Tarifa and Malaga, Spain

The end of our trip didn't go as planned.  It honestly was ... well... let's just say meh.  After the kids had been sick the week before our trip, I had been sick the first bunch of days of the trip... Todd finally came down with the crazy cold (mostly chest... somewhat in the nose.)  We drove from Gibraltar to Tarifa with the intent of having a somewhat lazy day near the beach.  

So when we finally made it to Tarifa... it seemed like a beautiful day.  But it was JUST SO WINDY.  I mean, so windy that we were covered in sand by the end of the day and we were still finding sand in our hair days later.  We walked down to the beach and found a little bar where we had a couple of drinks and played in the sand for a couple of hours.

The kids were just happy to have their toes in the sand, even if it was windy.

Natalie gives the beach a thumbs up!

Since Grant took his shoes and socks off, they became fair game for these dogs. The lab came right over and tried to take Grant's shoe (ummm, NO.)  We managed to grab that back, but HE managed to get away with a sock.  I said, "Oh we're never seeing that sock again!" as they took off running down the beach with it.  (They did bring it back eventually!  The dog owner had to retrieve it ha ha.)

I spy Morocco in the distance (mainly on the left behind the edge of Tarifa.)

I love this little cutie at a beach bar in Tarifa.

Natalie clearly felt that she needed some vitamin D.  So she grabbed one of the little beach "chairs" and plopped it down in the sand. 

Grant's new thing is drawing out wars on paper.  He says he doesn't like war, but he likes seeing borders change.  He's really into maps right now, and you KNOW he gets that from me.  So he plopped right down at one of these barrels after Daddy drew the outline of Asia's current countries and he got to work on moving those borders around with each takeover.

Todd took this picture when he went to the bathroom because these signs were not helpful to him.  (Side note: He guessed right!)

At one point, I decided to walk down to the water with the kids.  The sand was blowing so hard as you can see by the little streets of blowing sand in the above picture.

Tarifa was really beautiful, and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves (see Morocco on the far right in the distance?)

It's a little sign from my dad!  Near the bottom of the Seagram's gin bottle, you can see, "Lawrenceburg, IN."  My dad used to work in that factory!  Not all of the Seagram's bottles have the town name though.

We finally decided our lengthy happy hour was over and decided to walk back through the town of Tarifa.  The Castle of Tarifa looms over the port and it was built in 960!

These potted plants made me miss Córdoba a little bit.  Don't walk through Tarifa in March during siesta, because there was hardly ANYTHING open.

Because it was siesta time, we hit up the only open place in the whole city (the grocery store) and grabbed some tapas and wine and decided to enjoy our super awesome back patio.

It even came equipped with Astroturf.  It was warmer and less windy in the back, where Todd and Grant are sitting here.

The views were so beautiful though.  This picture makes it look really warm (and not so windy.)

As the sun began to go down, you really got a nice view of Morocco.

Adios, sunshine.

The sun setting over the Atlantic.

The kids enjoyed the sunset with us.  Even after it was gone!

Lordy, the next day was so trying.  We had previously purchased tickets on the ferry from Tarifa to Tangiers, Morocco, several months in advance.  We planned on a day tour of Tangiers with a guide, and then to return in the late evening to Tarifa.  So we strolled down to the port, passing the old bull ring on the way.  Doesn't every Spanish city have a bull ring?

The kids were SO looking forward to getting "another continent." But it just wasn't in the cards today.  The winds were so awful, that all of the ferries from Tarifa were cancelled.  They told us that ferries were going out of Algeciras but they were delayed by several hours, and each trip was taking MUCH longer than they had planned.  When FRS told us they would refund all of our money, we took them up on that and cancelled our trip to Morocco.  This is what a VERY disappointed family looks like.

Because it was SO windy in Tarifa, and because there was just NOTHING to do in this town this time of year, we decided to leave and head for Málaga instead.  We still had another night planned in Tarifa, but with the cancellation of our planned trip to Morocco, it just didn't make sense to stay there.  So we went back to our beautiful apartment (look at these colors!  It's totally unfiltered!), packed up our stuff, and drove to Málaga.

We made the two hour drive to Málaga and the kids were begging for pizza so we stopped at an Italian restaurant and had some beer and pizza in the sunshine.  Too bad Todd couldn't join us for this.

Whoa!  There's a lot going on in this picture!  Look at those windows!

We strolled around the city and passed the Málaga Cathedral (also known as Our Lady of Incarnation.)  We didn't go in, for fear of Grant leaving his EpiPen inside (I kid, of course!) but it was sure pretty from the outside!

Our panorama of the facade of the Cathedral made it look round! HA!  Work was started on it in 1530 but it wasn't finished for 100+ years.

