Surprise, surprise! An Aunt that I haven’t seen since 1996 turned out to be touring through Spain on a Rick Steves Tour!  She checked her schedule, and we decided we could meet up on All Saints Day, November 1st, in Arcos de la Frontera. After a long 2 1/2 hour drive (which included a stop in the beautiful city of Ronda), as well as several roadside stops to clean up Ethan, who did not manage the windy road very well. In fact, his...

Let’s face it. When we drove down the coast of Spain from the Northeast to the Southern coast, we weren’t too…well…impressed. What we expected to be a scenic drive instead turned out to be endless desert-like land (reminded us of Idaho), with the occasional seaside town full of high-rises that overpowered any possible local character or charm. As we drove further South, those towering high-rises were replaced with mile after mile of...

Last week we were able to visit the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. They limit how many tourists may enter in one day, and therefore tickets are highly sought after. We had to purchase our tickets in advance online (13.50 Euros each, kids free), and so we picked the clearest day on the weather forecast. Low and behold, that day rolled around and shared with us the worst weather, yet!  If we had not already booked our tickets, we certainly...

When we found out that this week was the Feria de San Pedro de Alcantara, we were excited!  Like Mexico, Spain’s little cities and villages each celebrate the Patron Saint of each city once a year…which leads to a LOT of fiestas (supposedly 2,000+ in the Andalusia area of Spain, alone)! On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, eager to make it to the first events on the Feria calendar: Activities for kids at 11am When...

Today the kids all woke up happy, ate their breakfast when asked, were ready for church on time, and were fairly well-behaved during the long 4 hours we were there. When we came home, I asked the girls if they wanted to help me cook dinner, and I can’t tell you how excited they were! I don’t know about you, but I seriously dislike helpers in the kitchen. I like to go in, get the meal cooked, and not have anyone in my way (unless...