Category: Uncategorized

So far this journey has been even better than we had imagined.

I won’t lie, it hasn’t all the blissful picture of family togetherness.  The kids have, at times, driven me to complete distraction and I have used my crazy satanic mom voice more often than I probably ever have before.  Of course, it’s been a long time since I spent 24/7 with the kids and as anyone who is a parent, or has a parent, or knows a parent is aware, it is not easy to be with your kids all day every day.  The kids have a way of ramping up their volume in the car to the point where I almost lose my mind, they are like baby birds pressuring us for food all day long, and if I hear one more thing about iPad batteries or missing chargers, I may chuck them all out the window.

Thankfully I am happy more often than not and I stare in sheer wonder and love at each of my kids far more often than I’m yelling at them with the satan voice.  This is more than just a journey to different countries.  We will see many places in the world and hopefully we will create many great memories and teach the kids to appreciate different cultures, religions, and ways of life.  This is also a journey for us as a family.  We have lived very busy, heavily scheduled lives for many years.  As I’ve said before, it felt like we were hamsters on a wheel running like mad but going nowhere.  Now we are trying to figure out how to relate to each other when we have time available to really focus on each other and have actual quality time.

It turns out there are lots of things that I didn’t know about my kids before this trip.  I was always busy, always in a rush, and while I obviously knew them, I did not get to know all the many little aspects to their personalities that make them so uniquely special.

Ronan is a complicated young man.  So smart and very sensitive.   He is very clever and has a very quick wit. He is at an in-between age (8 almost 9) where he no longer wants to do some of the things the twins do.  No more playgrounds or stuffies (at least not in front of other kids 😊).  He loves spending time with us, especially one-on-one time with Brett.  He idolizes his dad.  He’s getting more and more into basketball and video games.  We can really see him growing in confidence over the last 6 months which I think is in large part due to all the time that Brett has had to spend with him since he stopped working in October.   He is no longer so fearful and cautious of doing things he’s never tried before.  Just yesterday I watched Ronan bodysurf and jump into some pretty wild waves with Brett.  This is the same boy who used to (not so long ago) scream at the prospect of getting his head under water.  It warms my soul to watch this transition.   I may have been moving too quickly and been too busy to see the initial stages of this new-found maturity but I’m so happy to witness and encourage it now.

Iain is a sweet, sweet boy.  He has a big heart and he has always been my snuggler.  He loves to give and receive affection.  He’s an amazing artist. Just tonight he decided to draw us both pictures of things he knew we love. He loves to learn, and he loves math (so near and dear to my heart). He has a watch that measures steps so he enjoys keeping track of our activity each day. His ‘Portland’ goal was 6000 steps per day. His ‘trip’ goal is 20,000 steps a day. He gets close a lot but I think he’s only hit it twice.

He’s technically only one minute older than Riley but having an older brother and a twin sister makes him very much like a middle child.  It is only since being on this trip that I’ve realized how deep his middle-child syndrome runs.   He will sulk for hours if he feels like he didn’t get recognition for something that he did or if he feels we didn’t go out of our way to get something that he likes.  Both Brett and I have trouble dealing with him when he gets sulky but now understanding a bit more about why he feels/acts this way will hopefully help us improve the overall family dynamic so he doesn’t feel this way. Ronan gets a lot of attention because he is the oldest and gets to do things that Iain and Riley can’t yet.  Riley gets attention because she is the only girl and has specific interests that we try to encourage and help her with since her brothers don’t share her any of her interests (ballet, princesses, dresses, anything pink, ….).  Iain also needs more individual attention. This should be easy – he has so many unique interests from Ronan and Riley. He can spend hours drawing pictures and loves creating music with any instrument he has available. We’re starting to spend more time helping him with his art and finding ways to fit music into our travel more.

Now Riley, she has been the true surprise for me on this trip.  I’m not sure if she’s changed since we’ve been travelling or if I’ve just had the time to get to know her better since we’ve been away.  One thing that I absolutely love about this sweet girl is that she knows what she likes and she doesn’t adapt to other people’s ideas of what she should like.    At first I found this frustrating but I’ve learned to love it, and truly respect tit.  In addition to her dad and two brothers, she has the least girly mom possible but she’s been steadfast in her singular love of all things girly – dresses, dolls, nails, make-up, etc.  That takes a strong personality to insist on these things despite not having anyone to share these interests with in our home (but I try).  

Before this trip, she would always be the one instigating trouble.  She’s always busy, never stops moving, always creating toys from other toys, creating dresses for dolls from paper, tape, balloons, elastic bands, whatever she can find.  She is always trying to pull the boys into her games but they have no interest and give her very little time.  She lashes out at them and the cycle of fighting and discipline starts.  On this trip I’ve had the chance to spend much more time with her – the quiet time between fights with her brothers.  She is so responsive to love and kindness and she gives it back ten-fold.  We still have our moments with little Riley but we have had a chance to really see how sweet, thoughtful and kind she is when she gets time with us and feels more included.  I look forward to finding opportunities on this trip take her on small little side trips or excursions that are just for her.

Interestingly Brett and I are having the opposite experience that we are having with our kids – this trip is leaving us less to spend together as a couple than we would normally have at home.  The day is full on with the kids and then I generally work each evening until almost midnight.  We have had no opportunity for babysitters so this is our reality for the moment.  I still love every moment I have with him.   Not only does he put up with all my neuroses and ever overactive mind, he tries to find ways to help me slow down and enjoy the moment more.  He watches out for me and tries to help me when I’ve feeling overwhelmed with work or the kids.  I love watching him teaching the kids life lessons, telling them stories, and generally being present for them.  Today Ronan asked us to tell them a story in the car (after iPad batteries died) and Brett told them a spellbinding story for about half an hour.  When they get scared, he talks them through their fears.  When they don’t know how to do something, he patiently teaches them.  I can’t imagine a better father and partner in life.

