Winter (Invierno)

Time flies, whether you're having fun or not

We’ve been in Spain over 5 months now but it seems much longer with all we have learned, done and experienced. So many new challenges, learnings, changes in scenery….. I’ve learned a lot about myself and my serious need for companionship, particularly in the area of friendship. I’m growing closer to my ever pessimistic son although not without its difficulties. We are having loads of family time – more than we are used to and not always fun, but am sure it will be so very memorable someday. I’ve also been sick, tweaked my back (in yoga) and have been preoccupied worrying about the boys. It’s very cold at the moment (below freezing at night), with snow predicted in the coming week, but the sun that comes out every day makes the afternoons enjoyable and warm enough that not even a coat is necessary.

Struggles at School
The last few weeks have been very difficult, with the kids readjusting to school after the long winter break and the realization that school just isn’t getting any easier for Clark with the challenges of his dyslexia. We’ve also had some more “bullying” incidents, although somewhat harmless kid stuff, are particularly frustrating when you don’t yet speak the language. We just discovered that the fact that Clark is dyslexic was not shared with others at the school and that much of the work that Clark has been doing (script handwriting) has not at all been helpful for his prognosis. Hopefully we have found a private tutor to help out at home. Other adventures include....

The white town of Ronda

Help me Ronda
We took a fun (albeit long) day trip to the white town of Ronda a few weeks ago, a lovely place with a famous bridge and amazing vistas. The boys enjoyed the ipod time in the car while Nat and I savored the delicious lunch and outstanding views from the town center. Only downside was the weather as we actually had, dare I saw, R-A-I-N.  

Grass head Chia pet

Girl’s Night Out(s)
On the social side of things I had my best week yet with 3 (count em’ 1-2-3) GNO’s!! Saw my first movie in Spain, “The Artist” (mostly silent), had dinner with a friend and went bar/tapa hopping with a MOB group I have been trying to organize (MOB = Mothers of Boys). I also attended my first book club with a small group of Americans who meet monthly to discuss books, drink wine and socialize. All fun.

Pizza party with our neighbors

Pizza, Cycling, Hiking and Cross-Country Skiing
Weekends was typically very active. We had a fun pizza party with the neighbors on Friday night and then road our bikes out to our friends place in the “Vega” for a large Spanish family meal which was very enjoyable (note: still sitting outside for lunch in January!) Then on Sunday, Nat, Clark and a friend had a lovely cross-country skiing outing with a group of 30 or so others from the kids’ school. The weather was lovely and the area only 1 ¼ hours away, with a small café and sledding hill included. We’ve also discovered a wonderful national park only a 15 minute drive from the house where one can hike all day and then stop at the café near the parking lot for a long, leisurely late afternoon lunch (in the sunshine!)

Biggest paella yet

We have also ventured to the nearby town of Piñar, with some close friends, in hopes of exploring a famous cave, but unfortunately when we arrived we found it was closed. Instead we enjoyed a lovely Spanish lunch at a nearby restaurant. And some neighbors invited us to accompany them to the San Cecilio fiesta, a big, Catholic festival in nearby Sacromonte that included flamenco dancing, paella, and free grab bags (which interestingly included beans, salted cod and bread rolls).  

Watching the Stupidbowl in Spain



Full Sail all the way
from Seattle

And this past Sunday, the boys just had to watch the Superbowl, as Nat (and thus Colin's) favorite team the New England Patriot's was competing in the game. In order to watch it live we got up at 1am in the morning and stayed up until 5. (The next day the boys missed school but we walked over to the Alhambra on a cultural outing to make up for it). Sadly, the Patriot's lost but it was an exciting game nonetheless (and I don't even like football). Of particular note is the fact that my American kids have no idea who Madonna is (who performed the halftime show) and keep referring to her as the Mercadona lady (Mercadona is a supermarket chain here in Southern Spain).

