It’s tough to believe that 20 years ago, Heidi and I got married on Baker Beach in San Francisco. 20 years! So obviously, this post is about our 20th wedding anniversary, and the amazing day that Heidi planned for us. Long story short…it was awesome!
August 2012 changed our lives forever. We were venturing off into the unknown, moving to Spain for 1-2 years. We wanted our kids to experience an education in Spain.
Easter has passed, which marks the beginning of my annual Spring cleaning! Not to worry, I do clean more than just once a year (usually). Yes, it is time to get rid of those little dust bunnies collecting under the bed, behind the dresser, and in the corner. As well as the hand prints on the outside of the sliding glass door. We can say good-bye to the cobwebs, which have formed on the ceilings and in those unused corners of the home. And my favorite is, so long to the dust build up on the ceiling fans and base boards.
Now that we have been back in Spain for 8 months, yes I said 8 months! I can’t believe how fast time is flying by. Anyway, now that we have been back, I am the one in the family with the itchy feet to explore, discover and move about. The rest of the family can give or take it at this point. Today happens to be Leap Day, but also a school holiday for the kids. With determination and a little of “We are all going”, we went to find the Roman Bridge in town.
When we first moved to Spain a few years ago, we would see people flying around in the sky with parachutes (paragliding). We had no idea what it was and drove over to La Herradura to check it out. It turns out this is one of the best places for paragliding in Spain, right over the Mediterranean Sea! We watched so many of them floating in the sky and then landing on the beach. I knew I wanted to try it one day, as I love to try anything that is full of adventure.
We are often asked about how much everyday things cost in Spain and how does that compare with the USA. You know, the cost of daily life to just live and do what you want to do. This was a question that came to us in our post – What Do You Want To Know or Have Us Show?
We have been asked, “How can you possibly live in Europe for less than the USA?”, as Western Europe has the reputation of “being expensive”. Do you think you could live off of less and save money if you tried? Do you think it is just too difficult or just not possible? Anything is possible if you simplify your life!
Today we say Hasta Luego to our wonderful town of Almuñécar, our beautiful view from the terrace, the sounds and smell of the sea, and good friends. As we drove up and over the hill, we looked over for our final birds-eye view of the town. My eyes instantly welled-up and my sunglasses caught the puddles streaming down my cheeks. Never did I think that our hearts would be touched so much by our time in Spain and the people we met along the way. After many tearful goodbyes this week, we left Almuñécar this morning. Thank goodness for the tissues we had handy in the car!
Of course seafood is in abundance when living along the Mediterranean Sea. Each summer little Barbacoa (Barbecue) stands pop up along the beach and many of the “summer only” restaurants light up their barbacoa too. Last summer, Lars kept asking if he could try the sardines, that were just about every 100 yards along the beach. Because they were plentiful, I kept telling him we would do it later. Well in mid-September, we finally went to the beach so Lars could sample the ever so popular Grilled Sardines on a skewer.
I am seaside, it’s rather warm outside, bordering on hot, and yet I am being refreshed. It is at this moment that I recognize that a great injustice has been done. There is no Nobel Prize for cooking, and by extension, the person who invented ice cream missed out on the accolades and recognition deserving of such a huge discovery. Therefore, it is with great reverence that I advise you to seek out this ice cream shop, as we think it’s the best in Almuñécar!