So, if for some reason this trip had to end now (which thankfully we still have months ahead of us), our family has already benefited so much from this experience.  I really hope we take the positive aspects of this new slower pace back to our regular everyday life.  What will that new ‘everyday life’ look like?  That one will take more thought over the coming months. 

Where to even begin? Everywhere we’ve been on this trip has been a great adventure but this was a surprise hit with all of us. Every town and village we went to in this area was different and beautiful in its own way. What made it even more spectacular was that we knew next to nothing about Basque country before we came. It was a bit like going to a really, really good movie but walking in cold, not knowing at all what to expect. We were blown away.

We came here because of recommendations from friends that we should make sure to get to San Sebastian while in Spain. That was pretty much the extent of our knowledge. Turns out San Sebastian is really, really popular and we couldn’t afford to stay in town so we booked an Airbnb just across the border in Hendaye, France (about a 25 minute drive from San Sebastian). Our biggest problem over the 11 days we have spent here has been deciding between all the different options for places to go to spend each day. We only ended up spending 2 of our 11 days in San Sebastian despite how lovely it was because we were enjoying the French Basque country so much!

Anyone reading this and wondering where to go for their next summer vacation, we can’t recommend this area high enough. It’s not cheap, but it is not crazy expensive either. The appeal for us was that you can travel to lovely quaint mountain villages and then be at a phenomenal beach all within half an hour. There is a very interesting and extensive history of the area that you could spend weeks (or years!) exploring between all the castles, ruins, caves, and museums. The people are very friendly, everywhere is clean, and people take great pride in their gardens. Everything is very well kept. There’s a lot to do outside between being out on the water or hiking in the hills. There are bike trails along the coast if that’s more your speed. The food looked amazing but again, unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to try much local fare so that we could stick to our budget.

San Sebastian

San Sebastian is beautiful. It’s official population is only 185,000 but I suspect it was about 5 times that when we visited with all the summer tourists. It was a pleasure to stroll around the beautiful city streets. We found an app to find public parking lots in Europe (including parking rates, % available spots, and directions) which guided us to a parking lot in central San Sebastian. It was easy to navigate to the lot and cost about 10 euros each day we parked there. On the first day we walked straight out of the parking garage into a music festival in Plaza Easo. From there we walked through the city and hit the beach, Playa de la Concha. The weather wasn’t perfect but the beach was full and the atmosphere was great.

The second time we visited the city we walked up Mt. Urgull to visit the castle. It was a great walk that gave great panoramic views over San Sebastian. We had lots of adventures on the walk. Wildlife spottings included pigeons, seagulls, lizards, and a very large and scary looking beetle. It’s a really nice way to spend the day. We spent the better part of the day on that walk. We stopped part way up and ate our sandwiches while admiring the view.

We took a few side trails that took us to some interesting places and then ultimately ended up at the base of the statue of Jesus that overlooks the city (and is in the middle of the castle). There are so many trails, so many great views, and the castle along with the museum are free of charge. The museum is quite good and offers a history of the Basque country along with history of the fortification on Mt. Urgill. All in all, a nice way to spend the day.

As we came back down from Mt. Urgill, the city was seemed abuzz. There were fireworks being let off (even though it was only about 5pm and still light), stalls set up for food and beer, bouncy houses, etc. It took us a while to figure out what was going on but it turned out to be a rowing regatta. We didn’t stick around the see the regatta but it was still fun to be in the frenzy of activity as all the teams got warmed up and got their boats to the launch.

Early in the day we passed the Cathedral where a wedding had just happened. The wedding party (and the wedding couple’s wedding car) were outside the cathedral waiting for the bride and groom to come out. Riley wanted to see the bride so we waited for a while but then got bored when she didn’t appear so we moved on. Later in the day as we navigated the regatta crowds on the Old port in San Sebastian, we saw the wedding car again and then noticed the wedding dinner was happening in the restaurant above the aquarium. Just then the local police showed up and started writing a ticket for the car that was parked illegally. It was fun to watch the whole wedding party jump up from their tables in the restaurant and motion to the officers not to ticket the vehicle through the restaurant window. Then someone came out and literally begged them not to ticket. It all ended in hugs, laughter, and no ticket. This must be how things are done in Spain. We liked it.

Hendaye

Hendaye was a complete gem and a surprise to us. This is where we were based on this leg of the trip. The Airbnb that we were staying at was perfect for us. It had character, seemed very French, was central, had great views, and for the icing on the cake, there was steep little staircase up to an attic loft with three beds and a bunch of toys for the kids. It couldn’t have been any more perfect for us. The location of the Airbnb was also perfect. Most days I’d get up and go for a run along the waterfront for a couple of miles and then present my 2 euro coin at the ‘boulangerie’ and get my two wonderfully warm and well-earned baguettes. Brett would usually choose to do his run later in the day after we returned from our adventures.

Neither of us really appreciated how different and how much better baguettes in France really are. The conditions for making baguettes are actually regulated here; ingredients, size, etc. Every day I pick up these two baguettes and we make our sandwiches for the day – usually with local ham, cheese and chorizo. Lunch probably ends up costing 5 Euro for all of us and we are all really happy each day finding a nice plaza or vista to sit down together and eat.

