SPAIN!!!!

All I can say is we loved it, we loved it, we loved it! We left the beautiful USA and went to SPAIN for two whole weeks. It was the ride of a lifetime. We went with my entire family (Mom, Dad, Rory, Megan, and us) to tour my brother Rory's mission (he's been home for 9 months) and a few areas people told him he needed to visit. Here's a play-by-play that hopefully doesn't bore you too much.

Day 1: May 23rd

We left Salt Lake City at 10:00 am on Delta Airlines, and flew for 5 hours to JFK airport in New York City. We left New York at 6 pm and flew all night long.

Day 2: May 24th

We arrived in Madrid at about 10:15 in the morning. The time difference is 8 hours ahead of home. We all slept on and off on the plane, but were still extremely tired. My brother told us the best thing to do to adjust to the new time change was to stay up at late as we possibly could. So, we picked up our rental car, which was a Mercedes Benz Vito (it is about the size of our standard mini vans), and headed to our hotel. THANK GOODNESS for NAVIGATION!!! The roads there are crazy!! Tons of round-a-bouts or a Rotary as the navigation called it. We never would have made it without the Tom Tom Navigation. We then headed on the Metro (or subway) to Retiro Park. It was absolutely beautiful.

A Monument in the Park

A Glass House

A Grassy Area

A Famous Fountain called "The Fallen Angel" except it is in Spanish

Then we walked around downtown Madrid for a little while. We also ate Doner Kabops--they are awesome!! It is some shaved meat in a pita with lettuce and a special sauce. We loved them.

Us Walking in Downtown Madrid

The Post Office

Eating Doner Kabops--Yummy!

We only made it until about 7:00 that night before we crashed in our hotel room and slept until 7:00 the next morning.

Day 3: May 25th

We drove to a town called Mostoles. My brother served there for several months. We attended church. It was tough--we didn't understand a single word, so most of us ended up falling a sleep at some point during the meeting. The members commented to my brother, "Geez your family must be pretty tired from the flight." Then we drove for 5 hours to a town called Grenada.

Day 4: May 26th

In Grenada is a famous place called the La Alahambra. It was nominated for one of the 7 Wonders of the World. It didn't make it, but still it was pretty cool.

Day 5: May 27th (aka My 25th Birthday!)

This day we left the town of Grenada and headed for Sevilla, making a stop in Cordoba along the way. In Cordoba we toured a famous cathedral named La Mezquita. Spain has tons of cathedrals to accomodate their dominant catholic religion. The architecture in these buildings is absolutely amazing, and many are hundreds of years old.

Day 6: May 28th

Sevilla is one of the neatest little towns you will ever visit. We visited the Plaza de Espana where Star Wars was filmed (it is Queen Amadala's Palace). It was really neat. We shopped and found some killer deals there.

We also toured the Toro de Oro or "Tower of Gold" that is now a naval museum, but was once a watch tower/lighthouse back in the day.

Next we visited a castle. When the King of Spain comes to Sevilla he still stays there.

We then met up with one of my brother's old mission companions Roberto Rodriguez and his wife. Together we toured an absolutely amazing cathedral and went to dinner.

Day 7: May 29th

We left Sevilla and stopped in a town by the name of Merida. Merida is full of Roman ruins. There is an old colluseum and an old amphitheatre. We also stopped by the Temple of Diana. Then we got back in the car and drove back to Madrid.

Day 8: May 30th

This day we went to the San Lorenzo Monestary in El Escorial.

Day 9: May 31st

Today we attended the Madrid Temple and had lunch with Rory's mission president and his wife. We also stopped by the palace where the current King of Spain lives.

Day 10: June 1st

We went to church again today in Madrid and met several families that Rory taught. Some people spoke English!!!! Then we went and toured the Prado Museum.

Day 11: June 2nd

Salamanca, the place where the movie Vantage Point was filmed. We toured a cathedral, visited the University where there is the famous hidden frong in the entrance's sculptured wall, and visited the two slanted buildings.

Day 12: June 3rd (aka Our 4 Year Anniversary)

Segovia was probably my favorite town. We got to tour the castle that Walt Disney designed his France Disneyland Castle after. It was beautiful. We also saw another cathedral and an aqueduct.

Day 13: June 4th

We toured a monestary/cathedral known as Valle de los Caidos or "Valley of the Fallen". We hiked 3 miles up to this place. It is built inside a mountain. The cross on the top is 500 feet tall.

Day 14: June 5th

Toledo is famous for its swords and jewelry. We had a great time just touring the city.

So that was our tour of Spain. Hopefully my tour to you wasn't too long or painful!