Dear Mom:
Today I've been reminiscing about all the wonderful travel adventures we've shared. I'm especially remembering the trip we took in December of 2010, almost exactly a year after my husband Emmett died.
Emily had been studying in Spain, and you and I conspired to meet her there and travel together for a couple of weeks. Our itinerary included Seville, Malaga, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and Madrid, where we would spend our final night on New Year's Eve.
So here we are on the volcanic island of Lanzarote, outside the home of local artist Cesar Manrique. Remember that amazing house built around volcanic bubbles, and those curved white subterranean rooms with azure swimming pools and tropical flowers?
And what about that other-worldly bus tour of Timanfaya Narional Park, the enormous moonscape where volcanic activity has transformed and continues to shape the landscape? We marveled at the powerful ocean lashing the shoreline, and the dramatically sculpted landscape where intense volcanic activity occurred as recently as the 18th century.
We were especially delighted by the restaurant in the park called El Diablo (the devil), where chefs in whites cooked chicken over a pit dug into the ground, using the volcanic fire inside the earth as their heat.
Despite your bad knees, you were such a good sport, traipsing through the streets of Seville or Madrid. In Seville and Malaga, many of the streets were so narrow that the taxis couldn't navigate them, so we found ourselves dragging our suitcases many blocks to hotels. Seville was so intriguing and beautiful; I snapped this photo of you and Emily walking through the scenic Jewish quarter.
And then there was New Year's Eve in Madrid. Remember dancing in our hotel room as we dressed to go out on the town? We had been told that the place to be on New Year's is Puerta del Sol, where everyone goes to party, much like Times Square in New York.
Little did we know what kind of a scene it would be, like Mardi Gras, with huge crowds, drinking in the streets, and people decked out in giant glasses, glowing headdresses, and all kinds of unusual costumes. Emily made some friends among the crowd, a group of students from San Francisco, and they immediately surrounded you to protect you from the jostling crowd. Nevertheless, you fell and injured your shoulder, but that couldn't stop you from donning some giant glasses and toasting midnight with all the revelers that night.
It's always an adventure, when we get to explore the world in one another's company. I look forward to more travels.
Your daughter,
Laurie
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