Home Sweet Home

We arrived home on Sunday, June 9 at 3 p.m. It was a long flight, with a stop over in Dallas: Now to recover from Jet Lag.

We had a good nights sleep and felt good all day Monday. We thought this might be an easy adjustment. But then we started to be so tired in the day and awake at 3 am. Each day got better and now, June 18, we think we are back to our original routine.

I want to thank you all for praying for us while we wandered and for following along on our journey. It is good to be home and to sleep in our own bed and eat our own food. New Hope Fellowship welcomed as home with open arms and are we gradually reestablishing our normal routine.

This trip was amazing but Home will always be Home.

 

Sol Principe

You probably notice from my posts that we are getting saturated with new experiences. Our heads are spinning and our legs are tired of walking. I have gained muscles and my legs don't ache as much at the end of each day. 

So instead of trying to push more experiences into this trip we chose an all inclusive hotel on the beach for the next 2 days before we return our car and head back to Madrid by train. It was a good decision. It felt good to not have to decide where and what to eat and because it is a place where the British come, the food is like home.

About the food: I have really enjoyed the breakfast with multiple breads, cheeses, yogurts, etc. but I can't say I have fallen I love with Spanish cuisine AND I still haven't figured when they eat. Breakfast doesn't start until after 8.  At noon, if we go to a restaurant and ask what they are serving, they say "Breakfast." But that could consist of bread with meat on it. And even then we can't always figure out what we are eating. When they say tuna, it's not the flaked tuna we are used to but a slice of smoked tuna.  From 2 pm to 3pm they serve tapas which are like an appetizer, but then again, I'm not sure what I'm eating. Then everything closes and they gradually start to open at 7 pm for dinner. If you get there at 4 pm, they say the kitchen is closed. By the time they open, we've had a Gelato and snacked on some nuts or chips and are not hungry anymore so we often don't eat that night. 

So, saying all that, we decided to look into coming home a few days early; and it worked, We changed our ticket to leave on Sunday the 9th and will arrive at 3 pm in Phoenix.

Our time here has been amazing and we have learned so much about the history and culture in Spain and how they went from being conquered by the Moors, then the church conquered them, then the Spanish revolution between Communism/Anarchist and Nationalist/Fascist. From what I see, neither was good and both ended up oppressing the other. Somehow, after Franco died in 1974 they were able to return to be a Socialist Republic. They joined the EU which has poured a lot of money into bringing it into the modern world. So while there is a lot of historic landmarks, the infrastructure is all new. It's called the "miracle of Spain". 

Also, norther Europeans and the Brits have flocked to the Costa Del Sol (Sunny coast) on the Mediterranean Sea. 100,000's flock here with condo's resorts, time shares, etc. They have overwhelmed the shore. 

Our wanderings are about to end and I will sign off for now. We will see what evolves when we get back to our "Real World."

Jerez

Once again we scored a 10 in picking a hotel in Jerez. Walking into the lobby was like walking into another world. The 2 young ladies at the desk were so helpful and it must be off season because we were all alone. The hotel had been a palace and was now totally renovated into a 24 room hotel. 

Jerez is known for 4 things: 1) Sherry wine 2) Horses 3) Flamenco dancing 4) Motorcross GP race of Europe. We took a private tour of the city and learned a lot of history that we will not remember, but it did give us an overview of how important this city was and is. Columbus was in Jerez before departing for the New World. After the tour we walked about a mile to the famous Andalucia Equestrian Horse School and watched a display of horses marching and doing manuevers. It was amazing,

After another meal of Paella we headed back to the hotel checking out in the morning. Parking is quite a challenge and since we had a larger car this time, we were surprised that we found a spot and was able to get in and out.

Gibratar

We ended our time the mountain village of Cartajima with a delicious dinner cooked by our host of Salmon and rice with red cake for desert. it was delicious and very romantic sitting on the veranda.

In the morning before breakfast we took our last walk around the village. It was enchanting

This place is a highlight of our trip and a place we could return to for a quiet respite. I think this will be one of the highlights of our trip.

Then we headed to Gibraltar. It was a wonderful drive down the mountain to the shore. After passing through the checkpoint we arrived on British Soil. Yes, the "Rock" of Gibratar is owned by the British. It was taken from the Spanish in 1704. It is at the entrance to the Mediterranean Seas from the Atlantic. They who control the straits of Gibraltar control all shipping from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea. This strategic location played a vital role in WWII. We took a tour up the mountain to the national preserve. We were able to walk into the immense cave of St. Michaels, see the Monkey's that are everywhere, walk through the WWII tunnels where they stored ammunition and food during the war and then we headed down to main street for a good old fashioned British fish fry.

We could easily see Morroc 24 kilometers away

The view from our hotel window was the back side of the Rock!