Gibraltar

 At the bottom of Spain. Lies the British Territory of Gibraltar.  We decided to use the private driver to see the rock and stopped along the way.   There were monkeys everywhere and we had a few run ins with them.  

Things we learned about Gibraltar: 

Gibraltar 

Hercules Pillar :He pulled the continents together using two pillars to protect from sea monsters 

Every 6 years the water turns over

If you went East passed the straight of Gibraltar it is where the world ended and you would sail off the flat world. 

Monkeys protect other monkeys and can bite.  

A Monkey jumped on Miah to steal her water bottle.  He proceeded to grab it. Took the cover off and dump it all over her.  Then. Two of his body guards snuck up from behind and bit her through her jacket on the underside of her arms.  

Another monkey stole johns eyeglasses and ran off.  

St Michael’s caves has a rock formation that looks like an angel and a cool light show inside. 

There are a cute bunch of turtles in the pond near the castle. 

Atlantic is colder so it goes under the Mediterranean which is why you do not see water changes where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean 

Air burst shells explode into the air and rain down.  They were invented there 

Grand siege lasted three years. 

The runway goes across the road and traffic is stopped when there is a take off or landing.

Barcelona

 

A beautiful drive through the Pyrenees mountains.  Passing lots of old castles and mountains and snow.  

Arriving in Barcelona was another challenge for me. In fairness I could totally blame the GPS that kept sending me down streets that left six inches on both sides of my car.  Eventually we just said F It and dropped the car off at the airport.  Took a taxi who could only get us five blocks from the hotel due to activities going on and road closures.  Hotel was fine. Bare minimum in comparison to the beauty that RoC Blanc was.  The location was worth it because it was right in the middle of the center in the gothic section

This section was quite entertaining.  A Manchester United vs Barcelona futbol game brought in the Britt’s.  Lots of singing and chanting in the streets.  Six story high shoe stores and a Barcelona store caught Patrick’s attention.  We had a marching band outside the window playing lullabies in drunken unity.  Of course a store called dick waffles got some attention.  I had no words seeing it on the Main Street.  

We took the hop on hop off bus and did both routes.  It was so nice to get the tour of the whole city.  I have to say other than the Seguiero Familia I wasn’t a fan of Gaudi. I prefer the pretty Mediterranean look of the apartments with iron balconies    It is a very pretty city with so much character.  Next time I hope to spend some time by the seaport.  But this trip was the perfect sampling.  

Grenada Spain

 Stopped at the Alhambra.  They had sold all the tickets but we were able to peruse the grounds.  Pretty and great spot to photograph.  We stopped at a viewing point where a little dog lead us to the top.  Think he was waiting for a tip.  He definitely was a tour guide.  We got some beautiful views of Granada.  All the shops were closed due to it being a Sunday so I definitely saved some money.  

Paris 2022

 

Andorra

We departed Valentine’s Day.  A direct flight into Barcelona.  Easy on. Easy off.  Flying in we knew it was going to be great as we passed over Monserrat and it’s amazing geographical shapes.   Little did we know we would drive right by it later.  

Got a rental.  It was a Lynk & co SUV.  Patrick immediately impressed.  Man at the hotel said “Bonita”.  He liked it. 

Driving straight to Andorra as Patrick had his eye on checking off another country.  We stayed at Roc Blanc. A beautiful hotel in Andorra De Valle between many different ski resorts.  Awesome bath tub and they had a pool with thermal water that we didn’t make it into but definitely would next time 

Patrick was a bit surprised I lost my cool driving. The in town driving was very confusing.  Might have gone through a red light and had a near miss with the pedestrians and pissed off a truck driver.  Went through a ton of cool mountain tunnels.  Figuring the speed in the car was also challenging but the amount of round abouts definitely challenged my patience. 

Day 2.  Three countries in one day. A drive through France.  Stopping of course for some French fries. 

A beautiful drive through the Pyrenees mountains.  Passing lots of old castles and mountains and snow. 
Patrick’s goal was three countries in a day so yes… we had French fries in France after leaving Andorra and then straight on to Barcelona.  I would say we more than checked the box! 

Colorado the Sequel

 

An AWHONN conference brought me back to Colorado.  I spent a few days in a private room sharing my conference experience with my friend Cheryl at the Gaylord resort in Arouca   A bit pricey but lots to do and lots to choose from   Had some nice meals at the hotel and never left  

Starting Wednesday became my few days of rest.  Spent the afternoon with the kids. Went in the lazy river and then watched a thunderstorm come in.  

Thursday we picked up the Jeep rental through a company called NU. Couldn’t leave the state but we weren’t planning on it.   Started our day at the zoo visiting my spirit animal the Aye Aye.  A lemur with a really long middle finger. Then a stop for a go kart ride.  Finally arriving in Estes park at the advice of Kristin and Greg.   Rocky Mountain National park was amazing.  The views stunning and so fun to see the animals at the side of the road.  

Stayed the night at Saddle and Surrey an adorable motel with so much space and a. Full fridge. While dates it was clean and totally a throwback to good ole kitchy America.  A great choice

Winding down the trip we went shopping in the adorable town of Estes.  Kate got a beautiful cow backpack for school.  

Other things we did 

Air Force Academy free planetarium show was well worth the trip. Learned so much about astronauts.  They had a nice visitors center.  Being a cadet certainly seems like hard work.

Manitou Springs had some Pueblo homes. We drove by but didn’t stop since the thunderstorms were lingering near by and a zip line didn’t seem like a great idea.  

Garden of the Gods surprised John  he expected small rocks when in fact they are huge formations 

Pikes Peak - a nice drive to the top of Pikes peak. 

top took about an hour.  Some scary switch backs but getting to the top was worth it. 

Patrick got whiffed by lightning  he and Kate both heard static when the clouds rolled in.  No strike but he certainly felt the residue. His hair stood up for a bit of time afterwards.  

 a stop at Top Golf to play angry birds was a fun way to end the day and sit out some rain.  A rainbow reminded us we made a good decision.  

We snuck in a visit to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal animal sanctuary at sunset ended our time in Colorado.  Bison coming right up to the car and deer everywhere.   Didn’t get to see the prairie dogs as they must go to bed early.  But overall a good trip.