Family, friends, gorgeous scenery and wine…does life get any better? Sooo…I got to see Robert again…Awesome! We were able to share our 35th anniversary together in Spain. We were also joined by all three sons…wonderful..the only one missing was our new daughter in law, Pilar. She was missed but I think she has bigger things on her mind:) My sister, Cid, and her husband Lee also joined us. It was a large fun group. The icing on the cake though was getting to see our friends, Mike and Joan Koltak and Dick and Kim Martin. They met us in Barcelona for a couple of days and it was great. We were a big loud group…so everyone knew we were Americans:) It was so special getting to see everyone and Spain is a gorgeous country.
We started in Barcelona Spain. What a magnificent big city. We had a place across the street from the beach. There was a good beach bar close by so of course we camped there a lot…there were also boobies…yep, everywhere. This kept the guys very distracted:) They all seemed happy though:0
So I guess top of the list was The Sagrada Familia Cathedral by the architect Gaudi. Wow, if you ever get to Barcelona, don’t miss it. It’s like MC Escher meets Salvador Dali meets Timothy Leary. Not only is it some of the coolest, weirdest architecture I’ve ever seen, it’s also an engineering marvel that is still being worked on.
The Las Ramblas area is also a fun area to hang and walk around in. They had street vendors, nearly all from Senegal, selling knock off purses, sunglasses etc. But the really unique thing was that they had strings attached to their canvas matts and when the cops would come they would jerk on the strings which gathered all their wares and they would start running with these gigantic looking Santa Claus sacks. I of course curious asked some of them what the penalty was if caught. I was told they would be fined 200 Euros and 3 days incarceration. I’m always amazed at how ingenious people are and the lengths they will go through to make their life better. I guess at the end of the day we all want the same things for ourselves and our families.
The boys (Garrett, Kyle and Riley)…sorry no matter how old they get they will always be “the boys”, they discovered an incredible huge park. Other than the fact that they just about killed us with all their walking, it was great. I’m learning this is a theme anytime I am with the boys…maybe they our trying to get rid of us:)
We decided to camp out in Malaga and take day trips from there. Lee found a great place on the internet and we snagged it. Again right across from the beach. And again the boys walked us to death:) Malaga is a great beach city, lots of different sections that almost makes it feel like 3 or 4 different places. We liked the laid back strand covered with restaurants and of course…you guessed it …more boobies:) A couple of days I even went for a run with the boys…I’m not normally a runner so I think I must have been feeling pretty full of myself after finishing the Camino…of course I could not keep up:(
Our first day trip was for Robert…he had it on his bucket list to see the Rock of Gibraltar. Needless to say, he’s been incredibly supportive of my craziness this year so we all wanted to make Gibraltar happen for him and we did! Best thing for me on the Rock were the monkeys…as you know I’m a big fan:) It actually turned out to be a very interesting trip. We entered UK territory and it felt totally different. It was as if we went to a different country in a few hours…oh wait, we did!
The next trip was Sevilla. What can I say except that I wish we had had more time there. Anytime you ask anyone about Sevilla…they sigh and say, “aahhhhh Sevilla.” Once we got there we realized why. A very romantic city with amazing architecture, parks, restaurants, shops etc. Winding through the city streets was an absolute pleasure. Cid and Lee left us that evening but Robert, myself and the boys spent the night. The next day we headed to Ronda for the day. A small village with breathtaking views. This was our last day trip. We were exhausted and honestly with only a few days left we just wanted to hang out and enjoy each others company. Robert left first…I spent that day moping:( Soon after Riley and Kyle followed suit. That left Garrett and I to take on our next journey together…Greece and Turkey…more on those soon.
Overall I think we all loved Spain. It’s gorgeous! Robert being in the food business was a little put out with the service or lack there of. In most of Europe people linger over food. They actually want to enjoy each other’s company:) As Americans of course, once we’re done, we’re done. The funny thing is they will never bring a check without it being asked for and even then it could be a while. But what was irritating would be that they wouldn’t even look your way so you could ask for a check…maybe that would be considered rushing people too…needless to say the food Czar was not thrilled with Spanish service. Spain on the other hand was a diverse beautiful country that I think captivated all of us.
For me though the highlight was getting family time after being gone for so long. it was so great seeing everyone, including the Koltak’s and Martin’s…it’s grounding to know you got people out there who care about you and getting to spend time with some of them…well it’s perfect!
From Spain…Familia! Hug yours, I was thrilled to get to hug mine!
On the way there, Cid mentioned that John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married “on Gibraltar near Spain” (as the song goes). Given enough time, Robert seemed to find just the ‘perfect’ British Pub — he must have been gratified by their hospitality, I’m sure. And when we came into the place, everybody introduced themselves and were real nice, …and there on the wall was a copy of the Marriage License (if I recall correctly) for John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Full circle, finally completed. And yes, there’s a photo of me with a monkey on my head, un-settling to me, but no harm done, and kind of an experience, even if unexpected. “Bon voyage” Hope your on-going travels continue to be good ones. Bless you, and good luck.