We just came back from 2 weeks in Tenerife, Canary Islands and it was certainly eventful. Having been there at least 20 times I knew exactly what to expect and maybe that's what threw me off. It was our first time as a family of four in that hotel where I spent every February break since the age of 4. It felt like a pilgrimage being able to share this with the kids and Oliver- on top of it, having my parents, brother and sister was the icing on the cake...going back in time! There is so much magic in traditions, walking on those grounds and reminiscing how I felt a that young age and watching the kids experience the same kind of feeling was sooo precious! And then, we had the sand storm from the Sahara desert, the worst one in 30 years, sand everywhere, couldn't leave the hotel, there was so much sand in the air it was hard to breathe. Following the storm was the recovery, the hotel staff worked so hard picking up all the debris, the broken glass, the ceilings, the dust, and the pool took 3 days to reopen. Right around that time we got news that a hotel in Tenerife was quarantined with 2 cases of coronavirus. At that moment, the mood really shifted. That was all everyone talked about, not sure what measures were going to take place and what if they closed the borders and we were stuck here..so many questions... and it also impacted our decision process: where to go on excursions, where to go eat, how touristy? where not to go?
We live in crazy times, it feels like we are in a sci-fi movie, and nobody knows what to do. Living in France where we kiss on the cheeks to greet has now been replaced by waving, to my kids' delight! They do not really like this part of the culture after being raised in the US that is all about personal space!
We had to brief the kids about not touching anything at the airport, washing hands, no kissing. What will they think of all this?
More to come on this later, I wanted to share our vacation experience and not talk about the Coronavirus, there is enough press about it as it is.
As for us we did spend a great vacation and we are now looking at where to go next- we don't want to spend another year in Normandie so the topic is back on the table! If you have a favorite place to live I would love to hear about it!
About the picture, it was taken up in a very special place called Masca way up in the clouds :)