The beach at Hendaye is great and is beautiful in its own right; no need to travel to San Sebastian or any other better known town if you’re looking to spend time on the beach. The one in Hendaye is perfect. It was about a 25 minute walk from our apartment along a picturesesque pedestrian path (and bike trail) along the coast. It is always nice to get up and go for a walk before a beach day.

There is a castle up on the hill on the west side of the beach along with some stunning looking cliffs overlooking the sea. There is apparently a 2 hour hike from the castle that is really nice to do with kids. On the day we headed out to do that, we got a flat on our way. Brett had got a bit too overconfident in his ability to navigate the narrow streets and ended up hitting a curb. This began a long day of dealing with the car, especially after we realized that there was no spare tire in the trunk. We called roadside assistance, waited on the side of the road for hours trying to keep the kids amused before a tow truck finally came (apparently it is easier to tow the car back to Spain then to replace the tire) and the car rental company sent two taxis to ferry us back to the airport on the Spanish side of the border (why we went back to Spain I don’t know). Thankfully we had packed lunches and water since we were headed out on a hike or else that day could have been much worse. In the end it worked out because we are now able to return this rental car in San Sebastian rather than having to drive back to Barcelona to change rental cars (we have to change rental cars after 30 days because our credit card only covers the insurance for rentals up to 30 days).

As if this visit wasn’t charmed enough, this evening as I sat here writing this, we were unexpectedly surprised by Bastille day fireworks. They started at 11pm. Brett and I jumped up and raced to each window to find where they were coming from. They were perfectly framed in one of our windows and after all 3 kids stumbled down in a half-sleep to see what the noise was, we all enjoyed watching an incredibly impressive show. We have loved every moment of this leg of our trip and that was a perfect way to end it.

Biarritz

We went to Biarritz because of two recommendations. One from a friend back home and then a second from the pharmacist when we went to pick up prescriptions in Hendaye (complications of trying to get prescription drugs outside of your home country deserves it’s own post). It was a short 20 minute drive away along the coast and again we navigated ourselves easily to a central parking lot in the town. From the moment we parked the car we were awestruck. The coastline is spectactular. The uplifted sedimentary rocks provide striking vistas to the north and south of the Grande Plage, the main beach in town. This was the most picturesque coastline that we visited in the area. It helped that it was a beautiful sunny 26/27 C the whole time we were there.

The town was also very beautiful and clearly very affluent. It appears to be a very popular summer escape for the French and other Europeans mainly. There is a really nice shopping district. Lots of small stores with higher end clothing and household goods. We enjoyed strolling around and window shopping.

Sare

We drove out to the small town of Sare – about 20-30 minutes inland from Hendaye to visit some prehistoric caves in the area. We passed through a number of picturesque quaint towns on rolling green hills with a mountainous backdrop. Pictures don’t do it justice.

The caves were very interesting too. You can only enter with a guided tour and the tour was in French so the kids got a little impatient since they had no clue what they were looking at. I understood part of it. The caves had formed from flowing water through the limestone formation. People had used the caves for shelter between 10,000 to 35,000 years ago and there was evidence of their tools as well as their burial mounds and megaliths outside the cave. There was another story about village women using the caves for singing and dancing in the 1800’s but they were later accused of witchcraft and executed.

Overall our trip to Basque country was a huge success and I have a strong suspicion we will return again someday. We created many great memories and were left feeling that there is so much more to explore and we only just scratched the surface.

Key points from this leg of our trip:

Cost: $240/day. This was about what we expected given that our accommodation cost $130/night and we had a rental car to cover as well. Accommodation: Again, really impressed with our Airbnb experience. This one was the best yet and perfectly suited our family (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/24954961?s=67&shared_item_type=1&virality_entry_point=1&sharer_id=15396563)

It wasn’t cheap at $130/night but it was spacious, central, great views and a very well equipped kitchen. When I read the reviews about this place many people complained about the distance to the beach but we found that to be a positive. It was a beautiful 25 minute walk along the shoreline to reach the beach.

Favorite place we visited: This is a hard one. It would probably be Biarritz. The town and coastline were beautiful, the beach was great, we had great weather and the stars seemed to align for us there that we all had fun without any major drama or meltdowns.

Other useful things we discovered:

1) Always check your rental car for the spare tire before leaving the rental agency

2) INRIX Parkme is a great app that shows you all the parking lots at your destination, along with the hourly cost and link to google maps for directions 

3) Plan more time in this area than you think you need. It’s not all about San Sebastian. There are so many wonderful towns and so much history and culture to explore. We were only able to scratch the surface after 11 days.

4) This is a very hard place to go on a budget. We had to keep reminding ourselves to stay on a limited budget but it is difficult, particularly given all the amazing looking (and expensive) food.

Madrid was a blur. It wasn’t actually a destination but more a stop on our way from Granada to San Sebastian and a chance for me to visit colleagues in our Madrid office. It was a brief but good stop.

Since Granada was a pretty busy time with lots to see each day and very hot temperatures, the kids needed a break. So we booked an Airbnb in the suburbs of Madrid that was in a complex that had a swimming pool and was also only a stone’s throw away from a basketball court for Ronan. The apartment was great and our host was so nice and accommodating. Again, another great Airbnb experience.

Brett and the kids remained in and around the apartment complex for our short stay in Madrid, relaxing and playing in the pool. I navigated the metro and made my way into my company’s office. It was an easy 40 minute commute into the office. So nice to have the opportunity to connect with colleagues that I’ve never met before. They were so welcoming and interested in the hearing about our business in North America. Jose, the Operations Leader for the region, took me to lunch at an amazing restaurant across the street in the Real Madrid football stadium. Great conversation and great food. So that was it for Madrid on this visit. Unbelievably, the only photos I took while there were two goofy selfies. One day we will come back and explore the city but for now, on to San Sebastian!

