Allie in the South of Spain

Here is a list of the books I have read during the months of October AND November. I figured since I was reading the rest of the novels in the Game of Thrones series (at least those published up until this point) that I might as well wait and post about them all at once. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin This is the second in the Game of Thrones series. I enjoyed it as much as the first and it has inspired me to continue with the television show through its third, bloody season. In these books each chapter is told from a different characters' point of view and there are a ton of twists and turns. You have to take your time to keep things straight. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin As you probably have guessed, this is the third installment of the series. The first half of this novel served as the basis of the third season of the T.V. show. I am still enjoying this series though it is beginning to become complicated to keep all the different story lines ...

Update 2 Today I am updating my 30 before 30 list (those things I want to do, see, accomplish, experience, enjoy before the big 3-0). I wrote about the list originally here  and then updated it a first time here . So without further ado these are the latest things that I can cross off my list (the new ones are those with a quick explanation, the old ones are simply crossed out): 1. Go on another cruise. 2. Learn to cook Indian food. 3. Start a family (read: have a baby). 4. Become my own boss. 5. Visit Morocco. 6. Spend Christmas in Michigan. 7. Walk at least a part of the Camino de Santiago. 8. Drive comfortably here in Spain. 9. Go to (and enjoy) a soccer game. 10. Write a book. 11. Visit Ireland. 12. Cook a Thanksgiving dinner solo.   This in fact is something I am going to finish on Friday but I am cheating and crossing it off early in the hopes that all goes well. I found an itty-bitty turkey and will cook it for Jose and his parents this week in order to celebrate m...

Dirty thirty November has been a good month for us so far. We visited Gibraltar one weekend and then the following was Jose's 30th birthday!!!!! We actually had three different celebrations, one with his parents, one with his childhood friends and the last with the people he works with at school. I hope he enjoyed all of the attention and had fun. Hopefully he remembers it all which is going to be harder now that he is so old! Today was actually the last part of Jose's 30th birthday bonanza. As part of his gifts we went to a soccer (or football) game this afternoon. It was a special charity event put together by Jose's favorite team, Betis (one of two teams here in Sevilla). A bunch of older, retired players came out to take part in a friendly game against legends from Madrid. Jose was like a little kid while we were watching them warm up. He knew who each was, their stats and why they were the superstars of their day. He also filled me in on all the players that he ...

Driving up on the Rock of Gibraltar Last weekend Jose and I had a holiday on Friday for All Saints' Day so we decided to take a short trip down to Gibraltar which is only about a 2 hour drive from here. We left on Saturday morning, parked our car in Spain and strolled across the border. For those of you who don't know, Gibraltar is located right on the tippy tip of Spain (right across the sea from Africa) but belongs to Great Britain (and has since the 18th century). Recently there has been a lot of controversy about this area, whether it should be returned to Spain or not, etc. I choose not to enter into the debate. I am sure if you ask the folks who live there they do NOT want to become a part of Spain though. There were even Red Coats! As soon as you cross into Gibraltar you are immediately greeted by signs in English, red telephone booths and bobby police officers. You are obviously in a different country and Jose even claimed that it smelled like the U.K. (I don...

WTF, Spain? In the last few weeks there has been quite an uproar here in Spain as known, condemned ETA terrorists have won a legal battle and are being released from prison. Let's not mince words here, these people are responsible for murder and mayhem that plagued the country in the 1980's. They committed crimes, were caught, went to trial, were found guilty and have been in prison since.  Seems like a normal reaction to being found responsible for 24 deaths in one case, that of Ines del Rio who was released today after being condemned for her participation in various crimes including a car bomb meant to destroy a passing bus full of members of the Spanish Civil Guard. In reality that explosion killed Eugene Kenneth Brown, an American who was not the main target. This woman was in jail for a total of 26 years, that is 13 months for each person she murdered. In Spain the maximum amount of time you can spend in jail is 30 years, regardless of your crimes. So even if you a...

Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious...

Thank you again, Groupon Not too long ago I received a deal from Groupon for 2x1 tickets to Seville's local amusement park. As I had never been before (and Jose hadn't visited since he was a child), we decided to buy the coupon and ended up going yesterday. We brought a picnic lunch to save money and wore comfortable shoes to be able to walk around all afternoon. At the entrance Yaaaarrrggghhhhh The park itself is pirate themed and was created in conjunction with the World Expo Fair that Seville hosted in the early nineties. There are boats everywhere and lots of water rides which are nice during the hot summers here in the south of Spain. There is a big fort and live shows, the most popular being one in which there is a battle aboard a pirate ship.  Most people's favorite ride is a roller coaster although there are a lot of attractions for children as well. I did not go on the really big rides because I have a terrible time with motion sickness. Luck...