Horse Jumping show in Spain

Vew from the Summer Palace in Santander

Breakfast after the Run on Day 2

Plaza de Toros

And the run begins - Jason is the one in white and red :)

Annie and I looking down at the crowd getting ready for the bulls

Running with the Bulls

In mid July we traveled south once again to Spain...to visit Pamplona, the home of the Festival of San Fermin, better known as the Running of the Bulls. A friend of ours had rented an apartment on the main route of the run for the week of the festival. Jason ran twice with the bulls and escaped injury although on the video captured from the balcony above you can hear me yelling RUN!! RUN!! with a bit of fear in my voice. There is not much to Pamplona except for this race and the 24 hour party that follows for a week on end. The 12 bulls run through the streets every morning for 7 days and then the streets are filled with parades, music, tourists and drunken Spainards for the rest of the day until the run again the next day. There was a great buzz of excitement but the non stop partying got to be a little much for us. On Saturday, Jen, Annie and I escaped to a local spa while Jason played a round of golf.

On Sunday we said goodbye to Jen and Annie who were flying home to the US and Jason and I went to Santander which is a lovely beach town on the northern coast of Spain. We treated ourselves to a beautiful hotel room overlooking the ocean and the summer home of the Spanish Royal family. We toured the town, attended a free horse jumping show, walked through the grounds of the royals summer home and took a ferry across the another beach town in the morning. Not a bad way to end the weekend!! The only problem was that I was out of battery on my camera so we only have 3 pictures from Santander!

A Chilly Day at the Boat Races

Races on the Thames

Annie, Jen and Caorlyn at Henley Regatta

Henley on the Thames

When Jen and Annie were visiting we went with a group of local londoners up to Henley and spent the day watching the Royal Regatta. A series of crew races along the Thames, viewed by thousands of people all day. We had a bit of trouble finding a place to sit along hte bank of the river as it was really crowded but once we got settled, we had a great picnic and a lovely afternoon in the sunshine. Temperatures again were not ideal but this is "summer" in England!

Annie and Jen on Tower Bridge

Our Favorite Shoe Shop

Jen and Carolyn at Buckingham Palace

Jen and Annie Visit London

Jen Gingrass and Annie Weasler, two friends of mine from the states flew over in early July for a 2 week visit to Europe. They spent a week here in London with me, went to Wimbledon, flew to Ireland for a few days, then met up with Jason and I in Pamplona Spain. While in London, we toured the city and went out to dinner with a few friends, shopped and had a great time hanging out. It was wonderful to have good friends around and to be able to show them my London home!

The Ladies of Ascot

Helen and Carolyn at Ascot

Caroline, Carolyn and Helen at Ascot

The Royal Ascot Horse Races

A group of us spent a Saturday in June at the Royal Ascot horse races. The famous week long British high society event is a great people watching adventure! We did watch and bet on a few races, but most of the day was spent giggling and gawking at the hats, headpieces and dresses of the attendees. I borrowed a head piece from a friend, but will definitely wear a hat next year. Another big part of the day is the Pims (alcohol) and lemonade, fruit and mint drink that is very popular. I drank a few glasses but switched to beer and champagne once the fruit and sweetness of Pims became a little much. Weather was a bit chilly so we went back and forth between coats and shawls and our dresses. Fun event and looking forward to it next year!