TravelStream™ news feed for member laduque on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/laduque en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:22:49 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/2/1227327240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/2/1227327240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/2/1227327240/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:22:49 -0500 Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera...Family Style!

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San Diego, California, United States

It's the night before we leave and we are frantically packing for our "maiden" voyage, yes, maiden, as the Duque's are cruise virgins! We are excited...I hope I don't forget anything...like my bathing suit...oh man, I forgot my suit...guess I can't go in the pool. (insert snicker here).Here is our itinerary: We drive to Long Beach (more like caravan-3 vehicles) and board the Princess Sapphire Princess to head out 2 days at sea until we arrive in our first port of call-Puerto Vallarta. Then it's off to Mazatlan and finally Cancun before we head home. I just got word that the ship was delayed 3 hours today in Cabo and so we won't be able to board the ship tomorrow until after 4pm. Does that mean Princess owes us 3 extra hours on the way back? Just a thought.
I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1217845800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1217845800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1217845800/tpod.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:38:28 -0400 Lazy days in Spain...Summer '08

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Valencia, Valencian Country, Spain and Canary Islands

The Fitzie´s have gone, Juan has flown home and now I have time to blog about our roadtrip to Cullera. Cullera is a seaside town just south of Valencia on the Mediterrean coast of Spain. It mainly caters to Spanish and French tourists, but some of Juan´s family lives there yearround and are considered locals.
We started our journey last Saturday. We rented 2 small cars and headed east towards Valencia. The central plains of Spain are not that spectacular along the modern highways except for the occasional Osborne toro billboard, so I suggested we take a detour and go along the old roads and see some pueblos. About half way to Valencia is a small town called Alarcon and is noted for its medieval castle and fortress. We trusted the windy road, rounded the bend and right in front of us was a valley with a stone castle sitting atop a cliff! I can just imagine what a relief the old world travellers must have felt as they cleared the forest to see their destination within reach as they travelled by foot to sell their goods or look for work.
There is only one road into the village and it hugs the cliff and goes through the old city walls. We parked and explored the castle and fortress as well as the tiny plaza in front of it. The castle is now a parador (state'run hotel) where one can stay the night. Paradors are owned by the government which renovated historic buildings such as castles, palaces, monastaries and the like, each offering the best views and accomodations.
After an incredible lunch (cured ham and melon and succulent lamb chops, in case you were interested), we headed towards Cullera. We arrived about 8pm and immediately headed for the beach which is 2 blocks from the family´s apartment. Imagine swimming in the Mediterrean at 8:30 at night and the sun is still out! The water is about 80F and WARM. The humidity is almost unbearable but, hey, we´re in Spain, get over it!
The next few days were spent with our friends eating, drinking, swimming and more eating...On Sunday, we were invited to lunch where Juan´s cousins made a traditional paella for 20 people. The traditional true paella does not have any seafood, only chicken, rabbit and pork, with huge fabe beans and flat green beans, it is also eaten right out of the pallera (the pan) with a big spoon; you can´t get any more rustic than that. I´ve decided to invest in an outdoor paella burner upon my return to try and duplicate Sundays in Cullera.
After 4 days of heat and humidity, we decided to return to the dry heat of Madrid (never thought i´d say that). This time we took a country road detour through Cuenca. I have not seen Cuenca since 1989 and was anxious. This is a famous medieval village where the houses are literally hanging off the cliffs. When we arrived, we stopped at the parador there for a splendid view and a drink (a yummy gin fizz). The Fitzies treated us to a beautiful dinner of rabbit pate, pisto (like ratatouille), fresh spring trout wrapped in a crepe and creamy rice pudding. Filled to the rim, we hobbled out and returned to Madrid about 2am, exhausted but completely happy.
The Fitzies left on Friday the 1st, Juan on Saturday the 2nd. I am left here with Lucia to explore this wonderful capital and see sights I have yet to discover. I may post one or two more blogs as interesting events arise, so stay tuned...
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Madrid, Spain

Well, the Fitzpatricks-Bill, Cynthia and Brendan-arrived in Madrid last week on the 23rd and we went into full throttle! (hence why i´ve been slow to blog.) We´ve had a terrific time showing our friends our favorite sites of Madrid. This is the first time we´ve entertained friends here and with 2 small children, we knew we couldn´t show them everything.
The Fitzie´s arrived in the early evening direct from Dublin where they spent a 10 days with their family. I was anticipating seeing Cynthia on crutches, hobbling out of the gate, but lo and behold-she was walking without effort and said her ankle is healing well and was not bothering her. What a relief!
We brought them back to Juan´s parents house for a typical Spanish dinner-think jamon serrano, Manchego cheese, Spanish tortilla, fresh fruit and chorizo...and wash it all down with a bottle of rose wine! Ahh, rosado wine in the summer, there is nothing like it!
We then took the kids and strolled down the paseo verde (translation: green path), lined with trees and closed to traffic, this is THE place for people watching. Everyone comes out after dinner about 9pm to stroll along the paseo, talk with friends, let the kids play in one of the many playgrounds and just get a reprieve from the daytime heat. Luckily for us there is a terraza right next to a playground. We took a seat and ordered ice cold cervezas and let the kids play freely in the playground. I have yet to find a more relaxing place to spend the evening. The kids are happy AND so are the parents!
The next few days were filled with sightseeing and eating! This can be hard on the kids, so we planned plenty of downtime in the parks.
Friday was my birthday, and as is customary in Spain, the birthday person treats everyone on his-her own day. I decided to take a break from all the jamon and we had a very lovely lunch at an Italian eatery. (Renee, I had the carbonara and it was so yummy). My birthday also happens to fall on a National Holiday which is el Dia de Santiago to honor the patron saint of Spain. We took stroll through the Retiro Park (think Central Park) and the kids had a great time feeding the fish!
I will leave this entry with pictures as they do more justice than my words.
I am also uploading more photos of our trip to the valley from last week. More later on our roadtrip to Cullera on the Mediterrean coast.
Hasta luego!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216469640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216469640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216469640/tpod.html Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:02:28 -0400 Lazy days in Spain...Summer '08

