Wonder and Wander

Easter is the biggest holiday of the year in Spain (which is another post all unto itself), and most people have the week off. As a result, we were free to leave Huelva (aka Strawberry Central), and explore.

Vance and I decided to take the kids to Granada–one of the most beautiful places we had been on our previous trip to Spain almost 9 years ago. This time, we had a car, so we drove the 4 hours east instead of taking a bus. In the U.S., we routinely drive 11 or 12 hours to see family, so 4 hours didn’t sound that far. Funny thing, though–it was, especially in a smaller vehicle. Things went fine until we tried to drive to our apartment in the Albaycín, or old historic Muslim center of the city. The roads were impossibly narrow and terribly steep–suddenly the car that seemed too small for my kids’ knees and elbows and attitudes on the open highway was a hulking behemoth trying to snake through ancient alleys.

We ended up aborting mission and driving back to the modern center, parking (take parking spaces made for Priuses and a claustrophobic subterranean basement, add an SUV, holiday crowding, cost, and kids giving advice), and then getting an Uber to our place, and I was very glad to not be the one driving through masses of holiday pedestrians.

We have had solid experiences with AirBnBs so far–it’s the most economic way for our family to stay together and be able to cook a good chunk of our meals. But sometimes there are quirks. In our search for accomodations, we had found a great-looking apartment for a good price in an amazing area….with a lot of original art, presumably by the owner. Some of the art was, shall we say, inappropriate for minors (and unsettling for adults). I don’t think of myself as a prude, but the décor was pretty over the top. I wrote the owner, explained that we loved his apartment, but would he be okay with us covering the more phallic pieces with sheets for our kids’ sake? I was sure he would be offended and say no. Amazingly, he said yes.

When we were in the midst of covering various cartoon canvases sporting multiple graphic body parts, I wondered if we were in the right place. But once the apartment was PG, it was actually beautiful. It was clear that an artist had designed it, with rich colors on the walls to accent the ancient timbered ceiling, and the beautiful original glassworks that ornamented the walls. Plus, we had a front row seat to the Alhambra.

Granada means “pomegranate” in Spanish, and even the posts lining the sidewalks are shaped like the fruit. The kids loved wandering the streets, looking for small souvenirs, eating the best churros ever and granada-flavored gelato (sweet-tart and amazing), exploring Ferdinand & Isabella’s mausoleum, touring a Renaissance cathedral, and climbing the ancient terraced streets. The city was only reconquered by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, so it carries even more of a Mudejar influence than the rest of Andalucía. Right on the edge of the Sierra Nevadas, the old city somehow feels more green and open and connected to nature.

Tickets for the Alhambra have gotten much more scarce since Vance and I went before–we couldn’t get tickets earlier than 3 months out. We did eventually score entrance to the gardens, which was perfect for my horticulture loving family. Perched up on the mountainside, the ancient fortress and Mudejar palace surrounded by Renaissance gardens feels like a world unto itself. The kids have Instax cameras, and they were busy taking photo after photo. God himself is a gardener, and it’s amazing to think about what kind of paradise he is preparing for the world to come. Our afternoon in the Generalife gardens generated a lot of discussion from the kids about heaven–it was that beautiful.

It was a wonderful family holiday–Vance was well enough to participate in a lot of our sightseeing, and we had a wonderful base of operations that made things accessible to him. For us, Granada was a great mix of urban and nature. It’s our favorite city in Spain, and we loved being there together.