Trip Report: 23 Days in Spain
23 days.
Dozens (?) of glasses of Garnacha.
1100 photos of family records.
1200 miles on the roads.
One convent, two churches, and a wedding.
A million smiles.
And so much more.
I’ve been meaning to sit and write this quick note but it’s gotten away from me. Patrick, Sean, and I headed out in late June for Reagan National airport and some 24 days later we returned. In between were some incredible days exploring Cariñena, Zaragoza, Madrid, Porto and the roads in between.
I’ll get to the point: I have hundreds of records to sort, catalog, and transcribe. I will save you a bit of mystery: it looks like our oldest Velez ancestor came to Cariñena from Madrid in about 1680. And I managed to get enough records that I should be able to document the entire Velez family from then until recently. Yes, we have cousins in Cariñena!
So stay tuned as I update the records and family tree information. In the mean time, enjoy some photos from our trip this past summer!
Records. OLD records. 
Many of the records are easy to read 
Heading out to Spain! 
Flying in to Madrid! 
Me, Patrick, and Sean at the Ayuntamiento! 
Ruins of the Franciscan convent where family was buried 
Monasterio Vineyard 
Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion 
The convent is surrounded by a vineyard 
Sean’s favorite: huevos rotos 
Real paella…OMG 
Every meal is a family event 
On the trails of the mountain above Cariñena 
Lakes left to us by the glaciers 
The old sketch above …same view 
The toro fountain 
Caesar Augusta (namesake of now “Zaragoza”) 
Pools provided a break from the heat! 
Architectural beauty in Zaragoza 
A wedding! 
The best view – from the organ 
I could listen to a sermon all day… 
Patrick improving his skills 
A wonderful garden among the orchard 
…but the gardens have a lot of rabbits. 
Orchards for growing “trufas”! 
Sean-o in Zaragoza 
Typical $5 tapas and a 1$ glass of wine. 
Notice what time the band starts! 
This bull is pissed. 
Mad bull. 
Fiestas 
Me and Carin! 
Cidra – the good stuff 
The proper cidra pour 
The young ones run faster 
Yes, those are bullets holes from the damn French 
Zaragoza has many Roman ruins to explore 
El Castillo de Loarre
El Castillo de Loarre
Go north! 
Patrick and Sean in Porto 
Atlantic Ocean – from the other side! 
People see this every day 
Salamanca!