TravelStream™ news feed for member stacicheck on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/stacicheck en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:46:39 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256770042/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256770042/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256770042/tpod.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:46:39 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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San Francisco, California, United States

The flight was long and well long. Shae stayed awake for 10 hours of the 11.5 hour flight to Dallas. Oh boy! But, after traveling for close to 24 hours - it was just good to get home to Los Gatos.

Recap of our Favorites
Favorite city: Mike - Toledo, Staci - Ronda
Favorite restaurant: Both - Thai restaurant in Burriana Beach
Favorite place to stay: Mike - house in Montejaque, Staci - house in Burriana Beach
Favorite Day: Both - Grazalema, Shae - everyday at the beach
Favorite tourist spot: Mike - Nerja caves, Staci - Granada
Favorite monument: Mike - Toledo Cathedral, Staci - Alhambra
Best Spanish Meal: Mike - lunch in Grazalema (leg of lamb), Staci - dinner in Ronda (paella), Shae - happy meal in Seville
Best Drive: Both - Grazalema and surrounding mountains
Most memorable moment: Both - bee sting, Shae's relentless search for ants (???)

Shae really was a trooper the entire trip. But, it would not have been possible without the help from:
-portable dvd player and movies
-iphone apps for kids
-doodle pads
-paper dolls
-crayons/coloring books
-Damma's bag of goodies
-endless supply of lollipops

We would not have survived without them!








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Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain

We got up really early (for us vacationers). It was about 8:15am. We decided we would drive 2 hours to a city called Jerez de la Frontera to see the famous dancing horses of Jerez. The tour guide said it was worth the drive... We arrived to another city. Not as big as Seville, but a city nonetheless. Shae was super excited to see the dancing horses. The show started at noon and lasted 1.5 hours. Shae lasted about 20 minutes - which was pretty good for her. The show was actually really good - she just got very bored, very quickly. you see one horse dance you've seen them all...Mike took her outside to play in the courtyard. The arena is set in a beautiful garden with a fountain. They had a ton of fun running around the garden and I thoroughly enjoyed the dancing horse show. There are 8-12 horses and horsemen who come out in the arena and do the most amazing horse dances all to beautiful spanish music. It is quite something to see. After the show we headed to another white village town called Arcos de la Frontera. This was another cobble stoned hillside town set among 2 churches and a convent. We had a nice lunch and walked around the town. The streets were narrow and tiny and mike did a great job of navigating through the narrow roads (he's getting much better)...we left and started our 2.5 hour drive from there to Nerja our destination for the next 7 days. Along the way we stopped in Olvera so Mike could get his photo of the village and church tower. We arrived to Nerja very late and couldn't plug in the address in our handy-dandy gps - so we had to call the owner in the UK to give us directions. it was kind of late by the time we got to the house (after midnight). ugh! this was a long, long day! But, we're excited to be at the beach for the next 7 days. Shae can't wait to get her feet wet in the mediterranean.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297968/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297968/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297968/tpod.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:44:47 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Toledo, Castille-La Mancha, Spain

This was our last day of the trip so we spent it exploring Toledo further. We walked through a part of the old town that we hadn't discovered during our last visit. We hit up a couple of museums and had a nice, relaxing day. Shae got a chance to spend one last day in the playground. Mike got a good recommendation for a nice restaurant in the city. So, we tried it out and we were so glad we did. Of course, we were the first people to show up at 8:30pm for dinner. We were always the first. Most people don't show up until 9:30-10pm. The restaurant was a little place tucked away on a side street close to the Cathedral. We learned that the restaurant had been there for a number of years. We asked for the wine list and the wine guy brought over a book with literally thousands of choices. Mike's eyes lit up as he started talking to the wine guy - we found out the family who owns the restaurant has a wine cellar in the city (right around the corner from the restaurant) with a 47,000 bottle inventory. Mike asked if it would be possible to get a tour of the wine cave, the waiter said "sure, the owner's son will be here later and he'll take you on a personal tour." After dinner, in walked Javier who absolutely fell in love with Shae at first sight - and she with him. She was flirting with him the whole time. It was hysterical. So, he walked us down the alley about a block or 2 from the restaurant and stops at a very unassuming garage door. He opened it up to a long, steep staircase going down into the cave. He flicked on a few lights and this maze of tunnels, wine racks and bottles were everywhere. He explained that the cave has tunnels they believe go through to the cathedral. They are still building and apparently this cave is rated one of the top 100 in the world. It was incredible. Mike chatted with Javier and got all details - I was busy keeping an eye on Shae making sure she didn't climb any of the racks or pull any bottles out. It was a great evening and a nice way to end our trip.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297979/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297979/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256297979/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:01:33 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Granada, Andalusia, Spain

We woke up to pounding rain. Ugh! So, much for our vacation weather karma. We planned to visit Alhambra today and nothing was going to stop us, not even a little rain. It was ugly, though. Shae was wet, cold and cranky and we hadn't even arrived yet. We had to stand in line for 20 minutes in the pouring rain to get our tickets. It wasn't a great start. But, once we got inside, it was amazing. Probably not Mike or Shae's favorite part of the trip. But, I loved it. Shae fell asleep right off the bat, which was probably best.

