Blacksten's Journal

20th Wedding Anniversary Trip

2009-10-21T10:35:42Z

Shelley and I were first in the Cinque Terra (Italy) in 1998 and fell in love with the region all over again this year to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. May there be many more happy years.

April Fair 2008

2008-05-06T15:51:07Z

Once again we went to the April Fair of Seville. This will definitely be the most dressed up we get all year. It's not like the county fair at home, where we wear shorts and flip flops and eat fried turkey legs. The people ride the same kind of rides, but they spend most of the time dancing flamenco, eating, drinking, riding horses and enjoying friends and family until the sun comes up. We enjoyed the personal invitation from Spanish friends to spend an evening in the party tent just for their friends and colleagues.

Christmas in Texas

2008-01-02T16:10:13Z

We had a great Christmas with family in Texas this year

32nd America's Cup Race

2007-07-18T23:07:11Z

Visiting an ancient iron mine near Seville

2007-07-18T23:02:17Z

Easter in Portugal

2007-07-18T22:54:10Z

Pilgrimage to El Rocio

2007-06-04T23:28:40Z

Over a million people make an annual pilgrimage in June to the tiny village outside of Seville called El Rocio. They show up in carts pulled by oxen or horses. They walk or come on tractors. Most are there for the week long parties and guilty pleasures found in Rocio. A faithful few are looking for a miracle from the Virgin Mary.

Pictures from our trip to Ireland

2007-06-04T23:22:34Z

Sean and Shelley had the thrill of being part of a marriage retreat in Ireland. It was a first time visit for both of us to the Republic of Ireland and also Northern Ireland. Here's two picts taken from outside Dublin.

April Fair in Seville

2007-06-04T23:13:22Z

The "April Fair" in Seville is known throughout Europe as being quite an extravaganza. We've never seen so many horses, rides, dancers and festivities.

Getting settled

2007-04-03T08:12:57Z

Here is a view from our street with our garage door open, which shows a good representation of many Seville streets that are lined on both sides with orange trees. Unfortunately the oranges on these trees are purely ornamental and can't be eaten. We've heard of people who tried one...but they only did it once because of the bitter taste. We as a family are up to our necks in learning Spanish and trying to communicate with folks we meet in the best way we can...which is often quite humorous, but we find the Spaniards quite gracious for the most part. There was recently a very windy day as Sean was downtown on his way to language school. The oranges on the trees lining all the streets were at their peak of ripeness and some were starting to fall from the trees on their own. Then all at once a massive gust came and thousands of oranges were falling all around. It was like a hail storm except with oranges. People were taking cover and afterward it was very funny trying to walk down the street without tripping over or kicking the fallen fruit...not something this Texas boy had ever experienced before.