Park, Park, Park & Park

We met Grandpa last Sunday up in Sloane Square; back to the center of it all in London. D has a great time playing in the fountain, with us in the background.

Stop the Basque Stories. This is Charlie. He is the son of these people . And here is his Head-Wetting . He's got a great sweater knitted by my Mom, which is getting him many compliments on the playgrounds of London.

One of the best parts of the holiday were the views from high hills. Here was our second day. Here was Mom and Dad's first day. Here was the beach Bells and I escaped to- surfed, skinny dipped, and got splashed upon late at night. Other times, we had views like the one to the right just on our way to lunch: The drive to France to see these people , went through some really impressive mountains. This is one I missed. After I left, everyone went walking up in the hills in a different direction than we had in the past. And the The Basque Region being fairly agrarian, we'd run into things like this regularly:

There seems to be a recurring theme developing with the running that Bells and I do. Last month, I found this Stag Beetle . While Bells was running in The Basque Region, she came across this snake. Dead in the road, but she brought it home none the less for the kids to see. It was about 14 inches long. And we don't know what species. And we didn't need to worry about it being poisonous at that point.

Taking a step back from all the post holiday story-telling, we measured the kids against the wall today. C is- 43 3/4 inches tall 36.4 pounds D is- 33 1/2 inches tall 21.8 pounds They were here here .

C made a new friend while in Larrabetzu, and got to be better friends with Laia (left). This is Jone (right) at the playground in the middle of the town. The lack of a common language didn't hold them back from having fun together.

Here's one of D on the main street of Larrabetzu at dusk. Here she is a day after a tumble which left a gash on her chin and blood all over a really good paella restaurant. And here's one of her in Grandma's fleece.

Bells and the kids arrived safe and sound Friday evening. Everyone was pretty excited- C yelling from the top of the stairs, and D's huge grin when she saw her bed now moved into C's room. We spend Saturday doing wash and cleaning out the car. Now it's back to reality: Our standard bath and bedtime routine. And Bells and I sit down for our Sunday evening ritual of comparing calendars for the upcoming weeks. More holiday pictures over the next week or so.

Well, I have just returned to London, while Bells and the kids stay in The Basque Region for another two weeks. Due to that, posting will be a bit light over the next few weeks. It was a really fantastic holiday. Thanks to Bells, Idoia and Inigo.

After Sopelana, we moved further up the coast to Plentzia . Inigo was helping organize a marketplace there, so we all stopped in for a tour. It is a beautiful little town, on the mouth of a river. One of the stalls had a make-your-own-pirate ship, which Laia and both C and D enjoyed. C named his The Black Pig, after Captain Pugwash tales.

Back to Sopelana again yesterday to get in some last minute surfing for Dad finally. D got in on the act.

Today, Bells and I took C and D back to the beach we enjoyed so much a few days ago- Sopelana . They enjoyed the sand for a few hours, but got a bigger kick out of the pirate ship playground nearby afterward. Bells just soaked up the sun- and me, the 6 foot waves.

We all motored up to just the other side of of the Spanish/French border on Thursday- St Jean de Luz. This is a quaint, but touristy, town right on the ocean. We met some relatives for lunch- Henk, Jaqui and Casper- and then left my parents... Stranded in a country they have never been to, with a language they haven't spoken since college... And they told us they would make their way way back to Larrabetzu- back in Spain. Adventurous. Here we all are prior to departure:

D threw a unexplained wailer just as we entered the Guggenheim last week. After 10 minutes of screaming, fretting by parents and strange looks from passers-by, she fell asleep. We then went into this exhibit - huge iron walls in various maze-like arrangements. I tried to get some pictures, but none of them really turned out well. Hence, this:

Bells and I were able to get away for a few days sans kids, thanks to my parents. We journeyed only 30 minutes away to Sopelana . Highlights included some really good food- a tavern whose specialty is mushroom-based pintxos , lots of beach time (both day and night!), and a bit of unsuccessful short board surfing for me. This is the beach from the bluffs above at sunset.

Here are C and D playing "What Time is it, Mr. Wolf" in the entryway to a very old Catholic Church in Larrabetzu. And here is C being a wolf to scare the dog guarding the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Saturday was the annual festival, organized by the local youth. It's a big affair- lunch in the street and then VERY loud music until VERY late. It was also a really good way for us "guiris" to experience Basque culture first hand. Bells went back to the town square this morning to inspect the damage, and the line from a local was: if we have to put up with this once a year to keep the kids involved in the community, then it is worth it. We were questioning the sentiment at 4 am when the heavy metal band seemed to be playing on our doorstep. Laia, C and D had a great time throughout the day.