Granada with the Parents Day Three

I woke up this morning and ate breakfast, packed up my backpack, grabbed my mom's wallet, and headed over to the hotel. Once again, my parents had waited for me to get there before eating breakfast so that was the first priority of the day.

We walked down Calle Alhamar to the bakery that I pass everyday on my walk to school. There my parents got their breakfast, a chocolate napolitana for my dad and a croissant for my mom. We had to walk and eat because there was no place to sit down. This is a photo of our walk, with Corte Ingles on the left side.

First stop of the day was Building A in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas. This is where I go to to school for my real semester, February through May. The building was locked due to Semana Santa, but at least my parents got to see the walk that I take everyday and the outside. Something is better than nothing.

From Building A we walked to Building K, where I had my intensive month (January) classes. This is a picture of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which can be seen throughout Granada.

Building K!

After seeing where I went and go to school, we trekked up over 100 stairs to get to where the Alhambra is. This is the view from the stop of all of the steps and inclines that we had to climb.

When we got to the Alhambra, my parents wanted to follow the crowd to the right when I wanted to go left (that's the way that I went before when I came with my SOL group) so we went right. We walked down a long dirt path and on the side there were a bunch of pictures of sea animals and we thought that we might be approaching an aquarium. Still have no idea why those pictures were there because there definitely wasn't an aquarium at the end of the path. We found a map and determined that everyone was going into the main entrance, and that they probably all had tickets. We did not have tickets because they sold out way in advance, so we turned around and went into the entrance that I knew. 

This is the door that we entered into.

When entering this way, you can see parts of the Alhambra for free and amazing views of the city. Here are some of the pictures from the plaza that we were at.

San Nicolas Mirador as seen from the Alhambra.

Parts of the Alhambra that you need tickets to enter.

One thing that was free for us to see what the Alhambra Museum. We went inside and checked it out. It was really cool to see all of the artifacts and pieces of stone that have been salvaged. My dad even touched one of the pieces but was told in Spanish to please not touch. Obviously he had no idea what was going on so I had to tell him to keep his hands to himself!

When we left the museum we entered this really cool circular plaza type thing.  We had the option of going to the art museum for free as well but my parents and I aren't really into art that much.

After our museum visit we wandered the grounds a little bit more and passed by some shops and hotels.

We then wanted to leave because there was nothing else to see but I couldn't figure out what the correct exit was to go to Plaza Nueva (near where I wanted to take my parents for lunch) so I asked a security guard. She told me to leave where I came out and then a bunch of lefts and rights I decided to just head in the direction that we entered and to find a map that would point us in the right way. 

We found the map once exiting the Alhambra and it was quite an easy trek downhill from where we were to Plaza Nueva. Along the way there were shops and stores that made wooden boxes, only made in Granada. We ended up buying all three girls (sisters) the same shirt that my mom got yesterday, the alphabet of Arabic all jumbled up.

We then made our way downhill some more and we got to see a demonstration of how the boxes are made. Quite an experience. Eventually my dad would return to this store to buy a box for himself.

It was now lunch time and I took my parents to a restaurant for bocadillos. I had been at this restaurant before for tapas and a bocadillo. They had ham shanks hanging everywhere along the bar and they even took a couple down during our time there to bring across the street. 

When we were leaving the owner even gave us a demonstration of how they cut the meat.

When lunch was over we did some more shopping by Plaza Nueva on the path that takes you up to the Albaicin. My mom bought a book about Granada and the Alhambra that will be given to me when she is done reading it as a keepsake  After that, we ended up not buying anything else but it was nice to browse. Here is just a picture of a street and the shops that line it.

We started our way home and walked down San Anton instead of Recogidas because my mom wanted to get a pair of leggings so I was going to take her to the same store that I got mine at. Stores were actually open today, an abundance of them! The trouble was that there were no more leggings in her size so we just went back to the hotel.

On our walk back we ran into Rachael and her family again, this time when we were waiting to cross the street and they pulled up at the red light in their car. We stopped and chatted for a bit and then went on our way.

When we got back to the hotel, we stopped at the front desk so I could set up an alarm for them in the morning and help them set up a taxi. This was very helpful for my parents because they don't know a lick of Spanish and the people at the front desk didn't really speak much English. It was also a bit challenging because it is daylight savings time here tonight so there was a time change that I was concerned about them missing or messing up the time that they wake my parents up at. 

