Happy Easter from Spain

 Today is Easter and the little church bells welcomed me with flowers, smiles from others and a lot of children dressed in their finest.  It was short, but with feeling.  Memorable to say the least.  Once I left the iglesia (church) I set El Carro facing eastward and drove toward Los Nuñez, where I'd been invited to spend the day with Lyn, her friends (Jill and Ron) from Almogia and Saidie.  I was sure I'd find the right roads this time and I (mostly) did.

When I turned toward Fresneda, my head cleared, my throat filled and I felt the sweetness of the country filter into my mind.  There are several small villages at the entrance to Campanillas (where my ancestors were from) and I enjoyed every one of them.  There were men walking along the side of the road, a bicyclist trying to balance his bike and avoid cars from running him over.  I heard roosters cackle, dogs bark, birdsong since I had my window open and saw the hills around me.  Back to the orange groves, back to seeing the miles of olive orchards in perfect alignment.  And back to the dry riverbed, the one-lane bridge and the oh-so-narrow hill up to la casa redonda.

As always, when I round the last bend I see the beautiful grilled gates and when I arrive, all three of Lyn's dogs run to greet me.  The flowers are in bloom everywhere, more than when I was last here only one week ago.  Lyn's green thumb is amazing and we walked around looking at all of them, in pots, scrambling over cement planters and around the swimming pool.

After a nice, long chat, Saidie arrived along with friends I had not met yet: Ron and Jill.  It was one long conversation over wine and tapas...

...and then a fabulous dinner (as always).  Lyn is an amazing cook and never seems to flag with exuberance.

AND MY NEW FAVORITE SNACK:  British hot cross buns, hot and dripping with butter.

 And strawberries drenched in whipping cream too.

All in all, I had a memorable Easter and tomorrow is a genealogical day.  I will drive toward Malaga, past the big city and on to Benagalbón to meet Miguel Alba, who is taking me to the Ayuntamiento to look for old RUIZ family documents.    I am most anxious to find some new papers about my great, great grandparents.  And to read my map directions to get there all in one piece, at the right place, at the right time...