Katherine's 10th Birthday

Katherine turned 10 in Spain. Omigosh is all we can say. She took treats to school for her classmates from Caramelo Paco, our favorite candy spot in Madrid. We had a surprise party for her at the house with friends, and she was truly surprised. The baker across the street made a cake especially for her, and we drank a special fruit punch. She got a fairy from the Rastro (Madrid flea market), a wood-carved elephant from Naples (I think it came from Africa, really), her first perfume, a Webkinz (thanks, Amber!) and a lot of love. We told funny childhood stories at the diningroom table. Of course, candy was involved.

Grandma had given her a camera for her birthday, which she received before leaving for Spain. Katherine has been quite the photographer.

When we went to Murcia the following weekend, we had a family celebration by the beach. Katherine was so pleased she hardly said a word for about 3 minutes.

Valencia

We had a wonderful trip to Valencia at the end of October. Valencia was cool and all, but the really cool part was that we saw friends there from the States who we had not seen for over 11 years. The kids hit it off very well (candy was the catalyst).

What a day of exploring. Valencia is so much larger than we thought it would be. After taking the requisite bus to reach the main square, we walked all day. We found a great pastry shop with yummy pastries, bread and snacking goodies. We looked for the holy grail, but never found it. We explored the high-reaching portals, which served as defensive posts for the city centuries ago: the pits in their walls show they served their purpose. The fountains were beautiful and the buildings decorated in an (exaggerated) eclectic style.

To get to Valencia, and back, we took the regional train. The ride was full of jerks and bounces. We are certain that the train lost some parts along the way. We made it home in one piece: tired but happy.

RELAXATION BEFORE THE TRIP

VALENCIA

TRAIN TRAVEL

Fiesta National

Fiesta National is really Hispanic Day in Spain, a day when Spain celebrates Hispanics. Grandma and Grandad had recently arrived, which was wonderful. We enjoyed seeing them so much. Grandad, not to be outdone by any parade, had his own adventure within 5 hours of arriving in Madrid, for which he received 5 staples on his head (all is well, now-good thing you have such a hard head, Dad).
Edgard saw a military parade earlier in the morning. The King waved to him and offered him a ride on his most favorite horse. Edgard, not wanting to intrude, although it was a day to celebrate his heritage, declined the offer modestly.
We went to lunch at an Argentinian restaurant, which was fabulous. We rolled out of there, and on to the Prado for a free look around.
There was a parade at night, which was very lively, which music, people jumping up and down, ad a general ruckus being made. We saw flags from many different Central and South American countries.

THE TRAIN RIDE OVER, PLAYING HANGMAN

TIME WITH GRANDMA AND GRANDAD

THE PARADE!

THE TRAIN RIDE HOME

Italy

ROME

THE VATICAN

TIVOLI

POMPEII

We went to Rome, Naples and Pompeii. Rome was everything we expected it to be-huge, impressive, and expensive. We had the most tasty pasta ever, and fell in love with gelati (Italian ice cream). The coliseum was bigger than we could have imagined. A lot of sites from the Roman empire, but nothing gives you the feeling of grandeur as does the coliseum. We saw an innumerable amount of fountains, each with their special history and design. One of them had a very tall engraved Egyptian pillar next to it that had been brought to Rome by Julius Cesar. Naples was Edgard's favorite because it was chaotic, smelly and it reminded him of Lima. Pompeii was a highlight for all of us. We had heard about the buried city, and we had even seen pictures of it, but to be there sent us to another time where we could see the city was very well developed and organized. It was not just foundations-it was a city where the people were not present. Pompeii is huge-it would take a week to cover well. It seemed to be the size of Bisbee.

An unexpected treasure we found was just outside of Rome, in Tivoli. The small town is perched on the top of a mountain, with narrow, winding streets and cobblestone roads. The town goes back to Roman times. Brutus and Horacio had palaces there. There is a beautiful park at the edge of the cliff, which, in Renaissance time was called Jupiter's Grotten, which also houses the temple of Jupiter and another temple. There are cascading waterfalls and a road carved by the Romans along the stone cliffs that include catacombs. The Renaissance thinkers did some good writing at the base of the inspiring cascade.

We almost forgot about the Vatican. It was immense! Kind of a commercial venture, but worth the view. We could not help being impressed by the Sistine Chapel.

Churros con chocolate

Churros are yummy in your tummy. We've had them in Mexico, but they are more delicate in Spain. They can be served with chocolate, which is more commonly done in the winter. The chocolate is melted and then placed in a coffee cup. You dip the churro in the chocolate to enjoy. Spaniards like to sip the chocolate nice and hot. It is a very strong and pure dark chocolate. Little by little seems to be the best way to go.
The video here shows us having churros con chocolate in Murcia with Sayda, Pedro, Cecelia and Sergio-our wonderful Murcian family.

Murcia

We have family in Murcia who we visited-Sayda, Pedro, Cecelia and Sergio. They are the consummate hosts, taking us through the city and into the mountains for a good look at the Murcia life. We love Murcia-it is a sophisticated, thriving city with efficient public transportation, beautiful architecture, soothing weather, pleasant people, amazing food, and incredibly loving family (Sayda taught us to make paella). This has been our sanctuary where we decompress and laugh like crazy. The girls got their ears pierced, which caused squeals of delight.
We went to a fair, where we took daring rides.
We saw a parade with elephants, camels, Andalucian horses, soldiers from Christian and Moorish times, and a fire-eating man. We saw a beach the length of Manhattan with blue-blue water and soft white sand. We went to Carthage, where Hannibal landed on his way to Rome, where we saw a Roman amphitheater and a church from the first century. Murcia is great!
One of these pictures is of City Hall, with a sign out front saying, "Agua para todos," which means "water for all." Murcia has a shortage of water (even though it is less than one hour from the ocean and is close to mountains), and other cities do not want to share their water with Murcia. The sign is a form of protesting the neighbors' selfishness.
Another one of the pictures is of the girls on the bus, busy with a sticker project. We spend a lot of time on buses and trains, and the girls are good at finding things to do during travel time.