Under the Tuscan Sun

There are times in your life, when everything goes very smoothly during a holiday. Our recent 10-day Italian extravaganza journey set a new standard for our future vacations.

Dreams of sunshine warming our white Holland faces were put on hold upon our arrival to our first destination, an agriturismo (old farmhouse converted to a guesthouse), located just south of the city of Siena. The rain fell like sheets from the sky, forcing us to spend our first day (Thursday) exploring the region by car. The beautiful hillside towns, most covered with the vines that Tuscan winemakers have made so famous, were beautifully washed in a deep green of Springtime.

Friday dawned beautifully, and Stacey thoroughly enjoyed her morning run down winding roads that see almost no auto traffic. We headed for Siena later in the morning, a small city that is very special for Stacey since she lived there for over 3 months when she was in college.

We sat in the wonderful city piazza, staring up at the huge clock tower that stands as the city’s most recognizable landmark. Of course, the kids were very excited to climb the tower, see the bell(s), and take in the bi

rd’s eye view of Tuscany. Naturally, the kids subsisted on a steady diet of gelato (Italian ice cream), which can be found in as many flavors as you can imagine. 

For the curious, Dad liked the cantaloupe flavor, Mom loved banana or hazelnut, while Maya settled on a mixture of “cream” and strawberry. Cole insisted on the (horrific) flavor train-wreck of chocolate and lemon. When we let the kids add a 3^rd flavor, they both chose mint chocolate chip, which we cannot get in Holland. Whatever rocks your boat!

Saturday found us in the wonderful little town of Volterra, where we walked most of the day, enjoying gelato several times, trying a number of pieces of pizza, and drinking more wine than good judgment might advise.

A culinary note: We were as excited to eat great food and drink great wine as the kids were to eat gelato. And typically, we were not disappointed one bit in either. Space here is far too short to list each of the culinary delights we discovered or to log the numerous bottles of wine that fell in service to Mr. & Mrs. Pressler. Suffice to say that our taste buds were very well catered to throughout the journey!

On Sunday, we drove south to Rome, opting for the car instead of the train so we could enjoy some of the sights along the way. We chose the scenic coastal route and stopped for lunch in the town of Porto Santo Stefano (nothing too special, in our opinion), and then stopped 30 minutes outside of Rome and grabbed a local train the rest of the way to avoid Rome’s parking nightmare.

Sunday afternoon and a very full Monday were spent in the magnificent (if dusty) city of Rome. On Sunday, we explored many of Rome’s great fountains (hubs of activity), including the Trevisi Fountain made famous by the movie “Roman Holiday.” We waited until the nighttime, so we could see it gorgeously illuminated by lights. To insure our return to Rome, we all pitched in coins over our shoulder. Maya and Cole were fascinated as they watched a street artist create landscapes with spray paint, the tourists lined up waiting for a chance to buy one.The Spanish Steps were also included in our Sunday tour.

Monday morning, we headed to Vatican City, taking in the incredible architecture and church history. St. Peter’s Basilica is astounding. We took the lift half way to the top of the dome, but climbed the winding and curved stairs to the viewing platforms on the peak to enjoy the stunning views of Rome. The adjoining Sistine Chapel is beyond words, and the magnitude of the Vatican is one that is very difficult to properly describe.

Later in the day, we explored the incredible Colosseum, where Cole in particular was kept interested with tales of battles and fighting. Both kids were kept interested with gelato bribes along the way, and amazed us with how much fun they had.

On Tuesday, we bid ciao to Rome and headed back north to Tuscany. On the way to our agriturismo west of Florence, we took a detour off the highway to the wine lover’s paradise of Montepulciano. The town itself is very sleepy and not at all overrun by tourists, which appealed to us greatly. Wine shops dot every street, and we took the opportunity to pick up a few bottles that we would carefully tote back with us to Amsterdam.

