Celebrations & Inspiration

Well, my last day teaching English was today.  Things are coming to a close so quickly it’s hard for me to take it in.  Today I walked out of the apartment in the old city center that I teach at 2 days a week with a smile on my face.  Normally I walk out the door and take a deep breath either because the temper tantrum that I just endured is over or because I’m relieved that the kids remained happy the entire lesson.  I never know what to expect when it comes to children and English.  But today I walked away with the knowledge that I will be missed, and the kids, inspite of the tantrums, will remember their time with me with a smile on their face.  I was so surprised to have trouble getting out the door because the kids wouldn’t stop hugging me as if they were trying to soak in their last moments with me. I honestly thought these particular kids would be glad to see me go and not have to endure an hour of English twice a week anymore.  But I was wrong.

Jake and I will be headed to a Paella Pool Party next weekend at the house of another family I’ve be teaching since October.  I’ve grown to love the whole fam, grandparents and all.  I’ve been seeing them so often that I almost feel like I’m a part of the fam.  They wanted to have a proper goodbye so they invited Jake as well to a fun farewell before we leave. This family, along with the grandparents, came to my recital.  Since then, they asked if the last few weeks with them I do music lessons instead of English lessons. I felt so revived with my teaching in the last month because of this opportunity.  I realize teaching things in the arts gives me more life in comparison to just straight up language.  So that was a really nice way to go out.

One other student left for a trip to Denver last week, and her father sent me pictures of her there. I was surprised because he didn’t seem like the type that would want to have anything to do with me after my job was done.  But in actuality he contacted me trying to see if I was interested in taking on more students because he and his wife had recommended me to several other people.  Well, I guess that won’t work out.  But it was a nice gesture.  

All in all, teaching has been a good experience and I’ve met some really nice families that have shared with me on more than one occasion that whenever I come back to Valencia, their house is my house.  Of course, I was more than happy to offer the same hospitality for whenever they might find themselves in the states, or if they ever want to send their kids for an American experience.

Teaching hasn’t been the only thing consuming our lives.  We’ve continued spending our time with friends from church. This weekend of was fun with Jake and Sofia’s birthdays.  Sofia is Bonnie’s daughter who turned 5 on Jake’s 35th birthday.  On Sunday we had a birthday party for Jake at our place.  We thought we were going to finally intermingle our church friends and our Berklee friends.  But it turned out that all the church people arrived at 8:00pm and left around 10:30pm, just as all the Berklee people were walking in the door.  So we basically had two parties in one night.  But either way it was a fun night, and Jake felt celebrated.  And then the following night, we went out for drinks with all the church people (including the pastor and fam) for Sofia’s birthday. We went to a cafe near church and sat outside as a huge group. Sofia just became a big sister a couple of weeks ago, so a few parties to celebrate her was probably just the right timing considering her world has been turned upside down recently.

Bonnie gave birth to Vera 3 weeks ago.  I went to see her in the hospital, and had a great time by the time I actually got there. The hospital is called “La Fe” and when I looked it up on the map I saw that it was very close to Bonnie’s house.  I thought, “Of course.  How convenient for them.”  Well, when I got there, and saw weeds grown over and hardly anyone in sight.  I became a little nervous for Bonnie thinking she gave birth in this run down hospital.  I finally found an open entrance, and was rather confused that there seemed to be absolutely no workers or patients anywhere in sight. I made it up to her floor, and became much more concerned considering it seemed more like an abandoned, haunted hospital with lights flickering on and off. Yes, just like a scary movie scene.  So I went back down to the lobby and found one worker (the only person I saw the whole time) and asked if there was another campus, figuring I was in the wrong place. The answer was yes, and unfortunately, a 45 minute bus ride away!  This was the old “La Fe” but a new one was opened this year across town.  Someone needs to inform Google of this!!  So by the time I made it to the new “La Fe” I was pleasantly surprised by the facility. I stayed with Bonnie a couple of hours and met Vera, their new daughter.  It was a happy end to my “haunted house adventure”.  Although our friends won’t let me live it down as I’ve heard this story pop up on several occasions amongst different people since this episode occurred.  At least I’ll be remembered.  :)

As for other friends, I’ve continued to see MariEli 3 or 4 times a week between church, parties, and her work on this online language course that she’s brought me into.  I still go there twice a week and go through the almost-beta mode of this language course, while suggesting certain corrections and changes. And we still go every day for almuerzo (between breakfast and lunch) at the local bar with her bosses where I get my conversational Spanish practice in.  Since I’ve been around, they’ve begun considering more American English in their program, so they asked if I would come record some things with my American accent.  Everything else in English on their program is with a British accent.  My childhood dream was to be a studio singer and voice over artist, so any chance I get to record in the studio I’m there in a heartbeat. I recorded about a page’s worth of dialogue in this really nice studio across town.  While I was recording, the professional British V.O. guy came in the studio and asked if I was a professional. Ha!!  I left the studio beaming.  It was a brief bit of dialogue, but it seemed to whet my appetite for more opportunities.

Speaking of being inspired, Berklee put on a TedX event last week.  It was a project that one of the business students took on and morphed into a potentially annual event for the Berklee music business department to put on every year. MariEli caught wind of the Ted talks at Berklee via local advertising and asked if there was any way we could get her a ticket. So the 3 of us went to the inaugural TedX event, and met up with some other Berklee friends while we were there. She was sharing about all the talks the next week at our work almuerzo, so I guess the Ted talks did their job in passing on inspiration.

Jake is in the final stages of his Master’s.  He’s almost finished with his final thesis paper.  He’ll be presenting on Monday, and after that he just has a few more classes to attend, and then he graduates!!  We don’t even know what to do with our thoughts!  A wide mix of emotions as I have mentioned before.  All we can do is try to take in every moment.  It’s been a wonderful year.

Spring Semester

Well, yes, I know.  It’s been a very LONG time since I’ve written.  And unfortunately, this past semester has been so full of culture, new experiences, building relationships, goals achieved, and loads more.  I know it will be difficult for me to go back and recall all of it now.  However, I’m going to try, mostly for my sake so I have some sort of record of this monumental semester.   So I’ll begin with this past week, and work back from there.

