Happy Mother's Day

What a great day!! It was the most beautiful day in London since we arrived. Vanessa (Daniel's sister) and her little baby, Mikaela (Rome's cousin), are visiting from Maryland so we all spent the day having tea and playing with the little ones. Following lunch at the Tea Palace in Notting Hill, we went to the the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum, then walked through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace and the Orangery. Here are some pics and a video clip of our fun day..

Happy Mum's day to all the other mummy's -- hope your day was filled with laughter and joy. Today, Rome gave me the best present ever-- his first poop in his new potty !!! He did it on his own and surprised me. Isn't that sweet-)

Together in the cocoon Clowning around in Hyde Park
Walking in mama & dada's shoes...



CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE to see a video clip of Rome & Mikaela from today --they are so cute!!!!

Semana Santa in Spain

Easter holiday this year was spent traveling around Southern Spain (love the UK holidays schedule). We started out touring the museums, grand boulevards and tapas bars of Madrid and then headed south to Sevilla for Semana Santa. This festival held every year during Holy Week attracts thousands who come to see the treasures of the cathedrals that are placed on gold platforms and paraded around the city streets from afternoon and through the night. These religious iconic "floats" are HEAVY, weighing nearly a ton, and are carried very slowly by at least thirty men and followed by hundreds of "cofraides" in masks, musicians, and other members of the church.

On Easter Sunday, we attended services at the third largest cathedral in the world-- in Seville (last year we were at the second largest-St. Paul's in London!) Beforehand, Rome met the Bishop of Seville !! (he also met the Bishop of London last year too if you remember from the blog.) The Spanish bishop played with Rome, pulling down his hat over his eyes and said "Yo estoy malo" (translation--"I am bad!!). I think Rome might possibly have a future position with the catholic church if he wishes....

Unfortunatly, we forgot our camera and bought a really crappy disposable one that couldn't capture the incredible beauty that was everywhere. The Alcazar of Seville and the Alhambra in Granada, our next destination, were incredible masterpieces of Mujedar architecture -so detailed, colorful and stunning - a perfect & beautiful mix of Moorish design from the Islamic world and grand European style. Here are a few photos of us amidst the azuelo tiles, islamic style porticos and inner courtyards. I wish I could share more as the entire place was such an incredible design inspiration....