The Little Nemeceks

We are now moving to our next to last unit: Asia. After just getting back from our vacation to Spain, we took it easy this week.  The kids (all three) started art classes, and we also attended an African drumming workshop. Despite the expression on the boys' faces in the drumming picture, they really had a lot of fun. They were just concentrating :). We celebrated the week with a Turkish meal of Imam biyaldi (Roasted eggplant with lamb chops and tzatziki) and had Turkish delight for dessert!

Granada (and Alhambra in particular) ended up being our grand finale.  While also a long drive, it was not quite as far as Seville, so we were able to see the cathedral (this time a Renaissance style) before lunch.  The boys were glad that this one was smaller than the cathedral in Seville, and by this time, they were getting tired of the parents quizzing them on the different types of architecture found in each one! After a quick lunch, we took a bus up to the Alhambra, where we began our visit in the Generalife gardens.  Designed as a relaxation spot of the kings of Granada, the gardens were the best of any we saw in Spain.  We then made our way to the other end of the complex to see the Alcazaba, where we climbed all the towers for views of the town.  After a dinner from vending machines (not great, but all we could find), we got in line for our time slot for the Nasrid palaces.  The palaces were an amazing example of Moorish architecture with decorations from floor to ceiling in many rooms.  We also were able to see the famous Court of the Lions, one of the landmarks we learned about in school while studying Spain.  The kids thought this part was pretty neat.  It was getting late after seeing the palaces (they actually had closed most of the gates for the day and we had to exit through the taxi entrance), we made our way by bus and foot back to the car and headed back to the resort.  We (especially the adults) very much enjoyed our visit to Spain!

Inside Granada cathedral

One of the side alcoves

The main altar

View from Generalife

There were so many flowers

Avila thought all the flowers belonged to her!

This one was my favorite

Water feature in the Generalife

Justice gate

Ruins of houses in the Alcazaba

Inside the Nasrid palaces

The kids at the Court of the Lions

Lion fountain feature up close

Some of the Moorish architecture

View from the palaces

And one last photo in the gardens of the Nasrid palaces

Our last two days in Spain ended up being very long and tiring, but we enjoyed them nonetheless. Seville as a 2.5 hour drive from our resort, so it was nearly lunchtime by the time we found parking (we went past three full lots before finding one where we could park!). We started out by seeing the Seville Cathedral, done in the Gothic style.  The cathedral was absolutely enormous! We also saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus inside.  After the cathedral, we sat down for a traditional Spanish paella lunch (we were told to get good paella at least once in Spain!).  Then we stood in line for the Real Alcazar, which was also enormous!  We think we saw most of the inside (the sign at the entrance claimed the Gothic Palace was closed, but we think we saw part of it anyway) and part of the gardens.  Finally, we really wanted to see the Plaza de Espana but didn't want to walk, so we took a horse drawn carriage ride and also got to see the Toro del Oro and the Maria Ruiz gardens along the way.  I loved the ride, but Josh found out he is allergic to horses, so we probably won't take this option again.  The kids had fun on the ride also, and then slept some in the car on the way back to our resort.

Front of the cathedral while standing in line

A close up of one of the dragons carved on the cathedral

Pipe organ in the cathedral

Tomb of Christopher Columbus

Paella

Main courtyard of the Real Alcazar

Inner courtyard

This guy was showing off in the gardens

Avila really likes water features

Interior baths

Outside of the gothic palace

I think this was inside the gothic palace - we never found the part that was closed off

Torre del Oro, while on our carriage ride

The kids in the carriage

Plaza de Espana

A closer view of the middle section of the plaza

Family photo in the carriage

Mom and Dad selfie in the carriage

After sightseeing for three days, we were pretty worn out and ready for our rest day on the beach.  It was, unfortunately, quite windy that day, but the boys had a blast making sand castles and moats anyway.  They also got braver toward the end of the morning and waded in the Mediterranean letting the waves chase them.  Avila did not at all want the waves to catch her, and after a close call, decided to sit in between the beach chairs to be safe.  Josh dipped her toes in once just to say she did it.  After a restful afternoon back in our apartment, we headed out to Tipi Tapa Restaurante, where we had tapas, dessert, and watched a flamenco show.  With this being a small place, we had seats right up front, and the kids (and adults!) really enjoyed the show.

All the kids enjoying the sand

Avila felt safer playing here

More sand play

Playing with the waves

Avila gets her toes dipped in the Mediterranean

Flamenco show

Spanish guitar

More show pictures

My tiramisu dessert

On Wednesday we headed to Malaga, the city we flew in to and the one closes to our resort.  We had planned to do Seville halfway through the week to break up the long driving days, but the weather was too hot that day so we rearranged our schedule.  Malaga is the birthplace of Picasso, so we started by touring the Picasso museum, with the kids taking over the audioguides.  Nathan was especially interested in learning about each piece.  We then visited the Malaga cathedral done in the Classical style as well as the Alcazaba fortress partway up the mountain.  After a late lunch (the Alcazaba was bigger than we thought!), we headed all the way up the mountain to Gibalfaro Castle.  It was so steep I dreamed about pushing Avila in her stroller up and down mountains all night! There was also an old Roman theater outside of the Alcazaba that we were able to view.

Inside the cathedral

More cathedral

Outside of the cathedral

Inside the Alcazaba

The boys at one of the water fountains

And in front of a cannon at the castle.  No, I didn't get a lot of good pictures of them.

A model of the town, showing the cathedral in the town, the alcazaba at the foot of the mountains, and the castle at the top.