The VDM Spain and Portugal adventure!

Its early in the morning and Im typing in the dark while Ruco still is sleeping beside me. That never happens- he always gets up before me! It feels so good to be back home here in France after 26 days on the road and our longest adventure yet! God is so good and has blessed us so much by the gift of traveling this summer. We were able to see so many things and so many different places. We started in the South of France, where we climbed to the top of amazing sand dunes along the beach, went to the cutest towns and villages, and even saw the Tour De France!!! Our first big stop was the Pyrenees mountains... there is always something breathtaking about being in the mountains. We spent a couple days on the French side of the mountains which was very green, and then drove over to the Spanish side (which is much drier.) Next we drove all along the northern coast of Spain, traveling West headed towards Portugal. We went to the Galicia region on the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay and stopped at the most amazing spots along the coast. There is defintitely something awe inspiring about the mountains, but even more so when the mountains meet the ocean. It was amazing. We camped overlooking the ocean where we snorkeled and swam many nights. Our next big stop was to Santiago to see where all the pilgrams have been traveling since medieval times in order to lose time in purgatory according to Catholic tradition. We had seen the pilgrams walking alongside the road since we were in the Pyrenees almost 500 miles away! From here we traveled South into Northern Portugal. We drove upon miles and miles of olive groves- it was incredible the way they would line every hillside. Our first big stop in Portugal was Porto, where we slept along the Atlantic Ocean. We spent lazy days at the beach while the silly boys tried to spear fish with no luck at all! We then drove South to the beach town of Ericeira right outside Lisbon. It is a huge surf spot that broke my sweet husbands heart because he didnt have a surfboard. The next day we went to the Mafra, which is the national palace in the city of Mafra. We walked inside the basilica which was beautiful and Ruco got some really great shots. We then went to a beautiful castle upon a hill in Sintra where I took over the camera! From there we went through the town of Evora which was filled with Roman ruins and columns and where the whole city was made up of houses and resturaunts painted solely in yellow and white. It was quite a sight! Now we are headed East back into Spain where we can survive much better anyway with Rucos Costa Rica Spanish. First stop is Seville which has broad palm tree lined streets, the hugest cathedral in the world (where we climbed to the top of the bell tower and looked out over the city) and tons of Starbucks where I thoroughly enjoyed a white chocolate mocha! It was overwhelmingly hot weather however, reaching over 100 degrees!!!! Next stop-Cordoba Spain where we went to a Cathedral which was actually a Moorish palace for hundreds of years (a Mosque really) and was made up of red and white striped arches. It was amazing, but so weird how this Islamic Mosque (the biggest in the Western World at one point) is now a Cathedral. For the grand finale, we drove over to Granada where we went through the crazy operation of getting tickets (they sell only 7700 a day which often sells out weeks in advance) to see the Alhambra. I am not exaggerating when I say this was THE most amazing sight I have ever seen. It was also a Moorish palace-the last remaining that held up until 1492 when the Christians exiled the last ruler. As soon as we walked in, Ruco said, "there is no way I can take pictures of this.." There is just no way a photo can capture the architecture and decor inside. I believe the Alhambra was on the list to be voted as one of the new seven wonders...it was just so cool. The next morning we began our 1000+ mile drive North back to Paris. I am so thankful to Rucos parents for allowing us to go on this amazing trip. I was thinking...when will Ruco and I ever again have almost 2 months to just take off, leave everything, and travel around like that?!? It was an amazing adventure.

This is a quote I JUST read by Helen Keller. It reminded me of our vacation:
"I have walked with people whose eyes are full of light but who see nothing in sea or sky, nothing in city streets, nothing in books. It were far better to sail forever in the night of blindness...than to be content with the mere act of looking without seeing."
I never want to take for granted seeing what God has created for us to enjoy. Its so easy to just go around looking at all the beautiful things without absorbing and marvelling at Gods handiwork!!
We seriously have hundreds and hundreds of pictures because of Rucos obsession with photos, so I will try to just pick a few and maybe someday get them all loaded on facebook. northern coast of spain

the huge sand dunes in south of france-we climbed all the way to the top!
On the beach in Portugal with one of my favorite persons in the world

snorkeling, hugo is a little fish always swimming!
having some lunch at our campsite

again in the sand dunes in france

The Tour De France!!!
Ruco in the Pyrenees

waiting to go inside the alhambra-we had to wait 6 hours!!

Sevilla. Spain

Sevilla

Pappa in a cute side street
we love spain!

my now favorite book of all time-have you read it Jo?