Azores - go before everyone finds out!

We recently spent 12 days in The Azores or Sao Miguel to be precise. There are 9 islands and this is the one that is easiest to get to now that their government allows Delta to fly from JFK daily from May to October. It's a little over 4 hours from NYC and (currently) a reasonable airfare if you consider it is A) Europe and B) Summer.  We scored tixs for about $800/pp in AUGUST.

The Azores are a unique place. They are volcanic, have a tea plantation, grow the best pineapples you will ever eat, largely self-sufficient when it comes to food.

You can go hiking all over the island if you're that type of person.

You can go swimming in an ocean filled pool, scuba diving, sailing and whale watching (which we suck at because we never see whales) if your that type of person.

You can go to the botanical garden, historic and still active military fort/museum, or have a personal tour of the farmer's market and cooking class on what you've bought.

A really cool and unique thing to do is have dinner cooked by volcano. Furnas is the part of the island that still has volcanic activity. There is a park where restaurants take their pots in the early morning, let them cook all day and then serve dinner at their place in town. We were lucky enough to be there when they pulled one out of the ground. It's like Mother Nature's Crock Pot.

There aren't a lot of hotels so check out Airbnb for great deals. We scored a 3 bedroom flat with a view of the harbor and a parking spot in the building right on the main drag for about $239/night. We were walking distance to everything in Ponta Delgado.

Car rental was pricey but necessary if you want to see the island. Parking in town can be a challenge but is manageable. Driving is easy and as the roads that go around the island are winding so you don't go much over 30 mph. There are roads the cut across that move faster as does the highway. But take the scenic routes to really get a feel for this island. Just know that cows are really a source of traffic.

You can take 4 full days and do the highlights or a week to 10 days gets you a really in-depth view of these islands in the middle of the Atlantic.

Bonus: No regular cruise ships stop here unless they are on transatlantic from the US to Europe for the change of season. So you will not have days where the town is flooded with people!

The one thing you can't really do is shop. If you're a shopper looking for duty-free or lots of shops selling local wares, this is not the island for you, find somewhere else for that!

#DiveMom

I created a couple of monsters when I suggested that my husband inquire about taking a scuba diving lesson or two a bunch of years ago while 'wintering' on Curacao. The child was 5 and pissed that she wasn't old enough to start diving with him. But she did get her first real mask and snorkel so that had to hold her for another 5 years.

So fast forward one year, back in Curacao and now he's got his full open-water certification from GoWest (formerly Curacao West). Next we decide it's time to try out our annual winter holiday on another island.

Child is now 7 and still pissed she can't take lessons.

Off to Aruba! I scoured TripAdvisor for a good dive shop and came up with JADS, who I have to say, at first I thought, OMG but then we realized they were that good.
Now he's really into it and we buy his first wetsuit. In Aruba. Cha-ching!

Next I start buying gear. Lil at Joe Diver and I are on a first name basis now.

The next year we moved to St. Lucia. Not a known dive island and the shop there was so-so but its not an up and coming place to dive. There is GREAT snorkeling between the pitons where we say lobsters, tons of fish and plants that look like worms or maybe they were worms that looked like plants?

Next winter we jetted off to St. Croix and connect with Sweet Bottom Dive Center. They are fabulous! FINALLY the child is 10 and old enough to do a DSD (that's Discover Scuba Diving) course. She is in a class of 6 and whizzes through everything and is done before the rest of them have gotten through the first 2 things on the list.

Next, open water dive! Off she goes with Mel, her father not so closely following behind, terrified and proud all at the same time.

One dive and now she's hooked so another dive later we promise to come back in the summer so she can get her open water certification. Eight months later, back we go and she gets her first scuba cert but only after two failed dive attempts her mask is too small now. New mask and she gets it done.

Next stop: Turks & Caicos when she finishes up her Open Water Certification on her first dives! Yay! Now husband has a dive buddy. I can relax after years of entertaining said child while he went off diving for hours. Big win for everyone.

Now I have two dive monsters who are all about diving wherever we go. Including Iceland. #DiveMom

Madrid - Sign Me Up!

To say we loved Madrid was an understatement. My US born, French raised spouse, who always thought we'd retire to part of the year in France has now kicked that to the curb in favor of Spain.

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

We rented a two bedroom flat on Plaza Mayor in the heart of Madrid during Holy Week. And for two lapsed Catholics it was a reunification with religion we'd forgotten about. Each parish carries a float through the streets of Madrid, eventually passing through Plaza Mayor on the way to the cathedral. It was an amazing site each and every processional.

Easter Passion evening processional

That aside, Spain is just way more relaxed and much friendlier that other parts of Europe.

Let's just start with the food. If you are even remotely a foodie then Spain will be like a paradise. We started off at Mercado de San Miguel, just steps away from Plaza Mayor. It is like all of Spain's tapas options in one place. It is a converted market that dates from the early 20th century. Each vendor sells something different. Calamari, sardines, oysters, paella, potato chips, cheese, wine, beer, champagne and the list goes on. It was a good way to determine what we liked and wanted to try again somewhere else during our culinary exploits in Madrid.

That's fresh mozzarella cheese tapas!

Oysters - the first plate

T

he sights to see in Madrid are countless. There's the Royal Palace - worth a visit if the line isn't super long.

 The National Archaeological Museum was fabulous!

The Monasteria de las Descalzas was the hottest ticket in the city. We showed up three different times before we got an admission ticket, for the last entry of the day. Very interesting and still operating abbey. Downside is the tour is entirely in Spanish so we were kinda SOL.









Skip the HUGE line at the Prado and go here instead! The collection is amaze-balls. They may only have one of someone's work but they've got one of EVERYBODY's work. Picasso, Monet, Degas, Holbein the elder, Holbein the younger, Fra Angelico, Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Hopper, Caravaggio, Rubens and of course El Greco. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which is a private collection, is one of the best museums we've been to almost ever. And you can see it all in half a day.

And then there are just wonderful sites you come across wandering around the city!

So next time you're thinking you need a trip to Europe, give Spain a go. Enough to see, do, experience and more than enough to eat in week (or six!)  Ole!