Jacksons in Spain

Leaving Camarma

2008-06-27T02:02:00.008+02:00

Well, after two years of living in Camarma de Esteruelas, we said goodbye to Spain in early June. Excited about the future, we were also sad to leave our quiet little Spanish town. Peregrino is the Spanish word for pilgrim. Our journey through Spain has helped us to understand that we are simply peregrinos, and that this world is not our home. We look forward to meeting new people, exploring new places, and enjoying the people and places already dear to us, but our eyes are heavenward, because we know that there is our real home.

Since we are no longer Jacksons in Spain, we are launching a new blog called Just Jacksons to record our adventures from this point. Go there to read about our travelling frenzy on the way home from Spain and our continuing saga of adventure, comedy, romance, and drama.

Retiro Park Rose Garden in Full Bloom

2008-06-27T01:42:00.001+02:00

Farewell to Madrid

2008-06-26T19:04:00.012+02:00

Our last weekend in Spain, we wanted to spend one last day in Madrid. It was a very pleasant. We fed the ducks in front of the glass palace.

And went boating on the lake.

We visited Sol and picked up a few souveniers.
And we went to the Reina Sofia museum to see Picasso's most famous work Guernica.
Goodbye, Madrid!

Can't Keep Up

2008-06-03T17:32:00.003+02:00

Lizard boy is still at it. Yesterday's fave was the Blue Tongued Skink:

Today is the Flying Dragon Lizard:

Click here to see the video that Ransom has watched no less than 20 times today.

The Latest Craze for RansomBoy

2008-05-30T21:59:00.004+02:00

Well, the monitor lizard phase has given way to a new obsession: The Thorny Devil. It's an Australian lizard that looks like this:

It's pretty much all he has talked about for the past two days. He wants one for a pet and is planning a trip to Australia to catch it. Click here to watch a brief but fascinating documentary on this guy.

While you are at it, watch this one about the Jesus Christ Lizard. Yes, the lizard is nicknamed after Jesus, because the thing can actually walk (well, run) on top of water! Pretty amazing.

Here was Ransom's bedtime prayer last night: "Dear Lord, please let everyone in the world know about the thorny devil lizard and let them know that it lives in Australia. Also, thank you for the Jesus Christ Lizard, who can walk on the water, just like you, Lord. Amen."

Pelegrina and Siguenza

2008-05-25T11:09:00.009+02:00

A friend took us on an outing last Sunday to a beautiful "tiny Spanish village" as Corrie has since referred to it. A ruined eleventh century castle looks down on Pelegrina. We walked up through the town and down into the canyon behind it, following a little path along a creek where the townspeople's gardens are kept. We walked and explored through intermittent rain and sun. What a wonderful afternoon! (Sorry the picture isn't very good.)

There is a walking trail from the "tiny Spanish village" to the nearby city of Siguenza. What a pity we will not be able to return to this lovely place for such an activity. We did drive to Siguenza, though. The twelfth century castle there is far from ruinous. In fact, it was modernized and now functions as a Parador (historic buildings turned into upscale hotels). By then, however, the rain was coming down quite steadily, so after visiting the Parador, we had to content ourselves with a tour of the city in the car. We did happen across a bakery open for business on a Sunday afternoon! So, we munched Spanish bread as we saw the sights.

Adventures in Ransom #10

2008-05-19T16:39:00.005+02:00

This week Ransom has pretended to be:

a monitor lizard

a monkey

a pig

a crocodile

a dragon

a chimpanzee

a dinosaur

a bat

a rooster

a dog

a komodo dragon

and a cat.

(Photo by Corrie Jackson)

Dogsitting

2008-05-13T14:46:00.005+02:00

Got the opportunity to dog-sit for a few days recently. Ivy only has eyes (and ears) for Corrie and followed her around the house relentlessly. Here's Corrie reading her a bedtime story.

On the Green

2008-05-12T19:25:00.003+02:00

A couple of weekends ago we got to watch one of Andrea's students take part in a junior golf tournament. The kid is a golfing maniac and is really good. When Andrea's class prays in the morning, a regular prayer request is for a decreased handicap. We should get his autograph before we leave.

Corrie Story #8

2008-04-30T09:47:00.003+02:00

Apparently Corrie decided that Brian could use a little help in the romance department. We found this forged love note on the chalkboard in the hall. Thanks for lending a hand, Cupid!

An American Holiday Comes to Spain

2008-04-29T18:37:00.006+02:00

Today is a special day. April 29th is "Free Cone Day," and this year's celebration commemorates the 30th Anniversary of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Just got back from the shop in Alcalá, where pretty much the entire school stood in line (several times) to get their free ice cream scoops and enjoy their American-ness. All of the Ben & Jerry's flavor names remain in English, but they provide a pronunciation guide for Spaniards. See if you can figure out these flavors:

Chocoleit Fach Brauni Lau Fat
Cuqui Daug
Fanila Tofi Cranch
Cofi Bas Bas
Niu York Super Fach Chank
Chanki Manki
Uán Chisqueik Brauni
Lemoneid Estand

Sounds like the phenomenon is worldwide, so if you read this early enough, get on down to your local scoop shop and get yourself some free goods.

Best Friends...

2008-04-29T18:34:00.001+02:00

The Haircut

2008-04-25T11:41:00.004+02:00

After nearly 5 months of growing his hair out, Brian just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe it was because it tickled his ears and itched his neck. Or perhaps it is beacuse the long hair seemed to emphasize the male pattern baldness that has initiated his thirties. Or it might be because his wife likened him unto Larry Fine of The Three Stooges. Or it could be because the librarian at school asked if he got a perm. At any rate, the curls have been shorn.

Messy Math

2008-04-25T11:29:00.006+02:00

This is how homeschoolers study fractions.

Valencia

2008-04-19T14:01:00.004+02:00

About four hours from Madrid is Valencia, Spain's third largest city. We spent two days seeing the sights and enjoying the coast. Here is a slideshow of the pictures we took.

Segobriga

2008-04-19T12:50:00.006+02:00

Not to be confused with Segovia, Segobriga is a (relatively) recently excavated Roman city. It's pretty extensive and very fascinating. Out in the middle of rolling hills and farmland, it was important in the days of the Romans for mining a particular type of transparent stone which they shipped around the empire for use as windows among other things. After several days of rain, the weather was perfect on the day we visited. The ruins include:

an outdoor ampitheater

(from below)

(from above)

(to the side)

an arena:

(from above)

(gladiators competing)

a public building/city hall and courtyard

baths, drains, and other miscellaneous rooms.

