Mind The Gap

Pegasus Bridge

Mt. St. Michael

Omaha Beach

American Cemetary over Omaha Beach



Utah Beach

Stonehenge

Clearly afraid of getting too close to the guard at Windsor Castle

Blue trees by the London Eye - Megan, me, Javen

Tower Bridge

Parliament from the London Eye

Princess Diana Memorial

St Stephen's Tower w/Big Ben

Here we go:
· Bus to Madrid – Alyssa gets backpack stolen, but then returned
· Meet Joe (stayed night as his place) and went out for tapas all over city and Plaza Mayor
· Taxi to airport for 6 30am flight – don’t every fly with RyanAir
· Shuttle from Stansted airport to Liverpool Street Station
· Waste 1hr 15min before realizing circle line is closed for weekend
· Make it to Starbucks and meet up with Darryl and Tim
· Finally make it to Javen’s – right across from Kensington Park
· Take the Original Tour Bus around London until it breaks down
· Take tour on River Thames
· Find Alyssa’s favorite sandwich shop
· Walk through Kensington Park – see Diana memorial and Kensington Palace
· Meet friends of Hoff’s for dinner at Bag O’Nails
· See Downing Street and tour through Cabinet War Rooms
· Take Tube to Speaker’s Corner – Alyssa denied a free hug
· Walk to British Museum and see Rosetta Stone
· Take a ‘flight’ on the London Eye
· Showed Javen and Megan videos from Spain
· I split off from the group and went to see Wimbledon (which is NOT at the Wimbledon station)
· Meet up with Marita and Katie and saw the ‘changing of the guard’ at Buckingham Palace
· Went to the Tower of London and saw the Crown Jewels – including the largest diamond in the world
· Tickets to Wicked sold out so Javen, Megan and I tour London by night
· Take a bus tour – first stop: Windsor Castle – the Queen is home! (having some kind of knighting ceremony)
· Continue to Bath to see the Roman Baths
· Finish off at Stonehenge
· Eat at a pub – The Shakespeare – and drink some good cider
· Early Chunnel from London to Paris, then train to Bayeux
· Stop in Caen and see D-Day museum
· Check into the Churchill hotel in Bayeux and find some good pizza at Mathilda’s
· Go on private tour and see: German cemetery, Sainte Mere-Eglise church and museum, Utah Beach, Point du Hoc, American cemetery and Omaha Beach
· Drive to Mount-St Michael and tour Abbey
· Spend evening in with a cheese, wine and bread supper
· Drive to Honfleur and walk around city
· Stop in small city and receive French lessons from Lucian during lunch (young boy at the restaurant)
· See Pegasus Bridge
· Go to Gold Beach and see movie and remains of make-shift harbors in the English Channel
· Have a wonderful/fancy 3hr dinner at French restaurant
· Attempt an Easter service in French – made it half way through and left to catch train
· Chunnel first-class back to London (free food and wine)
· Go out to one last pub in London
· Alyssa and I make it back to Segovia in one piece – only nine days left in Spain!!!

It Finally Burned

On the ceiling of our building

We got to WALK onto the airplane! (and off it when we arrived in Valencia)

Art and Science buildings

I got to be in the picture too!

