For the past few weeks, I have noticed that Ciara has become an avid reader. Every night before bed she reads for over an hour on her own! Only 6 months ago, I struggled to get Ciara to read anything. She used to be a reluctant reader and needed constant encouragement to complete her reading assignments for school.
This change from reluctant to avid reader did not happen overnight. Last Spring, I decided to read with Ciara every night before bed. We would take turns reading a couple of pages each. This was beneficial for several reasons: Ciara and I got to spend one on one time together; we got an opportunity to discuss what was going on in the book; we were able to finish all her reading assignments; and her reading fluency increased as well.
The other challenge was to find grade level books that she wanted to read. Fortunately, Ciara enjoyed many of the books that were recommended reading by her 5th grade teacher. While we were homeschooling we studied a lot about Greek mythology because she was really interested in the stories about the Greek gods. So I found a series of books called Goddess Girls and she loves them. Today we just got book 9 and she has finished the first 10 chapters already.
Nathan has been an avid reader now for a few years and has helped get the other kids excited about reading as well. Just recently Rylan has decided that he wants to read something other than the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." He read "James and the Giant Peach" at school and really enjoyed it. Now he wants to read every Roald Dahl book he can get his hands on. This is when I really miss having a big public library (with English books) close by.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Meet Me in Paris
Wow, it's been awhile since I last posted, but after writing about our trip to Andalusia, everything that we have done since we've been back does not seem worthy of blogging about. Now I am just looking forward to our next trip, which will be Paris in April!
When we were in Vancouver over the summer, Bob was talking to my dad about meeting up in Paris in the Spring. I honestly didn't think that it was going to happen, but my dad was serious about it and right after Christmas he booked flights for himself and mom to Paris on April 1st.
I lived in Paris with my family from 1984 to 1987. My dad at the time was working in the ministry of finance for the Canadian government and he got a 3 year posting to work for the OECD which was headquartered in Paris. I have never been back to Paris since, and neither have my parents. Since I have a terrible memory (long and short term) I am really looking forward to rediscovering the city that I have almost no recollection of and showing my children where I spent my pre-teen years.
So I had to quickly find some flights for us to go to Paris on April 1st. Inter-Europe flights are pretty cheap compared with flights within Canada. I found a flight through Ryanair, a discount Irish airline, for €32.99 one way. Compare that with a flight from Toronto to Vancouver which would cost at least €200 during the same time. All 6 of us are going to Paris and back to Barcelona for only €395. It was a few days after booking that Bob casually asked me which airport we were flying into. I had no idea, I hadn't even checked before I booked. It was then that I found out one of the reasons why our flight was so cheap. Ryanair doesn't fly into Paris-Charles de Gaulle, we are flying into the airport Paris-Beauvais, which is actually over an hour outside of Paris by bus. So not included in our flight is the €16 per person shuttle bus that will take us from Beauvais to Paris. Anyways, hopefully it won't end up being too much of an inconvenience.
Then it was time to find reasonable accommodations for 8 people in Paris. This was definitely not an easy task. I checked with www.homeaway.com which is my favourite websites for finding vacation rentals in Spain. There were some nice listings in Paris, but none were available. I checked www.booking.com, www.onefinestay.com, www.housetrip.com, www.flipkey.com, and www.airbnb.com. I quickly realized that there are way too many vacation rental websites, but when your search parameter is an apartment for 8 people in downtown Paris, the number of places available quickly diminishes.
Finally found a small two bedroom apartment in Boulogne Billancourt through Airbnb which is close to where we used to live (Neuilly sur Seine). So now at least the most important components of our trip are set and we have 2 more months to figure out the rest.
When we were in Vancouver over the summer, Bob was talking to my dad about meeting up in Paris in the Spring. I honestly didn't think that it was going to happen, but my dad was serious about it and right after Christmas he booked flights for himself and mom to Paris on April 1st.
