5 years

5 years ago today, our dear neighbors from New Hampshire packed the four of us and 8 stuffed to the brim suitcases (plus carry ons) into their van and drove us to Boston's Logan airport for a tearful good bye, as we set off on a life changing adventure and moved to Germany.  

Unlike most Americans we have met living over here, we were not military (with access to US based schools, English speaking doctors and commissaries full of familiar foods) or on an expat contract (with a 2, 3, or at most 5 year end date, at which point we'd know we were going "home," provided flights back to the states every year, a container of our things shipped over and tuition paid for the kids to attend an English speaking international school) or students (here for the shorter term, mostly young and either without children or with very young children).

We were 30 somethings on a German contract, with no paid trips home, no access to US brands, unless we could find them for sale in German stores, no end date, and (hardest by far) a need to place our children in local schools with a German speaking population in spite of having only had 8 frantic weeks to try to learn a bit of the language while packing up and selling most of our belongings.  We had 16 suitcases of familiar belongings with us: mostly clothes, and things that would brings some sense of comfort and familiarity to the kids: dolls, legos, board games (they take up much less space if you leave the box behind), family photos (removed from frames, to fit, then cut down and reframed and placed on the wall here), as many books as Marika could fit in (this was before Kindle; possibly the greatest invention ever for book loving people living abroad!).  

The first two weeks here were exhausting.  The company had rented us a small furnished apartment for those two weeks so we could get our rented townhouse ready.  As is typical here, the townhouse came with no installed lighting (just bare wires) and no kitchen (just a room with tile backsplash and hook ups).  We had to buy and install counters and cabinets, sink, stove and fridge (MANY thanks to our friends Eva and Uwe who lived about an hour away and were able to find us a used kitchen on ebay and help us buy it, get it delivered and even helped us install it that first weekend--I don't think we would have made it through without them).  

We averaged four trips to IKEA (30 minutes up the road) a day in that time (buying first lights and basic kitchen items, then beds, a table, etc), often eating a meal while there.  Before the kitchen was in, I think we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner there a couple of times.  In between times we would frantically assemble furniture, and rush to meetings with lawyers, city officials and Dave's boss and HR department to get our visas properly processed.  We had not yet received a paycheck in Euros, and the exchange rate was heavily against us.  The company did offer us a lump sum towards furniture, and it DID help (we could not have managed otherwise) but it did not cover all of even basic furnishings, especially with the need for a kitchen and lighting.  So there was a constant stress deciding what was needed and what could wait and when it was worthwhile to splurge a bit to feel like "home" in addition to the stress of trying to figure out where to buy basics like fire alarms (not standard in German rentals) and tools, etc and the ever present struggle to be understood.

So here we are, 5 years later.  I look around and wonder HOW we have managed to accumulate so much stuff again in only 5 years!  We have the process for renewing our visas down to a science (though we have now been here long enough to apply for permanent residency, so that will be an entirely new adventure). Trips to the grocery store took hours at first (so many things are packaged very differently, or simply not available, etc) and were simply exhausting mentally.  Now we think nothing of it and know our way around close to a dozen stores and which ones carry particular products we like, etc.

We've put in a lot of effort, and in the end have made a HOME here.

Well, most of us.  Marika has put in the effort, but you know, moving to a new cultural, with a new language and a very different school system as a 12 year old girl is ROUGH.  Germany remains a more temporary place for Marika (though she has now lived here longer than anywhere else); she is looking forward to moving back to the US for college in a year and a half (and I know she will do great, but I can't say the thought of leaving her on another continent doesn't weigh heavily on me!).  She has had some rough times, but also some great ones and I think she got a lot out of this crazy adventure in the end.  Honestly, had we been able to move when she was younger, or had she come here as an adult I think she would want to stay.  Her personality is very German, but the timing was very wrong for her.

Rio? As Marika likes to say, three of us are Americans living in Germany and Rio is a German who happens to have an American passport.  That is pretty accurate.  He fits well here, and is in the best possible school for him (a semi private Waldorf school with its own working farm).  He may go back to the states someday: if he wants to attend university he will almost have to, and he is eyeing IT fields lately, with his increasing obsession with all things electronic (the German school system makes it very hard for someone coming in as old as our kids were to graduate with what they need for university, and equally hard for someone with dyslexia, so he has a double whammy in that regard), but he also really loves it here.  He is the one of us who fully grasps the language.

