Home sweet home

"we shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." T.S Elliot

Sorry for the delay in posting, but as many people know from facebook we have arrived back in the cold country! Dealing with jet lag, christmas preparations and much appreciated and loved company has left little time to add this final post. We had to leave Barcelona two weeks early as we found out that to stay until our planned departure meant an increase in travel costs, by about ten thousand dollars! So to stick with budget or schedule was not much of a debate, we chose budget! It turns out that the Catalan/Spanish holidays continue on a bit into January and so we would have still been in prime travel time. So here we are!

It was bittersweet, as I anticipated, something we have planned for and dreamt of for a long time, coming to an end. We travelled back to amsterdam where I decided to go to the Van Gogh museum, Ross came with me and we both really enjoyed it, a must see if you are the least bit interested in art, or Van gogh, he is a personal favorite of mine and I was close to tears being so near his actual palette!
We wandered the streets and ate a dutch donut, a ball of dough deep fried to chewy perfection and sprinkled with icing sugar, mmmm! It was a fun day and Ross and I decided we liked amsterdam a lot more than we originally thought and I am dreaming of a return to the area. We also saw a village with traditional windmills calls Zaan Schans, it isn't a place where people live, more of a museum but it was really cool to see. We had a couple of relaxing days there and then took our flight with iceland air, to Iceland and then on to Edmonton. It was really cool hearing the Icelandic language on the plane and in the airport, made me melancholy. After some lengthy delays due to weather we ended up having to switch a couple flights and rather than make it home in one day it took two, with an overnight in edmonton. It was for a reason though because we got to experience a hotel in Europe and then the next day, Canada. It was great for comparing.

Anyway, we are all settling in, trying to adjust to climate and gratefully spending time with loved ones. We all have plans and goals and are moving on to our next adventures and we have already started saying things like "remember in (insert country here)" it's kind of fun. One more story that really helps explain how I am feeling, on our train ride in to Amsterdam I was looking out in to the dark night and I could see buildings and graffiti as we rumbled through as well as the reflection of my little family in the booths beside me, laughing over something. I felt sentimental as always, and was marvelling at how surreal it all felt and then we rode past a massive white wall, graffiti up and down the sides and then in huge black letters it said "IT WAS ALL A DREAM".

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list." Susan Sontag

La Sagrada Familia

Designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, construction began in 1882 and will be complete 2026. More info on Wikipedia

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and the soul of a child." Carl Jung

We spent this week relaxing and running errands in the morning and then spanish lessons in the afternoon. We spent two hours each day with a wonderful lady named Almudena, she made us laugh and the time went by so quick! We learned a bit too, not fluent Spanish speakers yet but it got us all interested in learning more. She was ill on Friday and we were lucky enough to have another fabulous instructor named Laura, also a fun professor! I was really sad that Almudena was not in but we wouldn't have met Laura and I was so glad we did! Both ladies were brilliant teachers but also touched our human feelings and we really enjoyed our time with them, thank you ladies!

I realized as I went to classes that I really am learning so much, not just in classrooms but in everyday. Sheldon has taught me a thing or two about my camera and how to take pictures better, when walking with Ross you are almost always guaranteed a history lesson and I've learned much about Vikings this trip! Amber always has a story or two about friends back home that will make us smile or laugh, but the most I've learned ABOUT her this trip is how capable she is. She is very aware of her surroundings and has more than once steered us in the right direction! With each lesson they provide I am realizing that they are going to be ok, they are capable of things themselves, they are teaching ME. I have moved from teacher to the taught! I don't always need to lead or direct...

On more trip related note, Barcelona would require months, not weeks as we have planned, to be discovered fully. It is quite the opposite of our little home space in Wembley. It is much louder than home, I have woken up every night since arriving, 2:30, 3:30, 5:00 am...people walking around on the streets as though it were noon, I am not even exaggerating! Breakfast is a coffee and a croissant, quick and light and out the door. Lunch time is around two and many businesses are closed for a few hours during this time, it is the biggest meal of the day, supper is the most surprising, it isn't eaten until around nine! Our little family has usually had supper while all the neighbours are just getting started. The architecture and history are mind boggling, as we have seen throughout our entire journey, I have yet to see the Sagrada Familia but am quite excited about it, as well as a few Gaudi buildings I want to get to. We have seen a cathedral, many markets, we have wandered around the narrow alley streets of las Ramblas and today we saw the sea, we walked down to the marina. Well, some of us...some of us are enjoying having a "home" a bit too much! That's ok though, it is a nice space, if the tv quit you could always sit on the teeny little balcony, always something happening on the street!

The Christmas lights were fired up on the first and they are quite spectacular, there are a couple of interesting traditions here that we may have to incorporate into our holiday time back home next year.  We have seen a couple Christmas markets and I am sad that I don't have more room to pack stuff home as I have seen SO many little markets full of goodies! Oh well, I'm taking memories I guess! Hard for a collector of clutter like myself! Anyway, the christmas spirit is in full swing here even if there is no snow (which I am not missing by the way!)  I am missing baking and visiting with friends while shopping but I am loving this big old noisy city, I know I am not always going to be in this place so I am absorbing as much of the history and art and culture as I can! Love you all, xo Wendi

Change in plans

One of the first items on our agenda when arriving in Spain was to book tickets to fly home, easier said then done. Turns out it is very expensive to fly out of here and not many options, so will be travelling by train back to Amsterdam and fly home with Icelandair into Edmonton. One issue with trains in Europe is you can't book trains for another country here and it is hard to book online for Eurail pass holders. So Wendi and I took a train back to Perpignan France yesterday and booked tickets from Paris to Amsterdam, we had to shuffle a couple days around to avoid the strike in Belgium. Anyway we have all flights and train tickets booked now, it only took a couple days, and we are set to come home later this month.