I lived in Paris with my family from 1984 to 1987. My dad at the time was working in the ministry of finance for the Canadian government and he got a 3 year posting to work for the OECD which was headquartered in Paris. I have never been back to Paris since, and neither have my parents. Since I have a terrible memory (long and short term) I am really looking forward to rediscovering the city that I have almost no recollection of and showing my children where I spent my pre-teen years.
So I had to quickly find some flights for us to go to Paris on April 1st. Inter-Europe flights are pretty cheap compared with flights within Canada. I found a flight through Ryanair, a discount Irish airline, for €32.99 one way. Compare that with a flight from Toronto to Vancouver which would cost at least €200 during the same time. All 6 of us are going to Paris and back to Barcelona for only €395. It was a few days after booking that Bob casually asked me which airport we were flying into. I had no idea, I hadn't even checked before I booked. It was then that I found out one of the reasons why our flight was so cheap. Ryanair doesn't fly into Paris-Charles de Gaulle, we are flying into the airport Paris-Beauvais, which is actually over an hour outside of Paris by bus. So not included in our flight is the €16 per person shuttle bus that will take us from Beauvais to Paris. Anyways, hopefully it won't end up being too much of an inconvenience.
Then it was time to find reasonable accommodations for 8 people in Paris. This was definitely not an easy task. I checked with www.homeaway.com which is my favourite websites for finding vacation rentals in Spain. There were some nice listings in Paris, but none were available. I checked www.booking.com, www.onefinestay.com, www.housetrip.com, www.flipkey.com, and www.airbnb.com. I quickly realized that there are way too many vacation rental websites, but when your search parameter is an apartment for 8 people in downtown Paris, the number of places available quickly diminishes.
Finally found a small two bedroom apartment in Boulogne Billancourt through Airbnb which is close to where we used to live (Neuilly sur Seine). So now at least the most important components of our trip are set and we have 2 more months to figure out the rest.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Andalusia Trip - Video Summary
Here is the video that I made compiling the best pictures and short video segments that we took during our trip. I decided to make it the length of the average music video because that's about the attention span of most children these days :) I noticed that the video I did for our trip to Murcia last winter was 8 minutes long! What was I thinking? I might as well post both of them so you can compare.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Andalusia Day 8 - Sevilla
For our last day in Andalusia we headed to Sevilla. We were going to meet up with our long time Spanish teacher José Maria Marquez, who happens to be from Sevilla. It was about a 2 hour drive from our place, but unfortunately we got lost because the GPS didn't recognize some of the new highways. We got stuck in traffic entering the city, but we eventually met up with José in his old neighbourhood.
He took us out for lunch and then we hopped on the metro (Sevilla only has 1 line) and went downtown. I was glad to have José as our guide, because we didn't have a lot of time and if we were on our own we would probably have wasted a lot of time not knowing where to go next. It was also nice to have running commentary everywhere we went and we could ask questions and practice our Spanish too.
He showed us where he went to university and pointed out that the Universidad de Sevilla was formally the Real Fábrica de Tabacos. This is where Carmen from the opera Carmen famously worked. Next we walked to the Catedral de Sevilla and José explained that at one point, it was the biggest cathedral in the world and now it is still the biggest gothic cathedral in the world. There was a long line up to enter, so we just looked around the outside of the cathedral. Next we walked through the old Jewish quarters that are beside the Reales Alcazares or royal palaces. We ended up at city hall then walked down the Rio Guadalquivir, we passed the Torre del Oro and back to the metro.
Of course we missed a lot of stuff in Sevilla, but we learned a lot about the city in just a couple of hours. And fortunately we didn't get lost driving back to Casabermeja.
He took us out for lunch and then we hopped on the metro (Sevilla only has 1 line) and went downtown. I was glad to have José as our guide, because we didn't have a lot of time and if we were on our own we would probably have wasted a lot of time not knowing where to go next. It was also nice to have running commentary everywhere we went and we could ask questions and practice our Spanish too.