MAY

Thursday night was a huge day in my life.  When I was 17 years old my dad suggested that I prepare a high school senior voice recital.  I thought it was a great idea!  But it was already late in the year, and we never seemed to get around to preparing it.  But I figured, “No big deal.  I’ll have to perform recitals in college anyway.” In the end, I never majored in music or voice, and I stopped training and pursuing voice at 18 years old.  However, the thought of performing a recital never left me, nor did my deep-seeded desire for song.  Well, 12 years later as a 30th birthday present to myself, I fulfilled this dream.  I finally performed my “senior” recital.  And I enjoyed myself more than I can express.  Though I waited painfully long to do this, and that makes me sad, I do see how much I have matured.  I can finally feel proud of my accomplishments because I no longer judge myself on a scale of “perfect” or “not perfect”.  I can now listen for beauty and expression when I sing, not just inadequacy and mistakes.  My self-worth is no longer teetering on the basis of others’ impression of me, or causing an obsessive concern for performing well.  Without such a heavy burden attached to performing, I see why these desires for song, performance, and expression have never left me.  These moments in front of an audience when I get to share what’s deep down in my soul are when I truly feel at my brightest.

The recital was quaint in a small performance hall with an audience of about 50.  The audience consisted of a few Berklee students, church friends, a few of my English students and their families, some random people I didn’t know, and a few people I’m working with on a language course (I’ll explain about that later).  I performed 11 classical songs that I’ve been preparing since November.  Our neighbors have gotten a daily concert or sample vocal warm-up all these months, and I plan to drop off “thank you for your patience” gifts at all of their doors within the week.  Considering I can often hear them talking as if they’re in the next room, I can’t imagine their annoyance by my full voice opera singing all this time.  After the recital we went to had an impromptu after party at Jared and Gabi’s (our Berklee married couple neighbors) with a few other Berklee people who came.  

Speaking of Berklee people… Jake returned from London this past Monday.  Another huge accomplishment in our family.  The film scoring students went to London to record their final pieces at Air Studios with a 55 piece professional orchestra.  Jake had been dreaming of this day since he got accepted to Berklee.  I was worried that he’d built it all up so much in his head that something would go wrong and he would be devastated.  But no.  Of course as usual, he soared above the fray under the pressure.  I talked to him on the phone after the big recording, and I couldn’t have been more pleased by the tone of his voice.  So exuberant and full of adrenaline still hours later.  He said it couldn’t have gone more perfectly, and he loved every moment of working with these world class musicians.  I can’t wait for him to post videos for you all to see.  The week leading up to his departure was very stressful because of delays getting the finalized video clip for him to score to, along scheduling difficulties in connecting and communicating with his director.  But in the end it all came together because of Jake’s persistence and creative problem-solving skills.  (I know, it’s a vague thing to say if you weren’t privy to all the details of the circumstance.)  James, the director of this short film has emphasized that Jake is so accommodating and easy-to-work that he can’t imagine working with anyone else, and recruited Jake for another project that was completed in April.  Jake saved the day with this particular short film because the original contracted composer wrote music, but was just so unaccomodating and unwilling to make changes that James brought Jake in on the project instead. The London piece was the 3rd that Jake and James have worked together on now.  So between projects for James, class assignments (which thankfully were minimal this semester) and working at the ICC, Jake remained quite busy.

While Jake was gone in London, I kept busy with friends, rehearsing with my accompanist, practicing, teaching, etc.  I actually felt more busy than normal during my week and a half of singleness, and like I spent less time at home than usual.  Which was good because 10 days without Jake was too long.  The most we’d been apart before is 5 or 6 days.  Luckily for me, I had all my girlfriends here taking care of me, inviting me over, going shopping, movie nights, etc.  Ironically, I think Jake felt more lonely than me as he toured London by himself and went to all the scheduled activities thinking, “I wish Robin was here.”  I thought he was going to finally feel free to be just one of the students, free to hang out and party like a bachelor.  I guess it wasn’t quite the experience I’d anticipated for him.  All in all he did have good time,  but 10 days felt like a bit too much time apart for us.

In May we actually spent a total of 15 days apart because my cousin, Rachelle, and I took a roadtrip around Madrid in the beginning of May.  Though it was 5 days away from Jake (and I actually cried like a 5 year old as Jake dropped me off at the train station for my departure) the trip ended up being one of those weeks that you recall during moments that you’re in need of  happy thoughts and joyful sentiments to dwell on.  We toured some the surrounding areas of Madrid including, Cuenca (sort of), Aranjuez, Toledo, Avila, Segovia, and El Escorial.  Rachelle rented a car and we just drove through the BEAUTIFUL countryside from city to city, staying in a different hotel every couple of nights.  We talked about nearly everything under the sun, and still couldn’t get enough talking time in.  We trudged up and down ramparts, strolled through gardens, meandered around old towns, found a few adventures to take on, and of course got in some time for lounging over wine and cheese!  This time with Rachelle couldn’t have been more precious to me, especially considering we don’t get to see each other that often. I think it was fate that it just so happened that this international meeting she had, that only happens every four years, just happened to be in Spain this year.

APRIL

The highlight of April I would say was Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Here they do not just celebrate Easter, it’s a week (or more) of processionals throughout every neighborhood. Every neighborhood seems to have their own marching band, and I tell you, we have become quite accustomed to the sound of distant trumpets slowly making their way to your backyard.  At first we were caught off guard by these Holy Week processionals, not because of the loud music at your doorstep, but because of the processionals with people dressed up in white robes and pointed hoods covering their faces.  Go ahead, look up pictures, you’ll see! I don’t know if the KKK ripped off the Spanish Holy Week outfits or what, but when you see a bunch of “clan” looking figures marching down your street it’s not exactly a pleasant feeling.  When we first saw this we sent pictures to our Spanish friends with the following caption, “Wuh!!??”, and they just laughed because they’re so used to it.  The processionals and the attire, I heard, have something to do with paying penance while still concealing your identity.  However, on Easter Sunday (Pascua) there was quite a different processional.  It was a whole parade that included half the neighborhood dressed in all kinds of Biblical outfits including commoners, Roman guards, Roman royalty and nobility.  I even saw a Jesus character.  That was only half of the parade.  The others were band members, people in the typical Valencian Fallera and Fallero outfits, and a few other strange outfits that I didn’t recognize.  This wrapped around the entire neighborhood, and whoever from the neighborhood that wasn’t processing was watching looking for the loved ones to pass by and throw them a flower.  We ran into it on our way home from church and since it was completely blocking our path home we stopped to watch for a while.   

