Success!

We got up at 8:30 am and managed to get out and about in the morning before it got too hot. We stopped by a pastry shop that also carried PIZZACONES, those crazy Europeans! Our second visit was to the convent where we bought what turned out to be almond cookies. The cupboard was actually more like a lazy susan with compartments. On the sign it said "Roscas de Almendras" and Collin asked the nun behind the lazy susan what roscas de almendras were and she said, "Well, they're roscas de almendras." Hmmm . . . clear as a bell. Those got mixed reviews taste-wise, kind of like a really dry almond cookie shaped like a ring and sprinkled with large sugar crystals. Ian loved them. We walked around the back of the Alhambra. The kids found a dead baby bird and also a dead frog, the second of which Ian TOUCHED! Around the Alhambra were some orange, olive, fig and pomegranate trees. The kids had a rotten fig fight with Collin and won.

I made my first ever successful tortilla. I followed the recipe on this blog and I guess the key really is boiling the potatoes in olive oil for 20 minutes and then cooking the egg and potato mixture really slowly. It only took me 8 years to figure it out. It looked and tasted just like the ones we buy around here. I would only feel more pleased with myself if I had invented the dish. I also made salted almonds, but those were only ok because we still can't figure out our oven.

After dinner we went for another walk, this time to see the sunset at the top of Granada. Coincidentally, there was a celebration for the 6 year anniversary of a muslim mosque. There were stalls selling incense, genie pants, jewelry, food and drink, and Arab music CDs. A poetry and music festival in celebration of the anniversary was going on. We met a man who's mother is Spanish and father is American. He was running a stall selling stuff from all over the world. His 15 month old son kept putting on a hat from Syria and running over to play with our kids, especially Ian. He kept pinching Ian's face and laughing. He and Ian danced together to the music of a guitar player a few feet away. The little kid's mother was playing the cello in the celebration.

We walked around the Alhambra again and watched the sunset. As we were walking back to our apartment we came across a lady with the cutest puppy. The kids were playing with it and I have to admit that even though I am not a dog person, it was hard to resist it's charms. I asked the lady what its name was and she told me that she hadn't named it yet because she was trying to find a good home for it, then she offered it to us! The kids went crazy begging for us to bring the puppy home with us. We, of course, declined. Emma alternately pouted and raged and finally burst into tears all the way home because we wouldn't take the dog. She said that when she moved out she would get her own dog and teach it to bite me. She also said that we must not love her because we wouldn't let her have that puppy. I asked the kids what they thought a good name for that puppy would be and Aidan said 'Love,' Ian said, 'Dead Baby Bird,' and Emma said, 'Don't Listen to My Parents.' I think that last name would be hard to fit on a dog tag.

Tiggani is the BEST gelato place in Granada. They had the coolest display and drool-worthy flavors. I had Spicy Chocolate: chocolate ice cream with chunks of white and dark chocolate and red chilies in it. Collin had honey and cinnamon, Ian and Emma had Kinder Egg and Aidan had Chocolate Coconut. They also had passion fruit, mango, green apple, and on and on. It was one of the best ice cream experiences of my life.

Since we are paying the kids to learn Spanish they have really gotten into it. Emma knows 80 out of 100 Spanish vocab words. They also earned money today by hanging and folding laundry and sweeping and mopping.

We saw a gitana wedding party today. Gitanas are Spain's gypsies. The clothes were very colorful and different than any other wedding clothes I've ever seen. All the men's suits were made of shiny white or pastel fabric. All the women wore bright colors and their dresses looked like costumes from Dancing with the Stars.

Saw tons of beautiful graffiti. There is a particular artist's style that we like and see very frequently around here. They write in a specific font on all their work. I would love to find out more about them since I think they are so talented.

This was our fullest day yet and everyone else is fast asleep. We walked 16 and half miles today. I took over 150 pictures today. It was hard to choose which ones to post.

Our only problem is how expensive food is. Anyone have any ideas on how to make kids eat beans? So far we are eating a lot of cheese and eggs and nuts. Collin and I are eating bonito (fancy tuna) and garbanzo beans (Ian too on that one), but not Aidan and Emma. I feel like beans is the best cheap protein option, but they won't go for it. Advise me please.

(I know I posted two pictures of the gitanas, I've tried to remove them, but then it deletes the other pictures and text I want to keep.) Pictures take WAY too long to upload on blogger;(