On the beach by the Mediterranean

La Falla finally burning behind us

In the middle of the city where the fireworks were shot off


The stupid Viking we waited 3 and a half hours for

In front of the moon falla by our hotel

Mary made out of flowers

We started off our journey to Valencia on the 9pm bus to Madrid. I left the house nervous and excited because this was our first trip without anyone guiding us. The bus ride was about an hour and fifteen minutes. We got off when the boys told us to (they were also on their way to Valencia for Thursday) and we figured out which way to go on the metro. We made it to the airport just fine and sat down to spend our next five hours there – our flight wasn’t until 6 35am. You could tell we were tired because we started saying crazy things – which always make for memorable quotes - but none of us could sleep no matter how hard we tried because the floors weren’t even carpeted. We made it through a round or two of Phase 10 and chatted until we could finally check in for our flight. We made it through without any problems – even after I was very afraid of having a sandwich in my backpack. We fell asleep easily on the chairs waiting outside our gate because they were much more comfortable. We flew RyanAir that doesn’t have any assigned seating, but to our surprise Alyssa had priority boarding so the check-in guy gave it to me too (I apparently forgot to uncheck that box for her! Oops!) The flight was short and sweet and we all fell asleep for the duration of it, too. We landed and went down to the metro and took a guess at which stop we should get off. When we finally arrived out in the open air it was about 10am. We wandered around using the maps on the bus stops to find our hotel. We heard nothing but constant firecrackers since the beginning of our day. There were a lot of lights on the streets and fallas (the big wax and styrofoam statues) everywhere we looked. After a bit of wondering we found our hotel and left our bags there since we couldn’t check in until later in the afternoon. We asked for a pamphlet of the day’s happenings and directions on how to get there. We took the city bus to the main action (we were very in to public transportation on this trip!) and sat down to eat some buñuelos and churros with warm, melted chocolate. We then took off to see the huge statue of the Virgin Mary made solely out of roses or carnations. As we were walking back we ran into a huge crowd of people that were apparently waiting for a big fireworks show. Leah and Becca headed back to the hotel to check in and nap while Alyssa and I went to go find the boys. Thanks to them we lost our amazing spots for the fireworks and in turn didn’t see anything whilst being squished in between hundreds of people. We did hear the loud, loud noise from it though. People waited for more than 2hrs just to see a sad five minute fireworks show. After, we all headed back to the hotel where Alyssa and I quickly fell asleep. We were so excited about the hotel because it was a really decent place and a lot of fun to stay there. We skipped out on the fire parade – which the boys decided to go to – and continued napping. We made it up for a REAL buffet of lots of good food (and we were definitely eating it American style – we each had six plates to ourselves while all the Spaniards around us had one or two total!) then saw one of the little fallas burn to the ground. We went upstairs in our hotel to check out the top because they had a sauna and a roof where you could lie out and tan or just take in the view of the city. Then we went back out around 11 15 to make sure and get a good ‘seat’ for the burning of a big falla, which the pamphlet told us would be happening simultaneously around the city at midnight. We found a different one than the moon right outside or our hotel because of the many street lights that led us to it. We waited and watched as only one or two people worked on getting it ready and the many other people in the red jackets sat around drinking and giving firecrackers to their young children. Needless to say we had a lot to say about that situation. After a long time we asked the pyrotechnician when it was supposed to be lit on fire and he told us at 2am!! We only had fifteen more minutes to wait. Finally after THREE AND A HALF HOURS of waiting and complaining and the boys arriving after having seen many fallas burn and fireworks and parades, our fireworks finally went off (15 feet in front of us) and then the lit the firecrackers for the whole things to burn to the ground. I guess we had to wait for the firefighters because they burn the things in the middle of the city so they had to be there to wet the buildings down so none of them caught fire. We went back to the hotel and immediately to bed. The next morning we slept in later than I would have liked. We went to Corte Ingles (the big Macy’s kind of store) where their bottom floor is always a supermarket. We found Peter Pan peanut butter and got bananas and chocolate Nutella to make sandwiches with all three. Then we made our way to the beach and the Mediterranean!!! We spent a few hours there lying in the not-so-warm sun and headed back to the hotel to take a sauna! We were in there until two Spanish boys came in, then we left. We spent the night drinking our Jose Cuervo with its margarita mix that we always get in the states! It was a very American weekend food-and-drink wise. The next morning we split up. Alyssa and I did some shopping while Leah and Becca went to the giant ‘City of Sciences and Arts’ that was right next to our hotel. After our shopping Alyssa and I headed over there too, but to enjoy the outdoor views of it. The opera house there was designed by the same architect who created the one in Sydney. We had another nice and relaxing evening indoors hanging out and watching Deutschland Idol (where they of course sang all American songs). We got up on Sunday and got all of our things together, checked out, and headed towards the metro. We made it to the airport fine, had some more sandwiches, and then went through security (which went really well for Leah who was carrying our jar of unopened peanut butter). We ended up having to wait nearly an hour for our plane because ours was being fixed so we waited for a new one. The flight back to Madrid took no time at all – I only got to listen to three songs! – and we found our way to the Metro which took us back to the bus station to head back to Segovia! We had a great trip without the whole group and being able to do whatever we wanted during our time schedule and getting to enjoy Valencia’s greatest celebration – Las Fallas!

Holy Toledo!!

