.

Ryan was up just after me.  It took us until about a quarter till nine before we were able to get the Corsa loaded up and got on the road.  Since the morning light was good, we would have a lot of picture taking opportunities on the drive.  We checked the view from town and it was so clear this morning, while standing on the edge of the village parking lot, that we could see the waves rolling in on the Mediterranean down at Salobreña.

We probably pulled over to take pictures ten times or more between Cáñar and the highway.  We went the Órgiva route, taking the A346 along the north side of the southern ridge.  We got a lot of good pictures that I am not normally able to get when I have Dominica and the girls in the car with me.

We made good time, other than the photo opportunity stops, getting down to Salobreña.  It was about seventy five degrees this morning, very nice for getting to the beach.  We parked easily, there was almost no one there, and found a little place out on the beach that was serving breakfast.  We ordered coffee and found a table our on the sand.  There were probably four other tables out there enjoying the morning too.  Most with beer or wine, not with coffee.

While we were there I got to talking with the table next to us.  They are locals like we are and live up at the head of our valley.  Not technically inside La Alpujarra like we are but just outside of it.  They retired here from Britain.  They told us about the Friday market that happens in Lanjarón from eleven until three.  I am hoping to make it there tomorrow to check it out.

While I was having coffee, Ryan went and took a dip in the Mediterranean quickly.  It was a very quick dip, but at least now he can say that he has been to the beach on the Costa del Sol in Spain and swam in the Mediterranean Sea.  Big bucket item lists for any traveler.

We did not stay on the beach long, even though it was very nice.  There were only maybe half a dozen people actually “on” the beach and the rest of us were just eating.  Nice time of day to check it out.  But we needed to get to the airport so were back in the car and driving pretty quickly after our coffee was done.

Very bright, but not overly hot day.  Perfect day for seeing the southern Spanish coast.

We had a nice drive and got to the air port only half an hour after Shawn and Rachel had landed, gotten their bags and gotten outside to wait for us.  So the timing was just about perfect.  Ryan had plenty of time to get through security and make his flight but did not have a long wait in the airport.  Ryan waited just long enough to say hello before heading into the airport.

Rachel and Shawn were pretty tired, only getting about two hours of sleep like me, but pretty excited to be in Spain.  This is the first time that they have seen the sun or been warm at all in two months!

We were all pretty drowsy on the long drive east.  We got into Órgiva right as shops were opening up for lunch and none of us had managed to have any food all day so we stopped on restaurant row and checked out the options.  We decided on Paradise Pizza which we had hoped to eat at two nights ago.   I parked in the city’s big private parking lot in the middle of town and the guy working there immediately knew me and knew that I was from Cáñar.  I think that he was up drinking with me the other night.

We sat outside for a full half of an hour before the waiter even came over to us, or even knew we were there, I think.  He was not paying much attention.  There were people getting food, but very slowly.

We ordered three glasses of wine (not each, for all of us) and sipped that while deciding on food.  We ended up getting a tuna pizza for me and they split a meat pizza of some sort and a roast chicken.  The food and wine was all good and the bright sun and light breeze were perfect for sitting out under the umbrellas and enjoying the Spanish warmth.  Rachel took the chance to photograph the orange trees at the church.

We used the opportunity to stock up on cash at the telebanco and loaded back into the car and ascended the hill.  It was probably after four when we got to the top of the mountain and they got to see Cáñar.

This is the first that I have seen Rachel in nearly two years!  It was September, 2013 the last time that we had a chance to hang out because that is when I moved back up to New York!  Really hard to believe that it has been so long.

We all hung out on the terrace.  I worked in the kitchen for a little bit and then went up to the terrace with everyone and hung out up there. Had a good, productive day at work today.  Feel pretty good about that.

Dominica made dinner tonight, pasta primavera.  We all sat on the lower terrace to eat.  It was very good and nice to get to just stay in and relax.

I worked until about midnight.  Then Rachel, Shawn and I ran over to the Meson Rural Los Angeles and we had some beer before calling it a night.  Rachel was really impressed by how good the beer was.  I am so glad that we have discovered Alhambra beer!

Today is Wednesday, our big day to tour Granada and finally get to see the Alhambra, the biggest tourist attraction in the whole of Europe.  We all had to be up very early this morning, which was rough, since we got very little sleep last night.  I only got three hours, at most.

Had to be up at six thirty, which really sucked.  But we were able to get up, as painful as it was, get everyone into the car and get on the road on time.  Ryan got a chance to see morning in Spain for the first time.  It was a gorgeous morning.

The drive went well.  We had just a tiny bit of traffic as it was the morning commuting hours, but nothing that delayed us.  We went west through Lanjarón which we had seen last night.