Our arrival near Empoli at the guesthouse that would be our home for the next 4 nights took a little bit of expert navigational skills, but once we found it...it was like stepping into another world, nestled into hills whose beauty defy description. Stacey and I enjoyed the most amazing runs through the hills each morning, every vista more beautiful than the last. It was surreal--we just couldn’t believe we were enjoying a run in Tuscany...simply magical.

The “neighbor’s place” (Fattoria di Piazzano) was a wonderful vineyard, accessed via a 10 minute walk down a gravel road, onto a grass path that wove through vines, up a dirt driveway, and finally terminating at a showroom around the back of the wine processing building. Mrs. Bettarini gladly poured a glass of wine for tasting, which was exceptional. One of the Sangiovese varietals produced at this vineyard is called Ventoso (“wind”), due to the strong winter winds that blow from the Mediterranean coast. One fall a few years ago after a particularly good storm, the winemaker discovered sea salt deposits on the grape leaves, despite the fact that Empoli sits 71 kilometers (44 miles) inland! Unfortunately, we were unable to taste or purchase any of the olive oil produced on the farms due to a poor harvest of olives the previous season.

The iconic image of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is familiar to everyone, but on Wednesday, we were to get an up-close-and-personal look at the marble tower whose construction--and leaning--began in 1173. 

Over the next 820 years, visitors have been captivated by this architectural oddity, including us. At the foot of the tower is the most impressive and largest manicured “lawn” that I’ve seen in all

 of Europe.

Here's a short video of the kids having a blast in Pisa:

After leaving Pisa (and buying the obligatory small tower statues for the kids), we continued west to the coastal town of Viareggio, which in the summer is overrun with Italians vacationers. There wasn’t much happening during our visit, but the kids did enjoy the sand and small seaside carnival rides.

The granddaddy of all art cities in the world must certainly by Florence, Italy, which was our destination for Thursday. The day began with sunshine and temperatures that were as high as we had experienced on the entire trip. We arrived via a train from Empoli and eagerly boarded a double-decker bus for our tour of the magnificent city. Almost immediately upon departing, black clouds moved into the city, blocking the sun and foreshadowing heavy rain that followed soon after. The cloudbursts held off long enough for us to see many of the major sights including the beautiful Ponte Vecchio covered bridge, the Uffizi gallery’s exterior, and the enormous Florence Duomo. Then...the rains came with a vengeance, putting a challenging end to our day in “art central.” 

Since we had the common sense not to drag the kids into any art galleries, we didn’t fall prey to the affliction known as Stendhal syndrome. More info HERE. Scary stuff! ;-)

Fortunately for our moods, Friday was a gorgeous day, and we headed out to the beautiful town of Lucca, which certainly knows how to treat its visitors well but isn’t overrun by tourists and spoiled by endless boutique stores. The town is encircled by huge ancient city walls that effectively protected its citizens for centuries from every attack. Today, these walls make for a perfect family bike tour, which we all enjoyed in the warm sunshine, followed by a delicious lunch at a tiny trattoria in the city center.

Back on the road, we stopped at Pinocchio Park in the town where the story was written, but decided not to pay the obscene entry charges for that tourist trap.  Instead we detoured through the town of Montecatini Terme, well-known in the region for its high mineral content waters and healing spas. After the long vacation, we all could have used a bit of a warm soak. Fortunately, we found an inexpensive mineral pool facility that welcomed families with children. The hour-long soak felt fine, indeed.

All good things must come to an end, including our incredible vacation. Tuscany, drenched in sunshine, bathed in verdant green, and lifted up into the clouds by the interminable spirit of her people, will occupy a special place in our memories and hearts forever.

Check out ALL of the photos from our Tuscan holiday HERE.

Paris--oooh, la, la!

Our big spring vacation plans to Italy had been made, but as the end of March approached, we realized that Nike would be closed for a long Easter weekend. What else to do with our time than book ourselves train tickets to Paris?!?

We found an apartment in the 6th District (St. Germaine) at the recommendation of Stacey’s co-workers, and it was perfectly situated for us to explore the city. The weather was quite cold all weekend, with rain showers on and off all day on Saturday. But the sunshine on Friday and Sunday made up for the one day of bad weather.

