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A sight for sore eyes

Meaning

A welcome sight; someone or something you are glad to see.

Origin

This phrase was first recorded by Jonathan Swift, in A complete collection of genteel and ingenious conversation, 1738:

"The Sight of you is good for sore Eyes."

Not that our eyes were really sore, but that's the phrase that came to my mind when we waited and waited and then finally saw my parents coming through the gate at Madrid airport.

And after showing them around familiar sights to us, and exploring some new sights and sites with them, none of our eyes were the least bit sore. We had a fabulous two weeks! Not many words will be needed. Warning: this post is picture-heavy...they should speak at least a couple thousand words.

We spent the first few days showing them around the area where we live:

Segovia Cathedral and Castle and Aqueduct

Some very cool, very old villages within an hour of our village of La Granja:

Sepulveda ~ an extraordinary little village that retains its authentic narrow cobblestone streets and local craft shops.

 Pedraza ~ equally as quaint and authentic. Walking through these streets makes you feel like you have been transported back through history. Evidence has been found that suggests people lived in the area as far back as 400 B.C.

 And in our very own village of La Granja, we visited "our" palace...as we've begun calling it, to distinguish it from other palaces we have visited. We were a bit disappointed the weather didn't cooperate to wander the palace gardens very much, but it did give us time to rather go and visit  the Royal Crystal Factory, also right in our village. Both the past and present works of art were astounding and we even got to watch live exactly how they make the stuff. Here, they are making a fairly simple drinking glass.

Then we all packed up, drove for 5 or 6 hours, and spent a week on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near Denia. Along the way, we stopped to peek at a very unique city, Cuenca, partly built directly on the rocks.

We also drove through amazing countryside, with orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see, and mountains and plateaus taking turns marvelling our eyes.

We were pleasantly surprised to see some large grain fields on the way as well. It ALMOST made my dad think about seeding time back home, but then we snapped back to reality, "oh right, there's still two feet of snow on our Manitoba fields! No rush to get back home!"

Our rented villa in Pedreguer, home for the week:

Terra Mitica ~ a most enjoyable amusement park, complete with rides for the old and young, for the faint of heart and not so much, street performers and its own circus. It was like Disney (I think, although I've never been) but with Rome, Greek and Egypt themes.

Yes, Emery and Braden braved this "one where your legs are dangling" and yes, we all got wet at the bottom of this second picture of "the boat ride".

Another day was spent hiking up the mountains that we kept looking at from the pool deck of our villa. Very very cool au natural hiking ~ not at all including guides, guard rails or helmets! A true adventure!! Those little specks at the top are the kids.

No pictures allowed in the factory, but a free tour, complete with free taste-testing afterwards of the Valor Chocolate Factory:

And, of course some time at the Mediterranean Sea

Water temperature only for the very brave...

And then there was one lucky young lady who got to have a one-month-early impromptu birthday party because a Grandma, some aunts and uncles, and some cousins were really on the ball and sent along birthday gifts. And there was no way we were going to wait until her real birthdate to open them when no one else was on the same continent!!!

The very last day with Grandma and Grandpa we fulfilled one of Rayna's life-long dreams and took a red double-decker bus tour of Madrid. It was Sunday and we were a little weary of tourist-ing, but it proved to be the perfect ending to our holiday.

Soccer Stadium ~ home to Real Madrid "Football" Club

 

 We rode all afternoon until dark ~ a wonderfully warm evening. Then we hopped on the Metro (oh, tourist note: Driving in Downtown Madrid Not Advised), and said our dreaded Goodbyes for another few months.  But oh so thankful to have shared the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

First Visitors from Home*

(*Actually now living in Norway, previously in Houston, but still from Steinbach)

The weekend before last Delnor, Kim, and Josh came for a visit. They arrived on Sunday and continued on their Spanish vacation on Tuesday.

