Not Quite the Last Thoughts on Spain, After all

We left Trasulfe (the little village near Monforte where we stay) Monday afternoon and enjoyed the leisurely drive to Santiago along a winding, well-marked and smooth highway. Neighbors had predicted rain, but it was actually a beautiful sunny day. Spring was blooming in earnest by the time we left: The hills were lush with purple heather, splotched with golden gorse; and the lemony-yellow broom was just starting to bloom in graceful strands.

Since our flight was to leave the next morning at a little after 9:00, we stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport. The rates for nice rooms are unbelievable inexpensive, and we prefer this way of exiting Galicia. (Driving those same winding roads in the dark in order to get to the airport in time is not a happy experience.)

As it turned out, our departure from Santiago was delayed due to technical difficulties -- long enough to miss all our connecting flights and have to reschedule them. We had traveled by American Airlines from Sacramento to Dallas and by Iberian from Dallas to Madrid and to Santiago. Retracing, once we reached Madrid, we were able to get new boarding passes for the flight from Madrid to Dallas at the Iberian counter, but we had to come back the following morning to get final boarding passes from Dallas to Sacramento, as American had already closed its counter. Two pieces of good news, though: 1) American and Iberian are sister airlines, so we didn't lose any money. 2) Iberian booked us a nice hotel room that included three elegantly presented meals and shuttle service to the hotel and back. There was no time to sightsee in Madrid, but we had an enjoyable last evening and a good night's sleep before setting out for home.

It was about 11:00 p.m. by the time we arrived in Sacramento, collected baggage and got home from the airport. Our dog was deliriously happy to see us (and vice versa). The next morning, though (yesterday), due to our lost day, my husband and I both had no time to idle away our jet lag. He had to get right to work early in the morning, and I had to prepare a lesson for my after-school art class.

Still, it's amazing how quickly one falls into routine. We had a wonderful holiday, but it's also good to be back into our ventures -- in my case, writing and art; in Rajan's case, designing and photography. The garden is a wonderful mess again. Wonderful because color is blossoming everywhere; a mess because the weeds are thriving again. The April art show is going well: the month is half over, and more than half of the kids' pictures have sold. I also had time to visit one of my favorite used bookstores and fall in love with two more books I immediately put on hold. (Will I ever get over my book addiction?)

There is still tons of mail (e and snail) to go through; and items in the news to catch up on. All of the news in Galicia was either in Spanish or Gallegan. Given the progress of our Spanish, we have been more or less out of the loop for a month --which could well explain why we came back so relaxed and rested.

But now vacation is over and there is much to do, like lining up some more good interviews and guest bloggers. Stay tuned.