He showed us where he went to university and pointed out that the Universidad de Sevilla was formally the Real Fábrica de Tabacos. This is where Carmen from the opera Carmen famously worked. Next we walked to the Catedral de Sevilla and José explained that at one point, it was the biggest cathedral in the world and now it is still the biggest gothic cathedral in the world. There was a long line up to enter, so we just looked around the outside of the cathedral. Next we walked through the old Jewish quarters that are beside the Reales Alcazares or royal palaces. We ended up at city hall then walked down the Rio Guadalquivir, we passed the Torre del Oro and back to the metro.
Of course we missed a lot of stuff in Sevilla, but we learned a lot about the city in just a couple of hours. And fortunately we didn't get lost driving back to Casabermeja.
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| Universidad de Sevilla |
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| This tower on the Catedral de Sevilla is 104m tall |
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| West facade, door of Saint Miguel |
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| North facade, Patio de los Naranjos |
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| West facade, Door of Assumption |
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| Sevilla Town Hall |
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| Sitting on the border of the Rio Guadalquivir |
Monday, January 12, 2015
Andalusia Day 7 - Alhama de Granada
There are many wonderful and expensive spas (arab baths) all over Andalusia that I would have liked to visit, but none of them admit children, so we didn't put it on the agenda. While researching for our trip, I saw that there was a public natural hot spring in the small town of Alhama de Granada. It was difficult to find information about this place, but it looked like a nice town to visit anyways so I added a trip to Alhama de Granada to the itinerary.
We let the kids sleep in because it was New Year's Day and they had been up late the night before. We left Casabermeja at around 11am and got to Alhama de Granada by noon. There are two ways to get there, you can take the main highway towards Granada and then turn south, or go west on a very mountainous and windy road, which is more direct, but also made the kids car sick.
I knew that the hot spring was just outside of town, on the road going towards Granada, so we headed that way and hoped we would see a sign. Fortunately Bob saw the very small sign that says "Balneario" so we knew where to exit. The hot spring is just a couple of kilometres down this road. There is no parking lot or signs indicating where the hot spring is, but there is a big fancy hotel and spa called Balneario Alhama de Granada nearby. Note: the hotel and spa is closed all winter. The free public hot spring is in the river beside the hotel.
Within the past couple of years, the town has made some upgrades to the area by adding some stairs to get down to the hot spring and now the main pool is sealed with concrete. The water was the perfect temperature, and after sitting in the pool for awhile you don't even feel cold getting out. People come to relax, some take a bath, some even wash their clothes, there are no rules. There are 3 different areas: the area closest to the source is the hottest pool, but it's very small and only about 4-6 people can sit there, the main pool area is just a few degrees cooler, and the last pool is just kind of warm, but the kids enjoyed it.
We spent about an hour there and fortunately left just before a huge group of about 20 british tourists descended on the hot spring. I guess that the secret is out, and more and more people are coming to visit this little hot spring. In our opinion, it is worth the drive to Alhama de Granada.
There is also a very nice hiking trail that runs through the gorge on the east side of town. We were really impressed with the view and there are also ancient roman ruins scattered through the area. We also got to climb the "escaleras del diablo" or devil's staircase.
We let the kids sleep in because it was New Year's Day and they had been up late the night before. We left Casabermeja at around 11am and got to Alhama de Granada by noon. There are two ways to get there, you can take the main highway towards Granada and then turn south, or go west on a very mountainous and windy road, which is more direct, but also made the kids car sick.
I knew that the hot spring was just outside of town, on the road going towards Granada, so we headed that way and hoped we would see a sign. Fortunately Bob saw the very small sign that says "Balneario" so we knew where to exit. The hot spring is just a couple of kilometres down this road. There is no parking lot or signs indicating where the hot spring is, but there is a big fancy hotel and spa called Balneario Alhama de Granada nearby. Note: the hotel and spa is closed all winter. The free public hot spring is in the river beside the hotel.
