Save the BEST for Last

Sadly to say this is one of my last blogs I write to you from Spain. I spent my last weekend making the most of my time in Madrid and thought I would share with you a few of the last adventures I experienced......

Saturday I went to the market to pick up a few mementos from Madrid to bring back with me. Then, I made my way to one of the most famous museums in Europe and the world for that matter called Museo Nacional del Prado. This museum is the oldest in Madrid and holds some of the most historic works of art. Most of the art is centered around relgious pieces and political history. Works of arts I saw were painted by artists such as Goya, Velazquez, Zurbaran, Rembrandt and my favorite, El Greco. To me, El Greco's work stood out among the rest. It's very strange and unique his paintings and I really enjoyed my stroll through the museum.

Sunday was a day with my boss, George. I took the train to the town where George and his family live. It is called Acala. It is about an hour outside of Madrid and is home to one of the oldest and best college's in Spain. His son Zach and him picked me up from the station and showed me around the town. It's very quaint and old. His son Zach (who is 19) showed me around his campus and told me of the history of some of the buildings. We stopped to enjoy some tapas and cervezas (beer) and then made our way back to their home for lunch. His wife Sonja and his other son Paul were there and they all had prepared a festive lunch for me. It was quite delicious.....soup, meat, garbanzo beans (very typical and popular here), potatoes, salad, bread and chocolate and cafe for desert of course. George is from the U.S. and so his family (although all born and raised in Spain) have been to the U.S. many times and speak great English. After lunch it was time for the real excitement....my first REAL MADRID game! George got us tickets to the home match of REAL MADRID vs Villareal!

Going to a REAL Madrid game could be compared to going to a game at Yankee Stadium. the stadium is bigger than that of Yankee Stadium, but the fans are ruthless (which makes it all the more entertaining) and overly dedicated to their team and most importantly to the game of soccer. The game was very exciting and am happy to report that they did win 1-0. I learned alot of bad Spanish words during the game and can not imagine what else I would have learned if they had lost. All in all, it was a great day and my Boss George was a nice and very gracious host. You really couldn't ask for a better boss.

The weekend ended but the celebrations were just beginning. It was the biggest holiday in Spain on Tuesday, January 6th. The holiday is called Los Reyes (Three Kings Day). It is very similar to our Christmas, which Spain celebrates as well, but the kids receive the majority of their presents from the 3 Kings on this day and it is traditional for the family to get together for a large feast. The night before the kids put out their shoes and write a letter to the Kings. And in the morning....poof the presents have arrived! The kids in my family here got a Wii, games for the Wii, one got a bike, books, etc. It was fun watching the kids get excited for this day!

My family was the host for the holiday since they have such a large and beautiful house. 34 people came from Pilar's family and it was madness. We are the best meal of shrimp & zucchini kabobs, cheese, pate & crackers, the finest jamon, potato & tuna fish salad, pork tenderloin, stuffed pasta shells and then the traditional desert called Rosca- its basically like a huge donut cake- very good. Needless to say I was stuffed and delighted I got to experience this holiday here in Spain.

So, now its back to work. My last day is tomorrow and my work is having a farewell lunch for me. My last post will be pictures from that and a peek inside the office for all of those who are curious to see what a typical office is like here in Spain.

Adios for now.....

More Pics from Xmas Vacay

oh and for all of you wondering how the hell you pronounce Chamonix it is {Sham-o-nee) and said in the romantic French language of course.

Enjoy the Pics!

Christmas Vacation

Hola Todos!

I am back and recovering from my xmas vacation! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I realized being away from home is tough. I will now take full advantage of eggnog, xmas tunes on the radio and admiring the xmas lights....maybe even come to apprecaite the snow....just not 8 feet of snow. Anyways, even though it was tough being away from home, I enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France with my friend Barry. The scenery was unlike anything I have ever seen....the mountains, the sky, the snow...it didn't even look real. Very picture-esq!