Dave and I?  We really like it here.  We might well stay in Germany the rest of our lives.  We are nomads though.  We have chased the career for as long as there has been a career and if we need to (once the kids graduate) we will keep chasing it.  So, we will just have to see what pans out, but we would both be very, very happy if what plays out is a lifetime in Germany with stadtfests, 6 weeks of vacation a year, public transit, amazing healthcare, and incredible landscapes.

--Hadley

A little trip to Firebowl

Not everything is all that different in Germany as compared to the US.

It was pretty chilly out today (with a high just over 20 F), but the kids were in the mood to get out and do something.  By the time Rio was home from school and we were looking for an activity it was late afternoon and temperatures were already back down in the teens.  So, we needed something fun that would also be near the tram line--walking back to the tram it would be dark and even cooler.

Heidelberg's main bowling alley, Firebowl, fit the bill perfectly.  Firebowl is right across the street from the Betriebhoff tram and bus stop (where nearly half the trams and buses in Heidelberg pass through) and only a block from the main train station.

They have a little beer garden area for the nicer times of year. which we scooted right through in our rush to get to the heat!

Inside I think it looks pretty much the same as an American bowling alley.  It is perhaps a bit more "nightclub" and a bit less "fifties"

Hmm, looking at the photos above, I guess one difference is that they would not be serving the 17 year old wine in the US!  Marika will have to get used to that when she goes back for university (but she loves cold, still ice water, so she will have a better option when out anyway).  

It was the prefect time to go; they now have a special on Wednesdays, a pizza, shoe rental and game of bowling for 8 Euros.  That is a pretty good bargain.

One nice little touch, that does serve to remind you that even though you are playing an American game, you are in fact in the fairy tale land of Germany, is the mural of the city along the back wall:

As I write this many of you, in the US, are in bitter cold temperatures, or ice storms.  I wish you all safety and health throughout the wacky weather, and the chance to go bowling and use up some energy.

--Hadley

Differing views on religion

With the lack of snow, this is a very grey and blah winter here in Germany.  Thus, I don't have much in the way of fun trips to share at the moment, but I can ALWAYS ramble on about various things I find interesting in Germany as compared to the US, so I figured I might as well post a few entries along those lines while I wait for a chance to go on an outing.

So, let's start with some things about religion in German society that a typical American would be shocked by, or find intrusive or "too much"

Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, is a member of the CDU political party. CDU stands for Christian Democratic Union.  Woah!  From an American perspective, having a major political party being specifically NAMED for a religion seems like a huge violation of the separation of church and state which we hold so dear.
On the other hand, many Germans have told me they find putting "In God We Trust on our money is a startling cross of that line for them.

At school in Germany all kids take religious education classes.  Parents choose whether it is Catholic, Protestant or just general ethics (a few areas offer other choices) until the year in which the student is 14 at the outset, at which point the students themselves choose. It is also not uncommon for Saint Nickolas day to be celebrated at school or even for schools to go to a church to sing carols on the last day of school before the Christmas vacation, etc.    While this might feel like far too much religion in public schools tin the US, those in German often tell me that and compelling public school children to say a pledge of allegiance with a reference to "one country under God" strikes them as crossing a line and forcing religion (and patriotism in a way that feels far too much like Hitler's regime for comfort) onto the most vulnerable minds in the population.  There is also quite a bit of confusion as to why or how US school districts sometimes base curriculum choices (especially in science or health, namely sex education) on religious principals.

In the first week or two that we lived here in Germany, Dave's new boss called him and asked him what religion we were.  As an American, Dave's initial reaction was pretty much "none of your business, and why would you even ask."  From the German standpoint, his boss really did need to know.  In Germany, if you belong to either the Protestant or Catholic church, your 10% contribution to the church is taken out of your paycheck before taxes.  We have spoken to several Germans, all of whom tell us that if they were baptized in Germany they ARE church members and have to give, unless they go through official channels to denounce their religion (which all say is more than they could do and it would break their parents' hearts).  Many say they do not really mind giving because the church does so much for the community and also keeping the many old buildings in good repair is expensive but worthwhile as it preserves the history and culture of the country as well as bringing in tourist dollars.

For us Americans, this type of forced tithing, and the church inspired closing of most shops on Sundays (and rules against making too much noise on Sundays, etc) seems like religion is permeating society.

