The heat - although we thought June would be manageable, it hit close to 110 degrees during one of our weeks there. Our kids would only last about 2 blocks before melting down.
Granizadas - those sour lemon slushies make the perfect drink for a hot afternoon. If only they were served more often with vodka (or any alcohol for that matter)!
The Festivals - for a place that is 90% catholic, very few young people attend church anymore. But they sure know how to celebrate their patron saints! Seems like everyday is an excuse to get out and celebrate something. After a while they all seem to blur together. Doesn't anyone work around here? And don't they get sick of parades?
Maria Luisa (Pigeon) Park - a wonderful place to take the kids and chill out on a hot spanish afternoon. For 1.5 euros, you get a bag of pigeon food and literally get swarmed by hundreds of pecking creatures. Even Hitchcock would be impressed. Be sure to wear a hat!
The Alhambra and Gardens - stunning moorish architecture and a peaceful garden paradise smack in the middle of Spain's 4th largest city. If only the Moors could've conquered Los Angeles!
Plaza Alfalfa - this is where the true locals hang out with their kids after work/school. Cheap canas and plenty of decent tapas while the kids play.
Plaza del Salvador - this is where the locals come to meet each other, have a beer and some tapas and decide where to go out for the evening. The place seemingly explodes at 8 pm almost every evening.
Long-distance shopping - nothing close to the Catedral and limited hours to boot. I still have numb fingers from where the plastic grocery bags cut into my hands, carrying 40+ lbs of groceries (wine, beer, milk) 7 blocks uphill in the blistering sun everyday. Good story to remind my kids when they complain that there is nothing in the fridge!
Plaza de Espana - cooling fountain, beautiful collages of each spanish region, and a wonderful incorporation of brightly-colored ceramics into the buildings. Not the most durable building material, but certainly exquisite!
Health Hazards - our apartment, while beautiful, turned out to be somewhat dangerous. First, Casey slices her knee on an exposed piece of metal from the pull-out bed and then Suzanne severely dislocates her pinkie finger (90 degree angle!) when slipping on the stairs. In both cases, the lack of a convenient urgent care clinic and our reluctance to brave the hospital system led to poor outcomes; Suzanne now sports a "football player" knuckle and Casey a very pronounced bright red keloid scar (making us feel like bad parents every time we see it!). Suzanne has already declared that Casey will be getting reconstructive surgery when she gets older.
The heat - although we thought June would be manageable, it hit close to 110 degrees during one of our weeks there. Our kids would only last about 2 blocks before melting down.
Granizadas - those sour lemon slushies make the perfect drink for a hot afternoon. If only they were served more often with vodka (or any alcohol for that matter)!
The Festivals - for a place that is 90% catholic, very few young people attend church anymore. But they sure know how to celebrate their patron saints! Seems like everyday is an excuse to get out and celebrate something. After a while they all seem to blur together. Doesn't anyone work around here? And don't they get sick of parades?
Maria Luisa (Pigeon) Park - a wonderful place to take the kids and chill out on a hot spanish afternoon. For 1.5 euros, you get a bag of pigeon food and literally get swarmed by hundreds of pecking creatures. Even Hitchcock would be impressed. Be sure to wear a hat!
The Alhambra and Gardens - stunning moorish architecture and a peaceful garden paradise smack in the middle of Spain's 4th largest city. If only the Moors could've conquered Los Angeles!
Plaza Alfalfa - this is where the true locals hang out with their kids after work/school. Cheap canas and plenty of decent tapas while the kids play.
Plaza del Salvador - this is where the locals come to meet each other, have a beer and some tapas and decide where to go out for the evening. The place seemingly explodes at 8 pm almost every evening.
Long-distance shopping - nothing close to the Catedral and limited hours to boot. I still have numb fingers from where the plastic grocery bags cut into my hands, carrying 40+ lbs of groceries (wine, beer, milk) 7 blocks uphill in the blistering sun everyday. Good story to remind my kids when they complain that there is nothing in the fridge!
Plaza de Espana - cooling fountain, beautiful collages of each spanish region, and a wonderful incorporation of brightly-colored ceramics into the buildings. Not the most durable building material, but certainly exquisite!
Health Hazards - our apartment, while beautiful, turned out to be somewhat dangerous. First, Casey slices her knee on an exposed piece of metal from the pull-out bed and then Suzanne severely dislocates her pinkie finger (90 degree angle!) when slipping on the stairs. In both cases, the lack of a convenient urgent care clinic and our reluctance to brave the hospital system led to poor outcomes; Suzanne now sports a "football player" knuckle and Casey a very pronounced bright red keloid scar (making us feel like bad parents every time we see it!). Suzanne has already declared that Casey will be getting reconstructive surgery when she gets older.
No comments:
Post a Comment