Not to mention the ruins of a Roman piano and an extremeley good-looking statue or two.

Visitors

2008-04-19T12:41:00.003+02:00

We've been busy pretending to be tour guides these past few weeks. Andrea's mom and some of her sisters came to visit. We all had a great time and, of course, the kids loved the extra attention. We packed several cities and monuments into our short time with them. I won't bore you with the places we've already blogged about, but will post pictures of the new stuff in the next few entries. Meanwhile here is a good picture of Andrea and her mama.

Corrie Story #7

2008-04-02T11:33:00.005+02:00

Corrie's latest motto is:

"You know I can't resist an open armpit."

Catchy, huh? It's been used at least 5 times this past week as an excuse to tickle at random.

Field Trip

2008-04-02T10:58:00.004+02:00

Mrs. Jackson's 2nd/3rd Grade Class went to Parque O'Donnell in nearby Alcalá de Henares to study plant life, under the direction of Andrea's student teacher, Ms. Kline. We homeschoolers tagged along. It was a nice day and the kids had fun. Looks like they may have done some learning in the process.

Pauline Jacobi

2008-03-31T14:59:00.004+02:00

This lady is so cool.

Watch this short clip about her to see why.

Handy Website

2008-03-31T13:51:00.004+02:00

Ever stare at the meager contents of your fridge and think, "How am I supposed to make dinner out of that?" Well, I learned about a cool website today. It's SuperCook.com. (Maybe you all know about it already, but when you live nine time zones away, news reaches you slower, OK?) Anyway, you just type in what ingredients you have handy and it searches the web to find all of the recipes that have your stuff in it. Good for when you've run out of ideas for dinner and don't want to run to the store. (Or when you live in Spain, where they close the stores for 3 hours at a time every afternoon, and where they observe holidays we don't know about.)

I'm going to use it to get rid of these garbanzo beans I've had in the cupboard for months. (We just haven't been able to perfect that hummus.)

Sunday Picnic

2008-03-31T13:34:00.003+02:00

The Jacksons in Spain climbed up "Camarma Hill" again this past Sunday to have a picnic in the sunshine. The kids picked olives for olive soup (they are currently in the trash can, don't tell) and the adults attempted some kite flying, but it was too windy. Walked home via the park; a nice leisurely Sunday.

Happy Birthday Ransom!

2008-03-31T13:14:00.004+02:00

Ransom turned 5 years old! He took cookies to his friends at the school (which is basically all 21 elementary students) and they were happy to sing to him and play his games at recess. They are all quite amused by Mr. Charisma. The four of us then headed home for cake and a movie. Here he is as king for the day.

With Corrie and Stretchy (the Lizard):

Happy Birthday Ransom!

Easter Snow

2008-03-24T17:14:00.004+01:00

We were a bit shocked when we looked out our front window yesterday and saw...snow. We California types have never seen a snowy Easter. It didn't last long and barely hit the ground before melting, but it was a fun surprise.

The snow was the big news of the day. Easter was very quiet this year.

We had church at home as a family. That's been the usual for the past month or two because of transportation and language difficulties. The kids like to reenact the lesson whenever we have home church. Yesterday Corrie (playing the part of "they and certain other women") stopped the reenactment to run to the kitchen and get some spice. While we are pretty sure basil didn't make the list of embalming spices, we didn't speak up. At least we know she was listening:

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen!

Hope you had a great Easter.

Good Friday

2008-03-22T10:58:00.003+01:00

Miss McGraw invited our family to the Good Friday service at her church. Before the service we had dinner at our house, and she hid some Easter Eggs in our "backyard" so the kids had a mini Easter-egg hunt.

Snow!

2008-03-22T10:28:00.004+01:00

After the castle, we drove a little higher into the mountians to a little place called Cotos where we had intended to hike. Instead, we were surpised to find a fresh little layer of snow. The kids caught sonwflakes on their tongues, and threw snowballs (okay, I guess we all threw snowballs), we ate our picnic lunch in the warm car, and then stopped into a little restaurant for hot chocolate. We were amused that the lady preparing our glasses of milk was going to serve it to us cold because we are Americans, and of course Americans like their chocolate milk cold. Don't worry, though, we stressed that we wanted our chocolate caliente like everyone else in the little lodge! Mmm, and was it ever hot and frothy!

Manzanares El Real

2008-03-22T10:09:00.005+01:00

On Tuesday (the school's off for Easter Break), the Fields family offered to take us adventuring. Our first stop was at a castle in Manzanares El Real (which translates to something like the Royal Apple Orchard - though you won't find any apple orchards there today). It was an amazingly well-preserved and well-designed castle. Here are some pictures.

Adventures in Ransom #9

2008-03-13T23:24:00.010+01:00

Ransom is becoming quite his own character. Recently, people have relayed some stories to us about the little man. We thought we would share.

1. Ransom has never been fond of coloring, but it's one of those things that's pretty much standard when you go to kid's church. Most kids recognize this and go with the flow, even if coloring isn't their cup o' tea. Ransom's Sunday school teacher informed us that she had asked Ransom to draw a picture. "Okay" he reluctantly agreed. Ten minutes later she returned and said, "Ransom, you didn't make a picture!" He responded emphatically, "Yes, I did! It's FOG!" What could she do but staple the blank sheet to the wall with all the other pictures?

2. Our kids sometimes join the other kids for recess at the school where Andrea teaches. The volunteer on playground duty informed us she overheard the following:

Boy at recess: "What are you doing?"

Ransom: "Playing Superhero."

Boy: "That's cool. Can I be a superhero, too?"

Ransom: "No, I'm the superhero...but every good superhero needs a sidekick!"

The kid is 4 year old. Where does he come up with this stuff?

Ever feel like this?

2008-03-13T23:12:00.005+01:00

If you can relate, just be reminded that this world is not our home....and that we can look forward to so much better than the lousy peanuts that this life has to offer.

Stir Crazy

2008-03-13T01:10:00.005+01:00

These kids need to get out of the house...

