Saturday, June 29, 2013

First Day of Tour de France


The Tour de France starts today!

It's a great family event - read about our experience at the finish line!


Friday, June 28, 2013

Photo Friday: Everybody Loves a Parade


For the last 12 years or so I've hosted an annual 4th of July parade for the kids in our little neighborhood.  It's probably time I passed the torch to someone else, as my kids are both teenagers now and are no longer interested in decorating their bikes with streamers and circling the tract.

Running into a local parade while on vacation, however, is one of my favorite travel accidents.  The costumes, the culture, and the audience of townfolk are all so endearing.

Portuguese cavalry parade in Lisbon.

Lisbon

Parade in Brugge, Belgium

Grainau, Germany

Grainau, Germany

Appenzell, Switzerland

Near Buckingham Palace in London

London

This is my Photo Friday link-up post to DeliciousBaby.com.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Photo Friday: First Day of Summer

 Some images of summer fun on this first day of summer!

At the beach in Lagos, Portugal

Windsurfing in Tarifa, Spain

Gelato time in Paris.

This is my Photo Friday link-up to DeliciousBaby.com.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Don Bosco House in Ronda

Browsing a gift shop in the historic city of Ronda, Spain, last summer, my then 13 year old son spotted something he found interesting on a picture postcard and asked, "This looks cool - can we go here?"  Always eager to comply with input from the kids on our travels, we asked the shopkeeper where to find the pretty place in the photograph.  Casa Don Bosco was just down the road, and only 1.50€ per person admission.


There are other town mansions in old Ronda, but we were awed by our visit to Don Bosco.  The lavishly tiled backyard garden is spectacular, with unbeatable views of the mountainous valley and Puente Nuevo bridge.  


View of the Puente Nuevo bridge from Casa Don Bosco.

The gardens are split-leveled, with beautiful mosaics, benches, and fountains.



The interior of the house is luxuriously decorated.
Don Juan Bosco never lived in nor even visited this home.  It was built in the early 20th century and belonged to one of Ronda's wealthy titled families who then donated it to the Salesian Order, founded by the canonized Italian priest, St. Juan Bosco.  The home was made a historic monument in 1931 and now serves as a retreat for priests as well as a little-known, but very lovely, tourist attraction.
























Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...