S is for Spain (Part One)

Buenos dias Blogistan!

When we left off last week, the letter was “R” and it was Rome, the city where we decided to elope and get married.

Today, the letter is “S” and it is for Spain, which is where we went for our honeymoon after Italy. The plan was to fly from Rome to Barcelona, go north to the spectacular Costa Brava of Spain, spend a week on our honeymoon, return to Barcelona for some sightseeing, great food, and nightlife, then return home.

My dear Blogistani peeps, please bear with me here as I tell you that next week’s letter “T” should actually come before “S”, since chronologically we suffered through a DISASTER of EPIC PROPORTIONS and it relates to the letter T, but the English language refused to rearrange itself just for my little old blog post.

So, I’ll just give you a little, tiny *hint*, complete with my Beloved in a catatonic state of shock. Here is what we encountered at the hotel where we originally thought we’d be spending our romantic and "quiet" honeymoon:



You'll learn next week why we had to ESCAPE in the wee hours of the morning from our original honeymoon site, but for now, allow me introduce you to where we found some much sought after peace, beauty, and relaxation.......



.....a place so quiet, that all we saw at night was the beautiful moonlight streaming into our room and all we heard was the sound of the waves from the Mediterranean Sea outside our window:



So, this is where I will start my letter "S" and pick up next week to go back to the hell on Earth that was the letter "T".

My new husband and I found ourselves in Platja d’Aro, Spain, in the majestic province of Girona just north of Barcelona. You can read more about this historical beauty here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castell-Platja_d




It is tucked away in the cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km north of Barcelona. If we were so inclined under normal circumstances, we would have hiked and snorkeled and explored the breathtaking nature all around us. But, as you already know, ours was not a normal circumstance. We had fled from angry mothers, wailing relatives, cries of shame and dishonor, and we knew that upon our return we would have to face that lovely music again. There was no way our families were going to let us off the hook that easily for eloping.

Also waiting for us upon our return was an unfinished house, a remodel that had begun in February, should have been completed by May, but instead lasted until November. We both had full time, highly demanding jobs, and being gone for 17 days meant that upon our return we had to hit the ground running a marathon at sprint speeds.

So, finding ourselves in the circumstances that we were in, both of us wanted to find the most secluded, the most relaxing, the most romantic, and the most non-demanding location we could for our honeymoon. I lived and worked in Barcelona in 2000, and I fell I love with that spectacular city immediately. It is my second favorite city after Chicago. To be able to return to Spain with the man I loved was a fantastic dream come true.

After the HORRORS of the place we first landed in (stay tuned to next week) Platja d’Aro was literally HEAVEN ON EARTH FOR US. Our hotel was so beautiful up on a soaring cliff overlooking the sea.


Our hotel and their *20 STARS* staff (definitely not 4!) was outstanding.

The sky was majestic and I'd feel as if I were lost in the clouds everytime I looked up.

For 6 days we slept like newborn babies with the sound of crashing waves lulling us to dreamland every night. Neither one of us had been able to get more than 4-5 hours of good, solid sleep for months before our trip, so it felt so luxurious.

Breakfast was served overlooking the gorgeous, blue sea. We ate our weight in tomatoes, something the Spanish love to have for breakfast, along with other delicious yummies.



We'd climb down the cliff to "our beach".


We were usually the very first folks on the beach, and we'd make a beeline for our favorite spot over by "our rock".



It was a bit of a hike down the cliff’s trail to reach the bottom, but it was a private beach with super comfortable chaise loungers. We spent HOURS and HOURS every single day on that beach reading...napping...talking...laughing....planning....PEOPLE WATCHING (Europeans are unique, interesting, and absolutely hysterical!)....drinking.....snacking.....dozing in and out of sun-and-sea-induced slumber.....walking around.....floating & wading in that beautiful water.....and again.....NAPPING. Every day. Every. Single. Day. It was priceless.

While in Spain, one of us underestimated the power of the Mediterranean sun, so *one* of us had to wear a t-shirt to protect the very, very sunburned skin. ;-)

I sometimes disappeared for walks and little swims, which made Ed nervous. I am known as the "Afghani I Love Luuuuucy" 'round my neighborhood, so Ed worried that I'd fall off a cliff or drown, and/or some other incident likely to befall an accident prone person. Try to find me in this photo and you'll know why Ed was beside himself with anxiety that I'd be washed out to sea. He sure is a scream.

