We made it!

...Well to Spain, that is :) Tonight we are at a hotel that The Company set up for us. Tomorrow we drive to Salmanca and then eventually on to Gibraltar. The hotel is really great. Pretty sick set-up. The hotel gave us two rooms that join a hallway and then can be closed off by a large sliding door. The room doors are now open to each other and we have a large space to stretch and run around in. The hotel was called the Hotel Select In Vitoria. Highly recommended

I know there will be days I dread ahead of us, but today has so far not been one of them. It was exhausting, but overall the experience was slick. We flew out of DIA, our favorite airport ;), and then on to Frankfurt. Our LEAST favorite airport ;). I remember Frankfurt from when we flew to Greece, and I didn't remember it as being anything too heinous, but this was a whole new experience in frustration. The shuttle bus sat idling next to the airport for about 20 minutes (there is no air-conditioning in Germany and it was 82 degrees there today) and we could see the airport, we could almost touch the airport, but we could not get off the shuttle to the airport. Then finally, we were released. We then had to transport our carry-on luggage through the entire width and breadth of the Frankfurt airport to get to Gate A 36. We figured we walked about a mile. So we definitely got our legs stretched after our 10 hour flight.

BTW, Lufthansa flies like a boss. I flippin' love Lufthansa. Something about the sharp grey and bright yolk-yellow accents of their uniforms, the clean as glass surfaces and the hospitality. The attractive frauleins with their glossy hair and crisp yellow knotted kerchiefs. The hot hand towels...the glasses of wine and Baileys...the leg-room...the leg-room...having a 35-inch inseam one does appreciate a roomy airplane seat section, and I was giddy. And something about having a plane with two levels too. All very Alice Through The Looking Glass ;) This is course could all be yours for the lowly price of nearly 8 grand, which we would never pay for. So gratis to The Company.

 The kids have been awesome. They have been such good sports. They never once complained.I think having in-flight video screens on their seats was a nice touch. At about 4 am MST I gave them a half-dose of Dramamine as per instructed by an inveterate traveler, and was rewarded with two small children who passed out in their seats. I tried to capture my son with his head jutting out into the aisleway blissfully unaware but couldn't quite catch the complete relinquishment he made to his fatigue.  The other issue that Lufthansa handled for me was providing us with some medicated nose drops for our son ;). Always a good thing pack meds in your carry-on, girl, and not check them at the gate!

tracking our flight. In-flight ;)

Once we arrived in Frankfurt, we were thankful for the 3.5 hour layover. It gave us time to hike our tail from our flight to our departure gate, and a little time to rest. The kids found a table and we stretched out. Oldest took a little nap with her head on the table (she slept not a wink on the flight!) and then off to find something to drink. 8 euros later (yes...approx 10$ US for what amounted to two thimblefuls of juice) they came with two beverages. As we were lining up to pre-board for Bilbao the girls remarked that they were having a bit of a challenge warming up to the German language.( Which I find ironic seeing as their mother is of Germanic descent and I was somewhat enjoying being in the Hinterland among my people. ) The Youngest said "It sounds like they are saying 'Grecckk Greckkk Grecckkk' all the time followed with an 'Izen' or something at the end." Staying in a sea of Deutschlanders I thought it was a brilliant observation. :)

But now we are in our hotel in Vitoria (thanks for bopping along back and forth with me on this post--I'll get the hang of a timeline later on) and we are ready to go eat. So far the only hiccups have been finding a car big enough to house our three rambling children and our mass quantities of luggage (four months in early winter some in Germany I keep telling myself). We were given a new Altea (sp?) which takes only diesel and drives crazy fast.

Still can't believe we are doing this. I think as long as I go through it daily, and not look at it en masse, I will not get overwhelmed. Tomorrow Salmanca. Now we need to find a cafeteria or restaurant at 10:30 at night

first time exchanging money :)

Welcome to Bilbao

                                                              Until then, Bienvenidos! <3