Disneyland

2008-03-13T00:52:00.009+01:00

During our time in California we got to go to Disneyland with the cousins. Unfortunately, the only decent video that we got is this short clip of cousin Travie (presented in old school cinematography for your reminiscing pleasure):

7 Years Old

2008-03-10T19:08:00.008+01:00

We also celebrated Corrie's seventh birthday in Hawaii. Sunshine and smiles...long hair and lanky legs...bewilderment and beauty...innocence and intellect...goodwill and godliness. Our little girl is seven! Happy Birthday Corrie!

Unfortunately, Corrie spent the later half of the week in Hawaii with a fever and wasn't much in the mood for celebrating. (Blow out the candles, honey, but don't get your germs on the cake!)

The Wedding Day

2008-03-09T18:59:00.007+01:00

Marissa and JC got married on February 23, 2008. It was not your typical wedding. The bride and groom, as well as several of the wedding party, skydived (or skydove, whichever you prefer) into the wedding, held on the sandy beach of the North Shore of Oahu (where they happen to live). Here are the happy couple in the air:

And here they are safely on the ground:

Wedding essential: The close-up ring shot.

Both families together:

It's rare to get Andrea's siblings together at the same time; apparently it is easier to accomplish if everyone is stuck on an island.

As you can tell, the weather was perfect, the flower girls passed out leis, the parachutes opened, and everyone had a good time. Overall success. For more wedding pictures, set to a groovy tune, just click here.

On the North Shore

2008-03-09T18:16:00.015+01:00

As most of you know, we recently made a little whirlwind trip: California for a few days, followed by a trip to Hawaii, in order to attend the wedding of Andrea's sister Marissa (more to come on that subject) and then back to California for a few more days, then returning to Spain. Ransom who used to love airplanes, is now panick-stricken at the thought of getting on an airplane. Poor guy. Guess we logged a few too many hours of flight time! Anyway, about Hawaii. Marissa and her new husband rented beach houses for the family to stay in. They were fantastic. Here is a view of our backyard. Nice:

The kids enjoying he beach:

Corrie loves to body surf!

Ransom up to now has preferred the sand over the water

but swam with his daddy quite a few times this trip.

A man came to trim the palm tree while we were there and everyone enjoyed watching him scale the tree and hack off branches and coconuts with his machete-looking tool. He cut one open for us and everyone partook of the sweet coconut water.

The kids decided to do some tree-scaling of their own. Ransom the monkey:

Corrie and Holley, Marissa's new niece. Who knows what relation that makes the girls.

Went for a ride in a jeep to the tip of the north shore and did some tidepool exploring.

Wind-blown.

Ransom's been working on his goatee.

Homeschool lesson about crabs.

Corrie & Ivy

2008-03-09T17:55:00.001+01:00

We had the pleasure of watching Ivy for a few days (sometime during the expanse of time we will simply call "the silent months of blogging"). Ivy is the dream dog: well behaved, well-mannered, kind, and loyal. Due to inhumane treatment as seen here, we don't get asked to dog-sit anymore. You can just see the look of terror in Ivy's eyes..."get me outta here!"

Picnic

2008-03-09T17:45:00.003+01:00

We had a few beautiful days in the middle of winter and the kids were itchin' for adventure. So we decided to hike "Camarma Hill" and have a picnic. Stopping at the Dia (Camarma's idea of a grocery store), we stocked up on a few picnic treats and made our way up. Dad then relinquished control of all planning and decision-making. The kids still talk about the day that they got to be "in charge of everything." Here are the two monarchs surveying their kingdom:

In the Kitchen

2008-03-09T17:25:00.008+01:00

Here's a picture of the bakers three makin' cakes. Despite the fabulous baking apparel (courtesy of Grandma - thanks Grandma!) we have to replace the "A" sign in the window with a lower grade whenever the smaller cooks get involved.

The Spanish like their bread fresh daily, and crusty. It's a bit too hard on the outside for Ransom's taste (his 4-year old concept of Heaven probably looks something like the inside of a Wonderbread/Hostess factory), and he has been known to eat out the soft middle of an entire loaf, as seen here.

And yes, that is a washing machine in our kitchen. Where else would you put one, silly American?

Happy New Year

2008-01-04T13:35:00.000+01:00

“¡¡¡Feliz Año 2008!!!”

We spent our New Year's Eve (nochevieja) in our "new" house. It has a patio roof, so we ran up there to see the fireworks all over town, but didn't stay long because it was cold. Fireworks and partying all night long, but we went to sleep instead. The Spanish have a traditon (las doce uvas) of placing 12 grapes in their mouth at midnight-one for each chime of the clock. Interesting, but we didn't try it.

The Belén

2008-01-04T13:01:00.000+01:00

After dinner with the Steffens we walked down to see our Town's Belén, which means Bethlehem. Most Spanish cities have some sort of replica of Bethlehem which is constructed and torn down each year. Very intricate models with running water, lights, and moving parts. They start in about March and work on it all year. After the holidays, they destroy it and start over. Seems like a shame to put so much work into a project only to tear it down, but hey, it's tradition. And Spain is all about tradition. Here are some pictures.

Christmas Day

2008-01-04T12:25:00.000+01:00

We were invited to have Christmas Dinner with a charming family called the Steffens, who have lived here in Spain for many years. The glazed ham, decorated house, and pumpkin pie made it feel more like Christmas at home. We did have Spanish appetizers however: serrano ham, manchego cheese, and langostinos. Spaniards swoon over serrano ham which looks like this:

and is cut from a pig leg that looks like this:

May not look appetizing to you, but the average Spaniard's mouth would be watering over this picture.

Langostinos are pretty much gigantic shrimp, served cold. Now those of you who know us know that we are not exactly shrimp people, but we got the low-down on how to twist off their heads, pry off their armor, discard the legs and use the tail as a handle for insertion in the mouth. The flavor was very nice once you got past the chewy-tendony-bursting texture. Aunt Chrissi would be proud. Brian went back for seconds, though probably just for the morbid pleasure of ripping off something's head.

Manchego is a delicious cheese made from sheep's milk and you can find it in the States nowadays, so give it a whirl. Melted on slices baguette-style bread is best.

The Christmas Tree

2008-01-04T12:08:00.000+01:00

We had no intention of buying a Christmas tree this year. You can get fresh ones, but they are maybe 3 feet tall and look more like a bush in a pot. Or you can find fake ones, which are a little pricey. But when we spotted a deal on a "returned"-looking tree in a beat up box, we thought we would give it a try. Found a set of plastic ornaments for cheap, strung some popcorn and voila! It was just like the end of a Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Doesn't that look Christmasy?