Speaking of church, Jake has been playing electric guitar every week at church since April.  I’m still singing with the worship team every 3 or 4 weeks.  Singers are on a rotation schedule, but we still all get together to practice songs once a week.  In other news, I started going to help out with an on-line Rosetta Stone type language program.  MariEli has been working on this program which her former bosses are building, and she suggested that I come in a couple times a week to go through it and work on my Spanish.  It’s in the Beta mode, so I pay them back by correcting mistakes on the English side.  So I go in for a couple of hours twice a week. But the most important part for me is when they take a 45 min “merienda” break while I’m there.  We all go to a bar/cafe around the corner and they all talk to me in Spanish.  I actually look forward to this the most because they can all speak English, but won’t talk to me in English, except for a word here or there if I appear totally glazed over.  It’s been one of the most beneficial things for me in terms of my Spanish practice this whole time I’ve been here.  The bar owners have become friends with everyone and they cheer me on when I order correctly in Spanish. Now if they hear anyone speaking to me in English the bar owners call them out and say, “No ingles! Ella necesita aprender.”  It’s a lot of fun.  These are the people I mentioned who came to my recital. So Friday, the day after my recital, they all wanted to talk about my recital and singing.  They even showed videos they took of me on their phone to the bar owners.  It made me feel good.  

As for English lessons, I finished teaching the conversation classes in April.  I did a 10 week adult class and then the school asked me to come back for another 6 week course.  The 6 week course was for a travel agency who was sending their employees to practice English during their work day.  It was a fun group, who all knew each other and were all happy to be off work for 2 hours.  So we had a good time.  However, I was glad when it was over because the school wasn’t paying me much, and it was rather inconvenient for me to go there  But right after that ended, I got another job working with the daughter of a friend’s boss, so it was good timing.  The English lessons are going well.  I’ve maintained all my original students.  Though I’ve become attached to the kids to a degree, I certainly won’t mind when the lessons come to a close.  Teaching English has probably been my least favorite part of being here.  However, it certainly has afforded me a lot of new experiences and relationships that I otherwise would not have had.  When you go into someone’s home on a regular basis, you see so much deeper into their lives and culture.  When all is said and done, I do believe that teaching English will have made my time in Spain much richer.  School gets out at the beginning of June and I believe most of my families are ceasing lessons after that.

MARCH

The big thing about March was FALLAS!!  I don’t even know where to begin!!  The absolute most insane week ever!  They turn the whole city into Disneyland (minus the rides and Mickey Mouse), closing off streets, crowds, constant fireworks, and nightly concerts on every corner for an entire week!  The significance of Fallas (which means faults), is basically a “spring cleaning” ritual.  Though most Valencians don’t remember what the significance of it actually is when you ask them.  But after much questioning, I finally found out.  I guess back in the day they would welcome in the Spring, or new beginnings, by cleaning out old things that they didn’t want anymore and then burn them as a representation of burning up last year’s faults.  This ritual has turned into a city-wide MEGA event.  Every neighborhood constructs these huge wooden sculptures, which are the fallas, and during the week the entire city goes around looking at all the fallas.  We went on a Sunday afternoon to view the fallas and it was wall to wall people.  Of course these were the fancy fallas downtown. The neighborhoods with more money have the bigger and better fallas, and of course all the crowds are downtown. There are food stands and fairs all over the city.  We spent that Sunday afternoon downtown with MariEli, Brianna, Vivi, and Lupe viewing Fallas and hanging out.  It started with the Mascleta which is a big fireworks production that happens on a daily basis downtown all through March until Fallas ends.  Because we went on a weekend, it was sooooo crowded.  I mean an entire city block just shoulder to shoulder people.  One guy sneezed near us, and because there was no where to turn his head without splashing someone, our friend, Bri, got a faceful of his shooting snot.  It was so crowded that after the 5 minute Mascleta, it took 30 minutes just for it to clear enough for us to cross the street.  

After a few hours of hanging out, viewing fallas, and fighting crowds Jake and I were sooo exhausted. MariEli felt bad that she took us around on a weekend when it’s the most crowded.  But that’s part of the experience, right?  It didn’t help that there was a full production, live concert with a huge stage, lighting, and everything right in front of our door every night.  These concerts didn’t start until 1am every night, and sometimes didn’t finish until 6am!  So I’m sure that played into our exhaustion as well.  Jake and I later went out on our own a few times to other sides of town to see huge lighting displays, view other neighborhood fallas, and just experience everything like real Valencians.  We went to neighborhood parties and danced in with the crowds a few times, and ended up having a great week after getting over the shock of all the noise and people.  But I tell you, ever since that week in March, we started a habit of going to bed at 2am every night.  Which of course is quite early on Fallas terms.  

At the end of the week at midnight, the whole city goes up in flames.  Each neighborhood burns up their huge falla.  Our neighborhood falla was right in front of our doorstep.  So we went down at midnight on the last day, and joined our community in watching it burn to a crisp.  There was something oddly special about that moment as the whole neighborhood gathered together for a moment of calm after all the craziness of the week.  We felt strangely connected with everyone with a sense of pride for our little neighborhood and all that we endured together over the week.

I also forgot to mention all the processionals during Fallas.  All the Falleras and Falleros of the neighborhood process on a daily basis through the streets with the local bands, dressed in their special Valencian outfits.  At the end of the week, one special girl and woman are selected in each neighborhood as the Fallera of the year, which is a very special honor here.  I don’t know how they select them, but the whole thing seems to be like a neighborhood beauty contest.  Again, my friends didn’t know much about this because they are not in the Falla club.  But I got the impression it mostly had to do with money.  Then there is one Fallera Mayor and Fallera Menor selected for all of Valencia, and there is a special giving of the rose ceremony at the City Hall.  Apparently this is a very important honor.  One of the little girls I teach participates in this Falla club thing, and she seemed in awe of the selected Falleras.  They were like queen and princess of the city in her mind.  Of course, in my mind, all I could compare it to was a Miss America contest.  Though I know it was really nothing like that.

So there’s Fallas for you in a nutshell.  Of course if I wrote this in March a day-to-day play-by-play probably would have given a much better picture, but hopefully we can share some pictures of all the events to help with the imagery.  

It’s very strange to consider that this year is just about coming to a close. Jake just started his final summer term this week.  All the students are starting feel the nerves about “what happens next” as they begin to make plans for their next move and search for opportunities.  I feel growing sadness as I think about leaving these amazing friends that we’ve made here and this wonderful city that we’ve grown to adore.  We’ve had just enough time to develop a lifestyle and a community here that we care for dearly, and now we turn around and leave it.  Yet at the same time we feel so much anticipation for getting home, starting our new life and careers, meeting our new nieces and nephews, and being with family again. I’m trying to convince everyone here to find a way to move to LA because I want to take everyone with me.  Hopefully, Valencia will become our home away from home and we can return here often.  We’ve been poured into so richly here it’s truly astounding.  Before we left, people would ask me what I was going to do in Valencia.  I told them, “I don’t know.  I just want to make friends.”  I never would have imagined that that would happen tenfold.  I guess that’s a good sign that this has been a blessed experience.  

