Finally in Spain

Well I apologize for the lack of posts the last few weeks. I got a bit sidetracked and haven’t had time to catch up…until now. And I have to good news…I’ve finally arrived to Spain! I just got in yesterday and man oh man have I been busy. I got in at 8am and it was go, go, go from there. My friend was way nice and met me at the airport. We dropped off my luggage and got right back out into the sun. Oh, and the weather- amazing! I can wear a t-shirt here…while it’s been snowing in Seattle. How great was my timing?

So after walking around for hours we came back and got a bite to eat and then…took a LONG nap. It was only 1:30 and we were both already exhausted. But of course right when we woke up, back out to walking around. All that walking was fantastic minus the sensation this morning that I was going to just topple over because my legs we tired…But alas, I hung in there and stayed upright :) finishing the repacking of my suitcase.

And since my feet just LOVED all that walking yesterday I decided to following that up with…a foot massage? No…I wish! Actually my friend and I did some more walking, much less though because we had an actual destination this time. We headed to a movie! Or rather a documentary…what a great way to test my Spanish. And boy did it. But overall the documentary was really interesting (about the non-acceptance of gays about 15-20 yrs ago in Spain) and I can’t wait to see some more movies while I’m the country.

documentary from tonight

And the plans for tomorrow? Going to see a band. Oh yes, I just hit the ground running! And I’m not about to stop there…this weekend is the BIG finale…of this week. My friend and I are headed to Valencia (on the eastern coast of Spain) for a big festival called “Las Fallas.” I haven’t looked into what the translation would be but let me give you a run down on what happens:

All year different groups of people have been working on these huge effigies that to me look like works of art. There are lots of fireworks for the whole weekend (weekend meaning about 5 days straight) and they parade the effigies around on the final day/night and then…they set them on fire!!! Now I’m not totally sure all the reasoning behind the festival but I’ll bring back more info after we go. As of right now, I’m just excited for big things to be set on fire.
Here's a video to tide you over until I myself get some photos/videos:
http://youtu.be/FS65iD1q0A0

I’ll also start w/ the photos. I keep forgetting my camera so I’ll get on that.

Also- have you guessed destination #2 on the “guess where I’m going” post?
Well here it is… Czech Republic. I’ll be stopping in Prague, Vienna and Brno with my Spanish brother as my tour guide (he’s there for studying abroad). I have NO idea what to expect and can’t wait. I’ve only heard amazing reviews on visiting there.

While you wait for the next post why don’t you try to figure out my last (but actually first trip that I’m taking) destination…