The North

So, I am sorta back into the swing of things since my fiancé left....but now I am counting the days. I am trying not to...but for some reason lately I have been sorta ready to get back home. Well, I am sure that partially that is because Lee is there, but also I have been just a wee bit homesick lately :( I know that seems weird because I am experiencing new things all the time, but I guess when you leave somewhere then you can see how good it is. Maybe it's the whole, "the grass is greener thing..." maybe...

Anyhoo, so I got to visit Estibaliz this past weekend in the north of Spain in an area called Navarra. I took the overnight bus (I would NOT recommend this) to Pamplona where she and her brother picked me up. I then slept for about 4 hours and got up and had the busiest, most random, fun day of my life. Ha. It started with breakfast at a little place near Esti's apartment, then Esti, her brother Rueben, and her sister Christina, and I went to a spa. It was one of those spas that have like cubes of hot water, cubes of cold water, pressured water, water with flowers in it, ice water ect ect. It was really fun :) and relaxing. So after the spa, we went site-seeing for a bit. I bought some shoes and we just wondered around Pamplona a bit. They showed me where the bulls run, and a fountain that crazy English men climb as an annual ritual. We also went to the old wall, and just saw a bunch of different things. Later we went for "lunch" but this was at about 4:30...and we ATE, omg, did we eat...like literally appetizers, a first plate, a second, a dessert, and then coffee... Such a good meal, but I swore I would never eat again. So, then we went shopping some more after that, and got ready to go out for the night. We ended up seeing a "Big Band" group that was one of Rueben's friends. I liked it, but by that time, I could have fallen asleep standing up. We ended up arriving to Esti's parent’s house in the country at 3:30 a.m. which is where I flopped into bed and didn't stir till 12 the next day.

The next day was completely different than the first. I was at Esti's parents house which is out in the country in a small town called, "La Ragga" I think. Ok, so it was a little town out of a movie. It had small streets, old, old buildings and a beautiful church that stood tallest in the town. Her dad and mom showed me all around, and it was such a fun day. We also went to two nearby towns, one called, "Olite" I think and the other I completely forgot the name. Each town was so unique and very cool. In Olite, they have a castle, and it looks like it was transplanted from another world. So, that day was also really, really busy, but what made it more exhausting was listening and speaking in Spanish....I have learned that Spaniards speak all at once, and they speak loud...ha. So, by the end of the weekend, my brain was so tired, and my stomach was sooo full, but I had the time of my life. I took the overnight train back, and started work the next day!

So, now I staying home today because I am sick...ha...not feeling too hot, but probably because I have been going non-stop for a good while now. I am hoping that with a couple days of recoup, I will be fine. :)

Anyway, hope you all are good, and see you in 10 1/2 weeks.

-Vicki

ps. I did try some random drink that consisted of wine and coke (sounds nasty) but was good, and also beer and lemonade...another random combination, but tasted pretty decent.