The beautiful Spanish Baroque Palacio Episcopal, or the Bishop's Palace is across the street from the Cathedral.

We decided to walk over to the big Mirador Princess Ferris wheel and passed this really cool tree and red flowers behind the tourist information stand.

What a cool tree!  I'm such a nerd!

OF COURSE the Ferris wheel was closed for most of March so we couldn't ride it. Boo.  That's just how this trip ended.

My dad had a beautiful bird of paradise in the front of my parents house, which my mom just sold and moved out of a few weeks prior to this.  I love these plants, mostly for that, but partly because they come in Auburn colors.

I also loved this brunfelsia pauciflora tree (native to Brazil) which is commonly known as "Morning, Noon and Night."

We had a really nice time strolling around the Parque de Málaga, which sits parallel to the harbor.

Across the street from the Parque de Málaga, the University of Málaga has a beautiful main building where the President's offices are located.

Málaga even has a Roman Theater that dates back to the first century BC.  It was only used until the 3rd century AD when it pretty much fell into disrepair until the Moors used parts of it to build the Alcazaba that you see behind it. 

Grant needs a bigger head ha ha.  My little bullfighter and flamenco dancer.

Malaga's manhole covers weren't as impressive as some others I've seen.  Maybe they were nicer when they were newer!

We had a late day flight the next day from Málaga to Madrid, so we headed back to the car (that we had pre-filled with all of our bags earlier in the day).  As we were paying for our two day parking, I noticed this on the wall. WHAT?  Every parking garage should have one of these!  Heck, I want one of these for myself!

Speaking of breathalyzers... We had bought a bottle of wine at one of our stops on this trip, and we kept the wine with us with the intent to finish it.  Of course that never happened, so I said, "Take a picture of me drinking some of this wine!"  (Right before I dumped it out of course!)

We took off south from Málaga over the Mediterranean.  It was just so pretty!

Once we got up to our hotel near the Madrid airport, we wanted to get some food, but the restaurant didn't open until 8pm!  They did serve some little snackies which we had with our happy hour, but then we went back to the room and had the kids get ready for bed and get ourselves packed up to go home the following day.  When we finally got to eat dinner, we splurged a bit and got the flan for dessert!  YUM!

Ok I'm only putting this picture here to remind myself of the time that I was NERDING OUT over seeing Kelvin Helmholtz waves in the clouds for the first time from our airplane at the Madrid airport as we were flying back to Munich!  They weren't as pronounced as some others may have seen, but the remnants were there none the less. You can barely see them (center, and slightly to the left) because I was using my iPhone to capture it (and you know you can't zoom in with an iPhone and expect the photo to be clear) but I saw them and that's all that matters.  Meteorology geeks, unite!

Until next time, Spain!  And you know there will totally be a next time!  See ya in 2033!

Gibraltar, Gibraltar

The kids (particularly Natalie) will tell you this might have been their favorite part of the trip (although by the end, Grant kept asking, "Can we just go back to Cordoba?")

It was an easy drive to Gibraltar from Granada.  I had heard that the lines for passport control can be HOURS long, but we walked through in about 38 seconds.  They saw our American passports and didn't even stamp them, even though we were leaving the Schengen area.  

Gibraltar.  This way.

The way you know you're in a "British Overseas Territory" (DON'T CALL US A COLONY) is by seeing one of these.  Or as our taxi driver said, "We still have these red phone boxes but nobody ever uses them."

We hopped in a taxi with a great driver named Robert who offered to give us a tour of the island.  We learned upon entering Gibraltar that the cable cars going to the Top of the Rock were closed due to windy weather conditions, so we took him up on his offer.  The tour includes him as the guide and the entrance to the National Park and the caves.  If you're short on time, and want a nice tour of the important historical sites of Gibraltar, this is definitely the way to go. One of the coolest things about Gibraltar is the airport that sits at the border.  Spain is a bit tough on Gibraltar, and over the years, the British Overseas Territory decided it needed its own airport for sustainability.  

This time of year, only about 8-10 flights per day take off or land (it increases a bit during the summer months.)  When they DO take off or land, the barriers go down and you have to stop since the main north-south road onto or off of the rock (Winston Churchill Avenue of course) goes right down the center of the east-west runway.  We didn't get stopped on the way in... but it's super weird to just cross a runway on your way into a city!

Our friendly driver Robert took us through town so we could drop off our bags at our apartment.  On the way into town, we saw the American War Memorial which was first built in 1933 to commemorate the aid of American soldiers in World War I. In 1998, they added plaques for Operation Torch, which was the invasion of North Africa by the Allies in 1942 (led by Eisenhower.)

At first, Robert tried to take us directly on the tour, but we had to meet our AirBnB host to drop off our bags and get the keys first.  So he actually waited for us while we did that before continuing the tour which was super nice.  But on our way up the mountain, the views were incredible in all directions.  Across the bay, you can see the Spanish town of Algeciras.

