Back to Spain... more picts

Remember back when we were moving, I said I had more pictures from our trip to Spain? Well, I still have them and I'm finally getting around to posting some of them, even though they're now VERY old news. That doesn't mean they're any less beautiful and interesting, right? So, here are some more memories from our trip to Grenada, Malaga, and Cordoba, with little commentary:

CORDOBA

Oranges in January!! I tasted an orange that I stole off a tree. It was extremely bitter... apparently they are not ripe in January, even if they are orange.

We toured a fabulous villa, set up as a family would have lived in the 1300s. It was gorgeous, with a waterfall courtyard right in the middle of the house! Brian loved this artsy shot of me reading papyrus poetry in the mirror.


RHONDA

Rhonda is a picturesque little village set at the top of a winding gorge. We drove up winding, cliffside roads for an hour to get there. Sam, of course, loved the park at the top of the overlook. The other children were so cute, helping her on the slides and taking turns with her. Rhonda has its own bullfighting arena and is said to be the bullfighting capital, who knows? Here's the bridge over the gorge, built sometime in the 1700s, I think. The picture doesn't do it justice for how deep that gorge is!
We ate at a little restaurant where the waiter took Sammie's bottle of baby food, warmed it on the stove, and brought it back in a china bowl! Posh!

MALAGA and SPANISH COUNTRYSIDE

I already showed you the gorgeous view from our hotel in Malaga, way back when. Did I mention how much Sam loved our balcony? She would step outside and yell whenever she got the chance. But she hated the beach and the water... cried the whole time we were there, both times.

This is an olive grove. They were everywhere, as we drove along. I got really curious about how they harvest olives and came home and looked it up online. They have a big machine that shakes all the olives from the trees and then they gather them off the tarps they spread on the ground to catch them. At least that's what I read. If you look close at the second shot, they're growing olives all the way up the steep hillsides!

This is Santa Clause. No joke. We saw several different Santas on the sides of people's houses, and some for sale in the stores too. I guess if you don't have lights to decorate, at least you can get a Santa. Also notice the blanket doors. We couldn't decide whether they hid the wooden doors underneath to keep the cold air out, or whether the blanket was the door??
How many of you have seen Nacho Libre? Well... Chancho?

In the meat section of the grocery store, you can buy your own smoked pig leg... hoof and all!

GRENADA

We happened into Grenada on yet another holiday weekend! They had lights and music and fireworks and a parade just at the end of the block from our hotel. We watched the parade for a few minutes... they were floating along to "Praise to the Lord the Almighty" sung by Mormon Tabernacle Choir, seriously! The Mack Wilberg rendition! It was on repeat. Sam hated the parade because of the confetti fireworks, so we didn't stay too long.

In conjuntion with the holiday, they were selling these round cakes with toys baked inside as a special treat for kids. Brian bought one, but it was very bland and we didn't eat much of it. The toy inside was soggy, if I remember right.