Toledo, Spain.

Toledo is a small town south of Madrid and the old city is up on a hill and reminded me quite a bit of Venice, Italy--minus the water canals. We had our best meal of Spanish tortilla (eggs, potatoes, and onions) and chorizo here in a small, one-man cafe.


Just a view of the city streets as we walked around.


Just on the other side of this Cathedral we a beautiful couple getting married. The bride was on a balcony with her family getting photos with the tower in the back ground.


I have a thing for old, heavy, detailed doors in old places. I love the old steps leading to the door with the grass growing through out the stones.


Me at the city wall. You can't see it but way below me is a big river.


Chris at the city wall.

Barcelona, Spain.

After a hop, skip, and a jump (two planes, one train), we ended up in Barcelona for the first part of our trip. The weather was sunny and crisp--cooler than I would have wanted, but better than the weather for the rest of the trip.


The plaza at Las Ramblas. I love all the mini city centers located in each "neighborhood". I cannot even begin to tell you the number of tourists everywhere, even this late in the fall.


A cathedral just off the main street at Las Ramblas. This was a courtyard--beautiful with the ducks and fountain.


The Summer 1992 Olympic Games were hosted in Barcelona. This is the tower built to broadcast the televised games. It represents an athlete holding the Olympic torch.


A part of the Palace at la Plaza de Espana. We stayed in the plaza at the Hotel de Catalonia and this along with the Barcelona Olympic facilities, a botanical gardens, and other sites were within walking distance.


La Sagrada Familia. Such a visually interesting building--so many styles including Vegas-style signage on one side--a work in progress.


The Fall of Christ facade at La Sagrada Familia. This cathedral is still under construction and is not finished, even though the project started in the early 1880's with Antoni Gaudi--the Pope visited the weekend after we were there. We also stopped to see a few other works that Gaudi had created around Barcelona--wild stuff.


Torre Agbar. This is a business tower built by a French architect. You should see it lit up at night--blue and red glowing LED. It looks out of place to me, but I am no architect or designer!

Pumpkin Patch.

The only rule was that each girl had to be able to carry their own pumpkins out of the pumpkin patch. That was pretty easy considering all of the big/orange pumpkins had already been picked!

Zoo fun . . .

Or not, if you look at Stella's picture on the elephant. She was so scared of the noises it kept making--and then when it would squirt water, she would jump a mile and scream to get off.




The rest of the zoo was a bit of a mess--all the zebras died, the bears are gone, and the cougars moved. Under construction for a new polar bear/seal/sea lion/penguin exhibit. And a sad, lonely gorilla.

On a happier note, the weather was perfect, it was not crowded, the baby orangutan was playful, the baby elephant was out, and we saw lots of monkeys. I liked looking at the "Halloween" exhibit (even though some of it was creepy like the RAT)--the fruit bats were interesting too.

Bye bye bike.

After having the Buell for just under a year, Chris tearfully said goodbye as a nice gentleman from California came by, paid for it, and rode it home.



Chris already misses the bike and Stella keeps telling him it is just "lost".

Fall in the Garden.

We took our first visit to Red Butte Gardens this week! It was beautiful and the girls had fun running around and playing with the neighbors who took us to see the sights.







Stella and Presley have a hard time staying away from anything with water--I am surprised I didn't lose one of them in the pond! My favorite thing was a tree that grew and was shaped into a dome house--inside were chairs and room to play. I want a playhouse like that in my yard!

Poser.

Apparently I am not allowed to bring my camera to Presley's soccer games. She cannot stop posing and looking for the camera while she is in the game. Here are some of the only "non-posing" shots of her.



Not that it will help. I didn't bring the camera to the latest game and she still couldn't stop looking at all of us cheering for her on the sidelines. At least she is running around and having fun.

Best part about soccer, "The snacks!". Sounds a lot like Presley's favorite part of skiing.

Soccer Girl.

Presley's first soccer game was a hit--or at least 30 minutes of comic relief for the adults watching. It was hilarious! But in all seriousness, Presley needs some help with the soccer skills--the only thing I told her was that you can't touch the ball with you hands. She has a LONG way to go, but it is going to be fun watching her try her hardest.







I put Presley in pink shorts so we could spot her more easily among the sea of black and yellow jerseys. No one told me she needs socks to cover up her shin guards--I guess I am in need of a few soccer lessons myself.

There are 2 girls and 4 boys on her team (Ice Strikers is the name they came up with). They play 3-on-3 for two, 10 minute halves. No goalies. We are bringing treats for the Saturday game. Presley's games are Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings--if you are interested I can give you times.

A Look at the Leaves.

Once again it is fall in our backyard! The colors are so beautiful this year.






The girls have been collecting bouquets of leaves and pretty soon our garage will be full of red and orange piles--I had better find a fun craft to do with them. The Maples are nearly all red, the oaks are starting to turn along with the cottonwoods. Last will be the aspens--I am sure they will be a bright yellow in a matter of weeks.

School time.

Presley started her second year of preschool this morning! She handled it like a pro--considering she is at a new preschool (Sunshine Circle) and only knows one of the girls in her class. Stella had a harder time leaving Presley at school--she misses her sister and truly does not know life without her.




I can't believe how grown up my girls are, even though they are still my babies. Next year it will be Stella to preschool and Presley to kindergarten--I may not be prepared, but I hope I can prepare them.