On Friday we visited Notre Dame (opting not to climb the tower with the kids, which seemed overly ambitious), ate crepes, and took a sightseeing boat ride on the Seine River. The kids were thrilled to guess which bridge Madeline might have fallen off of into the river from when she was saved by a dog...with sincere apologies to those of you not familiar with the Madeline stories.

We had a great dinner at a brasserie, and when we got back to the apartment the kids collapsed into bed. We’d heard the lines to take the lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower could be brutally long, so we arrived first thing in the morning on Saturday. BIG mistake. We suffered through cold, rain, wind, and the misery of arriving 30 minutes early due to a guidebook error (damn you, Lonely Planet!). Still, we braved the weather. 

The kids weren’t quite as happy with the views as we were, but they were excited to have made it all the way to the top of Monsieur Eiffel's great masterpiece.

Their treat was a trip to a café for hot chocolates and baguettes. The cab driver was rude (surprise, surprise) when we gave him the address, telling us we should have walked because it wasn’t very far.  But we didn’t care; we were cold, and willing to pay the minimum cab fare to get out of the wind and rain.

After some down time back at our apartment, we headed back out to explore more of the city as the sun returned. We visited the Obelisk, saw the Arc de Triomphe from a distance, and walked through the Jardin du la Concord up to the Louvre. We opted out of going into the museum because we couldn’t imagine a more boring way to spend the time for the kids. Instead, they rode the carousel in the park, played in the maze of bushes, and tried to avoid all the puddles from the rain.

More chocolate was in our immediate future, with a trip that afternoon to the famous Ladurée Bonaparte, where we all indulged in pots of hot chocolate--which is actually more like drinking melted chocolate or chocolate pudding--and ate delicious mint chocolate pastries.

Sunday was Easter, and we let the kids just play in the apartment since we’d rushed them out the previous morning. Mom and dad took turns having an amazing run, going from the apartment to the Louvre, through the park to the Obelisk and then up to the Arc de Triomphe. The sun was shining, and it was spectacular!

Easter didn’t seem complete without an easter egg hunt. Lucky for us, a local park was hosting one for the kids. After registering each kid for 2 Euro, they were allowed to find 3 colored eggs, and trade them for a chocolate croissant and a bag of chocolates. We couldn’t read the French instructions, so our kids went out with usual egg hunt enthusiasm, and started filling their bags. We were politely told about the “rule of 3” and so we went about re-hiding the eggs for all the other children.

Here's a short video clip of the egg hunting action:

Despite the cold and rain on Friday, we really had a fantastic time in Paris. After staying in an apartment, we will probably consider them for many of our future trips. It’s really great to have so much space, a kitchen to cook our own breakfasts, and a washing machine to launder the clothing.

Click HERE for a peek at all of the photos from our Paris trip.

Busy Bees

After weeks and weeks of practice, we were recently treated to a presentation of the critically-acclaimed British School of Amsterdam's rendition of "Honey." The 4-year olds did marvelously!

Cole was of course shining on the stage, singing loudly and enthusiastically, and we were beaming with pride! Dressed in yellow t-shirts painted with black stripes, black tights, and yellow faces with black stripes – they played their parts as bees very convincingly.

HERE is a link to the photos from the show.

And below is a short video snippet...

Maya's 7th Birthday Party

Our little princess isn't so little anymore! Maya's 7th birthday party was a hit, celebrated with friends a couple weeks early, since her birthday fell during the 2 week school Easter break (and would coincide with our trips to Paris (see above) and Italy. Maya invited 3 friends for a sleep-over party (Namisha, Ellie and Sofia). As it turned out, only Sofia spent the night – because Namisha’s dad told us it’s just not done in the Indian culture, and Ellie’s mom said she just wasn’t’ ready to sleep away from home.

