Spain Trip - October 2011

We were fortunate to celebrate our dad’s (Florencio Yllana III) 60th birthday in Spain! We went to Segovia, Valverde Del Majano (the birth place of the first Florencio Yllana – the man who went to the Philippines from Spain in the 1800s and started the Yllana clan in the Philippines); and Madrid.
Spain is a wonderful country! The people are very friendly and nice; the food is extremely delicious (jamon iberico and chocolate con churros – what can we say…); the architecture is breathtaking and the pace of life is relaxed…We were impressed that cars didn’t honk at each other or at pedestrians, they just waited patiently – it was quite refreshing!
Madrid is amazing and so alive! Day and night – non-stop, but without the hectic tempo. One can tell people took pleasure in life. It’s definitely a different pace, that’s for sure! We were up late every night (around 2 AM), had chocolate con churros every day (if not twice a day) and tapas – wow, the tapas! And of course the museums, cathedrals, plazas – so much to see and do.
Segovia is a quintessential medieval town about 30 minutes north of Madrid – it was like going back in time – the castle Alcazar, the aqueduct, the Cathedral…we truly enjoyed walking the streets, shopping, eating, drinking and enjoying life. We even saw a bullfight in HD at one of the tapas bars we went to – that was crazy…
So then we went to this little town near Segovia called Valverde Del Majano where the first Florencio Yllana was born. We didn't have any expectations, and were just happy to find the town and church where he was baptized and take pictures. We went to the tourist center and found a brochure where we found the "Illana" crest as well as a picture of Mamo Siching (Florencio Yllana II) smack in the middle of the poster with the Illana’s of Valverde!!! How random is that?!!? Serendipitous….The people realized how excited we were and starting calling the Illana family (it’s a small town of maybe 1000 people where everyone knows everyone) and we met Panteleon Ayuso Illana!! He was so nice and gracious. He didn’t speak much English, so we were so fortunate that our brother’s (Florencio Yllana IV) wife (Antonella Yllana) speaks Spanish and was able to translate for us. It was really surreal - perhaps all those stories passed down through the generations are true!
Our parent’s Ruby Anniversary is coming up - October 2015 - they are planning to have their wedding renewal in the church where the first Florencio was baptized. We hope that the Yllana family can come and experience the wonder of being in such a special place as well as enjoy Spain!