I always thought it would be an adventurous experience to go on vacation and not know where you were going; just pack up and leave to the airport. We have never done it because with children you want to make sure the places are somewhat kid friendly so we always book in advance. Will did not have to go back to work until the 26th of april, so we thought it would be a great idea to get away for a couple of days, just the two of us. Since we did not have the kids, an adventure like this seemed perfect, because we really didn´t care where we were going as long as we were away. I wanted to wait until the day of departure to find out where to go, but since it was Easter break the Travel agency told us there were almost no "last call" tickets because everything is full, but we can go "last minute" which means you look up to 4 days before departure to get a package deal somewhere. Sounded adventurous enough to me! So we booked 4 days before and booked our week long trip to Tenerife, Canary Islands. Super excited! My late aunt Brigitte used to live in Tenerife and always missed it when she moved back to Belgium for her son's education. So in a way I felt closer to her, going to her homeland.
The kids had no school, so they were happy to stay with my mom for the week. They had a plethera of events scheduled, so I felt like I could leave with an eased heart now that they were looking forward to something too. Both kids have a type of "collection" of souvenirs they keep. Everytime Will and I go somewhere we need to bring Lainey a glass snowball and Chloe a coffee mug, each with the name of the city. So we knew what to do once we got there.
Off we went. After a 4,5 hour flight we landed in Tenerife. Tenerife is a Spanish Island, the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Just the sun on my face as I walked out of the airport made this trip a success for me already. I love Belgium, but I sooooo miss the sunshine during the long winters and most of autumn. We had a really nice hotel with friendly people, good food and a breathtaking view from our room balcony. What more do you want? When I was younger I always had my vacations planned full of activities, places to go see, excursions... I thought it such a waste for people to just lay out, they were missing everything right? Two full time jobs and two children later, our plan for this vacation........do absolutely nothing! I have officially become "one of those people". I could not wait to lay under an umbrella with my book and my pina colada listening to the ocean waves crashing. We thought seven days was going to be so very long and we would have sooo much time to do nothing and might even be bored. No such thing, the week flew by!
I always felt it was strange that people went on vacation into a foreign country, only to just eat at chains they know from home. Will and I love to experience the local kitchen, local music, all their culture has to offer. So, that being said, here is a sample of our colorful menu: Chicken wings at Hooters, Onion loaf at Tony Romas and Ribs for dinner TWICE. I know, not the Spanish experience right :-) We do have a good excuse, Belgium does not have these chains, so for us it was a moment of nostalgia for American goodies we live without all year. We have to admit, it was not exactly the same. The wings were super duper greasy and the onion rings were cold...can not say anything about the ribs..they were scrumptious. American customer service can not be beat though, I think they forget to train them on that when they open up American chains overseas. Maybe they assume they already know. Besides these splurges into chain-ville, we stayed pretty loyal to the Spanish tradition. I have always loved the Spanish culture, which is why I lived in the south of Spain for 3 months as a teenager. I love the food, love the music, love Sangria and of course the Spanish people and language. I was trying to practice my Spanish as every person starting rambling on in super speedy Espanol since Will said he was "Mexican". He changed his answer to "American" midway our vacation :-)
We ate Tapas every day! Spanish people like to eat a variety of different foods in very small portions. I love this because you get to eat all day long!!!If you get tired from walking in the sunshine and eating all day, do not worry, just take a siesta, because EVERYBODY else does, they actually close down the stores for it! I could soo get used to this, a government ordered nap everyday!
Another favorite Spanish dish of mine is "Paella". My aunt used to make it all the time. A huge pan filled with rice mixed with seafood, meat, chicken and veggies and wonderful spices. I ate it almost every day in our hotel. Perfect with some homemade Sangria! I gained 5,5 pounds this trip. "Thank God for big boobs- They totally take the attention off your tummy" (source:my good friend Jenny Clark whom I have certain things in common with:-)
We also met a few gifted guitar players. They played Spanish music together at this cute cave type bar called Santa Fe, Mexican bar! We laughed because the only thing Mexican in this bar was maybe the interior. The owners where from Madrid. But these guys were so good, we went back three times to hear them play!
We walked a lot along the "Malecon" which was the long boulevard along the beach filled with terraces and shops that went on for miles and miles. I think we walked about 5 miles every day, but it took us most of the day. Our kind of walking is more like step,step,step, drink on a terrace, step,step,step, tapas on a terrace.
The good life!