This post is long.  We were so excited about this leg of our trip and there was so much to see. You may just want to scroll through the photos to get the jist. I have never been to the south of Spain but it has always appealed to me. It seems from afar like an area with a very interesting and rich mix of cultures from Europe and Northern Africa. I tried so hard to plan our trip to the south so that we would be in Andalusia as early as possible in the summer so that we wouldn’t melt. As it happens, one of the biggest heat waves in decades hit Europe exactly when we were visiting at the end of June. In Granada, temperatures hit 45 degrees C (113 F) while we were there. Too hot for my Canadian blood but surprisingly not as bad as I imagined 45 degrees to be. We’ll come back to that.

If you read our last post, you will know that I accidentally navigated us to the wrong ‘Chiva’ on our last car drive. I thought we were staying in Chiva near Valencia but we were actually staying at another town called Chiva farther north. Not only did that give us a painful day of driving on our way to the ‘right’ Chiva, it also left us with an epic drive from Chiva to Malaga – far longer than I’d ever consider appropriate for a carload of kids (830km). There was no choice but to push through. We made sure iPads were all charged and packed the cars with lots of treats and distractions for the kids.

Our first stop was 20 minutes into our 10 hour journey. We really should have taken Iain more seriously when he said he was feeling carsick as we navigated down the mountain switchbacks from Chiva. Thankfully I have a mini-pharmacy with an ample supply of anti-nausea medication so after we got the car (and Iain) cleaned up and everyone medicated, we were back on the road. Iain felt much better but Ronan spent the rest of the car ride in fear that Iain would hurl again (Are you sure Iain should eat lunch? Are you sure he should watch his Ipad, it might make him sick again …).

The rest of the car drive was relatively uneventful. The scenery was beautiful and changed quite a bit from Chiva to Malaga. There were a couple of short stops to stretch our legs but we tried to power through to Malaga so we could get there at a reasonable time.  Brett did an amazing job of driving over 800km without much break.  We arrived at about 7pm and checked into our Airbnb. The apartment was nice and clean but a bit too small for us. Fortunately, there were two rooftop patios that were amazing and spacious. The place was very central and walkable to everything. Not bad for $40/night. Our stay in Malaga was pretty short (three full days) so we weren’t planning to spend much time at the apartment anyway.  

We arrived hungry only to remember that there are no stores open to buy food on Sundays. We all had a craving for pizza so I looked up a couple of local pizza places and we set off walking. They were both closed. The only one open was Domino’s…so our kids first taste of Domino’s was in Malaga, Spain. They LOVED it and still talk about how good the food was in Malaga 😊.

After getting a good sleep, we had a long and relaxing walk to the Malaguetta beach the following day. Malaga is a beautiful city. Many parks, tree lined streets, beaches, historical landmarks, and perfect sunny, warm weather to enjoy it all in. I’m not even quite sure why we chose Malaga over other Andalucian towns. I think it was just a place that always appealed to me, but for no specific reason since I knew nothing about it. It did not disappoint. Here are some views from that walk and day at the beach.

I miscalculated when it came to sunscreen.  We made sure the kids were covered in sunscreen but I assumed I didn’t need it since it was later in the day and the sun probably wasn’t strong enough to burn. That is not the case here. At 4 in the afternoon, the sun is still high in the sky and incredibly powerful. My back got the worst of it . The worst sunburn I’ve had since I was 15 (an unfortunate and unforgettable trip to a water park with no sunscreen in the middle of a hot summer day).

On the second day I was happy to stay covered up and away from the beach. We walked into the shopping district in town to take care of a much needed errand; the twins needed new sandals. The ones I had packed were too small. After a lot of walking, we finally found the perfect (matching) pairs for them. I suspect they were happy to see us leave that shoe store.

Once the shoe situation was sorted, we walked to the Malaga cathedral. I honestly wasn’t expecting much, Malaga is not a large city so the grandeur of the cathedral was a surprise.  Brett and I are not religious people but it was impossible not to be awestruck by the detail and beauty of the cathedral. They offer handheld audio-guides in all languages that were informative and were also a hit with the kids. They liked walking to the different areas of the cathedral and listening to the ‘stories’. Since the twins can’t read yet, and Ronan hates reading, this was a welcome distraction after visiting lots of historical sites that relied on us reading information to the kids.

We then went to the Alcazaba, once the palace and fortress of the city’s governing Muslims, built in the 11th century. The Alcazaba itself is beautiful and its location provides panoramic views of Malaga and the coastline. Brett and I were confronted once again with our biggest stressor on this trip; steep drop-offs with little to no protection to prevent pre-occupied children for falling over the edge. All around the Alcazaba are steep drop offs and in places there is only a little wall (up to about knee level) preventing falling over the edge. I’m not sure how people aren’t falling to their deaths regularly (or maybe they are). We stayed as long as we could to appreciate the fortress but it was not in any way relaxing.

Adjacent to the entrance of the Alcazaba is one of the best preserved and intact Roman amphitheatres, dating to the 1st century BC. The upper rows of the theatre are new, and the remainder of the theatre is as it once was. The lower, original portion of the amphitheatre is cordoned off but you can sit in one of the upper rows and just imagine what it was like in Roman times (which we did while catching our breath after the Alcazaba). It’s hard to describe what that felt like but it really did made the history of the area much more real to us to sit in that amphitheatre and imagine a performance, while having the contrast of modern-day Malaga as the backdrop.

