Brussels

Kekko and Julia and tribe have just moved here a month ago, so we got to see where they are living and what life is like here. They are in a tiny village about 20 minutes outside of Brussels. It is neat and picturesque with horses out behind their house and flowers everywhere. The. boys attend school in French and they live in a Flemish village however the French school is only 7 km away. The teachers tell them it takes about 3 months for the children to get fluent. Argh. Not fair, as I struggle with a bit of Italian.

They live 8 km from the battlefield at Waterloo so we went there one day and it is interesting. Of course nearly 200 years later all is peaceful. The lion on the hill is the memorial.

Boys playing in the garden.

 Duilio loves balsamic .

This is the Gan Plaz of Brussels at night weather is clear and cool, wonderful for strolling. We go to a fantastic restaurant just outside the touristic area and the food is great. Jon has a starter that has whelks in it and they are so good that I ordered them again in Paris and they were horrid.  There must be an art to cooking them.

Jon and Kekko are having a wonderful time.

                          The boys are the highlight of this trip. Good busy busy and active kids.

Guilio

Manlio

Flavio

The bunk house

Posted with Blogsy

Sevilla

The train to Sevilla is enlivened by a group of rowdy teens headed home after all night partying in Granada. It might have been entertaining to us if our Spanish was better as others in the car chuckled occasionally . Fortunately their home was the first stop.

Our first 30 minutes in Sevilla were really interesting as our cab got hopelessly lost in a maze of streets so narrow there are rubber bumpers on the buildings. He tried to drop us at a hostel once and had to put the suitcases back in the cab when I took a look and knew I hadn't booked that place. All worth it when we got to Corral del Rey. Small and drop dead elegant. Hardwood floors and three private patios filled with huge pots and elegant furnishings. The shower is all glass opening on one of the patios and about 6 x 8 ft with two rain heads plus we had a kitchenette with microwave and espresso maker. To top this off they directed us to a fantastic tapas bar where we had great lunch finishing about 5 PM. St Telmo if you ever come this way. We head out from our hotel and pray we can find our way back. It is not easy and the entrance is a door with a keypad on it. So cool and very much like a local would live.

Fountains and city from a horse drawn carriage

Alcazar palace and gardens and cathedral are pre- requisite sites in Sevilla.

Posted with Blogsy

Granada

                                Granada

The train glides through a fantastic landscape from Cordoba to Granada. This is the olive producing heart of the world and for hours we pass thousands of acres and millions of trees. Actually 2.4 million acres and each tree has it's own gps designation as they are so valuable. Rocky barren soil worthless for anything else produces liquid gold. It is beyond comprehension how they tend and keep track of all of this. They produce 2 to 3 times the olive oil of any another country.

The cab drops us, suitcases and all, and driver says, "take second alley to left to find your hotel." Remember the pack light rule? We trudge across the square in the glaring noon sun and dive into the second alley. It is cool and shady and uphill and on stone streets so the suitcases rattle and vibrate. Up, dead end, try right, then an even narrower alley and there it is. Casa 1800 is one of the highest rated hotels in city and up from the patio is our room where we throw open the drapes and across the tile roof tops and up the hill is the legendary Alhambra.  A journey to find this special spot.

We are getting into Spanish time so we head off to have lunch at 3PM.

Jon loves the hams

Two fantastic salads, Jon's tomatoes and mine is oranges, salted cod, eggs and onion and black olives. Sounds awful but is like eating liquid sunshine, freshness of the oranges are ambrosia.

Music from street performers fill the air and the streets are lined with stalls selling spices. To live the moment take your spice cabinet and dump it upside down while listening to Lady of Spain on guitar.

One of the wonders of the Alhambra is the way the sun paints it red as it sets. We saw this magical moment from our room and it lasts only a few minutes, then poof it is gone.

This is the street in front of the hotel. Main doorway is just behind me.

Entrance to the hotel lobby

It is hot here in mid day but by 10 PM it is cold and at 7 AM when we head for the square for breakfast it is still cold. When I booked our tickets for the Palace for a 8:30 AM time little did I realize how pleasant it would make the visit. We are second ones in door so no crowds and it is so cool for all the time we are there that it is totally delightful. The center piece of the Alhambra is the sultans palace and the gardens.

View from windows of the palace.

The gardens of the palace are filled with fountains. First the aquaduct was located to bring in water and then the house and gardens are built around the water source. To the desert dwelling Moors water was the symbol of heaven. We are reminded once again that it is good to be king or sultan or bishop in Spain.

We are off to Seville and are drawing a few conclusions about the area. One thing that really surprises us is that this part of Spain is not a wine culture. Bars are lively but 90 percent of people are drinking sangria or mixed drinks. No wine stores and in the grocery stores wine is mostly 1 to 10 eu a bottle. Restaurants do not offer a wine list. White, tinto( summer red) or Rioja (Cabernet). However at a very nice outdoor bar we find good wine at 3 eu a glass and every glass is accompanied by a wonderful tapas compliments of the Casa. Our meals are pretty much tapas as they are so good and the perfect size. No need to split giant plates of food here and we get to try lots and lots of different dishes.

Planning this trip I checked the weather beforehand and it should be 85-89 this time of year and while hot that would not be too bad. However the weather ever fools us as it has been 95-98.  We are learning to siesta and taking long night strolls when it is cool and the cities are filled with people.

Posted with Blogsy