The Day after Thanksgiving

2008-01-04T11:42:00.000+01:00

The day after Thanksgiving we asserted our Americanism and went to a mall. Unlike American malls however, this one was a ghost town. Since the don't have Thanksgiving here, they obviously don't have Day-After-Thanksgiving sales. Nor, of course, do they have the rampant American materialism, but they are working on it. We went with a family called the Fields and had a nice time getting to know them. Corrie and Julia have become bosom buddies. It took about 30 seconds to establish "best friend" status on the day they met. Had Chinese food in the food court. It's been at least a year since we have indulged in the Mandarin Orange/MSG-glazed chicken (?) chunks that have so eloquently been described by those among our acquaintance as "notches and knuckles." It was quite a treat and it gave us that sick and over-full feeling reminiscent of our favorite Chinese dives at home. Why do they mound five pounds of rice and knuckles onto each serving? The mall also had an indoor ski slope, so we entertained ourselves by watching the skiers and snow-boarders.

Felices fiestas y'all

2008-01-04T11:23:00.000+01:00

Woke up this morning in the mood to blog, you lucky audience, you. Sorry you had to spend so long looking at what one of our adoring fans calls "the disturbing boy." We have our excuses for not blogging lately, oh yes, we do, but who wants to hear them? That was last year. We shall try to bring you up to date. Here's a picture of two impertinent little gnomes in one of those cheezy rides that slowly go up and down about six inches. What a waste of a euro. The kids beg and plead for these whenever they see one, and when they finally get to ride one, the look on their faces says, "This is not really as fun as it looked like it was going to be." But of course they would never admit it. Philosophical question: If one is under the impression that one is having fun, is that the same thing as having fun?

To put you in the Christmas mood...

2007-12-07T14:22:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Jacksons

Barcelona

2007-11-20T14:08:00.000+01:00

Someone at the school had free airline tickets to Barcelona that they could not use, but they had to be used right away. Bobbi offered to watch the kids, so Andrea and Brian got to take an inexpensive little honeymoon to Barcelona for two days. We had the best time! Here's a brief slideshow of the sights.

Commercial

2007-11-20T14:07:00.000+01:00

...We interrupt this blogcast to bring you an advertisement. Our friends, Eddie and Kirsten Moran have started a new web business making Birth Announcements. They're pretty cute too. (The announcements, not the Morans... Though, of course, they are quite nice-looking as well.) If you are expecting, or know someone who is, check out their website: Celebrate Life Announcements. Mention our name and you will receive...well, nothing...except an opportunity to talk about us behind our backs. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

The Joy of Homeschooling

2007-11-15T15:24:00.000+01:00

The beauty of homeschooling is that we can do whatever we want, and act goofy doing it. (Perhaps our next lesson should be a review of the words to "Old MacDonald!")

This video is inspired by the American Greetings e-cards that Grandma often sends to the kids. Click here to see the "professionals" do it. Be sure to leave a comment if you want to see more Chins Twins movies in the future!

Adventures in Ransom #8

2007-11-15T08:05:00.000+01:00

Conversation held this morning between Ransom and Brian, typical of their daily talks:

R: Do you know what I want you to build me?

B: Let me guess, a treehouse?

R: No, no, no. Remember I want an outhouse, not a treehouse!

B: Oh.

R: But there's something else that I want.

B: What do you want me to build for you?

R: I want you to build me a robot that is my size and can shoot frozen out of its fingers.

B: I see. What would you do with it?

R: If there's another boy who has a robot that shoots hot out of its fingers I can have my robot shoot frozen to stop it.

B: Oh, that would be useful.

(Pause)

R: Daddy?

B: Yes?

R: Do you think that there is a boy somewhere out there asking his Dad to build him a robot that shoots hot out of his fingers right now?

B: Gosh, I don't know. Do you think so?

R: (Smiling) Yep!

B: What should I build the robot out of?

R: Hmmm...let me think what you should build it out of.

(Pause...priceless look on his thinking face...finger to cheek and eyes looking up.)

R: Oh I know, you can make it out of metal.

B: What kind of metal?

R: Titanium.

B: OK.

R: But how will we get the frozen inside?

B: Maybe we can put the freezer in it.

R: No! It's not ice cubes, it's snow!

B: Oh.

R: Maybe we can go to a place where it snows and fill up the robot with snow. And we can always get lots of buckets of snow and keep them in a room that is frozen, with snow blowers on the ceiling and when we need more snow we will go in the room and get a bucket and throw it into the hand through the arm...but...(finger lightly tapping the chin in contemplation) how will be get the snow blowers on the ceiling?

B: How do you think we should get them on the ceiling?

R: Why don't we can get a tool that can make little lines and we can do it around and we can take out some of the roof and then we can put the snowblowers in...and a fan to blow the snow around the room...and we can see how that works.

(Pause)

R: Hey! Do you think we can do it in the laundry room? I've been thinking of that.

B: That's an idea. I'm glad you've got it all figured out.

R: Yeah, so can you do it right now?

Lisbon

2007-11-14T13:40:00.000+01:00

The capital of Portugal had some great sights and amazing architecture, which we viewed from the top of a double-decker bus. Unfortunately we did not do a very good job of taking pictures. Here's pretty much all we've got:

The 6.5 hour drive had really beautiful olive orchards, vineyards, and grassy fields, arguably making Portugal's landscapes superior to those of Spain (Uh...no pictures.)

Surprisingly, everyone's favorite part of the trip was a visit to the Oceanarium where we were able to see amazing species of sea life. Ransom, our little zoologist/marine biologist, was in his element. (Uh...again, no pictures...bad blogger! bad!)

Anyway, despite a few setbacks (getting lost, driving through the "authorized vehicles only" gate (oops), the pre-arranged accommodations falling through, and a lot of walking in search for any sign of fast-food) we had fun exploring a new town and just being with Grammie and Pa!

A Visit from Grammie and Pa

2007-11-14T00:06:00.000+01:00

Brian's parents are just getting home from a 10-day visit to Spain. We all had a really great time. Among the highlights were:

Castles:

Public Transportation:

Dad learning how to drive in Spain:

Eating out:

Early Thanksgiving /Christmas:

Chocolate con churros:

And a trip to Lisbon, Portugal! (Images to follow in a subsequent blog post - hopefully.)