The first real stop on our tour was the Jews' Cemetery Battery.  The Strait of Gibraltar, is at its narrowest point right here at the country of Gibraltar.  It's the imaginary dividing line between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It's also said to be the northern Pillar of Hercules, the westernmost point at which Hercules traveled during the Tenth of his Twelve Labors.

On the way up into the National Park, you can get a view of Africa (Morocco) on a clear day.  This day was quite windy.  Robert told us that in the summer, you can almost never see Morocco because of the sea fog that develops as the hot air sinks over the cool water.

He's definitely as strong as Hercules!

At this point, we hadn't seen any of Gibraltars famous macaque monkeys, but because these are the only wild monkeys in ALL of Europe, this is the only place in ALL of Europe that you will find these signs.

The next stop was the must-see St. Michael's Cave. There are 150 limestone caves in Gibraltar, but this one takes the cake.  Although this little plaque says 1867, Neanderthal skeletons were found among the caves from about 40,000 years ago.  In 1867, they performed the first archaeological dig of this cave.

True story!  They hold concerts in here because the acoustics are apparently very good.

When you go into St. Michael's Cave, you're treated to a light show set to music that is playing in the background.

Grant has decided that an American 9-year-old boy should be the next one to excavate the cave.

There is seating for over 100 people in St. Michael's Cave.  I'd love to see some of my favorite bands play some acoustic shows here!

The lighting changes very quickly, so you can snap three consecutive pictures and get this for the first picture...

... This for the second picture...

... and this for the third picture!

The performer of the family said she would like to sing in here.

The geoscience nerd in me is always excited to see a cave of stalactites.  My kids aren't as excited, it seems, although they both have been in enough caves to know the difference between stalactites and stalagmites.  I'm so proud!

It's always so cool when stalactites meet stalagmites and form a column (see on the right)

Columns reaching for the sky in pretty blue and green.

These cuties had a good time exploring St. Michael's Cave.

It looks like the Incredible Hulk exploded in here.  Legend says that the caves were so deep, they were the endpoint of a long tunnel that stretched beneath the Strait of Gibraltar.  It's been said that through this tunnel, the monkeys were able to get to Spain!

This looks like the rings of a tree but it's really a cross section of a fallen stalagmite!  Interestingly, the white parts you see are where there were times of drought and little rain fell, so the calcification happened more quickly.

As we were driving, up to our next stop, we started to encounter the monkeys.  They were LITERALLY jumping on the van. Please don't try to enter the van.  We promise we don't have any snacks!

Y'all know I'm afraid of heights.  Like really bad.  This driver was a fine driver.  And he's like a 7th generation Gibraltarian.  But he's screaming through these narrow streets that have nothing but a brick sized barrier between me and the ground a thousand feet below.  So I had to lay down in the back seat so I wouldn't pass out!

The monkeys are ruthless.  They aren't mean.  In fact, they're a bit shy of actual humans and will run away if you are too jumpy with them.  But they'll totally jump all over your car and hang out with humans who are standing still!

I just liked this pic because of a) the narrowness of the road we were on b) the famous pointed rock of Gibraltar, and c) the monkeys just hanging out, appreciating the view.

Furry friends overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar.

"OMG DID YOU GET A PICTURE OF THAT?" (I did!  I did!) He actually jumped on her head and she screamed (which you aren't supposed to do) and of course, he ran away.

Hey monkey, look at the camera!

Count on your fingers the number of times you've ever taken a selfie with a wild monkey.

While the monkeys ARE wild, they tend to stick close because they are well fed and taken care of.   We caught them at the end of feeding time.  There were lots of carrots and potatoes all over the ground.

Take the stairs up above where the monkeys have snack time and you'll see this view of the Mediterranean.

Me and my big monkey.  The southern part of Gibraltar with the sea fog behind it covering Morocco.

One of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

Looking north, the view is an equally spectacular view of Signal Hill, the middle of the three "hills" of Gibraltar.

Todd's selfie with a Gibraltarian monkey. No monkeys were harmed in the making of this picture.

Please be advised.

Suddenly, the monkey on the top of the stairs started chasing the monkey you can see at the bottom of the stairs.  Alpha male dominance!

We are really high up here and there are a lot of boats in the harbor.

Those barriers seem safe.

I felt like I could just roll on down the hill right on into that harbor.

Thankfully no one made me go even higher than I already was.  This point (the southernmost) is about 1,400 feet above sea level.

Don't worry. I can go around this guy without crushing these simple, plastic barriers.  I don't fear careening down a mountain.  All while wearing a monkey on the top of my van.

