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Skiing in Panticosa 2013
One of the great things about where we live is that it is only a 1.5 hr drive to the Pyrenees. Anatolijus has been snowboarding a number of times but the girls have never tried it. So on the weekend of Jan 28-29 we headed up to Panticosa to give it a try. it has been many years since I last skied and although I remembered it was lots of work I forgot that it would be even more with two kids. Tessa took a one hour ski lesson and did really well getting the hang of it quickly. Grace wanted to try snowboarding, like her Dad, and also did really well. We stayed in our favorite rustic hotel and ended up being invited over for dinner to friends' of ours from Zaragoza who have a place in Panticosa. A great weekend all around.
Calatayud
On Sat. Feb. 16th we decided to do a day trip to Calatayud which is a 50 min drive from Zaragoza. The castle is really a ruin but we did fine a beautifully restored cloister in the main church of the town which had many relics and a lovely 15th century amber decorated box from Lithuania. The town is not particularly beautiful especially because many things are being renovated or rebuilt. We had lunch in a restaurant Anatolijus found on Trip Advisor (an aside: Anatolijus is now a Senior Contributor on Trip Advisor due to all the reviews he has written).
Lunch was definitely the highlight of the day, we had the classic Spanish menu which includes first plate, second plate, dessert, water, wine and bread. In Zaragoza a good restaurant will charge 15-18 euros, but here it was only 10.50 per menu and Grace and Tessa shared. The food, wine and service were fabulous and the price shockingly low - huge value and worth the 50 min drive.
As we were getting ready to head home when we came across a dress store that was displaying beautiful communion dresses in the window. A child's First Communion is a huge deal here in Spain and the celebration is similar to a small wedding. This is especially true of the long, white dresses many 9-10 year old girls wear (prices also range from 300 to 1500 Euros!). Grace's First Communion is March 16th and although we had already decided to not go with the elaborate dress, Anatolijus thought it would be fun for her to try some on. So in we went for some 'dress-up' and the lady said we could take photos. Grace loved the feeling of the princess dresses but in the end is happy to be wear a simpler dress. Enjoy the pics!
WOW I am 7 years old!!!!!
This year Tessa had her first friends birthday party in Spain. She invited 8 girlfriends and her sister to go to Clip N'Climb, a wall climbing facility that provides the food and fun. Her party was on Thursday Feb 28 from 6-8 pm, a very common time here in Spain. The other common thing is for all children to contribute 10 euros and one mom goes and buys a couple of gifts. It works out very well as the birthday girl gets 2 or 3 lovely things that they really wanted. Tessa's friends bought her a beautiful Merida costume from the movie Brave and a Monster High doll - she was so thrilled. Also Tessa loves cake decorating so we made a cake and she designed and decorated her cake all by herself. The results were great, especially for a first time. Her friends also thought so and congratulated her. On her actual birthday, March 1st, Tessa went out for lunch to Sakura, a Japanese restaurant, and for dinner she asked her dad to make her his awesome schnitzel. All in all she was well celebrated!
St. Jean de Luz, France
In Zaragoza March 5th is a holiday although no one remembers what it celebrates, the main point is that the girls had a four day weekend so we went away for three days. We love the Basque country and have visited San Sebastian numerous times so this time we headed a little further north into France and the quaint town of St. Jean de Luz in the French Basque region. St.Jean is situated on a big bay and has an active fishing port. It also has beautiful sandy beaches and we were very fortunate to have fabulous weather and a hotel with our deck right on the beach. It was sunny and 21 C so we were able to eat lunch outside, walk on the beach and have aperitifs on our sundeck. We also drove 20 mins up the coast to Biarritz, stopped into a beautiful church and lingered by the ocean to fill our souls. St. Jean de Luz also has great shopping so we bought some lovely things and felt very relaxed and refreshed.
Stay tuned for Grace's communion blog coming soon!
