Day 12 – Touring with Hein

On Monday I got to spend the day roaming around with cousin Hein while he measured for stairs – the brothers are trappenmakers – stair makers, and as I found out, not just any stairs. They do amazing, beautiful work and are featured in places like The Hague, and so many other amazing spots. These […]

Day 11 – The Netherlands!!!

This day was the realization of a life long dream – to visit the home villages of my Grandmother and Grandfather…..Zaandam & Halfweg. I can’t even begin to describe how powerful that moment was when I saw the places where I “came from,” so to speak, and to experience a bit of the Dutch culture. […]

day 10 – new friends

Today was a day for driving out into the back country. WAY back. We left Madrid, entered Guadalajara, then went through this small town, then this small village, and through a windy road back back back up in the hills….to a lovely little home for a bbq – spanish style, with jamon, pan, chorizo, more […]

Day 9 – Ribera del Duero

You know me, you know I love my wine. If you really know me, you know I love my Spanish wine. And if you love to drink wine with me, you know I love my ribera del dueros. So today was uh-maze-ing, in the simple fact that I got to visit this region of Spain’s […]

day 8 – Aranjuez

Day 7 was a day “in” while Maria and Nico packed up to leave for Argentina. Had to say adios to my little man….and all the lovely snuggles coos & smiles I was receiving. Day 8 – Aranjuez, the spring palace of the Kings & Queens of Spain (now just an historical/tourist location). Gorgeous palace […]

no words today

Day 5 – un dia tranquilo

Today was a nice quiet day for a Monday (I had to think about it BEING a monday)….we hung around the flat, I took Nico’s portraits, and then went for a brisk walk around an area of Madrid I explored a few years ago. El Corte Ingles – the store with everything, that is everywhere […]

day 4 – con familia

Today was a day out into the Sierras to Cercedilla (where I spent most of my last trip here) with the family – got to see Rapha again, meet his lovely wife Cristina, and their six month old son, Santiago. Now I have to edit previous posts about the cutest baby in Spain to say […]

perros are cansado (dogs are tired)

Day three – fabulous day just on the streets of Madrid… started out having tapas and wine at 2:30 (b/c who needs breakfast)…. visited a cathedral saw the national palace wandered the streets, dodged the traffic (foot, that is) observed the faces cafe con leche …sigh….i love it here (click to view full image)

Day 2, jetlag recovery

Day 2: a little shopping, a lot of cuddling (the darling Nico, 4 mos old), and recovering from jet lag Oh, and i went to an Irish pub. In Madrid. Had cafe con leche, not guinness. No “when in Rome” for this girl, at least not when I’m still in my beloved Spain! (be sure […]