Granada

Mike found this crazy little 300 year old house on vrbo.com, high up in the mountains of Granada in an area called Albayzin.  It had amazing views including one of the Alhambra from the rooftop deck.  This post is quite picture heavy.  I tried to narrow it down!

Spelling words with the BananaGram game Nonna brought

 The first full day in Granada, it was cold and rainy.  We left the girls at home with Nonna and Papa and went out to try and figure a few things out.  We ended up getting the tickets and everything we needed for the next day AND finding the best tapas bar.  Wine and free tapas in the middle of the day = fun day despite the rain!

 Alhambra above us on our walk back up to the house

 One of the most unique little neighborhoods I have ever seen.  

 Every single car we saw in the neighborhood had dings and scratches.  We had to park our 9 passenger van about a mile from the house because it literally wouldn't fit down our street.

 Here is a street with a car legally parked.  It was so crazy seeing them navigate these streets.

 Our house, built into the side of a mountain.  Papa above on the roof top deck

Almost every night that we were in Granada, we stayed in and had this for dinner.  Amazing salami, serano ham, delicious goat cheese, fresh french bread, olives and lots of red wine.  Sooo good.  This was our happy place!

 After some sight seeing (another highlight for Olivia: the burial site of Queen Isabella) we gave the girls a break from tapas and indulged them in their favorite: Subway

Next day trip was to the coast.  We stopped in Nerja and walked along the beautiful beach...in the rain!

 The rain stopped!  We starting planning our next beach vacation here.

 Next stop, Malaga...absolutely beautiful little beach town.  We went to this fantastic beach-side seafood restaurant that was recommended in our guide book.  

 Beautiful view

 Mike's crazy seafood plate.  He loved it.

Olivia became a serious paella lover on this trip.

 Skipping rocks and enjoying the warm sunshine

 Two sweet heads together

 This fun playground was just right on the beach

 Stinker with that finger!

 Zip line!

 One night we snuck away and went to a Flamenco show.  It was really fun and very interesting.

 View of Alhambra on our walk home

 So bringing the strollers was the best move of our trip except in Granada.  Super huge cobblestones and no sidewalks made it a little tricky and more effort than it was worth.  It was nice once we got to the bottom of the hill, out of our neighborhood.

 Daddy and O inside the ancient Moorish baths.

We went back to our favorite free tapas bar, Los Diamantes, this time with everyone.  Olivia LOVES paella!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alhambra

This is one of the most awe-inspiring places on earth.  It made a tremendous impression on me my first trip to Spain, when I was only 15.  

 She wanted her picture taken by the purple flowers :)

 Trying to keep Eliza out of the fountains everywhere was super challenging.  She is still so drawn to water!

 That is the neighborhood where we were staying

 The carvings are everywhere and just stunning

 Wild Child!

 Taking a rest

 Olivia was a HUGE fan of the audio guide.  It actually became an issue and I didn't really get to use mine much.  I am sure she understood it all and retained all of the information she learned ;)

 My two little shadows

 Trying to find our house!

Beautiful gardens