Within the past couple of years, the town has made some upgrades to the area by adding some stairs to get down to the hot spring and now the main pool is sealed with concrete. The water was the perfect temperature, and after sitting in the pool for awhile you don't even feel cold getting out. People come to relax, some take a bath, some even wash their clothes, there are no rules. There are 3 different areas: the area closest to the source is the hottest pool, but it's very small and only about 4-6 people can sit there, the main pool area is just a few degrees cooler, and the last pool is just kind of warm, but the kids enjoyed it.
We spent about an hour there and fortunately left just before a huge group of about 20 british tourists descended on the hot spring. I guess that the secret is out, and more and more people are coming to visit this little hot spring. In our opinion, it is worth the drive to Alhama de Granada.
There is also a very nice hiking trail that runs through the gorge on the east side of town. We were really impressed with the view and there are also ancient roman ruins scattered through the area. We also got to climb the "escaleras del diablo" or devil's staircase.
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| Going from the main pool to the warm pool |
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| Ciara really enjoyed the hot spring |
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| Ciara giving herself a mud treatment |
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| Bob talking to a British man we met at the pool |
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| Pretty neat way to spend New Year's day |
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| It's not a large pool, and it got pretty crowded after we left |
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| hiking trail through the gorge |
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| Some houses are built right on the side of the cliff |
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| At first we thought this was the escaleras del diablo, but that is coming later |
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| A "mazmorra" or underground dungeon from the Roman era |
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| Inside the dungeon |
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| these are the escaleras del diablo |
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| More like climbing a ladder in some spots |
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| Looking down the Devil's Stairs |
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| A rare shot with the whole family |
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Andalusia Day 6 - Córdoba
We kind of got off to a late start the day we went to Córdoba, which was a shame because it was Dec. 31st and most of the tourist sights closed early on New Year's Eve. Fortunately we were able to get there just in time to see the Mezquita Catedral before it closed for the day.
I was worried that after seeing the Alhambra the Mezquita would be underwhelming, but we were not disappointed. The Mezquita was full of surprises. When you enter it looks like a traditional mosque, wide open spaces divided by simple columns and bi-coloured arches. Then as you look around you can see very ornate passageways and rooms just as amazing as the Alahambra. Then as you move towards the centre of the Mezquita, you will all of a sudden find yourself in a huge renaissance style cathedral. It's kind of strange to see how the Mezquita became a proper cathedral while respecting the existing muslim architecture. So even the areas that look like a mosque have some stained glass windows, crucifixes and Christian art. Here is an interesting video of the different construction phases on the Mezquita http://youtu.be/JbSoK0_CxNM
I found a cool park in Córdoba called "La ciudad de los niños" on the internet http://ciudaddelosninos.cordoba.es/. We headed over there right after we finished seeing the Mezquita, but unfortunately, it was closed. Note, if you want to visit the "ciudad de los niños" during the holidays, call ahead because the holiday schedule was not posted on their website :(
But, at least we still had the "parkour park" to visit. The kids are really into parkour, because they love to run, jump and climb over everything they see. During the summer Nathan, Ciara and Rylan went to a parkour camp in Vancouver. It did cost us a small fortune, but they loved it. Nathan wanted to see if there were any parkour groups in Spain and he happened to find a small notice on the Parkour-Spain website that said the first ever parkour park in Spain was just built in Córdoba!!
Fortunately the parkour park was easy to find, it is just across the Puente Romano beside a really nice children's playground. The kids didn't even go near the playground and headed straight for the parkour park. There was a group of guys in their early 20s hanging out there, but once my kids descended on the parkour park all but one of them left so they had free reign. 3 hours later, we were able to tear them away from park. Rylan will tell you it was the highlight of his trip.
It was New Year's Eve and we wanted to head back into Málaga for the festivities. We had never experienced a real New Year's Eve celebration in Spain so we wanted to see what it would be like. Downtown Málaga was surprisingly empty. Most shops and many restaurants were closed. We had a nice walk along the port and the beach and then just before midnight we headed to the main square where they had a concert and the countdown to the new year. Plaza de la Constitución was packed by the time we got there, we couldn't really see anything and frankly the eating of the grapes at midnight was not all that exciting. In hindsight we should of just skipped the whole New Years festivities because the kids were all overtired and Cole was super grumpy by the time we left.