Busy week

We have arrived in Barcelona, couple quick apartment changes and we are settled in. feels like today is the first time we have just sat and relaxed for awhile. The last stop in France was a perfect place to stay and relax Narbonne seems like a great spot to visit again when we have more time. Looking back on the trip we would return to every place we have been so far no disappointments only minor frustration in a couple cities. Barcelona is big and loud but people seem great and the weather is perfect little bit of rain but very warm. We are staying close to apartment for the next little while attending some spanish lessons and getting to know the neighbourhood. Attached are a few pictures of our local area and market we can walk to for anything.

no post since ireland?

"Every child is born a naturalist. His eyes are, by nature open to the glories of the stars, the beauty of the flowers and the mystery of life." R. Search
We have been enjoying the last week surrounded by the beauty of the hills and mountains of  Germany, Switzerland  and now France, specifically the town of Chamonix. The boys, especially seem to be appreciative of our new scenery, wanting to write and get out cameras. it is off season right now, which amazes me as it isn't until December 20th that things re open, and the streets are bare and dry. We can see snow up on the mountains but have no way of achieving those heights! We may take a cable car half way today to a hike that is open and see a bit more of this valley. The train ride up to this village was something else, Amber and I were not prepared! While we clung to the edge and stared at the wall beside us, Ross dove from his seat with us to the one on the side with Sheldon and dad that hung over the precipice of the mountain we were climbing. It was crazy! It drifted slowly through, stopping at these tiny villages that it links through the mountains, people getting on and off acting as though it were nothing to be so high! Anyway, I am happy that my boys are happiest in nature, that they get the connection. I am happy that we've had this opportunity to bring them here, to see some different mountains. I know that we have all this back home, the streams, the rivers, the hills, the mountains, the beauty...and I am truly grateful for that as well, that when we leave these gorgeous places we get to return to a different but similar, beauty.

"Today I will stop and listen to their laughter, I will breathe in their joy. I will play and be a part of their memories, not just the memory maker."
Now you are thinking "what about Amber? Doesn't she like nature?" Of course she does, she appreciates it differently though because she is herself. If given the choice of going out or staying, she will probably choose to stay, but once out she is happy and silly and makes us laugh and enjoys being with us and being outdoors. However she WOULD pick hanging out, playing board games, drinking hot chocolate and laughing over a funny movie. That is perfect, because we need that balance between hiking and rest. While we were in Paris I had a wonderful day with her, the boys, tired of museums and not city dwellers themselves stayed home for a change and Amber and I hit the Louvre! It really is an amazing building, something that would take a month to get through but we skimmed it, and had a nice snack in the cafe and then later lunch out in the park in front of the museum. It was surreal, lunch with my baby in a park, in Paris. We watched the people and remarked on the fact that roses were still in bloom and that we were looking at Paris! It was interesting having this time just her and I, it almost felt like being with a friend rather than my child, watching her grow and change right before my eyes.

Sometimes when you see things for the first time, there is a moment where you may feel a little bit of disappointment, you know, it's not what you built it up to be in your mind? I felt that at a couple paintings in the Louvre, but then some other painting that I never knew existed would have me gaping and breathless and completely enthralled. The Eiffel Tower was one that I wondered if it would be like that, but from the moment we saw it on the horizon as we walked towards it I was impressed. It was bigger than we imagined (really big when we started to climb it!) more impressive, and really pretty and intriguing. It completed the landscape, it is what you picture when you think "Paris" and here we were, immersed in that landscape. It was surreal for me. I bought a baguette while it was still hot and we ate macaroons. We also ate McDonald's, hey, it can't all be perfectly parisienne. I got ripped off at a store, we saw a guy peeing on the street and we encountered a few "schemes" but we made it through unscathed...except for the 50 euros...oops. Maybe 'we made it through a bit wiser' would be a better phrase.

"If adventures do not befall a lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad." Jane Austen
We have seen so many neat old places, more castles than I could have imagined, most when we are whipping by on trains! Germany and Switzerland are SO beautiful and the people friendly and helpful. The train rides are amazing because of the scenery, it is unfortunate that I can't stop at ALL the towns that take my breath away! France has proven to be beautiful as well and we are regretting our stubbornness in high school when we could have kept taking French as a class and communicating with the people here.

So, we are off again tomorrow for another French town and then on to our final destination in Spain. Right now we are excited to 'stay put' and as Kelsey has mentioned we have a week of Spanish lessons to stay for, but I have a feeling we may take a couple of day trips before our rail pass runs out and see some other areas of Spain. On the other hand, having a "home" for more than a week sounds good too! Missing you all and thinking of you everyday, love Wendi