Day 2 - A whole lotta nothing

Day 2 really should have been Day 1. But we were antsy to see something. Today we napped, swam and Dave made three trips to the churro place, which apparently never opened. The kids did without today. We also grocery shopped. I just love grocery shopping in other countries. At right is my best buy so far -- plastic bags that make ice cubes! Is this the greatest idea ever?! It's also odd because Spaniards are not into ice. I will bring a few boxes of these home.

Back to the Ranch. Yes, it's rustic. It's quirky. Depending on my mood I think it's either quaint or borders on that junkyard look. There's a house a few miles from us in the 'burbs that has this look going for it and it's an eyesore with all this weird 1800s rusted farm equipment out front.

There are a few decorative fountains on the property and also statues. This is one. I saved you the view from the other side. Trust me, it's all there. Of course the kids discovered it before we did and had some questions. There is a wedding here the day we depart so Franta, the gardener, has been hard at work on the grounds. I wonder if we're the first renters of the season.

One of the bathrooms has a nautical feel. At least that's what I think it is. It's clearly intentional as it has one of those rain-style shower heads in it.

As I type this it's Day 4 (I'll backtrack on the highlights when I have more time to blog) and we've discovered some other interesting things. Surprisingly, we've gotten with the program and now wake up at 11a, eat lunch at 3p, and have dinner around 10p. We try to get the kids into bed by midnight. And us? Well ... whenever we get there.

The underground parking garages here have a neat feature: each stall has a light above it, which alternates between green and red depending on whether a car occupies it. This is great when you're on one side of the garage trying to figure out if there's an open spot nearby.

People here smoke, which the kids find strange enough to comment on. We also cover them and ourselves in sunscreen yet the Spaniards are very tan. This is the last week of school here and school begins at 8:15a. We find this surprising since we often see school-aged children at dinner at 11p.