We went to Segovia on Saturday :)

Notice: i posted a video on facebook for lynn. you should check it out. :) haha

Madrid, Spain
La Casa de Santibanez
El 9 de Febrero, 2008
10:39pm (3:39pm Denton time)

Sometimes I hate it here. Not Spain, really. I really love Spain. Sometimes I just wish I were at home. Sometimes I whine too much. I’m sorry.
This woman apparently has CAMERAS here… Ani got in trouble for the girls being here last weekend one night when she and the kids were gone…after she TOLD ME IT WAS OK!!!! Are you kidding me???
They stayed here last night before we went to Segovia this morning, so I’m sure to hear something about this when they get home next week. Or if not, Ani is probably going to get in trouble. UGH. This woman… I’m sorry. But SERIOUSLY???
I’m done. I swear.
I wish I hadn’t told Aaron not to call me tonight since I may not have been here if we ended up going out. I’m here… and I don’t have any more minutes on my phone card so I cant call him… I have a headache. I think it’s from the knots in my back. I am not really sure what’s happening with my back/neck right now but I have so many knots in me… I have a HUGE knot that Katie tried to rub out a little bit last night, and couldn’t even believe how hard it was… it hurts so much. I can feel it (feels like stabbing in my shoulder blade) when I breathe if I don’t take shallow breaths. Every time I moved last night it would “stab” me again. I don’t know how to make it go away. Stretching isn’t helping L I’ve been on the verge of tears several times this evening, and I have no PMS to blame it on this time… seems silly, but please pray that these knots in my back just go away? Please?
Anyways, Segovia was awesome. We spent all day there and walked more than I think I have every walked in my life before. We took the train from Madrid to Segovia. It was only about a two hour ride each way. Not too bad, considering we only had to pay 10.70 euros for BOTH WAYS!!! That rules. First thing we did was walk down to see the Aqueduct. it was so awesome. here's a pic of it and a beautiful lamp post :)

and us... (oh, meet our new friend Erin. She's from Florida and just got here through the same organization about a week ago!)

After lunch we visited the castle that Ferdinand and Isabella ruled from. The very castle that Christopher Columbus went to in order to get permission to…find America pretty much… we stood in that very room on the very spot that he probably stood… that’s awesome. This same castle is also the castle that Walt Disney based Cinderella’s castle on! The famous Disney castle! I was there! Today! J it was so awesome.

we also got to see two really beautiful cathedrals while we were walking across the city... here's one of them from a distance:

With seeing all of these great old castle-like homes and all of the awesome stone architecture around Europe and also reading my fav. Jane Austen while having watched Pride and Prejudice AND Becoming Jane in the past three weeks, I want a house like that so badly J haha. Well, not a castle. Just castle-like. Haha. Smaller, of course, but with the same great stone work. I love stone. With comfortable, elegant rooms that have fireplaces (one of my fav things anyways) and lots and lots of great tapestries and rugs and old-looking furniture J that stuff makes me so happy J anyways. Great day, all together. Goodnight!

Madrid, Spain
La Casa de Santibanez
El 10 de Febrero, 2008
6:08pm (11:08am Denton time)

Wow. So I just realized that I have lived in Spain for exactly three weeks today… 21 days… that’s kind of a long time! Wow… I wonder how strange it is going to be, going home. I have a feeling it’s going to be like a chunk of my memory is gone. Kind of like amnesia for the three months that I am here… you know? Maybe that doesn’t make sense, but as far as life in denton, I mean…I think it will feel like that.

Oh… we were trying to start planning out our travel weekends yesterday and guess where we’re going for my birthday…

PARIS.

Oh yeah. Not even joking. I’m going to freaking PARIS for my “golden” birthday J that is so sweet (the “golden” birthday is when the age you are turning matches the number of the day your birthday is on… like mine is my 24^th because I turn 24 on March 24^th J)! I’m so excited about this…

Also we’re going to go to Barcelona either the first of second weekend of march, and we’re hoping to go to Italy maybe the last weekend in March J that would be so awesome. That way we could go to Rome, Venice, and Florence each for a day, I think! Or we’ll try to at least… I hope money holds up! I spent a good amount of my day today working on my budget again. Just making sure that I’m staying on schedule with that and all that good stuff.

Oh…speaking of money…Kelley emailed me this past week to let me know of ANOTHER medical bill that they are JUST NOW sending me from my surgery that happened back in SEPTEMBER! I thought I was completely done paying on that… so I’ve got less money than I thought… haha. Neat, right? Yeah… I’m just gonna stick to the “what I want for my birthday is money” plan. I think that will be the most realistic, eh? Yup. Thought so. Although, Lindsey and Aaron, you already know that I want you HERE as my birthday present so no backing out of that ;) haha.
Man I am SO excited for you guys to come
Oh, and Zari, I have to tell you that every single time I pass these awesome street-side florists I think of you J I miss you girlies! I miss homegroup. I’ll be excited to come back to that J
I get to talk to Aaron tonight, so that’s awesome J
I was out the door to head into Gran Via for a little bit today to look at some fabric shops that they have down there, but before I got to the bus stop (thankfully! Haha), I realized that it’s Sunday and everything’s probably closed… bummer. I wish I had some yarn or fabric to make stuff with while I’m here. That would be cool. That’s my goal this week is to get some of that stuff. I have such a drive to be creative right now, but I have no outlet for it. It’s frustrating. I wish I were an artist. I would have so many awesome drawings done by now… haha J
Oh, Aaron, you need to send me a pic of some of your “monster-guy” drawings bc I was telling the kids about him and how cute/funny he is when you draw him, but you know that I can’t draw him at all…so yeah. J also, I miss him! Haha
Ok. I’m done rambling for now.
Oh… I totally got scared earlier! I wanted to sit down and read some more of my book that Lindsey bought me, and I couldn’t find it ANYWHERE! I was mildly freaking out thinking of all of the places I could possibly have left it, and I was about to settle and come to terms with the idea that I had left in on the metro or the bus when I looked under the bed and saw it tucked under the corner! Yes! Man, I knew I’ve been so careful to make sure that I don’t ever leave anything behind, but with my history of losing stuff…everything?... it wouldn’t have surprised me if I did… I’m so glad that I didn’t though! It’s so much more than just a book when it’s got a personalized note written in it, you know? Especially when it’s from someone you love!
So…crisis averted. Good work, team!