My mom came out to visit us in Granada. We tried to show her the highlights, a hard task in just two days. She brought a mountain of goodies with her including some homemade treats by Auntie Cinch in Queens, New York City. I won't even try to get her mini pecan pie recipe because apparently she keeps her recipes under wraps. The first day we went out without the kids and Collin. We walked around Granada at night with all the Christmas lights lit up. We checked out the Christmas crafts booths at Bib Ramblas that had all the miniature stuff for nativity scenes. There was a family there selling calenders to benefit the Down's Syndrome Association of Granada. We bought a calendar from a guy with Down's in his 20's who was very adamant about making the sale himself and not letting his dad help him.
Collin and I bought my mom a massage at the Arab Baths for Christmas. I led her all over Granada in search of the Arab Baths Aljibe. I went totally in the wrong direction and finally had to call the place to figure out where to go. It was close to the big library. While my mom had her haman massage and dip in the Arab baths, I went to a cafe and had tomato and olive oil on toast and a cola cao while I studied Spanish. Then I went to a bookstore and looked around until they kicked me out. When I went to pick my mom up, she was waiting for me. She had found the baths so relaxing after her long trip that she had fallen asleep in the water and woke up as her face started going under.
We walked through the university area and finally ended up in Plaza Nueva where we searched for a falafel/schwarma place that carried hummus. There was nowhere to sit and my mom insists on sitting down when she eats so we ended up at Nemrut Kabap (probably my least favorite of the schwarma places in town). But we did get to sit at a table inside where it was warm. It took some convincing, but our waiter finally agreed to add falafel to a chicken schwarma for me. I am wearing about 5 tops in the picture of my mom and I eating schwarma, so I look EXTRA rellenita.
The next day, after sprinting the kids to school (with poor Lola huffing and puffing and straining to keep up), we had tomato toast and orange juice at a cafe and then took the bus to the Cartuja. The Cartuja is the Catholic answer to the Alhambra. It was very gaudy and ornate with Rococo style combined with some Arab decorations. I almost didn't know where to look. There were two saints arm bones in glass cases with hands on top in the chapel. There were also crazy looking paintings of martyrs showing how they died--calmly standing there with an axe in their skull or a spear through their heart. So weird!
It was a freezing and very wet day so my mom bought me a hippie jacket in the Arab quarter that had a strange hood with a hole and drawstring on it, presumably to leave room for dreadlocks to flow behind the wearer. We bought lots of souvenirs for her friends and family. Then we went over to Collin's office to say goodbye to Fatima. It was pretty sad. I hate goodbyes. But at least with Fatima, I know that we will see each other again. She really made our stay in Granada special and was so fun to hang out and chat with. We walked up to the Mirador to see a view of the Alhambra through the fog and clouds. It was a wet and difficult walk to my mom. She bought some tea with hierba buena at the Mosque to warm her up. When we came back down, we got lunch at another schwarma place and ate it on the run so we could go to another museum_______________. There was a neat art exhibit symbolizing silk cocoons in the entrance. There was a neat ceiling with tons of carved faces in it. We were only there for a few minutes and then Collin left to pick up the kids from school.
My mom and I tried to go to the Capilla Real to see the tombs of Isabel and Ferdinand, but it was closed. We ended up spending tons more time shopping for souvenirs and also stopped at Wang Zhou which we probably could have spent the entire day in. We were soaked by the time we got to el Corte Ingles. I tried on a bunch of boots and finally decided on a pair of Callahan's which are super comfortable AND cute. By the time we got home we were soaked to the skin.
That night we went to dinner at Inma and Jose's (see too much of a good thing blog entry).
The next day we packed up to go to Fuenjirola. My mom and Aidan tried to go to the Capilla Real because my mom really wanted to be able to tell her Portuguese friends that she saw Ferdinand and Isabel's tombs. But it just wasn't meant to be. It was closed even though the schedule said it would be open. Instead, she and Aidan went shopping. I was shocked and amazed that they found their way home and didn't get lost. We left for Fuenjirola soon after they got back. At a rest stop my mom tried the famous Santa Fe dessert, but didn't care for it. She thought it was weird that a bunch of older Spanish me were drinking before noon and singing at a rest stop, but the rest of us were used to it by that point. My mom kept reading stuff out loud on buildings and asking me about them. It reminded Collin and I of the movie ______________ where the old man keeps reading stuff as they are driving by, "Barnes and Noble."
0 comments:
Post a Comment