Be brave, explore, enjoy the little things!

While we have lived in Europe, we have had the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things--like spend a week in Ireland, or visit Portuguese beaches on a moment's notice.
Those dramatic adventures have been wonderful, and I write about many of them on this blog. But they don't tell the whole story. Enjoying Europe is not just about taking a plane to new countries and photographing famous monuments. It's also about taking time to enjoy smaller, sweeter moments that occur much closer to base. I honestly feel that almost anyone can buy a plane ticket and read a travel book about a major city. But it takes a lot more courage and energy to explore our local area, because there aren't any guidebooks (except maybe mine!), and you are all on your own for those local adventures. Yet that is what makes them so much more exhilarating, memorable, and rewarding.

What kind of adventures can you have locally? And how do you plan them? Some of the best ones happen unplanned. For example: yesterday I went to a new French bakery with a friend. (It's called Le Croissant Francés, in Puerto). The pain au chocolat was so delicious that I dreamed about it all night, and immediately made plans to take my children there this weekend. Even though my husband is gone, I figured I could pack up the 4 children, drive to the Plaza de Toros, and walk a few blocks to the bakery with them. So this morning, we went there for lunch, and ducked into a local grocery store to get cheese for the bread. It was all delicious!

This moment happened because I went to a bakery, with all 4 kids.

As we walked through Puerto's Plaza d'Espana, in front of the big cathedral, to get to the bakery, we saw that a medieval fair was being set up. I snapped a picture to share with the American Facebook community, since it looked like a fun event and I hadn't previously heard anything about it. It turns out it's a whole weekend showcasing street performances, artisan food, children's games, and craft vendors! It looks very cool! Not only will we get to enjoy it, but now many others in the community have had an opportunity to visit the fair, because of my photo shared on the Community page. But none of that would have happened if I had decided to stay home today, and not visit the bakery with my children.

This memory happened because we kept the kids up way past bedtime.

It reminded me of another medieval fair, one we stumbled upon during our first week in Rota. We were temporarily staying at a hotel in town, until we had long-term housing. Every evening, we went walking along the boardwalk, from one end of Rota to the other. (The sun sets very late in summer, and our kids were having trouble falling asleep in the hotel room, so we did a lot of walking!) One evening, we ventured into Rota's town square, and a medieval fair was happening! There were craft stands, food stalls, children's rides, and fancy horses! We could not believe our luck at living in Europe, in a place where these events are typical.

This moment was captured because we explored the top of a hill.

Many of our adventures have been accidental--like the time we got lost in Jerez in a labyrinth of 1-way streets and couldn't find a main road for 20 minutes. Or the time we went out for lunch and followed the sound of music to Rota's annual Rosary festival and dancing. Or the time my family encouraged me to climb up a hill in a city I thought I had already seen and explored, and at the top we discovered an interactive hunting bird show, where all our children got to hold birds of prey! (pictured here) Or moments when you peek into a simple-looking church and discover that the inside is a gorgeous display of Baroque art. So yes, sometimes we make the effort to attend an announced public festival, and we plan out the time of day, and the parking... but other times just being out and about has its own treasure and rewards!

Here are some other little moments I will treasure and miss about Europe:
(in no particular order)

- walking on Rota's boardwalk and getting ice cream
- stopping by a churro stand on a Spanish holiday
- watching my kids smile as they ride beautiful Andalusian horses
- going down to the point to watch the waves break
- stopping by the fish market to buy dinner
- Sunday lunch at local restaurants (favorites are Argos in Rota's port, Blanco Paloma in Puerto Sherry, and Shamrock's in Puerto)

When we went the wrong way in Cadiz, we found the bay!

- biking to the bakery to pick up fresh bread and fruit
- sangria by the beach
- the sound of the breeze in the palm trees
- looking for sea glass
- picnics at the playground
- medieval cathedrals
- windmills on the horizon
- fresh squeezed orange juice from any bar/restaurant
- tapas hopping
- public festivals celebrating Holy Days
- horses and Mary statues at every public festival
- the gypsy market

Most of them seem to involve food, hmmmmm. And it's not a comprehensive list; I'm sure there are MANY more things we will miss when we leave! But these are some of the things I want to treasure this summer, in the time we have left. A friend once described every single tough thing we do in Spain as stringing pearls on a necklace. You figure out how and where to park--that's a pearl. You successfully order and pay for bread at a bakery--that's a pearl. You buy an unidentified fish and cook it for dinner--another pearl. You attend a local festival without any idea what it is celebrating--perhaps several pearls!
All these little every day actions can be intimidating and daunting at first... but if you don't make the effort to get out and try them, then you will be missing out on so many beautiful pearls.

This is a more sentimental and meandering post for me, but here is the message: Get out to the local towns and explore this area! There are so many wonderful things to discover! Don't be afraid of getting lost, whining kids, not speaking the language, and generally not knowing how things are done. It takes an awful lot of courage to face those things, but nevertheless--take a breath, say a prayer, and BE BRAVE! Exploring is always worth-while and will leave you with just as many memories (at a much lower budget) than any elaborate jet-setting vacation. So please: be brave, explore, and enjoy the little treasures all around you! (If I can do it with 4 crazy kids, then ANYONE can!) You won't regret it!