Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy cities!

I'm not surprised that two Spanish cities made it on the list of happiest cities in the world. Sunshine, tapas, shopping, who wouldn't like to live in Barcelona or Madrid? Any city you'd add?
(Rio and Buenos Aires have been at the top of my dream travel list for a long time, and Paris and Rome have a piece of my heart too. Got to love a happy city.) 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Zihuantanejo

miércoles, julio 12, 2006
A weekend at the beach....began with a midnight bus ride through the dark country side of west Mexico, waking up to lush, green jungle like places sprinkled with rain. Arrived at the hotel Casa Aurora and realized we didn’t have air...only a fan that didn’t even reach high speed...yikes...started sweating so we headed to the beach in Ixtapa taking a taxi through teh green palm tree lined mountain roads and ending up the bottom on the shore. Ate delicious breakfasts and drank fresh orange juice, then headed back to the small town, Zihuantanejo to get away from the tourists. On to the beach which was at the end of a rocky foot path that waves crashed into, still sweating like a banshee, until we got to the beach and put out stuff under a palm tree and got into the water. warm and calm, with just enough waves to make it fun, I spent most of the weekend pruned from being in the water sooo long. The evening started with tacos and coca-cola, then some helado and heading back to the beach to hang out with the locals. Kids played basketball with a coconut until it cracked open. Sleeping in my bathing suit kept me cool and made getting to the beach the next day much easier. Bought the best beach hat in the market for 3 dollars and Marcie drank juice out of a plastic bag as we waited for the bus to the beach. Met a family from Morelia, and after spending the day at the beach drinking cervezas with sal y limon we went to their house to swim in the pool. Went out for more tacos and copas, and then headed back to Ixtapa to Carlos and Charlie’s where the mixed drinks come big gulp size. Ridiculous. The club spills on to the beach so we danced on the shore with the salty breezes. Watched parts of the world cup game from the beach....I was for Italia...ole! Then the 8 hour ride home, back through the countryside of Mexico...seeing what the country is really like outside of the city, lush green forest and mountains as far as you can see turning into deserts with small rivers winding through the cliffs and kids swimming in their clothes. horses tied out by the roads, and huts selling tacos and gorditas every few miles. Coca-cola everywhere. Into Michoacan where we drove through the clouds into the green valleys with pine trees and bright red flowers, people riding in the back of trucks covering their faces from the rain. Huge lakes with a road built going straight through, through colonial towns where everyone filled the plazas on a Sunday night, and finally back to Querétaro. Next trip to Zihuantanejo you should come and we can stay in one of the hut houses on the mountain.
On to Mexico DF this weekend...

Friday, December 7, 2012

In Dijon, France!


 Hola a todos!! It's been nearly a year and a half since we made the move from Spain to France and it has been an incredible adventure filled with new places, people, tastes and the joys of learning a new language and culture. I'd love for you to join me in this new adventure on my French living blog :
 Lots of photos, travels, stories, and petits choses about life in France. 
Hope to see you there! 
¡Hasta pronto! A bientôt! 


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

In el pueblo...

We spent our last weekend in Spain relaxing in the campo with the family for the town's summer fiesta. The town fills with everyone who has moved to the city who came back for a weekend of visits, meals, and the mass for their local patron saint, the Virgen de los Dolores. With everything packed in Santiago we headed out to the starfilled cold nights and the bright sunny days in the mountians of Galicia.






 ps...a pound of fresh Galician bread...and the old wood burning oven that dinner was cooked in. 


Monday, August 29, 2011

Alaska y Mario

Spain's version of MTV reality TV a la The Osbornes is Alaska y Mario. Alaska is famous for her role in La Bola de Cristal-a vanguard childrens' program made in the 1980's when Spain was taking its first dramatic steps out of the Franco dictatorship-and for the 1980's cult classic dance band named after her, Alaska. Her man, recently husband, Mario is Mario, PR rep for a few other famous Spanish stars, he's also played around in the world of music writing lyrics for Alaska and singing in his own band Nancys Rubias. Anyway, they are quite the pair- I think my favorite scene from their reality show was one of them picking out their outfits for a party together or maybe when they spent the day playing dominos with Alaska's mom. In any case, as exentric as they are you can't help but love them and they make for the best programming on MTV Spain. Here's a little intro clip-or you can watch an episode clicking on the Alaska y Mario link above.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

last days of summer...

We're off to the pueblo for the anual end of summer fiesta this weekend-lots of food, family, and parades. Can you believe summer is almost over? I'm excited for fall, but will miss sunny, sandy beach hopping on the amazing coasts of Galicia. One of my favorite things about summer is a day at the beach with a good book. What will you miss about summer?

Related Posts with Thumbnails