Plaza Mayor in Toledo - our art teacher Pilar giving us an overview

From the bridge over the river that goes around Toledo

The last picture was taken from the bridge in the background - Toledo in background

Me hanging out with Miguel de Cervantes - we were in the region of la Mancha where Don Quijote is from

Ingrid and Dave nearly getting run over by a car in the small, small streets

I started my weekend off in a great way by watching the first episode of Friends that I've seen since I left the states. The great thing about seeing those episodes so many times is that even watching it in spanish I could laugh at everything that was going on because I knew it without even paying attention. ACTUALLY, I started it off with supper which was a Whopper from Burger King....sick!! My parents were so proud and thought I loved it but it was awfully nasty. After Friends, my little brother Diego, cousin Lucia and caretaker Dani and I all watched Big Daddy. That, too, was funny, especially the best part when the friend tries to read Hippopatomous because it was still in English. I enjoyed watching it with them. The next morning we got up and and headed to Toledo, about a 2 hour bus ride down south through Madrid. We got there and the bus dropped us off at the bottom of the hill - which is Toledo - and we trekked up to the Plaza Mayor. Then we headed to the Cathedral of Saint Mary. We saw a ton of art and spent nearly two hours inside looking around. Afterward we headed back to the Plaza Mayor to eat our yummy lunches that our parents made for us. It was a gorgeous day out in the 76 degree weather! We (my friends actually, not me) did some shopping nearby. Then we headed to an old hospital that was transformed into an art museum. We went to the museum of El Greco after that. Then we went and got some ice cream, headed down to the river and got on the bus!! It was a pretty mellow day that makes for not too long of a story but some pretty great pictures.

The Great Dispute

I'm not sure why it says stop in Spain - Segovia sign in background from my walk

Alyssa and I sitting and looking out from El Valle de los Caidos

Leah and I in front of the mountain and cross

Where we ate lunch - Alyssa enjoying the sun, Gladys on right

Me, Dave and Alyssa at El Escorial

The week flew by pretty fast, which was good with all of the homework we had to do now that we don’t have any more long breaks coming up! We all stayed in and rested on Friday night because we had an excursion coming up on Saturday. We took off from the bus station at 9am and headed about a half hour southwest of Segovia to El Escorial. El Escorial is a HUGE complex where some kings used to live – it was used as a palace, a library, a burial site, a church, a basilica and all with a ton of outdoor space for the luxurious gardens. The library was the only place in Spain (I believe this is during the 15th to 17th centuries) where scientists were allowed to do experiments. They use it now was a burial site for all the royal families. There are a lot of places where there are women and babies who died because of the poor medical technology they had back in the day. There is a special room dedicated to the tombs of the kings and their queens who were able to bare children who would eventually reign over the kingdom. There was a lot of old catholic artwork – a few pieces by Goya and Velazquez – and a museum dedicated to show how they created the huge palace. The basilica was closed, which I was glad about because after three hours of wondering around, being tired and freezing in the old stone building, I was ready to move along to the next place! We drove the ten minutes back towards Segovia and entered a gate that took us up a long, curvy road through a massive forest and up mountains. We got out and the sun was shining on us so we sat in a cute little park and ate our lunches that our families packed for us. (Those are some of my favorite foods here! – egg/cheese in freshly baked French bread is delicious!) After eating we climbed up the stairs to get our first view of Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen/Dead). This is a huge monument that is built into the mountain that is in memory of all of those who died during the Spanish civil war from 1936 to 1939. They dynamited out the mountain to build the memorial into it, and then on top of the mountain there is a HUGE cross, decorated at the base with the four representations of the men who wrote the gospels. (Each guy had their own symbol that shows up everywhere – bull, eagle, angel and lion). On the inside they have all of these sketchy statues of hooded men that sort of look like ‘death’. They also have huge statues of four of the archangels that look pretty sketchy too. On each side there are mini ‘worship-areas’ that each have mass burial sites. Interestingly enough they say RIP over the doors rather than DEP (descansa en paz). After we went in a looked around we spent some quality time looking at the gorgeous view of the mountains and sitting in the sun. We came back that night and my friend Liz was supposed to stay with me but she didn’t end up being able to make it. Sunday I took an amazing walk along the highway to get a gorgeous panoramic view of Segovia – showing Alcazar, the Cathedral, the Aqueduct and the gorgeous mountains with snow on top!! It was a gorgeous day so I sat in the sun for a while. Then my family called and said something to me that I could hardly hear, just enough to hear that I had to get back down to the Aqueduct by two. That gave me fifteen minutes for a longer-than-half-hour walk. I was very hot by the end of that trip!! Apparently we were off to Grandma’s house for some lunch. They picked me up off the side of the road and we headed off to grandma’s house for lunch. We spent a lot of time there and where we went on the swings and played a game a lot like Scattegories in both English and Spanish. Since, the weather has been nice and warm and we’ve been enjoying the outdoors!!

