Saturday, May 23

Happy birthday Grandpa Fred!

We started the day with pancakes and then loading up the car for a mystery ride.  First we stopped in Ronda, a town about a 2 hour car ride away.  On our way, we drove through the town of Utrera, a town that we had travelled to by train a couple of months ago.  It was interesting seeing it again after having been here for a little bit.

Of course, our first stop in Ronda was at a playground.  

Cody was busy running a restaurant.

I was snuggling with Rosa while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Loved the scenery in Ronda.

More snuggles with Rosa.  As she grows older, this becomes more and more rare.  I cherish each snuggle I get.

Devon swinging.

Statue of a bull fighter.

View of a church.

The kids running around.

We didn't stay long in Ronda because we enjoyed it so much we've decided we'll spend an entire weekend there soon.

And so we loaded back in the car to head to the white towns.  Our plan was to stop in Grazalema for lunch, a town my parents had really enjoyed visiting on their trip to Andalucia.

The sunflowers were in full bloom along the drive.  The fields reminded me of the scenes of poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz.

Loved this lake.  The milky green colored water reminded me of the beautiful milky green colored rivers I saw while trekking in Nepal 15 years ago.

More sunflowers.

The kids wanted to stop at this castle.  We said no because we think it's a private home.

And more...

Walking the streets of Ronda while the boys enjoy a cold snack.

Our parking spot in the hills of the white town of Grazalema.

Street we parked on, so we could remember where to return to in order to find the car.

Interesting story about the 2 neighborhoods that make up Grazalema.  

While it never snows there, it looks like snow.

My parents had raved about the meal that they had eaten in Grazalema at Gastrobar La Maroma and so we thought we'd give it a go.  The place is off the beaten path and definitely had a locals vibe.  But, sadly, the service was so slow.  It took 20 minutes before we could even order our food.  And another 30-45 minutes before the tapas were served.  Usually tapas are served in 2-15 minutes.  The meal took over 2 hours by the time we received our check, that the kids were knocked out and it was time to head back home.

View of Grazalema from above.  Quite a stunning location.

We absolutely loved the drive on Saturday and all of the amazing scenery.  

Yes, this is a picture of clouds.  What I was trying to capture was a sky diver parachuting down.

Here's an example of what a white town can look like in the distance.

When we returned home, Scott took the kids down the street to buy groceries.  They were so happy and helpful.  The boys are holding bags and the 3 of them are playing Gilly Gilly.

That night we took off for Alameda de Hercules for dinner.  Along the way we ran into 1 or 2 wedding parties.  

This horse and carriage appears to have the bride and her parents.

We went to Alameda de Hercules and saw a restaurant, Al Aljibe, that we wanted to try for dinner.  They were getting ready to open, so we went to the nearest playground to let the kids play for a bit.  While there, we ran into one of the boys' English teachers and her sons.  We seem to be running into people we know around town.  People refer to Sevilla as a big town.  We like the intimacy of it.

When we arrived back at the restaurant about 20 minutes later, every table inside and in the inner courtyard were already seated, and so we sat oustide along the sidewalk.  Sadly, similar to lunch that day, we had some of the slowest service we've had so far on our trip.  And, they forgot to put in Scott's order, which meant the rest of us had eaten, Devon and I had left, and Scott still hadn't received his food.  The food was okay, at best, but the service detracted from it all.  We're going to start doing more research ahead of time on places, and choose places with higher service over higher taste, as this seems to be our main ingredient to a good meal.