Alhambra is a fortress compound with amazing gardens, palaces, military fort, museums, etc. It overlooks the city of Granada and is one of those magical places you hear about. It has been nominated for one of the new seven wonders of the world. We only had time to see a couple of the monuments. So, we got tickets to see the palace, military fort and gardens. The architecture is amazing - every inch of the palace has some sort of mosaic or arabic etchings covering the walls - the details in every single room were incredible. Every window from the palace is picture-perfect with a stunning view of the city, surrounding hillsides or snow-capped mtns. It was really one of the highlights of the trip. I just wished we had more time here. There is so much history!

We were then off on a 3.5 hour drive back to Toledo for our last 2 nights. We arrived in Toledo early evening and had a quiet dinner in the old city. We spent our first night in Spain here and we loved it so much we decided to spend our last few nights here as well.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256039451/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256039451/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256039451/tpod.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:36:18 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Granada, Andalusia, Spain

It rained overnight, but was sunny the next morning. Mike got up early and went on a 12 mile run up in the mountains near Competa. His best run on the trip. We packed up the car and headed out to Granada. But first we stopped to explore the Nerja caves. The caves were less than 5 minutes from where we were staying. It's very touristy, but well worth the visit. The caves/caverns are massive and quite something to see. They are considered an historical monument in Spain.These caves put the Mercer/Moaning caverns to shame. Cave paintings and human remains were found from around 25,000 BC. It was a self-guided tour and amazing. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't turn out. We weren't able to use the flash. We did get a good shot of the 3 of us from the photographer.

We then headed on our way to Granada. We stopped in a little beach town called La Herrauda. We didn't know where we were going and ended up on a dead end, one way street. I happened to glance down the alley and saw a cute little restaurant. We had lunch there and it was great!

Back on the road to Granada. The mountains were beautiful and snow capped. It was a beautiful 1.5 hour drive. We both fell in love with Granada when we first saw it. We were nervous about staying in a big city, but we're so glad we did. Granada is surrounded by amazing hills, some snow capped. The city is stunning with panoramic views on every side. The architecture and historical buildings are really something to see. We took a cab over to La Alhambra right when we got there but found out it was almost closing time and we wouldn't be able to see the palace. We decided to return the next day instead. The hotel suggested a restaurant near Plaza Nuevo. We got lost trying to find it, but ended up at a wonderful authentic spanish restaurant. We tried the pork knuckle (see Dan we can be adventurous.... it was very good). Half way through dinner a flamenco guitarist showed up at the restaurant and started to play. He was amazing. We really lucked out because we had been trying to find a flamenco show throughout our visit, but most started after 10pm (too late for the munchkin). this guys was so good and he fell in love with Shae. It was a really nice evening.


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Nerja, Andalusia, Spain

After all the driving yesterday, we decided we didn't want to get in the car and drive anywhere today. So we spent the whole day at the beach. Shae played with several new friends from the uk. She was digging in the sand for about 4 hours. I don't even think she made it to the water. It was a very relaxing day. Later we drove into a nearby town called Competa. We finally visited a winery - it was pretty rinky-din. Wine tasting in this area is nothing like in California. They only served white wine. Very sweet, almost like dessert wine. It was interesting. We then headed to another nearby town called Torrox for dinner. We were told by several people that El Chicla was the best restaurant in this area. So, of course, we had to try it out. It was pretty stuffy inside. Not sure they were ready for Shae. :) The salads were great but the sea bass was horrible. Mike had high hopes, but he was disappointed again with the fish. At least Shae enjoyed her chocolate ice cream dessert. We're heading out tomorrow for Granada.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256035615/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256035615/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1256035615/tpod.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:05:21 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Almeria, Andalusia, Spain

We had great intentions starting out the day. We planned to drive along the coastline to a town called Almeria. it's a 2+ hour drive. We thought spanish coastline, it's got to be pretty right? Not so much. It started out beautiful. Picturesque cliffs that roll into the crystal blue water of the mediterranean ocean. But once we passed the first few cities it became the plastic jungle. Every city after this, all the way to almeria, is a farming town. the hillsides are covered with plastic td greenhouses that grow fruits and vegetables. You can not find a single area that doesn't have a plastic greenhouse. The mountains are very dry and rocky. We stopped in a town called Almerimar for lunch - a fishing village and big windsurfing and water sport area. The town has a marina and yacht club. There were tons of boats in the marina, but the town was pretty well shutdown for the winter. Only a handful of cafes were open. It was pretty quiet. We walked around a bit and then headed on our way. Our main destination was Almeria to see the Fort there called Alcabaza, and then we planned to visit Parque Natural in Cabo de Gato. This area is know for it's conservation efforts and beautiful natural beaches. Mike asked around to find out what other areas are interesting on our way to Almeria. A woman (park cleaning lady) told him Roquetes de mar is a beautiful spot. We drove right there and hated it! Ugly, overdeveloped town near the water. Dirty and not one bit interesting. We could not wait to get out of there. there was probably another area that may have been nicer, but we didn't see it. We drove straight to Almeria and which has an old city and a new city. The new city is also very overdeveloped. Huge high rise apartments and hotels. the old city has a bit more charm and this is where the fort is located. We hiked up to the entrance only to discover it's closed on mondays. Bummer! It looked really interesting. We decided to check out the cathedral instead. It was ok but nothing like Toledo's. We didn't really like anything in Almeria - so we headed on our way north to Cabo de Gato. We traveled another 30 minutes or so and found a long stretch of white beaches with a small little town (also pretty shut down for the winter). We drove on in search of the Parque Natural - but ran into a dead end at a huge lighthouse and observatory. Our gps was all over the map and never did get us to the park. By this time we were pretty well done with this area. It was getting late, we never did make it to the park so we decided to cut our losses and head back to Burriana Beach. We decided the only thing that could salvage the day was if the Thai restaurant was open. We got back at 8:45pm and hooray it was open. We had a great meal with some good wine and stayed a good while chatting with the owners and another couple from Holland and France.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866973/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866973/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866973/tpod.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:46:41 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Nerja, Andalusia, Spain

