My little sister got married last weekend on an island in Spain. She and her husband live in Austria, so it was a destination wedding for them and their 35 guests. Not only that, it was an all expense paid three-day weekend for everyone invited, airfare included, so our family was able to attend. Had it not been for my sister and her husband's generosity, we could not have afforded to go on this trip, given that we are in the middle of a costly adoption journey.
So, last Thursday we boarded our first plane in an 18 hour trip that would take us to paradise, also known as Castillo Hotel Son Vida in Palma de Mallorca. This has been by far the fanciest resort we have ever stayed and I imagine always will be. The views from every angle of this resort were stunning:
Here's a photo of our room before we let the kids have at it:
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| Our private patio |
We arrived in Palma on Friday around lunch and were greeted by my mom and cousin in the lobby. Emilia immediately remembered her Oma and got so excited. After checking in, we joined my extended family on the terrace for a light lunch. Aside from my mom, we had not seen my relatives in six years and it was a great reunion. We were so happy to introduce them to the kids in person finally. Since it had been a long journey, we decided to hop into the pool for a little while to give Rex and Emilia some relaxing sensory input. The kiddie pool was perfect for them and they had so much fun there. You can hardly tell Craig among some of the kids that were in our wedding group:
Then we took a two our nap and re-joined the other guests. We kept being introduced to more friends of the couple and the family of my new brother-in-law who all welcomed us warmly. It was great that, throughout the entire weekend, no matter where you decided to be - pools, terrace, outdoor restaurant, tennis courts - you were always bound to find a friendly face and strike up a conversation.
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| A disheveled Emilia with her new cousin who looks a lot like Big Sis |
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| Emilia with her new cousin (blue shirt) and a friend on the way to the pool |
Craig stayed home with the kids on Friday night, but I joined the group for tapas at this restaurant:
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| Sister Selfie |
Apparently this is a happening place right now and impossible to get a table... though we had two. I laughed a lot that evening with my sister and my cousin. Cuz and I were not willing to let any desserts go to waste at the end of the night, so we sacrificed and each tasted every dessert as well as polished off our favorite three selections per person. Yeah, I was in a sugar coma after that culinary excess.
Saturday morning started with an incredible breakfast buffet that we ate on the terrace surrounded by family. The atmosphere was so relaxing and wonderful, we lingered for a few hours.
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| I love this breakfast photo: All living women in my family are in it - four generations |
Toward lunch, we took the kids back to the pool and then for a nap. I spent some time with my sister who was getting ready to be the bride. My sister had asked Craig and her other brother-in-law to walk her down the aisle as they were the two closest male relatives present at the wedding. The only other two living male relatives are her elderly and ailing father-in-law and our uncle who just battled cancer, both of whom could not be there. The official wedding ceremony started at 6:00 pm on the terrace with this view:
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| My beautiful sis (The flowers are from the garden of our childhood home.) |
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| After the ceremony with my new brother-in-law |
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| Enjoying the view with my great-aunt |
After the ceremony which had just about everyone in tears, there were cocktails and appetizers served on the terrace. This was Rex's only tough hour on the entire trip, so Craig retreated into a quiet corner with him until it was time to move into the garden for dinner which was delectable:
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| The magnificent couple |
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| We watched the sun set as we were enjoying our dinner. |
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| Kids listening to music on Craig's phone while waiting to dance |
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| Rexplorer has discovered and claimed his island |
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| Craig and Emilia dancing |
Craig and I finally got to bed at 3:00 am, but the party was still going, so my mom went back and joined the others for some fun. I'll just say that the older generations who attended this wedding showed no signs of wear which gives me lots of hope for getting on in age.
Sunday morning began with another wonderful breakfast outdoors and then we all relaxed around the pools. We had several lazy hours of talking and eating and recalling the previous night's events. I so enjoyed this un-hurried time with my family.
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| The family that naps together... |
By late afternoon, it was time for all the guests to leave. Only our little family was staying another night to start the trip back to the US very early the next morning. It was strange, but when the last wedding guests had left at 6:00 pm, I felt very lonely there at the hotel. Maybe my sister knew this would be the case because she surprised me with a coupon for a one hour massage at the spa which she had scheduled for me for Sunday evening. What a heavenly gift!
After my massage, I joined Craig, Rex and Emilia in our room. We had dinner, packed up our things, and went to bed. The journey home started with a wake-up call at 4:45 the next morning and we were finally back under our own roof at 7:00 pm. When Emilia walked in the door, she clapped her hands, squealed and said, "Hi home."
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| Sleeping babes on the last flight |
I am tremendously grateful to my sister and brother-in-law for making it possible for us to join this weekend of family, fun, love, and laughter. The memories from our nearly 72 hours in Spain will be treasured forever.
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