Road trip to Vejer!

Get in the car! Here we come! We are going visit a town called Vejer de la Frontera. We went with four other families to do some sight seeing. We had some very exciting things planned while we visited this town!  It was a beautiful drive to see the countryside and not to long of a trip either.

Vejer is a Moorish town located on a high hill over looking farm land and the Barbate River. It is also a town with white washed painted houses. Many refer to these white towns as a pueblo blanco towns. In this region, there are a few others that I like to see and share with you! (But that is for another day my friends!) The views in this town were amazing! The twisty,curvy roads and views were just incredible. I think I could have spent another whole day here just taking it in! The courtyards were so beautiful with blooming flowers and plants. 

                                                                                                            

But after a walk through this town,we found the burro rides! A large group of us met to take this amazing journey with our excited children. We could not wait to see a park and the views of the sea on a Burro!!!

The burros were dressed and ready to go! Which one would you want to take on this journey? I was praying not for a stubborn one!

Each parent was accompanied with a child. We were off to see the park and see more beautiful views of Spain!! In two groups of burros,down the path we went. The park was full of wonderful smelling pine trees.

 Here we are riding through the park.  This trail was steep! Hang on tight!

 When we arrived at the top of the hill to our left was an incredible view of the Sea. In the distance we could see the mountains in Africa. The water was so blue. Look carefully beyond the power lines and you can see the mountains faintly. Of course, this is one time when you just need to see it in person!! My picture does no justice! The town near by is know for its Tuna. The Romans also occupied this area, very long ago. They caught the tuna and would pack it in salt and send it back to Rome back in the day. 

After a very exciting burro ride and some stretching.... it was off to eat at a recommended restaurant. We went to Hotel La Casa del Califa. It is a hotel but they have a fabulous Middle Eastern Restaurant downstairs. The food was delicious and well prepared. Great sized portions! I couldn't even eat it all! Yum!

 After lunch we went to the 
Plaza de Espana to play in the fountain! The kids had a blast just getting wet.The fountain has a beautiful tile design. It a wonderful place to sit and relax. they're other great restaurants in this area.
Then we were off exploring this town again!! We were looking for the castle and more spectacular views of the scenery.

Walking down the streets to find new things! Wait for me!

Up and down more stairs! Climb!

 On a side road, we found the side of this amazing castle! We were in the right place!

We had such a great time walking around this town!There was just so much to enjoy! I'm sure we will be going back!

Thanks for visiting!

It's July already!

Where has the time gone????? Let me tell you, it's summer!! We have been swimming, sightseeing, celebrating birthdays, beach days, drinking lemonade and relaxing too. Well, when I put it like that, we have been busy!! So let me catch you up on some of those summer activities.

We saw this amazing high wire act. They are the Wiesheit High Wire Troupe.  This group had it all! They had bicycles, unicycles, motorbikes, and the high wire artistry was absolutely amazing! The girls eyes were glued on them.

WOW! Look no hands!

 In the second half of their show, one performer was up on a 190 ft. pole!!! The best part was it was not a stationary pole, it was a swaying pole on a windy day!

 He is climbing to the top of a 190 foot pole in mid air!! I couldn't stop watching!!

After a few minutes of climbing to the top of 190 ft pole.... he started to do a hand stand!! His pants were flapping like a flag back and forth!   I was so shocked! Just check it out!

 He then did a one handed hand stand and pulled out his trumpet to play a song! We all were looking at each other making sure we all were seeing the same thing!!  The girls talked about it for days. They thought it was really cool! If you are in Europe and get a chance to see this act, it was well put together and very entertaining!!

Zoobotanico

 I love those days when you load the kids in the car and end up at the zoo! There is just something about taking children to a zoo that brings excitement to their voice and the anticipation of what animal is next. I loved going to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens but today we are off to Jerez Zoo ( Zoobotanico Jerez). It was a perfect day with lots of sun and a breeze. We were ready to see some animals!

 Our first experience in the zoo was hearing an awful loud squawk to get our attention and the a fanning of  huge feathers. It was a male peacock! He was in the midst of  a group of  flamingos. That definitely got our attention! Then of course the famous words "whats next" and grasping for the zoo map. The zoo has a great layout. They have a wide variety of birds, monkeys, turtles, snakes and a vocal lion. The kids had to find the lion for sure after hearing it!

We were so excited to see new animals that we had never seen before. We saw the cutest hippo swimming in her habitat. She at one point came up and she was eating an apple. The kids just stood there watching and observing, shocked at how big it was.








We also saw the meerkats. They were so funny. They were going in and out of there burrow, then they were watching and smelling the air. They were on guard for sure but these two guys were cracking me up!  We were surprised by how small they were.

 Well, we also saw this adorable sea lion. He was putting on a show for us. He had his routine down pat! He would get in the water do a lap, turn around on his back and swim like it was his favorite thing to do. He would get out walk around hide for a minute and then stand up and sniff the air. Right away we thought of our friend Joy who has a special place in her heart for these little guys!


Jerez Zoo dates back to the early 50's making it one of the oldest zoos in Spain. It is known for its wide variety of animal species. We will be visiting again!

Nat's Events

The last few weeks have been very busy around here! The last few weeks Nat was in a play called Lemonade. So many children wanted to be in the play that they had to write in a few parts!! If you have ever been in a performance, the rehearsal schedules at the end are jam packed! Nat's part was Jack and the Bean Stalk's Mother. She did a great job! She enjoyed being in drama club.

