Spain

Spanish Countryside

We picked up or new vehicle, a Peugeot 308 SW (dubbed the Millennium Falcon, she’ll make point five past light speed, especially if you put gas in the tank instead of diesel) at the Barcelona airport. We drove it a couple of hours south to Tarragona for the first night then on to Valencia where we took the kids to the Oceanografica Museum. This boasts to be Europe’s largest aquarium but I think that has more to do with size than actual critters etc. After our stay in Valencia we drove to Cuenca, Spain, which was phenomenal! The town of Cuenca is built in between two gorges the Hucar and the Juecar. Many of the old houses are built along the gorge and there are a few medieval houses called the “hanging houses” that still exist. After a couple of days in the “countryside” we drove to Toledo where we were impressed even more. Toledo sits on a granite “oxbow” where the river Tago runs around it. It was once ruled by the Moors and the Romans as well as the Visigoths and Christians. It is famous for its swords, so the kids were stoked to find a plethora of swords and weaponry. We enjoyed a few days there then on to Madrid where we were thrust into a big city again. The highlights of Madrid were the Prado where Monica was able to see her favorite painting, Las Meninas by Velasquez and then on to the Museo Reina Sofia where we all saw Guernica by Picasso. We are sure that the kids don’t realize the gravity of all the masterpieces they have been blessed to see on our trip starting with work such as the Mona Lisa and the Venice de Milo and so on, but we hope it will reside somewhere in their collective unconscious. In Madrid we savoured chocolate and churros, yummy olives and cornichons and sangria. After Madrid we moved on to Bilbao where we visited the Guggenheim. Not enough time was spent in Bilbao, Basque country, but we got a taste of it. We were all blown away by Richard Serra’s sculptural installation. The kids wandered in and out of the sculptures causing both chaos and awe through their voices echoing amongst the giant walls of metal. We are now in Biarritz, France where the waves are calling… a day at the beach surfing and playing is well deserved, a chance for the kids to burn some energy and for mom and dad to get some time recharging before our next venture on to Les Arnauds, France.