Schwartz Illustrated

SPAIN JOURNAL ENTRY

September 18-20, 2001
GAUCIN, SPAIN

It was time to fly from Barcelona to Malaga, Spain. To say we were looking forward to flying would be a lie. I found myself visually scanning the gate area of our flight to see who was going to board with us The duration of the flight was 11/2 hours but it felt much longer. The hardest part was hiding our fears from the boys so they wouldn't worry too.

Needless to say, we were VERY happy when the flight was over and we were in our rental car on the way to Gaucin. We were going to be staying with Mike's cousin Linda Schwartz and her husband Namir. We left the coast of Spain and followed the road up into the hills. The countryside was beautiful and rural. When we got to Gaucin, we were greeted by a lovely town built into the side of a gentle sloping hill. Gaucin is an example of what the Spanish call a "Pueblos Blancos" in which every building is whitewashed in the Moorish tradition. Linda and Namir's house was located about 15 minutes outside of town. To get there, we left the paved road and drove 2 or 3 miles on a dirt road in absolutely beautiful country.

As we got closer to the house we saw horses in the pasture and then we were greeted by 6 barking dogs! They came from everywhere! The kids were so excited that they jumped out of the van as soon as they could. The kids didn't know what to do first, pet all the dogs or run to see the horses.

To say we were happy to see Linda and Namir would be an understatement. We were ecstatic. It was so nice to be with family considering what was going on in the world. Linda and Namir's home was lovely. Namir is an architect and he designed the house himself. All 6 dogs followed us into the house where we were greeted by 5 cats! The living room was a large, lovely room with a large fireplace built in the center of the room on the opposite wall.

As I mentioned earlier, dinner is a late affair in Spain. We had a wonderful dinner that night around 9:00 in the kitchen. There was a big square table in the center of the kitchen. Linda prepared roast chicken, veggies, salad and rice. The kids said it was the best rice they had ever tasted (sorry Lorenz!). We had a wonderful bottle of wine or two (but who's counting). I think we will always remember that dinner. It felt SO good to be with Linda and Narmir and their "kids." The kitchen was warm and cozy and Linda and Namir were terrific to be with. The discussion was lively and I could tell the kids were relieved to be able to "hang loose" and wear jeans and T-shirts again and not worry if their elbows went up on the table.

Gaucin was a perfect place to regroup after our frenetic travel and site-seeing schedule of the past two weeks. I think Linda thought we would leave her house during the day to go see the sites, but for 3 or 4 days we were total slugs basking in the quiet, safe feeling Gaucin provided.

I think the boys felt they had found heaven on earth at Linda and Namir's house. Besides the menagerie of animals, there was exploring to be done in the surrounding countryside. The pool was heated so the boys spent many hours swimming. But, the best part of all was Namir's COMPLETE collection of the Tintin comic books and extensive video collection....................all in English!!!!!!! I would wake up in the morning to find the kids curled up on one on the oversized sofas, surrounded by dogs, reading a Tintin book. Namir even taught the kids how to play poker. Jumping ahead to an event that happened in Paris almost a month later, we were visiting the Paris Catacombs. The place is full of bones moved from unsanitary graveyards in the 1700 and 1800's. Mike chose to pass on this once in a lifetime experience, so it was the boys and I down in the dark passageways of the Catacombs surrounded by piles of bones. About half way through, Alex got scared and said, "Mom, you know what I wish? I wish I was at Linda and Namir's house right now curled up on the couch with the fire going. I would be sitting between Sausage and Mash (2 of the dogs) reading Tintin."

Linda invited us back to stay after a 6 day trip to the Hotel Bobadilla in another part of Spain. We were scheduled to leave for Paris then. I would have loved to stay in Gaucin until it was time to come back home but I didn't want to overstay our warm welcome. Mike, however, was ready to forget Paris, risk overstaying our welcome and move in immediately! The world situation was still up in the air at this point and we did feel that Gaucin would be safer than Paris. We came up with the idea to rent a house near Linda and Namir for a month. We found a house and rented it for the month of November. But once we arrived in Paris on October 1st and got settled, we decided not to go back to Gaucin. But, our time with Linda and Namir will remain dear to our hearts!

