Leaving Barcelona for Home

We are boarding our flight to NYC and then home.  It was another memorable family trip.  But... there is no place like home!

Barcelona, Spain Sights Continued

Today the Robertson clan did alot of sight seeing. We went on a 1 and 1/2 hour double decker tour bus ride that took us through Barcelona. In the afternoon we went to the market again, followed by the modern art museum and the chocolate museum.

Barcelona,Spain Sights

Today the Robertson Clan went to the Barcelona Cathedral,  Football (soccer) stadium, and a  fruit/meat/fish market. The Cathedral was  tall, but beautiful.

310 km/hour to Barcelona

Our train this morning is speeding across Spain.  So far our maximum train speed has been 310 km/h (193 mph).   Our trip is 5 1/2 hours and arrival is expected at 14:25.

Malaga Miles

We considered visiting Morocco, but didn't since we were told it could be unsafe.  Our day today in Malaga was very pleasant as we strolled around shopping and sightseeing.  Picasso was from here, so we had to see the local museum  of his work.  A phenomenal dinner at a small Moroccan restaurant satisfied our African urge.

Today we put some kilometers on our feet... 21 in fact!  Our trip, as usual, has been about being on the move.  We have walked an average of 12 miles per day.

Five Star Laundry

Traveling light means doing laundry at some point.  Our quick drying clothes makes our balcony look like we're trailer trash only for a few hours.

The BEAST

This is our transportation for the next few days.  A few specs....
HP: not enough, fully loaded trucks pass this diesel going up hill
GEARS: 6 and badly geared, continuous shifting required to maintain forward motion
0 to 100 KPH: 45 seconds going downhill
PASSENGERS: I think we can fit at least 15 aboard, the family is comfortable
SUSPENSION: Mushy and tippy
LENGTH: Long enough not to fit in any parking space
HEIGHT: Too high to fit in any parking garage
WIDTH: 2 inches wider than streets in Granada Center
PARKING BRAKE: Not required since this beast can't be parked

The Misadventure of Granada

We began our day with a light breakfast before an est. 1.5 hour car ride to Granada. Everything seemed swell with spirits high. The forecast showed no rain and we were going to visit Alhambra, described by our travel book as "a sight so magnificent that you'd never need to see anything else in your life." Everything changed once we entered that forsaken city. An hour and a half was spent following the empty promises of parking signs through the narrow labrinth of streets. Our spirits were broken until we eventually found a parking spot big enough to accommodate our 9 passage van, 10 km away from our destination. There was talk of cutting our losses and traveling the road of defeat back to Malaga, but we persevered. We were going to see Alhambra. Skip forward an hour, after we took taxis to the entrance of the towering fortress turned palace. We rejoiced! Now all we had to do was buy some tickets and look at pretty thing!... It took almost an hour to get tickets... but once we were there we saw some neat views and impressive gardens. Definitely worth the struggle. Unfortunately, our visit was interrupted by ominous weather. We seeked asylum under a through way of the fortress then ultimately called it quits and caught a taxi back to our van before we could finish our tour of Alhambra. 

Also I got some neat pictures of it all! Woohoo! 

Granada, Spain

What a day it has been. Today we drove an 1 and a 1/2 hours to Granada. After about an hour trying to find parking for our 9 passenger van/bus, we were able to see the Royal Palace of Granada. The Royal Palace had a beautiful display of gardens.

Malaga Arrival

After lunch we pressed on to the coastal city of Malaga.  We took a wrong turn out of Ronda and it took us 3 hours rather than 1 and a half.  The mountain roads were hell to drive.  Our hotel had an exceptional view of the city.

View from room balconey

Malaga beaches

Road to Ronda

Today we picked up a 9 passenger van and headed to the mountain town of Ronda.  The route to Ronda was filled with billions of sunflowers.  We hiked down a deep 900 foot gorge which devices the city.

Top of Ronda Gorge

Bottom of gorge