Category: Travel (Page 2 of 3)

Burgos

We took a day trip to a city north of us, Burgos last weekend.   I wanted to go visit the Castle ruins that are there as they have siege tunnels underground you can walk through and large winding stone staircases.  It wasn’t a must-see attraction online or even by reviewers.  Many reviewers had said it would have been way cooler and the siege tunnels even better had the damn French and Napoleon not blow the place up.  Unfortunately, by the time we found our way to castle it was closed.  We missed it by a few minutes! Argh!  There was a complete lack of signage to the castle.  It was clear the the castle ruins was not a major tourist attraction but nonetheless, I was disappointed.  We did find a rather impressive playground (at least for those we have seen in Spain – they are all pretty plain and generic with few pieces) that we promised we’d take the kids back to.  And after leaving the closed castle, being shuttled into one-way narrow streets and out to the main road we eventually found our way back to the playground.  I’m sure this will be the highlight that the kids remember.

We left the house late, we got lost, we had few snacks, we had no extra clothes.  It really wasn’t a well planned out trip but it did end up being a great one.  At the playground, Lavender had an accident (remember no spare clothes??) but luckily October had pants on under her dress so her pants got sacrificed to Lavender.  And while Lavender now had dry pants, she had pee soaked tennis shoes.   We leave the playground to go find the cathedral.  This is on the must-see lists so we were off to find it.  And we could see it.  But we just…couldn’t….get….there.  The snacks have all been consumed.  October’s hungry and letting us know every….three…seconds.  I continue driving in hopes of finding the cathedral, taking some pictures, finding some food and heading home.  I don’t have lofty goals at this point.  I do however find the castle, the closed castle, again in searching for the cathedral.  We find a dirt lot by the castle wall, park and head off to find food.  I’m really not hopeful.  It seems like the place is shutting down for the night.  It is a Sunday on a holiday weekend.  I see the top of the cathedral poking over some buildings and hastily snap some pictures.  I assume this is as close as I’ll get.  Lavender is holding up her pants as we hurriedly look for food, to which we stumble into a major plaza of Burgos right off the Cathedral entrance filled with holiday lights, holiday vendors and restaurants.  Burgos is known for it’s Morcilla or blood sausage.   Unfortunately, we were too hungry to try anything local.  Pizza it was!  I inadvertently ordered morcilla last time we were in Madrid (I thought it was hamburger) and it was good.  It was even October’s favorite tapa that day.  Jeff told me what it really was and I just couldn’t order a second after that.

Having our bellies full.  We were able to explore and enjoy the plaza.  It was cold.  October had a dress on and no one had their hats with them but I was the only one who seemed to mind the cold.  The girls rode the Carousal, we went for a tourist train ride around the city, the girls had a gigantic doughnut, Jeff had mulled wine, we took pictures and enjoyed seeing all the holiday vendors.  I was really glad we didn’t quit and leave after we, also, couldn’t find our way to the cathedral.  I was really glad we stuck around for the holiday lights to come on.  The town was just coming awake after dinner and we would have missed it.  And I’m really glad that October’s internal thermostat is set high!  I never could have wandered around for hours with bare legs!

See all of our photo’s here!

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Well she looks a little cold here. But we’re on our way back to the car!

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Museo Reina Sofia

I’ve been to one art museum before.  It was nice.  I saw a Van Gough exhibition in Seattle.  And while I don’t remember the exact painting I do remember being impressed by seeing the actual brush strokes and the amount of paint on the canvas.  Lonely Planet has informed me that Madrid is home to three world-class museums and I figured I should check at least one out.  I choose Museo Reina Sofia based on a recommendation from a friend in Washington.  It’s a commitment to get there.  A nearly two hour bus ride followed by a 17-station stop Metro ride (which for awhile we were packed liked sardines)  Truthfully though, I’ve been itching to get out of Buitrago.  So even after we missed the first bus out of town.  Yes, we were not up and ready to go in time to make the 10 am bus, I still wanted to head out.  I knew either way (or at least I guessed that either way) an art museum was not going to be long-lived with three children.  And I was right.  They did enjoy looking at the art and showing there enthusiasm with vigorous pointing which made the museum attendants quite nervous which in turn made my experience less enjoyable.  We made it through 2 of 4 floors.  The kids said their favorite art was Guenica by Pablo Picasso. And it was fun looking through the painting and talking with the kids about what they saw in the painting.  It was the last painting we saw before we left so we did hang around extra long to enjoy it.

