Manzanares el Real Reboot

Since we were so impressed with Manzanares el Real on Thursday and since Josh and Noah missed out on all the fun... we went again :) It was just as impressive, but a whole lot windier which made it a little chilly. Since it was a Saturday we got to eat lunch before going up to the castle. OK actually we went all the way up to find that they were closed for lunch from 1:30-3:30 so... why not. We knew it'd be open at least!

Things started off a little rough. The kids were misbehaving and very whiny, but once they chowed down on some fries and chorizo they were suddenly perfect angels. Imagine that! I had the salmon and it was outSTANDing. Josh had a huge steak, which was also delicious.

We were done at just the right time to get our tickets. Hooray! Everyone was full and happy as we trekked up the hill to the castle. Noah was excited and thoroughly enjoyed the Victorian music playing through the speakers (a treat reserved for the weekends I guess). We got to spend a lot more time looking at the displays and reading about the history. I discovered the only part of the original castle that is left is the base. The city of Madrid painstakingly restored it to its original glory, using what few original pieces were left to form a historically accurate duplicate, and a national treasure.

I took more pictures, of course. Having seen how the other set turned out I was better able to frame them how I wanted. The wind blew the flags for me, the lighting was better. I love these!

Brennan and Tristan were intent on showing Noah all the tips and tricks of the castle. They hid in every doorway, sat on every bench, and climbed the rocks at the end for a picture. They were so thrilled to show their big brother the castle. All three of them happily danced to the music in the courtyard at the end of our tour. Josh had a good time too.

I was eager to show Josh the sweet road Mama C and I found, but since I had found it on accident I couldn't find it again. We did make it to the medieval bridge this time though... or at least we think we did. Spain is notorious for inadequate sign placement. They will throw a couple signs up with arrows, and then you just have to drive down all the roads in that area until you get lucky and find what you were looking for, or give up and go home. We couldn't drive to the bridge so we took a decent hike in the hills below the mountains.

We did find a bridge... and it looked pretty old so, yeah sure why not! It was right at the base of a hydroelectric power plant, part of the Santillana Reservoir. All around us was farmland. It reminded me a lot of the trails behind our housing area, but much closer to those amazing mountains!

The temperature dropped more, the sun was setting, the winds were picking up, and the boys were tired. Home again home again jiggitty jog.

Hurricane Sandy

This will be a gleefully uneventful post, but I thought I should at least inform everyone of our whereabouts during Frankenstorm. On Friday the landfall predictions were further south, which had the eye passing near our tiny town after obliterating Dover, DE. We happen to be surrounded by water. The Patuxent River on one side, Chesapeake Bay on the other, plenty of swamps and creeks in between. Not a good prospect. Josh and I had gone out that night to try and secure supplies and already, there were no batteries or flashlights. We also don't have a grill and thought "we'll try Lowe's tomorrow"I mean, most people already own grills... right? Everything in our house is run on electricity (including the water pump for the well) except for the fireplace. I don't know what builders are thinking when they do that. I at least want a gas stove and water heater! So, anyways. We got a few hours of sleep before trying to brave the crowds...

Hiking on the Guadarrama Trail

As promised yesterday, I actually left the house and went on a hike with Mama C and Goober! YAY! I was a bad Mommy and ill prepared to shield us from the hot Spanish sun so we all have a touch of sunburn. Whoops. It was fun though. OK so here's where we began our journey. You can see the bridge between the roundabout and the little house with a red roof (which is a restaurant). All the cylindrical buildings were a plant nursery. We walked over the bridge and past the nursery where we crossed the street and then started up the dirt path. The other little building is literally a Gypsy Keep. Here's what it looked like from the road... and it was so ridiculously creepy, yet fascinating. I don't know why there is always tons of junk in trees around gypsy places. There was a gutted van in the backyard, a stroller jammed into a wall, shorts in the trees. We both wanted to trespass, but the kids would have inevitably fal...

Germany

Noah and I are having a great time out in Germany with Josh. The house we're sharing is amazing and the people are also amazing. The only thing we don't have is our own kitchen, but like I said, the people who live here (Josh's friends) are amazing so it's not even an issue. I've been cooking for everyone to try to thank them in some way. We haven't been to many places yet. It's hard to go anywhere with a baby who has a naptime and a husband who has a job. However!! We managed to make it out to Heidelberg to see the castle. It was awesome. the walk up to the castle mmmm castle Heidelberg down below Christmas is huge here. They've even got Christmas markets out in the parking lot in front of WalMart. We've been to Luisenplatz a few times in downtown Darmstadt to visit all the Christmas shops they have set up. It's like a Christmas flea market. Thus far all I've blown money on is candy... mmmm German candy is so delicious. It's...

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