Week 11, OR, How It's the Beginning of the End

March 13
Pilar's roasted chicken with fried mashed potatoes with garlic and sweet vinegar. Fried mashed potatoes? What genius IS this, and why have I never thought to make it before?!

March 14
Oh, how I'll miss seeing the row of can-can multi-colored legs at the market.

March 15a
An hour and a half of dramatic, bold flamenco dancing; such passion! I thought Irish dancers moved their feet quickly--oh no. Flamenco dancers take the cake on that one. I had no idea the human body could move that quickly!

March 15b
After flamenco, we went to the El Junco jazz club in Madrid and heard a couple hours of jazz jam sessions. This topped off an already perfect evening, and hit the spot of my need for sultry, sexy, comforting music.

March 16
This is what I saw on the way home from the Prado museum. Um, yeah, I have no clue.

March 17
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Apparently the Spanish celebrate just as hard as the Irish on this blessed saint's day, or at least they did right outside my window.

March 18
Tonight was our last night with our Japanese roommate Yumi. I'm going to miss seeing her the last couple of weeks I'm staying with Pilar, but I told her that she needed to visit Utah, so maybe I'll see her sooner than I think. Please notice, however, the height difference between the three of us.

March 19

Las Fallas in Valencia was MADNESS and INSANITY! I'm not sure I can think of anything better than lighting 100+ foot paper statues on fire all around the city, strategically located by hanging electrical wires. Just wait until you see the rest of the pictures!

Week 10, OR, How I Knock Off a Couple Pieces of Architecture on the "Must See Before You Die" Lists

March 6
Pilar's paella con mariscos (seafood) is to die for!

March 7
Sorry for the boring picture, but I want to make sure that I remember what it's like waiting for the #8 bus every Sunday and Monday when I'm back in the States and complaining about gas prices. At least then I'll have a car and I won't have to deal with some of the surly bus drivers who love to park their bus in the middle of the street and jump out to have a conversation with their friends for a couple of minutes when I'm already running late.

March 8
How to describe this? We were playing around in H&M and found these awesome purses, so of course we had to document our finds. Let's be honest: life with me is ALWAYS an adventure. And now I'll just go and eat a slice of humble pie.

March 9
Zaragoza's Catedral and main plaza. I loved this cathedral because is was so different than any other cathedral I've seen so far in Spain. Unlike most cathedral's, the interior of this one was completely Neo-Classical. I started getting butterflies of excitement as I walked around and realized that when I go to Paris I'm going to see a whole lotta Neo-Classical and Rococo art and architecture, which made me giddy the rest of the afternoon.

March 10a
Gaudi's La Segrada Familia (The Holy Family) Nativity facade
I can't even start to describe to you the beauty of this building. Gaudi's architectural genius is astounding and so impressive that this cathedral may blow every other cathedral I've seen out of the water. This is the famous Nativity facade that depicts several frescoes of Christ's life as well as incorporates nature all throughout the facade. Simply put, I was blown away when I saw this.

March 10b
Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia Passion Facade
The lesser-known facade that focuses more on simplicity and Cubism. Despite its simplicity, this is still a powerful facade full of images of Christ's life.

March 11
The highlight of today was putting my feet in the Mediterranean ocean! Although it was ridiculously overcast and cold, the water was a LOT warmer than the Bay of Biscay--so warm that my feet didn't go numb, which is what I call progress!

March 12
Gaudi's Guell Park
This park is so beautiful and reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and/or Candyland with its fantastical architecture.

Week 9, OR, How I Go to the Beach in Two Different Countries and See Hitler

February 27
After church on Sunday, we had a barbeque at our director's house with none other than burgers! Although not as satisfying as the heart-attack inducing burger that I've been fantasizing about in my head they were still pretty good (and I ate mine too quickly to get a picture of it, so Becca was my model).

February 28
I told you spring has sprung here!

March 1
Beautiful sunset reflected on the cathedral in Alcala that I snapped on the way home.

March 2
The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
Frank Ghery designed this art museum to look like a boat by using a computer program to create the curves and lines of his infamous structure. Two things are said about this museum: 1:Bilbao was put on the map once it was built, and 2: what's on the outside of the museum is better than what's on the inside (it's totally true).

March 3
The beach in San Sebastian, Spain.

March 4

The beach in Biarritz, France. Both beaches have water from the Bay of Biscay which eventually connect with the Atlantic, which means that I've been to the beach in 3 different countries! Give me a couple weeks to get to Lisbon, and it'll be 4!

March 5
It was Carnaval weekend this weekend, and I got to see many an exciting costume and outfit--namely many men dressing as women.

Week 8, OR, How I Get Called Pretty and Someone's Queen

February 20
I may have watched a couple episodes of this show today instead of writing my religion papers...

February 21
These are the two guys Becca and I buy produce from every Monday. After class we go to the Monday market in Alcala, and for the past couple of weeks we've bought yummy goodness from these hilarious Spaniards.

