Siesta blogging...again! Pictures from Magdalena

What I should do is start this blog with is a picture of Zack, Zoe and Chris all siesta-ing away in our hotel room as I type. It's 5:24 local time...we're planning a beach trip and some paella tonight - so they all better rest! This morning Chris got up and went for a run before his morning sessions...He ran down to Cabo Major...and since the family won't make it there, I'm sharing a few pics. As always, all the pics are up on our family shutterfly site... www.benderz.shutterfly.com

See the golf course Mr. Ken? Chris says it should be the next course you tackle! The kids and I did breakfast alone again and then came back up to the room to do some reading (still working towards those 100-hour reading trophies!). I think both of them were ready to sit in one place for a bit too. Because of his schedule for the day, Chris was able to join us on our afternoon trip to Magdalena. We had a blast - and I'm going to apologize in advance for all the pictures - we took so many great ones today!

We saw penguins, sea lions, ducks and possibly walrus...not really sure. But it was very laid back compared to an American zoo. It was actually free to enter!

Then we checked out an exhibit about the mapmaker who owned the Santa Maria (as in Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria) and Christopher Colon (aka Columbus). Pretty amazing ships (and a mermaid!)

Then we went to check out the Castle. Until the early 1930's, all of Magdalena was a summer house for the royal family of Spain. Now it's open to the public - and University classes are actually housed in the castle. (and Yay! Another family picture! Don't be surprised if you see this one on the Christmas card somewhere!)

And check out some of these views...

Yes, that is us out there...being careful I promise. Here's a couple more randoms from Magdalena...

And of course we found another playground...

With a crazy-nutso slide that went from cliff top to beach!

After making our way out of the park, we stopped for ham and potato omlette sandwiches and watched some paddle tennis on the beach. I will be flabergasted if we get out of Santander without paddles of our own...

We headed up some crazy stairs from beach to road...

...and that brings me to where we are currently, three passed out Benderz, and one blogging one. We are hopefully headed out for paella tonight. I promise to take lots of pictures. In the meantime, I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from today - although I truly can't explain why I love it. XOXO, Benderz

Buenas Noches from Santander!

It's 11pm and we just got back to the room. The kids are still not tired, so Chris is sucking it up and watching some Tour de France while the kids hang out and decompress and I blog :) It was a fabulous night. Simply fabulous. We took a taxi to downtown Santander... Chris says it was only a mile, but I know that if we had tried to walk it, there would have been some serious whining. ***That being said, let me once again repeat how amazing my children have been. I can't explain how much easier that has made this trip!!OK, PSA over **** The first thing we did was go explore the Cathedral of Santander - or Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion. It was pretty darn awesome.

We did some shopping (most of it in a Spanish book store that also had the best toys! We found 5+ soccer related series for boys...unfortunately, I don't think any of them has been translated into English :( We found this cool giraffe block statue and thought of you Grandma B...

Then we found this monopoly-esque La Liga game that is sure to make Zack's Christmas list this year...

We found some random play equiptment and some yummy pastries...we tried one of each (7pm was way to early to eat dinner!)

Then visited the bull-fighting stadium (unfortunately, no bull fight while we're in town!)

We visited the local Roxy store and bought Zoe her 1st grade backpack...someone was super, duper excited.

We searched and searched and found the perfect dinner spot - Cafeteria Alaska. Great waiter...best service we've had while in Spain. (and yes, the kids are toasting with Kas Limon)

Lastly, on our way back to the hotel we hit the local heladoria. Awesome people took pity on us, told us the flavors in English and even took our first family picture of the trip! Yay for ice cream shop employees!

I leave you with some sweet (or crazy) faces from tonight. I know two people who are having a pretty good time...four actually! XOXO, Benderz

Futbol...the universal language!

The kids are once again napping...so I'm going to try and blog while we're waiting for Chris to get back to the hotel. We're hitting downtown Santander tonight...and hopefully some tapas bars!

Can you see the signs hanging from the lightposts in the picture above? They advertise ICCE - the conference that Chris is attending, and the largest conference they have ever hosted in Santander! Pretty cool to see them hanging all over town! Last night we walked around for a bit, did some shopping (a futbol for Zack and some Kas Limon - kind of like carbonated lemonade soda - the kids have become totally addicted!) and tried to find a restaurant that was open on Monday...the paella place that the hotel recommended was closed so we were on our own. I can't get over how incredible the architecture here is...

...or how cute my fam is...

Anyways, we ended up at a casual place right on the water - where the kids got ham and cheese melts, and Chris and I got, you guessed it - ham and cheese plates. You'd think we'd be sick of it (and yes Sheila, the kids are getting there), but it's all so good - and there are so many different varieties, I can't say I am yet! This was where we ate....and saw a bunch of other people who were attending the conference (including another Gator!)

Chris was asleep before his head hit the pillow, but the kids are I were up until at least 1:30 last night - which is why I had to wake them up for breakfast again today at 10am. Chris went for a run on the Magdalena peninsula this morning and took tons of pictures...I'm posting a few below, but you can see all of them on our shutterfly site if you're interested. We're also planning to visit as a family tomorrow night - so I'll post more then.

After breakfast, the kids and I hit the beach again. Zack brought his newly purchased soccer ball and was hopeful that he'd find some kids to play...which he did! He had a blast playing with 4 boys, and they had a blast practicing their English on him...

Zoe and I had fun sunbathing - but we haven't been brave enough to go topless, as most of the women are.

Surprise! Chris even was able to join us during his 1.5 hour lunch break (don't worry - he scarfed down a Powerbar we brought with us!) for some soccer and swimming.

The kid and I ate at Pans & Company again, and I did a much better job ordering today. Of course, that meant that the lady taking my order felt more comfortable asking me questions today...she was "waiting for more fries, did I want to wait for my order to be complete or did I want her to bring it to me" in Spanish, fast Spanish - WHAT? Luckily, one of the men waiting in line to order translated for me. Oye. But we had another chicken sandwich and tried a tuna one today. Both yummy! Afterwards, the kids did some swinging out front.

Off to get ready for downtown and tapas! I might get on later with more pics...if not, tomorrow! XOXO, Benderz