Madrid

We caught the big European storm the week when we were in Madrid.  Hail, snow, rain, you name it and we probably had it!  Nevertheless, it was a fun week.  We were staying at an apartment nearby Puerta del Sol which was close to shopping and most of the major attractions.  We visited all three major museums and the royal palace.  We were also fortunate to have sunshine for a few days.  We even managed to get Joaquin his Christmas gifts, wading through crowds of parents in El Corte Inglés.

Joaquin learned to do "Salud!" (or "乾杯“) and started to acquire new vocabulary at a lightning speed.  He is now fluent in both Spanish and Mandarin when it comes to pointing out body parts.  He also has full comprehension of whatever we tell him in either language.  We also started doing "time-outs" for him whenever he behaves badly (e.g. pouring water at the dining table) and he accepts his punishment without fuss.  The other day, he poured water on the table again and before we even instructed him to turn around and do a "time-out", he turned around himself!!

 Joaquin loves running down the street

Sunny Day in the Park

Our favorite bakery near the apartment

Meeting up with Nannette and cute Victoria

Apo feeding Joaquin and Joaquin feeding Victoria

Joaquin's first encounter with snow!

Joaquin doesn't know where to begin with this delicious Paella

Cheers everyone!

Road Trip in Spain Part 3

After San Sebastían, we visited Burgos for a quick tour of its grand cathedral and then stopped for one night at the Parador in Lerma (a charming little town half an hour from Burgos), where we also visited the Monastery in Santo Domingo de Silos the next day.  We arrived in Madrid in time for its first snow fall this year.  We will be spending a week here before we hit the road again.

Cold and snowy in Burgos

After a very satisfying hot meal in Burgos

Lobby of the Parador in Lerma

Joaquin made his very first order of dessert off the menu -- ice cream that comes in a toy car (but he lost the car in less than 10 hours after...)

Chamu roaming the 12th century monastery (with his newly acquired toy car and jacket)

Outside the monastery

Road Trip in Spain Part 2

From San Sebastían, we took day trips to Bilbao and nearby town, Hondarribia.  We had some nice sunny days even though temperature was low.

Beautiful La Concha Beach in San Sebastían

Chamu building his zen garden on La Concha

Chamu loves to do piggy rides on Dadu

Nice sunny day on La Concha

More Churros con Chocolate

Pintxos, Pintxos, and Pintxos

Cold day in the open-air museum near San Sebastían

Chamu display himself as a piece of art

Chamu fascinated by the Xmas tree in the Hondarribia Parador (and then he broke the ball a minute after)

Road Trip in Spain Part 1

After Barcelona, we drove to Montserrat, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Olite before stopping for four days in San Sebastián.

Mamu against the dramatic backdrop of Montserraat

Chamu playing in the park 

Chamu offering Dadu his flower in Tarragona

Chamu happily touring his Roman forum in Tarragona

Fairytale-like castle in Olite

Chamu being greeted by the knight at the Parador Olite

Mamu, Dadu & Chami-Chami

Barcelona

We spent two weeks in the lovely city of Barcelona.  The weather and people were especially kind and food was great!  Spending a long time in a city is now our preferred way to travel since you get to know the city so much better and you don't feel pressured at all in packing your day.  We walked around a lot, sat down whenever we wanted, played in the park whenever Chamu wanted...

Amazing Pintxos at Bar Pinotxo

Parc Güell

Park Güell

Chamu and Gaudí Gekko

In Bilbao

Harassing the artwork

Taipei and HK

We had a lot of fun (and relaxation) back in Hong Kong and Taipei. We attended Mab's fabulous wedding, got check-ups for both Mamu and Chamu and caught up with many friends we hadn't seen for a while.  Mamu especially enjoyed the food (can't believe it's been almost six months since she left)!

Joaquin had fun hanging out with great grandma, grandparents, aunties and uncles (and Costanza/Inés/Axel/Zack/Tristan/Isabella/Tarin)...Of course he also checked into the hospital for one night due to bronchiolitis...but he braved it through and made it to Barcelona alright.