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Jerte, Spain

***UPDATE***just uploaded a few pictures and will post more with a new entry when things settle down!***

I hope everyone had a relaxing and cool weekend! We had a relaxing and HOT weekend! Thursday, our first official day here, we were asked to drive Juan´s parents to the pueblo. I love driving in Spain, the countrysides and pueblos, from which you can always spot a castle or two, is just so fun!
The Valle del Jerte is a long valley in the sierras at the border of Castilla y Leon and Extramadura (provinces like states). It is about 10 miles long and if you approach from the top of the valley you take a windy two lane road through the dozen or so villages until you get to the major town of Placencia at the foot of the valley. We decided to take the long way around and entered from Placencia to the middle of the valley where Jerte is located. Not only are the villages typical, old and very quaint, the whole valley is filled with cherry trees for harvesting. This is the cherry capital of Spain and much of Europe too. Most of the trees were already harvested but few are left to simply marvel at. As we drove through the valley, we stopped in about 2 or 3 villages to drop in on relatives, (I swear the Duques are related to the just about everyone in the valley).
We arrived in Jerte at about 9pm, the sun had not set yet so we ventured across the street into the medival square and right smack into the local fiesta! Everyone was out! Imagine a 15th century square, fountain in the center, bell tower and church to one side and directly across, a stage with all the lights and speakers for a major rock concert! We continued on our way to the banks of the Rio Jerte (did I tell you the valley has a river running through it?), a quaint park with playground and bar was set up and we enjoyed tapas and beer with about 10 or so relatives, eager to hear stories about America from "El Americano". This is village life just like in the movies! I want to retire here. I told my inlaws not to ever sell the house and I will try and find a way to buy it from them!
The next 2 days were spent swimming in the river and visiting relatives...and <I did NOT get sick!
We returned to Madrid via Avila where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the plaza. The villages and countryside is what I love most about Spain. Don´t get me wrong, I will always love Madrid, but if you want to discover the romantic, typical and most glorious of Spain of yesteryear, you must get a car and venture out to the country.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216297140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216297140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216297140/tpod.html Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:28:58 -0400 Lazy days in Spain...Summer '08

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Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Hola a todos! We made it here and cannot believe the incredibly pleasant journey we had. Lucia was so excited to be travelling and going to Spain that she behaved so well.
We left our home in San Diego and drove to LAX with NO traffic! We arrived at the airport with more than enough time for one last Mexican food meal for a while. Yummy!
We boarded the plane on time....a 747! We slept almost the whole way and arrived in London at 3 pm local time, though for us it was really 6am. We had a 5 hour layover in the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow and ate breaksfast-lunch. Just a sidenote, if you are ever in Heathrow, check out the restrooms-the cleanest and most modern i've ever seen.
Well, we arrived in Madrid and anxiously awaited our baggage. British Airways doesnt have the best reputation with getting our baggage on the same plane as us, but guess what? All our baggage arrived on with us! What Luck!
This has been the easiest, most calm flight over the Atlantic in years!
Well, we are rested and tonight we are driving to the pueblo where Juan´s family is from. It is in the Valle de Jerte, where the cherries come from, and the town is called Cabezuela del Valle. I have only visited there one time and picked up some type of parasite. Cross your fingers that I will not get sick.....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216138800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216138800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laduque/1/1216138800/tpod.html Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:51:54 -0400 Lazy days in Spain...Summer '08

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San Diego,, California, United States

Well, we're off! We leave in a few hours for Los Angeles to catch the red'eye for London with a connection to Madrid. The whole travel time from door to door will take about 24 hours. The "red-eye" should be great as Lucia will be able to sleep, she is always too excited on an airplane and usually conks out right before we land!
I'm excited about travelling to the notorious new Terminal 5 in London! I hope all the kinks are out and they DON"T lose our luggage this time (we're 1-4 with lost luggage on British Airways).

Though we won't be exploring any new (for us) region of Spain, we will be entertaining our dear friends Bill, Cynthia and Brendan Fitzpatrick! They are joining us for 9 days in Madrid and Cullera (on the Mediterranean coast). Our plans include showing them our beloved corners of Madrid, sitting on a terraza sipping tinto de verano (refreshing wine drink) and watching the kids play on the playground till the sun goes down!

UPDATE! We received a call from the Fitzie's in Boston, and Cynthia has broken her ankle! Can you believe that?! She fell down some stairs and was taken to the hospital. She has a hairline fracture on the ankle and is with a brace and crutches. She is in great spirits and is taking it in stride. They head off to Ireland today and she hopes that by the time they get to Spain, she will be a lot better (so the doctor tells her). We will have to slow down a bit, Cynth, but we are still going to have a blast!

So, I will update as I get connected to wifi in Madrid (rumor has it that many barrios in the center of the city have free wifi).

Saludos a todos!
Lisa
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