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Magical Spain: Castles, Princesses, and Dragons!

Writer's picture: Darcie KhanukayevDarcie Khanukayev

˝Grwama, wuk!˝ Lily cried as she pointed a pudgy two-year-old finger at the family in front of us.

˝Grwama, wuk!˝ Lily cried as she pointed a pudgy two-year-old finger at the family in front of us.    ˝Grandma, it’s a princess family! I want a dress like that! ˝ exclaimed Hero, her seven-year-old sister.
A Fallero Family in Xativa with Lily and Hero, my granddaughters from California.

˝Grandma, it’s a princess family! I want a dress like that! ˝ exclaimed Hero, her seven-year-old sister.

I looked over to where the excitement was coming from, and indeed there was a rather regal family passing by what looked like a small palace. We moved closer to admire their elaborate attire: the lace, shining sequins, the rich purples, pinks, and blues under the lacy aprons on the front. Even the men had colorful headbands, elegant kickers over long lacy stockings. It was indeed from a fairytale.

I smiled, thinking of my first time seeing the splendour of the Falleros parading by, and even after living in Valencia for a few years, the sight of the Falleros is still breath taking, but now I conceal it better.

Not the case with my granddaughters. This was their first time in Spain and they were absolutely enchanted! The castle high on the hill with its banner waving, the noble palaces that lined the narrow streets of marble, were like walking into one of their stories of fairy princesses. Indeed, they had entered the magical land of Xativa, Valencia.

The day before, we had spent time at the castle up the hill. A real castle!! California doesn’t have castles, at least not real ones. Of course, Disneyland has one, but it’s made of plastic. And there are too many people inside to run around. And it doesn’t have prisons and scary gargoyles and dragons. Nor does it have a view of the entire kingdom at its feet.

«Look! shouted Hero, from atop the castle, the wind whipping her hair around excitedly, «that’s a dragon’s back! He’s sleeping and covered with trees, but I can still see him!» I looked over to the Creueta, the mountain next to the castle, and saw the rocky ridge going down the side of the mountain. Indeed! Seeing is believing. It had to be the back ridge of a slumbering dragon. Only in Spain!

Today, when we left the house to feed the stray cats along the street, was when the two girls meet royalty. California doesn’t have kings or queens. We can only pretend. The land that is now ours had been part of Spain, and then Mexico, and now the United States. Royalty fascinates us!

We stopped to admire the beautiful family; Lily and Hero with their eyes wide and mouths open in fascination. The family, pleasantly surprised with such a reception, scooped up both girls so that I could take of photo of the historical moment.

As Lily, Hero and I continued our walk, they pointing out to me the fountains where the unicorns drank, which cats belonged to witches, and all the palaces they would live in when they became queens! Indeed, I’m not sure which is more true: Seeing is believing or Believing is seeing!



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