2011 December 27 « Chez Chloe

No pun intended. The rock formations here are outstanding, but I like the feel of this place for some reason, even better than Granada. It is smaller, but no less touristy with the history, museums, incredible bridges built into the cliffs and its status as the home of bull fighting. We stayed in the lovely guesthouse La Boabdil .

The fact Hemingway and Orsen Wells spent many summers here, inspired by Ronda leads one to believe there is something to this place that evokes “the just something about this place” feeling. Possibly the natural beauty, cobbled streets or views seen in the shots below on one of our walks. I am also a sucker for agriculture and farms. I have an ongoing dialog in my dream world of living in the city for culture and stimulation, by an ocean, or back on a farm. One that might now include olive trees and citrus.

How about fields of olives harvested between November and December within hand’s reach…Did you know Andalusia has over 40 million olive trees? Here’s a great site for basic facts on Spanish olive oil.

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I’m back now….got way side tracked on that link. I look forward to a full post on olive oil.
We also had the fortune to cross paths with friends from Orcas Island…go figure! We shared the morning with Lydia and John Miller and their three homeschooled boys, out on a 9 month European adventure. Check out their travels here- The Camel Ate My Homework.

Now we head back to the coast…next stop Tarifa.
I thank you in advance for patience with mistakes here. Am learning mobile WordPress with dodgy wifi. But blessed with such a full head of hair, I can rip some off my head and you won’t even know. I’ll leave a few more photos here.

We woke Christmas morning to bells in a frequency unrelated to time..and they were beautiful. It’s been a lovely few days, noticeably lacking in the commercialism of Christmas. I appreciate that fact. I certainly feel less stress. And, if I’m honest, do I maybe miss the santas, poinsettias, and decorations a little too? I think so. Coming from the mouth of the German Christmas markets, lights and serious tannenbaums, it is a bit of a shock. But a good reality check of the point of December 25th. It’s given me something to think about.
Our presents were very minimal this year, and no stockings filled with candy and more bits. Here’s our tree and gifts. Notice innovative use of TP.

After sleeping in, O and I were up squeezing a dozen oranges, scrambling eggs, and getting the jamon on the plates. Coffee, sweet crumbly cakes and olives were set on the coffee table serving as our dining table. Kids wallowed out of bed to more church bells. We ate, opened our gifts and all donned new fuzzy socks.
Despite a plethora of churches, one of which we might have attended, if the service started at 1.30, we chose the Sierra Nevadas as our place of worship. We drove into the mountains and said happy birthday from here…

After 4 days of seeing the Alhambra (above) from our porch, our final day in Granada was spent visiting this monument, a Unesco world heritage site and one of the most visited in Spain. The construction of the original Moorish palaces of the Alhambra began in the 9th century and continued through the 16th century. Its beyond description here, so I won’t even try. Here are a few photos.

We left our pink little apartment and headed south through the mountains to the coast. We drove along the Mediterranean to Marbella then back north in the dark, up a very curvy, tummy turning one way in only road to Ronda…. to be continued.