I was worried that after seeing the Alhambra the Mezquita would be underwhelming, but we were not disappointed. The Mezquita was full of surprises. When you enter it looks like a traditional mosque, wide open spaces divided by simple columns and bi-coloured arches. Then as you look around you can see very ornate passageways and rooms just as amazing as the Alahambra. Then as you move towards the centre of the Mezquita, you will all of a sudden find yourself in a huge renaissance style cathedral. It's kind of strange to see how the Mezquita became a proper cathedral while respecting the existing muslim architecture. So even the areas that look like a mosque have some stained glass windows, crucifixes and Christian art. Here is an interesting video of the different construction phases on the Mezquita http://youtu.be/JbSoK0_CxNM
I found a cool park in Córdoba called "La ciudad de los niños" on the internet http://ciudaddelosninos.cordoba.es/. We headed over there right after we finished seeing the Mezquita, but unfortunately, it was closed. Note, if you want to visit the "ciudad de los niños" during the holidays, call ahead because the holiday schedule was not posted on their website :(
But, at least we still had the "parkour park" to visit. The kids are really into parkour, because they love to run, jump and climb over everything they see. During the summer Nathan, Ciara and Rylan went to a parkour camp in Vancouver. It did cost us a small fortune, but they loved it. Nathan wanted to see if there were any parkour groups in Spain and he happened to find a small notice on the Parkour-Spain website that said the first ever parkour park in Spain was just built in Córdoba!!
Fortunately the parkour park was easy to find, it is just across the Puente Romano beside a really nice children's playground. The kids didn't even go near the playground and headed straight for the parkour park. There was a group of guys in their early 20s hanging out there, but once my kids descended on the parkour park all but one of them left so they had free reign. 3 hours later, we were able to tear them away from park. Rylan will tell you it was the highlight of his trip.
It was New Year's Eve and we wanted to head back into Málaga for the festivities. We had never experienced a real New Year's Eve celebration in Spain so we wanted to see what it would be like. Downtown Málaga was surprisingly empty. Most shops and many restaurants were closed. We had a nice walk along the port and the beach and then just before midnight we headed to the main square where they had a concert and the countdown to the new year. Plaza de la Constitución was packed by the time we got there, we couldn't really see anything and frankly the eating of the grapes at midnight was not all that exciting. In hindsight we should of just skipped the whole New Years festivities because the kids were all overtired and Cole was super grumpy by the time we left.
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| Court of Orange Trees and the bell tower that was built over the muslim minaret |
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| Mosque-like structure with Christian art |
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| Mirhab Nuevo |
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| Centre dome of the Maqsura |
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| La Capilla Mayor |
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| First ever parkour park in Spain |
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| Puente Romano |
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Andalusia Day 5 - Granada
We heard that you need to book tickets far in advance if you want to visit the Nasrid Palaces in the Alhambra. So as soon as we booked our train tickets back in the beginning of November, I went online to try and buy passes (horrible website by the way). All the dates we were in Andalusia were sold out. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to visit the Palaces I decided to buy Granada Tourist Cards because there are some entrances to the Nasrid Palaces reserved for card holders. Here is the website for the Granada Card http://granadatur.com/en/uplevel-menu/granada-card/what-does-it-include/. Definitely more expensive, but if you are spending a few days in Granada it is probably worth it as it includes entrance to many of the major attractions.
Granada was about 1.5 hour drive from Casabermeja. We got to the Alhambra about 45min before our appointment to see the Nasrid Palaces. What we first noticed was that it was significantly colder than Málaga. It felt like the temperature was below zero. We had told the kids to dress warmly, but their concept of dressing warmly is usually a t-shirt and a hoodie. First we walked through the Generalife which has a very large garden that would probably be really beautiful in the Spring or Summer. Then we made our way to the Nasrid Palaces for our 11am appointment. Even with an appointment, you still have to line up and wait to get in. We stood in line for about 30 minutes and we were freezing.