Wait...Is Today March???

Alyssa and I enjoying lunch by the river

Alyssa, Dave and Me at the Mezquita in Cordoba

Tom H, Me and Adam on our nighttime cruise on the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla


A blurry picture of Christopher Coumbus' tomb in the cathedral in Sevilla

Katie and I posing by one of the many statues around Grenada

Our nice dinner together in Sevilla in warm weather!

Princess Lea's party house!

A small but decent picture of Alyssa and I and the view from La Alhambra

The group in our costumes with Gladys "The Lion"

The two Tomases as dorky clowns (I added the dorky part!)

In a form of a mini Mardi Gras, Segovia has what they call Carnival. There isn’t a whole ton to do during this time, but dressing up is one of the main things. The kids didn’t have school on Monday or Tuesday of the week so they could attend the festivities. It’s a pre-lent celebration – we of course decided to take advantage of the celebrations. Tuesday we all went to a shop to try and find cheap costumes; my friend Leah and I found some cheap witch hats and, what were apparently Christmas decorations, to use as wands. We got dressed up and headed out to see the parade around 8pm. The parade was pretty legit too, a lot better than they have in California (although technically there aren’t really any…right girls?!). They had people playing music and walking on balls and on their unicycles, etc. And, of course, everyone was dressed up. After, we headed to our Plaza Mayor where we found Gladys, but who was NOT dressed up! They had ‘free’ soup in which you had to donate 1 euro to whatever the cause was. But it was totally worth it because the soup was good and we got to keep the ceramically-made bowls that say Segovia, for ourselves. It’s a pretty great souvenir. We stayed out that night to enjoy the city until 4am and got less than an hour of sleep because we had to get up the next morning to get ready for our trip to Andalucia!! The bus left at 6 30am, but we had to wait for people who definitely did not get up in time. It was funny how big of a fuss Gladys was making about them being late because when we arrived in Grenada we realized that we didn’t have anything scheduled for the day! There wasn’t really any reason to rush other than the fact that Alyssa got puked on by a ‘car-sick’ Katie. This was certainly one of the highlights of the trip (even though it sounds awful!). We had wonderful weather during the entire week so we tried to take advantage of out. Our hotel was on a small plaza, so a few of us went outside to eat our lunches our families had packed for us. Afterward we took a 5 hour walk to explore the city and nap by the river to enjoy the sun. It was an adventure trying to find our way back to our hotel – which was ironic seeing as how if we would have known where we were going we would have been back in less than 10 minutes. When I arrived back at the room my roommates, Leah and Becca, wanted to go out to get some food so I headed right back out with them. (I went over 7 days without a siesta which is quite the record for everyone on our trip!) We came back from our failed hunt and the girls went out to pizza across the Plaza. The next morning we got up and went to La Alhambra, an old palace on the top of the mountain from when the moors reined Spain. It was gorgeous and we spent a lot of time in the garden enjoying the sun again. After, Alyssa and I walked back to town ourselves and went to Corte Ingles to get some cheap lunch (from the grocery store) and had our crappy-American lunch (cheese and crackers, Pringles, and chips ahoy) in the sun by the river, again. We got back and sat on our balcony that overlooked the plaza where we could see the giant cathedral and the mountains in the background. I took off to do some shopping, which was finally successful, and when we came back we had a relaxing night inside the hotel.
The next morning we were off to Sevilla. Our first stop was a big, old building that they used for Princess Leah’s palace in the Star Wars movies. We made it to our hotel and then headed out to have a nice lunch together. After, we walked all around the city. We went to a Flamenco show that night which was a lot like tap dancing but with a little more flare. It was cool to get a good taste of even more Spanish culture. That night I went to bed early (after our run to nasty Burger King – clearly I was dying of hunger) because I was so tired from all we had done. We got up the next morning and were off to our appointment at the cathedral. After two minutes of standing around Alyssa and I headed off to look around the cathedral where we found Christopher Columbus’ tomb. We walked around some more and couldn’t find a soul from our group. There was only one big room in the cathedral and we couldn’t understand where they had gone. FORTY-FIVE minutes later our group comes walking out of a door…they had been in the tower the whole time! Fortunately for us, we still had time to head up and see the gorgeous view of Sevilla. After we split off for lunch – Alyssa, Leah, and I went to Starbucks, yum! Then we waited outside Real Alcazar (a palace in the city) and the doors never opened. Turns out it was ‘Andalucia Day’ and everything had closed down. So, we went back to the hotel, where I waited for my family to call – who never did!! That evening we headed out and took a nighttime boat ride on the river. It was a gorgeous trip! The boat was just for us and they made us a huge tub of Sangria for the ride. That night we headed out to an amazing club that had three floors to it and a ton of people inside. We had a good time but only got two hours of sleep as a result. The next morning we headed back to Real Alcazar, in which we ended up being able to enter and see the gorgeous gardens. Then we took our bus ride over to Cordoba where we had another group lunch and then went and saw the Mezquita of Cordoba. After a short look around, we headed on our way back home to Segovia. It was a great trip but a little bittersweet because we don’t have any more overnight trips. And fortunately, the weather was GORGEOUS!! Now it’s already March and we’ve already completed EIGHT weeks of our adventures! How quickly time flies!