Last week when I was driving down the road I saw a line of six or seven horses out for a ride. It is less than a mile from my house. It looked so fun and everyone was smiling! Many people in this area love horses or own horses. It not uncommon to see them,especially with the history and the events for the horses here. 

Here is a link if you want to learn more about the horses in this area.Wikipedia/wiki/Andalusian_horse  

We went to the Equestrian Center and Nat is now taking horseback riding lessons!

Nat's first lesson was with Paloma. She is a very sweet horse! Paloma means"dove" in Spanish.

Nat  was really enjoying her riding lesson!She was full of smiles the whole lesson! She learned  to direct the horse all through the arena and was even trotting. She likes to make the horse trot. By the end of the lesson, she was riding the horse down the trail ! (I was shocked!) This was her favorite part of the lesson! Dee even got a chance to sit on the horse before we went home. She loved it!

Buzz buzz buzz!

I had a very exciting adventure at the Museo de las Meil y Las Abejas!( the Museum of Honey and Bees) A group of us decided to venture and find this amazing museum.We ended up taking a wrong turn and  sightseeing the beautiful countyside. We saw fields of sunflowers blooming and we knew we were in the right spot!!

I don't think I have ever seen so many sunflowers in one area before. Just beautiful.

The museum was fabulous!!!  There is a honey in history exhibit, guided tours to see the bee keepers work, workshops like farming,beekeeping,  a gift shop and a restaurant. I almost forgot, a playground for the kids to run and play! Dee loved that part! I think we will be going back here because it is a great place to spend the day!!

The children were viewing the bees at work!

 Our tour was packed with information! The children had a presentation about the bee and the process to make honey. Then, it was time to see the bees in action! Everyone had a bee suit (you were covered from head to toe) and a short walk to the outdoor classroom. I couldn't believe how many bees were flying around.The children were amazing!! Some of them held the honey comb and others sat so calmly watching.

Here I am in my beeutiful bee suit holding the honey comb and bees all around!

I think my cat's twin ended up there too! She looks just like her!! I could not believe it! Here is my shout out to Ellie- "We miss you Girl!"

Number one rule: stay still and don't swat the bees. That was the hard part. My instinct at first was to move because I could hear them so loudly around my head. Don't worry I was "BEEEing" careful! The honey comb was heavier than I thought. I had a great experience!

 Of course I had to get some of this wonderful honey. I saw these adorable hand decorated honey jars filled with their delicious honey.... I had to have it! I learned so many things about the importance of bees. If you ever get the experience to go to a bee farm, do it!!!

 a little advice I will leave you with for today....

A visit with Teddy Bear

Hello everyone! This is Teddy Bear. She is a miniature pony. She was spending the day at my friend's house! Many of the children are taking horse lessons and love the horses. (I thought of my friend Ceci right away!!) The owner agreed to let the pony spend the day with them! It was a real treat! The children were excited and  did a great job taking care of her. 

Teddy Bear is gentle, very sweet and of course, she loves children! That is why her name is Teddy Bear! 

If you look at her coat,it is black and white right now. In the winter months, she is all black. Her coat turns white in the summer. She loves to be brushed and needed it. She was shedding today! The girls were helping by brushing her coat!

 She loves to eat! She was eating carrots right out of the children's hands. She sure liked the green grass near the entrance. We were joking, that the gardener wouldn't need to cut the grass this week. Teddy Bear did it for him!

Spring!

 This was a busy weekend here! On May 1st many celebrated Labor Day. This year, Feria started too!!! This was the entrance to the fair. It was beautiful.

 Faria has a fair like atmosphere. There were rides,games, food and treats! We seemed to stick with the rides. Natalie loved the roller coaster!

 Many dress up in Spanish style flamenco dresses (trajes de flamenca) and men in suits. I saw so many beautiful dresses. Friends and family meet at the casetas. A caseta is set up like a small restaurant set up in big tent.The casetas line the streets. Family and friends eat, dance and celebrate spring! the streets are lit up by beautiful lights. They dance a special dance called Sevillana dance . Many learn this dance when they are a child. I know I will be needing a lesson or two and a dress for next year!

Also Sunday May 4, it was Mother's Day! I wish all the mothers a very happy Mother's Day! Enjoy the  your day and make it special! I did!!

Semana Santa

Hello Friends!!!

    Happy Easter! This past week was called Semana Santa or Holy Week. It is celebrated from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Many celebrate by going to see the Easter Processions. Mark, Daniella,Natalie and I met our friends to see this event. We rode the bus and then we walked to the church.There were many people to see the procession at the church and they lined the side streets. 

   The doors of the Church opened and the procession began. There were three beautiful floats created with flowers to illustrate part of the Easter story. It took many people to carry them because they were very heavy! They came out of the church slowly and made their way down the street.The Procession ended with a marching band and a steady drum beat. It was wonderful to see these amazing floats and be apart of Semana Santa in El Puerto de Santa Maria!

 

This is the main church in town-Iglesia Mayor Prioral. It was built in the 15th century with gothic, baroque and neo-classical elements. The procession begins and ends at the church.

Many view the first sight of this float and its beauty as it makes it way out of the church.