Holy Toledo!!

Saturday Britt and I went on an adventure to the little old town of Toledo. It was beautiful!! It´s a town full of tiny cobblestone roads that wind up and down and in all direction. We walked around the whole town to see everything we wanted to see. And I literally mean the WHOLE town. We were so tired by the end of the day but it was well worth it! The town is built on a hill with a river surrounding most of it. The Cathedral sits on the top and in the center of the hill and then everything else lies around it. I think we broke our record for the most pictures taken in one day....somewhere around 350ish! I know ridiculous! but we had fun and we´ll remember more! haha enjoy! Toledo is known for their mazapan. It´s basically pure sugar with a little bit of bread...not my favorite.

This is Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. I fell in love with it! It was so gorgeous and I took SO many pictures. This is in the beautiful courtyard.

I also fell in love with doors...kind of weird I know. But they are all seriously SO amazing!! This one is huge as you can tell, even though britt is tiny.

This will be one side of my future house. Yes please!!

This was all over! Cool huh?

Museo de Santa Cruz. A lot of El Greco´s paintings were here. Very beautiful!

Toledo is known for their swords. They are so cool! I never thought I would really say that but I honestly loved them and wanted to buy one. Not worth the 500 Euros though so I bought a mini sized one instead.

This is the city! There is the city wall in the background which was so beautiful and of course I loved it (i loved everything)

On top of Puerta del Sol.

Toledo!!!

We LOVE pan! They eat baguette for every meal and inbetween. woohoo for gaining lbs!!

Puerta Nueva de Bisagra. The very outside of the town.

Just our size!

This was just a random little corner that we though was so cute so we took a billion pictures here.

Aladin´s palace? Oh no wait, just the King´s Monasterio

The boys are here!

Just had to let all of my loved ones at home know that Missy's twin boys are here! I don't know many details but they were born on October 22nd and they're healthy and so stinkin cute. Their names are Mason and Calahan (Cal for short and I hope I spelled it right!) They are so adorable! Here are a few pictures I stole from facebook! Enjoy!

Old peeps.....gotta love em

So there are A LOT of old people here! haha well okay they are everywhere but they come out in public here! They are on my bus, on the metro, walking in the Sol, everywhere! And boy do I love them. They amaze me with the proof of their strength by standing and holding on to metal bars on a bus with a crazy driver, their complete lack of insecurity, and so many other things! I know this is a weird subject/post but Britt and I were dicussing it today and I thought I had to post. The funniest thing happened to Britt and I the other day.

Britt and I had gone to Temple Square to mosey around and were walking back on our way to the metro. This old man with a cane stops us and starts speaking Spanish to us, of course. We replied with a confused look on our faces, "Nosotros hablamos un poco espanol." He didn't care one little bit! He just kept on talking to us and if we understood. The one thing we did understand was, "muy guapa!"(very beautiful) which he kept repeating over and over! haha He was so cute! The next thing I know he is giving us a piece of candy and kissing us on our cheeks like they always do here. We told him we were going to the metro but he ignored that and linked arms with Brittney, as he is still speaking spanish, and began walking with us. Very slowly mind you. So we were patient with this cute old man and let him talk for a while longer, pretending somewhat to understand. Well time was running low and we needed to get home to teach so we tried to say bye. but no no! He wouldn't let us! haha it was so funny. He kept a hold of my hand and Britt's arm. Finally we took a picture with him and then inched our way to the stairs that thankfully he couldn't go down. Britt and I just were laughing forever. Cute little old man.

One other incident with the sweetest old people ever! We went to the Molina's parents flat for dinner on Sunday. They were the cutest little, literally very little, couple! Neither of them can speak any English but the grandma kept saying, "Muy Bonita" and "muy muy guapa." And her besos (kisses on either side of each cheek) were real kisses!! haha it was the sweetest thing! They made us a delicious meal of a potatoe and fish souplike dish, tortilla espanola, bread, and melon of course. It was delicious. They were so sweet and so short and so happy. Old people here make me happy!

Everybody has dogs here! I wanted to take this one home with me! SO stinkin cute!!!!

We went bowling again! I didn't have the best game but then I figured it out right at the end when I got a TURKEY!!! Too bad it was the 10th frame!