Three Kings Day (Dia de los Reyes Magos)

"On January 5th, Spain celebrates the end of Christmas with a great party where everybody gives and receives presents. It is to celebrate the arrival of the Three Wise Men (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) to the city where Jesus was born. In the same way that the Three Wise Men gave gifts to baby Christ, here they share out presents amongst children around Spain. In fact, they are more popular than Santa Claus."

We celebrated by attending the local parade in downtown Granada which was quite a spectacle complete with elaborate floats, fireworks and lots of kids throwing candy (which of course the boys loved). Am attaching a few video clips to give you an idea of the action. That is Clark and friends working it with the upside down umbrella (a tip we picked up from the locals).

Afterwards we were invited for dinner at a Spanish neighbors house where we enjoyed traditional dishes and an evening all in Spanish (good for practice but we're certainly not there yet with total understanding).


Space Noodles!!

 The next morning (Jan 6) we finally celebrated Christmas, having been in Morocco over the holidays. Thanks to our good friends back home, we had some fun gifts to open including a new bear for Colin, pasta shaped like the Space Needle (Clark's favorite) and a few other goodies.

Wearing new tie-dye t-shirts
from the cousins in Seattle

We then decided to take  a "Three Kings" bike ride to nearby Sacramonte to take the boys to see an abandoned monestary that isn't too far away. For some reason the route was extremely muddy that day which made for a challenging ride but the weather was sunny and warm and we enjoyed being outside.

Stuck in the mud

Three Kings bike ride

 

Travels in Morocco

Clark holding a 5 day old baby goat

Slippers for sale in Fez

INTENSE is the best word to describe our travels throughout Morocco these past 11 days. It was truly a whirwind tour of a fascinating country full of diversity and extremes. We really packed it in, travelling 1800 kilometers by bus, taxi, ferry, minivan, camel, train and on foot, from the northern city of Tangier all the way to the beaches of Essaouria on the Atlantic coast, with many interesting encounters in between. There were many highs and lows, like playing circle tag on a windsurfing beach with local Moroccan teenagers and hours later driving by a recent highway accident where a woman in arabic clothing lie lifeless in the road, belongings strewn all around.

Much needed break from the van
(we could be in Ireland!)

Nat in one of the 7 gates in Fez

The kids were troopers, putting up with moving almost every day and hours upon hours of travelling by van (the boys listened to many, many books on their ipods). We saw so many things and experienced so much it will take quite a while to process it all. So many new and different sights, sounds, smells, flavors, colors, vantages and experiences, certainly not all pretty. Our "guide" turned out to be much more of a driver than an actual guide (I don't think he liked tourists) but the locations he led us to were beyond spectacular: sunset over the Sahara dunes, camping by starlight in the middle of the desert, hiking through gorges and canyons, visiting brilliant blue towns and seeing fascinating things in the medinas and souks of Fez and Marrakesh. Too many tours, not enough time in each place, but at least we got a taste of many of the different parts of the country and the diversity of the landscape, architecture and people. I'm happy to be home but can't wait to go back.

A few moments stand out: like when I gave a 2 dirham coin (~25 cents) to a woman begging on the street and she kissed my hand in return (so I kissed her cheek), seeing the extreme poverty of the big cities as well as small towns, enjoying a sunset over the remote desert, camping in the Sahara, finding the best Moroccan food in the country in the souks of Marrakesh - we quickly discovered that the less the price, the better the food, and that sticking with the local cuisine was much wiser than trying "tourist" food. 



The doorway to our Riad

Overlooking Chefchaoen

We spent the first night in the mountain village of Chefchaoen after travelling for over 10 hours to get there. Arriving in the evening to our beautiful Riad, we put the kids to bed (Colin fell sleep immediately) and went across the street to bring back some food for dinner, our first tangine which was delicious. The next morning we woke up to a bright sunny day alighting the beautiful blue-tinged buildings with the cloud cover rolling in. We had a quick stroll around the city before loading up to move on to our next destination, Fez.