February 22
This is a pic of the Templo de Debod, the Egyptian temple in the middle of a park in Madrid. Odd that you'd find an Egyptian temple in the heart of Madrid, but there it is. In 1968 UNESCO needed to move the ancient temple from its home in Aswan due to modern construction, and since Spain was so helpful in saving other ancient Egyptian temples, UNESCO donated the temple to Spain.

February 23
Spain is full of gypsies who try to sell you things/steal your possessions. Luisa was attacked by one earlier in the program while we were waiting to meet up with our group, and I was "attacked" by one today while we were waiting at the train station. He came up to me and started talking to me, calling be "guapa" (pretty) and his "reina" (queen), and insisting that we take pictures with one another. Charming though he was, he's a little too short for me and just a little too creepy, especially when he thrust his ipod into my ears and made me listen to his gypsy music. Oh and don't worry--I made sure I knew where his hands were at all times.

February 24
Sorry if it's a little inappropriate, but I had to take a pic with this sign, especially when we stumbled upon it while taking a different route to reach our favorite mercado in Madrid--an innocent excursion suddenly turned into something dirty. The funny thing about this pic is not only the nature of it, but that my head was actually covering the "a" of the word "ahora", so instead of it saying "Chelsea Ahora" (Chelsea Now), it looks like it's calling me a "hora". Awesome.

February 25
Michelle and I after waking up from our naps.
The weather has been DIVINE this week, so much so that it seems like spring has sprung. After exploring the city and knocking off a couple museums and touristy sights, we crashed in Retiro Park and sunbathed and napped for an hour.

February 26

Just in case you didn't know, I'm in love with the Mercado de San Miguel. Not only can you find wonderful tapas and a variety of produce and seafood, they sell a plethora of desserts--remember my giant chocolate truffle? Since the weather has been a little hot this week, we've stopped at the mercado for the past three days to get their frozen yogurt. This frozen yogurt is so good that after splitting a giant bowl of it with someone for the the past 2 days, I finally wizened up and bought my own giant bowl of it for me myself and I. Craving=satisfied, especially when it's topped with melted Nutella and strawberries.

Week 7, OR, How I Get Back to My Roots

February 13
The Madrid temple! We had stake conference this Sunday at the stake center right next to the temple, so of course I snapped a couple of pics.

February 14
Alright, so I actually cheated with this one. This is actually a pic from the concert I went to on Saturday night (more about this later) and not from Valentine's Day, but I didn't take any pictures today, and I felt uninspired as to what should be my pic of the day, until I ran across this little gem. (By the way, the reason for this pic will be explained later). Unfortunately, this is as close as most of you are going to be to my lips until April, but I hope it suffices! Consider it a kiss from me to you! Happy V-Day!

February 15
This week has been pretty chill and low-key after our crazy traveling adventures of last week so I had a lot of free time to hang. Instead of doing homework and studying for my Spanish grammar test on Thursday (kill me now), I watched a couple hours of this show. Thank you internet!

February 16
After years of searching for the perfect boots, weeks of having cold, wet feet, and hours of contemplating whether I should buy my perfect boots, I did! And my feet and body have never been happier! I saw these boots a couple weeks ago in a random store in the mall, and after trying them on and realizing that these were THE boots, I went home empty handed because I was lacking in funds. But I went back and finally bought them, and I couldn't be happier (I may have even jumped up and down a couple times as I left the store)! LOVE!

February 17
Becca and I in front of the Madrid temple. After a month and a half of being here, we finally had a group temple trip. It was interesting to find out that I wasn't the only one who had been desiring to go--everyone in our group had been longing for it, and it felt like there was a collective sigh of relief once we walked through the doors. Definitely a good evening.

February 18
Toledo skyline and us, doing what we do best. I can't even tell you how much this picture describes all of us to a "t".

February 19
The four of us at the Neon Trees concert in Madrid. What started out as a completely random event, turned out to be one crazy Saturday night!

Week 6, OR, How My Dreams Come True, Andalucia Style

February 6
The train station where I take the train to Madrid, as well as where I have to cross over to get to our director's house. Every Sunday a group of us go over to her house and hang, which is where I was going while I snapped this. Sadly you can only see a little bit of the sunset.

February 7
This is our church building, and where I have my photo and religion classes every Monday.

February 8
This is an odd little statue we found as we left the Prado. What the little animal is, we're still not sure. Miniature dragon? Sea animal? Magical creature from Harry Potter? Yes.

February 9

La Mezquita is the one architectual phenomenon I've been waiting to see all semester. Arches? Check. Double arches? Double check. Over 800 red and white candy caned arches? Heaven!

February 10
This is the tomb of Christopher Columbus, found inside the cathedral in Sevilla. I had no idea that I'd get to see this little gem of history, but surprise! Columbus' tomb and remains have apparently been moved so many times, that it's said that he's traveled more dead than when he was alive. Skeptics have questioned whether he's really in there, and in 2004 they did a DNA test to prove that is was him, but the test results only proved that it's "probably" him, which is good enough for me.

February 11
One of the many reflecting pools within La Alhambra in Granada.