IMG_1544 IMG_1545 IMG_1555 IMG_1552 IMG_1559After leaving the museum we headed back toward the metro station (which was really close) and heard drumming and chanting.  Lavender excitedly pronounced it was a parade.  It was instead a protest rally of some sort.  And from my limited ability to understand the news I have gathered that protests in Mardrid are a rather frequent event.  We then left and got on a very crowded metro train.  Standing room only doesn’t even describe it.  But press on we did as our bus only runs every 1.5 hours and I didn’t want to be stuck waiting for the next one.   I enjoyed going into Madrid, eating lunch out and visiting the museum.  Yes, I needed to blow this Popsicle stand.

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Here are the police following the protesters along, as well as the street sweepers. The protesters are off to the left. And yes, I was that tourist that pulled out my camera and took pictures.

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Happy smiles once the metro train cleared out and they got a seat. You couldn’t even see the floor or the walls 3 stops ago.

 

 

Castle of Mendoza

After our nice long-weekend in Toledo and lets be honest the freedom of having a car I was desperate to find a reason to rent a car again.  It’s a pretty cheap deal to rent through Enterprise and I can pick the car up and drop the car off while the kids are in school.  We also knew that we were too tired and the kids a bit sniffly and under the weather to tackle a lot of walking and sightseeing.  So Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Segovia was out but the Castle of Mendoza was in.  It was a close drive – 45 minutes.  Not a big city to hike though with additional sightseeing.  It is the most renovated Castle we’ve seen and while there was definitely parts that were a no-no to touch we were able to go up spiral staircases and down other stone spiral staircases that left me dizzy by the time I reached the bottom.  The tapestries were amazing and thanks to Jack and Annie of The Magic Tree House book series the girls knew what they were and had a basic idea of how they were made.  Scarlett’s favorite part was the bedroom – it was just like all the beds  of princesses she had ever seen in books and movies!  You can always see more photos on our photo website.

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Almonacid de Toledo Castle

After our visit to Toledo we stopped a few km south of the city to visit this ruined Castle.  It was amazing!  It was situated on top of a hill and we hiked to the top.  We were free to wander about — with very few other people there with us.  Who would have thought I’d be sitting enjoying the sunshine in the ruins of an old castle.   I was called back to reality by the urgent bathroom needs of a wonderful 4 year old!

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Here is some great information I found from Travelinos.com .”Amazing and extensive ruins of the castle Toledo is one of those views with which nobody can understand how they have stayed, this castle give the merits of past times. The ruins of the castle rise majestically on a small hill that dominates the little village of the same name. It is located about 20 km southeast of the city of Toledo in the Spanish province of the same name.

It is believed that Almonacid de Toledo Castle was probably built by the Moors. For the first time for this massive fortress in its prototype, when it was so big and powerful, it has been mentioned in 848 and 854 years. At that time, the castle becomes an arena of fierce battles between troops of the Emir of Cordoba and the rebels of Toledo.

According to one legend, the name of the castle comes from a Spanish word that means “The battlements of El Cid”. El Sid is a very famous Spanish horse, which plays a major role during the battles. More likely, however, the name of the castle came to Toledo from the Latin word “almonaster”, which means monastery. Moors are a stranger to this and called the castle “ribat”, which is their word for monastery. At that time the fortress was inhabited by monks, and Moorish knights.

Toledo fortress fell into the hands of King Alfonso IV, as part of the dowry of his wife – Princess Zaida. In 1086 the king donated the castle to the Archbishop of Toledo. In the 14th century, Archbishop Don Pedro Tenorio made substantial reconstruction and strengthening of the fortress.

Later, when the Portuguese pretender Count Alfonso of Gijon was to the throne, the castle was closed by order of King Juan I, who was king of Castile. On August 11th 1809, the castle served as a refuge for the Spanish troops under the command of General Venegas in a battle against French forces. This confrontation ends with victory giving around 2000 victims, and about twice as many Spanish soldiers killed near Toledo.

Inside the Almonacid de Toledo Castle you can see the remains of defensive walls of 2 square meters and three round towers. Besides viewing the remains, the buildings beyond its walls of the fortress have ruins of the square three story fort and a few tanks.”

 

Toledo, Spain

First, it’s not pronounced like Toledo, Ohio but TOE-led-O.  Actually, the girls thought it was pronounced TORNADO.  I had to keep explaining that it was not a town hit by tornado’s but that’s just how it was sounding to them.  The city is super old with lots of history and as such was a pretty neat place to explore. We did lots of walking and sightseeing and lots of eating.  We stayed in a hostel; which I had never stayed in one before.  It was essentially a bedroom with two bunk beds and a bathroom.  There was a rooftop terrace.  There was a small kitchenette and sitting area for all the guests on the rooftop as well.

