A Visit from Shea

In hindsight, I think Shea and her long-time and close friend Lara, would have been quite satisfied to merely visit with us, stroll around Malaga, shop a little, hit the beach, and visit roof-top bars. But we had something else in mind. Somehow, Stan and I thought we must show them the best of Costa del Sol. They didn’t protest so away we went. 

They arrived in a whirl of chaos at our front door with shouts, hugs, grabbing luggage, and paying the driver who was a little taken back with all the commotion. We had wine on the terrace in picture-perfect weather. It was a celebration! Welcome to our casa.  

Later we had a dinner I prepared earlier . . . a dish of flat green beans, potatoes and ham, with coleslaw and hot water cornbread . . . a mom’s nutritious meal especially for my daughter, and one of Shea’s favorites. On their first full day, we took it slowly until early afternoon. We introduced them to Malaga via bus for a late afternoon stroll around and paella. We had wine that night. 

The next day was a beach day and far too many tapas at the neighborhood tapas and cerveza place.  We had wine that night. 

On day three we took a bus to Nerja to explore the town and take photos of the beautiful Balcon de Europa. From there we stopped at Torre del Mar for a late lunch. We had wine that night. 

Not done yet, we took a fast train the next morning to Granada. Oh, Granada! When Stan and I were there ten days ago, the weather was abnormally cool, the sky was clear, crystal clear. But the heat and haze arrived for this visit. It was hot! Still, we could see snow atop the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains. I am afraid we walked their feet off checking out this incredibly lovely city, the Alhambra, the cathedral, and all the stunning plazas and fountains. We wanted them to see everything, and we had wine that night.   

Later the girls took in and loved an authentic flamenco show while Stan and I tucked it in.  

Home on Sunday afternoon gave them time to pack and prepare for their trip to Madrid for a couple of days before heading home. We had wine that night . . . and began getting the dreaded goodbye tears. 

Monday morning, we saw them off in hugs and tears. I always suffer a day of separation depression anytime I must say goodbye to my daughters.  We had wine that night. 

For Stan and me, their visit was the absolute highlight of this trip so far. For them, while I know they had a good time and enjoyed every place we visited and everything we did, they’ll probably think twice before they leave the agenda up to us.