Halloween at the Batt Cave

Brian had a long weekend this weekend, but we decided to stick around, because our friends the Batts were having an epic halloween party.  We had a fantastic time, well, at least until the cops came and kicked us out, but it was a great night!  There were a lot more people there than I was able to get photos of - I was impressed with the creativity of the night.

Brian was a Chilean Miner, and I was his mistress... complete with our illegitimate child hanging onto me :)

Thanks Warren & Karen for hosting a great party!!

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Thoughts from Brian....Employee of the Month

So I've been putting in a lot of time at work lately.  Things are going well but there is just a lot of work coming my way.  By now I've gotten to know my coworkers pretty well and the office feels pretty much like it did back home with a longer lunch, a commute via bus/train and the whole talking in Spanish bit.

The test group that I work in consists of around a dozen guys, half engineers and half technicians, and every month one of the technicians elects an employee of the month.  Now this is sometimes legit, for someone that did really well on a project or that has been working hard.  Of course sometimes it's for the guy that made a fool out of himself or barely showed up to work that month, so it's anybody's game.

The October "Employee of the Month" was announced this week and frankly, with being caught up in everything I've been doing lately, I was even surprised at who was selected.

This is our announcements boards where you might find the monthly nominee.

And the winner is......

Kate???

Let me explain...Kate has been making a name for herself (surprised?).  As many of you know, Kate is fond of baking and sharing said baked goods and since I would double in size if I ate everything she makes, my coworkers are the lucky recipients of Kate's latest creations.  The goods get shuttled to work in some tupperware we brought from home with some very identifiable red tops and were at first met with suspicion or bewilderment.  You see, baking is very non-Spanish so the fact that Kate can produce cookies, brownies, fudge bars, muffins, puppy chow or banana bread with her bare hands and then would be willing to share them, is not a common occurrence around here.

 So now when the guys see me coming with some red-topped tupperware, the reaction is somewhere between cheering and applause.  There was talk at one point of getting all of their wives together for lessons and/or erecting a shrine.

Pumpkin bars are on deck for tomorrow, I'll let you know if "I" get a standing ovation.

Congrats Kate on being the "Employee" of the month.

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A quick hello!

Hey there long lost blog followers :)

It's been an incredible 6 weeks of travel and visitors, which hopefully explains my partial absence from my blog!  But, lucky you, there should be a wealth of posts that come out of these latest excursions.  It all started in Turkey on September 6, and this Brian and I said goodbye to our last visitors, his parents.

This is more for my remembrance than yours, but here's a quick chronology: 

September 6, leave Madrid for Turkey, spend 2 nights in Istanbul.

September 8, fly to Lynn's hometown for 2 weeks to help her get ready for the arrival of baby Amara!  

September 17, Rich & Kay arrive in Madrid for a one month touring extravaganza of Spain & Portugal

September 23, fly back to Istanbul and spend the night with some new amazing friends

September 24, fly back to Madrid

September 25, pick up Brad, Mollie & Kez at the airport and then head down south to Sevilla for 2 nights.  Meet back up with Rich & Kay for the long weekend all together

September 26, all 7 of us drive/train to Malaga to spend 3 nights at our rural farmhouse

September 27, go to Granada!

September 29, say Hasta Luego to Rich & Kay as they head north up the coast, and Brad, Mollie, Kez, Brian & I drive back to Madrid

October 1, visit Toledo

October 2, see my first bullfight in Madrid with our awesome guests

October 3, say a very sad goodbye to Brad, Mollie & Kez

October 8, Brian and I drive to Nazare, Portugal to meet Rich & Kay for a long weekend

October 10, the four of us head to the Douro Valley to stay 2 nights and visit lots of vineyards and try several varieties of Port

October 12, return to Madrid, and hang out and tour for the next couple of days

October 15, say a really sad goodbye to Rich & Kay

Wow!  I can't believe all that has happened in 6 weeks... and I can't express how incredibly blessed we feel to get to do these things, and get to do them with people we love.  We hit the six month mark of being here in Spain the day I left for Turkey, and getting to spend time with good friends was a much needed refreshment to our souls.

I'm looking forward to going through the photos and telling you about some of the awesome things we did!

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Southern Ireland - Killarney & the Gap of Dunloe

And now, as promised, we wrap up the trip to Ireland.  On our last day of sightseeing, we wanted to stick around the area that we were staying in and do some fun things in that area.  Our B&B owners were not only fantastic chefs and hosts, but they also ran a pony riding & trap business.  At the end of the small road they lived on, there was an even smaller road that is closed to cars.  The road runs between some medium sized mountains, and the families that live on that road run a cottage industry taking tourists like us through the "Gap of Dunloe."