Sorry It's Long -- But We Had A Good Weekend In Domingo Garcia

Me and my beast-of-a-brother Diego at the castle

Me playing basketball with the cousins and uncles

Coque, Marta and me at the castle ruins

The family at the top of the mountain!

Coque trying my shades on -- after you take a picture of him he really likes to see how it turned out!

Jorge's family made us some great spanish food

Then Jorge locked us in the wine cellar -- good thing there weren't windows or we wouldn't have been able to escape!

This weekend Ashley and I went with my family to their ‘casita’ in the small town of Domingo Garcia which is about 30 minutes south-ish of Segovia. Ashley, Marta (my ‘mom’) and I went separately from the boys (Jorge, Diego, his friend Felix, and Jorgito (Coque)). When we got there the house was freezing, as it stayed for the entirety of Saturday, They had a fire going in the chimney (which they really love here because there aren’t many because people live in apartments) so I tried to stay sitting by it as much as possible. We all went for a walk to the playground and had fun on the swings and the teeter-totter. Ashley and I went with Jorge, Diego and Felix to a small town nearby where we saw the little ‘vaults’ below a restaurant where they keep the wine in the cool air that they had made. They also made churrizos and fried eggs for us to eat. (Ashley and I stayed away from the churrizos because they’re pig…). After they asked us if we wanted ---café (the dashes are what we failed to hear). Ashley heard ‘café’ and said, ‘Yes, of course!” So, they returned with two shot glasses and some moonshine…not exactly what we were expecting. Turns out they said liquor café, which is what they drink after a meal to ‘wash it down.’ That’s quite the afternoon drink! When went back home for lunch (hamburgers!) then watched “The Red Eagle” (but in Spanish….of course!) while the boys took a siesta. When they woke up we headed back to the park, but brought a basketball with us this time. Jorge, Ashley and I played ‘cerdo’ (pig) and I won…of course! J After Jorge and I played a game (I don’t know if it has a specific name) where you have to make a shot from all around the free-throw lane. I won again! When we went home Ashley and I tried to read Crepúsculo, which is the Spanish translation of Twilight but we didn’t get too far. Jorge made us fajitas for supper, and we got to eat guacamole!, and we had Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough and fudge brownie ice cream. It was a day filled with American food. We went to bed early because we missed out on a siesta that day. We woke up to screaming boys, as I always do at ‘home,’ so we went for a walk around the pueblo. It was VERY small so we weren’t concerned about getting lost. As we walked along, we ran into the family already in the car (they knew it wouldn’t be hard to find us on the street because it’s so small) and we got off for a little ‘off-road’ trip around the vast emptiness where the town is. We then went to the cemetery to see Jorge’s dad’s grave who just passed away this past July 4th. After we drove up the mountain – where we ran into a flock of sheep – and went to see the ruins of an old (probably Roman) castle. When we got back it was already time for lunch, but to our surprise (we’d actually probably been told a lot, but just didn’t catch on) both of Marta’s sisters and their families were coming to eat! (Ashley lives with Cristina and Katie lives with Ana) so we had a BIG family dinner full of paella and shrimp that were looking back at me!!!! After we sat out in the garden (it was a gorgeous day – in the sun) and played a game where you say a word and then the next person says a word that starts with the last letter – or syllable – of the previous word. The Spanish had to say words in English and we three girls had to say words in Spanish. We also had a good time ‘translating’ the names of actors and shows/movies that have the same title in Spanish. (For example, my dad likes to watch C.S.I. but it took me a very long time to understand that that’s what he was telling me because a)the accent b)the different pronunciation of the letters/words and c) I’m expecting him to be speaking in Spanish!! It’s also funny to hear them say the names of actors (for example…hearing them say Matthew McCaughnahey). After this little game we all headed back to the park where I played basketball with my dad/uncles/cousins. We had a good time!! On the way home – back to Segovia – my mom gave Ashley and I a GORGEOUS nighttime ‘tour’ of Segovia and took us to all of the great places to see the Cathedral (where Queen Isabella was crowned), Alcazar, and the aqueduct. It was so wonderful!! I had a great weekend at my home away from home.

