To the Mediterranean and beyond

Making connections



We love the outdoor cafes

I am starting to realize that I am a bit of a “Euro-wannabe.” Watching all these sexy, Spanish women walking around with their gorgeous high-heels (on cobblestone streets, mind you) with their beautiful dresses, skinny physiques, pushing baby buggies, smoking cigarettes, looking cool and oh, so international. But I never will be something that I am not. Besides the fact that I am truly “middle-aged,” I have a strong American accent, wear schlocky clothes, no make-up and practical shoes. Better to just accept who I really am and make the best of it. I drink a lot of vino and eat plenty of bread and gelato so I won’t be getting any skinnier. But I did do a 2 minute headstand the other day, in the same room that my two energetic boys were playing some radically addictive computer game so I must be reaching a zen state at some level.



Spanish dryer - Oma will be proud

Our wonderful Icelandic neighbors had a sick daughter. They went to the hospital twice and had multiple tests done to figure out what was wrong (she has since recovered). How stressful. A sick child in a foreign country. Not being able to communicate on an intimate level. I am reading fellow Seattleite and travel writer Rick Steve’s book, “Travel as a Political Statement,” and it has some great points. When it comes down to humankind, we are all equal. We all love our children with the same intensity. Pretty important items to consider when thinking about peace on our planet.

Rio Genil

Exercise equipment along the Rio Genil

There is a lovely river that runs from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, through Granada and the surrounding countryside. Along it is a very flat bike route that leads out to a nearby village, Pinos Genil, which we rode out to on Sunday with the boys (think Burke Gilman for you Seattlites). It was a relaxing day, although perhaps a bit hot in the afternoon sun but when you stop for an hour lunch/siesta in the middle, it wasn’t too exhausting and there were some lovely parks and play areas to stop and play at along the way.

Road trip to the Mediterranean

Playa de Salobreña

We took our first official “road trip” to the Mediterranean sea, or more specifically the seaside towns of Salobreña and Almuñecar, both under an hour from our house. Both were lovely and it was great fun to swim in the warm salt water and sip refrescos by the seashore. We ate at a pizzeria across from the beach run by a Swedish couple who moved here 4 years ago for the better weather and outdoor lifestyle. The owner Anna was so friendly she even gave us a card with her mobile number in case we wanted tips on where to go hiking in the nearby Alpujarras.

La playa de Almuñecar

On our way back in to the Albayzin we got stuck. Literally. They put up a barrier in the evenings in our neighborhood so that cars cannot enter without a special pass. When we arrived at the entrance late at night there was a large metal spike blocking the road which we could not pass without a special card. (We later discovered we had this card, already in the car, we just hadn't been told about it). Several hours later we got the car parked safely back in to its very small parking spot in an underground lot near our house (think “can of sardines”). Antonio & Laura’s Skoda Octavia is a wonderful car. A red station wagon with plenty of room and lots of get up and go (note that 120km/hr is not unusual here). Feels like a bit of an upgrade for us this year. First road trip went so well we are hoping to take a longer one to Tarifa soon (windsurfing mecca for those in the know).

Colegio de Educación Infantil y Primaria Gómez Moreno

On the playground at Gomez-Moreno

School starts on Monday so we walked up on Friday morning in hopes of introducing the boys to their teachers and showing them around the school. Clark has ended up in a classroom with 25 kids in the highest grade at the school along with our neighbor Asa, (class is determined by birthdays and as both of our boys have Fall birthdays they have moved up a year) but Colin and Eir will be in separate 4th grade classrooms with only 14 kids each. A highlight of the morning was meeting the lunchroom ladies who serve hot organic lunches every day at 2:oopm. Everyone was truly warm and friendly and open to us crazy new international types.

Playground fun

Like the US, it appears that parents supply the necessary items needed for the classroom. We just got the list for Colin’s class (all in Spanish). Thank goodness for Google Translate! The boys are both nervous for Monday, as am I.