Return: To Spain

Today Rebeca is getting on a plane and flying back to Spain. We'll all miss her so much! We've so enjoyed having her as a part of our family for the past two months. I so appreciate what a huge help she's been with the boys, but mostly I have appreciated her friendship. If you hear someone crying over at our house today, it's me...I'll miss you, "Beca"!

Return: Volver

On Thursday, Rebeca (our summer nanny) will be returning to Spain to continue her university studies. What a fun summer we've had with her here! We took advantage of overcast skies and cooler temperatures today to do a photo shoot with her and the boys. Rebeca, thank you so much for all you've done for us this summer! You were wonderful with the boys and a great friend to me! We love you and will miss you so much!!!

Charleston: Day 6 -- Isle of Palms

Today has been my favorite day of the trip so far. After a leisurely morning of sleeping in, coffee and breakfast, we went for a walk on the beach at Isle of Palms.

Tonight, we made predictions (and wrote them down!) about what our lives will be like three years from now when we hope to meet up again. May calls it "Three by Three"--every three years the three of us will endeavor to get together. We stayed up late talking. It was a rich time of friendship. I was a little sad this morning realizing that in two more days we'll all go back to our separate corners of the world (one of us in TX, one in the Carolinas, and the other in Spain), but I am so thankful and so content to have these women as my dear, dear friends. I love them.

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

Day 1: Arrive in Charleston!

The fun started right away when Anne greeted me at the airport with cachirulos for each of us! ¡Olé!We grabbed some lunch, dropped my stuff off at her house and then headed back to the airport to pick up May. On the way to the airport, we saw a rainbow that was 180 degrees!

Then we met our Spanish friend May who came all the way from Zaragoza. We're having a blast!

Semana Santa

I’m on an airplane as I type this en route to Charleston, SC, where my best friend Anne lives. We’re going to spend Easter Week together with our dear friend, May, who is flying in from Spain for a girls’ week! I’m so excited to see them--to have a whole week together feels like friendship decadence! The three of us met back in 2002/3 when we were all working together in Spain. We became fast friends, and I’m so thankful that we have maintained our friendships over the past seven years!

In thinking about this trip, it occurred to me that Anne and I have have spent one other Easter week together. It was Holy Week (or Semana Santa, as they say in Spain) of 2003. I was living in Zaragoza, and a group of my American friends/co-workers and I decided to take a trip down to Seville where Semana Santa is celebrated in grand style.

There are processions through the streets with giant floats depicting scenes from the original Holy Week:

Photo found here.

Operatic songs are sung in the open air:

Photo found here.

Women are dressed in their traditional headdresses:

Photo found here.

And then there is the most striking sight of all: the throngs of people walking through the streets in these hooded garments that look to my American eyes precisely like those worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

Photo found here.

It is a most disconcerting thing to see. I never could get used to it. After associating such an image with the most heinous and unsavory of aspect of American culture, it was hard to see it as having any other meaning, regardless of what country I was in.

As I came to learn, Spaniards have worn such garments during Holy Week for centuries. The hooded cloaks are symbols of repentance. I tried to get comfortable with that and to dissociate what I saw around me in the streets of Seville from the symbol of hate that hooded cloaks symbolize here in America.

But it was impossible.

I have always tended to diffuse uncomfortable moments with humor, and Anne still gets the giggles when we reminisce about one particular day of our trip to Seville when I leaned over to her and said, “Hey, Annie, purple Kluxer at six o’clock”.

I am now arrived safely in Charleston, and perched on Anne's kitchen countertop to greet me was this little trinket she bought in Seville those many years ago.

Nothing like a little purple-clad penitent to bring back memories!

Days 8 and 9 - San Sebastian: Crown Jewel of Spain

Four years ago, my best friend Anne and I celebrated our 30th birthdays by going to San Sebastian. It is an adorable city on the Bay of Biscay. 

The charm just doesn't stop in this sweet town. San Sebastian is a horseshoe bay with an island out in the middle of it. 

While I wouldn't trade my 30th birthday celebration with my bestie for anything, the thought did occur to me those four years ago that San Sebastian is a bit like Venice or Paris...awesome to be there with your friend, but the city is meant for lovers. So ever since my first visit, I have had a little dream to return to San Sebastian one day with my husband, should I ever marry.

How lovely to have a dream come true! 

Oct. 13-14:  San Sebastian is in the Basque Country region of Spain, just across the border from France. So while it is a distinctly Basque/Spanish city, there is a fair amount of French influence.

Hubs and I had a great time wandering around the city, sitting at this outdoor cafe,

and seeing another beautiful cathedral...

...with stunning stained glass windows...

We also enjoyed wandering around the "Barrio Viejo", the old town section of the city, where we enjoyed a delicious dinner one night.

What is a charming seaside town without a charming boardwalk? I couldn't get over these beautiful street lamps that created the perfect setting for an evening stroll with my sweetie.

This is the fashion portion of the post. One day, we found ourselves out and about and nowhere near our hotel, and it got chilly, so Hubs bought this sporty blue hoody...

...and I bought this groovy striped sweater at H&M, one of my fave European stores (which is now in the US!).

One of my favorite moments of our entire trip was this dreary, drizzly morning. We woke up and decided to take a stroll on the beach. The misting rain didn't even matter. It was just a perfect moment with my love.

Day 7 - Zaragoza: Day of the Pilar

Oct. 12 - Day of the Pilar

This is the day in which Catholics come to the Pilar Cathedral to honor "Nuestra Señora del Pilar", the patron saint of Spain and Latin America. People dress in their native garb "traje baturro" and come to the Pilar to make an offering of flowers to the Virgin.

This is my friend Simona. She is from Romania and is one of SIXTEEN brothers and sisters. Can you even believe that? Eight of them have immigrated to Spain. Simona and I met when I lived there six years ago, and I think the fact that we were both outsiders in Spanish culture helped us to form a quick bond. She had Hubs and I over for lunch, and then the three of us headed over to the Pilar to check out the festivities.

Here, Hubs and I are standing inside of the Pilar Cathedral. Behind us, through the doors, you can see the massive floral offering outside in the square.

Since we are not Catholic, we didn't participate in the offering, but it is a sight to behold!

This unsuspecting family had no idea Hubs was clicking away at their awesome get-ups!

This is a video of a man singing a "jota" about the Virgin of the Pilar:

Here is a group doing a folkloric dance with beating sticks:

Day 6-Zaragoza: Nothing brings friends together like a delicious paella cookout!

Oct. 11-

We were privileged to have one of our Spanish friends from the region of Valencia cook us a "Paella Valenciana". If you have never had the chance to eat paella, I highly recommend going to a Spanish restaurant straight away and crossing it off your list of "to dos in this life". There are different varieties of paella. The one constant is saffron rice with veggies. Then you can have whatever type of meat you prefer--paella often has seafood in it, but since my tummy reacts badly to seafood, ours had chicken and rabbit. That's right people, I ate rabbit!  Sorry to sound cliche, but it tasted like chicken.  

Part of what made this trip back to Spain so different was finding my group of friends (myself included) in new stages of life. When I lived there, the majority of us were single. Now, most of us are married, and many have kids. Our paella lunch had so many kids, there was even a kids' table (notice the princess and the ballerina seated at the head of the table).

There was a grown-up table too.  :) 

It was a lovely afternoon with friends. That evening, we went over to my former boss, Toti's house.  He and his wife Paloma are wonderful and warm people, and it was great to see them. Toti is an artistic kindred spirit to me. He is always so encouraging to me in my artistic endeavors, and he is an incredibly talented painter and poet himself.