TV commercial

A few weeks ago there was a commercial shot in our neighorhood.  The crew was right outside our apartment window on the other side of the street.  Here are a few shots from that morning.  We have lots of commercials/videos/photo shoots in the area.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the States and Jeff was traveling for work so I was all by myself.  Today I am going to attempt to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with what I could find here.  On the menu is:

Turkey-breast thing
Sweet Potato Casserolle
Green Beans
Sausage, Apple & Cranberry Stuffing
Corn Bread
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Bread

Finally our trip to Madrid

One weekend in July Jeff and I took the train to Madrid.  It was a nice weekend, but extremely hot.  It was in the high 90's and if you haven't been to Europe before air conditioning isn't extremely common.  We did a lot of walking and sweating that weekend.  We decided on this weekend because we found a good deal on a hotel in Madrid. 

Here we are on the train.

This is a little tray of goodies we received upon arrival.  Spanish champagne (aka Cava), bottled water and fruit. 

Circulo Bellas Artes:

I had Jeff take a picture of this is because he calls me the "Minister of Interior Affairs" that is what this says in Spanish.

Puerta del Sol:

One of the many street performers.

This is strawberry tree and bear statue that is the symbol of Madrid.

Plaza Mayor:

Of course we had to stop to have a jar of sangria.

 Me and a Spanish Elvis that Jeff insisted I have a picture with.

Templo de Debod: An Egyptain temple that was relocated to Spain in 1972.

Palacio Real & Church of Saint Nicholas from the Templo de Debod:

Here I am sweating like a pig.

Palacio Real:  It was closed to walk around as the Pope was to be there the following week.

Church of Saint Nicholas:

San Miguel market:  In the market there are many vendors and counters where you can enjoy a glass of wine and beer along with some tapas.  Locals can also purchase produce and speciality items. 

Our visitors

Earlier this month we had some visitors all the way from Boston. Jeff's second cousins Christine and Gennifer.  Jeff had to leave a few days after they arrived to fly to the Phillipines for work, so I entertained them the remainder of the time.  I didn't mind as I like to entertain and they are very sweet.

We had to stop at Dunkin' Donuts or Dunkin' Coffee as it called here in Spain.  The coffee is VERY different than what the serve in the US and the donuts are a bit different too.

We also stopped at a English pub for a beer.

Montserrat

The first of November was holiday here in Spain, not sure which holiday.  I asked a local and they didn't even know what the holiday was for so I don't feel bad not knowing.  Jeff and I decided to make the trek to Montserrat that day, which is about an hour train ride from Barcelona.  Of course it called for light showers that day, but we decided to go anyways.  There is a monestary on top of a mountain in Montserrat you can sort of see it in the middle there.

You can only get up there by cable car or funicular.  We chose the cable car.

Here is a picture of the mountains behind us on the way up to Montserrat.

Still on our way up.

We finally made it up.  Here is the monestary.

This is the courtyard of the chapel at the Montserrat.

There were tons of candles around.