Ninja Cockroach Spotted in Granada

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."

Too Much of a Good Thing

Inma and Jose invited us over for dinner on Friday, December 18, 2009. It was the biggest spread we have ever sat down to in our lives.

When I arrived, I showed Inma the boots that my mom had bought me for Christmas and she actually jumped up and down and hugged me which Collin thought was really funny. He claims to not get excited about clothes, but I know better, he's just more subtle about it.

Inma said she tried to make all the yummy Spanish things she wanted us to try before we left. First she had a bunch of appetizers spread out on the coffee table: chips, nuts, Japanese crackers, anchovy stuffed olives, tortilla, chorizo, jamon serrano, jamon iberico, manchego cheese and rolls. Pretty much every Spanish family has a leg of jamon serrano in their kitchen complete with hoof. We drank mosto and coke (not mixed together), while she and my mom had wine. Jose didn't come home from work until about 8:30 pm and we had arrived at 7 pm. Emma had gone home from school with Marta and Lucia at 2 pm. We were all really hungry so we mistakenly stuffed ourselves with the appetizers. Inma really does make a delicious tortilla. We all sat around chatting and eating while we waited for Jose to come home. The kids were playing spoons in the twins room with my mom. They also put on make up. Emma was all made up before we even arrived with blue eye shadow and lots of sparkles everywhere. Aidan and Ian let the twins make them up, which later proved to be a mistake since they put nail polish on Aidan's face and it started burning. But they were loving all the attention from the girls and I think also the taboo aspect of boys wearing make up.

When Jose did come home Inma started frying up quails' eggs to put on some pisto manchego that was in little pie crusts. She also made a dish I can't remember the name of, but it had chickpeas in it and COW STOMACH more commonly known as tripe. She didn't tell us what it was until we had already eaten some, but that just proves that anything can taste good if cooked with love. She made salmorejo sauce which she topped with bacalao and shredded egg yolk, couscous with raisins and pine nuts, bacon wrapped pork loin with caramelized onions. Everything was absolutely delicious. I ate until I thought I would burst. Even Emma loved the bacon wrapped pork loin. She actually asked for leftovers the next day which we didn't have , unfortunately. For dessert Inma made strawberries with sugar and orange juice served in waffle cone cups. After that she offered us coffee or herbal tea and then had tons of chocolates, pastries, candy, etc., in addition to the desserts she had bought, I had brought peppermint bark, miniature pecan pies, baklava and gingersnaps.

I think my mom had a hard time following the conversation since she hasn't taken Spanish classes since 1964. It was kind of strange to see her so silent since usually she is a a very active conversationalist. Maria could speak and understand English, so she and my mom chatted a little. I was impressed with Maria's level of comprehension. We made plans to meet Jose and Inma's family in Ronda a couple days after Christmas. We went home with very full stomachs, the kind that make you want to make yourself throw up just to get some relief. But everything was so delicious it was worth it. Inma really went all out with the decorations as well as the food and even had New Year's party bags for all the kids. We gave Marta and Lucia plastic play food and a kitchen set as well as a framed picture of them with Emma for each of them with our address and info on the back and a dedication from Emma.

Emma and Marta did a cheer in the kitchen that they would only let the girls see. I don't remember exactly how it went, but the gist of it was that Emma was the prettiest and the best friend ever. They used streamers as pom poms and had Emma emerge mysteriously from behind a giant umbrella. It was really cute.

We made many plans for our next stay in Spain and hopefully a visit from the twins family to Pennsylvania in the near future. I hope both things work out. We all really like their family. Inma sent us home with a whole zucchini tortilla, a jar of salmorejo sauce, a ton of couscous and a variety of desserts. We grateful for the yummy leftovers the next day, but wished we had brought home some of the bacon wrapped pork with onions. I will definitely be making some of her recipes in the future, but I'll probably switch out the tripe for something a little more palatable like ham or bacon. We didn't get home until midnight so Emma had a 10 hour play date and we all slept really well (or had food induced comas).