We are so lucky to have so many great friends visiting Barcelona during our trip. Together we saw some stunning Gaudi masterpieces, ate traditional paellas and tapas, enjoyed home cooked meals, made some damn tasty crepes, watched World Cup games and that really long Wimbledon match, bought gummy candies and fruit at the boqueria, had awesome American brunch, and laughed, a lot.

A lot of people ask us if we could see ourselves living in any of the cities we've been to so far. What we've realized being on the road for the last few months is that we could live almost anywhere as long as our families and friends are around us. Being in a country where we could barely speak the language, our friends actually made us feel at home in Barcelona.

And to top things off, the annual Hong family reunion is starting this Sunday and will be taking place in Barcelona and Madrid!!! 8 Adults + 7 grandkids = fun/crazy times ahead :)

p.s. A big thanks to Kristin, Mike, Kimberle, Brian, Philip and Ilona for making their way here to see us. We are also very grateful to James' high school friend Kelly and her family for the restaurant tips, delicious home cooked paella (best we've ever had), and most of all, the babysitter recommendation!

We took a two hour train ride from Granada to Cordoba. Most people probably spend a day in Cordoba, but we spent an entire week here. It was nice to just relax and take in the city at our own pace. Unlike most of our past stays in apartments, we stayed at a hotel this time. It was less convenient since we didn't have a kitchen but was otherwise very comfortable. The hotel was also very convenient, being right outside the old city walls.

Other activities we enjoyed include visiting the Alcazaba, the ruins of a Roman temple and meandering through the city under the shade.

In culinary updates, we finally enjoyed some tapas and local cuisine for lunch. We continue to struggle with the late restaurant opening hours for dinner and our baby's early bedtime, but luckily the hotel bar served decent food all day long. We must confess though that we did try a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant during our time in Cordoba, along with a Burger King dinner one evening. Sometimes you just need a break from all the jamon, aceitunas, croquetas, boquerones and patatas.

(Jackson enjoyed the view and got a good whiff of the joint the guy behind us was smoking)

We visited the city's Cathedral, a very large Gothic styled church that took over 180 years to complete. I wish we did the audio guide since it's hard to appreciate all the details of the design and architecture.

After a few days in El Albayzín, we moved to an apartment near the University of Granada, a more suburban part of town.

It was nice to be away from the more touristy areas and enjoy living amongst the locals. We (I) cooked, watched American television in Spanish and took siestas. The first apartment didn't have a washer so it was nice to be able to do laundry at the second place. I was initially disappointed by the lack of a dryer but everything dried beautifully under the sun in one afternoon, with a makeshift clothesline using a broomstick between two chairs on the deck.

One thing we noticed in the university neighborhood was the presence of graffiti on every block. Some random tags but mostly political statements including words like "Libertad", "Capitalismo", and the anarchism symbol. I wonder if this is unique to this area or if it is fairly common across Spain.

The highlight of our time in Granada came near the end of our stay - visiting Alhambra. We had to reserve entry tickets a week in advance and were only able to visit during our allotted time. We arrived an hour prior to our entry time as indicated on all guides only to find ourselves waiting outside the entrance for no good reason. I think it's a ploy to get you to browse the gift shop outside the entrance for an hour.

Alhambra is a sprawling complex of palaces, gardens and the alcazaba (fortress). The visit took us three hours! This time we did go with the audio guide. It was interesting to hear about the history but a bit cheesy as the narrator was supposed to be Washington Irving, the famous writer who started the tourist rush to Alhambra in the mid-1800s.

Nasrid Palaces (Royal quarters consisting of intricately designed facades, rooms and courtyards)

(Amazing details of the ceiling)

Alcazaba (Moorish fortress)

Generalife (Summer Palace of the royals, though only a 20 minute walk from the main palace)

Next up, Cordoba!

Málaga is the second most populous city of Andalusia and is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is also the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas (somehow I don't feel that they belong in the same sentence yet they are often cited together). James had first heard about the city when his former employer HP held an offsite there. He couldn't go back then and had always wanted to see what everyone was raving about.

We rented a small house near Plaza de la Merced in Málaga. I initially thought it was an empty neighborhood since all the homes had their window shutters closed. But upon entering the home, I could clearly hear my neighbors. Perhaps the shutters are closed to keep privacy or to keep the house cool, but it makes the ground level living area quite dark and depressing.

Here we are in front of our house and at Plaza de la Merced. Picasso grew up in one of the yellow apartments by the Plaza.

One of the things we really had to adjust to was the Spanish schedule. Most business hours are from 10am-2pm, then from 5pm-8pm. Restaurants are open from 1pm - 4pm, then from 8pm-I don't know when since we're never out that late. Our schedule is dictated by master Jackson, who wakes up at 6am and goes down for the night at 8pm promptly (with a morning and an afternoon nap sandwiched in). To minimize disruptions to his schedule, our daily routine consisted of eating pastries for breakfast, eat out for lunch at 1pm and dine in for dinner. Sadly we have not had a tapas night since we got here and the only take out options at night are shwarmas, pizzas and a surprisingly good Chinese restaurant. The only meals I cook are for Jackson since cooking a dinner for us would require too many basic ingredients that our kitchen lacked (like oil, salt and pepper).

The weather has been spectacular, sunny and 70s every day. We walked around the city, toured the Alcazaba (a moorish fort), walked up to the Gibralfaro castle, and visited the Picasso museum.

We also took a day trip to Marbella (1 hr by bus), a luxury resort town that's like Spain's St. Tropez. Lots of fancy cars and big yachts by Puerto Banus, along with high end shopping.

In contrast to Puerto Banus, the Casco Antiguo (Old Quarter) of Marbella was very charming, with narrow and winding cobblestone streets. We visited during siesta hours so the stores were all closed. It was actually quite nice to stroll along the empty streets.

After a week in Málaga, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Granada...