We decided to make today another Shae day. We headed to the beach early and rented a couple of chairs with an umbrella. You know how hard this is for mike and i. we are not beach-goers. but Shae was so excited to build sand castles and play in the water. We lasted close to 2 hours. it was nice. Mike got to catch up on his spanish cards and i finally got to start reading a book on my kindle. We ate lunch at an outdoor cafe and met the owner, Michel from Holland. He was so friendly and informative. Of course, Mike picked his brain about anything and everything to do with this area. He has 3 little boys who Shae befriended. We're noticing the language barrier when she meets kids. She just can't communicate with them yet. She understands what they are saying but she always answers in English. She definitely misses playing with kids her own age. We enjoyed our lunch and then went into Nerja again for dinner. We took a train/tram tour around the city - which isn't very big. and then ended up in a playground where Shae played for a good hour. She met so many new friends. We then went to dinner at an italian restaurant. The food was good. So far so good with the food in this area. I think since it's more touristy than the mtn area where we came from there's more choice here. This was a great Shae day! Tomorrow we're planning to explore the coastline north of here.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866974/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866974/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stacicheck/1/1255866974/tpod.html Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:12:54 -0400 Staci, Mike & Shae's Travels to Spain

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Nerja, Andalusia, Spain

We started out today by visiting a donkey sanctuary in nerja. Shae was so excited to see the donkeys. It's a great place that rescues abused and neglected animals in the area. They have more than just donkeys (goats, sheep, turkey, pot-bellied pigs, dogs, cats, etc.) it's run by a family from the uk and solely survives on donations from visitors. It was so sad to see all the animals, but they are being well cared for and seem to enjoy their new home. Shae got a bucket of scraps and headed out to feed the donkeys. Along the way she was accosted by a cute little pot-bellied pig who stole her bucket and started munching! He was so cute!

After the donkey sanctuary we headed out for a drive to explore the area more. The beaches are surround by beautiful mountains. We headed up to a mountain village called Frigiliana. We had a nice lunch there and set out to explore the rest of the area. After a 1.5 hour drive through the windy mountain roads, Mike found an awesome place to run. He drove us back to the house and set out for a 12 mile run through the mountains. he loved it. We headed into Burriana for dinner and planned to eat at Ayo a good paella restaurant recommended by Susan, who helped us with the house. Unfortunately, Ayo was closed for the evening so we walked around looking for another place to eat. We came upon a little cafe that served Thai/Indonesian food. Sounds funny eating Thai food in Spain. But, it was one of the best meals.. The couple is from Holland and use only fresh ingredients. It was by far the most flavorable food we've had. For the most part the Spanish food consists of overcooked, heavy meat (lamb, pork), boiled potatoes, and soggy vegetables, The pan is dry and mostly served cold. So, this was a treat. Food with flavor. I think our search for good food is paying off...2 nights in a row.

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Nerja, Andalusia, Spain

After getting in late the night before we got a pretty late start the next morning The place where we're staying is a 5 minute walk to Burriana Beach. A very popular beach in this area. The weather has been incredible our entire trip 70s and 80s the whole time. Apparently, this is unusual for this time of year here. It's tends to be a bit cooler. But the beaches are full of sunbathers even in mid-October. We really picked a good time to come, we're told in the months of july/august and sometimes september this place is a zoo. Tons of people, no parking. We're able to go to any restaurant and not wait for a table. It's fantastic! We found a great little playground on the beach and right next to a restaurant with tables in the sand. Shae loved it. She played in the playground and dug in the sand for 2 hours. We headed back to the house and then drove into Nerja (5 min car drive). Nerja is a more populated beach town. The Balcon de Europa is a scenic tourist spot in town with a square, shops, restaurants, bars, etc. We headed there and walked around a bit. Mike asked around and we found an amazing place for dinner - Meson de Antonio. The food was so good. The place was packed so we knew it had to be good. We called it a night and got back to watch another movie on mike's laptop. So far we're loving the beach area.

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