Hola!

Hello again from sunny Spain. The wi-fi connections here are sporatic so I haven't been able to say as much as I would like to. The other day we went back to Malaga and to our surprise there were Rodin statues all over the main street. We found out that they were the real things, on loan from the French government, on a travelling exhibition throughout Europe. It is just amazing how they were left out there in the middle of the street. I am sure there were low-key guards watching, but it was not obvious. We went to the central food market, which has been located in a very old Arab boatyard for the past several hundred years, and sampled various fruits, cheeses and vegetables grown in this area. The olives were delicious, including those stuffed with anchovies. We also had pickled garlic (which doesn't taste like pickles or garlic), wine from a bota, and fresh goat cheese. All yummy stuff. We finished it off with chocolate and churros. The chocolate was as thick as chocolate pudding and very hot and the churros were gigantic and hot out of the fryer. Talk about being a pig! In fact, if we didn't do as much walking as we are doing we would weigh 500 pounds!

The other day we visited a factory where they produce olive oil and learned the entire process from beating the trees with a stick to make the olives fall down to the end result of bottling (dark bottles have the best olive oil). We also learned what is hype about olive oil marketing which I might share with you all if you are nice.

We then proceeded to the best part of our time in Spain so far, which was a home visit with a Spanish family where we were served enough food to choke a horse. The family lives in a small village called Salinas, which is about one hour from Torremolinos and therefore completely away from all tourists except us. Nobody in the village spoke a word of English. Anyway, back to Dora's meal. First of all, the house was very lovely and pretty large. They had a beautiful pergola in the yard and seemed to have a nice piece of property. The lunch began with wine and bread, soup (like chicken soup), salad with very fresh veggies. The main course consisted of pork fillet, fish, potatoes and more veggies. Then she brought out flan and brandies and coffee for dessert. This feast lasted for two and a half hours and we rolled out of there. After that we visited the home of a Gypsy family which was also in the same town. We practiced a little flamenco dancing with them and after they laughed themselves sick at our efforts we left for the hotel. This village is pretty isolated and has only six hundred residents but our program director is from there and that's how we were able to do all this. Oh yes, we also visited his parents who still live in the village and have been there all their lives. I got a big kiss on each cheek from the dad. He was so cute for an 82 year-old man.

Oh yes, did I tell you that I actually dragged Jerry into the Picasso Museum? It was under duress, of course, and he hated every minute of it. He said that any kindergarten class could scribble the same with some crayons and a piece of paper.

The main thing that strikes me about this visit to Spain and the last is the growing prosperity of the general public. Everyone seems to live quite well and the country is prospering with the Euro. They seem to lack for nothing, although I do still notice clothes lines, which means they like to dry their clothes outdoors or have no clothes dryers. There are still many people who smoke, especially young men and women, which is disturbing. They are very friendly and helpful and are surprised and delighted when we speak Spanish to them. They have a different dialect down here and they speak very fast and don't sound like the people from Madrid or Miami at all.

Yesterday it rained but we took a two-hour train ride to the city of Cordoba anyway. Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that there was a local holiday and almost everything was closed. We did get to see the old part of the city, the Juderia, which means Jewish Quarter. This is the area where the Jews lived before Ferdinand and Isabel kicked them out in 1492. The streets are extremely narrow, some as narrow as my arms' length, and the entire area is surround by a huge wall, I guess to keep the Jews in. This area also contains La Mezquita, a large mosque which was later converted to a church, and the cathedral. Lots of tapas bars, gift shops and the usual tourist items for purchase. We did, of course, buy matching Cordoba hats. When in Rome........


Well I think it's time for the daily walk up the hill into town. Too cold for the beach. We send love and kisses to all and our thoughts and prayers are with those we love in San Diego.