The girls had a great time – putting on makeup, dancing to music with her new disco ball, watching movies and eating popcorn. Cole was very fortunate, because Sofia seemed to have a crush on him, and insisted that he be included in all activities – even bringing his mattress into Maya’s room for the sleeping portion. He was thrilled, and Maya didn’t seem to mind too much since Sofia was insistent. At the end of the evening when Greg took Ellie & Namisha home, they said it was “the BEST party ever”. So cute!

A few days later, Maya (and Daddy) made cupcakes to share with her classmates.

HERE is a link to all the photos from the party.

An Alpine Holiday

Ah, the Alps. The mere mention of the word can instantly clear the mind and bring visions of sunshine, craggy mountaintops, and clean, fresh air.  Last week, we loaded up the car to prepare for our family's journey to Austria to introduce the kids to skiing and get some well-deserved r&r.

 

The drive from Amsterdam, if you believe the internet, was supposed to take 9 1/2 hours. But German traffic jams had something else to say about that, turning the overall journey into a 12+ hour affair. We set out on Friday after the kids were done with school, intending to split the drive into two sections. Our goal on day 1: Make it as far as Frankfurt. The only stop of note on the first night was at a delightful Italian restaurant in a tiny little German/Dutch border town. We trusted the handy GPS unit to find us "food", and the darn thing worked like a charm. Nobody spoke a word of English, but it was just as well...the proprietor was able to communicate and deliver his delicious food to us with no problems.

 

Onward we drove to Frankfurt, and we exited the Autobahn just outside the city, again calling upon the GPS to find our first night's lodging. It looked pretty sketchy as we made turn after turn, descending deeper and deeper into what appeared to be an industrial or trucking company building complex. But don't doubt your GPS! Around the last turn was this quaint little German hotel where we would rest our bones for the night.

 

The second part of the drive to our destination of Kleinarl, Austria, a quaint village nestled snugly in the Alps, is best left for another day over a cold adult beverage. Suffice to say that the traffic snarls were VERY unpleasant.

 

But whatever tensions we might have had brewing within were released as we entered Austria and began the winding drive to Kleinarl. For those of you who have never seen them, they seem to me a bit of a cross between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades. Throw in the magic of the Austrian people and their warmth and hospitality, then you kind of get the picture.

 

This was a shared holiday, and we eagerly awaited the arrival of our friends. The Kincaids (Che/Wendy/Amalie) would arrive on Sunday, but the Tam-Naulty's (Greg/Amy/Abigail) arrived not too long after we did on Saturday.

 

Our home away from home was the Hotel Angerwirt, which was positioned perfectly in the town...just a 2 minute (free) van shuttle ride to the ski lift and a 35-second walk to the cross-country trails that Stacey and I used extensively throughout the week. As is typical in many of these smaller Austrian ski towns, one main lift services the town, which you then use to access a much bigger network of trails on adjoining mountains. Taking a trip up your main lift to mid-mountain, using another to get to the top, skiing down the other side, riding up ANOTHER mountain....and back home again...can take the better part of the day.

 

Maya and Cole were thrilled about entering the ski school, and after a few days, they both felt confident and comfortable on their skis. The ski school was structured very well, and somewhat humorously, most of the instructors were DUTCH gals who were fulfilling some type of college credit! But those were about the only Dutch that we saw most of the week--an odd fact, I thought. According to a British guy I spoke with briefly on the slopes one day, in the neighboring town of Flachau most of the tourists were from the Netherlands. By contrast, in Kleinarl, most of the tourists were from the province of Lower Austria, which was having their spring break. There was also a smattering of Germans, Polish, Czech, and plenty of folks from Denmark. Other than the British guy I mentioned, I encountered no others from the UK, and ZERO Americans. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a nice side-benefit of taking the path less traveled. Stacey mentioned as we were waiting in one lift line that one of the most annoying things about skiing is dealing with obnoxious people and their inane conversations while waiting. But if you can't understand (most) of the language, no problem!

