Sunday by the Sea...

Ahhhh, lazy Sundays.


Spent the morning working on some soup while the kids played and J had his weekly tennis date.  Then, decided the kids needed some outside time before G-Pa came over for dinner.  


So, off to our favorite spot by the sea to throw rocks, search for sea creatures, take some pictures, and climb...

Have no idea what this creature is, but it's facinating.

 I like that the French closed everything on Sunday so you make sure to have family time......

Thanksgiving France style...

Happy T-Day to all!!


Sadly we're not celebrating my favorite holiday today.  The French school system fails to see that my kids should be off today. :)  But, thinking we may move it to Sunday when we have time to cook, nap after eating, and even catch some football on the internet with Sky TV! :)  Now, if I could just import some family....it would be perfect.


With that being said, I returned home today after gathering T from school to find that Santa had come to visit.  He had been shopping at Harrods and thought of us. Seems he wanted to tell the family that we'd been awfully good this year and should celebrate the American (mommy) T-Day with some traditional English (daddy) Christmas goodies.  What a great way to start off the holiday season.  Pass me a mince pie please!!

Mince pies, Cranberry and Orange sauce with Port, Christmas cake, Brandy butter,
Boxing Day chutney, Christmas pudding, and cute little chocolates.

Digging into the mince pies with some brandy butter. 

Yummy!!

Ahhh, back to normal....

Well, the excitement is over.  The sun is out, the seas are calm and the sunbathers and swimmers are back in full swing...

Holy Waves Batman...

So Grandpa says that the moon and sun are in perfect alignment right now so the oceans will be a bit crazy.  WELL, he sure wasn't kidding!!  


Take a look out our windows at what we had in store today..... (not usual for the South of France!)

Now, let me remind you that this is NOT normal for the South of France and that these are the beaches that we swam in just a month or so ago!

For those of you new to this blog, we live in the La Reserve building pictured here getting pelted by the waves.  Luckily, we live on the top floor!

All photos shot by me, not taken from the media coverage. Just in case anyone wants to purchase one or two. :)  ...gotta pay for that pricey French cafe somehow!


Aanywayyyyy, it's still going on and we hope we don't float away overnight.  I'll let you know. :)


Update...we're still here and all is calm again. :)

Tapas and Flamenco Dancers...

Ahhh, a week in Madrid.  We ate lots of tapas, drank lots of Rioja wine (YUMMY), walked all over the city and took in an Operetta.  Over all I'd say it was a very successful adventure.


We were very clever parents on this trip and spent a fortune on having a babysitter from the hotel stay with the kids every night.  They loved her and it was well worth it!  Thank you Maria!!  We got to have that sooo important "adult time" and see what Madrid looked like at night.  One night we took full advantage...we saw a Zarzuella Operetta (my first and definitely NOT my last) and then had champagne at the Palace Hotel.  I felt so cultured. :)  


The capital of Spain is really beautiful with all it's old architecture, lovely roundabouts, parks, fountains, and nice people....

Have to say I was a wee bit worried when we landed with this weather.
But the next day the sun came out to stay!

The Botanical Garden is really nice to walk through and even has a mystery game to follow with questions and clues throughout the park.  Keeps the little ones interested and involved while the adults can relax on a nice walk.

This is called the "Gateway to Europe".  :)

There are lots of small old streets with shops and cafes off different plazas in the center of the city.

The popular Plaza Major.

The interior of a small restaurant in the Plaza Mayor.

Don't really know what this green wall is all about, but thought it was pretty cool!

Just turn left off this main boulevard and you get into all the
Plaza Squares and smaller, more intimate streets.

The Royal Palace.  

Lounging across from the Palace.

 

The Palace Cathedral, right next door to the Palace.

The only Flamenco dancers, besides a couple in the Operetta, we saw in Spain. :)
This is the park across the street from the Royal Palace.

The old architecture is just amazing, and then you'll run into a
fun modern design, like the multicolred building's pic below.

If you go to Madrid, you MUST visit the Museo del Jamon! 

I've never seen so much cured ham!!!!  There is even a tapas style bar to
sit and have a beer and some ham.

Just our luck, we ran into ANOTHER Chocolate Festival!

An indoor food market that is a must see, Mercado de San Miguel, that sells tapas and fresh produce.  
You can eat the tapas right there at standing room only tables in the center or take them home...

Looks pretty popular!!

Their version of Central Park, El Retiro Park, super pretty.....

 

The hotel's lobby...

Our elevator had these cool infinity mirrors.  We had lots of fun with that.

Ahhhhh, my Starbucks, :)

Not sure exactly what the Casa America is, but it has a super fun entrance to the cafe! 
We'll have to check it out on our next trip.

It's a big city with lots to see and yet it still feels very relaxed.  I still ran into a language barrier, but the Spaniards are a bit easier going about it. :)  I'm told Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn, so it's next on my list.


A big thumbs up!!