Segovia

Well I have found the location for my bridals and engagements(whenever that may come along haha ;) .) but wow!!That pretty much sums up my thoughts on Segovia. Britt and I had an awesome time!! We had our usual local tour guides (Rogelio and Diego) with us which is always fun and informational. They got bored of the sights pretty quickly so there are a lot of pictures without Britt and I in them. Anyway, while in Segovia we were able to see the Roman Aqueduct, Catedral de Segovia, and Alcazar. The Roman Aqueduct blows my mind away! It's so crazy that they were able to build that 2,000 years ago! No machines or anything! And they were SO smart! There isn't any cement or mortar holding the blocks of rock together. It's all just held together by the design! And then the angle of the ditch on top that brought the water had to be just right so the water would keep a steady flow. WOW!!!! Catedral de Segovia is one of the biggest in Spain. It was HUGE!!! As you can see from the pictures, it's gorgeous!!! I couldn't get over it! The architecture is amazing. I love it! We were able to tour through the inside and there's definitely a different feel inside. It's pretty depressing, especially because they don't know how much more there is beyond focusing on Christ Crusifixion. Someday they'll know.... In one room there was a man actually playing one of the organs with HUGE pipes and it was so eerie. Britt, you would have loved it. haha But my friend Roge kindly reminded me how much culture there is behind...which is very true. Next we went to Alcazar. It's a beautiful castle on a hill. It was amazing! Britt and I loved this part the most. It's amazing to think that people, well royalty, really lived in there once upon a time. It was so fun to see actual armor and artillary inside. And outside there is a real life moat!!! It was all just fairly tales in my mind until it all just came true in Spain visiting the first castle i've ever been to. Lastly, we ate at this very nice and costly retaurant. Segovia is known for their amazing pork here that's called Conchinilla. They're also known for their "beans" which is much different than their beans at home. ha oh my. So Britt and I were both pretty excited to eat. And like always we had much difficulty reading the menu so like usual the boys just got sick of us asking questions and explaining so they just ordered for us. Well little did we know what was in store for us. My meal was acutally quite tastey but oh gosh! There were huge chunks of sausage and raw pork in it!! I did my best to eat around it and all the little bits of meat surrounding my precious "beans" (it's a soup like meal with very large kidney looking beans that are white.) Britt's and the two boys meals were...well they had full on pigs served onto their plates. The boys were each given a leg and Britt had the body with an ear attached. haha oh britt's face was priceless. She just looked at me and said, "Brie I dont' know if i can do this!" The skin and bones and tendons and organs and everything were all there. Britt was freaked out by it and the boys were beside themselves. They tried to explain that it's the same as if eating it already cut out of the body. and even ate the ear, THE EAR!!!! to try to convince her. It didn't do much good. haha oh we love spain!!
(Excuse my wild/frizzball/does whatever it wants hair. I´ve given up on trying to tame it here)

Poopy pants pictures!!

Casilda and I played restaurant and made these delicious menu items out of play dough! I loved it! This is what I call "work."
This is a typical Spanish rice dish. I had to take a picture because this one was Crazy!! haha There is a full on shrimp in their with eyes and tentacles and everything. There is a seashell, no idea why or what "seafood" it's supposed to be. There's calamari and I have no idea what that long thing is. Mmmm.....enjoy!
This is just one of the many weird hairstyles here. I know it's pretty stalkerish of me but it was for your benefit. :)

These pictures are really bad of the "poopy pants" because I was by myself and trying to take them. (excuse the ugly faces) haha sorry but I hope that you can kind of see. These are even a low waste pair so you can tell the crotch is SO low! And Diane I really hope this isn't what you wore...please say no!

A land where they speak English!!!!!

As of yesterday Britt and I are officially going to England! We arrive early Saturday, November 1st and leave Wednesday, November 5th. I can't wait! I will be able to ask people for help when I get lost and understand what they're saying. What a relief!!! And I can't wait to see one of my favorite girls in this world, Rebbie. I'll also be able to see my cousins Britton, Hillary, and their baby Nora, which I am very excited for as well. I'll be able to take a picture with a real Red English telephone booth soon.

As for Spain, it is still amazing here! People were convinced that working for free meant that I would live in a cold cement basement and become a slave. Little did they know that I would live in a beautiful little flat and "work" consists of playing with two beautiful girls. I actually have it better than most because the family is very sweet and I only work 3 days a week now. Four day weekends every week aren't something I complain about. (the door on the right is to my room!)

This last weekend was fun! We didn't do anything too exciting but we had a good time. We rode a tram ride called the Teleferico. It rides over Casa de Campo which 30 years ago was the Kings hunting grounds, and is a beautiful view of the Centre Madrid. Britt and I were craving Mexican food so our friends said they knew where to take us. It ended up being an interesting experience. They decided to order for us, without telling us that, so we ate chips with guacemole, a plain cheese quesadilla, and "fajitas" which consisted of peppers and a tortilla. NO rice or beans!!! haha Mexican food huh? They did bring us a little bowl of jalepenos so we decided to have some fun and dared everybody to eat the whole thing! So this is a picture of how proud Britt and I are that we could do it. I actually really like it! And I couldn't help but think of Travis and how much he loves his jalepenos. We also went bowling!!!!! For those who know me well know how much I love that game! I had my trash kicked in mini golfing a few weeks ago so I showed them what my game is all about in bowling. Of course I had to take a picture. (Danny, Rojelio, Diego, Britt, and Brie)

Church on Sunday was awesome also. Not being able to understand a word said for about 3 hours is a bit difficult. But i'm learning quickly and wierd things are starting to happen with me and the Spanish language. I was reading my friends blog and below a picture of her wearing Jesus sandals a friend had commented on how cute the Jesus sandals were. I read the comment out loud and pronounced Jesus as hay-su-s!! What!?!? haha Britt and I also find ourselves replying with si instead of yes and many other Spanish words without even thinking about it. I think it's a good sign.