 

The kids had a blast each day, and were very content to spend all day with their classes. This gave Stacey and I time to enjoy the slopes as well as some classic and skating xc skiing. Of course, I insisted on making sure that the Austrian hefeweizen beer was up to par, and I was afforded ample opportunities. I would even go as far as saying that enjoying a hefeweizen mountainside in the Austrian Alps is about as good as it gets.

 

Another thing that really helped our attitudes during the week was the abundance of sunshine. Every day, save for one, was filled with brilliant light. Those of you from the Pacific NW of the US or from the Netherlands can understand the value of the golden ball of fire showering us with her goodness.

 

Like most holidays, we basically lived from meal to meal, spreading our evening dining experience between a number of  local eateries. The kids, especially Maya, fell in love with Wiener Schnitzel! The salads were huge and delicious, and the kasnocken (a cheesy Spätzle dish), Kaiserschmarrn (shredded, carmelized, fried pancakes!), and other local specialties were incredible. For adult beverages besides beer, our group enjoyed the varnish-removing and mind-clearing properties of both Glühwein and Jagertee.

The week would too soon come to a close, but not before the kids were honored in the week-ending awards presentation. We almost blew it off in order to get some swimming time in back at the hotel, but are we glad we didn't! The kids were positively beaming, so proud at their accomplishments on skis. Multiply that pride by 100 for mom & dad!  All age groups had a slalom race on the last afternoon, and Maya's age group was timed!  Cole got a medal for his participation, and Maya won 3rd place and was given her first trophy - she was thrilled.

 

Speaking of the pool, the swimming area at the hotel was exceptional. The owners must have pumped a few hundred thousand Euro into the pool alone, which featured a stainless-steel main pool, an aromatherapy/steam room, standard sauna, infrared sauna, foot bath, tea drinking/lounging area, workout room, and tanning bed room. We all loved soaking our muscles here at the end of each long day.

 

Before we left, we booked a sleigh ride for the whole group - partly on the roads and then straight across the snowfields - just as you'd picture it. The driver picked us up at our hotel, where we embarked on a 60-minute journey to a restaurant at the end of the valley, nestled on the shores of a lake called Jagersee. The ride, the meal, and the return ride in the sleigh under the stars capped off what could be the perfect family vacation.

Check out all of the pictures from our trip by clicking HERE.

 

The School Commute

Here's a slice of daily life...getting ready for the ride to school. Fortunately, we ride in much more daylight as we get closer to Spring.

Hij Ligt Voor Pampus

On a warm day in Los Angeles almost 24 years ago, Hans Koeleman, a Dutchman with Olympic dreams, circled the track in a qualifying heat of the 3000-meter steeplechase. He ran with purpose, no doubt filled with pride to be representing the Netherlands on the worlds biggest athletic stage. He would repeat the feat in Seoul in 1988, this time progressing further in the qualifying heats.

On a cold, windy, and brilliant day yesterday in the Netherlands, I joined Hans for a two-hour run through some beautiful countryside on the outskirts of Amsterdam. As we plodded through muddy bogs on parts of the reclaimed island of Ijburg, we shared tales of two lifetimes spent in pursuit of the joy of running.

For Hans, who retired from competitive running in the late 1980s, the passion for the sport--albeit on a much different level--was rekindled in 1998 when he completed his first marathon in New York City. Since then, he has gone on to complete a number of marathons and ultramarathons, including the reknown Comrades Ultra in South Africa 4 times. We discussed the logistics of the race since I have been contemplating doing it myself. Thanks to an introduction by a mutual friend Che Kincaid, I was able to pick Hans' brain for a few hours as we enjoyed the scenery.

A former hardcore member of the academia (he had abandoned his pursuit of a Ph.D. in history to work for Nike), Hans shared various historical points of interest with me throughout the run. At one point, we ran across a dike that dated back to Medieval times, passing flocks of sheep who sometimes blocked out path. Small garden plots and adjoining "sheds" dotted the landscape, offering a place for city dwellers to grow and harvest their own vegetables (apparently, the waiting lists for the plots are long). Cows grazed in nearby meadows, and ships swayed vigorously in the adjacent sea (part of the ancient Zuiderzee), anchored just off the shoreline. 