Dominica had all of the information on where to park in Granada so it was actually pretty easy getting off of the highway and getting out to the old town and getting into the Alhambra parking.  Very easy.  We had heard that this was hard but it was not at all.

We parked and were out of the car just before nine!  We were quite early.  Our group was not supposed to meet until ten.  Our tour group, that is.

So we hunted around until we found the welcome center and there we were able to get a light breakfast.  Ryan got a tortilla and Dominica and I each got a chocolate filled croissant which are rather popular here as a breakfast food.  We all got café con leche.  The girls just got chips.  Rather odd, but there was no normal food that they wanted.

Dominica spent a lot of time dealing with the tour logistics, like figuring out where to meet, getting our tour stickers and listening devices and whatnot.  That was quite a bit more work than it should have been and there was apparently some complication that things did not start when they were supposed to but there was no clear way to tell us so we were never really sure what was going on and Dominica had to check in a few times to make sure that they had not started the tour without us.  But at a quarter after ten we finally got started and went out to the parking lot to meet up with loads of other confused people and were slowly sorted into different groups to begin the tour.

We had a great tour guide who was local but his Engish was clear.  We had little radios that we carried so that we could hear him even when we could not see him.  The Alhambra is enormous and it is really crowded all of the time so it is easy to get separated or lose sight of the group if you stop to actually see anything.

I had thought that the tour was going to be about an hour and a half.  Boy was I wrong.  The tour went from a quarter after ten in the morning until after one thirty in the afternoon with us walking the entire time!  What a long day that was and it is amazing that the girls were able to handle it.  They did such a good job.

The Alhambra was amazing.  We got to see so many of the most beautiful gardens.  And the archeological site and the castle and grounds were all amazing too.  Tons of great fountains, amazing tile work, etc.  So much interesting history.  The tour really ended up making it much better.  We ended up being really thankful that we did things that way.  Originally we thought that the tour was just an extra expense but after doing it we realized that it forced us to really see everything and learn lots of things that we would have otherwise missed and we ended up spending the entire day there rather than just an hour or whatever we would have done until the girls started to get tired.

It was nearly two when we finished up at the Alhambra.  What a long day!  Four hours of continuous walking.  I checked on my iPhone’s pedometer and found that we had done 7.6 miles today!  We carried Luciana for part of that but Liesl walked every bit of it!  She is such a good walker.

As we were heading out to look for our car we saw the Grey Lines city sightseeing trolley thing pull up outside of the Alhambra and we decided that this would be a great way to see the city as this is probably our only chance to actually do sightseeing in Granada before we head out of Spain and certainly Ryan’s only chance to get a real tour of a Spanish city.  It was not too expensive and it would take us down to the area where we wanted to go to find lunch so it was pretty much perfect.

The tour was pretty good.  The little trolley thing was pretty cool to ride around in.  It was a warm day and this was a nice way to get around.  We rode for about an hour before getting out to look for a restaurant.

Ryan did some searching on his phone and found a place that he wanted to go to find.  It was not where the trolley had dropped us off so we had to walk for a bit.  When we found the place we went in and found that they were only serving prix fix and not their normal menu and there was nothing that the kids would consider eating.  So we had to go somewhere else.

We ended up going to the place next door (which later we discovered was a well known gay bar in the area) and the food turned out to be completely amazing.  Maybe the best food that we have had in Spain!  We ordered wine and got some meat-based tapas that Ryan got to eat.  We ordered cheese, eggplant in molasses, caprese salad and a leek pudding.  Amazing.  We could not have found better food had we spent all day searching.

Unfortunately the meal took a while between the walk and having to switch places so we were actually racing to get back to the house.  And we got a little lost trying to do it.  So we missed the first trolley that came by.  So the rest of the afternoon was spent in a little bit of a panic trying to get back to the house.

We finished up the tour which dropped us back off at the parking lot for the Alhambra which was perfect.  We were able to drive right out and home without any issues.

It was a race but I got home just in the nick of time to start work.  That was quite stressful.

After work Ryan and I went back to the Meson for beers again.  Different crowd tonight.  Met some new friends, one who bought us drinks too, and we hung out until late.  One of the guys, Adolfo, who lives next door to me and is the person that we met when Dominica and I first pulled into Cáñar and parked on the plaza to unload the car when we were moving into town, ended up coming outside to ask us about a laptop that he was having problems with.  So he came back to the house and we opened some wine and Ryan worked on his laptop for a few hours while I did some work.

By four in the morning we managed to get his laptop actually working and I have him on Facebook now, as does Ryan.  It was very late when we got to bed.  We will be lucky to have two hours of sleep before we need to get up tomorrow and get on the road to get Ryan back to the airport.  It is going to be a busy day.  A little sightseeing then getting him to the airport and then picking up Rachel and Shawn and getting them back to the village.  Lots of driving and lots to do.