Christmas shopping in Fez

Camel head for sale in the souks



Christmas Eve in Fez was spent at a local restaurant where the kids ordered spaghetti (!) and adults tangines and kebabs. On Christmas day we toured the amazing souks of Fez including a tannery, ceramics shop, fabric store and many sights, sounds and smells of local markets too numerous to mention. One could buy anything there, from camel heads to zapatos (shoes). We returned to our very comfortable and centrally located Riad (hotel) for tea and relaxation.

Kids play with rocks in the black desert

Our hotel was an oasis in the middle
 of nowhere

The next stop on our itinerary was the small village of Merzhouga on the edge of the Sahara desert where we happened upon an oasis of a hotel in the middle of nowhere. We spent a night there where the kids learned to play the tam-tams (local drums) and the next day headed out by 4x4 jeeps to cross the "black desert" and do some serious off-roading (the boys loved this). We spent that night camping out under the stars in very high-end Berber tents created with wool blankets and complete with electricity run by a portable generator. The kids loved playing hide and seek in the dark and among the dunes and we all bundled up for a very cold night.

Our dromedario, "Boxy"

Mom and Colin atop camel

The next morning we did the very touristy camel ride for an hour in some local dunes and then hopped back in the van for the trip to our next destination, the mountain village of Tinergher near the Todra Gorge. After a walk through the village and obligatory stop at a local families carpet making operation (where we were served tea by the patriarch and both families purchased the cliche Morrocan carpet), we took a quick walk thru the Gorge before getting back in the van for a long ride thru some remote areas where we saw an enormous movie studio and the famous ancient village of Ait Benhaddou. Then it was up and over the very scenic (but long and windy) Atlas mountains before descending in to the chaos of Marrakesh. 

Colin with a scaly friend

Palace in ruins

We spent the next day touring the Medina of Marrakesh including an amazing crumbling palace, the restored home of a past local government official who had 4 wives and 26 concubines (try explaining that to the kids) as well as an exotic garden owned by French designer, Yves St Laurent. In the central square in town we were quickly accosted by both snake charmers and gypsies who grabbled the kids hands and immediately painted them with henna partterns before demanding payment from the parents. What a different culture! Another exhausting albeit fascinating day.

Circle tag with the locals

Windsurfers on the beach

Then it was on to an overnight visit to Essaouria where we enjoyed some beach time and spent New Year's Eve (ironically our worst meal of the trip was the 3 course tourist meal provided by the hotel). Colin couldn't quite make it to midnight so I stayed in our hotel room with him while the Icelandics and Clark and Nat headed to the local square to set off some fun light-up toys and cheer in 2012 (apparently they were the only people there -- not a lot of partying happening in a muslim country). The next day was spent on the beach playing circle tag with some local teens (very polite by the way, although we didn't speak French and Arabic like them). Then we drove back to Marrakesh where we spent one last night before flying back to Spain via Sevilla.

All in all, an amazing experience that we were grateful to share with our Icelandic neighbors. We certainly added some wonderful memories to our time abroad.





Yule lads, concerts and learning from the locals

Colin's favorite Yule Lad: Stuffy



Clark prefers Bowl licker

Because we are spending the holidays abroad this year and won't have the same traditions we are used to at home, we have instituted a wonderful new tradition taught to us by our Icelandic neighbors, the arrival of Yule Lads. These are Icelandic elves that used to be quite mischievous (and ate children) but now bring treats to kids if they have good behavior (like going to bed early and listening to their parents). So for the 13 days preceeding Christmas, kids are to leave one of their shoes out next to a window and if they are good, they will receive a small treat (if not, they get a raw potato). Here is a famous poem about them and they also have a Facebook page! The boys love this tradition and have added it to their daily regimen as well as the more traditional advent calendar. And no raw potatoes as of yet!



In-ground trampoline and tetherball



Clark with Gustave the pig

We were invited over for lunch to a friend's house a few weeks ago and learned a few more things about Spanish living. They live out in the "vega" just outside of town which means they have more room to roam and access to the countryside. They've incorporated some cool features like solar power (sure makes sense over here) and have room for many animals including a dog, cat, pig, lamb and multiple ducks, chickens and even a large turkey.



