Kelsey Toney

Well, this is the LAST section of the vacation recap.

Yea, I know it was July… and I know it is now almost the end of SEPTEMBER, but just know that it has been a tough few weeks for me, and that writing this blog was more difficult than I could have expected.

One reason being that writing the last blog really makes it done, and over, and I swear to you, I think of Madrid, Naveda, and my family there almost every day.

I’m homesick for Spain… and it sucks.

I’m gonna start this last recap by finally dishing the goods about how Lola and I met. In about, 2003 (our best summation) I got really into Star Wars. The prequels were coming out, and I just really got excited about the new movies. Well, the giant nerd that I am, and the even bigger internet nerd that I am, meant that I had to find a message board to talk about the movies. As you might imagine, most of the message boards about Star Wars were full of 30-40 year old men who weren’t too stoked about teenage girls using their space. It was then that I found Lola’s website which was dedicated in discussing many of the visual components of the films, including the elaborate costumes and make up of the illustrious Natalie Portman’s character, Padme. On Lola’s site, was a message board where we could talk freely about how cool the dress she wore in the Naboo wedding scene was, and how dreamy Ewan was as Obi Wan. A perfect fit.

As often happens on the intarwebs, our common interests lead to PM’s on the board, and later, emails. Still months after that, one of the two of us found some cool trinket we thought the other would like, and our addresses were swapped. Years passed, and we’ve graduated to skype chatting with full video and audio, as well as the virtual meeting of many family members. So, now, 6 or so years later, we text, email, have conversations, mail holiday packages, and mean the world to each other.  THAT is why the conference in Spain seemed so fortuitous… cause we’d finally get the chance to be on the same continent. So, there you have it, how Lola and I met… how I got a sister-fresh from the intarwebs.

VACATION RECAP: NAVEDA, SPAIN

After Paris, it was time to venture to the North of Spain to a beautiful region of the country littered with tiny villages all nestled into the valleys between beautiful mountains.

Our arrival at Naveda:

We were greeted with a full table, with wine, jamon, and a rice dish that mama makes, that she says isn’t truly paella, but it is close enough for the American’s to be excited.

Lunch was served under this beautiful covered section on the side yard, to the side of the main house, which was spectacular. I never got a solid consensus about the exact age of the house, but we regularly landed on “over 300 years old” so, wow. That is old.   The villages in this area came to be when the lord of the land had the big house (like lola’s family’s) and the smaller buildings housed the other people of the community who commonly worked for the lord.

I’m not going to waste time talking, I’m just going to post photos of this beautiful house.

I can’t begin to tell you just how hard it is to pick a dozen pictures when I took hundreds.  Anyway…

One of the best things about Naveda was spending time with the family. Rafa (Dad) has had two best pals since he was young, and I was lucky enough to meet them both. Add that to Mama teaching me to cook tortilla in the kitchen, and it felt like a family reunion.

Eventually it was time for the four amigos, me and D plus lola and edu to head up the mountain! This proved to be one of the most awesome parts of the whole trip. We positively fell in love with the immaculate views, and fresh air. It was markedly cooler up on the top, and the clouds were literally running right over and around us. We even drank from a spring coming from the side of the rocks. It was quite possibly the most scenic place I’ve ever been… (this coming from a girl who was married on a mountain top in Sedona with 2 rainbows above her head).

You see!? See why I want to be there right now? Isn’t it beautiful!?

I know.

Anyway, after a few days in Naveda, it was time to drive back to Madrid. The car ride was filled with much LOUD singing, getting pulled over by the police, and spontaneous bouts of crying in the backseat, which I tried to hide from my traveling partners. Driving back from Naveda, a hidden paradise of simplicity where a man left fresh bread on the door each day, and if you wanted a soda you’d need to drive for 20 minutes, felt like the beginning of the end. And it was… it was in Naveda that we had to say our first goodbyes. Goodbye to mama and papa… goodbye to crisp air, goodbye to hundreds of year old wood beneath your feet while you padded to the bathroom in the morning. Goodbye to sipping irish creme and playing cards until well past bedtime…

I hate goodbyes, but those were especially hard.

*ohgawd, I’m crying again…* :’(

When we got back to Madrid, we mostly just hung out and relaxed in an attempt to get ready for our long plane ride home. We ordered Paella in a great iron pan and they delivered it like pizza, and we Edu watched a bit of formula 1 racing. I managed to get through my goodbyes to Rafa without crying (you’re welcome, sire!) but we tried hard to just laugh, eat, drink, and be merry.

Boy oh boy, walking away at the terminal was nearly impossible. But in an effort to dry my eyes and wrap this up, I’m going to keep the details of that moment for the four of us. 

So there you have it… the trip of a lifetime came to an end, and the waiting period began. Now we’re just counting down the days until we manage to see each other again.

We love you guys, and miss you more than you know. Talk to you soon.

***Note: Both Rafas are quite elusive and masters of avoiding the cameras. But we miss them too.