So 6 more weeks and Jake graduates.  We are finalizing our travel plans after graduation.  We’ll be touring Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and a stop in Denmark before our departure on August 7th.  And then we start all over again!

Half N' Half

So I’ve started this blog entry three times now in the past 3 weeks… the first half is really from 2 weeks ago.  And the 2nd half is from right now.  ;)  Just an FYI.

It’s been a fun few weeks here this semester.  It feels like we’ve had a wealth of get togethers with Berklee friends.  Jared and Gabi, the married couple who live across the street from us, have held a couple parties over at their place, which is perfect because us “old folks” can leave the party and be in bed within 5 minutes!  The last one was a surprise birthday party for Jared, who is in Jake’s program.  I’ve never seen a more priceless surprise as he was freaking out while the lights were still off thinking someone had broken into their apartment.  I know, unimportant details for most reading this…but it was super hilarious and fun.  At these parties we’ve been having great conversations with the other students, and it really feels now that relationships are developing that could extend beyond this year.  

We’ve also set up a Wednesday night dinner party thing the past few weeks so I hope that continues.  Last semester it seemed that we were not invited to many of the social events.  Either because we live on the other side of town or because we’re just the  “boring, old married couple.”  Probably a combination of both.  I don’t really blame them since half the time we choose to be the “boring, old married couple” that doesn’t really want to go out in the first place.  Ok, in thinking more clearly, we’re actually the “boring, old, cheap married couple that just doesn’t want to spend the money to go out.  But for some reason this semester we’ve either suddenly become cool, or everyone else just finally ran out of money and figured that cheap family meals at home should be the new social norm.

As for the Wednesday night thing it’s been perfect because I teach a class on the other side of town where most of the students live.  So in talking with some of the girls, we decided to get together on Wednesday nights after my class, which has now as of last week grown into a huge dinner party social.  Either way, it’s a great excuse for Jake and I to finally get over to the “hip and hoppin’” part of town.  Unfortunately, it means we have to ride bikes home after midnight since the darn metro closes at 10:30pm!

Luckily, we’re not always trekking across town to be social.  We’ve had our share of people over as well the past few weeks.  However, in a much more calm, controlled environment.  MariEli came over for lunch last week to talk about her possible interest in pursuing a master’s program at Berklee.  Jake and I both think she would be a great candidate for the Global Music Business program.  She is at a crossroads right now we got to try to help her think through it a little, especially with this interest in Berklee.  Of course, when you come from a country where college tuition is miniscule in comparison, Berklee is a very scary thought.  Either way, we had a great time talking on a more serious level than usual.  Maria Elisa is the crazy, fun-loving, energetic type, and when paired with Jake, the joking and laughing usually outweighs the intense, heartfelt convos.  

Jake has been assigned a couple movies to watch for homework so far this semester.  So Jared and Gabi have come over for a couple of low-key popcorn and movie nights as well.  These are truly some of my favorite times and I think theirs too.

(2nd half)

It’s Saturday now, and we’re just relaxing at home.  Gonna go on a walk to the beach soon since it’s literally perfect weather outside at the moment.  I actually feel at the moment that I’m thinking a little more about home, considering in the past 2 weeks we’ve just welcomed a new niece and nephew into the world, not to mention friends are still announcing left and right that they’re pregnant.  When are Jake and I going to have kids you ask?  …  Not in this blog at least!  I don’t know.  We had a great talk last night at our local bar, which became our Valentine’s celebration. And we’re still just trying to figure out how life will come together when we arrive back at home in the states with no jobs, income, home, cars, etc.  We shall see.  We have a lot on our minds and I get lost in the future too often these days instead of concentrating on the present.

As for the present… not much has changed for us.  We’re happy with friends, activities, learning, a bit of working.  Last Saturday we had Manuel and Tiffany over.  Manuel is in the Music Business Program, and his wife, though she is not a student, has been keeping busy accompanying for Berklee performers.  Tiffany has her master’s in piano from BYU.  Bonnie and I had a shopping and Chinese food date last week, and now she’s gone to Denmark to see her parents.  Maria Elisa and I have been keeping up with our Spanish practice on Wednesdays.  It’s great. Jake and I don’t feel short on company.  

Although Jake has been gone a bit more this week, which may be a sign of how this semester will be with the new job and new classes.  I am at home more with now no Spanish school to attend. But I’m trying to make the most of extra time concentrating on Bible reading, exercise, Spanish, and singing.  I haven’t really mentioned the singing at all because I’ve been kind of shy about it. But I’m taking voice lessons and preparing a voice recital as my 30th birthday present to myself.  I had been considering going back to school for voice myself which originally initiated my recital (“audition”) prep.  But now it’s become more of a bucket list item that I’ve always wanted to accomplish since I didn’t study voice in college.   Anyhoo… I’m planning a 45 min classical recital in May-ish.

I’ll have more details about Jake next time.  He has his first recording session of the semester this Friday.  He’s been keeping busy with other homework assignments, some film scoring/composing competitions, and work with the ICC.  He is doing great.  Especially since he’s about to take a stroll on the beach with me right now!

Back in Action

Two weeks of being back in Valencia since our vacation!  If you read my last 3 blogs detailing our trip, you’ll know that we had an amazing trip to Germany.  I still beam retelling of our time when people ask.  I didn’t mention though that we stopped in Barcelona for about 4 hours during our plane to train exchange.  We hadn’t prepared for what we were going to do.  So after we made it to the train station and locked up our bag in a locker we saw a fancy old building in the distance and decided to walk that direction.  It turned out to be the Palau Nacional, a gorgeous Italian-style building sitting on top of a hill which allowed us a beautiful view of Barcelona just as the sun was setting, leaving us with a glorious sunset to enjoy from the top of the hill!  And believe me, after all those stairs we had to climb to get up there, the beautiful view was a duly received reward!  From there we walked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium which was quite near to the Palau. This was actually really cool for me because the 1992 Olympics were the first I recall watching.  We had just enough time to make it one time around the stadium, stop for a few pictures and head back to the station.  Jake and I were both very excited about this brief visit, and plan to go back someday soon to see a little more.  

We pulled up to the Valencia train station around 11:30pm.  Unfortunately the metro system was closed for the night already. So we decided it wasn’t that far to ride bikes. We dispersed our stuff between our big duffle bag and tote bag my mom sent to Germany for me for Christmas.  (Thanks, Mom!!)  Jake, of course, carried the majority of the stuff, and it was pretty amusing to watch him try to ride with 30-40 pounds worth of duffle bag in his front basket throwing off his balance and blocking his view!  Luckily, no bike accidents to end our journey.  We made it home around 12:30am, and felt so pleased to be home.

