Christmas in Spain

We are back in Spain to celebrate Christmas this year. 

In the summer we been here for a month and it was hot hot hot as it was a heathwave with up to 44C. That is not the case at this time of year, as the temperature is more to be around 15-18 C. Still very pleasant, specially compared to the ice and cold we left behind in Norway.

                                 

It lives around 48 million people in Spain, and 94% are Roman Catholic. 

As of 2015 it was 4,6 million foreign born residing in Spain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Spain) with Romanians being the 

The number of tourists coming to Spain is more than 60 million a year, and it is easy to understand why. (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL)

From our experience it is very child friendly, as well as a good place to be for adults. We are staying close to Torrevieja, where more than half the population is not Spanish. There are lots of British as well as Scandinavians. Rumor has it that this house belongs to Gorbatsjov, but personally I have not seen him at the bar....

The Spaniards Christmas Traditions (according to www.qrmagazine.es) are; 

At Christmas Eve they will have  dinner with their family and some will attend the their local church to observe the "Misa del Gallo" (Mass of the Rooster) so named after a rooster which supposedly called out to announce the birth of Jesus. 

At Christmas Day many families dine out, and the next big celebration is New Years Eve (Noche Vieja). Many Spaniards party all night, and one tradition is to eat 12 whole grapes at midnight, as every grape swallowed will supposedly bring a month`s worth of good luck.

The next celebration is Kings Day Parades (Dia de Los Reyes) which falls on 6th January, and are by many seen as the most important date in the festive calendar. On the evening the 5th, there will be a grand procession through the streets throwing sweets to the children, and at the morning the 6th the children will find that their presents has been delivered by the Kings.

As much as I love to see new places and countries, it is also nice to return to the same area again.Meeting up with people we have know, and going back to places we like. We have found our favorites among the cafes where we can have fruit dipped in chocolate, a clear winner for us:) 

 Kids have been playing at the beach, which is actually much more pleasant now than in the summer when the sand and sun was burning.

                                        Daniel got karate lesson, which he really enjoyed.

We went to the movies seeing the newest Star War, which I also truly enjoyed.

Kids got back to their favorite play area at La Zenja:

We have spent lots of time outdoor

                                          Exploring the area.

Traveling with children is fun, but far from relaxing. .

We are having great days, and like to wish you all a very happy New Year.

                                                                  ¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

Gibraltar, July 3.

Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti is the offical motto of Gibraltar, meaning: No enemy shall expel us.

It is not easy to explain what exactly Gibraltar is, according to Daniel it is weird to walk to England from Spain, but if we go to Wikipedia they explain it like this:

Gibraltar /dʒɨˈbrɔːltər/ is a British Overseas Territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.0 km2 (2.3 sq mi) and shares its northern border with the Province of Cádiz in Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is a densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.

When I booked our hotel I thought I had booked a hotel in Gibraltar. That was wrong as we were still in Spain, but sometimes mistakes can be for the better. The hotel, which offered  2 bedroom apartments with a kitchen, was just perfect for us. Clean, nice area, swimmingpool and free wifi, with a short walking distance to the beach. http://www.vistarealalcaidesa.com

We drove to La Linea, the Spanish city with a border to Gibraltar. After seeing the line up with the cars waiting to cross, we were happy to park just beside the crossing, and walk through. Quick and easy,with a valid passport.

When you enter Gibraltar this way you actually walk over the runway for the airport.

Clive came to meet us, and took us to their beautiful apartment where Kevin, Jules and James where waiting with cold drinks. Need I say we had a great time? The kids got loaded with candy and gifts, and then we headed for a taxi to explore the rock.

The view from the balcony, I think it speaks for itself...

Our first stop with the taxi was at the cave, and at the entrance we met this cute monkey.

The cave was my absolute favorite, with the changing lights and chairs for concerts...I will have to come back one day.

                            At our next stop we came really close to the monkeys, so cute.

 They just walk around and according to the guide they are all vegetarians to avoid diseases

How the driver manage to maneuver the car on the narrow path/road up and down the rock, I am so impressed of her. Another option would have be to take the cable car, but I am very happy we had the taxi as the driver was also good with sharing the history of this interesting place.

Daniel`s absolute favorite where the tunnels from the war. Apparently you can walk...a very long time in here...watch the canons, get audio guide and read about the history.

The view is of course amazing (you can see it clearer from the picture at the beginning of this page)

We are at the top

We met up with the others for a good meal

                               And finished our stay with a nice swim for the kids in the jacuzzi..

We had an amazing day, and I have to say we really got an excellent impression of Gib (as I now have learned to spell it, pretending to be cool:)

The atmosphere was excellent, everyone explain it as a safe place with lots of fun (which I intend to explore more of next time)

Thank you again, Kevin and Clive, Jules and James for a day we will always remember.

We headed back to Spain, and crossed the border in no time, so I think I will never bother to go there with a car. 

The boys and I are visiting friends in Brighton, England

                                               This easter we are in Brighton, England.
My daughters are on different vacations: Helene in Israel and Anna in Norway. From what I hear they are both having a great time, but of course we miss them both deeply.

What can possible be better than spending days with great friends? Thank you so much Nicky and Michael for making us feel warmly welcome and letting us have an amazing time with you.

I have been to Brighton once before, in the summer of 85, like so many others, taking a summer class in English and have great memories from then. It was the summer where you could here "Life is life" by Opus all over the city. I have to admit that the song was never my favourite, but it is forever connected with Brighton for me.  What I mostly remember is the beach, no sand but pebbles, and of course the Pier with all the fun.

That was then, and this is now, and here we are exploring what Brighton has to offer today and the conclusion is - lots:

We have had such a great time, visiting Sealife Center and the kids got their faces painted

 So much to see, and the turtles did not seem to be bothered being observed..... 

Coffee and candy, great combination

                                       

Grocery shopping (with the) kids:

Painting Pottery Cafè where the kids can decorate items. Nice concept, but quite expensive

The Royal Pavilion

Crossing the street, and who did we meet?

Kids spot opportunity to play everywhere:

Kids favourite?

                                     

After a few good days in Brighton we went to London as planned, to see the musical Lion King (and on the way there we passed the Queens castle)

The theater  we been looking forward to for months, and from what we seen the show is amazing, but while Simba was running, the power went out and we had to leave the theater

It turned out there was a huge fire, with more than 2000 people who had to evacuate, but as far as we know no injuries.

The whole block went dark, so we had to change our hotel.

                                      

We started the next day fresh, with an excellent breakfast:

Then we headed for the next highlight:

National History Museum to see the dinosaur exhibition:

First time I visited this amazing museum I promised myself that if I ever had children, I would bring them here, so Anna, you are next (and there is so much more than dinosaurs to be seen here - really my favorite museum)

Daniel is studying T-Rex (or vice versa)

Taking the train back to Brighton:

More playing:

Easter eggs for the kids:

 And when they are sleeping (read: charging for the next day)...

Thank you Nicky for great days with you and Michael, we have enjoyed every minute, and I am happy to know we are heading towards more fun: