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Ok…the word I would use for this timeshare is tired. It’s not exactly the type of place where you want to relax and stay in…we put towels on our pillows so our heads wouldn’t be in direct contact with it. Let’s talk about the shower…there was no shower head on the wall, you need to hold the nozzle the whole time. The water was not clear…more of a brownish red. Knowing that this place was costing us such a low amount, we decided to make due. The patio opened to a huge field of wild grasses where the sun would rise every morning. The kitchen had the basics and we took the blanket off the bed guessing that it had not been cleaned anytime recently.
Today was our first day in Canet. This area is surrounded by water…beautiful beaches with cute little resort towns – one after the other. We stopped at a bakery and then grabbed a “cafe” which came with a little individual chocolate candy…yum! We noticed most things were closed, maybe because it was Sunday. Sundays and Mondays in European small towns seem to shut down. Next we headed to the grocery (Casino is what they called it) to grab some groceries since we would be here for the week.
We learned two very important lessons. In the states, when you purchase fruits/veggies…you put it in a little clear plastic bag and pay for it. That is exactly what we did…we picked lots of both and went to the cashier. We found out, the scales that are near the produce are needed so that once you have your produce in the bag, you then place it on the scale. A touch screen menu shows pictures of all the produce. You pick what is in the bag (tomatoes, grapes, carrots etc.) and then the scale prints out a price tag based on what it is and how much it weighs. Isn’t that fancy? So…we weighed and tagged all of our stuff and headed back up to the cashier. She scanned everything and asked for the total amount. We paid but realized…they do not have grocery bags. Paper or plastic was not a question we were asked. As we looked around, we realized you can either bring in your own bags from home or purchase a bag. We gathered our fruits/veggies, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, meats and cheeses between the both of us and carried it out by hand to the car! Always bring a used bag to the grocery.
We decided to go back to the “club house” at our timeshare to get online, catch up on the blog and research what was nearby to see over the next week. We stayed in for dinner again…making a very similar dinner to last night. We were just having a low-key day. Tomorrow we will drive down the coast and check our some of the little beach villages.
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Published by Giff Kabat
I grew up in Ohio as a kid, so of course I went to college at “THE” Ohio State University. I graduated in 2001 with a major in business finance. A month after graduation, I moved out to California with my college girlfriend (whom I married in 2005)…and started my career in sales (industrial sales for 5 years…then moved into medical laser sales for 4 years).
In 2009 I was 31 years old. I had a great job, a new house, and a beautiful wife. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better…my wife and I found out we were going to have a baby. Everything was going according to plan…and I couldn’t have scripted a better life for myself.
Then in the same year…everything changed. My wife, Brandey, called me when I was on my way to work and told me over the phone, something I never thought could be possible in a million years. My beautiful 30-year old pregnant wife was just told that she had breast cancer. At that moment, everything stopped all at once. I immediately went to her…and learned of our new plan…which began with her needing surgery immediately…and the rest we would find out later.
The day we returned from the hospital after Brandey’s surgery…my father died. He had been battling an aggressive cancer of his own…and although he was the one person I wanted to speak with about Brandey having cancer…I never told him. My sister, Brooke, had just gotten married a few months ago, and although he was weak, he was able to walk his little girl down the aisle of her wedding. On the night before my sister’s wedding, Brandey and I told him that we were pregnant and about to make him a grandfather. It made no sense to tell him that everything had changed for us…so he died in peace knowing everything was “the way it should be” for his only 2 children.
2010 was the worst year of my life. We had lost our baby…and for 12 months I watched my wife fight cancer with multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and drug therapy. It was a difficult year for us…but we made it. When you go through something like this in life, you learn a lot about yourself and the people around you. I was amazed at the strength and courage of my wife…and how many good people there are in this world. I will be forever grateful for the ones who never ceased to amaze me with their kindness during this hard time. Family, friends, and sometimes complete strangers…helped us make it through this. I am, and will always be especially grateful to my mother, who was with my dad at the very end, when I couldn’t be there, and when things were at their worst. She has been so supportive throughout all of this, and without her everything would have been so much harder for me.
It’s 2011 now…and the plan we have for our life this year…is to make it the best year of our lives. Brandey is officially in remission from breast cancer and she has a 95% chance the cancer will never come back. Besides the love that I have for my wife and family, the loves of my life are food, wine, and adventure travel. My wife and I love traveling to new places, seeing natural wonders, and meeting new people from different parts of the world. So for the next 400 days…we’ve decided to travel the world…and celebrate our lives. There are so many things I took for granted in life that I will never take for granted again. My father worked for over 30 years at the same job with the same company…rarely took time off…and died at 64 years old right after his retirement. For me, this trip is a combination of a tribute to him, along with wanting to spend the time of my life with the “love of my life.”
* The only thing I will miss while we are gone is our family and friends (who we hope will meet us somewhere throughout our trip) and especially our 3 little kitties we left with my mom in Ohio to catsit for the next 400 days. I will also miss watching “American Football” over the weekend…but I’ll do my best to check the scores in the middle of the night.
GIFF
View all posts by Giff Kabat
Spinning Around The World 
Ok, this is where really cute hair clips and bands come into play. Have fun with them and PS, your hair looks great!!!!! Sound like you kids are having the time of your life! I am so happy you are doing this blog and sharing with all of us!!
xxoo
Liz
It looks cold there. The market sounds like an Aldi’s which is European.
You look great!!
It was cold in southern France…it was February! But Barcelona was warmer and so were the Canary Islands. Thanks, my hair is growing out but I feel like a lion…my hair is all over the place and I have no clue how to style short hair!!