The next day, we went first thing to the bank to pay our rent.  However, we were surprised to find everything closed.  It was Monday!  Why was it all closed?  Not until later did we realize how silly we looked desperately pulling on the bank and store doors trying to see if anything was open.  Turns out that January 6th is one of the biggest holidays of the year. Around here, Dia del Reyes is as important and highly celebrated as Christmas.  Kids get the majority of presents on this day in celebration of the Kings, or Wisemen, bringing gifts to baby Jesus.  We had no idea.  Had we known, we would have left a little food in the house for our return.  With no grocery stores open we ended up eating rice all day because we had literally nothing else.  At dinner time we caved and found ourselves a Chinese Restaurant open.  So we ended up celebrating Dia del Reyes with Chinese take-out and curling up to an alien-invasion movie.  

I started back with my English lessons that Wednesday.  I think I’m enjoying teaching a little more now that I have a bit of a system and rhythm to it.  Plus, I’m getting to know the families which is nice.  One girl, who I thought hated the lessons, and thus disliked me, wrote me a little note (in Spanish) saying that it’s hard for her when I only speak to her in English because she doesn’t understand.  But then at the bottom she wrote that she loves me.  That made me feel good, and I think I’ve begun to figure out how to bond with her a little more.  Another little girl is the happiest, cutest, brightest little girl in the world.  She is only 6, but not afraid to try to speak in English.  She laughs at everything, and can’t stop smiling and giggling.  She puts me in a good mood every time I’m with her.  Her dad is a police officer in Valencia, and does not speak any English.  However, he is patient with me trying to understand his Spanish. Last week, he was talking to me for about half an hour after the lesson telling me what cities I need to go see in Spain before I leave.  He was pulling up pictures on his phone, and so excited to tell me about these beautiful places.  This was 2 days after returning from Germany, and I thought I wasn’t going to remember any Spanish when we got back.  Well, with this conversation I was thrown back into the fire.  He even suggested that Jake and I go with their family to Sevilla over Easter Break since Jake would not have school.  I’d actually consider the offer if he still remembers by April. Their house is far away in the suburbs, and they have to drive me to the metro station each week after the lesson. I actually really enjoy this time to practice my Spanish because all the other parents speak to me in English.  Last Thursday, he told me that we couldn’t have a lesson the following week because he would be out of town all week at a police training.  I asked him what kind of training.  He said training for public protests.  He demonstrated/explained about using those plastic transparent shields to protect themselves and push back protesters with the those rubber pellet guns.  I tried to ask him if they were expecting some kind of major public protests soon, but I couldn’t figure out how to ask it in Spanish.  But it certainly got me thinking.  I know many are unhappy here with some policy changes and budget cuts they’re making because of Spain financial crisis.  We’ll see I guess.

I’m still teaching my adult conversation class at an English school, and really enjoying that.  We have a good time together, and I love how the students participate in my lesson plans.  I’m figuring out a rhythm for that class as well.  Every week we do a vocabulary, dictation, and pronunciation exercises followed by a time of personal sharing, role playing, or a group activity. Apparently one student told my contact how great my class was.  :)  Though this is my lowest paying gig and the one I prepare for the most I’m happy for the opportunity.

This week, I also taught a violin lesson to one of my former Spanish classmates.  He was telling me how he trying to teach himself the violin, and I told him how I used to play and teach the violin.  The following day he started asking me how to change the strings because he broke one.  The next day he asked me how to hold the violin properly.  And soon I was drawing out violin charts and finger patterns for him during our break.  Right before I left the school he asked if I’d be willing to give him some lessons here and there after Christmas break.  I told him to contact after the break if he wanted.  So that he did.  We had one lesson this week, and it was a little strange for me being the first time teaching an adult.  But it was fun for me, and I realized how much more comfortable I am teaching beginning violin than I am teaching beginning English!

Speaking of new jobs, we have some very exciting news!! Jake received a Graduate Assistantship in the ICC (International Career Center).  They announced this open position at the end of last semester.  Just a few weeks after Jake and I were discussing that we think he could handle a campus job.  Last summer they sent out an email for the open graduate assistantships, such as working the computer labs, library, etc.  Since Jake didn’t know where he’d stand in the program and whether he’d be struggling with a big learning curve or not, he decided to not apply for any jobs.  We wanted to make sure he could invest as needed into his coursework.  Well, Jake has proven himself to be on par with his classmates and up to speed with the workload and learning curve.  Knowing all the campus jobs were already filled, Jake went to talk to the Dean to let him know that if anyone dropped out of their campus position, Jake was interested in an assistantship.  A couple weeks later, this position pops up in the ICC.  Jake was so excited because he knew he could be one of the top candidates.  A) He understands career development having been in the workforce for the past decade, and B) he was the student out of all of Berklee to attend nearly all of the ICC meetings last semester.  Granted the free pizza and coke did help lure him to the weekly meetings.  But hey, looks like his scavenging, along with interest in career development paid off!  The position is all about helping to connect students with work opportunities after they graduate.  So basically, he’ll be getting paid to network for 10 hours a week!  He was really excited after his interview last week once he learned about the project he’d be working on.  So we are super excited for this opportunity along with the extra cash!  

So things are looking positive around here, including with our friends both from school and church.  Last week we went out with two couples for some drinks and appetizers.  The married couple, Jared and Gabi, who live 3 doors down from us are becoming close friends.  They are from Missouri, I believe, and planning to move to LA after this year.  Gabi is my contact for the English School job and some other jobs I’ve interviewed for.  Alessandro and Emma are the other couple who joined us.  Alessandro is from Italy, and Emma is his girlfriend who lives here working as a translator, though she’s from the UK.  We mesh so well with these couples, and I’m super excited for these blossoming friendships.  Then last night Jared and Gabi had a big crew of the film scoring people over.  Of course being only 3 doors down, we were the first to arrive.  But instead of that awkward state thinking “when are the others going to arrive”, it was almost a relief have a little time to hang out, just the 4 of us.  When the entourage arrived we continued having the best time.  I had so many amazing conversations last night, and I’m really surprised that I feel nearly as connected with these people as Jake.  It almost feels as if I’m the one going through the film scoring program with them. Jake has been so good at bringing me into all his projects, so I feel invested along with him and all his classmates.