We approached our turnaround point, the Muiden Castle ("Muiderslot"), and I was dumbfounded at the beauty of the area, the castle, and the sense of the "please pinch me" moment.

On our return, we gazed across the water at an island in the distance. "We have a saying in Dutch," said Hans: " 'Hij ligt voor Pampus,' which means 'he's very tired' or 'he's completely exhausted." Hans gestured out toward the island and continued his explanation. "That is Pampus Island. In the days of sailing ships, the wind at this part of the Zuiderzee, near the island, would often go completely still. The ships would be dead in the water off the coast of Pampus Island, and hence the expression."

But the run left me anything but feeling exhausted. The stimulating conversation and shared experience of a great Sunday run (with an Olympian, no less) left me as invigorated and inspired as I've felt in weeks.

A note to my track geek friends: Hans was a two-time All-American at Clemson University. In 1980, he was the ACC Champion in the mile and two-mile run. He is Clemson's record holder in the two mile run with a time of 8:33.03. Outdoors, he earned All-America honors in the 3000m steeplechase in 1981, 1982 and 1983. He won conference titles in the steeplechase twice (1982, 1983) as well as the 5000m crown in in 1983. His steeplechase p.r. is 8:18.02 (Budapest, 1985), which was the Dutch national record for over 20 years until being broken by European record holder Simon Vroemen. He competed in both the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic games.

Blog updates

Thanks for all of the comments on the blog. We have a lot of fun bringing you updates.

Two new updates include a full range of photos from both of our recent trips to Spain. Look at the end of the Espana! and Barcelona! blog entries for links to the photo albums.

Barcelona!

I promise that I won't overdo the exclamation points this time, but Barcelona was exceptional.

Stacey was scheduled to attend the Bread & Butter fashion tade show last weekend, so I decided to join her for an extended weekend trip. With her mother visiting us in Amsterdam, babysitting duties were covered.

Barcelona has perhaps eclipsed other cities as my favorite destination in Europe. Revitalized for the 1992 Olympic Games, the city is the shining jewel of Spain. Everything that makes a European city great can be found here: Incredible cuisine, a vibrant nightlife, architecture that leaves you breathless, bustling markets...and plenty of sunshine!

After landing at the airport, I boarded a free, clean, and convenient train and soon connected to the city's subway system. As soon as I emerged from the station in the heart of the city, I knew that the trip would be magical. First, I had to shake off the dust with a glass of Sangria at a tapas bar next to the hotel. Stacey soon met me, and we shared another glass before heading out to meet her enchanting co-workers for a delectable dinner at a locally-owned restaurant that sat on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

On Friday, I managed to slip through the gates of the trade show with Stacey (don't ask!). As with any huge international trade show, the booths and products displayed seemed to go on forever. Multiple levels of the main exhibit hall displayed sportswear, fashion lines, denim, and accessories from across the globe. A big "wow" factor.

The rest of the day was spent wandering about the city, weaving through tiny streets, ducking in and out of shops, and satiating our appetite for food and drink. Say what you will about the cuisine of the rest of the world...Spanish tapas deserve their place near the top of the heap.

In the late afternoon, we headed north from the city to the Parc Guell, enjoying the famed architect Antoni Gaudi's incomparable tiled creations--benches, sculptures, rooftops, and caverns. 

The view of the entire city was remarkable.

The walk back to the city center took hours and numerous food and drink stops, culminating in one of the many small plazas of the Gracia neighborhood where we enjoyed a meal adjacent to a magnificent bell tower. Needless to say, we slept well that night.

More adventure was on tap for Saturday. But first, we enjoyed a late breakfast/early lunch in the Born district (yes, more tapas!). From there, we walked along the famed La Rambla, enjoying people-watching as much as anything. La Boqueria, Barcelona's enormous food/produce/meat market is the most spectacular I've ever seen. If you're familiar with Amsterdam, think Noordermarkt on steroids x 100!

