Windsor

Today we drove to Windsor, which is home to Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family and the largest inhabited castle in the world. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II still spends many weekends at Windsor Castle. We were able to tour the castle, which was amazing and stunningly huge. Every room was ornately decorated with artwork, paintings, tapestries, sculptures, ancient weapons and armor...you name it. And when I say every room, I mean EVERY room. It was almost overwhelming. I can't even count how many dining rooms I saw...how many dining rooms does one need? There were sketches from Leonardo da Vinci, as well as King Henry VIII's actual suit of armor. We got to walk through St. George's Hall - a vast room where the Queen still hosts parties. The ceiling is  decorated with the coat of arms of past and present members of the Order of the Garter, a medieval order of chivalry that is still in existence today.  I don't think I have ever seen such an elaborate and richly decorated building in all of my life. It was quite stunning!

The Quadrangle.

St. George's Chapel, where King Henry VIII is buried.

London: Part 2

Day #2 in London was jam-packed with activities. I saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral (the 2nd biggest Catholic Church in the world...and coincidentally, the cathedral in Sevilla is the 3rd biggest), Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, London Bridge, the London Eye, Downing Street...you name it, I saw it. We also went to a live performance of "Chicago" in the West End, which was really fun. I learned that London is quite expensive, that I don't like pickled eggs (a British delicacy), that before crossing the street, you have to look right first, instead of left (a handy tip that they have cleverly painted on the ground at most crosswalks, for the benefit of the rest of the world who drive on the other side of the road), and also to "mind the gap" on the Tube. And I do have to admit, that it was nice to speak English guilt-free for a weekend, and to be surrounded by people who also speak English...just don't tell any of my Spanish friends I said so! :-)

Outside of Buckingham Palace.

The traditional red phone booth.

Westminster Abbey.

Denise and I outside of the Palace of Westminster.

The West End, where we saw Chicago.

Me outside of the gigantic doors of St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Paul's Cathedral.

London!

I took a trip to London to visit my friend, Denise. Beforehand, I had only ever been through Heathrow airport, which doesn't really count as visiting London. Anyway, we managed to pack-in a ton of activities in my short three and a half days there. The night I arrived, we drove to Bournemouth, which is the picturesque English town where Denise lives. We stopped to pick-up some fish 'n chips, served with a healthy dose of salt and vinegar -- very authentically British.  They also had "mushy peas" on the menu, which apparently are also typically British, but mushy peas just didn't have an appealing ring to me. Anyway, we ate our fish 'n chips with "squash," which is kinda like a concentrated juice that you mix with water. A yummy meal, but definitely not something you'd want to eat on a daily, or even weekly, basis.
The next day we got up early and drove to York, which is in the north of England. York really isn't anything worth photographing/visiting (Denise had to drop-off her company car), but the train ride back through the countryside was quite beautiful. Our first stop in London was Harrod's, which is this AMAZING department/food/everything store. It's definitely upscale, but so much fun to visit and look around. We stopped to have "high tea" there -- which consisted of tea and the best scones I have ever eaten in my life, served with clotted cream (similar to butter, but much better). YUM.  We walked through Hyde Park, rode the Tube, went to Piccadilly Circus, and just wandered the streets of London. As they say in England, it was quite a lovely day!

Outside of Harrod's.

High Tea: tea, scones, clotted cream, and marmalade.

The food stalls in Harrod's...check out those ceilings and chandeliers!!

Me in Piccadilly Circus...obviously it's cold. :-)

Las Delgadas

Our trip to Rio Tinto was great, but one of my favorite parts was the little town we stayed in: Las Delgadas. My friend Cinta's family has a house in the little village, so we stayed there. The village was great: a few streets, a church, a bar, and a soccer field. All you need for a complete Spanish life! :) I was treated to some delicious Spanish home-cookin' at "Uncle Teo's" house. He reminded me a lot of my grandpa, and their warm, extended, noisy family reminded me a lot of mine. So it was a very fun, welcoming environment (As a side note, Teo also took to calling me "Nancy" all weekend, even though he knew my name was Leslie. So I got to be Nancy for 3 days - too funny!). Teo took us on a bumpy jeep ride through the mountains, which was amazing. We stopped to see some old mining ruins, and also went to an orange grove to pick citrus. One of my favorite memories of that weekend was the bar in Las Delgadas. Essentially, no one works there! So you go in, "order" your drink (which means either you pour yourself a beer/glass of wine, or one of your friends does it for you), and then write your tab in the notebook on the counter. When you are ready to leave, you just put your money in the closet. It was hilarious! I'll never forget the mental picture of this small bar: a roaring fire, typical Spanish men watching soccer on TV, and a 3-year old boy in footie pyjamas riding around on his big-wheel bicycle. Classic.

Our street in Las Delgadas.

Uncle Teo, ready for our mountain adventure.

Old mining ruins in the mountains.

Rio Tinto

I went to Rio Tinto with some Spanish friends for the weekend. The river gets its name because it really is tinted blood-red, due to its incredible mineral content. I've never seen anything quite like it - it's really striking! The town is also famous for it's old copper, gold, and silver mines. We toured one of the old mines, and took a train ride to view the ruins of the old mining town.  The British use to own the mines, and there's quite a tense history regarding the relationship between the British settlers and the Spanish people that were working the mines. We visited the "British" neighborhood, which is all Victorian-style houses...a stark contrast to the typical Spanish construction. And no weekend trip would be complete without delicious Spanish food and wine. :-) My new favorite find is a dish called "migas." It's essentially the Spanish version of stuffing, made with day-old bread, lots of garlic and chorizo...YUM!!

One of the old mines.

Roberto and Ana on our tour of the mines.

Part of the mine and the river.

I just can't get enough of this red water!

Jerez de la Frontera

After school today I went to Jerez de la Frontera with Ana, one of the teachers I've become friends with. She lives there, and kindly invited my to visit...and in return, I just had to promise to speak English with her. Seemed like a great deal to me! :) Jerez is a beautiful little town. It reminded me a lot of Sevilla, just on a smaller scale. I was amazed because in the city center, many of the stores have been built in old palaces.  So it would be like shopping in The Gap, but in an old palace...amazingly beautiful. There are also a lot of wineries in Jerez - or 'bodegas' as they call them here. The most famous is Tio Pepe, which is a popular label all throughout Spain.  In Jerez, you can see the Tio Pepe label EVERYWHERE. Want to know who is sponsoring the upcoming flamenco show? Tio Pepe. Want to know what wine is served at this restaurant? Tio Pepe. Want to know who paid to rennovate this garden? Tio Pepe. I think you get the point... :)

The inside of a store, built in an old palace.

The old Ayuntamiento (City Hall).

The Cathedral - incredibly beautiful.

Me with Tio Pepe.  :-)

Ana, Ana's sister Inma, and I at a local bar.