Drying permissons, and ripening with whiskey

 We also discovered that they have the same fruit tree in their yard that we do so the husband showed Nat how to dry caqui (persimmons) and how to use a cup of whiskey to help them ripen more quickly so he immediately picked the fruit in our garden when we got home. I have to admit, it worked great and the fruit tastes quite like mango, but without that pesky pit.

Other Christmas traditions

On Monday we had a "Christmas concert" up in the school yard whereby about 20 parents sang three songs, one traditional Spanish one, one flamenco song written specifically for the 25th anniverary of the school and the worldwide favorite "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (in english believe it or not). The concert was organized by a French mom and her English husband who also acted as conductor. Although I only made it to one rehearsal I had fun singing along (I'm right in the middle in the green down jacket - kind of hard to see).

Clark and I attended the music recital of the Icelandic girls upstairs and enjoyed hearing them play cello and piano and tomorrow there is a Christmas party (Navidad de fiesta) at the school which apparently each grade participates in although I can't say that my boys have much interest.

We are off to Morocco on Friday for 11 days along with our Icelandic neighbors so I am signing off until next year. All the best to you and yours during the holidays and will post again in 2012.

Karen, Nat, Clark y Colin

Christmas 2011
Granada, España

Italy (Part 2): Florence

Eurostar train

Mom and Clark

For this segment of the trip we took the super fast Eurostar train for the 2 hour ride from Venice to Florence where we caught a 5 minute cab ride to our friend's home on the other side of the River Arno. There we were warmly welcomed by the entire family and were quickly whisked off to San Miniato Al Monte, an amazing church where we hoped to see monks sing vespers (but because it was a holiday in Italy the schedule had changed). Then it was on to a "girl's night out" for Karen with Alison and a bunch of fellow ex-pats and a chance for the boys to play futbol with our friend's kids' friends, followed by catching up back at their beautiful home over an amazing selection of local antipastas as well as delicious Italian vino.



Boys with "David" (I had just
asked them to pose naked and
they were not amused).

Candy at the Christmas market

The next day I joined Alison while she played tennis with girlfriends (on a real clay court) and the boys got some game time on the Kinect as well as target practice with the boys' nerf gun artillery. We then spent the day wandering around the streets of Florence, hitting the local Christmas market, loading up on candy for the boys and visiting the Galileo Museum whose highlight included a display with his actual forefinger and thumb (ick). That evening another high school classmate of Nat's and her Italian boyfriend joined us for drinks and we ordered in yummy Italian pizza.

Local vegetable market

Colin enjoying Italian stew

On Saturday Alison arranged for us to take a Taste Florence tour which I highly recommend to anyone travelling to Florence. Started by a young American woman of Italian heritage a few years back as a way to stay in Italy, she takes folks on an extended tour of the local markets, bakeries and meat, cheese and wine shops including explanations and tastings of olive oils, balsalmic vinegars and a variety of other foods (we even visited a fancy wine cellar). Although the boys didn't appreciate all the specialty items, the gelateria's were a definite hit.





On our final day in Florence we had a lovely afternoon lunch at the 4 Leoni, our friend's local neighborhood Trattoria. Florence was a true highlight of our time abroad so far and we can't thank our friends enough for their generosity and hospitality.

Catching raindrops off the rooftops

Smoking pig head

Our next stop was Bologna where we planned to spend the night as we flew out from there the next day. I didn't book this train trip ahead of time as I wasn't sure what time we wanted to leave town and I knew the trains left every half hour for the 30 minute trip. Unfortunately when we showed up at the train station that afternoon we discovered that all the trains were sold out until 10pm that night as it was the end of a 4 day holiday weekend. We also found out that we couldn't take a bus until the next day and I had already reserved our hotel in Bologna. Soooooo..... we bit the bullet and talked a very nice english speaking cab driver in to getting us safely to our hotel. It took him an hour and a half to get us there and although he gave us a discounted rate suffice it to say we went way over budget.