The third day in Malaga we returned to the beach. I remained fully covered, sunscreened, and still in pain.  Brett and the kids enjoyed the water and as usual the kids did not want to leave when the day was over. Even though there was so much more to explore in Malaga, we needed this day to relax.

The next stop was Granada. It was an easy 1.5 hr drive until we arrived in the city. After a bit of a harrowing drive around Granada’s narrow, winding streets before finding our parking garage, we arrived at our apartment for the week. It was really nice and right in the heart of the old town. Very clean with two bedrooms, kitchen, and a rare treat – a bathtub. Most importantly it was air-conditioned. A perfect place to stop for a week.

Both Brett and I tried to include destinations on this trip that were our bucket-list places. The Alhambra, in Granada, is on both of our lists. Like the Alcazaba in Malaga, it is a palace and fortress for the Muslim rulers at the time but on a much grander scale. The first construction was in the 9th century on the remains of roman fortifications. It was renovated and largely rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar. It later became a royal palace after the Spanish conquest in 1492. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Despite this being one of the highlights of the trip for me and knowing that it is a protected world heritage site, I did not think to book advance tickets. I didn’t realize that daily admissions are limited and buying tickets well in advance of visiting is required, especially in the summer. So on the Tuesday before driving to Granada on Thursday I went online to buy tickets and found that for the entire next 10 days (until we leave Granada), there was only one time slot available to visit – that friday afternoon at 3:30pm. That also just happened to be the peak of the heat wave – the temperate hit 45 degrees C (113 F) that afternoon while we were walking around the Alhambra.

The heat made it uncomfortable but Brett and I would still have spent days wandering around. It is beautiful, majestic, awe-inspiring, and much like the roman amphitheatre in Malaga, there were many instances while there that you couldn’t help but imagine what it was like during the time of the Sultans. The gardens were so beautiful and the palaces were unbelievably beautiful and ornate. If it were up to the kids, they would have done a quick run-through and got back to our airconditioned apartment.  We are so thankful for their patience that day. They had their moments but for the most part, they patiently waited (in the hottest weather we’d ever experienced) and kept themselves amused while we enjoyed exploring each area of the palaces and fortress. It may be the most beautiful (man-made) place we’ve ever been.  I won’t go into a lot of detail on our visit, it’s best just to see it through some of the photos.

Some of the other highlights from our time in Granada include:

Granada Cathedral: It was a huge cathedral but the inside was a lot less impressive than the cathedral in Malaga. Once again we had audioguides and we all enjoyed hearing the ‘stories’ in different areas of the cathedral.

Albaicin Quarter: We spent a day wandering around El Albaicin, the old Moorish quarter of the city. It’s located on a hill facing the Alhambra and there are amazing views of the palace from the one of the squares in El Albaicin. The neighborhood itself is a nice place to wander around and imagine the history. It’s beautiful whitewashed homes and narrow winding streets are largely as they were when the area was first settled by Moors fleeing the Christians in Baeza in the 13th century. So much so it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are not a lot of stores or things to do here, but it is a nice walk and well worth it for the history and for the views of the Alhambra.

Sacromonte: Wondering a little farther beyond El Abaicin, we arrived at Sacromonte, known as the ‘gypsy’ quarter in Granada. In the 15th century, a large group of Spanish gypsies situated themselves here and created houses by making cave homes in the hills. Sacromonte is known for Flamenco music and dance. The gypsies mixed the traditional Spanish flamenco with Arab belly dancing. We visited the cave museum in Sacromonte which allows visitors to enter some cave homes to understand what life was like for people who lived in these caves. We all found this really interesting and really well done.

Flamenco Show: We went to a Flamenco show at a small little theatre. It was spectacular – we both love Flamenco music and dancing so enjoyed the show. The kids…not so much. It was the day after the Alhambra so they were still tired.

The rest of the time in Granada was spent catching the kids up on their journals and me catching up on work. I somehow managed to fit in about 30 hrs/wk of work so far on this trip. The schedule is getting to be a bit of a grind. It’s not uncommon to still be in meetings until midnight. My goal is to get more discipline around my work hours and make sure to stop work by 10pm each night. We’ll see.

Overall we really enjoyed both Malaga and Granada.  The Alhambra is a must-see and it was even more impressive than we envisioned.  A week in Granada really felt like we had time to do it justice.  It’s a pretty old town but very, very touristy.  Malaga was beautiful and less touristy.  Our time there was too short and we would have preferred to have a couple more days there plus a couple of days exploring one of the smaller coastal villages nearby.

Some key points from this leg of our trip:

Budget:  We got by on $175/day including everything – accommodation, car, food, … everything.  I was hoping for $150/day but factoring in all the admissions and the flamenco show, it pushed us up a bit. 

Accommodation:  We were so happy with the Airbnb accommodations that we had in both Malaga and in Granada.  We would recommend either.  They are both perfectly centrally located, air-conditioned, and clean.  The apartment in Malaga (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22925613?source_impression_id=p3_1562702704_QOcPXgjqqr7VFbB0) was small but the rooftop patios were amazing.  It was about $40/night.  The apartment in Granada (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/16924167?s=67&shared_item_type=1&virality_entry_point=1&sharer_id=15396563 ) was much more spacious.  It was about $65/night.

Food:  Unfortunately to keep within our budget we had to mostly prepare our own meals.  We packed sandwiches and snacks each day.  Most days we cooked our own meals at the apartment.  Eating out as a family of 5 is $100 minimum.  We did eat out one night, the food was mediocre, and it cost over $100. 

Favorite place we visited:  The Alhambra, hands-down.  We loved it and  will always remember that visit. 

Onward to Madrid!

So let me start this one off by saying that I am normally the one that checks everything twice – especially details about our travels.  So…what happens at first is very out of character.