Now, Brian has been itching to do some horseback riding since we moved to Europe, and I think I had hopes that this might fulfill all his hopes and dreams, but unfortunately, I think it fell really short.  First of all these were ponies...not "horses."  Second, the approximate speed of our ride was .005 miles per hour.  Third, though the sky was beautiful and gorgeous at the beginning of the ride, within 20 minutes the rain started again and soaked us good (check out the miserable looking hikers in the above photo). And finally, Brian's horse spent the entire ride with his nose pressed up against my horse's butt, who apparently had eaten some bad grass and had a bit of a gas problem...hahahahahhaahha

But, the Gap was gorgeous.  Check out the waterfall in the picture below, in the upper right hand corner of the photo.

Though next time I'd just vote for the trap ride... my butt hurt so bad later that day.

I think our guide/B&B owner told us this was the wishing bridge?  It's too bad that the rain has moved in at this point and you can't see the cool view behind.

After the horseback riding, we cleaned up as to not stink like horse before we headed to the town of Killarney to do some sightseeing.  Cute town, kinda overrun by tourists, but there were some really nice things just outside town that we focused our energies on.

ROSS!  You have your own castle!  They're waiting for you to come back and be king.  Seriously, if you can't read the sign, the place is called Ross Castle.  Let us know if you want some renovation help.

Over the ducks.  And boats.

Too bad you can't lay claim to the palace down the street.  I can't remember the name, but it was gorgeous and had fabulous grounds and views of the lake.

I could live here.  I don't think I'd ever get sick of the views.

The grounds were extensive around the house, so we spent some time walking around the lake and on the hiking trails.  I couldn't get enough of the clean air, water, and beautiful sky.  That combination is pretty much impossible in Madrid.

I told you that you'd see funny faces from Brian.

Am I posting too many lake pictures?

Near the palace/my future home, there was a waterfall that spilled into the lake.  We went on a mini-hike up there as well.

And then looked back at the lake a little bit... (I love this picture)

And then stole a few last glances at the lake before heading back to town for dinner and of course more Irish beer.  Guinness, Murphy, Bailey and Bulmer all became good friends on this trip :)

We decided to make the most of our vacation and get a great night's sleep that night.  I think we both agreed that touring a lot slower than we normally do was a great change for us.  Typically, I like to try to see as much as possible in every single place we go - I don't want to miss out on anything!  But, after 6 months in Madrid, I think we were both looking for a change of pace.  Sleeping in, eating a big, long breakfast, and then taking our time to go see the one or two things I had planned each day was great for us.  We lingered at places, took our time walking around, and had a really flexible day.  And, we got a bottle of Baileys and would just hang out at night watching some B-list movie in bed, knowing that we didn't have something we were missing out on, because we were enjoying each other and just hanging out.

A wise friend of mine told me that there is a difference between a Trip and a Vacation.  From a trip, you usually need to recover and take a vacation from your "vacation."  Taking time to slow down and get to enjoy our days and relax really was perfect for us, and Ireland provided the perfect backdrop.  English speakers, great food, incredible scenery, and some of the very nicest people I have ever met.  It was great to return to Madrid rejuvenated.

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Northern Ireland - Part 2 - a castle & a beachtown

Whoops, I lied in my last Ireland post.  I accidentally skipped a day up in Northern Ireland, so we'll swing back up there before we finish up with Killarney & Southern Ireland.

Part of the reason I wanted to go to Northern Ireland on this trip in the first place was because I spent part of a summer there in college in the small town of Port Stewart.  I went with Royal Servants, and helped lead high school students to work with the people and the children of that town as a missions trip.  I thought it would be fun to go back to the city and show Brian some of the things I saw and did - plus it's really gorgeous up there, so we enjoyed just checking the city out as well!

This is the main street of the city, facing out to the water.  We did street performances across the street in an outdoor amphitheater in front of the water, and spent a bunch of time just hanging out down in that area.  I remember getting some of the best fish and chips of my life in that city, so I took Brian to the little shop to pick some up for an afternoon snack.  Unfortunately, it was awful, and later we both regretted eating it...

We also went for a walk near our B&B, and found this interesting rock formation...

And some other pretty sights...

 We also went to see the ruins of Dunluce Castle.  This castle sits on a cliff, overlooking the ocean and the surrounding area.  Supposedly the story is that one night, everyone in the castle was having dinner in the main hall, and there was a terrible storm going on around them.  Suddenly, half of the room fell off into the sea, taking most of the servants along with it.  After that, the lady of the house didn't want to live there (surprise, surprise), and so they moved more inland, and the castle fell into disrepair. 

 

And, who knew we could have taken a trip in this bus?  We thought it was hilarious.  I personally love the green bull with the clover in it's mouth. 

And, one last photo of Brian and I near the Port Stewart Strand (beach)  We sat out there and had a great conversation before we met up with a friend who lives up there, but who we met in Madrid!  International lives we lead, I tell ya. 

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