Rita toiling away on our rooftop deck in Granada
We have been on the road for four weeks, it’s time for some reflections.
After arriving in
Germany, we got busy with the preparations for dad’s 80th Birthday –
move over Geoff no time for you!! We had to find flower arrangements, add to
the table decoration – I was glad it was an Easter Theme, nice and colorful,
just as dad likes it. We could set and decorate the tables the day before the
party, including seating charts. Dad had spent weeks to prepare them, now at
the 11th hour he wanted to make last minute changes – no, no that’s not
going to happen. Sunday, his birthday arrived and he was very excited that 23
of his friends came for the reception (drinks and snacks) followed by 54 close family
and friends for lunch, coffee and cake. The highlight of the day was the arrival
of the 25 member marching band playing his favorites songs,
even let him conduct the last song. He’s been a member of the band, now part of
the “old mans club”, since 1968. They
played for his 50th, 60th, 70th, 75th
and now 80th Birthday! My dad enjoyed his special day, both Geoff
and I were so happy to share it with my family - Mom, Dad – you both look great
being 80 and having fun celebrating!!
It took us a couple of days of cleaning and sorting after the event, now it was time to pack up for our Spain adventure. We have been looking forward to this trip for quite a while. Geoff – you are back in my life!!
Looking good at Dad's 80th Birthday Bash
It took us a couple of days of cleaning and sorting after the event, now it was time to pack up for our Spain adventure. We have been looking forward to this trip for quite a while. Geoff – you are back in my life!!
Starting in Barcelona
is like being thrown right into it – Spain at its best, flavours, colours,
tapas, old, new. Good walking shoes are a must. I loved the Tour of the
Medieval Villages and White Villages outside of Seville, great way to see some
of the countryside. To Madrid via speed train – great way to travel in Spain,
very reliable AND meal/drink service included. Impressive. In Barcelona and
Madrid we had to go to the rental office to pick up our keys for our apartments,
unusual for us and not up to date in today’s technology. It involved an
additional taxi ride, Geoff wasn’t happy ☹. We settled in our cute little apartments and into a routine: in
the mornings I went out to get a “Café con Leche”, did laundry, even made some
meals and when "blogger boy" wasn’t hard at work, watched Netflix (caught up on “Grace and Frankie” episodes) due to the lack of English TV.
Toledo – the start
wasn’t the best, having our documents (passports, some CC and cash) stolen left
me quite rattled. Weeks later, I am still racking my brain how it could have
happened, even had a nightmare while in Seville hearing garbage trucks at
night, thinking “no, those are our passports”. Of course, it’s not the end of
the world, but it made me feel vulnerable. Geoff, my rock, took it in stride, determined
this will NOT ruin our plans of seeing churches and anything else medieval, my
friend Pat would say “onwards”!
We are walking a lot
which is good since there is absolutely no other exercise. It’s the best way to
get to know cities like Toledo, Seville and Granada and the other gems. They
are beautiful, charming old cities, very easy to get lost in which is part of
the fun. As always, Geoff is hunting for the best shots - the sun must be in
the right spot! We spend hours in these amazing churches, while he wonders
about when it was built, by whom and why, my mind wanders off to the little boy
throwing a tantrum because he isn’t getting ice-cream, or the wonderfully dressed ladies in their high heals! Most days we reach a 30.000 step count, I wonder if
that’s Geoff’s target number and he wouldn’t stop before reaching it? Of course, the reward is a nice bottle of
wine and tapas, although we are desperate for veggies, salads and fruit which
is hard to find in the small grocery stores who cater to Tourists selling
snacks, drinks and wine. The “real” supermarkets must be on the outskirts. When
we do find salad, tomatoes and fruit, we are excited and have our own version
of Tapas, still washing it down with a nice bottle of wine, amazingly under 5 Euros! More
to see……
No comments:
Post a Comment