It was a wonderful time of reconnecting and visiting as we stayed up each night into the wee hours. Though we have made some wonderful friends here, it is still a bit different when family comes to visit. The things you have in common are so much greater; the ability to share some of the deeper things is so much easier.

The kids really enjoyed the time they spent with Josh, playing games and wrestling…that tournament will have to be completed the next time we get together!

Even the rain each day didn’t dampen our time. It actually stopped long enough for us to enjoy a wonderful walk through Segovia as we shared the sights and sounds of the city.

Delnor and Kim, thank you so much for including us in your vacation plans. As I left the train station I must admit it was with some sadness that I began my bus ride back “home”.

(

~Submitted by Emery

Weather

When in doubt, talk about the weather. Couldn't decide what to make our next post about, so, sorry to be boring and everyday-like, but we'll talk about the weather.

We have enjoyed a much shorter season of snow blizzards, icy road conditions and sub-zero temperatures. I, personally, say "enjoyed" but our kids actually miss aspects of the Manitoba winter. They have heard of the record snowfalls in Manitoba and lament the missed ice-skating, snowmobiling, tobogganing, and making snow forts. And Emery has been heard secretly missing "storm days".

Our temperatures here in La Granja have never dipped below -8 degrees Celsius. During daylight, there have maybe been one or two days below zero. At night, about 15 times it has stayed below zero. There have been 5 or 6 snowfalls, of which half amounted to more than an inch. And with daytime lows being above 0 degrees, the snow doesn't hang around very long.

But, like anywhere else in the world, where our all-powerful God is the ONLY One who can control or accurately predict the weather, there are all kinds of surprises. This is what we woke up to today - and it is still snowing. My kids are thrilled! They have been known to pray for snow over here and the Good Lord has answered them with a dump the very next morning. Or, like I posted on Facebook this morning, I am suspecting my central/western Manitoba relatives, who received 50 cm of snow last week, of sending us a Care Package of the fluffy white stuff. It has taken exactly one week for other packages to get from Manitoba to us in Spain :)

Another one of my favourite (as in, it makes me laugh when I really think about it) "weather talk" statements..."But it's a dry heat." or "it's a wet cold". I know, I know, it's science, but we all know I'm not the biggest science person. However, the higher humidity here in Spain does make our 0 degrees go through to your bones and feel quite a bit colder. <Manitobans may roll eyes here>

Our village is at nearly 1200 metres above sea level. Segovia, 11 kms down the road, is just under 1000 metres, so we often watch the outside temperature gauge on the van go up a few, if not several, degrees as we drive to "town". Weather forecasts are given according to metres above sea level. For example, snow at 700 metres and above, rain below that, etc.

Enough weather talk...may be boring to some. Emery's the science guy and can give more to those who want more. On that note, ideas for future posts? What do you want to see or hear about?

Paris Vacation

Yup! Now we can say, "Paris...been there, done that, bought the T-shirts!"

Our first vacay since we came to Spain, 5 nights in Paris. And seriously, our flights were cheaper than from Winnipeg to Calgary - like 1/3-the-price cheaper. WestJet, eat your heart out!

We did not try to NOT be touristy. We saw all the main touristy things, went to the touristy places, took the touristy pictures, so don't expect anything else. But to summarize, for myself, with a contented sigh, not a jump-up-and-down-giddy-teenage-giggle-or-scream, but a hushed, in-awe-kind-of-perma-grin: I LOVED PARIS. Someone told us before we left that Paris was one of their favourite cities, and when we asked why, the reply was simply, "It's Paris!" I, too, cannot describe to you what exactly it is...but there was just something about this yet-another-European-city that just captured me for the moment.

 Warning: This post is picture heavy.

Arc De Triumphe 

 Paris was Macy's #1 pick when we talked about where we might like to go this year. She was not disappointed. She, too, got captured by the charm and loved every minute of just being there. Here she is at the Seine River (note: not clear water by any stretch, but better than the Red at The Forks in Winnipeg).