Thanks for coming Mom and Dad. We miss you already!

Acting Silly

2007-11-04T11:21:00.000+01:00

Grammie and Pa arrived on Thursday and the kids got deleriously silly. Here's a sample.

Adventures in Ransom #7

2007-11-04T09:45:00.000+01:00

Ransom has really been into animals of any kind. He can tell you about 20 different types of sharks, how salmon swim upstream, which wales eat what, etc. His latest fascination is the horned lizard. One type can even squirt blood from his eyes. No one believes Ransom when he tells them, but you can click here for proof.

Corrie Story #6

2007-10-20T17:56:00.000+02:00

Corrie just finished practicing her piano lesson. She's working on "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Afterward she had the song in her head and was therefore, naturally, singing the lyrics:

"Mary had a little lamb

Little lamb,

Mary had a little lamb

...its fleas were white as snow!"

Super-Teacher!

2007-10-20T10:12:00.000+02:00

Here's Andrea and her class on "Superhero Day." With all the work she's put into this year, she's definitely earned the title.

Big/Little Sib Day

2007-10-20T09:52:00.000+02:00

Corrie and Ransom were invited to participate in the school's "Big/Little Sib Day" in which the older kids are paired up with the younger ones for an afternoon of fun and activities. This year's theme was "Superheroes." Here's a picture of Corrie and her big sib Sheila as Super-Princesses.

Here's Ransom and Daniel as Superman (Supermen?) This pose won them a prize in the best character category, by the way.

Here are the super-sibs in the obstacle course. There was no flying allowed, so they removed their capes.

Here are all four, using their super-flying powers.

The Zoo

2007-10-14T14:48:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay, but we had some difficulties putting this entry together. For Andrea's 30th birthday we went to the Madrid Zoo with our good friend Bobbi, and we had so much fun! Hope you enjoy the show...

(In case you are wondering about the end scene - we got sneezed on by a llama!)

A Treasure Hunt

2007-09-23T15:38:00.001+02:00

The hardest part of teaching overseas for me has been... no yard sales! I never realized how much I relied on cheap junk to stock my classroom and project cabinets. It was so easy to follow a couple of signs on the way to wherever I was going on a Saturday morning, gathering books, craft supplies, and all sorts of goodies with my can of pocket change. C'est la vie.
Well, Brian's parents will be visiting us the first part of November and they've offered to fill their extra suitcases with anything we need, and as I was thinking about what size winter pajamas to get for the kids, it occurred to me that they'll be plenty of room for some good junk!
Therefore I am listing some things that I would love to have for my class and if you are willing to hunt for them during October at yard sales, discount stores, or with all those Autumn Michael's coupons you'll be getting... just get them to Rex and Diane to pack for their trip. Thanks!

book and cassette sets
rubber stamps (alphabet letters, words, pictures, etc.)
stickers
stationary
cancelled postage stamps
restaurant or take-out menus

Knitting

2007-09-23T15:01:00.000+02:00

Corrie has been after me (Andrea) to teach her how to knit. The extent of my knitting knowledge prior to two weeks ago, however, amounted to a handful of fond childhood memories watching my great grandmother knitting, and of course the experience of how those hand-made afghans kept me warm in bed, roofed forts, curtained stages, etc. So, I had a friend visiting the States pick up a book for us about how to teach a child to knit figuring it must be able to teach a grown up, too, right? We visited a yarn store in Madrid, buying the items we need to make two scarves- one for Corrie, and one for her doll. The project and the colors being selected by Corrie. I opened the book, followed the pictures, and voila! two weeks later we have half a scarf. (I wasn't sure about the endeavor when I started, but it gets easier as you go.) Corrie is a good little knitter, though it's beyond her to do on her own as yet. She'll knit half a dozen stiches at a time and then hand it back to me. In fact, I was sitting on the couch relaxing the other day after school and she reprimanded me: "Why are you just sitting there, Mom? Why aren't you knitting on my scarf?" What a slave driver! It's been a fun project, though. She determines what color comes next in the pattern, and has been really interested in how I change the yarn colors, etc. And it gives me something to do in the evenings while Brian and I read Lord Peter Wimsey. So, who knows, perhaps you'll find a pair of hand-knit socks from the Jackson ladies under your Christmas tree this winter!

Falcons

2007-09-15T17:23:00.000+02:00

Last week were the Camarma Fiestas, which includes activities for kids, the Camarma bull-run, fireworks, etc. We only attended a few events, but we did make sure to see the falcons. In the nearby fields, falconers showed off their falcons and tricks. Corrie drew a "falcon" on a piece of paper and taped it to a stick before we left home, parading it there, back, and around for all to see. What the locals thought of the weird American showing off her bird drawing, I don't know. Looked more like an ostrich, really. But the kids had fun and now Ransom thinks that falcons are "so cool."

Challah

2007-09-14T20:22:00.000+02:00

Andrea had the day off today. We got to hang out at home and do chores. Andrea wins the prize for "most productive." Take a look at these babies:

It's Jewish braided bread, called Challah (you have to hack up some phlegm to pronounce it correctly). Here's the recipe for any of you with the chutzpah to try it.

(And yes, those kitchen walls are chocolate brown, orange, and creme. Don't get jealous.)

Girl Day/Boy Day

2007-09-13T15:09:00.001+02:00

There was no school last Thursday, so the Jackson girls went to a Museum with Miss McGraw (4th-5th Grade Teacher) and Miss Pi (1st Grade Teacher). The Thyssen Museum in Madrid has a special exhibit featuring portraits from the last 2 months of Van Gogh's life. Corrie and Andrea are fans of impressionism ever since Corrie's art class. Therefore, the Jackson boys stayed home and had a "boy day," which means wrestling, pizza-making, and 3 hours of "Rescue Ranger" cartoons.

The girls on their outing:

...and the boys:

Reading

2007-09-13T13:55:00.002+02:00

Corrie has really been into The Boxcar Children. I think she is now on book #12 in the series. She loves the mystery and suspnse of all those new adventures that Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny find themselves in. Fortunatley there are like, six-hundred-million left in the series, so she will stay busy for a while. Ransom, on the other hand, is in love with just one particular book at the moment: The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food. He doesn't seem to get the point that too much junk food is a bad thing. He just loves to hear you tell him about how Brother and Sister Bear get to eat delicious treats like Choco-Chums and Yum-Puffs, Sugar Balls, and Sweetsie-Cola.