So, we started out the vacation with a little travel hiccup. We had a wonderful and easy flight from Barcelona to Switz (enjoying some wine and champagne on the plane even) but arrived to find that our transportation from Switz to Chamonix was not there....and not coming. We tried asking cabbies to give us a lift but they would not do it for less than 200 euro. We figured we'd rather spend our money on skiing, so we walked to a near by hotel and got a room. We went back to the airport in the morning and basically harassed a guy to make room for us on his bus up to Chamonix, and so in the Christmas spirit, he did! So, on Christmas Day we arrived to our destination and immediately got on our gear and hit the slopes!

Conditions on the slopes were not ideal, very cold and icy with no "fresh" powder. Still, we got in our groove and enjoyed a little bit of time on the mountains. We came back to our hostel (who were not kind enough to give us a refund on the night we got stranded in Switz- ugh) and enjoyed a very hardy delish xmas dinner nonetheless. Then, off to explore the nightlife for a bit with a stop at a few pubs. A typical drink they serve in Chamonix is hot wine. Interesting, but not my thing. My friend and travel partner, Barry (BT), really enjoyed it though. I stuck to the beers and hot choco and bailey's...mmmmm! If it's one thing the French do right, it's chocolate for sure!

The next day we hit the slopes again. Again, not ideal conditions (cold and icy) but still GORGEOUS! We went to Le Tour Mountain to ski. BT a snowboarder and me a skier, got to the top of the mountain and our jaws dropped. It was unreal to be looking at these mountains and unreal for me to think I was going to get down without falling....20 times. And so, I did. These mountains were way over my head, but I still enjoyed the scene and went back down to the bunny hills while BT enjoyed the monstrous mountain.

The next day (Day 3) I woke up real sore and decided I would look into other options the city offered besides skiing. BT wanted to get his third day in of boarding and he did awesome...probably close to professional now ;) So, I went for a hike to the Aiguille du Midi. It's a lift station that takes you up to the highest peak of Mont Blanc. You have to take 2 separate cable cars to get up there and once up can hike around getting amazing views of the French and Italian Alps. Simply breathtaking! Oh and also FREEZING! Elevation is 3842 meters. SO HIGH!

Then after an afternoon of hiking and exploring the shops, I met back with BT and we had our last dinner and put our heads together to finagle a ride back down to the airport. We called every transportation company in town, but none were kind to our 5am pick up time for our 7:05am flight. We FINALLY talked one place into doing it, but for a pretty penny. So, my tip to you all if you travel here, is book your airport transportation in advance and negotiate up front.

So, now I am back in Madrid after a long and adventurous xmas vacation and unfortunately brought a nasty cold back with me. I am enjoying my New Year's as we speak on the couch, with a movie and orange juice and tracking the KU vs MN Insight Bowl online. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a GREAT New Year! Go KU!

I look forward to speaking and seeing you all in 2009!

Cheers,
Holly

More Roma Pics

** note the guy in the car....no guy, THE POPE!!

Bella Roma!

Translation: Beautiful Rome!

I am back from my weekend excursion to Rome and so happy to share my stories and pictures with you! Rome was just as I thought it would be....AMAZING! Growing up a Roman Catholic and hearing stories of these places was truly amazing to see in person. I have so much to say on every picture I took, but to help you make it through this blog, I will break it into a few highlights (or "chapters" I will call them). I hope you enjoy and get the chance to experience this city if you haven't already.



Chapter 1: "Table for 1"

I started off my trip with a late dinner at a little Italian restaurant near my hostel. I read the menu outside and was greeted immediately by a welcoming staff....so I came right in and said "Table for 1"! Just minutes behind me was another girl and a guy who also said the same thing, we ended up all sitting together and enjoying a REAL homemade Italian meal. The girl was from Indiana- get out, right?! We had a lot in common and had great conversation.

I went on throughout the weekend to use this phrase and felt quite good about it. After all, I was eating my favorite food in its home country! So, what did I have?! Lasagna, Spaghetti, Mozzarella & Tomato Pizza (of course), foccacia bread, croissants unlike any croissants I have had before and my favorite....gelato! I treated myself to homemade Italian gelato every night I was there and never once felt guilty about it!

