Spain

It may have cold weather, terrible food, and obscenely high prices, but one thing this great British nation has going for it are bank holidays!


We spent the most recent one (a 4-day Easter weekend) in southern Spain. Good Friday is the culmination of Semena Santa, or Holy Week, and it is marked by elaborate yet solemn parades throughout nearly every city in the country. We enjoyed watching the procession in Marbella, the small coastal town where we stayed, where parishioners from the local church processed through town at about midnight, covered all in black, praying and carrying huge crucifixes.






Saturday was a bit chilly for beach-attire, but perfect for a long run along the beach (especially when I got word that it was snowing in London - let's just say I wasn't exactly missing Hampsted Heath!)

We made every attempt to embrace local customs by venturing out to a bull-fight on Saturday night - although when we realized the bulls were actually being killed as part of the "festivities" (no, I really didn't know that would be the case!) we said a very quick goodbye. (If you decide to look at our full photo album on Shutterfly, be prepared for some pretty graphic images!).









Easter Mass was at a beautiful church in the Marbella city center and although our Spanish was far too limited to participate in most of the service we managed a few "paz de Cristo"'s at the appropriate time.

Luckily the sun decided to come out a bit on Sunday afternoon...






We enjoyed the weather while window shopping at some incredibly posh stores and gazing at huge yachts lining the harbour in Puerto Banus...

And the amazing views while driving to the scenic town of Ronda (no pics of that one - staying on the road and not tumbling down the edge of the mountain was enough of a challenge!)

It was our first trip to this beautiful, friendly, culture-rich country but definitely not the last. Adios for now...


(more pics on Shutterfly - here)

Turkey

In October we had a wonderful visit with Tim's sister, Kiffin. The three of us went to Turkey where we had the pleasure of spending time with her friend, Ecem, husband Steve, and Ecem's Mom and Uncle.

Our first stop was Bodrum - a beautiful town on the Aegean coast - where we spent lots of time by the pool ... visited the Bodrum Castle (built in 1406) ... and saw some artifacts from as early as 14th century BC!

The boys especially enjoyed partaking in the local cuisine (don't ask what kind of meat goes into the kokorec sandwiches...)

And having "the best shave ever" by Steve's local barber...

If by now you've noticed that Tim seemed to be wearing that blue t-shirt quite frequently, you're right - due to sub-par baggage handling proceedures at Turkish Airlines (and possibly the fact that we may have seriously under-tipped the porter due to a mis-interpretation of the exchange rate on Turkish Lira!), Tim had a very limited wardrobe for the first 4 days of our trip. :(

Nevertheless ...

On to Istanbul!

Istanbul is the only city in the world sitting in 2 continents (Europe & Asia for those who weren't paying attention in 6th grade geography) and is an incredibly busy, crowded, fast-paced place.

We were welcomed with traditional Apple Tea...

then visited Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, which are two of the most beautiful mosques among what must be hundreds in the city.

Joining us at Aya Sofia was a very cute group of grey-haired tourists (including one old lady who seeemd to think she was a member of the Las Vegas CSI!) who all took photos, on cue, whenever their tour guide pointed out something of signifacance at the mosque!

We had some great local food

and managed to find a few Starbucks as well :)

The Whirling Dervishes performance is a must-do in Istanbul. These are a special sect of Islam and in this religious ceremony, the Dervishes spin as they believe it brings them closer to Allah. One hand is extended up, and the other down - symbolizing the transferring of teachings and blessing down to the people on earth.

The highlight of our trip was, by far, the people we met. Ecem's hospitality in Bodrum was so wonderful, and we had the pleasure of making a new friend, Jamal, in Istanbul. Jamal has a beautiful rug shop and runs the Green Cafe in Sultanahmet - if you are ever visiting, stop by for some tea, a hookah and some great baklava ... and maybe even a backgammon lesson if you are lucky.

Royal Ascot

It's hard to get "more British" than the infamous Royal Ascot horse race on Ladies Day. Quite experienced in a similar yet much less refined activity (ie, tailgating at football games), we set out to experience Ascot in true style - complete with a Champagne & strawberries picnic, big colorful hats, and morning suits for the boys.