Last week when we arrived back at church after our 3 week hiatus, I was overwhelmed by the warm welcome back, as if we were actually missed.  People I don’t even know very well were asking about our trip, and the people we do know well seemed overjoyed to see us.  I was actually a little nervous coming back, wondering if after Christmas the newness of our foreign American presence would be worn off, as if people’s warmth and kindness may be tempered by time and familiarity.  I was so wrong.  It feels like time and familiarity has not tempered, but amped up people’s warmth and kindness.  At church Bonnie invited Jake and I to go watch a Flamenco band and dancer at the bar on Thursday night.  So Bonnie, Maria Elisa, Jake and I went. When we walked in and Jake and I both had the same feeling… it could have been a Covela show that we were going to watch.  We literally could have been in some club in LA or Phoenix.  However, there was a great audience for this small Flamenco band and a fabulous Flamenco dancer.  I was captivated the whole time.  The 4 of us had such a good time together.  I just love being with these girls so much!

On Wednesdays, I’m going over to Maria Elisa’s house to work on Spanish before I go teach my English classes.  It’s so gracious of her to take this time with me.  I was in a bad mood all day on Wednesday.  But after leaving her place I was so happy and inspired.  She’s the type of person who has a confidence and radiance that just makes you gravitate toward her. She’s the life of the party, yet one who is always encouraging and embracing others.  I have to say we are very blessed with the friendships.  Now we’re just trying to convince MariEli that she needs to move to Los Angeles since she’s out of a job right now, and trying to figure out what’s next for her in life.  

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that this morning was also special in church because I got to sing in the worship band. They are now rotating vocalist from the choral group into the worship band each week. Today was my first day, and it was a lot of fun. I’m sure congregation thought it was funny that I can’t speak in Spanish, but I’m sure happy to sing in Spanish if asked.  Luckily, I think everyone gathers that it’s a lot easier to understand repetitive and simply-phrased songs than it is to catch even a little dialogue of native speakers.

So tomorrow, Jake starts his new classes, and I, no longer having Spanish classes every morning, will continue attempting to carry out my newly organized morning regiment of spiritual, physical, educational, and professional development as I pursue more edifying uses of my free time this new year.  We’re off to a good start this new year!

Disoriented New Year's & Hamburg Juxtapostion

Well, it’s our last evening in Berlin, and of course we’re spending it on our computers with some warm gluhwein one last time before we leave.  Now, I need to recall the third leg of our trip after returning from Prague.  We’ve gotten to do so much. Thus are rather tired at the end of this trip, but in the best way possible.

When we arrived back in Berlin, it was slightly strange returning from a vacation within a vacation. But I was really grateful to even have a little more time with my family.  On December 30th, I had a great morning just lounging and chatting with the fam while Jake slept in.  Once we finally got out of the house we went to scope out some well-known shopping spots and passed by the New Jewish Synagogue.  Then we wandered over to Nikolaiviertel (Nicholas’ Quarter) to see Nikolaikirche (Nicholas’ Church).  

We arrived back home just in time to meet guests of the Antals, who had been invited over for the afternoon.  These are friends they met through Ian’s Berlin musicals as a kid, and they’ve stayed in touch since.  Mark is a composer, particularly of musicals, and his wife is an actress.  Jake and Mark were sat next to each other so they could chat about composing, and of course I couldn’t help myself but to listen in and contribute to their conversation.  Jake and I have several times since found ourselves coming back to that conversation and reflecting on some things Mark said.  He was very knowledgeable and it was very interesting to hear a little of his experience in and passion for the world of musical composition.  Hopefully we’ll be able to meet him again someday.  This was also a nice time for Sarah and I to get to know each other a little more since we were sitting next to each other.  She is super sweet and easy to talk to.  I look forward to more time with her in the future as well.

Later, after the guests left, we sat down for one more family meal before the Antals left for Lisbon in the morning.  Ariane made a delicious turkey pie with the leftover fixin’s from Christmas and thankfully, there was plenty left over for Jake and I to enjoy later!!  

The next morning everyone was up bright and early to leave for the airport.  Jake and I got up to see everybody off and catch any last instructions necessary for our stay (alone!) in the house.  After they left, I was kind of melancholy already missing the family I don’t get to see too often.  I made Jake sit through about an hour’s worth of memories recalling all the instances my Berlin family came to the states and my love for them regardless of the miles!  I also couldn’t help but reflect how much David, more than ever before, reminded me of my grandpa.  So Jake had to hear another hour’s worth of me retelling stories of my grandpa.  I shared my stories through tears of sweet memories, while my kind husband just looked me in the eyes, patiently listening with sincerity. I apologize for talking so much, and he responds by telling me how much he enjoys it. :) What a winner I have!

Considering this was our 3 year anniversary, we took the liberty to be rather lazy.  After my 2 hours of talking at my husband about family and memories, we went downstairs to make some lunch.  Somehow we sat there and talked for another 3 hours. I love these moments. And fyi... this time I didn't talk the entire time. :)  When we came back upstairs to get ready for the day, Jake encouraged us to write down our individual goals for 2014 while our recent conversation was still fresh.  

We finally got out of the house to do something for New Year’s Eve. (We figured our anniversary celebration was pretty much taken care of in Prague.)  We had read that the Brandenburg Gate held a huge New Year’s Eve party with thousands of people.  So we were intrigued enough to try to check it out, at least for a short while, though we had already made plans to go to Anita’s New Year’s Eve party, which seemed much quainter and preferable. So 30 minutes or so at the Brandenburg Gate to say we were there, and then off to Anita’s party.  Unfortunately, when we got to the Brandenburg area,we saw people getting their bags checked as they tried to enter on Unter den Linden (the main street leading up to the gate).  Jake had a bottle of Gluhwein that we were bringing to the party, so we went around to another street where he dropped the bottle in a bush to be picked up later, and we moved toward another entrance.  Well, looked like we missed our chance to get in because they wouldn’t let anyone in at any other entrances. We walked all they way around the Holocaust Memorial and to Postdamer Platz trying to find an entrance, but had no luck. Apparently, there were already too many people there. So finally we decided to head out to the party.  Of course we had to go back to pick up our gluhwein in the bush.  We got to our drink just in time to snatch it right before some girl ran over to vomit right where we had our bottle stashed. It was only 9:30pm and she was already tossing her cookies.  Happy New Year!

We made it to the party, and Anita greeted us with hugs and introduced us to people.  We chatted it up with Anita and new friends.  It was as we expected, quaint and delightful.  We hadn’t intended to stay too long since we wanted to be home together for the turn of the new year and the fireworks.  However, breaking away from a nice conversation is one of the hardest things for me to do.  So we left a little later that we had anticipated.  But still with enough time to be home right around midnight.  So we thought.

