Summer In Spain - Day 7

Stop 19 - Casares, Malaga: We started our day off driving to the beautiful white village of Casares. Coming around the mountain and seeing the village set on the hill was one of the most breathtaking views we saw in our time in Spain. And when we got into the village, it was even more beautiful than we expected. Of all the white cities we saw, this was by far the most charming. Everything about this village was perfect! The streets were immaculate, the people were friendly, and it was small enough to make you feel as though everyone in the town knew each other by name. It was EXACTLY what you would picture one of these white villages to be like. We parked at the bottom of the village and wound through the narrow streets up to the main square where we enjoyed a quiet lunch outside under a shaded patio. This was another one of my favorite moments of the trip. After lunch, we cooled the kids off with some popsicles and strolled through more of the village on our way back to the car.

Stop 20 - Rock of Gibraltar: After Casares, we headed down to Gibraltar to drive to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. On our way to the top, we stopped at the "monkey den" to visit with the infamous havoc-wreaking Barbary macaques. The kids were SO excited to be able to walk right up to a monkey - especially since there were several small baby monkeys among the group. After visiting with the monkeys we headed to the top of the rock where we were able to see Africa in the distance. On our way back down the mountain, we stopped to see another group of monkeys. When I was leaning down, one of the monkeys stole my water bottle. When I tried to get it back, two of the monkeys lunged at me and grabbed my arm. Although I was laughing, the kids got totally freaked out and began crying. We decided it would be best to say goodbye to the monkeys. Needless to say, we never got our water bottle back...

Stop 21 - Costa Del Sol Beaches: On our way to Ronda, we made a stop at the Costa Del Sol beaches. We made it to the beach between 5 and 6pm so the sun was lower and the beach wasn't quite as busy. As the kids began to play in the water, we quickly noticed that the beach had tons of small hermit crabs near the shore. We ended up spending the rest of our time collecting them in our buckets. I'm pretty sure the kids thought it was one of the funnest things they did on the trip. Time after time we continue to discover that the best parts of our trips are the unplanned, unexpected things we stumble upon.

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Summer In Spain - Day 6

Stop 16 -  Mar Menor Beach: We started the day off at the Mar Menor beach which is situated on a unique sea lagoon off a narrow peninsula. The water was calm with only about 2 feet of water making it the BEST beach we've ever seen for kids. Truthfully, our kids probably could have played at this beach the entire 9 days if we would've let them. Soon after arriving at the beach, we discovered a small shop where we rented a stand up paddle board. We took turns taking the kids out on the water which they absolutely loved. It was especially nice for us since the water was so shallow, the kids could easily stand up in the water if they happened to fall.

Stop 17 - Alhambra Palace: Sadly, we had a busy day planned so we had to cut our time at the beach short and start on our journey to Granada. Upon arriving in the city, we headed to the Alhambra Palace where we explored its decoratively designed halls and gardens. The palace was one of the most unique, detailed buildings we've ever seen (and we've seen quite a few crazy buildings in our time in Ireland). The kids especially enjoyed running through the halls, gazing at the goldfish in the ponds, and stepping over the many streams running through the floors of the palace.

Stop 18 - Albayzin District: After exploring the Alhambra, we dropped our gear off at the hotel and walked over to the Albayzin District to grab some dinner. The district is the old Arab quarter facing the Alhambra and is a collection of narrow, winding streets populated with vendors and small shops. It was cool seeing streets filled with the colorful stalls and the mix of the Spanish and Arabic cultures.

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Summer In Spain - Day 5

Stop 11 - Villajoyosa: We started our day off heading to Villajoyosa, a cute little coastal town known for their many chocolate manufacturers. The town was absolutely beautiful with narrow roads winding down to the beach and colorful fisherman's houses lining the boardwalk. We stopped and had lunch at a little cafe along the beach and enjoyed the smells and sounds of the ocean.

Stop 12 - Valor Chocolate Factory: With Villajoyosa being one of the major ports for cocoa beans from Africa, the small town at one time had over 30 chocolate manufacturers. These days it has only 3 factories but is still known to be the "Chocolate City" in Spain. Consequently, we figured that no trip to Villajoyosa would be complete without a chocolate factory tour. The largest of the 3 manufacturer's, Valor Chocolate, offers free tours throughout the day. We didn't make it in time for the English version of the tour so we did our best to understand what they were saying in Spanish. We were a bit surprised by how provocative Valor's ads were but really enjoyed getting to learn about their chocolate making process. And of course, the best part was the free samples at the end!

Stop 13 - Laguna Salada de Torrevieja: Just weeks before our trip I stumbled upon a picture of Laguna Salada de Torrevieja. When I realized that it was along our route to Cartegena, I knew we had to make a stop. The lake is actually pink due to a particular species of algae that resides in it. Maeli thought it was amazing and dubbed it, "Lake Pinkalicious." 

Stop 14 - Roman Theatre at Cartegena: You might think that a huge Roman theater in a city would be easy to find...but it wasn't. Although it's massive, the theater is nestled in the center of the city, surrounded by modern buildings. We were literally standing 100 feet from the entrance and had to ask someone where it was. We are always amazed to see how structures from so long ago can withstand the test of time so well. The kids loved walking up and down the stairs and Maeli graced us with a performance of "Let It Go" from center stage.

Stop 15 - Cartegena: We finished off the day with dinner at a corner cafe on the streets of Cartegena. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me personally. Getting to sit outside in perfect weather, in a beautiful city with my favorite people in the world truly made me thankful for this opportunity we have to make all of these special memories as a family. 

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