On the other side of things, many Germans see a very unhealthy "obsession" with religion in US society.

 It is pretty common for students to spend a semester or year abroad in the tenth grade.  In our area, I would say close to 40% of students do so, and most go to an English speaking country to sharpen that ever so marketable skill.  I have spoken to many parents who try to persuade their teen to go to Australia, or New Zealand (or England, but being so close it lacks appeal for many of the kids) and steer them away from going to the US (funny, I never hear of anyone going to Canada; I am not really sure why).

 Those who aren't successful at talking their teens into somewhere else often opt, as our neighbors have this year, to spend two to three times as much money to send their children to boarding schools which accept one year exchanges, rather than have their children stay with a host family.

When asked why, I get the same answer every time.  In the last decade or so, more and more Germans have known someone whose child went to America and was placed with a host family who was deeply religious. Germans find attending church several times a week, insisting that a teen attend church at all, etc very unsettling and do NOT want their children in such an environment.

I don't really have a point here, other than to highlight some differences in how things are done and how they are perceived by the two cultures.  Maybe I will work on having a point in my next post!

--Hadley

Port Aventura Salou, Spain

El Campello is too far from Heidelberg for us to make the drive in one day.

This year, we planned a shorter trip to El Campello and then a three night "partway home" stop just south of Barcelona in Salou.  The big draw in Salou (especially when it is too cold for the beach) is the large Port Aventura amusement park.  We had been able to buy specially labled Chupa Chup packages before our last cruise that had a 2 for one deal to Port Aventura on them; so we were all set to spend two days exploring a new theme park (which, I am sure all my regular readers have figured out is one of our favourite things!).

We had booked a family suite with kitchenette at a nearby hotel (The Mecure Atena Aventura).  I wish I had taken photos of the room!  It was the oddest combination of good and terrible set-up I have ever seen.

On the plus side: we walked into t room just as the fireworks were starting at Port Aventura and had a perfect view.  For an 80 Euro a night room that was pretty incredible.  The room was also very large, with a folding "wall" between the master bedroom and the "kids's room" (bunk beds) and kitchen area.  Oh, and there was free wi fi and what turned out to be an EXCELLENT breakfast included.

On the downside: there was almost no closet space. This is livable, but the kitchen was made useless by the lack of seating in the room.  There was ONE chair (at the desk).  So, okay you can cook but there is no where to sit to eat.  Weird.  The top bunk was too low to let people sit on the bottom bunk and the "king" bed was two twins ON WHEELS pushed together which had a tendency to go flying around the room if you sat on them or wiggled at all.

So, you were pretty much relegated to sitting on the hardwood floor to eat.  NOT a good plan (and really odd given how much space there was; there was more than enough empty floor and wall space to allow for a full sofa or a kitchen table and chairs).

It was late and we were tired, so we skipped trying to cook and negotiate the seating and headed off to a local restaurant that had good reviews on Tripadvisor.  We arrived at El Patio around 7:45. It was empty and we were told the kitchen did not open until 8:00 (typical in Spain) but that we could take a seat and have some drinks while we waited.
By 8:15 the place was PACKED.  This is clearly a local favourite and we soon learned why.  First off, their product "entre tapas y pizza" is a stroke of marketing genius!  Wood fired pizza and quality traditional tapas.  Nearly every table had families with kids happily eating pizza and adults happily eating tapas.  Secondly, the food was delicious and decently priced.  I highly recommend this place (we went back the next night too!).

http://www.entretapasypizzas.com/

Once we were filled up with pizza, papas bravas (and 4 cheese potatoes too!) and a few other tapas (and sangria, of course) we headed back to the hotel for some sleep before hitting the theme park for day 1 of two the next morning.

After an excellent breakfast at the hotel, we drove towards the park, annoyed with ourselves for oversleeping and not being there in time for the 10 o'clock opening.  We need not have worried and in the end we were glad we slept in as the park was woefully unprepared for guests at their stated opening time.  We were in line to go through the parking turnstiles (you pay on the way in) at about 10 after 10. In spite of growing lines only about two thirds of the fully automated turnstiles were operating.  Odd, but okay.  Once parked, we headed to the ticket windows, where we found very long lines.  Lines that were not moving.  The park opened at 10, but none of the ticket windows were manned until about 10:25 and then it took another 5 or 6 minutes to get the computers online and start actually selling tickets.  NOT the best start to the day.

