medieval watch tower in Bagno a Ripoli, Tuscany built in the 1600’s
One of my unexpected challenges has been staying warm in our accommodations in Europe during springtime. If you travel where there is no central heating or modified fixes to provide heat consider these tips: Continue reading
showing the vastness of the sight….we only saw it in the daytime
Alhambra is a huge fortress of moorish (Moors were Muslims from Northern Africa) design. The fortress is found on a large hill in Grenada, Spain..
1. He’d ride the subway and the city bus.
2. He’d hang with his family as they ate at outdoor patios, and in France indoors too.
3. He’d walk through the airport on leash for his flight.
4. He’d splash in and drink from 200 year old fountains
5. He’d do his business anywhere.
6. He’d pee on market stalls.
7. He’d donate to his many friends with homeless owners.
MoonDog: picture taken in France
8. He’d never wear those jingling identity tags.
9. He would be required to obtain his own passport.
10. He would have never been fixed.
Wiley is missed and he would have enjoyed hiking the beautiful paths of mountain Sainte Victoire with us here in France.
Smoothies/ Juices For The Local Market
Hi!!! How are you? Good, that’s great (if you’re not, please correct me). Well I’m pretty sure you want to know what we’ve been doing. (If you don’t, ‘do not read this post’). ✌️Peace. One of our favourite things to do in Barcelona Spain is go to the local market together. We buy some candy,😉 fruit, fresh coconut and delicious fresh coconut smoothies!!!😃😃😃
Everyday we wander down La Rambla (one of the most bustling streets in Barcelona). We have gone to 2 places designed by Antoni Gaudí: the Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.
Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia was huge and absolutely beautifull!!!😮😮😮😮😮 The Sagrada Familia is a great church. Some people call it a cathedral (even Antoni Gaudí started to call it a cathedral) but it’s still a church. Sagrada Familia means ‘Holy Family’. We went up one of the famous towers and it was gorgeous minor basilica!!!!! When you looked out holes/windows in the tower you can see the tops of smaller towers and the city. My favourite part of the Sagrada Familia was when we looked out little windows (soon to be turned into balconies)that open into the main part of the Sagrada Familia. It is truly lovely. You can see all the stained glass and intricate designs from above. Its still not finished and is estimated to have been built over a period of 144 years. It is slated for completion in 2026, the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi’s death (he died after being hit by a tram car, living a simple life, he was mistaken as being homeless and did not receive prompt medical attention).
As I mentioned earlier, we also went to Park Guell. Park Guell is a park. Shocker!!! In Guadí’s eyes, he wanted it to be a community with houses, that would be bought by wealthy people. Only 2 of the 60 houses were built, because he built two no one bought them. After awhile Gaudí actually lived in one of the houses. Gaudí didn’t actually build/design the house he lived in. We didn’t actually go into the garden part of the park we just went around on the outskirts, but we did get to go inside Gaudí’s house.
We also went on a double decker bus tour!!!! (Now just pretend I’m talking like I’m in an advertisement), “‘Double Decker Bus Tours”!!! Great for all ages’. The tour was pretty fun, you could stop near the ocean, or the Sagrada Familia, the bus even drove up a mountain, where there is an art museum, an Olympics swimming pool, and a whole bunch of land from when Barcelona held the Olympics in 1992. We got to sit at the top of the bus, so we had an amazing view of where they lit a giant torch.
Now for the great great concept, our favorite things to do!!!😃😃😃😃😃😃 First stop, let’s go from the oldest to youngest, dad is first. Dad’s favorite thing to do in Barcelona Spain was eat. (Although the food was better in Seville). True fact! Mom’s favorite thing to do was look at it and learn about Antoni Gaudí structures, as she loved all the curved lines. Ema’s favorite thing to do was go shopping down La Rambla. Isy, Aly,and I loved to go to the market and get coconut smoothies!!! Yum!!!! So that’s what we’ve been up to. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, because I would love to answer them. Thanks for reading!!! Ori!!!!
Spain is famous for its cured ham: Iberico pork. We saw it at many places. There were legs hanging in all grocery stores, restaurants, gift shops and little eateries. My favorite place to watch ham being served was at the AMAZING market on the Rambla in Barcelona. You can even buy a ham backpack. Continue reading
accurately, my Christmas present to the family was to come to Spain and treat them to dinner at a Michelin star restaurant in Malaga. In my defence, the offer had some historical context. After Alethea was born, the Velascos and I started a tradition: I sleep over on Easter Eve and spend Easter Sunday with the family to enjoy the annual Easter egg hunt. As the girls have grown older, the focus has shifted to activities like making chocolate cheesecake, watching movies, playing games, and eating good food (always a favourite activity). In any case, it seemed like a great idea to join them for a week of theirthree month sabbatical. But was it?
– treating theVelafamily to a Michelin star restaurant meal (sea urchin with green apple foam, veal sweetbreads, curried stingray etc).Aly’s birthday cake
Interesting, but not something we feel compelled to repeat.
– shopping spree at El Corte Ingles, rounded out by refreshments – a good time was had by all!
How I was influenced– learned how to make cake ‘hard boiled’ eggs– able to join Aly’s 12th birthday celebration– helped girls make chocolate cheesecake– a visit to Alhambra– watched The Untold Story of a The Sound of Music with Velafamily– learned about Minecraft (pouring molten lava on unsuspecting virtual villagers, shearing green sheep)– learned to play Candyman– ate chicken piccata made with lemons from lemon tree in backyard– watched whipped cream get shot directly into eager mouths– spent some quality time with each Velasco and had some serious / some silly conversations– experienced the joy of watching the girls transforming into global citizens
– marvelled again at my good fortune for having these great people in my life.
view down the hillside to the sea; the white in the low centre are whitecaps
Many Europeans (and some from Japan, US and Canada) hit the Costa del Sol on the southern tip of Spain, there are kilometers and kilometers of beaches with soft beige sand. Surrounding the beaches are “mountainous” areas. We are staying in a popular hillside town called Mijas pueblo Continue reading
It’s only a couple of days into Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and already the streets are busier and Continue reading
Hola,
On our first day in Seville, we went to a close by restaurant for lunch – we had just woken up. Because of the time change it, none of us had not adjusted to the time yet. It felt like it was two in the morning in Nicaragua, but local time it was noon. Plus, we had travelled for over 30hrs getting here.
The restaurant that we went to had most of the seating outside, and was fairly busy. Continue reading
Good morning/day/night, whenever you’re reading this. You know, I’m just going to make this a little easier, hello. Today I’m going to tell you about flamenco dancing, or flamingo dancing, as I first heard it. Continue reading