Italy (Part 1): Venezia

Logistics
We recently left Spain for the first time since our arrival 3 1/2 months ago, to visit friends who live in nearby Italy. Now nearby is a relative term as although on a map it doesn't appear very far away, it's kind of a pain to get there.

Just back from Italy where
we over ate and over spent

With budget in mind, I booked us low-cost flights on Ryan Airlines which leaves from Madrid (which is a 4+ hour drive away) and flies to Bologna from where we could catch a train to our first destination, Venice. With all the logistics worked out (visit scheduled, train seats reserved, overnight in Madrid figured out, bags packed -- carry-on only of course as it's 30E a bag for anything more), we started the long drive towards Madrid. All went well until our friendly GPS guide with the sultry female voice (I still haven't figured out to change to English but all the better for our spanish practice), repeatedly started saying Recalculando every time we missed a turn. But we finally found the hotel which was very nearby the airport and after a dinner that cost more than the room (thankfully the room was cheap), we headed to bed, very early by Spanish standards.

 

In front of the Rialto Bridge

Up at 4:30am the next morning for a 6:45am flight and we're off. Easy 2 hour flight to Bologna, kill a few hours in the train station by trying out our first Italian pizza at a nearby Osteria,(it was a hit) and we're on to Venice which is only 2 hours away.

Our gondolier, Simoni, checks his cell
phone mid-ride

Now this is my third time to Venice, the first as a backpacker in my twenties, once with Nat before we got married and now 16 years later with 2 boys in tow. I wanted to do it all this time and figured we could finally afford it so on to the cheezy Gondola ride. It was actually quite fun although our gondolier, Simoni, was on his cell phone almost the entire time and I don't think we even made it the allotted 40 minutes. At least it was off-season so the prices were (slightly) lower.

Colin amongst the knaves

We stayed at a gorgeous boutique hotel in a private courtyard just off of Piazza San Marco (I stayed at a youth hostel when I was there the first time) and we even had 2 rooms as they couldn't accomodate all 4 of us in one room. The rooms were decadent with murals painted on the walls, terry cloth robes, an incredible breakfast and most importantly a bath tub, something we don't have back at home in Granada. (I took 3 baths while there while the boys enjoyed watching "snooker" on TV).

Breakfast fit for a King

We dined our first night at a restaurant favored by Johnny Depp but the biggest suprise of the night was when the British girl (identical to Madonna in the 90's - think short bleach blonde hair) at the table next to us handed Clark a 5E bill and told he and Colin to spend it on gelato, she thought they were so adorable. Note that she had probably had a bit of champagne as she also told us she was recently engaged so I am guessing her biological clock had started ticking. Regardless, Clark didn't know what to do with the cash and immediately handed it to me for safe keeping. 






Feed the birds, tuppins a bag

The next morning we spent at least an hour in Piazza San Marco playing with all of the assertive pigeons that roam the area looking for tourist handouts. Apparently it is now illegal to feed the pigeons (they used to sell birdseed), but everyone still does it. I was appalled at having pigeons wander all over my arms and head but the boys loved it. (Thank god for their hoods as Clark actually got pooped on).

Naval Museum

Then it was on to the Naval History Museum (Museo Storico Navale) which was both a hit and a bargain (the only one we found in Italy, mind you) at only 3E for the four of us. We spent a few hours checking out the model ships as well as maritime equipment and costumery. Afterwards we stopped by a bakery and a park and then another cafe along the Grand Canal on the way back to our hotel (did I mention that the drinks here were 9E each? -- and we sat inside!).

Along the Grand Canal

We spent our final morning in Venice at the famous Doge's Palace, another location I had never visited. This is a fascinating palace built in the 1300's for the Doge of Venice and is currently used as a museum. The boys overlooked the golden decor, famous paintings and enormous rooms for the much more interesting (to them) prison on the other side of the Bridge of Sighs, one of the most famous bridges in Venice known for the last view of the city that convicts got before they were sent to prison. We then took a water taxi back to the train station and caught a train to our next destination, Florence.