Onward we went, again heading to higher altitudes, this time to an incredible cathedral that sits high above the city, accessed by a series of trolleys and trams. The views? To say "breathtaking" would be doing the English language a grave injustice and perhaps making the understatement of the century.

I should mention at this point that our traveling companion for the weekend was a good friend from the States and a co-worker of Stacey's, Sam Halvorsen, whose infectious laugh made the journey always fun. 

Plus, she's got a knack for finding just the "right" souvenir at gift shops! ;-) 

A long night out was ahead of us on Saturday. We kicked off the night by attending an incredible flamenco dancing show. I'm normally very skeptical of tourist-oriented shows, but this one was first class, at nearly bud

get prices. The music, the singing, and mostly, the dancing were done with a passion rarely seen with stage shows, and virtually

 every aspect of the show was performed with precision and professionalism. And the Sangria kicked ass, too.

Perhaps it was the Sangria, but after we left the flamenco show, I felt a tear form in my eye and a lump in my throat as we looked up at the incomparable Sagrada Familia. It's beauty is challenging to put into words. 

Remarkably, this intricate masterpiece of a church was begun in 1882, and construction continues to this day, with its finish projected sometime around 2026! The sight alone of the magnificent structure is inspirational.

We had an amazing time going to a number of fun night spots, at one time wedging ourselves into an impossibly small aisle with a Danish friend of Sam's who lives in the city. But again, the bed felt comfortable at the end of the evening.

Like any great adventure, this one came to an end all too quickly. If you have never visited Barcelona, I suggest you make reservations sometime very soon to discover, as we did, one of the more incredible destinations on the European continent.

Click HERE to see ALL of the photos we took in Barcelona.

Espana!

Every sentence written about Spain should end in an exclamation point (and begin with an upside-down one, if you know your Spanish)! There are few better ways to describe the intensity, beauty, and spice of the country, regardless of how laid back a small Spanish town might appear to the casual observer!

We chose Spain for our Christmas/New Year/Birthday holiday trip, and were rewarded with a very memorable journey! While many Dutch and other Europeans head for warmer winter

 climates, we chose the moderate temps of Espana’s Costa del Sol and were not disappointed! With the sun on our face for all but 1 or 2 days of the trip, we enjoyed a

 leisurely break from Amsterdam life with a wide variety of Spanish experiences!

Malaga was our destination airport, and our home base was the resort town of Fuengirola, a 20 or 30-minute drive from the airport! We wisely chose to rent an apartment unit, which offered us the ability to cook food and use this location as our jumping off point for numerous day trips! Here are the highlights of those trips!

Gibraltar

If you’ve seen the Prudential Insurance logo (Get a Piece of the Rock), you’ve seen an outline of the Rock of Gibraltar! An English territory, Gibraltar isn’t big but is quite impressive, both geologically and historically! We took a van tour to the top of the rock and were treated to siege tunnels (dug by hand in the 1700s to protect the territory from the inevitable Spanish invasion), a colony of legendary Gibraltarian monkeys, and the kids first taste of British fish and chips! It was like a little slice of London, transplanted to southern 

Spain, within 12 miles of the coast of Morocco! The strategic importance of Gibraltar is made very clear as one gazes across the water and envisions 17^th or 18^th century clippers nicely making way at cruising speed en route to points east! One rather curious feature of Gibraltar is the airport: The isthmus is quite narrow and therefore quite restrictive to the size of aircraft that can land (737’s are the upper limit)! The runway bisects the road into Gibraltar, which must be closed when aircraft are taking off or landing! Once the plane passes and is at the gate or in the air, the barricades rise and foot and auto traffic is allowed to pass, traveling directly over the tarmac of the runway!

Ronda

No, it’s not the name of a Beach Boys song! Ronda is an incredible little town nestled in the rolling countryside and deep canyons of inner Andalusia, housing Moorish architecture, a gorgeous town, and Spain’s oldest bullfighting ring! 

