Allie in the South of Spain

Turkey legs and wizard blankets This weekend Jose and I decided we wanted to experience our first Renaissance Festival since I have been hearing about it for years from lots of people who mostly raved about the giant turkey legs and ridiculous costumes. We arrived early and I was shocked by how many cars were already in the parking lots but then I got excited when we ended up parked next to a group of folks dressed up as knights and what I can best describe as fairies. I knew it was going to get better from there. Jose at the entrance The venue itself was much larger than I expected with shops and restaurants that seemed to be permanent installations. We walked around the perimeter checking out what people were selling (lots of costumes, weaponry and other nerdy odds and ends like unicorn horns and dragon art). They also had quite a few stages set up around which featured different acts like juggling, magic, comedy and singing. Who wouldn´t want this super awesome wizard b...

Confessions of a bookworm I tend to read quite a bit in general but during the summer even more so. I am the kind of person who will stay up late reading even when I know I have to get up early the next day. I will have more than one book going at once and a stack in my night table next to my bed. If a book doesn't interest me I will stop reading it (which drives my husband crazy). I also will read the ending of a story before I am about half way through (which also makes him mad). I am always impressed by people who not only have a good story in their heads, but that also have the power to write it down well. It really is a talent!  Anyway, chalk it up to long flights, laziness out in the sun (or the rain) and lots of free time but this summer I read quite a bit. For the most part when I read for pleasure I choose novels in English since my mind needs a break from living life in Spanish. I also am still burned out a bit from graduate work in another language. Here...

Weekend get-away This past weekend Jose and I headed down to Cleveland as an early Christmas present from my parents. (We needed to get out of the house as much as they wanted us gone for a few days). I had not really considered Cleveland as a tourist destination in the past but being there just two days has changed my mind. I would say it is well worth a a weekend trip. We made the incredibly boring three hour drive on Saturday morning via the mindless Ohio turnpike and headed first to the University Circle area (chock full of museums and cultural institutions and named for its vicinity to the Case Western campus). Cleveland Museum of Natural History After arriving, we first set our sights on The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. We were able to walk through and enjoy both their permanent and temporary exhibits that focused on lots of different branches of science like astronomy, botany, archaelogy, zoology and paleontology. One of the first we visited was about the enormous...

Here again is another post that should have been written a while ago after Jose and I spent a weekend visiting the centrally located autonomous community, Castilla-La Mancha. This part of Spain is famous for being the setting of Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote.  It is quite flat and the drive was a bit repetitive since we traveled over a lot of plateaus and plains to arrive in Valdepeñas where we spent the night. The town plaza in Valdepeñas This region in Spain is famous for its wineries so of course we had to take a tour complete with tasting while we were there. The ArUspide bodega that we visited offered a very interesting look inside both the history and the process of making wine, topped off with quite a few samples. They even had a museum. One of the things that I remember thinking was very interesting was the fact that people would purchase entire barrels of wine when they were filled, knowing full well that they wouldn't be ready to drink for a while. Often ...

Eastern Market This weekend Jose, my sister and I went to Detroit´s Eastern Market on Saturday. I had never been and was pleasantly surprised by this big local food district. Divided into 3 or 4 giant sheds, this market has been a Detroit staple since 1891. The city that houses this market may be bankrupt but this place sure is not. It was just bustling with people and stands. You can find all kinds of produce, plants, jams, bread, flowers, meats, spices, cheeses and more. In fact it reminded me of the open air markets that we have a lot of in Spain. We bought some fruit and wandered around admiring everything there was being offered (a lot of  which were organic, non-GMO products). The people watching was fun as well since folks from all walks of life were represented throughout the market (both buyers and sellers). The area surrounding the Eastern Market is really cool and worth a visit. It has quite a few shops, restaurants and plenty of parking. We walk...

Last night my sisters, two cousins and I went to a concert. The Backstreet Boys concert to be exact. I realize that for a lot of people this is not their ideal music show but for 6 girls who grew up listening to (and in some cases crushing on) BSB, we were excited to re-experience good memories. Plus the lawn tickets were offered on Groupon for 20 dollars so it was a deal when you consider what concerts can cost these days. Sisters and cousins When we arrived I could not believe how many people had actually turned out for this concert. Most of them were women our age. We got there a bit late so we were kind of stuck at the top deck, looking down at the people on the lawn and pretty far away from the stage and area with actual seating. We were at the waaaay top. Our group got some beers and listened to the opening act, a brosef that I didn't really know named Jesse McCartney. We pretty much talked through the whole thing. So right before the Boys were scheduled t...

Last excursion: Ephesus This is yet another post that should have been written a while ago, last summer to be exact since this was the last stop on our honeymoon cruise. Jose and I had already visited Italy, Croatia , Athens and several Greek islands before stopping in Turkey for the day. We planned ahead and booked an excursion with the cruise line that visited the ancient city of Ephesus. We hopped on the bus early in the morning but by the time we had arrived there were already a TON of other tourists walking around in the heat. Ephesus is famous for being the site of the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) though now there are only ruins. It also has the Library of Celsus which is somewhat better preserved. Library of Celsus Our tour guide did a good job of relating to us what life would have been like in this big city, how the different classes of people would have lived. We also saw a reenactment after visiting the giant theate...