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	SPAIN JOURNAL ENTRY September 18-20, 2001 GAUCIN, SPAIN It was time to fly from Barcelona to Malaga, Spain. To say we were looking forward to flying would be a lie. I found myself visually scanning the gate area of our flight to see who was going to board with us The duration of the flight was 11/2 hours but it felt much longer. The hardest part was hiding our fears from the boys so they wouldn't worry too. Needless to say, we were VERY happy when the flight was over and we were in our rental car on the way to Gaucin. We were going to be staying with Mike's cousin Linda Schwartz and her husband Namir. We left the coast of Spain and followed the road up into the hills. The countryside was beautiful and rural. When we got to Gaucin, we were greeted by a lovely town built into the side of a gentle sloping hill. Gaucin is an example of what the Spanish call a "Pueblos Blancos" in which every building is whitewashed in the Moorish tradition. Linda and Namir's house was located about 15 minutes outside of town. To get there, we left the paved road and drove 2 or 3 miles on a dirt road in absolutely beautiful country. As we got closer to the house we saw horses in the pasture and then we were greeted by 6 barking dogs! They came from everywhere! The kids were so excited that they jumped out of the van as soon as they could. The kids didn't know what to do first, pet all the dogs or run to see the horses. To say we were happy to see Linda and Namir would be an understatement. We were ecstatic. It was so nice to be with family considering what was going on in the world. Linda and Namir's home was lovely. Namir is an architect and he designed the house himself. All 6 dogs followed us into the house where we were greeted by 5 cats! The living room was a large, lovely room with a large fireplace built in the center of the room on the opposite wall. As I mentioned earlier, dinner is a late affair in Spain. We had a wonderful dinner that night around 9:00 in the kitchen. There was a big square table in the center of the kitchen. Linda prepared roast chicken, veggies, salad and rice. The kids said it was the best rice they had ever tasted (sorry Lorenz!). We had a wonderful bottle of wine or two (but who's counting). I think we will always remember that dinner. It felt SO good to be with Linda and Narmir and their "kids." The kitchen was warm and cozy and Linda and Namir were terrific to be with. The discussion was lively and I could tell the kids were relieved to be able to "hang loose" and wear jeans and T-shirts again and not worry if their elbows went up on the table. Gaucin was a perfect place to regroup after our frenetic travel and site-seeing schedule of the past two weeks. I think Linda thought we would leave her house during the day to go see the sites, but for 3 or 4 days we were total slugs basking in the quiet, safe feeling Gaucin provided. I think the boys felt they had found heaven on earth at Linda and Namir's house. Besides the menagerie of animals, there was exploring to be done in the surrounding countryside. The pool was heated so the boys spent many hours swimming. But, the best part of all was Namir's COMPLETE collection of the Tintin comic books and extensive video collection....................all in English!!!!!!! I would wake up in the morning to find the kids curled up on one on the oversized sofas, surrounded by dogs, reading a Tintin book. Namir even taught the kids how to play poker. Jumping ahead to an event that happened in Paris almost a month later, we were visiting the Paris Catacombs. The place is full of bones moved from unsanitary graveyards in the 1700 and 1800's. Mike chose to pass on this once in a lifetime experience, so it was the boys and I down in the dark passageways of the Catacombs surrounded by piles of bones. About half way through, Alex got scared and said, "Mom, you know what I wish? I wish I was at Linda and Namir's house right now curled up on the couch with the fire going. I would be sitting between Sausage and Mash (2 of the dogs) reading Tintin." Linda invited us back to stay after a 6 day trip to the Hotel Bobadilla in another part of Spain. We were scheduled to leave for Paris then. I would have loved to stay in Gaucin until it was time to come back home but I didn't want to overstay our warm welcome. Mike, however, was ready to forget Paris, risk overstaying our welcome and move in immediately! The world situation was still up in the air at this point and we did feel that Gaucin would be safer than Paris. We came up with the idea to rent a house near Linda and Namir for a month. We found a house and rented it for the month of November. But once we arrived in Paris on October 1st and got settled, we decided not to go back to Gaucin. But, our time with Linda and Namir will remain dear to our hearts! ---------- < back one page

	© All Rights Reserved, Mike Schwartz, 2001.