Old news :-)

Hello again everyone -

I was recently looking back at old posts and realized I had promised to post more updates about my parents' visit - yes, back in the last 2 weeks of April. :-) I guess I was catching up on the Dublin posts while they actually were here - maybe there's a theme here of being perpetually behind!

We had a wonderful time when my parents were here - the time went very quickly! One of the 1st days they were here, I took them downtown by myself to see the tourist sites there. Well, apparantly I hadn't paid attention as well as I thought I had when Jason drove us down there... I found the parking garage very easily but then when we came out of the garage I had NO IDEA where to go :-). I thought we were really close to the Puerta del Sol, but just could NOT figure out my bearings. So I led us off in the wrong direction :-) and we ended up wandering around -and just happened onto most of the tourist sites. We did end up at the Puerta del Sol, but it was a rather indirect route! (and yes, the parking garage is literally across the street from Sol!! oh well :-) ) The good part was that we saw several things we hadn't intended to see (a cool Don Quixote statue in the Plaza de Espana, the Royal Palace, some great souvenier shops) and it made me realize how close together all those things really are. But it was a bit accidental :-). The next day we went to the Prado in the rain - I think I need to go back when I can get the audio guide and linger a bit - I wish I had taken an art class in college!

Jason had business in Valencia on the Eastern coast of Spain while Mom & Dad were here, and in college, my mom spent a summer at the University of Valencia. So it was so cool to tag along with him and revisit memories from Mom's past! We also visited a really great aquarium called the Oceanografico. The highlight was a Sea World style dolphin show. We've never been to Sea World, so it was a treat to see it! They also had a really cool tunnel aquarium where there were several huge sharks swimming around. They would swim right over your head - so close you could almost have touched them! It was a bit creepy, but very cool.

The last highlight of Valencia was visiting the beach. It was my 1st glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea! Quite nice :-) The water was super cold, but we did dip our toes in and enjoy the sand. Valencia was a really great town, and much cheaper than Madrid. (and only about a 3 hour drive.) We hope to go back when the weather is warmer and we can enjoy the beach more.

The last big outing we did while Mom & Dad were here was to visit Toledo. It was not raining this time as it was when we went with Rich, so I think we enjoyed it a bit more. We got to see the beautiful cathedral there and did lots of fun shopping. It is such a great day trip from Madrid!

Until we return - we'll be "back" after our trip to Switzerland and Rome!

Becca