Day 11: Granada & Costa del Sol

We had a leisurely morning today since we had a 12:30 pm appointment at the Alhambra, so we wandered around town, tried to go Tapa Hopping, but got shut down by a closed kitchen...  :(

We did a tour of the spectacular Alhambra and the Generalife.  This was the last Morrish stronghold before the Moors left Spain.  It was SUPER hot today, so most of us (cough cough James...Meredith) put sunscreen on as to not burn.  It was beautiful touring the palace, all the Sultans rooms, and then out to his summer gardens.

After our Alhambra tour, we boarded the bus and headed to Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol.  4 hours later we arrived and are staying about 5 blocks from the beach.  Headed down and spent a few hours - not a lot of sun, but the kids got to go into the Mediterranean.

After the beach, we stopped atthe Fish Foot bar...and yes, we all did it!!  What an odd feeling!  The lady counted down - we got 10 minutes for 10 Euros - and we all stuck our feet in at once... Let the screaming begin!  They just flocked to our feet and started sucking the dead skin cells off of our feet...a feeling you won't ever forget...but must try sometime in you life.

We had a double ice cream day - the pic above is from 11 am after our busted Tapa Hopping in Granada.  Worst flavor was Brian's Spicy Chocolate... no gracias!1

Below is after dinner in Costa del Sol... good stuff...and fun people watching!!

To bed, fairly early, we went as we're heading to Morocoo in the morning!
Africa, here we come!!

~steph :)

Day 10: A loooong bus ride to Granada

Day 10 included a looooong 7 hr bus ride to Granada. We traversed through the regions of Murcia on our way to Andalucia.  The landscape sure has changed as wel have been going around this diverse country.  We had a few stops along the motorway for toliets, snacks, and lunch.  A tradition we started at our first stop was to try the local fare of candy.  Here is today's selection:  Juice Jellies and Watermelon gum...which really didn't have the consistency of gum, but plenty of flavor.  The kids enjoyed these both...and if you throw in a real-sugar Coke...sigh...:)

Upon arrivel in Granada, we had a few hours to kill, so we went to the Royal Chapel and saw the crypts & tombs for Kings Isabel & Ferdinand, Juana la loca, Felipe el hermoso & Miguel de Portugal.  We went for tapas.  Kids weren't real happy with what they got - it was some kind of paste with a sardine on top and the next one was a seafood fare as well.  When you order a drink in Granada, they have to serve you a tapa.  That's our plan for the next day's lunch!!

After dinner, we went to see the Gypsy Flamenco show in the caves---wow!!  We first did a walking tour through the Albacyin area with all the white-washed walls and narrow roads.  But it took us to this spot above - a  gorgeous view of the Alhambra.

The kids also took a pic with our 'awe-some' guide, Fran...

...as well as with all the kids from Colorado, Missouri & the 2 Texas groups.

The kids enjoyed the show very much, were in awe as to how their feet can move so fast in rhythm.  Definitely a great Spanish experience!!

Tomorrow we have a slow morning and then a guided visit of the Alhambra before heading south to Torremolinos for (hopefully) some beach time.  :)  The weather is MUCH MUCH warmer down here - probably going to be in the 90s today...sunscreen & water will be a must!

~steph :)

Day 9: Penguins, Shark & Dolphins, oh my!!

We left Barcelona today and headed south down the Costa Brava to Valencia.  It was about a 4 hr bus ride, through some charred areas from a huge forest fire the day before.  We went to Valencia's aquarium, housed in the City of Arts & Sciences complex. It was a huge complex with places inside & outside to explore.  We saw seals, walruses, sharks, flamingos, turtles, penguins, etc...

 The kids climbed into the bubble...there were many tunnel aquariums to walk thru.  It was pretty amazing!  We ended the visit with a Dolphin show.

 We then walked around the old part of town and saw La Lonja (photo above)  where the merchants would sell their wares.
After watching the EuroCup match (Spain v Ireland) ESPANA!!!  ESPANA!!!,  we went walking back into town to see it all lit up at night.

 There must have been a candy exhibition for many countries, so here we are with the USA candy!!

Of course, we ended our adventure with ice cream, of course!!  Another good day, perfect weather!

Tomorrow we're off thru the Andalucian countryside to Granada... it'll be a looooooong day on the bus, but we'll have a gypsy show in the caves to look forward too!

~steph :)

Day 8: Barca, Gaudi y Dali...oh my!

What a glorious day in Barcelona today!  Rushed, but a great day nonetheless!  We went to Parque Guell, a Gaudi inspired park with all the mosaics (above).

 We then hit Sagrada Familia, which is still under construction (go figure!)  Here we are in our awesome PV shirts...us PV Roamin' Spartans!!

 We toured around the cita via bus with our local guide, Cristina, and saw the '92 Olympic stadium.  After a quick lunch at McLosers...oh, I mean McDonalds...we headed north of the city to Figueras, home to the Dali museum.  Not your typical museum, as you can see from above with the eggs, Oscar trophies, and the pieces of bread....Dali was an odd duck.

And of course, after dinner, we went for our nightly adventure and found Magnum bars around the corner from our hotel.  This time we brought 2 new friends from MO along...now they are hooked on Magnum bars!  Yippee!!

We've had a great time here in Barca...short but good!  The kids were able to explore Las Ramblas & shop a bit.  The weather has been MUCH MUCH improved from the north!  Yippee!!

Wednesday we're heading south to Valencia along the Costa Brava...and a dolphin show/aquarium!! 

Hasta pronto!!
~steph :)

Day 7: Pamplona y Barcelona via bus...

We left Bilbao and headed to Pamplona today.  Left nice & early - slept on the bus, and stopped for a few hours in Pamplona.  Saw this statue above for the Running of the Bulls, which is a part of the entire festival.  The entire festival in early July is San Fermin, the patron saint of the city.  The Running of the Bulls does happen every day as a way to transport the bulls to the bull ring...