 We are not huge museum people, but we had to go to the Louvre. Braden especially liked the huge Ancient Egyptian and Roman collections. Somehow we missed taking a picture of the actual mummified body which, in Rayna's words: 'was really creepy, but I kept going back to look at it'.

 And yes, we saw the original Mona Lisa, but as you can see by this picture ("she" is the tiny thing in the centre of the pic), if your idea was to sit in silence and just contemplate this masterpiece...it ain't gonna happen here.

 Opulence at its best:

 Then we had to change it up a bit after two days and went to an Aquarium, complete with sharks and a petting pond.

 Notre Dame: somehow we stumbled in on a full-fledged mass, to unveil 9 new bells, as part of a whole year of celebrating Notre Dame's 850th Anniversary.

 Oh, and this was just a "Department Store":

 And this was our cutesy little (and I mean little) apartment on the 3rd floor. Accommodation Hint: go VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner - there's a website). This was our first experience, but we would highly recommend it for the Thrifty Traveller.

It was not in a touristy area, so we lived like Parisiens, with fruit, cheese and meat markets right outside our window - literally!

Oh my! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the pastries!!!!! Did I mention the pastries?! The pastries were.to.die.for. We went and got fresh ones every morning - again, literally right outside our door. No toast and cereal for breakfast on this holiday! Oh, the pastries! And we also went out for crepes - both main course and dessert crepes - yum! But did I mention the pastries?! Mmmmmmmm.

What We Do

Yes, we actually work here. We are doing a variety of things, things we are enjoying and we enjoy seeing our progress. Here are just a few examples and some Before and Afters:

One reason there was such a lull in our posts in January is because we had three retreats in four weekends. Our family was essentially the only staff for two of those and for the third, we had two young adults helping us in the kitchen. So we were kept hopping with cooking and cleaning. I'd say we made a great team - no food poisoning, no clogged toilets, or other major disasters, so we will chalk them up to successes.

Ensalada Illustrada

 You've already seen some of Emery's hard work, but here is a review. He does everything from helping cook, to cleaning, all manner of fixing and maintenance, yard work and building projects.

Before

After

I (Bev) am doing many things I love: purging and organizing, some office work, and throw in tracing some flannel graph backgrounds for visual aids.

Before

After

 

The kids help where they can; often that includes laundry, making lunch, doing dishes. We're adjusting well, I think, to homeschooling, two parents working and other changes. We are enjoying doing everything together as a family: eating, working, schooling, sight-seeing, and exploring new things.

Driving in Spain

Emery's turn.

"Segovia All Directions"

Driving in Spain is like any other country. You have roads, signs, and other drivers. Where the difference comes is how these signs, roads, and drivers do their job.
We have come across a number of different approaches to signage. Very important signs not only will have a sign, but will also be painted onto the road surface. Lines are also very important - if the line is solid, you cannot turn.


Another new adventure that took a little getting used to were the traffic circles. In the span of 13 kms from our house to the school where we took Spanish four days a week, there are 13 traffic circles! With this experience, they have become a normal part of driving. Many of the traffic circles have interesting sculptures or fountains that decorate the centres (this one in the city of Avila).

With new signage comes new understandings. Here, a line through something, as you see in the picture, indicates that whatever prohibition was on (ie no passing) has now ended.


The other new thing that took getting used to is that, in general, left turns are not made. You turn right into a turning lane that then meets the road at a right angle to cross.

back space of sliver car

Parking is another new experience. The Spanish are experts at parallel parking. They can fit into a space slightly larger, and I mean slightly larger, than their car. And if not, then they'll just slide in perpendicular.  And no one seems to mind if you park facing either direction.

front space of silver car

One familiar sign that is now standardized is the stop sign, with an added reminder on the road!

The roads here are beautiful. With Winnipeg being the pothole capital of Canada it is nice to drive on roads that are smooth and well paved. It doesn't hurt that they don't have to deal with frost.