Only in Spain

Britt and I have found that there are a lot of things that you would only hear/see/happen in Spain. So we decided that we better start making a list so we can remember them all. We might be the only two that think it´s funny but hey! It´s my blog and I´ll enjoy it. Hope you enjoy it a wee bit too.
1. People making out wherever and whenever they want!
2. People walking around looking like they have a load of poop in their pants
3. Staying up all hours of the night and coming INTO the club at 5 am.
4. Getting bread for dinner(baguette) but you DON¨T eat it until your food comes, and you don´t tell the American girls so they look like fools instead as they furious stuff their faces because they´re hungry, it´s sitting in front of them, and it´s SO good.
5. WEARING TAN TIGHTS!!!!! (sometimes they´re even shiney like malibu barbie)
6. Eating hot chocolate and cookies for breakfast
7. Techno-izing EVERY single song you can imagine, including What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts.
8. Driving like a mad man which includes stopping in the middle of the road, almost hitting the car in front of you every time you stop, and quadrupling the speed limit.
9. Watching policeman drinking with the kids
10. All ages smoking and drinking everywhere and all day
11. Having your dinner ordered for you at a mexican restaurant that doesn´t even have beans or rice in attempt to help the vegetarian.
12. Getting a banana for dessert when you thought you ordered ice cream
13. Having full on squid with the tentacles and all and a sea shell in your rice. (a typical Spanish dish)
14. Being serenaded from the street below during Spanish class
15. Being given a coat from a boy because it´s cold outside and then having it taken back because he´s walking to his car, being offered another coat because the first was taken and having that taken back because he got cold. ja ja ja ja


And here are some funny sayings that we´ve heard as they attempt to speak English.
-¨Freaky people¨ (rolling the r and saying it in one syllable)
-¨Bedy, bedy well¨ (translation: very good)
-¨I love you with all of my potatoe¨ (they think the heart looks like a potatoe? go figure)
- ¨No carne!!!!!!!!!¨ (in the deep accent of a crazy Spaniard)

Well these are just a few of the many things that Britt and I have experienced here. I´m sure it´s a bit more entertaining for us (we´re laughing our heads off, probably because it´s way too late as well, the whole time) but enjoy what you may. and we´ll add to the list of things as they deserve it. Peace out homie!

Pictures to illustrate coming soon

Mi Casa

So i don't have much time to write today but i wanted to update my blog because i have become addicted i think! So here it is. There are pictures of my piso or "flat" that I live with my spanish family in. It's so cute and SO modern.





This is our "dryer." a lot of people don't have dryer's here which isn't too big a deal. My only issue is that crispy clothes on aren't the funnest!




















This is Casilda, one of the girls that I "teach." Teaching consists of getting her homework done and then just playing. Last night she turned music on in her room and I couldn't help but dance a bit. So we choreographed a dance together and these pictures are what came of it. haha I had to teach her the peace sign...welcome to America!! We had so much fun!

SHOPPING!

Endless shopping + no money = bad news! This beautiful city has way too much shopping for me to resist it. You can pretty much walk down any street in Madrid and find 5 shoe stores and 15 other places that have cute clothes. Really though! And the shoes here are out of control! I walked down one street and I think I counted about 8 shoe stores. On just ONE street! haha it's crazy. They love boots here too. i will probably come home with 5 new pair because they're all so cute and you can find them for very good prices. So I guess that is a good thing but also very very bad. Their style here is pretty similar to what it is at home. Everybody wears skinny's and boots and scarves. One thing that is very different that we don't have in Utah and I hope we never do have are these pants. They start out baggy on top with a very low crotch and then they get skinny and gather at the ankle. I know it's hard to picture but just imagine somebody walking around looking like they number two-ed (yes number two-ed and not pooped, that's for Britt) in their pants and you'll get the best image of what I'm trying to describe. I tried on a pair and about had a heart attack from laughing. Britt took some pictures of me but she has them on her camera so i'll post them soon. But get excited! and look them up on the internet or something.
So yesterday Britt and I were ready for a different activity other than touring and picture taking so we decided to do a little shopping. Of course I was just goig along with Britt and was going to be a good girl and not buy anything....unless of course I found something that I loved and had to have! Sometimes there are just those things...you must understand. We went to all the popular stores here like blanco, Pimkie, Vara, H&M (yes! They have one on every block here), and a bunch of others. A couple hours went by and we were winding down, getting tired of walking around shopping for the day. So we began to walk to a little store to buy a pastry and we saw this cute little store with a super cute window display. So I nudged Britt and we walked inside. It was SO cute!! Of course...30 minutes later I walked out with a bag in hand. I found a super cute top that can be a dress or a shirt with a belt, and a black leather jacket that I fell in love with. Definitely things that I HAD to have. haha There went my "just looking" shopping. Oops! But I'll come home and people will ask where I got it and I'll smile SO big and be able to say, "Spain!" It was definitely worth it!