With my kids returning to school this week, I find myself unable to shake the lingering feeling of longing for just a little more time in the summer break.  Just a little more time to be free of routines and deadlines, homework and sports practices, extra-nutritious meals, and reasonable bed times.  The longing comes every year, but this year it seems worse.   

Today, Easter Sunday, marks the end of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, in Spain and around the world.  Here are a few pics, and a video of one of the processions I attended during Holy Week.  Every town holds processions every night of the week, except for Holy Saturday.

If you've been out to eat in a restaurant or tapas bar anywhere in southern Spain, no doubt you've been served olives of some kind.   Perhaps you prefer some to others, or maybe you haven’t acquired a taste for them just yet, but either way there is no denying that olives are a part of the experience of life in Spain. But what makes some so much yummier than others, and what is the difference between them?  Aside from being green or black, sometimes it’s hard to differentiate, but the variety of olive and the processing of the olive from tree to table have everything to do with the quality, taste, and overall end result.

If you've decided to live off base, you will soon discover (if you haven't already) some things that are very different from living in the States.  

If you are planning a move to Rota, Spain and are lucky enough to have the option to choose between living on the Navy base or  "out in town" (on the economy), there are a lot of things to consider to decide which is the best option for you. 

While this post isn't really indicative of the kinds of things I will normally post, I thought it seemed fitting to acknowledge Christopher Columbus on the weekend in which we celebrate the discovery of America.