Chapter 2: Mary & Joesph

I was in 4th grade when I was chosen to play the Virgin Mary in our annual Christmas Play. The Christmas play was the biggest thing our school had and you were only chosen for parts, you didn't even get to try out. However, at least once in your grade school career you did get to have a major part in the play. So, this was my year- The Virgin Mary (yikes)! I would have a lovely duet with my costar Joesph played by none of other than my classmate/friend Johnny Burns. Johnny was a good kid, nothing weird or funny about him. He left after 4th grade to be home-schooled and returned to public high school where he was "the man"....ladies really liked him, he was sweet and sociable. We worked together in high school at his family restaurant chain called Heinemann's. Then, parted our ways to college and only saw each other during the holidays. It was a few years ago I ran into him at our usual run-in spot with a reunion of great grade school friends. He told us all of his new adventure to becoming a preist. We were surprised but not shocked and admired his bold decision.

So, now I am in Rome and looked up my friend Johnny who is studying at the Catholic University in Rome (of course) to become a priest and will be ordained in 2010. We meet at the Trevi Fountain and head around town for a bit as he shares his history knowledge on the city with me. Homeless people ask him (just as everyone else) for money and he smiles, puts his hands on their shoulders and blesses them. I am thinking to myself "this is crazy" but a really sensational crazy just to witness his happiness while doing it. We finally sit down for lunch and enjoy the best conversation I might have ever had in my life.

After our delicious 2 hour lunch I feel refreshed, inspired and ready to conquer the rest of Rome. I say goodbye to Johnny and think back to the memory of Mary & Joesph.....wow, Johnny is living up to that memory and as for me...thank goodness for second (ok, maybe like fifth) chances ;)

Chapter 3: The Sites

There is SO much to see in Rome and everything is beautiful and has an amazing story behind it. To not bore you or overload you with information I will tell you of my top 3!

#1- St Peter's Basilica
This is where it all takes place. Just walking up to it I am in amazement. It is HUGE and breathtaking. I spend sometime on the plaza outside taking pictures and then make my way in. As I enter I get a strange feeling like "am I really here?" and then I am in and I start to cry. I don't even know why...it's just its presence, the beauty and the holiness of it all. I think it also hit me, I am REALLY here!

#2- Vatican/Sistine Chapel
Holy Cow! They said that if you spent 1 minute on every object in the Vatican it would take you 12 years! There is SO much. I really had no idea Michelangelo was a ridiculous genius. The artwork is incredible and they describe it as the best representation of the word of God. Pictures and words do not do this place justice. To be in the center of the Sistine Chapel- the holiest of all places was simply surreal.

#3 - The Spanish Steps
I really enjoyed this area. The Spanish Steps are the longest and widest staircase in all of Europe. It was created to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. Around the area are palm trees with lights and great shopping....so yea, I couldn't help but enjoy myself! It is a popular place for young adults to mingle and go out making it alot of fun!

**Yes, the Colosseum and the Pantheon are also AMAZING, but I only picked 3 to not bore you.
** Also, my chance encounter with the Pope is something I can only tell in person! It's a great story!

Chapter 4: The End....until next time

So, my trip to Rome was great. I checked another thing off my bucket list and it feels amazing. I could talk for hours on this city, but I won't. I hope this little blog will suffice.

Next up....My XMAS Vacation to the French Alps! I took a tip from my friend Patrick Luckebill (THANKS PL!) to visit Chamonix, France (home to one of the Winter Olympics). I leave Dec 23rd and return 28th and will be on the slopes with my friend Barry Thau. So, you may not hear from me until then. So, FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

Love and miss you all!!

Ciao,
Holly

All Saints Day

The holidays have arrived! I am currently enjoying a cup of coffee on the couch on this dreary Monday morning. Today is All Saints Day, a catholic holiday celebrated here in Spain...including no work!

I don't have anything exciting to report from this weekend. My family spent the holiday weekend in London which means I was going to take full advantage of having the house all to myself. It rained all weekend so it prevented me from doing a few things outdoors that I wanted, but I still managed to go out on the town a few nights and enjoy some libations. I also got to watch some movies and cook for myself, all reminding me of the comforts of home :)

What's up next you ask? ROME! I am heading to Rome on Thursday to fufill my Italian dreams of eating real pizza, pasta and gelato and meeing the Pope. I hope he penciled me in for a visit. I promise to have exciting stories and pictures when I return. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday spirit and spread some cheer!

XOXOXO,
Holly

More Barc Pics....