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.