February 12
After frantically searching for the spice market in Granada in the Arabic area of town, we finally found it! The alleyways smelled so rich and aromatic and I was in love with all of the colors! And this is actually one of Becca's pics that she took on my camera because her camera died, but I claim it as half mine.

Week 5, OR, How I Go On a Pilgrimage

January 30a
This is the ADORABLE little boy that I see every Sunday when I go to church. He and his older brother are the cutest kids I've ever seen. Each week they're dressed in thick tights to keep their legs warm, shorts, and a dress shirt with their little Oxford shoes. Everyone in our program is totally in love with this little kid. I tried to get a good pic of him, but he and Andrew (our director's son) were running around the chapel, so this was the best I could get of him.

January 30b
The little boy is hugging/catching Andrew. Pre-cious. And don't even worry--I fully acknowledge that I'm a creeper by getting these shots.

January 31a
The Monday morning market (say that 10x fast) in Alcala turned out to be a bigger treat than we ever thought it could be. Behold: a pair of panties for sale on the most voluptuous hip model I've ever seen. When I expressed interest in taking a picture of these, the seller came over to us and told us that these were not just any pair of panties, no--they kept everything tight and held in (he even demonstrated for us) so that you could dance and move properly, AND the best part of his explanation was that he told us that these panties are good for the body. How, we're still not sure, but as long as I have his word that they're good for the body, I'm sold. Now if only I can get over my apprehension to buy granny panties in a marketplace full of little old people from a man selling these out of the back of a truck.

January 31b
The other gem we found while wandering the marketplace: bad European haircut. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they do exist. Notice how he has a mohawk, but not only that, he has detailing etched into the side of his head. What this picture unfortunately doesn't show you is that while he may have a maze carved onto one side of his cranium, the other side is completely shaved down. I know you assumed that he had this lovely etch-a-sketch pattern on both sides, but let's remember what they say about when you assume things. All I have to say is that this one's a keeper.

February 1
For those of you who want to finally see the girl I reference all the time, this is she: the lovely, and ever so posh, Rachel. I happened to be online at 2am Tuesday morning (6pm Monday night her time), so we ended up chatting for awhile, but keep in mind that we had skyped each other the night before for over an hour. Without this girl, my life wouldn't sparkle as much as it already does.

February 2
Today was the first time I was able to go to the Reina Sofia museum after weeks of trying, but I must say that I prefer the Prado more. Reina Sofia has more modern and contemporary art, which is not my cup of tea, so I wasn't as impressed as I was with the Prado. Although I've only seen to the top floor of the museum, I hear each lower level gets better. We'll have to see.

February 3
The view of the Catedral of Santiago de Compostela from my hostel window. Today was my first day in Santiago, and all I can say is that I have never been in a more spiritual and romantic little city. And as hostel experiences go, the Roots and Boots Hostel was pretty great. Other than worrying about the size of the set of carving knives in the kitchen, I can't really complain.

February 4a
The Catedral of Santiago de Compostela. This cathedral is well known and highly visited for many reasons. First off, it's obviously beautiful. Hemingway once said that this cathedral is the building that meant the most to him in all the world. The cathedral is the holiest in Spain, and one of the most sacred in the Catholic religion. The cathedral is the final destination in the pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, as well as for many other pilgrimages across Europe--hundreds of thousands of people from every century, as well as today, have walked this pilgrimage and traveled on the Camino de Santiago to reach the cathedral where it is said that St. James rests.

February 4b
This is the last shell on the Camino de Santiago that ends in the plaza right in front of the Santiago cathedral. These shells line the pathway of St. James from the outskirts of the city to the cathedral, as a way of guiding the pilgrims to their holy destination. Because Santiago is not far from the coast, the scalloped shell represented proof for the early pilgrims during the 8th century that they had made it to St. James' shrine in Santiago. There are legends about the shell and St. James, but metaphorically the grooves in the shell represent the different paths that ultimately lead to one point--like the pilgrims traveling from all over to reach the holy destination of Santiago. For a couple hours today, I was a pilgrim walking on the Camino de Santiago, tracing the steps of those thousands who had come before me in seek of spiritual fulfillment. Definitely the best part of my day.

February 4c
After my pilgrimage, I went down an alleyway off of the cathedral's plaza and saw these 2 men singing opera. When I first heard their music on the other side of the cathedral, I thought it was a recording, but then I saw that they were performing live with background instrumentals playing on their ipod and I was floored; their voices were so powerful that they echoed off of the walls of the plaza. I was swept away and transfixed on their voices, especially when I heard one of their songs so full of emotion and passion that I cried for the entire length of the song. Hearing them perform was the cherry on top of my already perfect day.

February 5
These are 2 cute little bunnies I saw at the outdoor marketplace in Santiago. When I saw these cute little creatures I couldn't help thinking how small their little basket cage was, and worried that they were too cramped. Just as I was about to express my concern to Becca she said, "Look at the cute little bunnies who are going to be someone's dinner tonight". I didn't even put 2 and 2 together. Bye bye bunnies :(