Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Second Honeymoon!
The most exciting part about february was definitely our second honeymoon. We flew out to the Canary Islands which are west of the Morrocan coast. It was beautiful. We had never been to the island before and it was breath taking. There was a tropical climate and fauna on the coast and moon-like territory the higher up we climbed the island in our tiny european car. Unforgettable.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
February!
Our blogging skills have been lacking lately. Since Segovia, I went to Barcelona and we both went to Toledo and Cordoba. We went to Toledo with a friend of mine that I met in the Barcelona while we were studying abroad. He had come in town for a week to visit me and our friend, Chelsea, who is living in southern Spain. We had a great time in that ancient city. John and I went into the Cathedral where there are original Grecos, Caravaggis, and Goyas. It is an amazing city with the original wall still surrounding the city.
Barcelona was as beautiful as ever! Paul was sadly too sick to join our friends, Mollie and Lisa, to the city. But we still managed to have a good time. It was a great chance for me to play tour guide in my favorite Spanish city.
In Cordoba we forgot our camera!! So we don´t have pictures:( The weather was warm and the sky was cloudless. We only spent a short 27 hours in the city but it was enough to see the city again.
So we have spent 6 months here and have 6 months left until we come back to Evanston for P squared wedding! This year abroad has been much easier than the year we spent abroad 3 years ago. Now we are able to live with each other and we have been able to speak with our families and friends using Skype and ichat which has helped our homesickness. We forget how truly far away we are from home. Lately we have been thinking that it is time for a change. Paul has not enjoyed teaching as much as he had hoped and we are starting to get tired of the spanish attitudes we encounter over and over again. We have been thinking about making a move to Mexico. We have always talked about Mexico and now it seems more important than ever to make the move there. We would love to learn the differences in the language, be closer to home, and gain experience volunteering there. We love it here in Spain but we are ready to move on.
Barcelona was as beautiful as ever! Paul was sadly too sick to join our friends, Mollie and Lisa, to the city. But we still managed to have a good time. It was a great chance for me to play tour guide in my favorite Spanish city.
In Cordoba we forgot our camera!! So we don´t have pictures:( The weather was warm and the sky was cloudless. We only spent a short 27 hours in the city but it was enough to see the city again.
So we have spent 6 months here and have 6 months left until we come back to Evanston for P squared wedding! This year abroad has been much easier than the year we spent abroad 3 years ago. Now we are able to live with each other and we have been able to speak with our families and friends using Skype and ichat which has helped our homesickness. We forget how truly far away we are from home. Lately we have been thinking that it is time for a change. Paul has not enjoyed teaching as much as he had hoped and we are starting to get tired of the spanish attitudes we encounter over and over again. We have been thinking about making a move to Mexico. We have always talked about Mexico and now it seems more important than ever to make the move there. We would love to learn the differences in the language, be closer to home, and gain experience volunteering there. We love it here in Spain but we are ready to move on.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Segovia
Here are some pictures from our excursion to Segovia. It is a popular excursion in Madrid because of its impressive aquaduct.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Navidades
Ahhh, two weeks of vacation from work for Christmas. Sarah´s parents came to Spain and after a few days in Madrid we went to Andalucía. We traveled to Granada first and visited The Alhambra, an old Islamic palace/fortress. Because it used to be a fortress, the Alhambra is at the highest point of the city so the views were really tremendous. Granada is beautiful because it has both palm trees and other tropical plants and, in the distance, you can see snow capped mountains. The Islamic history is palpable in the architecture and atmosphere of Granada. Sarah, her parents and I had a great time just strolling around the city and taking in the scenery. The people in Granada were extremely nice. Sarah and I noticed immediately that the level of hospitality of the people is higher than in Madrid. It was remarkable. People aplogized, admitted when they were in the wrong, treated strangers with respect, truly amazing. After Granada, we went to Sevilla. Sevilla is my favorite city in Spain. It was warm, the architecture is vibrant and colorful and the people are kind. The downtown area of Sevilla has many green spaces and parks and the city is filled with orange trees. The orange and green contrast is beautiful but, unfortunately, the oranges are not edible. They are used for syrup and jelly. After a few days, we returned to Madrid and spent new years eve here. Sarah´s aunt came in from Barcelona, we ate the traditional twelve grapes at midnight and had a great time. Our new years resolutions are to make the most of each day, take more deep breaths and spend more time just smelling the roses (or the evengreen trees since it´s winter).
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