When we got back to the room I blogged a little bit, my parents each had a rum and coke and just relaxed. My mom even began to read her new book! When I finished a blog post we went to the park, Garcia Lorca and walked around and enjoyed the beauty of it all. On our walk there we saw Rachael and her family again, this time just driving by and saying hello with a simple honk of the horn!

We were about to return to the hotel but then my mom decided that she wanted to go up to some of the main streets again because she read about them in the book and wanted to soak it all being educated. She also wanted to the statue of Queen Isabel and Christopher Columbus. When we got there and took some pictures my dad asked me how much farther it was to the box making shop because he wanted to take a picture of how it was made (he forgot to when we had the demonstration). So we returned to the box shop for the third time in the day and got the photo. 

From there we returned to the hotel and then my dad left to go to the bakery to get their breakfast for the next day because they had to wake up at 5 am and didn't want to hassle with bakeries in the morning.

When he returned he also brought leche frita. He had gotten it for free because at the bakery he said he didn't speak Spanish and a worker from the back came up and started talking to him in English. He knew a little bit so my dad could communicate with him. He gave him a free piece of leche frita (fried milk) to try because it is a speciality of Granada. We all had some, I've tried it before, and my parents thought it was an interesting treat.

We then hung out in the hotel for a little bit and then it was time to go to Mila's house and for the parents to finally meet the woman who has been taking such good care of us since we arrived. 

Before we went upstairs I taught my mom and dad the 2 kisses on the check deal that Spaniards do when greeting people so they weren't confused when Mila went really close to their face. They seemed to catch on pretty quickly. 

We then all pilled into the elevator, my family and Rachael's family, and then we went up. Mila was very excited to meet everyone and invited them to take a seat at the table while she finished preparing the sweets. She also offered tea and juice to everyone. While we were waiting for her to be ready we showed them our room and bathroom. 

The sweets were then all set out and there was pound cake covered in chocolate, wafers, chocolate covered little treats and much more. She brought the tea and then the conversation started. It was a short conversation because of the translation and our parents didn't really know what to say. We talked about Rachael and I, the nice house, thanks for taking care of the girls, her family and a few other things. Our parents then gave her gifts. Rachael's family gave her a Minnesota magnet and a CD of piano music of nature because she used to be a piano teacher. My parents gave her a box of Seroogy's assorted chocolates.

After being there for about 45 minutes we decided it was time for dinner so we set out on our way to find a restaurant. We went to one near CLM Building A because they had a menu in English so we didn't have to translate the food.  We all ended up ordering a three course meal with a drink. 

They started us off with some potato chips and salchicha of some sort. Rachael's family had their wine and my family had Coke. For our starter we either had a salad (everyone else) or spaghetti bolognese (me and my dad). For the main meal we had grilled pork with green beans (everyone) and my dad had broiled fish. Our dessert was a candied pear. The food was pretty good but our waiter was a total jerk so we got out of there ASAP. 

We then went to Cafe Futbol for Chocolate con Churros and Rachael's family also split some ice cream. From there we walked back to our hotels and called it a night.

I stayed with my parents for a little bit longer and then went down to the front desk to make sure that everything was still set up for the next morning. I also helped my dad pay for the bill because I was there to translate for him. 

He then walked me mom and I gave him a pair of shoes to take home and we said our goodbyes!

I went on my computer and then went to bed.

I will see them and my sisters again in less than 2 months! The countdown is on!

Granada with the Parents Day Two

I woke up with a great night's rest under my belt, the bed had not rocked back and forth at all. It was nice to sleep with stability and nothing moving. Today was going to be a busy day so I started it off with eating some cereal at Mila's and then bring another backpack full of items to my parents' hotel. 

When I got to the hotel I asked my parents if they ate already, like they were supposed to, but my mom said no because she wanted to wait for me. So we went to Cafe & Te and got breakfast. The cafe was all out of napolitanas because it was at about 10 am and that's late, so we had a xocu (I think that is what they are called) and something else that was chocolatey. The xocu was like a croissant covered in chocolate. My dad was amazed that there was a cigarette machine in the cafe!

After breakfast we began adventuring around Granada. First we took pictures of the hotel that my parents were staying at, Hotel Reino de Granada and then my parents were astonished that there are orange trees growing in Granada. They just had to take a picture and strike a pose!