Unfortunately, we got a little confused at the metro stop and ended up taking the U-bahn instead of our familiar S-bahn route.  No biggy… I thought.  This route would just take a bit longer, which unfortunately meant we'd be on the underground train instead of on the balcony at home when the clock struck 12am. Oh well.  We enjoyed the energy and excitement of people on the train, who all rushed out with fireworks in hand, when it turned midnight.  And we even caught the initial fireworks when the train went above ground for awhile.  It was actually really nice. However, when the time came for our stop, we were in for a rude awakening!!

When we came up from the metro at about 12:15am, we felt like we had entered a war zone.  There were fireworks going off in every direction and every second.  There was so much smoke in the air that we could hardly see 10 feet in front of us!  And to make matters worse… we didn’t know where we were.  Nothing looked familiar.  We apparently had gotten off at the wrong stop and we had no idea of we had gone too far or not far enough.  We had forgotten our Berlin map since we hadn’t needed thus far.  We started walking around trying to gain our bearings but no luck.  The loud booms and smoke everywhere were discombobulating enough, not to mention the fireworks be thrown near our feet and in the street and above our heads constantly.  It was quite intense for us, particularly because we weren’t expecting this ruckus of a celebration!  

Jake, in desperation, finally decided to try the GPS on his phone even though we hadn’t been able to use our phones without major roaming fees since leaving Spain.  We didn’t think the data was working here for us.  But thankfully, our location popped up on his screen and we were able to use the GPS to get us back home.  We made it home around 1am, and we had a fantastic laugh over this adventurous New Year’s Eve.  On the flip side… we certainly did not miss the fireworks!

The next day we slept in late and enjoyed being cozy at home.  We eventually got out and went to Postdamer Platz since we saw some fun stuff happening there the night before. Sadly we didn’t do the sledding or the ice skating there since we weren’t sure it was worth it at this time when our vacation funds were running slim.  But we enjoyed one last Christmas market and another side of the city we hadn’t made it to yet. We also enjoyed a little family time over skype and watching the movie Amadeus in our nice cozy bed.  We found the movie amidst David and Ariane’s DVD’s and we couldn’t help ourselves after being right in the place the movie was filmed just days before.  

On January 2nd, we had one last out-of-town excursion to embark upon, thanks to David, Ariane, and Rachelle for getting us tickets.  We headed out to Hamburg early that morning and arrived around 10:30am.  We had plotted out a walking tour for ourselves the night before.  We got there and headed out to the famous Red Light District, some nice churches, the Harbor Promenade, the Old Warehouse district, and more.  However, we kept saying, “It’s all so modern.”  We were expecting another Berlin and Dresden.  I was getting disappointed thinking I plotted out the wrong tour for us, and we were going to miss everything historical.  Finally at about 3:30pm we made it to one of our stops, the Church of St. Nikolai.  We were instantly taken by this church in ruins with nothing but it’s tall tower and a few of the sanctuary walls left.  It was bombed badly in the war, and never rebuilt.  A captivating, yet eerie place.  We saw for a few euros we could got up to the top of the tower, and also see the exhibit in the church basement.  Desperate to see things more historical on our trip, we bought the tickets.  We started with the tower, expecting to get a bird’s eye view of all the churches and historical buildings that we couldn’t see from our ground view by the port.  Yet again, I was surprised by what I didn’t see.  Most everything still seemed so modern even from this new aerial point of view.  So then we headed down to the exhibit.  The church had been described as a memorial to all the victims of war.  Of course I understood that the place had been bombed, and there were German citizens that had suffered and been displaced from the war taking place on their territory.  But I had no idea what I was about to see.

The exhibit revealed the devastating “Operation Gomorrah” carried out by the Allies.  I had no idea that nearly the entire city was destroyed by a series of air raids and a huge firestorm that burnt the city to a crisp.  I read that nearly 43,000 citizens were killed and 37,000 wounded.  We looked at before and after pictures of the city, and were stunned.  After the bombs and firestorm, the bustling city's houses, churches, factories and other buildings were completely leveled.  Literally nothing left but the foundations.  No wonder everything was so modern!!  The city had to be entirely rebuilt!!  It was such a heavy, intense, yet good exhibit.  We felt a little embarrassed for wandering the city complaining about the lack of historical structures.  But we came out with much more respect, and in a strange way grateful for these jarringly juxtaposed perspective about the city within the margin of an hour or so.  It made it even more impactful.

We wandered a little more hunting for some dinner, but couldn't find what we wanted in time and ended up grabbing a quick at the train station where there were many options!  After 8 hours of walking the train ride home was blissful.  Our day in Hamburg was intensely memorable.

The last couple days in Berlin we felt very comfortable, finally gaining some confidence in getting around.  Of course as always, just in time to depart.  On the 3rd, we went out and walked through Tiergarten and saw the Victory Tower.  We went back to the Brandenburg Gate approaching it from the west side for the first time on our trip, and again relaxed at home.  Today, we got out earlier and got a day pass to Museum Island.  We stood in line for over an hour to get into the Pergamon Museum, but it was worth the wait.  Then we went to the Neues Museum and we were practically overwhelmed by all the artifacts!  It’s rather difficult to take it all in!  Then we got a bite to eat, enjoyed a little concert by a superb street violinist.  (We sat there for 20 minutes listening… and I think we inspired others to stop and do the same.)  Then we headed out to the TV Tower and Alexanderplatz and headed home.

Our trip is sadly over.  But Jake and I are both incredibly amazed by all the things we got to do and see, not to mention all the love and family we got to soak up.  What a perfect way to send off 2013 and welcome 2014.  Tomorrow we’re headed back to Spain with mixed feelings.  Spain feels like home and it also still feels like an extended vacation.  It's strange to return from a vacation to a "longer vacation." However, it is nice that there is a part of us now in Valencia which makes it feel like home. That, we look forward to returning to as we prepare for this next semester and all the new experiences it will bring our way.

Happy New Year and new experiences to all!

2nd Honeymoon in Prague

We’ve had an absolutely amazing trip to Dresden and Prague from Berlin. Ariane accompanied us to the train station early on Friday morning (after getting up even earlier to make us lunches for our journey!) to make sure we got on our train ok.  We had a nice quiet ride to Dresden, where we spent the afternoon walking around the city.  We were able to drop our backpacks in a locker at the Zinger Palace, and gave ourselves a tour of the grounds and courtyard. Wow!!  Really an incredible place to see.  We continued our self-guided tour to the Frauenkirche, an absolutely beautiful church that they say “has literally risen from the city’s ashes,” as this landmark only was recently rebuilt.  Lonely Planet Review said it well, “A spitting image of the original, it may not bear the gravitas of age but that only slightly detracts from its festive beauty inside and out.”