The adults of the family however, find themselves staying up much too late to read "just one more chapter" of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novels.

Burgos

2007-09-13T13:13:00.000+02:00

On the way up north to go camping, we stopped in Burgos. Burgos is where El Cid is buried. Click here for information about El Cid (or rent the Charlton Heston movie). We found it to be one of our favorite Spanish cities so far. There is a tree-lined boulevard next to a quaint river. The bridges and arches and trees make it feel more European than all of the "brown" Spanish cities we are used to. We got a few pictures before the camera batteries died.

(Can anybody tell us what kind of trees these are? Leave a comment, if so. )

Camping

2007-09-13T12:24:00.000+02:00

We are staying in the house of the Calderwoods, who have a bunch of camping equipment that they said we could use. They told us about a spot up north in the Picos de Europa, so we decided to go for it. Unfortunately, Brian didn't charge the batteries in the camera, so we have no pictures to show you, which is really a shame because Northern Spain is green and mountainous and beautiful. Here's a picture from the internet (isn't technology great?) of the place where we stayed. We were in a campground in that middle clump of trees. There is a gondola that takes you up to where this picture was taken. Great views. We tried to get Corrie to perform the opening scene of Sound of Music up there, but she wouldn't go for it. You know...this bit:

A note to our readers

2007-09-13T11:21:00.001+02:00

Now, I realize it appears from our blog that all we do here in Spain is travel, but you have to remember that most of these locations are just a few hours away and most of the time we sit at home reading, cleaning, studying, parenting, etc. Since none of you really care to see any of that stuff, you are just getting the highlights, and therefore our lifestyle appears to be more glamorous than it really is.

...Well OK, some of us are pretty glamorous:

Salamanca

2007-09-13T11:13:00.000+02:00

Fast forward to August. We met a woman who will be teaching French and German at the school beginning next year, but first has to learn Spanish since she plans to live here long-term. Her language school is in Salamanca, and since we had not yet seen Salamanca, we tagged along on the trip to drop her off there. Salamanca is famous for its buildings made out of sandstone, and it is said that the purest Spanish in the world is spoken in Salamanca (hence the language schools). In Salamanca, you can go up on the roof of the cathedral, which was really cool.

Steps leading up to the roof:

Views from the roof:

From the inside:

Bobbie brought her best friend Ivy, who looks like a miniature Lassie. (Yes, Ivy is a dog.) Since her breed is not found in Spain (too much hair for the heat, I think) and since Spaniards are dog-lovers, everywhere we went people would whisper "Lassie," and want to pet her. It's a great way to meet people, if you speak Spanish, that is. "Hola...si...perro...si...Lassie...si...perro..."

Bobbi is devoted to her dog and even feeds her Ben & Jerry's. Now that's love.

Salamanca boasts one of Spain's largest Main Squares. Looks very similar to Madrid's, but more uniform in color and appearance. Found this link about it, if you care to know. Salamanca's Plaza Mayor. Obviously the most important aspect about it is that there is a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop.

Nerja

2007-09-13T10:55:00.000+02:00

We didn't spend long in Granada because it was hot and crowded, but because we were so far south, we decided to go down to the coast and dip our feet in the Mediterranean. We ended up in a little resort town called Nerja. (Pronounced nair-ha) It felt so good, we ended up diving in and spending the whole day in the water. Most of us had not brought swimsuits, as this was not on the agenda. Andrea wore here pajama pants (not pictured, of course.) We had so much fun and stayed so long, we all got terrible sunburns (also not pictured - who wants to see that?)

On the way home from the beach we tried stopping in Cordoba, but stayed only 20 minutes because it was 41 degrees Centrigrade (106 Farenheit) at 8pm!

Granada!

2007-09-13T10:35:00.000+02:00

Granada has been high on our wish list for visiting since our arrival as it is the home of the famous Alhambra. During Tiffany's visit we rented a car and drove to Granada. it was very hot, but the Alhambra was beautiful. Built by the Moors, it is known for its inticate carvings, extensive gardens, and amazing fountains.

Visit from Tiffany

2007-09-13T10:28:00.000+02:00

Let's go back to June, shall we? We had a visit from our dear friend Tiffany who is an avid traveller and who therefore wanted to see all of Spain in two weeks. Unfortunately we did not see it all, but we did see some new sights as well as some "old" ones. Of course all the sights in Spain are old, but you know what we mean. Here is Tiffany and the city of Toledo:

Apology

2007-09-13T10:04:00.000+02:00

We have received several hate mails informing us that our blog is outdated. We hereby make our sincere and public apology. Today we shall neglect all else in order to provide you with several random posts. We shall start with this random yet beautiful picture of the lovely Jackson ladies of Spain. As you can see, Corrie no longer has any aversion to cameras whatsoever.

La Pedriza

2007-08-11T17:01:00.001+02:00

We spent yesterday with our friends Bobbi and Ivy (Bobbi's dog) at La Pedriza, a recreational area in the mountains an hour northwest of Madrid. We had a great time! The weather was sunny, but slightly cooler there. We ate a picnic lunch, waded in the creek, took a little hike, climbed boulders, and ate some wild blackberries we found. We'll have to go back in a few weeks as only the first few were ripe yet. Ransom fell asleep in the car on the way home around seven o'clock and didn't wake up until after seven this morning! We will definitely be going back.

Adventures in Ransom #6

2007-08-06T19:09:00.000+02:00

Conversation today:

"Dad, how did God make heads?"

"Umm....very carefully?"

"No, no, no, I mean...how does God build your head."

"Well, buddy, I don't really know."

"Let's go check it out on the computer."

How to Stay Cool In Spain

2007-08-04T16:52:00.000+02:00

Find some shade...

...and drink plenty of water.

Trying to Stay Cool

2007-07-28T22:59:00.000+02:00

It went over 100F today. I know Riverside has seen that a few times already, but you have air conditioning! The buildings here are all brick, concrete, and tile, though, so they stay relatively cool. It stays about mid-80sF inside our house. We have a basement here, too, in which we've been retiring to wait out the afternoons playing "Sorry" and watching "Little House on the Prairie." There is no thermometer downstairs, but it feels significantly cooler than upstairs. When it finally cooled off some outside (about 9:30 or 10:00PM), we ran around the yard with squirt bottles. Here's a picture of Ransom donning new hair-cut (a buzz job by his Daddy).

