Valencia, Spain (2012)

Valencia is the third largest city in Spain.  It is about an hour and a half train ride from Barcelona and I heard it had a nice beach.  What I didn't realize was how amazing the modern architecture is.  The boys and I spent a couple of days exploring the many public gardens, parks and buildings.  We had a great time at the beach which was populated with more locals, than tourists.  Several people struck up conversations with me and the monkeys and it was an overall friendly and nice place to visit.

Parc Gulliver, based on the story of Gulliver's Travels was one of the coolest playgrounds I've ever seen.  The enormous replica of Gulliver laying on the ground was connected with seemingly hundreds of slides.  The signs for the bathrooms above made us laugh.

 See how his hair is slides

 and climbing ropes

 The large slide that was part of his shirt was a favorite place for my monkeys to practice 'snowboarding' you can see that guy in yellow is mine. 

 In the arts center there were several buildings including a botanical garden, aquarium, performing arts and music center.  Each was unique, yet they all complimented each other, connecting among beautiful gardens, fountains, grass and reflecting pools. 

The beach was a highlight.  For starters it was awesome to swim in the Mediterranean Sea (the boys did go into the water in Barcelona but it was so crowded it wasn't relaxing.) This beach was beautiful, well maintained and the weather was perfect.

 Here Monkey 2 made a replica of the mosaic lizard that he fell in love with in Parc Guell.  He took home a souvenir of the lizard. 

 Does this count as a Spanish lesson? Monkey 1 writing in the sand. 

 There were some unfortunate fish stuck in this tide pool. 

 Some of them were caught and saved.

 We didn't see any flamenco dancing but it is popular in the southern regions of Spain. 

Valencia is the type of city I would love to rent a little flat by the beach for a summer.  Very chill vibe. 

Barcelona, Spain (2012)

Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in Europe.  Dr. J and I were there a few years ago and it was a visually stimulating experience as well as a culinary high-light.  Taking the boys to Barcelona gave me a totally difference perspective from the romantic images I shared with my husband.  For starters it was not a culinary delight as the boys preferred eating various croissants, panini’s and baguette sandwiches to the salted fish, marinated olives and various cured meats.  It was also harder to appreciate the architecture when I was constantly looking out for the boys instead of enjoying an extraordinary facade. 
However, seeing a city that I love through new eyes (namely from my monkeys perspective) made for a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 

Some fun things we did included visiting the Modern Art Museum. 

 

Seeing outdoor markets which sold coins and various antiques

 Playing in the amphitheater 

 Climbing Montjuïc

 The monkeys enjoyed Parc Guell.  We studied Gaudi and learned about the history of his work before going to Barcelona.  The tiles and colorful creations throughout the park were able to keep their interest as did the organic shapes they could touch, walk through and in some cases climb.  

 We enjoyed a trip to La Boqueria one of my favorite markets where we bought pixios, fruit drinks and dried fruit.  (Photos from my last trip to La Boqueria).  

We even enjoyed some beach time. 

Homeschool And Travel

In September we started our second year of homeschooling.  We also started a new program.  My boys work online and use textbooks, books, art supplies and manipulative’s.  The main reason we use an online program is to not worry about what the state standards are and whether we are meeting them.  

 Besides the organized program we supplement their learning with reading books, plays and poetry, our flag book project, art projects, daily field trips (playground, hike, museum), working around the house and extracurriculars (like sports and music). 

As always the main reason we homeschool is to travel.  Since we started homeschooling the boys have been to Central America, Europe and Africa. 

Six months ago we went to Guatemala and just recently returned from a trip which started in Barcelona and had us travel our way down (cars, buses, train and ferry) to Morocco where we spent three weeks in this exotic African country.  

We also do a lot of traveling within the United States and Canada. 

I’m looking forward to sharing some photos and posts about our latest trip.

If you want a sneak peak you can check out my Instagram profile: Lady Of The Arts

Are we friends on Instagram? 

Finca Ixobel- Ecolodge Guatemala

Finca Ixobel is an ecolodge located in the northern jungles of Guatemala.  Our family spent four wonderful days relaxing, swimming, hiking and eating unbelievably delicious food.  

This self sufficient community was founded by Carole DeVine and Michael Devine, two Americans who travelled in down to Central America in search of a perfect piece of land to purchase.  Since they bought the 400 acres in 1971 the community has evolved to house several houses, outbuilding, barns, natural swim lake, cabins and campgrounds.  The vibe of this place is like no other.  I attribute it to the fact that each detail has been lovingly hand created with the help of volunteers from around the world. 

It is possible to volunteer at the ecolodge for room and board.  We stayed as guests but the boys dove right in to volunteering with the animals. They woke up every morning at 6:30 (often while Dr. J and I slept!) and gathered for the morning meeting where responsibilities were assigned and they worked with the horses, chickens and even fed the turtles one morning.  It was with a great sense of pride that my youngest gathered the chicken eggs each morning and brought them to the kitchen to be used for the days meals.

Ways that Finca Ixobel is eco friendly include it’s self sufficient water supply from natural springs on the property.  They use a RAM PUMP SYSTEM which doesn’t use any energy source save the water and air pressure.  There is a solar clothes dryer.  All the food is composted and they use velmiculture (red worms) to produce black dirt.  There has been an ongoing reforestation program to plant native plants and fruit trees.  

The natural swimming pond is a spring fed and chemical free.  There are several hammock huts around the swimming pond as well as a floating dock and water slide.  To say I enjoyed spending time in the hammocks is an understatement. 

Check out this little friendly guy the boys discovered, the poor fellow ended up in a cup with cellophane and air hole for the better part of the day until I FIRMLY informed my boys that under NO circumstances was he coming into MY cabin. 

We stayed in a Deluxe Cabin which was a free standing building on stilts.  The private bathroom was downstairs and our room consisted of three double beds with mosquito netting as well as a balcony with a private hammock and table with stools.  Needless to say it was perfect. 

There is an un-excavated pyramid on site which we braved

the heat and humidity of the jungle to climb.  We kind of got lost and became very disoriented as the trails are not very obvious.  My older son was worried we would get attacked by guerrillas which my younger son took to mean large monkeys were going to eat us.  We laughed all the way down to safety.

The meals were all served with an honor system.  You could help yourself to many foods and drinks during the day and just record it in the binder under your name.  The evening meal was a family style meal which usually included two choices of main dishes, several side dishes and salads as well as a vegetarian option.  Everything was either produced on site or bought locally so it was all seasonal.  We often ate by candle light and my boys were the official dinner bell ringers during our stay.  Carol the owner and her daughter joined us for most meals and it was very interesting to sit and talk with her, as well as volunteers and guests from around the world. 

These two macaws were at the front of the property.  One was very friendly and talkative, the other was rumored to have bitten a finger or two.  

One of the coolest experiences of my life was going to the jungle bar. 

Picture making your way into a dark jungle, in the middle of the night with the sound of music beats as your only guide.  Dr. J and I did this one night and it was a pretty neat experience to find a bar in the middle of the jungle.  The picture above is what the bar looked like during the day! 

Have you every stayed at an ecolodge?