The final weekend!!

This weekend marked my final weekend here in the province of Almería. This has been a wonderful home the past year! My roommate and myself decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend some time in Mojácar. Mojácar is a beautiful beach town about five miles away and is a very large tourist destination.

 We headed to a beach club that we have heard about from some friends. The beaches had much more people than what we are used to at our house but there was still plenty of space. We brought some little speakers and relaxed.

 After a few hours we decided if we were going to head out for the evening than we would be needing coffee!

 We had a long chat about how we have had a wonderful year and sad to leave each other. I will definitely be planning a future trip to Nashville Tennessee to visit my Jade!

 Later that evening we headed next door to one of our favourite restaurants for some seafood! Jade is a big fan of Paella.

I cannot believe this part of my adventure is coming to an end. Next week for my last week at school I will be taking plenty of pictures to share! Cleaning the house has been crazy but I am so excited to be arriving home the 19th of June. After this week at school I will be traveling a bit before my return to Seattle. 

Beach Weekend

This weekend was full of beautiful warm summer days and so what better way to spend it than go to the beach! 

 Also for the last time this year Santi came to visit!! We woke up early on Friday and after picking up some treats from the farmer's market we headed straight out to our beach.

 At first it seemed pretty empty but after an hour we were surrounded by friends and many other vacationers and locals.

 Unlike my companions I did not get the courage to go for a swim in the Mediterranean... brrrrrr still toooo cold! I did dip my feet in :) 

This was a completely successful beach weekend!! I made sure to use plenty of sunscreen and even spent some time around the pool as well. I know that may seem silly to spend some time at the pool when I have a beach so close but there is shade near the pool and I didn't want to burn! Not sure what next weekend will bring but there is sure to be plenty of sunshine! Hope you all are enjoying the sun on your side of the world as well!

FERIA

This past weekend was my last long weekend before I return back to Seattle. I had six nights to spare and decided to head to Sevilla for the annual Feria de Abril celebration. During this week the children are out of school and the dance, drink,and enjoy the company of others for seven days. 

 Half of the Feria is like a fair with rides, games, and greasy food. I could not believe how many people were here. This pictures makes it seem like the weather was not very nice but overall it was quite warm the whole weekend.

 The other half is full of both private and public "tents" called casetas. This is where people spend most of their time. In this picture of the boys you can see a pitcher of rebujito. This is the drink of Feria which consists of a fortified wine and sprite mixture. The cups that they we drank this in were the size of shot glasses. In the tents there is seating, a small bar/restaurant area, and a dance floor that always seems to be full. 

 I saw this family on the horse and couldn't resist from taking a picture. The streets are filled with horses and buggies. I have been told that the people that use this method of travel usually have quite a bit of money. I saw several groups of men just parked on their horses drinking. The sight of this bothered me some and I hope is not a sign of how these horses are treated regularly.

 In this picture you can see the line up of all the tents on one of the many long streets. During this week the men typically wear a tie and the women a flamenco dress. The woman spend over one thousand dollars just for one of these dresses and most of them own more than one!! That just seems crazy to me but they are very colorful and pretty.

 This is the door to Feria which is very large and lit up every night. On the first day they have a lighting ceremony and on the last night at midnight there is a fireworks show.

 This is a picture of the inside of Santi's families tent. The private tents are co-owned by several families. This is the tent we spend the majority of our time at during Feria.

I do not own nor did I purchase one of the dresses but I did try a friend's dress on just so I could take a picture :) Overall it was a successful weekend but I look forward to this weekend on the beach relaxing as well!!