Tarifa

January 4, 2012 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Culture, holiday, Humor, Spain, Travel, Visit Tarifa Tags: culture, kite surfing, Tarifa, Travel, wind surfing 2 Comments

We spent over 2 hours winding through the mountains. Never ending views of white washed villages, houses posed on sides of mountains, terraced almond and olive trees…. and me trying unsuccessfully to snap photos from a moving vehicle, hoping to catch one tenth of the beauty we witnessed.

We drove southwest from Ronda and as we approached Algeciras, we could already see Gibralter and its infamous rock. Oh how we wanted to stop. But it was already inching towards 4pm and if we made another stop… monkeys or no monkeys, I think the teens might have rebelled. Traveling with two teens, albeit lovely and respectful, fun and adventurous to a point, you must have some limits of how much you fit in. As our necks craned behind us, the rock got smaller, and we decided in wasn’t in the cards this trip, and we put it on the list for next time. The girls were happy knowing after 2.5 hours driving, we’d be in our next destination for 2 days. (So no, we really weren’t going to squeeze in Gibralter. Period.)

Tarifa, located at the southern most tip of Spain is only a 45 min fast ferry to Tangier. (also being saved for next trip)

Arriving in Tarifa, the first thing I saw were the wind energy generators. You know, those big 3 armed white steel things sticking in the ground. My picture wasn’t so hot but check out this photo of a wind farm. Spain is the 4th largest producer after China, US and Germany. Then we came round to the ocean… yes still from the moving vehicle. Continue reading →

Ronda rocks

December 27, 2011 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Culture, Spain, Travel, Visit Ronda Tags: culture, ronda, Travel 2 Comments

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.

</<a

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.

Hello to JC from the Sierra Nevadas

December 27, 2011 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in holiday, Travel, Visit Granada Tags: culture, Granada, holiday, Travel 2 Comments

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.

Granada

December 25, 2011 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Culture, Spain, Travel, Visit Granada Tags: culture, food, Granada, Travel 2 Comments

Plaza Neuva above… We parked our car just outside the old city streets and took a taxi here. Felt like we were miles and miles away. Actually, Granada is only about 1.5 kilometers square. We are a fifteen minute walk from our car!

On our sunny drive to Granada, we made one unscheduled stop in Estepa…. Keep the spontaneity alive I say. Wikipedia states it being founded in 1241, but there seems to be about another 1000 years of history dating back to Romans. I’ll let you continue that history lesson. It’s also famous for producing 45,000 pounds of Christmas biscuits made with lard, in 30 factories, with about 60,000 employees, of which about 90% are woman, from Sept to Dec.

First meal in Granada a bit heavy on the mayo but I love it.

Our days have been spent walking, exploring and eating. We spent a lot of time walking in one of the barrios near us, an area originally settled by gypsies, dwelling in caves, where we visited the museum here in Sacromonte.

Another afternoon spent in the Arabic Hamman baths gave us all a new lease on life. The world an even better place after 2 hours spent here

I heart Iberico jamon

December 25, 2011 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Culture, Spain, Travel, Visit Ronda Tags: culture, food, Travel 1 Comment

We flew into Seville, Spain about 9pm Wed night. After a small struggle at the Avis counter deciding on insurance, we hit the road to Granada. Why might you ask did we choose this route? Even when I questioned myself after making these plans 3 months ago, I realized after a full circle of thought, for very good reasons that I won’t bore you with now.

Does that ever happen to you? You make plans way ahead. Then you are on your trip and asking, “Why did I choose this or that” …and you spend about an hour thinking and re-researching in order to return to square one and go, “Oh right, that’s why.”

Our first night, we went rogue…. No reservations. Just winging it. Like the time I showed up in Baja Mexico for 5 weeks with no plan and ended up crossing the Sea of Cortez on a sailboat with an old man named Richard. I was to cook for him in exchange. But due to a storm, was unable to remain vertical and ate saltines for 2 days. Once to the mainland, we stayed on the boat for 2 weeks cooking, touring, playing cards and chess. … But that’s another story.

So here’s our first night at a roadside hotel. And after our first breakfast in Spain, we continued on to Granada. Fresh squeezed oj. Great coffee con leche.