The wind was REALLY blowing today, so the cable car was closed (which is why we took the vans.)  I feel like God himself (with my Dad's help) knew my feelings about this and proactively sent the winds!

The last stop on our tour was the Great Siege Tunnels, which had been initially dug back in 1782 toward the end of the Great Siege (where the French and Spanish tried again unsuccessfully to take over Gibraltar.)

The clouds looked really cool over the end of the runway.  The best views of the airport are from the Great Siege Tunnels.

Sadly, no airplanes took off or landed when we were up there!

Traffic on the one road that goes in and out of Gibraltar was moving along across the runway.

The geological formation that is Gibraltar is just fascinating.  It formed about 55 million years ago when Africa collided with Europe.

We were told later by our cab driver that drove us out of Gibraltar that a tunnel is being built under this side of the runway.  Eventually, the vehicle road that bisects the runway will be closed and the tunnel will be the only way in and out.  That makes me sad!

It took about a year to build the first gallery.

They have a lot of cheesy wax figures inside of the caves from different periods when Gibraltar was under attack or at war.

When Grant can touch the ceiling, you know Todd totally had to walk completely bent in half at this point!

The area where the airport is currently located was previously not owned by either Gibraltar or Spain and was sort of a neutral zone in between the two countries as established by the Treaty of Utrecht in the 1700s.  The border of Gibraltar was on the south side of this area, and the border for Spain was on the north side.  In between, they had a horse racing track.  Now, they just recently opened a new terminal (in 2012) that you can see across the runway above, on the right.

You can walk through literally MILES of the Great Siege Tunnels, but we stopped maybe a half a mile in or so.  The shadows looked so funny and Natalie towers over her dad.

The coolest thing about these tunnels is that they were originally built as a transport "roadway" through the rock so they could move heavy cannons across the peninsula without having to go over the mountain.  As they were blasting and chipping away at the rocks, they were creating so much dust and debris that the workers were having trouble breathing.  In order to alleviate that, they blasted holes in the outer walls to get some fresh air in the tunnel system.  Then they had a brilliant plan: let's put cannons on the notch (which was the north face of the rock) and then we can have an offensive advantage!

Just over here making some little cannonballs.  Don't mind me.

After we toured around the tunnels (at our own pace... Robert the driver told us to take as much time as we wanted to), he drove us back down to the main road where we went out in search of a place to stop for some promised ice cream.

For kiddo happy hour, we got to sit along the main road and people watch, which is one of my favorite traveling pastimes.

After our brief ice cream stop, we hiked up the million stairs up to our apartment for a brief pit stop/change out/bathroom break.

And then it was back out into the streets of Gibraltar, which feels like a sunny, warm England where many people also speak Spanish.

Probably.  But we aren't sure.

One must-see place in Gibraltar is the Magistrate's Court, which is where John Lennon and Yoko Ono were officially married (after they had been rejected by France!)  They could do this because John was a British citizen.

We liked this little government building with cannons that faced the governor's house.

On the ground in between the above building and the governor's house is the symbol that's on the flag of Gibraltar- the castle and the key.

And what's a trip to a British Overseas Territory without a stop at a pub?  We swung into the Angry Friar for happy hour, Bailey style.

Outside of the Angry Friar pub is the governor's residence (well isn't THAT convenient!)  It was built in 1531 and they call it the Convent since it was for Franciscan Friars until 1728, when it became the governor's home.

Tee hee, this never fails to amuse me!

Todd spotted "Irish Town" on Google Maps, so we decided to stroll through there and try to find a place to eat. It's thought that there had been an Irish regiment that had it's barracks on this street back in the 1700s.

More castles and golden keys on the light poles of Gibraltar.

Directional signs in Irish Town.  Strangely, about 95% of Irish Town is actually Welsh!

After dinner at the Clipper, the kids wore their Gibraltarian monkeys as we marched back to the apartment.

There weren't any cool manhole covers of Gibraltar, but they did have nifty potable water meter covers!

Before we left for Tarifa the next morning, we had an AWESOME breakfast at the Pancake Factory!  The kids were overjoyed!  The pancakes were totally American style... light and fluffy!  I felt like I was back at Waffle House with my bacon, egg and cheese sandwich!

There's a little cab stand just south of the Marks and Spencer (near the Cathedral) where you can pick up a cab to leave Gibraltar.  We were SO EXCITED when we got STOPPED on Winston Churchill Avenue for an airplane arrival!  The best part was the cab driver knew exactly what airline, flight number and where it came from.  Their jobs definitely require this knowledge!

Once the cab driver dropped us off at the border, we just had to walk over to Spain.  I'm not sure if this is a Gibraltarian jab at the Spanish, but clearly the little man on the sign does not want to go to Spain, because he is walking in the other direction!  Too funny!

Until next time, Gibraltar!  You were such a delight!