Once we were inside though, things were much better.  I am going to just talk about the park as whole now and not go ride by ride day by day.  Days one and two were not all that different, but it was VERY nice to have two days and not feel rushed to fit it all in in one day (especially since wind gusts kept closing the big coasters the kids wanted to ride on our first day).

Port Aventura is known primarily for its coasters, and they sure had those.  In this photo you can see the tracks for both Shambhala (it has the longest drop in Europe, and seventh in the world) and Dragon Kahn (which has the most inversions in Europe).

The kids enjoyed both (though riding Shambhala got to be difficult.  They waited nearly and hour TWICE on the first day only to have it shut down due to winds.  Rio finally rode it alone at the end of the day, and then both rode it the next day.  Dragon Khan was the bigger hit and they were able to ride it 10 or so times between the two days (and being nerds, they delighted in shouting "KHAAAAAN", ala Star Trek, every time they rode!).  

They also took two loop on teh short but exceedingly fast Furious Baco.  It was the first ride we hit the first morning and we made the rookie mistake of waiting for it (far too long!).  They thought it was fine but overall boring (sounded my speed) so I rode it with them when there was no line going out of hte park.  OMG it took off SO FAST.  I was stunned and not all that happy.  Yeah, turns out i rode the fastest coaster in Europe!  Never again thank you.  

There was also a set of wood coasters that race, which the kids enjoyed and a mine train coaster that always had a long line so they skipped it.

Dave and I were impressed by the vegetation and theming and availability of other rides.  It was nice to be at a "coaster park"  that still provided something interesting for the non coaster loving members of the family. 

There were several shows to see, including a cure bird show and a much nicer than I would have expected ice skating show:

We also found plenty of rides to go on, even with most of the water attractions closed for the winter (the large raft ride was open, and we were crazy enough to ride it once).  The bumper cars were some of my favourites; not nearly as jerky as most and really easy to drive and just fun.

Theming at Shambhala

A Betty Boop dance show near the enterance

a fun ride that was kind of a cross between tea cups and the old style spider ride

The kids are in the car on the right

The Santa marching band was pretty good and played all over the park

photo op!

Bumper cars (or bulls)!

One thing (other than opening) that I would complain about was that being off season only a few counter service places were open for meals.  Between noon and about 2:30 each day wait times to get food were about an hour EVERYWHERE that was open.  They really needed better staffing.  That said, the counter service food, once you got it was decent for okay pricing given where you were at.  Full meals with a choice of appetizer, choice of entree, choice of dessert and a soda or beer were 11 Euro.  These were so big that we actually split two between us and then got Rio a popcorn snack later in the day on the first day.  On the second day we paid to eat in the indoor restaurant.  The wait was also horrible and the pizza was clearly from a frozen boxed meal, at high prices.  I got Spanish chicken which was tasty but it was two very small drumsticks and one baby potato (boiled) cut in half. VERY little food for 15 euro!  Port Aventura does not allow packed lunches to be brought in (and they did look in my bag upon entering), so you need to plan ahead for this if you go.

Overall, we had a nice time and were glad we went.  That said, we are in no rush to go back and would not consider this a "destination park"  There is no reason to go unless you are in the area anyway and looking to kill some time (which we were and it was perfect for that).  I would not sacrifice time in Barcelona to go there if you have not spent lots of time in the city already, and I would not plan a trip around getting to spend a day or two at Port Aventura (whereas, I WOULD plan a trip specifically to visit Efteling in Holland, or any Disney park).  

--Hadley

Mundomar Benidrom, Spain

Last year, Dave, Rio and I were left with a favourable impression of Mundomar, so we wanted to be sure and go back this year while everyone was (hopefully) healthy.

We chose to go on Monday, December 23, hoping that being a weekday, and with most people busy putting the final touches on Christmas celebrations it would not be crowded.  It turned out to be the perfect day to visit.  The weather was the best we had the entire trip, temps in the low 60s with bright sunny skies and no wind, and the park was nearly empty.  There were just enough people to keep that trapped in an eerie horror movie feel away, but not enough to ever feel crowded or need to wait for anything.

We arrived about an hour after opening and used 10 Euro off coupons we picked up at the grocery store (note: discount coupons seem to be available in many places,  I don't think there would ever be a need to pay full price).  The total for three of us came to 38 Euros (Marika is not fond of animals and skipped the outing).

