Sisters in Spain: Michelle Obama and Sasha wrap up mom-daughter trip abroad in style
August 8, 2010
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and adorable 9-year-old Sasha meet Spanish King Juan Carlos on the island of Mallorca, wrapping up their visit to southern Spain.
Young Sasha's got the European double-kiss routine down pat as she greets Spain's Queen Sofia.
Is Michelle Obama a classy First Lady or WHAT? Love the one-shouldered look.
I don’t know about you, but it’s absolutely thrilled me to see First Lady Michelle Obama taking 9-year-old Sasha on a mom-and-daughter holiday–and to SPAIN, no less! I don’t have kids, nieces or nephews, but if I did, I’d be booking us on some overseas trip as soon as they were old enough to appreciate it. And I’d be sitting them down right now to watch video of adorable Sasha meeting the king and queen of Spain. How it does my heart proud to see this darling young brown-skinned girl looking confident alongside her mom, realizing she’s a princess in her OWN right. Nothing like self-assurance, even when it comes in the package of a preciously dressed pre-teen.
I was super-proud and psyched last year when the President and Michelle took Sasha and Malia with them to Paris and London. I wrote then about how important it is for youngsters—and especially African-American ones, who don’t always see themselves portrayed positively in the American media—to travel abroad and experience life through a different lens. Just think of all the young black kids out there who see Sasha strolling the streets of Spain, visiting its treasures, meeting its royalty, witnessing the crowds of Spaniards eagerly seeking a glimpse of her and her glamorous First Lady mom. SURELY that’s got to have an effect on their individual and collective psyches, even if they don’t realize it now.
I’ve loved reading about the Obama ladies’ trip since they landed in Marbella, on Spain’s sun-drenched Costa del Sol, earlier this week. They toured an historic cathedral in the southern Spanish city of Granada; took in a flamenco performance in the region where this legendary dance was born; toured the Moor-built Alhambra at night. The traveling half of the First Family and their friends stayed at Marbella’s Hotel Villa Padierna, a five-star Ritz-Carlton resort on the Mediterranean Sea. And while this was hardly budget travel, folks tend to forget that the Obamas are wealthy folks, thanks largely to royalties President Barack has generated from his best-selling books.
I’m not even going to start on the haters screaming that the Obamas’ trip abroad is costing U.S. taxpayers untold dollars, and that Michelle is somehow a “modern-day Marie Antoinette” for daring to travel abroad on a luxury vacation while America’s in a recession. As has been made clear, the Obama ladies and friends paid for their own stay in Spain, although granted, the Secret Service had to travel with them and they flew aboard Air Force Two. As far as I’m concerned, the complainers SHOULD be glad we’ve got a globally minded First Family that actually wants to see and positively engage with the world.
And for THAT, all of us Americans ought to be proud.
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15 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Kim Witherspoon | August 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Amen To That!!
Every time I see them together as a family I break out into a huge grin. I am truly proud to have them representing me throughout the world.
And, OH MY LORD do I love the one shoulder blouse too!!! Ok, I’m on my way to White House Black Market to see if it’s there!
2.
vonnie | August 8, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I too love that the little ones are experiencing going abroad early, and to meet ROYALTY no less! how many can say that they’ve received kisses from kings and queens? I love that and am thrilled with the fact that other young african american kids can see them and princess Tiana from disney to know that they too are special
http://socialitedreams.wordpress.com
3.
Kelly | August 8, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with you Maureen. The haters were out in force on this trip. As a (reluctant) taxpayer, I’m happy to foot the Secret Service bill on this one if it means that Sasha gains an education on Spanish culture and broadens her view of the world while in turn broadening the world’s view of African Americans. Every international trip does more good than harm.
And for those who think that the the First Family should stay in budget hotels, those hotels are not accustomed to handling high profile guests that require extra security and know how to work in conjunction with the Secret Service.
However, I must say that Michelle’s gorgeous and chic Jean Paul Gaultier one shoulder could have been just a tad bit higher on the right side. I’m all for her exposing her toned, brown arms but she comes dangerously close with the boob in this photo. She did the same in a blue dress she wore to an official dinner in May. It’s so tricky with one shoulders because if it’s too high, it gathers under the arm and looks a hot mess too. And we don’t want that!
But the entire is such a class act that I’m so proud when they represent us outside of this country.
4.
urbantravelgirl | August 8, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Hola, Kim!! Yes, there are LOTS of us out there coveting Michelle’s one-shouldered top (although HERS is a Jean-Paul Gaultier, SURELY it will be knocked off in every price point so the rest of us can afford it)!
5.
urbantravelgirl | August 8, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Vonnie, MUCHAS GRACIAS for reminding me about Princess Tiana!!! We know that so much of our self-images comes, for better or worse, about how we see ourselves portrayed in pop culture and mass media. I just LOVE that little brown (and yellow and other colored) girls see that traveling the world and meeting kings and queens and princesses isn’t just something that OTHER folks do, but that THEY do!! Images like those of Sasha double-kissing the queen and princess of Spain are PRICELESS!
6.
urbantravelgirl | August 8, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Kelly, now you made me go back and look at the Michelle-in-the-one-shouldered-top again… I hadn’t noticed the “boob thing.” I was too busy envying her toned arms… perhaps mine could look like that if I’d get my lazy self to somebody’s gym!
But YES — the Obamas do us proud every time they leave this country and represent what it COULD be. Wouldn’t it be nice if our own “fellow” citizens here in the States were as appreciative of the Obama family as folks in other countries seem to be?
7.
This Time Now | August 9, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Little Sasha is one amazing little lady. You can just tell her parents are raising her to be an intelligent, charming and worldly little lady. I have a niece who’s seven years old and she just received her first international call and it was from me, her Tante Felicia!! She loves traveling, her first plane ride was taken when she was four. The young lady has her own carryon luggage and loves to pack it herself. I more than likely will be the one to accompany her abroad, he first trip will DEFINITELY be to Paris, my second home. She is my angel and angel will definitely earn some wings when we fly abroad together for the first time. The world is hers for the taking. Thank you for this post!
ciao!
Oh, I’m going to be in Harper’s Bazaar, September issue!!! I’ll tell you more about it later.
Ciao Bella!
8.
city tour bus rome | August 13, 2010 at 6:07 am
These posts are really worth reading.
9.
Paul Benally | November 26, 2010 at 7:30 am
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10.
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11.
Shoreyland | February 17, 2011 at 7:27 am
When I was a kid we didn’t have two nickels to rub together but my nephew has traveled extensively domestically and taken trips to DR, Bahamas, and Italy.
It tickles me when he says, “I want to go to London” in his little demanding voice. It’s not that I encourage insolence in children, but it does my heart good to know that he CAN say that with confidence knowing that a trip to Europe is not a far-off wish, but as close as finding a travel deal online.
=)
12.
urbantravelgirl | February 17, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Ciao, Shoreyland –
I LOVE that your nephew’s already got a FAR broader global sense than some of our folks who’ve been around for generations longer. And you’re so right about a trip to Europe as close as a travel deal. A former newspaper reporter colleague of mine just e-mailed me today about a $280 fare he got from Chicago to Barcelona. IMAGINE THAT!! Of course, he couldn’t pass it up.
We’d have to spend that much to get to some unimaginative place right here in the States. Here’s to broadening our imaginations, regardless of our ages!
Maureen
13.
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