Salamanca, French, and Kalamari

Those of us in class who had to read Lazarillo -- this is his statue

Mmmmmm -- Gelato/helado in Plaza Mayor (Leah, Alyssa, Me)




Tom and I at the top of the Cathedral overlooking Salamanca

Rubbing the lucky rabbit and making a wish!

View of Avila with the roman-built wall in the background

We had a one day excursion last Saturday to the beautiful city of Salamanca. Located there is one of the oldest universities in Europe and I believe the first one in Spain. There were a lot of students around which was something we loved because there are a lot of older folk here in Segovia. It was only about a two hour bus ride to get there. We made a pit stop in Avila and saw the great wall around the city. It's still intact and it's the only one that still in that good of shape that was made by the Romans. We continued on our way to Salamanca. When we arrived we heard a little about the river because it is 'famous' in a 'famous' book called Lazarillo de Tormes. We had to read it this last semester in our Golden Age class and it was the worst thing I'd ever read. Needless to say, those of us in that class were not too thrilled to hear any more about it! We headed up the hill and went to the New Cathedral. We toured around inside a little bit and then headed out to see the carvings on the outside of the astronaut and the dragon eating ice cream. We also got to rub the carving of the rabbit to make a wish. After, we got tickets to go to the top of the cathedral which had amazing views of all sides of the city and the mountains and also gave us a higher look from the inside of the cathedrals. When we were done we headed over to Plaza Mayor (a gorgeous plaza that's a lot like the one in Madrid) and sat down under the sunny sky and ate our lunches. I have completely fallen in love with the spanish tortilla here and so my parents made me a sandwhich out of it. There's going to teach me how to make it too so hopefully I can have a few spanish cooking skills when I come home! We had time to wander around but we just hung out in the Plaza Mayor and enjoyed the sights. Then we headed to the university there, which was closed, but found the frog that is supposed to give you luck if you find it. After that small 'tour' we were on our own. The majority of us decided to stay the night in Salamanca, and a few people took the bus back home. We did some shopping and found the big grocery store and got some food. We all went our seperate ways for supper, but then met back in Plaza Mayor to start the night. We had really good time because there were so many people out and about and they were all students that were our age too!! We met some other people from around the states that were studying there. We surprisingly were able to wake up by 7 30 to catch our 8 30 bus back to Segovia. My family was gone for most of the day, which was good because I slept straight through until 8am Monday morning! I really needed the rest -- it's been impossible to sleep through the night here!! No wonder they have a siesta! Monday I took my first french class. I wasn't sure that I wanted to but it's free, as was my book, and I figured there would be spanish students to meet, so I decided to do it anyway! There are only two spanish students in our class which really sucks. I wish there would be more. They are also way more advanced than we are (none of us know anything about it!--which makes it really fun when he asked us questions and we were expected to reply!!). We have a cd and a workbook and we're all pretty excited about it so hopefully we'll pick it up fast! Last night when I got home we had something like 'onion rings;' that's what I was told and it's what it looked like. I ate it and it was good, so I had another. My dad tried to tell me it was pig (he loves to 'make the joke on me') and my mom flipped and told me it wasn't! They were going to tell me but then I told them to wait until after I had finished eating. Once I had they told me it was Kalamari (which is actually what I thought it was in the first place). I love how we have a mutual understanding of not telling me what I'm eating so I'll just eat it. It works out really well that way. This weekend is the Carnival in Segovia which is kind of like a 'Mardi Gras' celebration before the lent season starts. The best day is Tuesday night because everyone dresses up. We're going to have a really fun busride to Andalucia leaving at 6 30am Wednesday morning...... I'm headed to the 'country house' with my family and it should be a good time to relax, chat, and get some reading done!