Poor guy, he isn't that far off the mark when it comes to my "adventures". As I told ya'll before, I decided to trek up "our rock" in my rubber Skechers sandals. I slipped and nearly fell down the face of the rock. While I waited for my heartrate to come down, I decided to snap this quick shot of my brown feet in brown shoes on a brown rock. Because that is what everyone should do after a near-death experience.

To entertain myself, sometimes I'd snap pics of my hand. Ed refers to my fingers as "nubs" because they're so short. That is soooo sexy, right? ;-) Behold my masterpiece photo called "Hand in the Sand". You likey?

Or, I'd snap "self portrait shots" of us...if only to show off my high fashion doggie PAWS scarf!

Other times I'd use my mad Spanish skills to get a beach neighbor to snap a quick photo-

Toward the late afternoons, we’d pack up our stuff, and begin the hike back up the cliff. Along the way we helped keep our Earth clean and our oceans even cleaner, even if it meant picking up someone else's nasty bottles.

We'd go to our pool overlooking the sea-


-swim around for a bit, play stupid water games together, and then on to some poolside NAPPING (again) until the sun began to set.

Dinner time would roll around, we'd return to our room, shower in the open ocean air bathroom, and then walk the 20 minutes into town for dinner and drinks.

Mmmmm, paella.

Dinner on the seashore-

-watching the moon come up on the horizon, sipping on sangria.


While I loved everything about our hotel, the one thing that I did NOT LOVE was this-

WTF, right!??? And why did it have to be a picture of a Golden Retriever and not just a cartoon doggie picture?!? Harumph.

That's ok though, because on our way to dinner one night we ran into this handsome old fella, Trappe. He was 17 years old (wow), blind, and he made me miss my Achilles and Milo like the dickens. Trappe's owner was the sweetest old man and he told us that every night Trappe had a little sip of "vino tinto" (red wine) with his family before bed. How about that!?

If there were no dogs allowed at our hotel, there were certainly no rules against stray kitty cats! This little mama and her babies were literally right outside of our hotel room window. They were sooooo precious! I seriously wanted to bring one home with me!

A view of the mama kitty and her babies was a very close second to this gorgeous view we were privileged to look at every morning-


-as well as this-

The hotel's grounds were stunning overall. The grounds stretched from one end of the cliff to the other. When we walked around we'd always discover a new, different nook or cranny of the hotel, like the lunch patio-
-this magnificent old wrought iron lantern-

-that I had to photograph twice. (Ok, more than twice!)
Some "views" were more comical and/or interesting, so to speak. While sleeping on my beach towel, I'd open my eyes, and without moving my head I'd get my camera and take a picture of my eye's view. This was one of them---


However, other times I'd open my eyes and see, for example, a NAKED kid running around with her Speedo clad daddy-


Or, I'd see this lucky kid whose daddy not only wore a Speedo, but also a fanny pack, ONE support hose stocking, and his Bluetooth earpiece....he wouldn't put his cell phone down for 1 minute, he just walked around yelling into it in German---


-lucky, lucky kid. Oh, and one time, he even wore a do-rag on his head, but I didn't have my camera ready. Darnit! This guy was a neverending source of enjoyment for Ed and I. Sometimes he'd come out just to walk around and yell in his phone, all the while sportin' his array of high fashion accessories.

Other times I was treated to Speedo clad dad building sand castles with his son-

-and bending down constantly so his "man business parts" kept peeking out to say, "Hello there!"

Leaving Platja d'Aro was very difficult. It was an amazing experience. We were so happy and I had the time of my life with Ed. Sometimes we were exhausted simply from laughing non-stop.

You've all seen this photo of Ed's hand, it was taken on the cab ride to Barcelona. I just loved him so much at that very moment that I felt as if my insides were melting.

To keep my insides from melting, I decided to look out the cab's window, and saw sheep just hanging out at the side of the road, only to have the cabbie tell us they were made of porcelain. Ha!

This was "our rock" on Platja d'Aro. Ed and I have decided that on all of our future travels to Europe, we will make it a point to stop off in Platja d'Aro, even if it is only for a one night, and even if all we get to do is simply hike down to the base of "our rock". We spent a glorious, relaxing, fun, romantic week at its base, even if it is the same rock that nearly pitched me into the Mediterranean. :-)

For all of you there contemplating a European trip, I will tell you that you should not skip Spain. Its magic and its people will blow you away, bar none. I love Spain.

Ok folks! That does it for another installment of A to Z Mondays here in Blogistan. Thanks for joining me, now go see what others have done with "S" at http://unglazed.blogspot.com . See you next week for Part 2 of Spain!