The day started with a lovely picnic where we watched all the big hats come in...

Then off to the racetrack to watch the Queen's arrival...

And finally into the lawn to see (or not to see, in the case of us ladies who were much more interested in Pimms than horses!) the races.

We'll definitely be going again next year... given the looks of some of the other ladies, I should start looking for my hat now!

The rest of our pics are posted to Shutterfly. (click here)

Or you can check out more pics from Ascot here...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/6766791.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2007/jun/22/photography.horseracing?picture=330069009

Portugal with Lauren & Chuckie

We were so thrilled to have Tim's sister, Lauren, and Jen's brother, Chuckie, visit us for 2 weeks last month!

To celebrate Tim's big birthday (yes, the one and only 3-0!), we took a trip to Porto, Portugal. The home to all Port wines (including all the big names... Grahm's, Taylors, etc), this beautiful city sits just beside the Douro Valley and along the Douro River.

Our first day was spent exploring the city and it's many unique delicacies...






We also visited some very authentic outdoor markets, selling gigantic zucchinis, live chickens, and a huge assortment of fish & meat.

Saturday night, for Tim's birthday (and also Lauren's, whose was a few weeks earlier), Jim & Bobbi treated us all to a wonderful dinner. We celebrated the occasion at Don Tonto, Porto's most chic restaurant and one named to the Times' list of the Top 100 Restaurants in Europe.

Though Sunday was a bit overcast & rainy, we managed to take shelter in some of Port's namesake Port cellars where we learned all about the Tawny's, LBV's, Ruby's, and even the lesser-known white Port varieties.







After a great weekend, we came back to London where Tim & Jen went to work and Lauren & Chuck made their way to Dublin for a few days of Irish fun.

Back in London we saw the changing of the guards, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, and Abbey Road. Pics of these, along with more Portugal pics on Shutterfly...

Italy (May '07)

What could possibly be better than a summertime weekend holiday in Italy?!

So, when Becky called to invite us to join her for part of her sabbatical, it took about 15 minutes and we had tickets booked!

We started the weekend in Viareggio, a beautiful beach town near Pisa, where we met Becky, Tamara and Massimo (who was our very kind host, local expert, translator, wine connisieur, tour guide, etc...)

After a night enjoying some local Tuscan wines in Viareggio, we took a train to Cinque Terre - a famous string of 5 towns situated on the Mediterranean. The idea is that you walk (about 9 very hilly kilometres) from one town to the next. Our version: Arrive in town #1 ready for a day of hiking. Town #2 - a bit hungry, need some lunch and a few glasses of wine. Town #3: Really far from Town #2.. or maybe it was just the wine. Town #4 - getting really warm out, time for a bit more wine. Town #5 - well, the photos will have to suffice, as we never made it to the last town. The wine in that 4th town was just too good to stop drinking!

Our next trip was a visit to what is now a serious contender for the title of "our favorite city in the world". Florence. While getting there was a bit of a challenge (yes, striking workers on the trains is quite normal as the locals informed us), with Tim's excellent driving skills and Becky's superb navigation (with support from Jen & Tamara in the backseat and some Fergie tunes as entertainment) we, and our mini-rental car, made it just fine.

We did some shopping...

Saw the Duomo and caught an illegal glimpse of the David....

And had a fabulous dinner with a rather entertaining waiter...

The next day we came back to Pisa for a view of the ever-famous leaning tower (yes, it really does lean, and no, we couldn't find anyone who could tell us why!)

We also made a visit to Massimo's villa (which is on the market, incidentially... so if you're looking for a great fixer-upper in central Tuscany, I can put you in touch!)

http://www.tuscanyseafrontvilla.com/

Sadly, we did have to get back on the plane and fly back to London eventually. Though maybe a good thing... a few more days in Italy and I think we'd have quickly exceeded our recommended ANNUAL allowance for red wine!

More pics are posted to Shutterfly... click here