We were very fortunate that our neighbor and friend David had arranged with his family for us to stay at their villa in Chiva, Spain.  We looked Chiva up on a map, generally knew where it was, and I never thought about it again until we were on our drive from Barcelona to Chiva.  Well, to be honest, I didn’t even think about it then.  I put it into Google maps and just enjoyed the scenery as we worked our way down the coast from Barcelona to Valencia and then headed inland to Chiva.  Things started to seem a little off when we got to Chiva, a fairly industrial looking large town.  Now David had described it as very picturesque and tiny – a population of about 40.   Things were not adding up.  Also, the instructions that we had from David’s aunt were that her house was the first left as you enter into the village and the second house.  We were in a big town, this was not a village where you could navigate with that type of directions, nor was there only one entrance to the town.

I texted the number that David’s aunt had given us to their neighbor Tilo, a potter, who helps maintain their home when they are away.  He gave me his street address which I plugged into google maps.  This took us down the street to a very industrial area with a gate that we could not enter (I really wish I had taken a picture there!).   It was then that the sinking suspicion started to form that there may be more than one Chiva in Spain …and more than one Calle de la Fuente, Chiva.  After several texts with Tilo we realized that our actual destination was back towards Barcelona.  My navigation had turned a 270 km  journey into a 600 km journey!!   Now, as much as I sometimes get frustrated that Brett is so laid back, I am extremely grateful at times like that – he laughed it off and just turned around.   We stopped briefly in the ‘other’ Chiva to let the kids play before heading back on the road. 

We eventually found the correct Chiva (Chiva de Morella) and it was even more beautiful than David had described.   The house is from the 16^th century and you can feel the history in every room.  The town is nestled in the hills – there are no stores, just one restaurant/bar (but we never saw it open)….and a basketball hoop!!!

The only challenge we had here was internet.  I need to work each day so I got a Vodafone Spain pre-paid SIM card for our personal phone.  It had 15 GB of data on it.  I didn’t monitor the kids well on the first day.  They got on Netflix with their IPads and the first evening I logged on to work, we had no data left on our plan.  After several hours of trying, it became clear that there is no English customer service for Vodofone.  It was a long frustrating struggle that involved me throwing more money at the problem but ultimately not getting any more data on our plan.  Luckily our neighbor Tilo gave me access to his internet but to use it, I either had to sit outside on the street (which I did for several conference calls) or I had one window in our house that I could huddle by (sometimes with my laptop half out the window) in order to connect to his wifi.  This was a good lesson that as long as I’m working, we can’t get this far off the beaten path again.  I got by but it was a challenge.

About 15 minutes down the road is the town of Morella (population~2500).  I’d never heard of this town before but it was so spectacularly beautiful. 

The castle perched atop the hill was huge and took hours to explore.  Parts of the castle date back to Roman times and was influenced by each group of invaders since that time.  Entrance fee was a modest 10 Euro for all of us.  It clearly gets lots of tourists but not many English-speaking tourists.  We met no others that spoke English and there was no signage in English (most signs were in Spanish and French).   It would have been better if we had done more internet research first on the history of the castle and the town before visiting– another good lesson for us to make sure we get the most out of exploring historic sights.

The weather was very warm and we were doing a lot of exploring and hiking.  We decided to do something just for the kids.  We found an outdoor pool in Fabrica Giner (about 15 minute drive away) that we had virtually to ourselves.  There is a campground and guest house in this area that looked very nice.   The pool had just opened for the season and the water was cold but it was perfect.  It cost more to go into the pool (14.50 Euro for our family) than it did to get into the castle.

We found a book on the bookshelf in the house we were staying at that described hikes in and around Chiva de Morella.   We decided to go on a 5k hike around the nearby hills.  We had trouble finding the trailhead because there were no markings.  After some dead-ends, we walked back to some nearby houses and asked someone who was working in a garden nearby.  We showed him the map in the book that we had with us and explained in very broken Spanish that we were looking for the trailhead.  It turned out that he was the author of the book!!  How amazing is that!!  Here he is, Jordi Sebastia i Gali.  He was very friendly and helpful and sent us off on the correct trail.

The hike itself was beautiful but more challenging than we imagined.  The trail was hard to follow in places but more importantly, portions were on the top of sheer cliffs.   The trail was in good condition but when you’re hiking with young kids, it is extremely stressful. 

I have a fear of heights and often start to feel dizzy when I’m at heights.  It seems to affect me more and more as I get older.  I think it was probably the additional fear of navigating three young kids (who have trouble focusing) around the cliffs that really accentuated the fear.   I remember holding Riley’s hand so tight and just looking at the ground ahead of us.  I could not look too far ahead or to the left over the cliff.  I wanted to stop but I knew that would only make things worse because I’d have more time to get more anxious.  At one point where the trail got wider, we did stop to give the kids water.  We very sternly instructed the kids to sit down on the inside of the trail and we would give them their water bottles.  I didn’t notice that Riley got up and started walking to the cliff edge.  I am so grateful that Brett saw her and screamed at her to stop. 

There were curse words from both of us once we got her back to safety.   I did not let go of her hand for the next hour or so until we got back to a safe place.  Now that the hike is over I’m glad we did it but I would never do it again.  I’m so proud that the kids did it, especially Ronan.  He has always been so fearful.  He was so confident on this hike and did not even want to hold our hands while we navigated the cliff edge.  

On our last day in Chiva, we visited Tilo in his pottery down the road.  His pottery is so beautiful.  We learned a bit about how he makes it and we bought a couple of bowls to remember this visit to Chiva.

