Sierra Nevada Sunday.

The children have had two days off school - Friday and Monday - so an extra-long weekend has been enjoyed. Because the summer holiday is so long, there are no half-terms to break up the school year - it can make each trimester seem quite exhausting, so we were all glad of a few days without the early rise and the demands of school life.

Friday was a wallowy sort of day - I don't think Mateo got up until lunch was ready (and considering we eat around 3pm, that's LATE!) - although I was busy making chocolates for Saturday's stall. Ruy and Romy reverted to children who play together, which always makes me happy, even though it happens a little less as they grow up. Saturday was Christmas Market day and a return home to a delicious lunch made by FR whilst we were away. And then we all sat down in the afternoon to watch a movie together - Ruy's choice - Men in Black 4. Daft, funny and about right for how we all felt.

Sunday, we had decided to go sledging in the Sierra Nevada. About three weeks ago, my beloved mountains had turned white again with the first snowfall of the new season. However, for the subsequent three weeks, we've had nothing but bright sunshine every day and I did think the white of the peaks looked a little less white as we were returning from the market on Saturday - surely there'd be snow still?

Sunny, sunny day

The day dawned very frosty but the sun soon came out - as usual - and it seemed strange to be packing sledges into the back of the car, along with extra clothing, boots and hot chocolate, rather than beach gear!

We had to leave an ever-hopeful Darwin behind this year. We don't yet have a seat belt for him and it's law that dogs are restrained in cars or that they travel in cages....he did so want to come!

Bright, bright blue skies at home - would we find snow?

(We had a Plan B...no snow, we'd head for the coast! Win, win.)

Poor Darwin...bye Darwin....

As we climbed up and up the road to Pradollano, the main ski resort in Granada, there was a distinct lack of the white stuff.....

And then we got a little glimpse ...

Enough to get out and have a mini snowball fight....














Although even at 2500m high there was not that much snow to get very excited about....

But where there's a will, there's a way

And we weren't alone in enjoying the smattering of snow that was on the mountain sides...

Romy and Mateo making a joint descent

Can't decide whether it's an optical illusion, but Mateo looks to have his hands in his pockets...

All three trekking back for yet another run. Yes, I did have a go - no one thought to capture it on camera (thank goodness!)

Romy took this photo of the moon, which had been steadily rising as the afternoon went on....

And she took this great shot of the sun and the snow....

FR and his apres-sledge sandwich - enjoying the spectacular views

After we'd eaten our sandwiches and indulged in some more of my rather good hot chocolate - perfect setting to drink it - we decided to take the scenic route home via Guejar Sierra, which was on the north side of the valley, facing the Sierra Nevada. It was a very narrow road and felt very different to the south side of the mountain - obviously much colder due to the lack of sunshine, but different trees, including lots of apple orchards. The children kept saying it smelt like England - I think it was the dampness....

Reaching Guejar Sierra, we found this lovely family shop, run by a sweet old lady and her very cantankerous husband. I'd asked if it was OK to take some photos and she'd said yes, but the old man was very cross to hear my clicking and shouted at her! Oops....glad I asked her and not him!

We bought some delicious apples, which I guess came from some of the orchards we'd seen.

There were also lots of walnuts that sent FR into ecstasy - so we bought some of those too.

I was delighted to find such a lovely place - they had a bit of all sorts on offer, much of it from their own land. It wasn't cheap but you could taste the goodness.

I had some big onions too - I love onions!!

View of the not very snowy Sierra from where we stopped to take a nice hot coffee before heading off home as the sun set.

It was dark, but not late when we arrived home, still glowing from the sun and the snow. Darwin was delighted to see us again. I had a moment's reflection on how nice it was to be out altogether for the first time in a while - I do hope we do it again sometime soon.  It's a fine balance as to when to go again - if it snows a lot, then we will need chains on the car to be allowed to go up the mountain, which we don't have - and if it doesn't snow again soon, there'll be no snow to sledge on! 

I wonder if we'll have much snow in Villalobos? We have some nice slopes nearby that we could enjoy very easily if we do...