Before coming to Spain I had only experienced sangria as a young, poor, college-age (or dare I admit even younger) adult who would try most anything at a party. Sangria in my experience was a jug of Carlo Rossi with a bunch of fruit thrown in and set in the sun all day. It was terrible and made you feel terrible too!

This, ain't that!

True, it starts with wine and fruit. But may I just say, even cheap wine here is good. But they don't just pour you a glass of that. They mix it with orange juice and soda water! The wine, by proportion is the lesser of the three!

Now any of you who have been to Spain (and probably some of you that haven't) are saying "duh Alison" but I swear this was news to me. And I love it! It's so refreshing after a hot day! It was 80 degrees every day we were in Seville (and 80 is hot for a paisty Irish girl from Montana thank you very much!)

Anyway, video from Seville coming to the YouTube Chanel soon. We are in Cadiz now. Biking along the seafront and revelling in the ocean. And drinking sangria everyday!

hmmm... Life's tough sometimes. Roasted eggplant and goat cheese; perfect fuel for sketching design ideas gathered from yesterday's visit to Granadas famous Moorish Palace! Andy rented a bike and is exploring the trails above the Alhambra so I take myself to lunch on a tiny plaza after visiting the tombs of the Catholic monarchs Isabella and Fernando alongside their daughter Juanna "the mad"!

Andy is the real photographer in this marriage. He has a great camera and loves toying with light and composition to capture great shots. Which frees me up to take little snap shots of detail in woodwork, plaster moldings, tile work, plants, flowers, wrought iron railings, anything that intrigues me really. Later (like now over my sunny lunch) I can revisit the photos and sketch the jewelry designs that each shot inspires. Great working lunch!

Everyone should have a honeymoon every year! This year we chose to visit Spain. As an artist I hope to gather new inspiration from the Moorish architecture of Andalucia. For Andy and I, we enjoy this time because we get to wake up every morning and have an adventure together. Life's always an adventure (especially when you're both self employed) but for this time we get to explore it together instead of going our separate ways and then telling each other about it later.

It feels strange for both of us to be traveling at this time of year. Usually we leave in the winter when both of our businesses have a down-time. After doing 2 shows in Arizona I've got 2 days at home to get everything organized! Both our brains are in work mode, not vacation mode. Leaving doesn't feel real. To be honest it doesn't get real until after 24 hours of planes, airports, and subways we emerge onto Madrid's GranVia! A colossal shopping avenue with 10 story buildings covered in beautiful wrought-iron balconies and the worlds biggest brand names in the windows. The hustle and bustle of a European metropolis is buzzing all around us. Now it's real.

The jet lag turns out not to be too bad and we enjoy 3 wonderful, lazy, sunny days in Madrid. In fact we've adapted to the Spanish pace of life better than we expected to. We get moving around 9am, eat lunch around 2:30, have a siesta, then go back out for dinner/tapa around 8-8:30. This never happens at home! We are early risers and busy bees. I've had more alcohol in 3 days than I would in a month back home!

I'm not saying it's a good way to live, but it's certainly a good way to vacation!

You can watch a quick YouTube video of our days in Madrid by clicking the link in the side panel of the blog. Subscribe to my Chanel if you'd like to be notified of future trip videos.