So here I am on our last evening in Chiva.  Everyone has gone to bed.   I’m drinking wine while listening to music and reflecting on this week.  What an amazing time we have had here.  We have bonded as a family, we have conquered fears, learned about history, enjoyed spectacular scenery, and enjoyed wonderful family time in this beautiful home.   I absolutely love adventures like this.  Traveling somewhere we would never had known about if it weren’t for the recommendations of great friends.  This house and village have given us such great memories.  We are so grateful for everyone that helped make it happen; David, his mom Sarah, his aunt Andrea, and Tilo for helping us out so much while were there.

Hope we get to return one day Chiva.  Onward to Malaga!!

This is when we felt like our adventure had truly begun.  Both New York and Toronto are very familiar to us.   We recognize the buildings, the stores, the language, the food, …  But when we got to Barcelona, we really felt like we were somewhere different.  Both Brett and I have been here before, separately, but we were young and probably saw a much difference slice of Barcelona life than we would as parents.

Taking the 10pm out of Toronto flight was brilliant.  The kids fell asleep almost immediately and probably slept for 7 out of the 8 hours.  We landed at noon and easily made it to our apartment by taxi.  The journey was too easy.  We were an hour early for check-in to our Airbnb and had to wait out on the street.

It was worth the wait, the apartment was perfect and our host ‘Pepe’ was very friendly and very helpful.  Two bedrooms, full kitchen, high speed wifi, and a park across the street (with a basketball court!).  Jet lag was minimal, we stayed up until a reasonable time on the Wednesday we arrived and we were on local time from there onwards.  The apartment was downtown and we got everywhere we wanted in Barcelona by foot.  Iain was very excited about hitting 27000 steps on one of our days. 

Since we need our money to last an entire year and Europe is definitely not cheap, part of our challenge on this trip is to spend as little as possible without sacrificing too much of the experience.   We try to find things to do that don’t cost very much, we pack our lunches most days, and we generally buy groceries and cook our own dinners.  When we do eat out, we want to make sure we are eating somewhere authentic and hopefully somewhere that has been recommended to us.  Even buying groceries we have found to be a fun experience.  There are a number of large markets throughout Barcelona where you can buy everything from fruit/veggies to meat, fish, eggs, bread, etc. Each from individual stalls.  Everything is arranged so beautifully and the buildings are so impressive.  There is apparently a network of municipal markets in Barcelona.  We visited two of them.  The Mercat de Sant Antoni is one of the most popular and was only a 5 minute walk from our apartment.  Like some of the other markets, it is housed in a spectacular iron-structured building.  The architecture was impressive, the displays were beautiful, and the food was delicious.

We would buy wine on the way home from the market at this awesome place.  I splurged for the pricier option – 2 euro per liter.

We got two pieces of advice from our taxi driver on our initial ride into the city from the airport that would prove to help us enjoy Barcelona while saving money.  The first one was to avoid eating at any of the restaurants on La Rambla – none of them are authentic to the region and the quality of the food is very low.  So on Day 1 in Barcelona, we packed lunch and walked to La Rambla.  We ended up stopping in a pretty plaza and ate our sandwiches by a fountain while watching some street performers.  Perfect. 

We enjoyed our day, then bought supplies at the Mercat de Sant Antoni and cooked a great dinner at our apartment.

The second piece of advice our taxi driver gave us to go to the light show at the Plaza de Espana that happens every Wednesday to Saturday nights during the summer.  We went there that same evening after we had our dinner.  It was fantastic.  The kids loved it and there’s just something memorable about being a kid and still being out on the town late at night.  The light show didn’t start until 9:30 and it was past 11pm by the time we walked back to the apartment.   For the first part of the show, the water and lights are choreographed to pop and rock music, the second part to classical music.  We all had a lot of fun, even though Riley and Iain’s faces might suggest otherwise.  In addition to being a great show and a memorable experience for us, it was free!

When telling us to avoid food on La Rambla, our taxi driver told us that we should visit Port Olympico for some good quality authentic fare.  On Day 2, we walked about 5k from our apartment through town and along the waterfront to the Port Olympico.  It was a beautiful walk and the weather was perfect. We had lunch at a restaurant near the water and Brett finally had the Paella he’d been so excited about.  

We promised the kids that we would go to the beach after eating.  As soon as we got to the beach, the sun went behind the clouds, the wind picked up, and the temperature must have dropped 10 degrees.  I huddled on the beach wrapped in a beach towel for warmth while the kids played in the sand and the water.  Luckily Brett kept them safe and happy while I concentrated on staying warm.  Not how I imagined the beach in Spain!

On our third and final full day in Barcelona we walked to the Sagrada Familia to see the Gaudi designed cathedral.  We had been told that it wasn’t worth the wait (and the cost) to see the inside since it is under construction so instead we just enjoyed the incredibly impressive exterior.   We were glad we had been given the advice to avoid the interior since there were hundreds of people lined up.  The building is really awe inspiring.  I’ve seen lots of cathedrals before but this one is different.  It looks sort-of Gothic but the design almost seems whimsical, at least in my eyes.  It almost seemed like something out of a Dr. Seuss book but with such incredibly ornate detailing.  The cathedral has been under construction for the last 130 years and is a complex arrangement of new and old construction.   The construction has relied entirely on private donations and it wasn’t until the last 2 weeks that they finally got a building permit for its continued construction.