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Hostal Oasis – Toledo

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The streets of the city were narrow and used by both pedestrians and cars a like.  Although in some spots I have no idea how a car even made it through.  Even the street right outside our hostel cars would drive on.  I did not attempt to drive in the city center.  I parked at the bus station in town and we walked (read aimlessly walked for way too long) to our hostel.

The girls and I took a trolley/train tour ride around the city.  It was more fun than I had anticipated.  We got a set of headphones and could listen to the recording on the history of the city — in English.

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The train took us all around the city and gave us some great views overlooking the town.

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Here is the Plaza Zocodover which is the main Plaza in Toledo and near to our hostel.  It was alright – as the Burger King and McDonald’s detracted from the ambiance of the city a bit.  But it was a good starting point and a consistent point on the map we could always find.

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Kids are welcome just about everywhere we’ve been here in Spain.  Then again, I haven’t tried taking them to a night club…although I’m not sure I’m taking myself to one either.  But at whatever time we go and where ever we go, we can be guaranteed that our kids will not be the only ones there.  Toledo was no exception.  After walking all over the city on Saturday we had one kiddo tired and falling asleep, one kiddo overly tired and bouncing off the walls and one kiddo who just thought it was neat to be out and about.

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On Saturday evening we went to see a Theater in the street performance.  While we mostly had no idea what was going on, it was cool to see.  The Plaza Ayuntamiento was PACKED!  The performance had several large explosions of feathers and colored dye.  The performance actually started at three different plaza’s and converged at the Ayuntamiento (i.e. City Hall) for the main performance.  After the streets began to clear the girls had a grand time playing in the mess that was left behind.  The girls were a mess!  I washed their hair later and the soap lather turned yellow!

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And finally here are some pictures from around the city.  For more pictures you can check out our photo website.

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Top 25

We decided to head to Toledo this weekend.  It’s been recommended from folks we personally know as well as it’s in Lonely Planet’s Top 25 for Spain (which will not be the last post on us hitting a top 25).  I had planned an elobrate trip via bus, metro subway and high-speed train to get us here.  The transportation was nearly the cost of the hostel for 2 nights.  An impromptu “beer thirty” lead to us renting a car.  It seemed a no-brainer to decline the extra car rental coverage offering to lower the deductible.  When I got in to drive to the nearest store to buy kid booster seats seemed like a bad idea.  I forgot all the cars are manual transmissions, ok not a huge deal — once I figured out where reverse actually was and that there were 6 gears.  I forgot how tightly packed these Spainards seem to be able to park, that was a bigger deal.  I was exuberant when the folks in front of me drove away!  But a few round-abouts and a few practice reverses and I was set to go.  We found ourselves a “super-Walmart” type store and it was AMAZING!!!  We went to get car seats for kids but it I mean it was amazing!, things we have been missing were all before our eyes!  Black beans! White t-shirts! Panty liners! Taco seasonings!  It may well have been good enough to call it a successful long-weekend without even visiting a Lonely Planet Top 25 sight!

Horseback Riding

We did a lot this weekend.  I tried my hand at attending tennis lessons — in Spanish.  It was a lot of fun!  I enjoyed being active and out.  Jeff signed me up through the instructor who also works at Jeff’s school; and somehow managed to let him know I needed a racket and was told I pay $10 euro per lesson.  About half way through, as I fumbled along trying to understand the drill one of the other three women says to me “You have to switch sides.” In perfect English.  I was so happy to find that someone spoke English and hopeful maybe I’ll find some folks to practice my Spanish with – over wine of course.

We took the girls Horseback riding.  I booked the rides online but it was completely unclear when we should show up.  I sent an email, in English, and never heard back so we headed out on Saturday hopeful it would work out.  After several attempts to convey that we hoped Jeff & October could go on a trail ride while the other two just rode around the property the owner/receptionist got us speaking to her English speaking son and we were all set.  I am not a horse person.  I had no intention of riding.  I certainly had no intention of leading a horse around in a circle for an hour while I gave Scarlett & Lavender turns on the horse.  But that is what I did in the blazing hot sun in my sandals.  Lavender had a blast.  Scarlett wanted to go on a trail ride like her sister.  October & Jeff headed off with little instruction for a trail ride.  They had just left the property when I saw October on her horse with her horse walking her back to the stables with the trail guide running down the road behind her.  I was concerned.  And I later learned so was Jeff.  But the guide got them all straightened out and off they went.  October had a great time!  She kept exclaiming how she never thought she’d ever ride a horse without someone holding it!  We’ll be returning, well at least Jeff & October will be returning for trail rides later in the year (Scarlett & Lavender are too little) as it was really reasonably priced at 15 euros per horse.