We got some bratwurst and glühwein, and headed back to the train headed for Prague.  We shared a 6 person train compartment with some vacationing Polish-Americans around our age, and enjoyed a few laughs together.  The view from the train of the German/Czech countryside was incredible.  After arriving in Prague we only made one circle before heading in the proper direction for hotel.  When we got up to our room, we immediately thought there may be a mistake.  We opened the door, took a few gulps, and dropped our bags in amazement.  It was the most beautiful hotel room we’d ever seen, with the biggest bed, and more chairs and seating space than a family of 8 needed.   We freshened up, and went down to the front desk to ask about some good places to eat dinner, where to exchange money, and while we were at the questions, Jake asked if his mom had upgraded the room since he knew that he had not originally selected such a lavish room. [As a Christmas gift, Chris (Jake’s mom) generously paid for our hotel room in Prague.]  But the hotel clerk said, “No she didn’t, we did.”  They said, no one had taken that room for the next two nights, so they upgraded us.  They also told us that it was the biggest and nicest room in the entire hotel!  We felt like King and Queen of Boutique Hotel 7 Days in Prague.  

We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant and quickly realized that our money seemed to go a lot farther in the Czech Republic, which was also a nice perk. The next day, we had a fabulous breakfast in the hotel, and then we met up with Jan, an acquaintance of Jake’s from school, who lives in Prague.  How convenient!  Jan saw Jake’s FB post about going to Prague and offered to show us around.  It was very special for us to have Jan, a local, taking us to the important sights, telling us about the history and culture, as well as having the human connection of discussing shared experiences at Berklee.  He took us to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch, and pointed us to things we should see the next day that we didn’t have time for.  He spent the entire afternoon with us, and then got us back to the hotel just in time for Jake and I to get ready for our romantic evening together!

We had a romantic dinner for 2 (an additional surprise Christmas gift from Chris and Rich!) planned in the hotel restaurant at 5:30pm and then tickets to the opera at 7pm.  The hotel was absolutely amazing to us.  They day before, after we returned from dinner our first night there, the front desk clerked stopped us, letting us know that we had a romantic dinner scheduled. She said we just needed to let them know what time we’d like to do it the following evening. So we said, we’d like to do it before the opera and have an early dinner.  Suddenly, the front desk clerk realized that we had a problem.  The dinner lounge didn’t open until 6:30, and we had to leave for the opera at 6:30.  So we asked what time it closed… maybe we could do a late dinner afterward?  It closed at 11pm.  So she told us, that they would have it ready when we got back.  We went back up to our room, and looked up how long the opera was… and apparently it typically runs around 3.5 hours.  Uh oh… that means that it would not get out until 10:30, and we wouldn’t be back at the hotel until 11pm… right when the dinner lounge was closing.  So Jake went down again to inform the front desk, and see if we could switch it to a lunch instead.  But the lady said, “No, it’s all planned, we can’t have that.”  So she ended up calling the chef to inform him of the dilemma, and asked him if he could come in a little early around 6pm, which he was fine with.  So Jake came back up and informed me that we would have a quick dinner before the opera.  A minute later, we got a call in our room from the front desk and apparently the chef had asked more questions, and when hearing that we had to be at the opera at 7pm, he said, “No, they will be too rushed.  Tell them to come at 5:30pm instead.”  So the hotel opened the dinner lounge an hour early, plus they brought in the chef and a waitress early just for us.  We had the entire place to ourselves, a personal waitress, and a delicious gourmet meal.  We couldn’t finish our wine and dessert in time, so they brought it up to our room after our return from the opera.  Remember, I said we felt like King and Queen of the hotel because our fancy room?  This experience certainly topped off that feeling!!  

After dinner, we scooted out to the opera.  Earlier that day we read through the plot summary and scene descriptions of Don Giovanni so we would be prepared to follow the story, and it really helped to enjoy it even more.  The opera house was beautiful, and we got a kick out of imagining Mozart right in front of us conducting as if we were attending the debuting show over 200 years ago.  The performance was great.  There was a special notice in the halls apologizing for the vocal quality one of the women performers who was apparently sick.  Of course, we didn’t see this until the intermission and had to ask each other which performer was the sick one because they all sounded fantastic.  Only at the curtain call could I really tell that this one girl was not doing so well.  The show was great.  It was fun too, because one of the songs in this show, “Batti Batti”, I sang in high school, and recently sang it a few times in our apartment in Spain for practice.  I’ve never sang it in front of Jake, but he had obviously heard me through the walls, because he looked at me right when he heard the song begin.  It made me feel good that he recognized it.  I’ve watched several clips of this song on YouTube, so it was fun to see a live performance and the differences in direction.  It’s a fun one!

The entire day in Prague was soooooo wonderful, we had to keep pinching ourselves.  It truly felt like we were on our honeymoon or something.  Just so special.  The next day we checked out at 11am, and luckily we were able to store our bags at the hotel so we didn’t have to carry them around for the next 5 hours until our train left.  This was just the right amount of time for us to go out again, see some sights that we didn’t have time for with Jan, do a little souvenir shopping, and navigate the the crowds of tourists.  I was so surprised by the number of tourists.  Hoards and hoards of tourists. It was incredible.  More people than at Disneyland on a perfect summers day.  It was like we were at the Superbowl or something...but that many people all throughout the city!  But it was kind of cool, because since everyone was a tourist I didn’t feel stupid gawking at all the old buildings and beautiful skylines.  We had fun weaving our way through crowds as we made our way through the Old Town Square, crossing the Charles bridge and up the hill to the Prague Castle.  I particularly wanted to return to the area near the castle because Jan had mentioned that the movie Amadeus had been filmed in this part of the town. I thought that was really cool, and we were amazed by how few changes and touch ups they probably had to make to set the scene properly for the movie.  Prague looks like one of the places I see in paintings--a time warp back to the 18th century with quaint cobblestone streets, well restored houses and shops freshly painted in classic colors; and seen in the distance are spires and towers of the many centuries old churches and monuments refurbished or kept through the ages. Truly amazing.  We now have a treasure of pictures and memories from this utterly perfect trip thanks to David, Ariane, and Rachelle for the thoughtful train tickets and encouragement to experience as much of Europe as we can while we’re here.  And thanks to Jake’s parents for the amazing hotel and romantic dinner.  And his siblings for the thoughtful gift of tickets to Don Giovanni.  All in all… a priceless experience.  

(Jake has an album of pictures of this trip posted on his FB page. You can check it out if you're interested.)