Reaching Madrid

When I announced that we had a seven hour drive to get from Costa del Sol to Madrid, the kids groaned. Obviously they didn't realize that actually, they were in for a treat. Our first stop along the way was Cordoba. During the 10th century, Cordoba was the most populated city in the world. Today it still has the largest old city in Europe, and right in the center is a historical gem, the Mezquita-Catdral.

I had ordered a children's book about this place from Amazon before we left, so the children understood that it began as a church, built by the Visigoths, then became a Moorish Mosque and now is a Cathedral, after being captured during the Reconquista. There is also a synagogue on the complex as well. For many years all three religions worshiped in harmony, but the Moors pushed out the Christians and Jews and now the Christians will not allow the Muslims to worship in their cathedral, despite a request that was eventually decided by the Pope. When we arrived in the building, we were taken back by its beauty. The columns and arches, decorated with red and white, drew us in. The place was rather dark, with a bit of incense drifting in the air.

We wandered through the cathedral and then around the complex. When we entered the old town, some sort of festival was taking place but we couldn't figure out what the meaning was.

Our next stop was in Consuegra, to see the windmills that were described in Don Quixote. We took a tour up to the top of one and not only saw the workings of the mill, but also were able to see a view of the surrounding area. It was interesting to compare the grist mill in Sudbury, where we loved to have picnics, and these windmills that accomplished the same task of grinding wheat. I pointed out to the kids that, in Sudbury the mill used water, but that when we looked out across the miles of farm land in front of us, there was no water to be seen. A different type of force had to turn the mill stones. We climbed to the top of the hill, wandering amongst the Spanish windmills.

Our last stop of the day was the Puerta del Sol, or Sol, to the locals. I had been told that I simply could not miss walking in this area at night. I understood late evening walking areas, but nothing prepared me for the Sol. The place was packed, unlike anything I had seen. It was hard to even drive thought the square because there were so many people roaming around. Everyone in our car put their faces to the windows, in awe of the masses. We found a parking spot and wandered the streets, holding tight to hands and insisting that the little ones stayed in the double stroller. There were street performers about that we stopped to watch. We already appreciated the Spaniards love of life, but this scene made us almost want to become one! It seemed that the entire capitol of Spain was out having a good time.

Well before the crowds left the streets, we decided that it was time for us to turn in. We were excited to be in Madrid.

Feliz Cumpleanos

For Emilie's birthday, we tried to celebrate with some of our usual traditions. Emilie awoke to her siblings singing Happy Birthday and then she was served her breakfast in bed, which eventually made it to the kitchen so that she could eat with the family. Sarah had the girls help make a banner, which she stayed up late to finish, and then I snuck out early to find a fresh chocolate croissant. We added our favorite European cereal, fruit and juice.

I envisioned a fun Spanish dinner, maybe even with happy birthday sung to her in Spanish. Unfortunately we got in late and couldn't find an open restaurant. We ended up ordering pizza at midnight! I gave her a necklace, but our plan is to pick out a favorite item while traveling that will always remind her of celebrating her 14th birthday in Europe.

Doing Business

Somewhere along the way, Ezra has picked up a little business sense. He has found that if he can talk me into giving him one euro for a treat, and he spends it wisely, he can turn a profit. He usually buys a bag of little candies and then sells each individual candy to his siblings, which eventually brings in more than the one euro with which he started. All of his siblings are happy to purchase his small goods, including Mia. Mia comes running to me for change to give to Ezra. Of course this means that I am paying more than twice for the treat. His latest business idea involves the birds in Spain. Sophia and Ezra realized that there were quite a few different species of birds around our condominium. At first they loved to go out on the balcony and watch them. They then began feeding them, and soon they turned the whole balcony into a bird sanctuary. Early one morning I came out and found birds perched all along the railing! Once they saw that their business had potential, they came to me and asked if I would pay them to take care of the birds.

House Keeping

For the most part our road trip has run very smoothly, but there are logistics that do present challenges. I still am running a household of eight, albeit on wheels.

Challenge #1 Laundry

We have been fortunate in that many of the places that we have stayed have a washer either in the room or nearby. However, it never is as convenient as my Whirlpool Duet at home. When there is a washer in the apartment, there usually is not a dryer. When I started out in Rome, I was new to the system of hanging clothing out to dry on the balcony. I overloaded the drying rack and it took about three days to dry our loads. In another location, we were directed 20 minutes out of the way to a laundry facility. We all laughed when we pulled up to one washer and one dryer, set out in the open next to a gas station. I could just picture us timing everything wrong, and someone pulling out our wet clothes and plopping them in the dirt next to the propane containers. I will always be indebted to Sarah for guarding our wash while I ran the kids to a castle nearby. In Spain, the water was so hot, it faded all of our clothes. I can barely recognize Sophia's swimming suit! And did you know that washers in Europe often take two hours for one cycle?