There are a few zoo like exhibits as you head in, including the flamingos and black swan and the meerkats (as shown below).

We arrived in time for the sea lion feeding.  We expected to watch the trainers feed the sea lions.  Instead, the trainers gave a talk (in both Spanish and English) about sea lions and then gave people the option to pay to feed them a snack.  It was only 1 euro for a tray of six fish to feed them, so Rio and I split one and Dave took photos.

Yuck!  Fish!

After that, we spiraled a down around the bend to where the other sea lions were about to perform and took a seat for the sea lion show.  I do really like how they space the shows at this park.  They make it very easy to see everything with enough time not to rush in between but not a lot of downtime either, and without having to crisscross around to fit it all in.

The sea lion show was cute and had a holiday theme (but different than last year's).  

The park's photographers were taking candid photos of the audiences during the show and I ended up buying one at park close; it can be really hard to get a close up if Rio smiling these days; he prefers not to show off his braces!

Next we headed to the central, indoor, theatre that is attached to the counter service restaurant.  It is designed to make it easy to pick up your food and eat at the tables while you watch.  Rio, also known as the bottomless pit, was "starving" and thrilled to get some food.  The offerings are decent and reasonably priced for the venue.  Three meals, two large sodas and a liter of sangria came out to about 25 euro.

There are two shows in the theatre (at least there are in winter).  Over lunch we watched the one show in the park which does not involve animals.  It was a Christmas variety show with an arial act, dancers, clowns, a particularly good magician and singers; all tied together through the story of two children receiving the gift of music for Christmas.    It was pretty well done and quite an enjoyable way to spend lunch.  We were all shocked when one of the sea lion trainers was signing in the show; he had a lovely tenor voice.  That was just something we were not expecting.

After lunch, we decided to head to the back of the park to see one of the two dolphin shows, the dolphins are the stars of the park and we wanted the option to return and watch it again later.  We had time to stop, spend another euro, and feed some penguins on our way:

Wow, yes, this show is a so well done and was, once again, a whole lot of fun.  It lasts about 20 minutes and had a fun holiday theme (and those great views overlooking the mountains behind the park).

After that highlight, we headed back to the central indoor theatre to watch the bird show.  Rio was happy to go back for a snack; teen boys, they are always hungry!  He also was chosen to have a large parrot land on his arm.  Unfortunately I did not get the photo, a toddler ran past me trying to get to the parrot and knocked me out of the way , but here's Rio getting ready to let a bird perch on him:

The show had a cute little theme about Santa losing his glasses and having everyone looking for them when they were really in his pocket all along.  The birds fly out and overhead "looking for the lost glasses" and it worked well.  I really love how well they use both English and Spanish in a way that allows everyone to understand but is not overly repetitive.

At that point, we had seen all of the shows.  We decided we DID want to see the dolphins again, so we took our time checking out the various other exhibits and the views because we had about an hour before that show started.

We also stopped by the Sun Coursers cage at the time labeled as "photos"  OMG, you walk in the cage, they pour bird seed in your hands and you get swarmed!  If I look rather disheveled in the photo below, it is probably because moments earlier there had also been two birds in my hair and a couple on my shoulders, and all of those little bird toes are scratchy!  It was kind of fun and kind of freaky all rolled into one (you will notice Rio dropped the bird seeds and moved AWAY from the chaos before a photo could be made).

The second dolphin show was just as good, and different dolphins and trainers were doing the bigger tricks that time around, so everyone had a chance to shine and to rest.  We were happy to see the dolphins jumping and playing in the pool on their own between shows as well.  

All in all it was a very pleasant visit to Mundomar and we were very glad we went back this year.

--Hadley

#mundomar

Our trip down to El Campello, Spain

I have now slept through two full nights without an asthma induced coughing fit waking me, and feel rested enough to get back into the swing of things.  I think I had forgotten what having energy actually felt like!

I will not be blogging about our Christmas trip day by day.  This is partly because we went to the same area as last year, even staying in the same rental penthouse with a hot tub on the terrace, and I started this blog reporting on that trip, so it seems silly to be repetitive.  It is also partly that the weather was not so great, chilly with lots of wind and one day of heavy rains, and largely because that asthma I referenced earlier (which is new for me) was really bad for most of the trip so I was often pretty out of it and not seeing all the detail I normally see and really not taking photos.