One day we took a bus to the harbor town "Puerto de la Cruz" about an hour and a half away, which is the village my aunt used to live and owned a restaurant in. Since my aunt passed away a year ago from cancer, it meant a lot to me to go see her place where I used to visit her as a kid. It had been 25 years since I last went to visit her over there before she moved back to Belgium, so I did not remember much of the location, but I did have many memories of the square her restaurant was on and of course the restaurant itself. I could see the picture clear in my head. When Will and I got off the bus we were a bit disillusioned when we saw how huge this "little" village had become. It had become a spread out city of about 40000 people! With no known address it became clear that we would not find this place just by walking around. Especially since there were squares all over the place. With only 3 hours before the bus was taking us back we decided to make the best of it and explore around a bit. We walked along the ocean, and were heading inland to find a place to eat. Inside my head I asked God and my aunt if by chance there was any way to help me find the place, even though I knew this was not realistic. But of course, who am I to say what is realistic to God right? Will wanted to turn left, but I thought we should turn right, even though we came from that direction before. We walked into a small alley which opened up to another square. I went on the tell Will that my aunt's square looked kind of like this one, with buildings kind of like...this one, and a big wooden front door leading into a court yard kind of like...oooh my gosh Will, THIS IS IT! I have never been so shocked in my life. My first reaction was (excuse my French) "Man, this shit really works". I guess I learned my lesson - to never under estimate the power of a prayer.
Well, our vacation was a success, but never a vacation with Will and Les goes without unexpected adventures! Just when you think nothing can keep you away from home but flying piggs and erupting volcanoes!? Welcome Iceland volcano ash cloud. Nobody is flying anywhere. This was the biggest peacetime flight disruption in Europe EVER. For almost 6 days there was a no fly zone! Well, we always wanted to be a part of history! Be careful what you wish for.
Luckely Will and I are pretty relaxed people. We saw people around us stressing, worrying, even crying. We both chuckeled thinking about both our moms and how they wouldn't have been so relaxed in this situation. The not knowing when the volcano would stop and flight will resume, having to have your phone on 24 hours in case there was a flight available would have stressed them out. I have to say we were a bit concerned the first day because we missed the kids after being gone a week and the not knowing when we were going to be back was hard. For all we knew we could be stuck for weeks. Also school was starting with all the sport activities they have, and finding a place for them was a little tough because my mom had booked a trip herself so she was not going to be in town at all! We worked it out where Chloe went to spend the week at a friend's house and Lainey went with my sister in law and brother. The kids were sad but once we negotiated an extra souvenier for ever day we stay longer they were ok ;-). Once they were happy, then we were happy, and we enjoyed every minute of our extra time. Will and I finally finished our books, we got to go back to some of our favorite hang outs, experienced a local food festival and flee market and we got to really relax. When they called us friday to tell us we had a flight back, I can honestly say that we would not have minded staying another extra day.
We got back safely, but ofcourse we can not have a trip whithout something going wrong during the travel part (for more details, ask brother Ronnie about our last travel adventure to Mexico), Willie's backpack was stolen during our trainride from the airport home:-( I was so upset I started crying because our video camera was in there. Not that I care about the camera, but I was sick to my stomack because it had a years worth of video footage of the kids on there. I felt like it was my wedding day all over again (for those of you who do not know, a bag was stolen in the church during our wedding ceremony with our chrystal cake top and all our best baby pictures we had picked out for the wedding video, heart breaking). Anyhow, I was very upset that day and could not shake the feeling, until I saw a mom and dad crying on TV because they had lost their children in a tragic accident. Then it hit me: all they have left is video camera footage of their kids, but at least I have them with me to make plenty of new memories!!!
Did I mention both our cars were towed during the extra delayed days in Tenerife? Not even going to go there... : )
Little child of mine say what???
Funny how everybody views heaven differently. I was helping Lainey feel better after she found out a priest had died and was explaing how she should not be sad because he is happy now in heaven and that is a great place. Chloe jumped in with a sweet and totally sincere voice and said: "Yes Lainey, heaven is a wonderfull place, where everybody is nice and sweet...and you can eat WHATEVER you want and NEVER get fat!"
Lainey's solution after I told the kids about the video camera loss:
"We can just do everything all over again!"
This one is about Will: We were wondering why a waitress in Tenerife who we asked to take our picture kept retaking the foto? When we asked if the camera maybe wasn't working right she responded by pointing at her teeth and tried to tell us the pic was showing too many teeth in Will's mouth? Haaaha, not the camera's fault is it;-). I laughed for about an hour.
I have tried my best to add a slide show to this blog. To view full screen just click on the slide show.
If you have not fallen asleep by now, Until the next adventure!
