One of our family traditions is an 8th birthday daddy-kid trip. Since Reid studied Spanish before living in France, he had always wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country for his birthday trip. And since Spain is not too far away, Evan and Reid skipped town on Friday morning and drove to Spain for the weekend. They spent Friday night in a fabulous castle perched atop a hill overlooking the village of Cardona and Saturday night in a refurbished monastery in La Seu d’Urgell. They explored the 9th century castle and grounds, enjoyed large buffet breakfasts (that, to Reid’s delight, included doughnuts and cookies!), toured a salt mine, arrived unfashionably early to dinner (8:30 pm), and had a snowball fight in the Pyrenees Mountains. As it turns out, they didn’t get to practice much Spanish because they were in the heart of Catalonia (they were politely educated by their waiter that they were in Catalonia, not Spain), but that didn’t stop them from having a memorable birthday trip. Happy 8th Birthday, Reid!
(Click on any thumbnail to view the pictures in a larger format.)
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- it’s time to go
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- put the boy to work!
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- snow-capped Pyrenees
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- the best hot dog and ketchup EVER!
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- first glimpse of the Parador de Cardona
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- the Parador de Cardona at sunset
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- dinner in the great hall
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- looking for trap doors
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- breakfast was terrific, especially the strawberry juice
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- village view from the Parador
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- exploring the grounds
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- there’s a bird nest in his mouth!
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- my guys
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- awesome views. . .
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- . . . in every direction
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- clowning around
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- just can’t escape the Parador
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- Mina Nieves salt mine
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- la Muntanya de Sal
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- hardhat. . . check
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- salt stalactites
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- exploring inside the mine
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- tostada + futbol = paradise for Reid (it’s not busy yet, because it’s early — only 9:00 pm)
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- la Parador de Seu d’Urgell reception area
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- another delicious breakfast
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- canoe and kayak center used during the 1992 Summer Olympics
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- another pretty scene
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- can’t leave the Pyrenees without a quick snowball fight
WOW! That is some birthday trip. Sure beats Chuck E. Cheese on Capital Blvd.!