Spain: the kids say “Si!”

I’m happy to say that Spain lived up to its reputation, without even trying. Tapas, siestas, stunning cathedrals, orange groves, whitewashed towns baking in sun. But we started with rain. The rain in Spain fell softly on the kids, the views, and the streets we wandered, lost, trying to find our airbnb. And the plains, no doubt.

Here is what I looked for when booking: cheap (we were inexpensive cities so low-end prices were really high for us). Great reviews. Accessibility (parking, walk to sites? enough beds) Possibility of cooking. And then the bit of magic, for example I look for people commenting about the terrace or stunning view.

Our actual costs worked out almost bang on with projected costs of 2350 euros (see previous post). Car and food costs were slightly higher and but we didn’t spend as much as budgeted on sight seeing/entries.

But our half-way overnight stop from France (near Perpignan), to Cordoba in the south, at a place called Sagunto just North of Valencia, was magical, even in the rain. It just happened to be an ancient Roman town (Saguntum), besieged 2000 years earlier by Hannibal and his elephants (well, and men) for 8 months before he slaughtered all the adults. Chilling even without the rain. We wandered the Roman theatre and extensive fortification ruins in the rain, impressed, and grateful our airbnb host who not only had a spectacular terrace but left umbrellas by the door. Cost: 70 euros for 2 bedroom house, 40 euro tapas meal, Roman ruins, and theatre: free entry to our surprise.

Then, off to join mom/grandma in Cordoba! She had gone down days before on the train to get in a visit to Granada. Driving costs to southern Spain: 90 euros in gas, 49 euros in tolls. Plus coffee. Not to mention the ‘toll’ on the parents of not having loaded the right games and books, sick tummies, and it being the 24 hours after a visit from the Easter bunny… But we made it! A ground floor rather dark apartment, but spacious if an awkward kitchen. Cost*: 90 euros/night. (*cost reported is our 2/3 share, my mother graciously paying 1/3 for her room). The big highlight was staying across from the city wall, minutes’ walk from everywhere. Cordoba was awash in coulours, patios, Isabelle and Ferdinand’s palace, orange trees (handy projectiles therefore available), restaurants, pretty streets. It was compact and absolutely delightful.

Cordoba is also famous for the Mesquite: an enormous ancient church/mosque defying easy description but a heart-stopping monument to the idea of what is shared between religions.

Kids don’t necessarily enjoy the same foods as adults. Ahem. In our case, we were trying to have one meal out a day, and two in our apartment or picnics. Spain has lots of experience with visiting kids, and every menu had nuggets and fries, so, unfortunately, I struggle to think of many meals where they didn’t have nuggets and fries. Ugh! But the cold soups (salmorejo) and tapas the adults enjoyed weren’t usually to their taste. However: the adults found the tapas very meat-based, except the soup, and the vegetables frequently were pickled/vinegary. It was a relief to come home to cook vegetarian meals again with lots of veggie snacks! But food challenges were partly a lack of preparation and partly lack of time; lots to do and see: each day was fairly packed.

We left Cordoba and the weather continued to improve. On to Sevilla. Famous for Flamenco, bulls, wine, palaces, history, culture, and more. It didn’t have to work at it to impress us. Here I should add that my mother was a significantly better traveler than us: more organized, she made it to a lot more sites and palaces. As well as looking after kids and giving Tris and I the chance to have meals and visit sites together. Thanks, mom!

There was a certain amount of -ahem, fighting (children), in Seville. In the cathedral no less. Despite the phenomenal distractions of treasures, soaring ceilings and art, and even Christophe Colombe’s (Columbus) tomb. My one trip souvenir was bought by the girls as an apology, a colourful tile cuttingboard. Hope for them yet?

I haven’t begun to do justice to Seville. But we found it amazing, and however superficially and quickly we visited, it was very enjoyable. Total cost (2 nights) including housing (79 euros/night) groceries, meals out, parking, the cathedral, and icecreams: 290 euros. We stayed in a beautiful neighbourhood top floor ‘maisonette’ with two stunning terraces overlooking two VERY handy playgrounds (extra magic score!). We were 3 km from the town centre but in the evening heard a live brass band giving a free concert with opera singers, just one block from the house. The kids probably remember most about Seville trying to walk all the railings without falling off at the playground, and (I can hope?) Columbus’s tomb.

After Seville, we were heading towards Ronda, a clifftop city in the hills, but we had one night outside Seville at Las Cabezas San Juan. Another place with magic! Either that, or everywhere had it. After a certain amount of fighting, we/I thought splitting up for the day was a good idea. Until everyone but ME decided to go to the beach. So… I drove on alone on the secondary highway and spent a blissful day alone, wandering the little town and reading on the terrace. Win-win?

Ugh, this is getting long, sorry. And the pictures keep not loading, or loading upside down. However, we move from a fun night in that little town, after a meal on the terrace watching the busy square below and the stork family in the church tower, as well as the critical purchase of new skipping ropes and exploring up the hill with them, and on we went to Ronda, via Arcos de la Frontera, another gorgeous whitewashed flower-filled town on a cliff.

Our place in Ronda meanwhile, at 90 euros a night, was the treat of the trip. Windows opening to a balcony with a breathtaking (I was scared) view of the bridge, king-sized luxury beds with claw-footed tubs in two of them… we didn’t know whether to go out or stay in. Both good! A memorable place.

And then, we were splitting up, mom to return her rental car to Cordoba and take the train to Barcelona for her flight back to Canada, and us for a two night visit to Gibraltar (where mom had already been), before starting the drive back to France. Goodbye til the summer, mom/grandma!

Gibraltar was amazing and deserving of its own post.

And that was it. We drove north after Gibraltar, somehow in one piece, and after a road stop meal at 9 pm at night decided NOT to stop for the night as anticipated. The kids dozed and we got home at 2 am. Phew!

Spain: we loved it. Learnings: go with a grandparent 🙂 Look for wow-factor in the place you stay, it’s there even at budget, usually a terrace is all it takes. Tapas are awesome but can be meaty. Strawberries in Spain are SOOOO cheap. They say “Gracia” in some areas, and “Gracias” in others. Being tourists made us appreciate living in France where we no longer feel like tourists.