Semana Santa

Semana Santa (Easter) in Granada is a week of religious processions which we didn't attend but were told it was a 'must see'. The chance of skiing for a few days was an opportunity not to be missed. Our village however, had a mini celebration, which we saw from the window of our house.

Easter holidays encouraged a few English friends to head south and visit us, which we were all very excited about. My oldest friend Nina and her husband Tim decided on a 'carbon neutral' trip which involved a ferry to Santander and a lengthy car journey to Southern Spain, Simon and I were slightly sceptical about it, now of course it seems an extremely sensible idea!

Following the incredibly wet winter here the wildflowers are blooming and as Nina is a keen horticulturist, looking at the countryside through her eyes, I could see more than the never ending Orange trees.


Yve and Madeleine have been looking forward to seeing their English friends, with the added bonus of not going to school for a couple of days. The British had arrived when Vanessa, Olivia and girls clad in their bikinis leapt into the very chilly swimming pool - the first time for any of us this season.

A lovely few days only marrred by the Icelandic Volcano, which halted any flights into the UK, leaving Vanessa, Olivia and girls stranded in Spain. Following a bit of map activity the group bravely set off home by train via Barcelona and France with the added complications of a French train strike and travel sick children. All safely arrived in the UK ready for school on Monday.

Photos finally posted and Simon safely back in Spain after an extra week in the UK as well as a ferry/train and bus trip to get to us.

All Is Forgiven

Sorry blogwatchers, I’ve been a bit slow in keeping you posted. I was distracted by a week in London, partly work and a catch up with what’s happening in the ‘real world’. With no television in Spain the chance to see a couple of films at the cinema was heavenly.

We have now had at least a couple of weeks with no rain – unbelievable, the temperatures are starting to soar and it feels like we are living in a different place. All the kids in the village are back playing in the streets and Yve and Madeleine are so much happier.

I must count how many blog entries there have been about oranges! er – quite a lot I think! I promise this will be the last mention. Yesterday we had the Orange fiesta and I was trying to remember that ditty about life being perfect if the food was French, the lovers Italian, trains run by the Swiss and everything was organised by the Germans, but I couldn’t quite remember what the Spanish were famed for. Lets just say that organisational skills are not the Spaniard’s forte! We have a small clip below of the audience participation slot in the marquee, which everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying. We thought the English equivalent where the locals participated quite so enthusiastically would be the fruit and veg contest at the village fete.

Getting Out When You Can

We have just had a bank holiday weekend celebrating Andalucia Day.  The festivities at school were marked by everything Andalucian - songs, games and food.  The girls were enthusiastic enough about the songs and the games, but struggled with the food … Olive oil and sugar sandwiches, washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice with more sugar. Needless to say, dental health is a bit of a challenge in these parts.

With the end of the orange season looming in a bumper year, the farmers are keen to pick their crops and get what they can for them.  We seized the opportunity to get out in the sunshine and spend the day on a friend’s ‘campo’ getting our hands dirty.

 

Seven people (including the girls) picked 42 crates, in just over four hours. The van was loaded-up and after a couple of runs down to the local co-op, 640 kgs of oranges were traded for the princely sum of 60 Euros, (paid in September)!!

We seem to be continually thwarted in our attempts to go skiing at the moment.  Having checked the weather forecast which looked ok, we set off early on Tuesday to get on to the slopes. (It was a local school holiday).  We picked up our passes, checked everyone had the right kit (which is a constant battle), queued patiently for the telecabin and were just about to step on when they announced the closure of all lifts due to wind gusts of 115 kph!  We slumped in a café for a couple of hours in the hope of it dying down but sadly that ended up being it for the day and all I could do was queue again for a lift pass refund.

¡Olé!

In our experience, the rain in Spain falls mainly on Andalucia. When the sun does come out however it’s still a magical place and people seem to be quick to embrace it.  Last Sunday was a great example. We spoke to friends in Granada who mentioned there was a Flamenco festival in Sacromonte - a gypsy area in Granada where traditionally the people live in caves.

Fortunately, the sun broke through and we sat outside eating paella admiring the Flamenco. Being novice Flamenco watchers we were assured that it was superb. (A little taster below). The girls were fascinated and are keen to have a few lessons with Carmen!

The rain returned however for the rest of the week and spotting a break on Saturday we jumped at the chance of going skiing in the sunshine. We got up early and headed on up to the Sierra Nevada only to discover that the rest of Spain had had the same idea. Facing immense queues for ski passes and lifts, we quickly gave up the idea.

To liven up our return journey and curb any disappointment of not going skiing, Simon stopped the car for an impromptu snow-ball fight with all of us leaping through knee high snow ready for action.  A few minutes later Yve fell over and badly hurt her wrist. We then spent the rest of the afternoon in Granada General Hospital. Not broken thank goodness just badly sprained.  As Simon’s mantra while living abroad is to do something new everyday, I hope we can now tick el Hospital off our list!

Start Afresh

Thank goodness its February. I thought the January blues only applied when  living in England!

A quick trip to the UK was a chance for the girls to see their friends as well as take the entrance exam for their next school.  We also got together with the English family to say goodbye to Nick and his crew who are off to Los Angeles to launch Bremont in the States. 

Arrived back in Spain late Monday evening just in time for Yve’s birthday.  February 2nd was a fantastic sunny day and to celebrate we set out on our first skiing trip.

The Sierra Nevada didn’t disappoint.  We had been slightly sceptical about the snow conditions and the number of open runs but were pleasantly surprised by the amount of snow and how empty the resort was. 

The girls loved it, (even if we did slightly scare them by being a little adventurous with the colour choice of piste!)

We will definitely return.

The icing on the cake was finding out that both Yve and Madeleine have been accepted at the school for September 2010.

January Blues

I think we knew there were going to be highs and lows of living in a foreign country for a while. January is proving to be a low point. Non-stop rain, a leaking roof and the girls finding it tough at school, has put all of us to the test!

The school has not had English speaking students before and has been getting slightly over enthusiastic with their support. The girls are constantly being taken out for ‘special’ Spanish lessons with any available teacher, when they would much rather stay in class with their friends and be perceived as ‘normal’. I was forced to put my Spanish to the test and discuss it with the teachers who seemed willing and hopefully able to make some changes. Fingers crossed things will improve.
 

The non-legal option in Spain is home schooling. Yve and Madeleine have become friendly with 12 year old (tri-lingual) Dutch twins who live an alternative rural lifestyle not far away.

Their mother pitches a strong argument for home schooling, but the local Spanish are not so happy about it.  Their mosaic covered ‘cortijo’ in the hills and simple unconventional lifestyle, (combined with the stray puppies they are giving away) made our girls wide eyed with envy.

  

  

Of course the first question on Monday morning was ... why do we have to go to school?