...and as you can see, I hearded mine into the bullring.  :)  We did get to walk along on the same path the bulls will be doing in less than a month.

After speeding thru Pamplona, we headed to Barcelona...5+ hrs on the bus... some sleeping was definitely involved.  We dropped bags at our hotel and headed to the metro.  We had an hour of free time on Las Ramblas.

Las Ramblas is this street behind the kids (above)  with all sorts of shops, flowers, restaurants, crazy people, street performers, etc...you name it, it's there.  At the other end is the port and a statue of Christopher Columbus.

 So, of course we all had to get ice cream while we rambled down Las Ramblas.  Delish!! :)  After heading back to the hotel and having dinner, the kids were pooped, so no evening adventures to share with everyone tonight.  We had a HUGE day tomorrow with a city tour & Dali museum.  Yippee!!

The weather has dramatically improved - not so cold and no rain, so far!!  Yeah!!

~steph :)

Day 6: Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!!

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!!!  That's pretty much how our day went today.  We headed to the lovely beach town of San Sebastian, were greeted with rain (and our local guide Eduardo), had the sun show up a few times, but then allow the rain to return...ugh...

But, amongst the rain drops, we were able to see this beautiful seaside town.  Here we are at the top (or close enough) of Monte Igueldo with the Playa de la Concha (Shell Beach) over to the left...gorgeous!!

 Here are the kids with our amazing guide, Fran!

After our city tour, we headed back into the Old Town and went tapa-hopping.  However in the Basque country, they are called Pinchos (Pinxtos).  This place above was great!  Kids all ordered themselves and enjoyed the local fare.  We headed to another place down the road and had some more yumminess!  The kids did some shopping before we headed back to the bus and headed off to Guernica!!

Guernica is the city that Franco had bombed 75 yrs ago this past April.  The Spanish 3 kids study Picasso's painting that is in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid that the kids saw just a few short days ago.  The Peace Museum is closed on Mondays, but we got to go to the Assembly House and see the Tree of Guernica, the few things that didn't get bombed by the Nazis.

Behind the kids here is the "Old" tree which is nearly 300 yrs old.  The Tree is the most universal symbol for the Basque people, representing freedom and independence.

After a rainy drive back to the hotel in Bilbao and another delicious dinner, we had to go on our nightly adventure...including ice cream.  Only Kate, Brian & I myself got ice cream, James got Oreo cookies and Chloe & Meredith said they were "full"...even though there's always room for ice cream...whatever girls....

We also explored the area south of our hotel and found a playground and what we called an "Outdoor Gold's Gym."  It was beautiful night to wander the boardwalk and reminisce about another amazing day in Spain.

I ask the kids what their favorite city has been, and their responses are all of them...they are just impressed with every place we've been for a variety of reasons.

We're leaving early tomorrow heading east to Pamplona (no, we're not running with the bulls - that's early July) and staying the next 2 nights in Barcelona.  Parents - we'll try to call from there.  We're hoping there is better (warmer) weather there to greet us!

~steph :)

Day 5: Off to the Basque country!

We left the lovely town of Burgos this morning and headed northeast towards Bilbao...sadly in the rain.  What beautiful landscape...reminded me of Ireland/Scotland...and they rain definitely contributed towards that opinion.  Having a tour director from the Basque country sure helps us understand things up here a bit more.

Our first stop today was the Guggenheim museum...amazing!  We saw the whole thing in just over 75 minutes and had time to see Puppy outside.  :)  We then went on a walking tour of the city, just as the rain hit...ugh... but still a beautiful town amongst the rain drops.

After our walking tour, we had free time and went exploring on our own.  Visited the cathedral, and just missed Corpus Christi celebrations.  It's fun to be in these small towns as we are among the few visitors so we get to see how people really live.

We had some time for some playground fun...until the boys jumped off and the girls went flying. LOL :)

This is the Nervion River that runs thru Bilbao.  Yes, all the kids eyes are closed as in yesterday's pics, Kate had hers closed quite a bit... :)

After our city tour, we went to check into our hotel our near the port, just next to this Transporter Bridge.  We dumped our luggage and headed to the bridge.  We bought elevator tickets, rode the elevator up to the top....

...and walked across the top!!!  I was proud of Meredith since she is scared of heights, but she did awesome!!  Some amazing views from above...a bit windy, but cool!  We walked around the town for a while and...

...found our way to the beach.  Had to put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean!!  :)  A bit chilly, but fun to do!

Had some good dinner tonight - probably the best so far.  Our first night we had paella, 2nd was pizza after the bullfight, 3rd was fish and tonight was pasta, chicken & chocolate mousse cake.  Our Tour Director, Fran, has given the kids great tips on how Europeans eat - it's been fun watching them try to assimilate them into their meals.  :)  And of course, after dinner...

...we headed out in search of ice cream!  We took the transporter across the river - no luck, so back we came & found this store around the corner from our hotel.  :)  Not Magnum bars, but an okay substitute.  Poor Brian, he picked the dud, Mojito ice cream bar...uck... so as we made our way back to our hotel...

...and he saw this vending machine next to the transporter ferry.  Ham & Cheese sandwich, hot, in 1 minute, for about $2.00...and he went for it.  James videotaped it, so I'm sure they'll have it on You Tube soon.  We all tried it...wasn't too bad...so if these are my finals words because we got food poisoning from a vending machine sandwich in the Basque country, well, it's enjoy my last blog!  LOL  :)

Besides the icky weather, all in all, another great day!  Tomorrow we're off to San Sebastian & Guernica ---super excited!!

Send clear skies our way POR FAVOR!!!

~steph :)