El Túnel

Mike and I got engaged on a European trip in 2000. We started a list of things we wanted to do in life, and one of our top life time goals was to live abroad. So this adventure we are having has been in the works for a while, but the timing never worked until now. For years we have been planning this experience, late night talks in the dark, entertaining ourselves on dates, talking it over with friends.

I watched in selfish horror as my sister got her Irish nursing license and started planning, hoping and dreaming about her family's departure for Ireland (I dread the day they figure this out, I can't live without my Nin!!). I watched in wonder as Meg and Paul uprooted their family and moved to Australia. I have listened to Rainy for years, talking about the day she would drag her little family out of their settled life, sell everything, and travel the world (which happened this summer!).

I am describing all of this to explain my anxiety over my children's first school break, our first chance to spread our life-abroad-wings and travel!

But first, some recent background...
We heard of this opportunity to live abroad in April 2010. I was knee deep in Swim For The Border with Barb, and Anna was on the verge of graduating from Green Fields.

She and I were camped on the couch in our cozy adobe abode (spell that 10 times fast), and Mike tells us there may be a European job opening in his company...holy blanking blank!

adobe abode

Anna, Nickers and couch.

I called my sister crying hysterically, sobbing that I could never stand to leave her.

"Oh Anne, I would leave you in a heart beat!"

We decided to go for it. By late May Mike had confirmation that it was likely to work out. Barb took some fab photos of our house, Mike listed it on Craig's list and a few other web sites and then we discovered there was a catastrophic leak under our house. In early June we moved into La Paloma for 2 weeks while our bedroom floor and walls were busted open,

the leak was repaired, new concrete was poured and stained (beautiful, by the way) and we moved back in, found new homes for our very elderly kitties (Rosa Elizondo Longton Spacone, RIP),  packed up everything and moved out at the end of June, so our renters could move in July 7th. William headed off to Mexico City to intern with a film crew shooting Modelo commercials, Anna went to spend a few sweaty weeks in Los Mochis with her papa and abuelos and cousins and tios, and the rest of us headed up to spend the next six weeks in Greer, Arizona.

Mike and Julie Ferlan.
Fingerprints on window were later removed at the order of Sensei Carmen, see next photo. 

Michael getting karate lesson from Comadre Carmen Ferlan. She has her blackbelt!

Mike and Geoff Ferlan, I love this photo...is that Julie tucked behind Geoff?

Chubby bunny grand finale

With the help of Babette, Mike and I left in early July to look for a town and house in England. We fell in love with Crowthorne, and were very happy to find this house.

We celebrated the 11 year anniversary of our engagement in Windsor, England with dinner in a cute Greek taverna.
THANK YOU BABETTE!

Later Anna and I spent a week in Wyoming with Bubbe and Zaide,

Besos with my mom while hiking in the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve.

I love this photo! Look at Anna's expression.
A minute earlier she spotted a magnificent black bear and we were all beyond thrilled to spy on it.
Mother Nature, you rock.

then in early August, William, Anna, Michael, Dominic, Mike and I, and ALL of our stuff moved into Babette's 2 bedroom townhouse (again, thank you Babette!!), William turned 22 (can you believe it???), Anna moved into the dorms at the UA and started her freshman year, Mike turned 44, and on August 25th, we moved to Crowthorne.

All is lovely and we are so happy here, but we don't have the documents we need to legally live here (due to the slow moving visa process). I wish I had one of Gila's bumper stickers, ''I might be an illegal"...

So in mid October, we flew back to the US for a week to get our documents in order. The great news about this part of the story, is that we got to see George and Nada Hallak, Susana, Maria Susana, Cecilia (remember Cecy?) and Andrew, and most importantly, meet Maria Isabella, Cecilia and Andrew's brand new pumpkin.

Maria Isabella, born October 4th.

Could you die?? Is she not PRECIOUS!!??
Anyway, we met her the day we arrived, and that night Michael threw up in the hotel bed, the beginning of a week long bug. Needless to say, but I will anyway, a week of excitement and drama. The important part is we got our documents, hugged Michael and Shane, and met Isabella.

Me, with handsome devils.

This brings us to 2 weeks ago, when we returned from US, with one week before the boys Fall Break...
Now I want to remind you of aforementioned build up and anxiety.
I was HELLBENT on traveling for that week...
But where should we go?
We could stay home, take a load off, visit Stonehenge, the nearby Roman ruins, go up to the lake district, the Peaks, take in Derbyshire, Mr. Darcy's turf...

Are you kidding me??? We have waited 11 years plus my whole lifetime, we are not staying in our own neighborhood, we are traveling, dammit.

To be continued...