Sunday, September 13, 2015

A Visit from Chace and Madison

This week, I am thankful for families.  After almost 1 1/2 years, we had our first visitors here in Spain.  Our son, Chace, and his wife, Madison, came to visit us for a week.  We love them and appreciate the time and money that they spent to come and see us.
 After the long plane ride, Madison was not ready for photos.

After picking up Chace and Madison at the airport, we came back to the apartment for them to clean up, eat, and sleep a little.  Then we drove south to Granada where we spent the night.  The country side was covered with olive trees.  We were surprised by the cool temperatures and the rain.  



Monday morning dawned cloudy and rainy.  We were so grateful for the people selling umbrellas at the entrance to Alhambra.  Definitely money well spent!  The Islamic palace of Alhambra was built in the mid 11th century by the Moors.  It was converted into a royal palace in 1333.  Later it was conquered and was used by Catholic monarchs.  

 "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alhambra_evening_panorama_Mirador_San_Nicolas_sRGB-1.jpg#/media/File:Alhambra_evening_panorama_Mirador_San_Nicolas_sRGB-1.jpg">Alhambra evening panorama Mirador San Nicolas sRGB-1</a>" by <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Slaunger" title="User:Slaunger">Slaunger</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>. Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a> via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/">Commons</a>.Even though it was raining, we enjoyed the beautiful grounds.










The tile work was amazing!



I added more photos to my collection of beautiful ceilings!



And there were some amazing tiled floors as well!


The ornate detail on the buidlings is very impressive.








And it was extra special being with these two!


 Monday afternoon, we drove to Ronda. This beautiful little city that spans a gorge of over 300 feet deep.  The old bridge was built by the Romans.  But you can also cross the "new  bridge" that 
was built in 1793.  Madison took some pictures that I will have to post later.  Unfortunately, it was an absolute downpour when we had to walk to see the gorge.  Not the perfect travel day, but a beautiful sight.                                                     
We had paella for lunch.

We drove to Sevilla Monday evening and it had finally stopped raining.  We ate at the tables outside, at about 10:00 pm, just like true Spaniards.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and beautiful.  We enjoyed our bus ride, and walk through the old part of Sevilla.
         


And I saw my first flamenco dancer.

We visited the Alcázar of Sevilla, which is a royal palace that was orignally built by Moorish Muslim kings.  It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  The construction began in 913.


Once again, the tile work was beautiful.


 

More ornate detail,

and gorgeous gardens.



 We enjoyed being together and I can't wait to get the photos from my photographer.

We had a delicious meal at a corner cafe.  I had a salad with the most delicious smoked salmon that I have ever had.

Wednesday we took a trip to Segovia.  I will have to get those photos from Madison as well.  On Thursday, Chace and Madison headed to Barcelona to for a couple of days.  We headed back to the office to try to catch up on our work.  Then that afternoon, I headed to the mission home to stay with Jonathon and Caroline.  The Packs had a Mission President conference in Vienna. We ate dinner and worked on homework.  Friday morning, Elder Larsen headed out early to take Elder Sarango to the airport.  He and Elder Martínez left on a half transfer so that they could start school.  We loved serving with Elder Sarango and will miss him here in the mission.  We worked again at the office, and then I was home for Jonathon and Caroline when they came home from school.  I had asked Jonathon what he would like for dinner and he had requested shrimp pasta.  I made a Spanish variety of my favorite shrimp pasta dish, and it really turned out delicious.

The Packs arrived home late and I got a quick photo of Elder Daniels and Elder Barlow.

Hermana Pack came bearing gifts of Austrian chocolates for everyone.

We picked up Chace and Madison at the train station and headed to Plaza del Sol, downtown.  We also when to the mercardo just for the experience.  


I missed not being with these Hermanas this week.
Hermanas Harper, Pack, and West

 Hermanas Olsen and Figeiredo


     Elder Schwanke, Abraham, Elder Ruiz

The Packs invited us over to visit and enjoy a delicious German Chocolate Cake that Hermana Pack had made for her birthday.  Then we drove to the temple.

Chace and Madison left early on Monday morning.  We are so grateful that they came to see visit. We love our family and it was wonderful to have Chace and Madison here with us.  


2 comments:

  1. That is so awesome that your kids came to see you! What a special treat. Looks like they had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We really did! It didn't seem real to mix our mission world with family. But we loved it! Can't hardly wait to see the rest of the family.

      Delete