The kids loved the bullfighting ring, and I swear that I could feel the ghost of Hemmingway

 

as we sat in the sun and gazed upon the ring! Maya and Cole each had great fun playing the bull to their father’s role of the matador! The bell tolls for thee!*

Mijas

Ah, Mijas! Perhaps the most lovely town of our trip, this small village sits in the hills above Fuengirola and overlooks the Mediterranean and the coast! With winding, steep

 streets, it’s easy—and a whole lot of fun—to get lost amidst the whitewashed buildings and storefronts! Donkeys, colorfully decorated, pull touristas in small carts about the town, but we opted to travel by foot in our explorations! Cole particu

larly enjoyed the delicious candied almonds sold by street vendors! Daddy enjoyed his 40^th birthday lunch in a nice café overlooking the sea, drenched in sunshine, as well as a wine tasting (mmm, Rioja! Grenache! Tempranillo!) in a small, backstreet wine shop! And we all had fun with other families at a kids’ playground perched on one of the town’s highest streets! Mijas!! The town deserves a double dose of exclamations!!

Benalmadena Costa

The best way to see a long, long way on the Costa del Sol is to take a gondola ride from this little village that sits between Fuengirola and Malaga! Up we went in our little cable car, high above the sea and town! At the apex of the ride, we got out and hiked even higher (w

hich didn’t seem possible) and enjoyed another brilliantly sunshiny day! Before heading back down, we were treated to a show from a well-trained Andalusian horse and handler!

Grenada

Well, this town was a bit of a bust for us, the most disappointing of the trip! We had intended to visit the legendary Alhambra, an ancient Moorish fortress, but tickets must be purchased long in advance and when we arrived on 31 December, we were S.O.L. (aka, “outta luck”)! The next day was a holiday, so same story! So, we explored the streets a bit and grabbed dinner at a Chinese restaurant, a heckuva way to celebrate New Year’s Eve! Spaniards have a rather unique New Year’s custom, which involves ingesting one grape on EACH stroke of the clock at midnight! So, BONG!, one grape in the mouth! A second later, BONG!, in goes the second grape, etc. onward to the 12^th stroke of the clock! Happy New Year!, you now have a mouthful of 12 freakin’ grapes to contend with! Hopefully (unlike me) you chose to purchase pit-free or pre-pitted grapes so you’re not crunching grape nuts along with your fruit! The fireworks continued for hours, but we hit the sack out of exhaustion!

Alpujarra

Leaving Grenada, we drove southward to the Sierra Nevada mountains to see the scenery! And oh, were the vistas incredible! The Alpujarra is a series of small towns & villages that dot this incredible landscape, each nestled in a canyon or perched upon a rock outcropping! After buying a bag of deliciously sweet oranges from an old man alongside the winding road (!), we drove up, up, up to the tiny village of Canar, not far from the town of Orgiva! As the kids played at a park, we looked out over the beautiful landscape, listening to the drums of hikers/trekkers from across the nearest valley, and gazed contently at the sheepherder who tended flock just below the village! I wonder if the job of sheepherding comes with health insurance, or if it’s just built into the job description!

Fuengirola

As our host town, we had ample time to enjoy the seaside boardwalk and restaurants! We dined at Italian, Indian, Dutch, and Spanish tapas res

taurants! We shopped in the amazing Spanish supermarket Eroski! And the kids loved playing and exploring the castle that was just ¼ mile from our hotel, with it’s incredible views of the sea, beautiful architecture, and vibrant history! Maya and Cole really enjoyed the steep steps to the castle’s highest parapets (something that would NEVER be allowed in the litigious US society!) and pretending that they were tour guides!

Alas, all vacations must come to an end! A day or two of clouds weren’t enough

 to dampen our spirits or enthusiasm for the people of Spain and their wonderful hospitality and friendliness! Did I mention the paella?!?!!

Click HERE to see ALL of the photos from the trip.

*“If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” –John Donne, 1623