It is still very cold inside the Nasrid Palaces so the kids were anxious to go through as quickly as possible so that they could find somewhere to warm up. In the Nasrid Palaces, I really wished that I had a better camera and that I was a better photographer because the detail on the walls and ceiling is amazing, and my pictures definitely don't really do it justice.
After going through the Nasrid Palaces the kids were ready to leave, but Bob was able to convince them to keep going. There is a lot to see at the Alhambra. We visited the Palacio de Carlos V, and inside is the Alhambra museum which is really interesting and it was warm. There is also an art gallery with a temporary exhibit. We visited the Alcazaba which is a really impressive fort and from the top of the tower, we got a great view of the city of Granada and Sierra Nevada mountains.
After we had seen pretty much everything at the Alhambra, we headed over to the Parque de las ciencias (science park) in Granada. Entrance was included with our Granada Card. Ciara will tell you that the Parque de las ciencias was her favourite part of the trip. All the kids really enjoyed themselves and Bob thought that it was the best science museum for kids that we have been to, and we have been to a lot of science museums. Parque de las ciencias is a huge complex with several different buildings and tons of interactive displays inside and out. We spent over 3 hours there and the kids probably could have stayed there all day.
Granada was about 1.5 hour drive from Casabermeja. We got to the Alhambra about 45min before our appointment to see the Nasrid Palaces. What we first noticed was that it was significantly colder than Málaga. It felt like the temperature was below zero. We had told the kids to dress warmly, but their concept of dressing warmly is usually a t-shirt and a hoodie. First we walked through the Generalife which has a very large garden that would probably be really beautiful in the Spring or Summer. Then we made our way to the Nasrid Palaces for our 11am appointment. Even with an appointment, you still have to line up and wait to get in. We stood in line for about 30 minutes and we were freezing.
It is still very cold inside the Nasrid Palaces so the kids were anxious to go through as quickly as possible so that they could find somewhere to warm up. In the Nasrid Palaces, I really wished that I had a better camera and that I was a better photographer because the detail on the walls and ceiling is amazing, and my pictures definitely don't really do it justice.
After going through the Nasrid Palaces the kids were ready to leave, but Bob was able to convince them to keep going. There is a lot to see at the Alhambra. We visited the Palacio de Carlos V, and inside is the Alhambra museum which is really interesting and it was warm. There is also an art gallery with a temporary exhibit. We visited the Alcazaba which is a really impressive fort and from the top of the tower, we got a great view of the city of Granada and Sierra Nevada mountains.
After we had seen pretty much everything at the Alhambra, we headed over to the Parque de las ciencias (science park) in Granada. Entrance was included with our Granada Card. Ciara will tell you that the Parque de las ciencias was her favourite part of the trip. All the kids really enjoyed themselves and Bob thought that it was the best science museum for kids that we have been to, and we have been to a lot of science museums. Parque de las ciencias is a huge complex with several different buildings and tons of interactive displays inside and out. We spent over 3 hours there and the kids probably could have stayed there all day.
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| View of the Alhambra from the Generalife |
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| Nasrid Palaces |
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| El Cuarto Dorado |
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| Patio de los Comares |
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| Salon de los embajadores |
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| Incredible detail on every wall |
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| Sala de los Abencerrajes |
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| Patio de los Leones |
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| Sala de los Mocárabes |
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| Fuente de los leones |
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| Nathan needed to be just a bit taller |
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| You can see the Sierra Nevada in the distance |
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| View of Granada from Torre de la Vela |
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| Alcazaba |
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| Fun with mirrors at the Parque de las Ciencias |
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| Cole grew some extra legs |
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| Ciara with Marie Curie |
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| Ciara took a picture of this turtle |
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| And this butterly |
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| The kids waited and waited for their chance to play giant chess |
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| Rylan sitting on a functional chair |
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| Giant House! |
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| Ciara with Einstein |
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| Giant Desserts from Granada! |
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