We continued on our walk up Recogidas to the San Nicolas Mirador in the Albaicin, one of our stops of the day. Along the way we window shopped because nothing was open. 

Our first stop was the Coal Corral and these pictures are of the ceiling as you walked in and the entrance. 

The next stop was all the little shops along the way. We went into pretty much everyone and didn't buy anything. Eventually I found an elephant shot glass that is absolutely adorable and I had to buy it for myself! We also got gifts for two people who I cannot name or say what we got them. The next stop was the Cathedral but it was closed, so we went in where the service was taking place and walked around. They had a float from the parade from the night before being displayed, as well as everything else that is usually there. 

After doing some more shopping, and browsing, we went to Shwarma King and got shawarmas and my mom got something else, called a durham. I thought that this was a very cultural place to take my parents because of the Arabic food as well as the atmosphere of the location. 

Here is an example of what the streets looked like on our way up to the San Nicolas Mirador. We walked up through the entrance near Plaza Nueva where there are all of the shops and along the way my dad met two girls from the states who are living in Paris. One is teaching English and the other is working as a designer, and of course my dad would say something to them when he heard them speaking English. We talked with them for a bit and I told them about the mirador to see the Alhambra and then we went our separate ways.

The views from the San Nicolas Mirador.

Views from the walk down, by Camborio. We ended up making a complete circle with our walking. 

When we got to this plaza, we sat down on a bench and soaked up the amazing views of the Alhambra. Eventually we heard a bunch of cheering and clapping and a crowd of people and we assumed it was another parade but it wasn't. It was a street band playing music and people just having a good time!

After walking back to Plaza Nueva, we did some more shopping. My mom got a shirt that had the Arabic alphabet jumbled up on it; very cute! We then got some ice cream cones and sat on a bench and enjoyed our food. We have officially made a complete circle. After finishing and relaxing, we went shopping again. This picture below is of a shop that sold a bunch of really pretty and cool lamps and another shop.

When we were done shopping we went back to the hotel to rest up and take a little siesta. When we were right across the street from the hotel, someone said my name, a man I did not recognize and it was Rachael's dad. We had randomly run into them on the side of the road, so chatted it up a little bit. Then we went our separate ways and went to the hotel. We all rested and I also blogged a little bit and uploaded all of my pictures to Facebook. (Check them out!)

Dinner time rolled around and tonight we were going out for tapas! There were a few places that I knew for sure that I wanted to take my parents to and two of them were near school. We walked up Recogidas (took the wrong way on accident) and then we passed the Fuente de Batallas.

Little did I know that we would be running into another parade, we had to wait and weave in and out of people to get up towards CLM. When we got there, the parade was on the street that we needed to walk on and I thought that we were doomed! Here are the pictures from the parade on Friday night!

Soon enough there was a gap in the parade, the end of it! We squeezed through everyone and we made it to the restaurant that I wanted to go to! I had been at this restaurant with my class for tapas. I was hoping to pick out the snails for my parents to try but because it was Semana Santa and a Friday, we couldn't pick our own tapas.

My mom and I each ordered a tinto de verano and my dad ordered a beer. Our tapas were croquettas with a potato salad and bread. We ate, drank, paid, and left. 

We then crossed the street for the next place that I wanted to go, the same place that I was at for the photo contest. My mom and I each had another class of tinto de verano and my dad had another beer. This time the tapa was a Russian crab salad with bread slices. While we were eating my dad realized that we weren't going to be served meat because it was Good Friday. Shoot! All the good tapas were meat filled.

The last tapas bar that we went to was POE. Here we got to order whatever we wanted to for tapas so I ordered us all the pork and pineapple skewers. My dad had another beer and my mom and I had Coke. The Coke in Spain comes in tiny glass bottles. When we were done eating my dad wanted me to take one (which you aren't supposed to do) so I snuck one in my purse, we paid and we were out of there!

After tapas we stopped at La Casita de Pan on our way back to the hotel because my parents wanted something sweet. We tried a Pionono, something that is special to Granada. It was very very sweet and was glazed with sugar. My dad got something that was supposed to be made with honey but you couldn't taste it. I didn't get anything. 

We returned to the hotel and I hung out there for a little bit and blogged some more. Then my dad walked me home and I got the rug (for the cottage) from my room and brought it down to him. Just another thing that they had to bring home for me. 

When I got back I saw Rachael and were both exhausted and went to bed!