We started off a bit differently for this trip.  Rio only had school until 11:00 on the Friday before Christmas break.  Dave was working that day in southern France, almost right in the path of where we would be driving.  So, rather than have David fly home Friday afternoon and then start driving (along with half the country) on Saturday morning, Marika and I loaded the car, picked Rio up from school and the kids and I started driving south to meet up with David in Mont Pellier, France where we would spend the night before finishing the drive on Saturday (which also meant we would already be settled and not on the road for Rio's birthday on Sunday).

Overall that worked really well.  It was great to get out before the major holiday traffic was on the roads (it was noticeably lighter) and we really only had a back up in Geneva (which we hit at rush hour and then sat for a little more than an hour getting across town and at the back up on the French side of the border just out of town waiting to get our toll ticket).

It was really nice to arrive at the hotel (the Holiday Inn Express in Montpellier, France) and already be checked in; Dave was waiting out front for us with a room key (knowing I always need a bathroom ASAP after a drive) and parked the car while we settled in.  He had also already explored the area and had some good ideas of where we could go for a late dinner.

We had chosen the hotel simply because it was inexpensive, we could earn "points" at the chain and it was where we needed to be for the night.  Overall it was a nice hotel with a decent sized room (that slept four with queen bed and pull out sofa) and a pretty good breakfast included.  We had paid a little more to book a nicer room with a "kitchenette" since Dave would be on his own most of the afternoon and evening.  It's a good thing we were only there one night and not counting on being able to actually cook anything.  Kitchentte meant a small fridge and a microwave and not even a pair of glasses in the room, much less a plate or other cooking item!

The great thing about the hotel though was that it was right across an easy to walk over street from a huge shopping and entertainment area called the Odysseum.  We had not known this when we booked, and have never heard of this, but it was a lot of fun (reminiscent of Downtown Disney) and we will likely go back for a long weekend sometime just to hang out and play here.  There is nothing cultural about it at all, just fun general stuff.

As you can see, there were large open spaces between shops, lots of palm trees and a carousel.  

This disco style ice skating rink looked like it would be loads of fun.  Too bad we were in so late and needed to get up and going in the morning.  One reason we have to go back!

The climbing gym had some of the tallest (if not THE tallest) walls/courses we have seen.

There was also a nice looking bowling alley, a huge aquarium, a large planetarium and a big movie theatre as well as many shops.  There were many choices for dining as well.  From basic Italian and French restaurants, to an American style diner, to our choice: Pirate's Paradise, which had this fun photo op out front.  

How to describe Pirate's Paradise?  Hmm.  Not easy to do.  If you recall my post from this summer about Denver's Casa Bonita, it is sort of like a newer, high class, pirate themed, French, Casa Bonita,  Yeah, I know, that makes no sense.  Or think Rainforest Cafe but with better food, better pricing, and higher quality theming which is pirate.  It was a fun place (and not busy at that time) and really felt like vacation.  Here are a few photos:

Every member of the waitstaff had different, and good quality costumes, which added to the fun ambiance; here is Marika with our waitress.

By the time we enjoyed a fun dinner and explored both the restaurant and the surrounding area, it was about 10:30, so we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep as we still had about 8 hours of driving ahead of us for Saturday.

Saturday was a pretty easy day.  We slept in and then stopped about three hours in in Barcelona to stretch a bit.  We drove up to, and parked at Tibidabo (see last year's post for photos) but did not buy wntry wristbands.  Instead, we stayed in the free Skywalk area and just walked around enjoying the views, etc.  We did end up buying one 2 euro ticket per person for the ticketed rides out in that stretch.  The kids wanted to ride up in the tall crane that overlooks the city from way too high up (in my opinion) and Dave and I saw the little film about the history of the park that they run in the old planetarium.  All in all we spent about 90 minutes up there, and it was such a pleasant break.  

Because we had rented this same place last year, there was no need for someone to meet us and show us where to park in the garage, how to run the heaters, etc, so we had been able to arrange to pick up the keys from a local tapas bar instead of having to meet at a very specific time, which made the rest of the drive quite a bit less stressful.

And, so, on the night of the 21st we arrived happily at our little penthouse, where, much to my delight, the owners had even provided us with a Christmas tree this year!

Up next, a report on our day at Mundomar (this time Rio did not start running a high fever an hour into the trip, so this topic bares repeating!).  

--Hadley