Challenge #2 Shopping

The first time I went to a real supermarket, I found that a few things run differently than in the United States. I went to grab a cart, and found that I was required to pay a half euro to unlock it! I saved my money, but ended up having to make two rounds taking my bags to the car in between. When I pulled my groceries out of the cart, the cashier asked me how many bags I wanted. What kind of question is this, as many as it takes, of course, was my thought. But then I realized that I had to pay for each plastic bag. The question was relevant. I gave the woman my bag of apples and she explained, in Spanish, that I had to weigh them and get a sticker with the total price for the bag in the produce department. She was friendly, but the next day, when I made the same mistake, she rolled her eyes at me.

Challenge #3 Errands

We really don't have much time for errands, and so when I have to fix something or pick up an item that we have run out of, I am usually doing my best to be quick. I had camera problems in the French Rivera. I wasn't sure if I needed a new battery or if I had to buy a new charger. After going to a couple of stores, I finally found someone who could help me, but he only spoke French. We patiently worked through the language barrier, which included all sorts of gestures. In trying to tell me that my battery no longer worked, the sales associate made the sign of the cross, and pointed at my battery with both hands, accompanied with a very sad face. It worked. I understood that my battery was dead.

Challenge #4 Car Issues

One afternoon, our seatbelt twisted and became stuck. Being the middle seatbelt in the middle row, it was preventing one of the children to sit in a prime seat. I asked around for a garage, but received an entire selection of directions to get to the same garage. I drove left, right, up and down Greve, Italy with no success. Finally I found the repair shop, but it was 12:15, which was the beginning of the usual two hour lunch break. I was expecting this in Spain, but we have found that France and Italy are taking advantage of the mid-day Siesta as well! I came back and a very nice man was able to fix the seatbelt, and he did it for free! So far I have been successful with gas situations. I am proud that I have never put regular gas in my diesel, a mistake I have feared I would make. However, one day I had a little trouble finding a station. I asked at a bakery where a gas station was. The baker gave me a very long explanation in broken English that I couldn't buy gas until Saturday. In this area it is only sold on Saturday, he kept telling me. If I wanted to buy large containers of gasoline, I could go to another town, but to get it in Costa Mijas, I had to wait until Saturday. I knew there was a lapse in our communication, but I just nodded and smiled. I drove down the street and found a gas station and filled up the car.

Costa del Sol

We spent a week on the Southern coast of Spain. Our day trips were interspersed with time at the pool and on the beach. We appreciated the condo we stayed in for which my parents traded one of their condos. The outdoor pool was so tempting, but unfortunately it was just under the threshold of what would have been bearable, even for eager 7 and 9 year olds.

Instead we swam indoors. We all found it interesting that it is required in Spain that everyone wear a swim cap. (The kids were adorable in them. I wish I had taken a photo!) We also enjoyed the beach. Once again, too cold to swim in, but perfect for wading and playing in the sand.

We have learned to love the quiteness of off-season. For us it works perfectly.

It was nice to have a couple of days without an agenda.

Malaga

I had heard that the city of Malaga was not worth much of a visit, but after spending an afternoon there, I felt differently. We drove 40 minutes north, to the largest city in the region and I immediately I knew that I was in a place that I liked. The harbor felt distinctly modern, but the skyline behind was lined with buildings, centuries old.

The Parque de Malaga runs through the city for at least a kilometer, full of plants from every continent. It gives the city a tropical feel. Fountains and playgrounds in the park are gathering spots for both tourists and locals.

The alleyways host cafes and up scale shops and the people bustling around are mainly Spaniards and North Africans.

We had planned a visit to the Picasso museum, since this was the birthplace of the famous artist, but when I stopped into the information center, they handed me an entire list of competing museums and historical sites, which I would have loved to have visited if we had the time. We found the Picasso Museum after winding through the old streets. My children love his cubism art, with bright colors and bold shapes and which is abstract enough that a little imagination is required, but not so strange that it is too hard to find meaning in the pieces.

Mosketeer with Sword

Jacquiline with a Straw Hat

Sophia and Ezra picked up a brochure of the museum with pictures from the collection. It was so fun to watch them search the galleries for the master pieces and hear their excitement when they found one.

Before coming to Malaga, we read a children's book that I brought about Picasso and the girl with the pony tail, Sylvette, who is the model in over 40 of his pictures. After visiting his boyhood house and taking personal photos with his life size statue which lounged on a bench in the square in front of his home, we felt like we knew Paublo.

We found a street cafe and ordered tapas and then picked up a cone of fried almonds from one of the stalls on the harbor.

We were sad to leave Malaga, but knew that we would have to hurry to make it to the small village of Mijas, tucked up in the mountains above. The only thing on our agenda here was a donkey ride. After sitting on the larger than life sized bronze statue near the information center, we found the corral of decorated burros not far away. Sophia and Annelise, the only two in our group who had not ridden on any member of the horse family yet, took a ride around the village. I was the lucky chaperone.

Afterward we found a little cafe and ordered churros and hot chocolate, a Spanish treat.

We ended our day at a huge outdoor shopping mall up the coast, where the kids ironically spent almost all of their time in the Nike store. Our day was a success.