A new post!

2007-07-25T22:44:00.000+02:00

So... we haven't updated in a while... oops. Visitors, moving, etc. Well, we're not going to backtrack, but here's a little "ahhh" tale for now, and we'll try really hard to keep current so check back soon. =)

Corrie and Ransom were talking of how much they love each other and Corrie comments, "But we can't get married." And Ransom responds with, "Yeah, we don't have marry clothes."

Around town in Paris

2007-06-21T10:52:00.000+02:00

This is Ransom "driving" the double-decker bus. It was the kids' other pick of things to do (the 1st being the Eiffel Tower). The top deck is open so you can see the sights as they drive you around all the attractions of town with a commentary offered in headphones. As we could get on and off at the different stops and get a feel for the layout of the city, it was really a pretty nice activity.

The Seine River flows right through the center of Paris. Just about every block has a bridge across it so there are countless of them gracefully stretching across the river. And all illuminated at night! In certain areas, the river is also flanked with paved banks down by the water (not in these pictures, oops) so of course we strolled along the Seine a few times.

The Louvre Museum. The glass pyramid is even stranger in person than I figured it would be. I suppose it's the juxtaposition of old world and modern. We didn't go in for if you look really closely, the courtyard was crowded with people. We generally stay away from crowds. I know, so unSpanish of us.

We ate dinner on the Champs Elysees just for the experience- same as many others there no doubt!

Notre Dame

2007-06-18T22:45:00.000+02:00

Notre Dame was amazing. Absolutely beautiful inside and out. Mass was going on when we walked through so we got to hear the choir singing- and the acoustics under those arched ceilings is incredible. Had we had more time there (and maybe a babysitter) I would have liked to attend a concert they were holding as they were performing Bach and Gregorian chants. Next time!

There are huge, elaborately stained glass windows in the cathedral and as we were admiring them (from inside, though, when all the colors show - sorry, didn't get a picture of that) Corrie says matter of factly, "Boppa (Grandpa Paul) makes windows like that."

I am sorry to admit that our children's favorite feature of Notre Dame was this spinny thing in a small playground in the back corner of the cathedral's garden! Maybe instead I'll just tell you that they requested daily to visit Notre Dame again.

Brian turns 30 at 1063ft.

2007-06-15T14:27:00.000+02:00

We spent the weekend in Paris, celebrating Brian's 30th birthday on Sunday with a lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower and dinner nearby at a stereotypical little French Cafe.

We were relieved to find the top deck completely enclosed so we could loosen the death-grip we had on our children and let them explore.

The view down:

Who needs an elevator when we can climb up?

Looking at the third deck (top)
from the second deck.

Escargot anyone?

(We couldn't get the kids to try it even on bribe of ice cream!)

The Rastrillo

2007-05-23T16:13:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday, the school held its annual Rastrillo (derived from "Rastro" - Madrid's flea market). Since Spaniards don't do garage sales, this is something quite different for them and many show up to buy used stuff. Each year it has gotten bigger and this year they had carnaval games, barbeque, and lots of people in attendance. The school sees it as a great way to meet the community and get rid of junk, and the Spaniards like the bargains. Corrie and Ransom's favorite part was "dunking" the school's headmaster, Mr. Musser. Just look at Corrie's face, when she finally hit the bullseye:

Corrie Story #5

2007-05-23T15:58:00.000+02:00

Corrie was helping me clean the bathroom. Her task was to wipe down the mirror. I noticed it was taking quite a long time. When asked how things were progressing she excitedly said, "I think I just saw my eyes sparkle!" She had been trying to replicate it for about 10 minutes. Next time, I'll have her clean the toilet.

Adventures in Ransom #5

2007-05-23T15:49:00.000+02:00

"Ransom, were you playing with the camera?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Tren de la Fresa

2007-05-23T15:14:00.001+02:00

On Mother's Day we took el Tren de la Fresa (The Strawberry Train) to Aranjuez, which is the site of the Spring Palace. The train cars were from the early 19th century and the attendants on the train dressed up in period costumes and handed out strawberries.

Aranjuez is famous for its strawberries (in addition to its asparagus and artichokes). The train ride included a guided tour of the palace and a visit to a few of the large gardens. It was a long day, but it was a beautiful city - a must see when y'all come to vist.Forgot to take pictures of the palace, but here's the church:

Here's the prettiest mother on Mother's Day (sorry Mom) :

Grammie's visit

2007-05-23T14:16:00.000+02:00

Grammie came to Spain for a visit for a week and half earlier this month. Andrea was able to take a couple of afternoons off and while Grammie was here she was able to see...

El Escorial:

Alcalá de Henares:

Madrid:

Toledo:

Segovia:

Aranjuez:

and let's not leave out the prestigious pueblo of Camarma de Esteruelas! :

Everyone had a great time and the grandkids were especially sorry to see her go.

A loose tooth!

2007-04-28T21:46:00.000+02:00

Well, tonight we discovered Corrie's first loose tooth. If you could have seen the pride and delight on her face and heard the giggle as she experienced the phenomenon! She has anticipated this event for some time, and now at six years, two months, and five days...a wiggler. Take a good look at this smile for it will soon be changing. For the grandmas, it is her lower left central, and actually her lower right central is moving slightly, too. Daddy was a little shocked at the turn of events, and realized that he simply wasn't prepared for holes in her smile and grown up teeth! But he'll probably have a couple of weeks to get used to the idea.

Roasting Marshmallows

2007-04-27T10:21:00.000+02:00

Corrie and Ransom have been lamenting for months the fact that we do not have a firelplace - mainly because they want to roast marshmallows. Corrie decided to take matters into her own hands and made her own fire. Here's a picture of the kids roasting their marshmallows in the middle of the living room.

Little House on the Prairie

2007-04-26T16:27:00.000+02:00

Lately, Corrie has been begging to watch Little House on the Prairie pretty much every day. She likes to turn off all the lights, make popcorn, and move the couch so that we can sit in the "Jackson Movie Theater." We bought Season 1 while we were in the States and we are half way through. Even Brian is starting to find a place in his heart for that buck-toothed girl.

Corrie Story #4

2007-04-25T21:29:00.000+02:00

I was stopped from entering the kitchen one morning by a little girl anxiously explaining that she had learned her lesson and she would never do it again. My curiosity piqued, I inquired of the circumstances of the lesson learned while easing my way into the kitchen. Corrie went back to cleaning her mess and told of how she had decided to try peanut-buttering her toast BEFORE she put it in the toaster!

