Trip to England - Stonehenge

As part of our trip, we wanted to see some of the English countryside and planned a visit to Stonehenge and Cotswolds.


Photo: Piggyback on Uncle Paul. Stopping for lunch in Salsbury

It is a curious place and one can't help wonder how those sizable stones found their way to the middle of the English country side. The mysteriousness and openness of the surroundings provide a magical, peaceful quality to the experience.



Alec and Fiona told us that not long ago, you could roam freely amongst the stones rather than view it from a distance. The area is roped off now as the extensive foot traffic was eroding the area and sinking the stones.









The Peever (Alec and Fiona) family spontaneously hosted a feast for us as we dropped in on them somewhat unannounced. They live in a beautiful, restored English farmhouse on the edge of the Cotwolds countryside. The cousins kids had a ball playing soccer and we all enjoyed the gorgeous setting.





Photo: Cressida (Fiona and Alec's oldest daughter), Ryan (Cressida's boyfriend), and Kathy outside on the Peever's patio






Photos: Ryan, Cressida, and Felix after dinner










Photo: Fiona's youngest son, Tobias with Fiona in background

Trip to England - Wembley Stadium

In June, we traveled to England with Geoff (Celia's Dad), Paul (Celia's brother), and his girlfriend, Kathy for about 10 days. Our first excursion was to the impressive Wembley Stadium, which was rebuilt in 2007, for the England vs. Switzerland soccer game with cousins Peter, his son, Rory; Alec and his son, Tobias.



Although England was supposed to crush Switzerland, they didn't play at the top of their game and closed with a 2-2 tie.





With the massive crowds (the stadium holds 90,000 people) getting out of the stadium was another story and quite a feat. It took us two hours to get into London to meet Fiona, Cressida, Francesca for dinner. In the midst of the madness, Geoff and Dad got separated from us and ultimately wound up having dinner on their own.

Kelsey Danca Jazz and Gymnastica Rhymtica Exhibitions

As part of the end of the school year events, JDL had exhibitions for many of the school activities including dance, piano, gymnastics, and more.

Kelsey had participated in Danca Jazz (similar to Hip Hop in the U.S.), and Rymtica Gymnastics (not sure what this is called in the U.S. but it's a blend of gymnastics and dance routines performed to music.

Sentimental Journey -- Last SYA Trip

Our last SYA sponsored trip took us whitewater rafting and hiking in the Pyrenees at Ordesa National Park. Many of the SYA students had never been whitewater rafting and it was thrilling, new experience for them.


We weren't able to take photos during the rafting as we had to leave our cameras and personal belongings on the bus. Yet, we all enjoyed ourselves; Colin and Parker loved it so much that they went twice.




We had heard that tears and sloppy goodbyes were a regular part of the final SYA excursion but the students managed to keep it together except for some mild weeping on the return bus ride to Zaragoza.


Ordesa was a beautiful as we had remembered from our trip there in the Fall 2010.

Kelsey's Birthday Dinner at Los Cabezudos

Kelsey's birthday celebration continued with a family dinner at Los Cabezudos. Griffin joined us as well and provided us with the inside scoop that Los Cabezudo is best known for their shellfish.











Los Cabezudos was named on behalf of the large masks (think bobble heads) seen in many processions during Hispanic religious festivals.

Kelsey's 10th Birthday Party -- Parque Aventura

Zip lines, ropes course, and climbing walls made up Kelsey's birthday party at Nautida Aventura Urbana in Zaragoza. Kelsey invited all the girls + Gabriel in her 4th grade class at JDL, and Colin brought his good friend, Alex to give him some boy energy.




















Fun, but more challenging than we expected, some of the children needed extra support to complete all the tasks. Parker and Celia thought they were going to relax with the other parents and sip coffee but it turned out that adult guidance was required so we joined the action. In particular, Celia was quite unprepared in her floppy sandals.







It's common at birthday parties in Zaragoza for parents to have coffee or beer and a few snacks together, while the kids are off bowling, playing laser tag, or the like. If the parents drop-off the children, then upon returning for pick up, they stay for a drink and a chat for about an hour. Birthday parties were an all day affair.


Photo Kelsey's buddies and classmates: Gabriel, Carlota, Lucia, Ana, Kelsey, Raquel, Alba and Paula (in front)


Photo: The parents' table. Parker, Raqel (mother of Raquel), Celia, Gabriel's father (and also the husband of the SYA school psychologist), Tron, Pilar, and Isabel


Typical to an American tradition, we made and brought a birthday cake. Surprised yet impressed, the other families gobbled up our homemade treat.

Compañeros -- Friends, Students, and Colleagues

On school days, we walked Colin and Kelsey to the bus stop a few blocks from our apartment on the corner of Paseo de la Constitución and Isaac Peral. There, we would meet two other JDL families: Patricia and her two sons, Antonio and Diego, and Aidan Wolff-King. Patricia went to high school in Seattle and recently got her Masters from MIT in Logistics.




Every couple of months, we hosted a get together with SYA students, often times with Parker's advisees but sometimes with others. One of our last fiestas included students from the Spanish class we took with Griffin along with Hannah and her friend Maria. Before dinner, we played soccer on the grass at Plaza Los Sitios which the Spaniards thought was rather odd because the lawn is usually reserved for dogs.

Photo: Hannah, Parker, Maria, Danielle, Sofia, Sofie, Riley, Helen, Colin. Top row: Arlene, Kelsey, Maria, Jacob and Holden



Over the course of the school year, we had many outings with Parker's colleagues. Here, we celebrated Parker and Marta's birthday with dinner at patio style restaurant. Outdoor dining is common place in Spain, like many parts of Europe and is something we wished was more common in America.

Photo: Oriol, Ellen, Griffin, Alvaro, Parker and Marta


As the end of the school year approached, different events popped up. The entire JDL 6th grade class and parents were invited for lunch at the Montecanal club. It started at 2:00, lunch was served at 4:00 and it was still going strong when we left at 8:00. the highlight was when Luiz Carlos (Alex's dad) and a few others sang songs Pais Basco or their native region.

Hiking La Peña Oroel

At the recommendation of Parker's colleague, Marta, we took a day trip and hiked La Peña Oroel near Jaca, Marta's home town which is less than 2 hours outside of Zaragoza and on the cusp of the Pyrenees.



We were also motivated to hit our favorite sushi restaurant in Jaca, "Rice and Fish." You wouldn't expect to find good sushi in Aragon but the owner bought his fish fresh from the coast of France. But back to Peña...




We asked Marta for a leisurely hiked that we could do with the kids in an hour or two. We should have known better since Marta is a true outdoor enthusiast and her version of an easy trek obviously differed from ours. When we arrived, we looked up at the peak and thought, 'how are we ever going to make it up there!'





As it turned out, while the climb was relatively steep, it was manageable and rewarding with 360 degree views of the surrounding region. Parker and I hiked to the top to touch the enormous, steel cross (la cruz).


Shortly after making it the peak, we had to scramble down to dodge the rain.