Wow! We Really Have Done A Lot in Spain!

Living in Spain provides such a great jumping off point to other European countries.  When we found out we were moving to Madrid, we made a promise to ourselves to travel as much as possible.  I really didn't want to come back to the US for at all over our three year assignment because that would mean a missed trip somewhere in Europe.  I love the good ole US of A, but I'm going to live there for the rest of my life.  Once back in the States, it won't be as affordable to travel to Europe.  So with this in mind, we made the commitment to set aside money for travel.  It's a great opportunity for us and our kids.  There is a military adage that says "Resources follow priorities" and we've made it our priority to set foot in as many new countries as possible.  I did a blog entry about the World map we have hanging up in our kitchen called "Where in the World?" We log our travels and love to look at it when we hear of some interesting current event going on in the world or to dream of places we'd like to visit in this lifetime.

When we think about places we still want to visit before we move back to the States, there are many, and many of them are in Spain.  Sometimes I worry that we will wait to long, thinking we will always have time to visit places in Spain because we live here, kind of like how I have never been to the Statue of Liberty when I went to Jr High, High School and College about 60 miles north of New York City.  Since it won't be so easy to get back to Spain once we return to the US, I want to make sure that we're not short changing Spain in our European travels.  That's why we are planing to go to Córdoba and Sevilla over Thanksgiving.

We still haven't been there after two years in Spain, nor have we visited the North of Spain yet, though we definitely want to walk part of the "Camino" to Santiago de Compostela.  We were supposed to this Spring, but my knee injury got in the way of that.  Fearing I hadn't giving Spain it's due in our travel adventures, I decided to take stock and see just what we have done in Spain while here in Spain...and what I discovered was that we've done a lot...take a look...

We've been to the FB Barcelona fútbol stadium in Barcelona...

We've been to the top of Montserrat to see the Black Virgin just outside of Barcelona...

We met former US President Jimmy Carter at the Old Silk Exchange in Valencia...

We've watch kite surfers on the beaches of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands...

We've sipped Sangria, seaside, in the sleepy town of Rota, outside the Naval Base in the South of Spain...

We've been to El Escorial, the Royal Palace built by Felipe II, which houses the remains of 24 "dead kings and queens" to quote my youngest son...

I've been to mass with my in-laws at the Valley of the Fallen, just north of Madrid.  It's an understandably controversial cathedral built into a mountain where dead from both side of the Spanish Civil War, as well as Franco are buried...

We walked along the top of the medieval wall in Ávila...

We've been to Osborne's Malpica Winery, Osborne is the 2nd oldest family-owned business in Spain, established in 1772, and made friends with their Marketing Director, Carolina...

We've visited an Olive finca (farm) and learned how some of the best oil in the world is made from Spanish olives...

I've seen famous Spanish ceramica being made in the famous pottery town of Puente del Arzobispo...

We've toured the incredible cathedral in Toledo, where popes and cardinals are buried and a mass is said in arabic once a week...

We've walked under the Roman Aqueduct, that has stood for over 2000 years, and toured the Castle where  Ferdinand and Isabella bid farewell to Christopher Columbus before he sailed to what became know as the "New World..."

Walked among the monkeys on the only British territory on the Iberian Peninsula...

We've hiked La Pedriza, the mountains just north of Madrid...

Attended a Misa Rociera, or Flamenco Mass, at the Spanish Church in our neighborhood...

Attended a Misa Rociera, or Flamenco Mass, at the Spanish Church in our neighborhood...

And Madrid...we've had so many good times in Madrid...people watching in the Plaza Mayor

Sampling terrific tapas at one of our favorite bars, The Magister, just off of Plaza Santa Ana...

Eaten lunch and dinner at Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world...

Watched Flamenco at Corral de Moreria...

Bought espadrilles from the world famous Casa Hernanz, just off the Plaza Mayor...

Standing at Kilometer Zero at Puerta del Sol, the point from which all distances in Spain are measured...

We posed in front of the Bear and Strawberry Tree, the symbol of Spain...

We've had churros y chocolate at the famous San Gines, and at our favorite, Churrero Maestro...

We toured the Royal Palace...

Visited the Cathedral...

Toured the Royal Gardens...

Visited the Prado and the Thyssen museums...

Marveled at Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofia...

Toured the home and studio of Spain's most famous impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla...

Celebrated Spain 2010 World Cup win with the rest of Madrid...

Spent the afternoon walking through Retiro Park...

Enjoyed the Turtles of the Atocha Train Station...

Watch Real Madrid defeat the Dutch Team ,Ajax, at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium...

Witnessed a riot of rowdy Dutch fans in the metro...

Listened to opera live while drinking wine from Spain's Rioja region at the Mercado de San Miguel...

Learned how to a Traditional Spanish Tortilla in my Spanish friend's home...

Which led to my writing a Spanish cookbook with my friend, Tiff...

All and all, I'd say that's not bad...still so much more to see...but not too shabby!  

More to follow...Hasta luego...