November- a month of field trips!

I can't believe it's already been 3 months that we've been here.  It's going by so quickly.  Also, I noticed that I haven't written in almost a month.  This is probably because it's been a very busy month and this past Thanksgiving weekend is the first one in awhile that we've stayed home.  

Last weekend we spent Sunday in Sevilla (2 hour drive from here) where we had the opportunity to visit with Isabel, Arnaud and baby Chloé; although I should say "toddler" Chloé since she's now walking around on her own.  When Isabel told us she was spending the weekend there, it was a great motivator to get us out there.  Our favorite spot in Sevilla was the famous "Plaza de España".  All the Spanish provinces are featured in tile around the plaza and there's a beautiful fountain in the center.  It's difficult to appreciate its beauty in pictures but I'll include a few anyway. You may also have seen it in Star Wars Episode 1 (#4 for us older people).

The weekend before that, we went to Córdoba for the day to visit Sally Baho from P.G. before she goes back home in December.  It was the only weekend she didn't have scheduled so we got on her calendar.  Córdoba was only a 1 1/2 hour drive.  We had an incre

dible day! We all agreed that Córdoba was one of our favorite field trips so far.  We went to mass in the Mezquita/Catedral.  Part of the Mosque was converted to a catholic cathedral.  Esteban and I both agreed that it was a shame to see the original Mosque restructured.  He said it was like painting mustaches on a famous artist's masterpiece.   But as I read the history of the mosque, I learned that the original construction was a Christian Visigothic church in 600AD.  When Cordoba was occupied by the Moors in 711, the Christian cathedral was suppressed and was reworked for over two centuries to refashion it as a mosque.  It was at one time the second largest mosque in the Muslim world.  In 1236, Cordoba was recaptured from the Muslim army by King Ferdinand and the mosque was reconsecrated a Christian church.  There is so much history here and I love it!  The Roman Bridge was also a sight to see!  I first went to Cordoba 20 years ago but I experienced it so differently this time, with my family.  We just roamed the narrow streets without an agenda and relaxed and took it all in.

The weekend prior we went to a small white village called Ardales, within the province of Málaga to do some hiking,  and visit Muslim ruins of the 10th century.  We went with Juan's parents, Carmelina and Pepe and Juan's sister, Ana and her daughter, Lena.  (separate entry)

The reason we've been taking day trips on Sundays is because Esteban started rehearsing with the Malaga Big Band on Saturday afternoons beginning in November.  We saw the band perform at "La Plaza de la Merced", where Pablo Picasso's Casa Natal is located.  Juan approached the band director to find out if there was a jazz band for Esteban.  He said there are not many jazz bands in the area.  Even though these are all college students from the local conservatory, the director invited Esteban to sit in with them and see how he felt about joining them.  Well, so far so good - he has his first performance around Christmas.  We also found a piano teacher for David in this group, a young lady who sings with the jazz band.  He has his lesson once a week at grandparents' house.  As much as I'm trying to keep things simple, it seems we're still quite busy - but it's all good.