35 Months

George is 35 months old today!

At the airport, ready to go to Spain!

En route!

Tapas and wine on arrival in Alicante--George fell asleep on the bus from the airport to town, and we managed to have a lovely meal with him sleeping soundly in my arms. It was just like the old days when he used to sleep in the Ergo through meals!

Flan

Castillo de Santa Barbara

Remnants of the old bakery (16th century) at Castillo de Santa Barbara

We spotted a couple taking wedding photos at the castle--George loved their car

St Nicholas Cathedral in old town

Correos postbox

This pedestrianized street had crazy giant toadstools and slides for kids

Post office

Playing with bubbles at the park

The staff at this restaurant were so sweet with George--they called him "El Presidente"

This little octopus in the paella freaked us out!

After dinner, we went to the amusement park on the waterfront

Running around on the Esplanada at 10pm

The next morning--I love how you can see the castle on the hill from all over town

Dinner at a posh tapas bar

Marina

George fell asleep at dinner, so we had a little stroll on the waterfront with him sleeping in our arms

We took a boat trip out to Isla de Tabarca

The water was incredibly clear--we saw lots of fish!

Spanish Army Fort--Tower of San Jose

Lighthouse

Tabarca has a marine reserve, so it's very unspoiled and has fantastic tide pools

We found lots of hermit crabs and sea snails

Baby seagulls

George fell asleep, so we found a nice shady bench in the town square and had an ice cream while he napped

Church of St Peter and St Paul

Alicante has so many little play areas around the city for kids

Central Market

Swordfish at the market

The flowers at the market

Sangria

Back at the amusement park

Last morning in Alicante

City skyline from the harbour wall

One last helado and horchata

MARQ, the archaeological museum

Library in MARQ

Checking out the fish at a Spanish pet store

Back home--playing with bubbles at Roundhay Park

Lunch at Pizza Express

Otley Show

Checking out the John Deere tractors

We watched the royal wedding at Wetherspoons--so exciting!

Back at the show after the wedding--George got to sit in a fire engine

Helping Mummy pack for Prague--he wadded up my dress and put it in the back of his dump truck

George's 35-month milestone landed in the middle of my conference trip to Prague, so I'm terribly behind (again) on the post. It's a pretty easy one this month, though--we had the trip to Alicante and the Royal Wedding & Otley Show. The holiday in Alicante was lovely--it was our first proper beach holiday as a family, and George's (and my) first time in Spain. Alicante is very family-friendly, with lots of play areas for kids, and even at night it feels very safe. It's not crass like the big resorts (i.e. nearby Benidorm) and it felt like a real Spanish city, not just a tourist destination. George loved the castle and the boat trip to Tabarca! I was pleasantly surprised at how much Spanish I could still speak & understand, even after all of these years (my last Spanish class at UW was in about 2006?!).

The Royal Wedding landed on the same day as the annual Otley Show. Since we were keen to do both, we went out to Otley early in the morning, went around part of the show, then took a long lunch break to watch the wedding at Wetherspoons, and went back to the showground to see the rest of it in the afternoon. We loved the wedding--very sweet and personal, and they seem like such a well-matched couple. My favourite part was the choir singing "Stand By Me", and seeing them smiling at each other throughout the whole ceremony. George mostly played with toys around our feet while we watched, but he did take an interest in the wedding cars and the horse-drawn carriage.

Firsts this month:

First trip to Spain

First beach holiday

First Royal Wedding