Otro té, por favor

In the courtyard of orange trees outside the Mezquita (mosque) in Cordoba

We just deposited Mom and Dad in a taxi and told the driver, “aeropuerto.” I must jot down some of our adventures now before I forget all the wonderful things we did. Our visit with Mom and Dad was excellent – we really had an Andalucían bonanza. I am so proud of Mom and Dad for many things: for taking a much-needed and deserved vacation to Europe, for truly adhering to the Spanish schedule, for trying tons of Spanish cuisine, for exploring new cities, and for speaking “Spanish.”

Yes, they tried to speak Spanish. This Fall, Mom audited a Spanish class at the local college, and about 8 years ago, Dad spent a week in the Dominican Republic. Needless to say, they were quite proficient. Mom could ask “How much?” and she understood numbers, so she could shop with relative ease. Dad could ask for the check at restaurants and he learned how to say “te” and “leche” within hours of his arrival. Dad drank his weight in tea everyday. I also noticed that if any Spaniard directed a question or a comment at Dad, he would simply smile, raise his eyebrows and say, “Muy buen!” As you can imagine, Mom and Dad charmed everyone they met. Including the handsome young matador we met in Ronda – he kissed Mom on both cheeks and said, “Encantado.” But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s begin in Sevilla.

Upon Mom and Dad’s arrival in Sevilla, we dove into the schedule of long, late lunches and tapas at night. We ate and ate and ate. On Brad’s b-day, we went to the cathedral and then to a Spanish cooking school for lunch. Later, we walked around the Plaza de España and we rented a “cyclobus” to cruise around the park.

At the Plaza de España . . . aren’t they cute? 34 years together and they've never had a fight!

On our cyclobus, a.k.a. a bicycle built for four

We also had to go out for tapas in Santa Cruz, tour the Alcázar, walk along the river and wander around local plazas. One night in Seville, we were strolling by a statue of the virgin near the cathedral, and we suddenly heard music. It was a Tuna!

In Spain and Latin America, Tunas are musical groups made up of guys from universities. They wander the streets in distinctive garb, strumming guitars and singing love songs and folk tunes. It just so happened that some sort of Tuna competition was going on the night we were wandering Sevilla. If I could have arranged it, I would have, because Mom was in heaven.

A Tuna

We watched 2 Tunas perform for the virgin (the statue in the square.) They sang songs about lost love, plazas in Sevilla, and Spanish pride. A couple of guys did a fancy dance that involved smacking your body with a tambourine while jumping around. Seeing the Tuna perform was a fantastic surprise.

After our days in Sevilla, it was time to hit the road in a rental car. We traveled to Cordoba, Úbeda, Granada and Ronda. It was nice for Mom and Dad to really immerse themselves in Andalucía for the duration of their trip. Travel in Spain can be overwhelming because there are so many amazing places in the country and each province has a unique personality. If you spend a week in Andalucía, you’re likely to drink sherry, see tons of Moorish architecture, countless olive groves, and pass by a toothless farmer leading a donkey through town. Dad had painstakingly researched the towns, hotels and sights on our trip. Therefore, everything was great! Details to come . . .

Oh, the places we will go . . .