We also went to Madrid.  To which I brought my nice DSLR camera only to realize once I arrived that I failed to put the photo card back into the camera.  Argh!  I did have my phone and Jeff his so I’ll get those pictures up in another blog.

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You can’t see it but she also has her cowboy boots on.

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October is on the white horse. This is as they are first leaving the stables.

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Here’s October and her horse as her horse starts turning around to go back to the stables.

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October returning with a big grin and a thumbs up!

More pictures can be found at our online family photo album .  I was getting some unwanted spam and since I upload all of our family pictures here, it is password protected.  If you don’t know the password, email me 🙂

 

First Leg

We left Monday at 3pm after a flurry of activity all morning. The kids were insane. I was insanely anxious, which made the kids seem even more out of control.  We had one last load to take to storage, the little red car to deliver to a friend, the Wi-Fi boxes to return and to return the rental car.  I am always an anxious flyer but never having flown internationally before and never flying with so much luggage was adding to my stress and my nervousness.  We got to the airport with lots of time to spare. Just the way I like it.  We had dinner at the airport. The kids played. And the airline I thought was a budget carrier turned out to be quite nice. We had seats together despite me not paying the extra fee to book them in advance.

The flight went well. Long. Very long. October and Lavender slept quite a bit. Scarlett stayed wake until 10 minutes before we landed (it was a 10 hour flight!)  I managed a few hours of intermittent sleep. Jeff got some sleep. There was a person needing medical assistance during the flight. An announcement was made asking if their was a doctor on board. The passenger made it all the way to Frankfurt but was taken off the plane by ambulance.

We wandered with the herd through a seemingly endless maze of the Frankfurt airport.  Went through another security screening process where I had the honor with Lavender of a pat down.  That was surprising.  We stood in several lines, followed a guy on a bike that took us to the wrong wing, passed through a passport screening station and are now finally waiting near our gate with the kids playing on a small playground.  Our layover is 6 hours….so I am writing this from the Frankfurt International Airport!  We’ve got another 2 hours to wait!

I’m leaving on a Jet Plane…

Tomorrow we leave for Spain.  We’ve got most of our bags packed (and weighed), the girls and us are slumbering tonight on the floor in their room and I’ve got a detailed list of what needs to happen tomorrow.  I never got around to getting Euro’s but do believe I returned all our library books.  I’ll know for sure after it’s too late.  I made a late night run to the post office and donation…well, leaving my stuff under the large semi parked outside Value Village is still considered a donation, right??  Our storage is almost all packed and dried!  We have a few more boxes to add tomorrow.  We have to drop off our little red car.  I need to call and see if I can reserve our seats.  I had NO idea I was booking a budget airline and had to pay $30 a seat to reserve our seats ahead of time.  A bit problematic while traveling with small children.  But maybe my loss is my win!  Think of the poor person that gets stuck sitting next to Lavender for a 10 hour flight!  The kids carry-on bags are all packed with extra clothes, their blankie, their stuffie’s, snacks and their updated (and age-appropriate) tablets.  Oh – and with headphones.

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At this point, I am much more anxious than excited.  I was excited months ago.  Long before, the drawn out visa process and the reality of moving out and renting our home.  Now, it’s just nervousness and anxiousness.   Scarlett & October are nervous about attending school in Spain.  They realize that they will spend the day in a place where they don’t speak the language.  I was excited long ago when I figured our visa’s would be in hand at least a week before our plane trip….not 2 days before.  I was excited long ago when I didn’t know that the visa I was applying for was going to be a student visa valid for 90 days.  To which now there will be more paperwork when we arrive (I’m told this is just part of the process).  And before the reality of a 10 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany followed by a 6 hour lay-over and then another 2.5 hour flight to Madrid.

*Sigh*.  It will be a grand adventure.  I am excited to see the countryside.  I am looking forward to not having a car.  I am looking forward to sightseeing Castles and Museums in cities that are much older than any we have here in the U.S.  I am looking forward to hiking.  I am looking forward to many things.  I’ve just lost my excitement for the moment while I instead spend my time being anxious and nervous about the nuts and bolts.  Wish me luck!

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