Free Tapas at Last

I called the Spanish school today and they told me to come in right away to take a placement test because classes start on Wednesday. I rushed over there and took the test which at first seemed really easy until I got to question 14 and then I completely fell apart. I'm sure my essay question that compared Spanish food to American food could have been written better by a Spanish kindergartener.

It was 98 F today and so we didn't go out until 6:30 pm after a disgusting dinner of hummus from scratch. I think I must have boiled the chickpeas too long because the hummus tasted like dirty dishwater. I actually ate a spoonful of jam to get the horrible taste out of my mouth.

We stopped at Collin's office and the kids heeled around while I read a book of New York Times travel articles about Spain. I also picked up a language workbook and Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra which is what helped make Granada into the popular tourist destination it is today. We headed to the Sacromonte district in search of caves that gitano people live in or that have been converted into stores and restaurants. I don't think we walked far enough because we didn't find anything like that. There were some gitano kids who threw rocks at us, which was kind of unpleasant. We each had a soda at a a bar that have beautiful view of the Alhambra and I mentioned to Collin that we had yet to be offered the free tapas that are supposedly so prevalent in Granada. Like magic, our waiter brought out a plate with cold shrimp, gherkins and olives. I have to say that none of the above were good. The shrimp was lukewarm and very squishy, the gherkins were really sour, the olives were hard and had very little flavor, but I guess you get what you pay for, right? On our way down, we walked through a street called Calle Caldereria Nueva which was lined with tea shops and craft shops. Collin and I actually bought two boufs there 6 years ago that stank like goats. My mom actually hung hers outside for 5 years before it stopped smelling. I can't wait until the kids are in school so I can explore the shops on my own.

We tried another place for chocolate y churros tonight. It was as good as the first place. I guess our rule of only getting treats once a week just isn't going to stick. I think Collin and I are too gluttonous to put any restrictions on our eating habits. Luckily we walked 14,000 steps today. I don't know if I'm actually burning many calories since I walk so slow. Collin tripped once in a pothole while holding Emma's hand and yanked her arm very hard on accident. She cried for a long time. About an hour later, I stepped in a pothole while holding Ian's hand and actually fell and took Ian down with me. That fall was pretty bad. Some pedestrians stopped and helped Ian up. He was crying. I was mortified and my foot and ankle hurt for awhile afterwards.