Easter

2007-04-23T20:14:00.000+02:00

The week's rain paused for a beautiful, sunny Easter. We met a group from the school for a sunrise service (at 7 AM no less! You've got to love Spain.) and breakfast. The hill we were to scale being too muddy, we climbed the stairs to the dry and warm third floor of the school to watch the sunrise behind glass. We spent the hour singing resurrection hymns and with individuals sharing verses or praises. Our "shy" 6 year old stood up among the first of the volunteers and read a song she had written for Easter:
"Glory to the Lord
Glory to the Lord
Glory to the Lo-o-ord
You are the greatest
I love You
Thank You for Easter
Thank You that you were bo-orn
Thank You for everything
You are wonderful, Lord"
Later that afternoon, we had the Nichols (the family we "church" with) over to our house for an Italian Easter dinner. Corrie did an encore of her song for us, this time with the drum (it was written to be a drum song!) Here's a pic. We had a couple visiting the school with us as well. We hope you had a pleasant Easter, too. =)

Sevilla

2007-04-16T13:42:00.000+02:00

Here are some of the sights from Sevilla.

The Torre de Oro:

The Plaza de Espana:

The Cathedral:

The Bullring (with a lovely head in front):

The Alcázar (with a not-so-lovely crowd in front):

and its gardens:

The Guadalquivir River:

La Giralda Tower:

And Sara picked up a hot date (below) using her come hither look (above) for flamenco night.

The Pepecar

2007-04-16T12:44:00.000+02:00

For Andrea's Spring break, we decided to do a little traveling, since Sara was leaving for home half way through the break. That means Brian worked up the nerve to rent a car and attempt driving in Spain. Remember that all of his life-experience in driving a stick shift adds up to about 2 hours. So we rented the "Pepecar." If you rent a car from pepecar.com, it is a lot cheaper than other places because they put advertisements on the car. I think the average Spaniard would feel too silly to rent a Pepecar, but since we are already the weird Americans, we figured we would save the money. We hoped that at least everyone would understand Brian's bad driving maneuvers if they could see at a glance that we were tourists. Fortunatley our Pepecar didn't look like the Pepecar pictured above. Here's the one we got:

Nothing takes you out of your comort zone like renting a car (in broken Spanish) that you can barely drive, to go to a place you have never been, which is 6 hours away, with a car full (I cannot emphasis the word "full" enough) of innocent loved ones, with funky road signs, lots of pedestrians, and a Pepecar sign on your doors. But, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and needless to say, we survived.

Ransom's Birthday

2007-04-16T12:33:00.000+02:00

Ransom's 4th birthday was on March 28th. He requested a "bull" birthday, so that's what he got. Now that he is four, he has changed his favorite color to red, his favorite number to four, and has decided that on his next birthday he is going to be ten.

Corrie wore her hair in "horns" for the event.

Say "bull!"

Adventures in Ransom #4

2007-03-12T17:02:00.000+01:00

One day we decided to get the kids (and the dog) out of the house. While at the park, Ransom had to go to the bathroom, but there wasn't one within 15 minutes walk. Brian tried to get him to hold it, but in no time Ransom had his pants down. What can you do? Brian got out the camera, Sara fell into laughter, and Snowball joined in the entertainment. Here's Snowball (minus the sweater) and Ransom (minus the propriety):

The dog.

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000+01:00

One of the teachers had to go back to the States for about a month (or longer) and asked us to watch her dog. The kids are loving it. It came with a red sweater with a polar bear on it, and its name is Snowball. Just imagine the sight of 5 Americans walking a dog in a red sweater and shouting "Snowball!" through the streets of Camarma. Talk about learning humility.

I would post a picture of him, but it's a poodle, so I won't subject you to that cruelty.

The Driving Lesson

2007-03-12T16:24:00.000+01:00

After about 10 years of never driving a stickshift (not that he ever did it well), Brian was able to get behind the wheel and practice with one of the ECA houseparents, Bruce Altemose. We didn't die and the car is in one piece still, so I guess it went well. Actually it went very well, and Brian felt very comfortable driving a stick. Now, it just remains to get comfortable with driving in Spain. Drivers here are maniacs, the signage is a bit crazy, and I've seen sidewalks in America that are wider than many of the streets here. Maybe if we get one of these babies, and just put the kids in the glove compartment...

A Night Out!

2007-03-12T16:14:00.000+01:00

The weekend before last, we were invited to a young married couple's ministry at an international English-speaking church in Madrid. Utilizing our guest as a baysitter, Andrea and Brian had a night out! We got to meet several couples from all over the world and had a good time.

Corrie Story #3

2007-03-12T16:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, while having dinner at a friend's house, Corrie announced to us all that when she grows up, she wants to be a missionary (this was the first we had heard of this). When the friend asked what country she wanted to go to, she told us...Mississippi!

Silly Corrie, that's not another country, that's another world!

Corrie's Birthday!

2007-03-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

Corrie turned 6 on February 23. We all made a cake together. Corrie decided to make her own piñata (we have never seen one in Spain - it's a Mexico thing). She took a plastic bag and filled it with candy, got a rope from the garage, and went at it. It's sounds kind of pathetic, but she had fun and that's the important thing.

Easy come, easy go.

2007-03-01T16:56:00.000+01:00

After all that sightseeing, the kids were about fed up with car seats, so the girls used our last day of having a car to visit a store that is of out of our way by bus and has a lot of American-type stuff you can't find in town. It is called Hipercor. We stocked up on about 35 Euros worth of peanut butter. Too bad that a week later all Peter Pan peanut butter has been recalled due to salmonella poisoning! (For details on the recall, click here.)

The Rastro

2007-03-01T16:32:00.000+01:00

On Sunday morning we tried to go to an international church in Madrid, since we had the car, but got into town too late. We ended up going to the famous Rastro, which is like a flea market. Lots of people and lots of junk. We didn't remember to bring a picture, but here is a picture stolen from a stranger's blog.

Avila

2007-03-01T16:08:00.000+01:00

The next day we went to Avila, which is to the northwest. It was a Sunday, so it was very quiet and peaceful. Avila is the highest city in Spain and had a really nice view. You can climb the old city walls and battlements. Here are a few pictures.