Overall we have really enjoyed our time in Barcelona.  We did enough walking to really feel like we got a taste of the city.  The buildings are beautiful, there are so many grand boulevards to stroll along, the city is clean, very multi-cultural, and we felt safe the entire time we were there.  We had been warned by many about thieves and pick-pockets and, while I’m sure they exist, we had nothing but good fortune.  On our last day as we were walking back from Sagrada Familia, a man stopped us in the street.  I couldn’t tell what he was saying at first but he went back and picked up my wallet for me that I had just dropped and didn’t even notice that I had dropped!!!  How amazing, and how truly fortunate I was.

Here’s a brief summary of the key points of our Barcelona visit:

Accommodation:  Highly recommend Pepe’s place on Airbnb. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2333994?source_impression_id=p3_1561128162_vw6%2FHcGZSJMpjcA0

The apartment was very central, clean, had everything we needed and very friendly hosts. The nightly rate was approximately $160/nt in June.

Food:  Shop at the markets.  They are fun and the food is great.  For eating out, avoid all the restaurants in the city that have pictures of their food.  They are the same pictures everywhere and are just frozen and distributed to the restaurants.  Quality is low.  The Port Olympico did have lots of options for more typical fare, and prices were pretty reasonable (but not cheap).

Budget:  We spent an average of USD300/day during our time in Barcelona.  This was above what we had budgeted but honestly was the best I think we could have done. This included taxis to/from the airport and the cost of a prepaid SIM card (as well as accommodation and all food)

Favorite Memory:  The light/water show at the Plaza Espana and the walk/from the plaza. The show was great, everyone was in a good mood and the walk was beautiful.

Most surprising thing about Barcelona: Very few people seem to have basic English. I communicated with my embarrassingly poor Spanish more often than I thought I would need to.

Favorite things about Barcelona: Beautiful buildings and boulevards to stroll along. Beautiful waterfront. Walkability and feeling safe everywhere we went.

Least favorite thing about Barcelona: People seemed very aggressive to us. While we felt safe, people seemed very pushy. Someone tried to take Ronan’s basketball from him at the basketball court and play on his own. Someone pushed in front of Riley and I in the line up at a public washroom. It sort of felt like being in NYC again. We needed to learn to stand our ground.

Onwards to Chiva!!!

This was a very emotional visit to Ontario.  We spent time with my brothers and their families, my mother, my old friends, and my first visit to my Dad’s grave since he passed away 4 years ago.   This felt like a good-bye.  It wasn’t exactly the trip we had planned, but that was okay.

I’ll start with the high points.  We don’t often get to see each other as a family; me, Brett, our kids, my mom, and my two brothers and their families.  We had a few great dinners and chances to catch up.

I also met up with Linda and Adrienne, two close friends from high school.  The kind of friends that you can go a year or more without speaking to them but pick up where you left off without skipping a beat.  Hard to believe we’ve been friends now for over 30 years.   We had a great sunny day in a park (see sunburn in later photo ☹) where we had the chance to catch up while watching all our kids play together.   

Ronan is crazy about basketball these days and was over the moon that Adrienne very thoughtfully gave him a basketball.  Despite our issues with overpacking for this trip, the basketball is with us on the plane as I write this on our way to Spain. 

We solved the problem of all the heavy school textbooks that we were traveling with.  It took a day of driving around to different places, but we finally managed to get them all scanned so we have them electronically.  It felt good to put those books into recycling rather than back into our bags.

On the last day, we stopped at the cemetery to visit my Dad’s grave.  We miss him so much and I’m glad to keep his memory strong and alive with my kids.  We all talked about what we remember about Grandad and looked at some pictures of him while at the cemetery. 

The main reason for visiting Ontario was to see my mom.  We try to get back every 6 months to see her.

Me and my mom.  There’s no doubt we’ve had a challenging relationship over the years – we’re very different people, but we love each other.  I have so many memories of my childhood with my mom. I remember her taking me to my first day of junior kindergarten.  I clung to her skirt in pure fear and I can remember the blurry view of the playground through my tear-filled eyes.  I did not let go.  I remember feeling safe and comforted when I was sick as a child.   I had several stays in the hospital as a child and I remember my mom there with me the whole time.  More than the memories of time and place, I remember the feeling of safety and comfort she gave me when I was scared or sick.  I also remember that she was so sick with worry during one of the exams that I had during my hospital stay that they had to take her to the ER after passing out.  I remember always appreciating her love and concern for my safety and happiness but I realized even at a young age that her worry was often in excess.  I’m quite sure that she has suffered from some form of anxiety for most of her life.  I remember traveling to Europe with her as a teenager.  I also remember her having an anxiety attack that seemed to last the entire journey over the Atlantic.  Once that plane ride was over,  I remember having so much fun on that trip, my first real taste of what the greater world looked like.  I also remember my mom at my wedding, flying to Vancouver with my dad despite her crippling fear of flying.

Last night, on my last night in Ontario on this visit, after spending 6 days with her, she told me that she had been crying all day because she wasn’t sure who I was.   She thought she might be my mother (but couldn’t remember the word for mother) but she wasn’t sure.  My heart hurt.  She has dementia.  Her memories are slipping away, quickly.   When she asked me whether I was her daughter, she seemed so lost.  When I told her that yes, she was my mother, she seemed so relieved and happy.  Perhaps for that moment, I had given her that same feeling of safety and comfort that she had given me for so many years.  I think some days she does know who I am, but I can’t be completely sure.  She is so polite and eager to please that she goes with the flow, even if she’s not entirely sure who she is with or where she is going.  It is so sad when all you’re left with after all of life’s experiences are your memories and then this cruel disease robs you of them.

So here we are, off to Spain with heavy hearts.  No doubt I won’t wait another six months to see my mom again.   And between visits I’ll be calling her and sending her photos of our travels to keep that seed of a memory alive until we see each other again.