| So the Wanzer's are safely home. Sigh. It was a good weekend....
They got here Wednesday. We wandered around Alcala, then took the bus home. We rode the bus one stop too far, because i was all confused about the button. :o) It was a crappy bus. Grr. Then we enjoyed a lovely practice of Fiddler. Much amusement and laughter. They got to meet everyone. Then we went to watch the boys play soccer. We didnt get home till like 9:30 and they only had a 45 minute nap that day. Way to be hard core travelers, guys. :o) Then Thursday...what did we do? Oh yes we went to the lovely Rastrillo that Camarma has. It was posh let me tell you. ;o) But we did make some good purchases. Then we hit the bread store so they could have that experience. Then what did we do??? (this is why Hannah is the memory keeper of our relationship. :o)). We probably went home and packed for Valencia.
The boys left with the Steffens (lucky dogs) around 2:00, mom left at 2:30 with Miss Kellem (also lucky) and Hannah and i were supposed to leave at 2:30 with the Felty's. They call to report we're not leaving until 3. I think they got here around 4:30. :o) Yeah. At least Hannah and i got in some Smallville time. So we're all driving along, and supposedly the car has trouble. We wont go into the details, suffice it to say we were the last ones there. Partly because we were driving up and down the streets of Gandia arguing about the location of the hotel (this is only funny if you know the Felty's. :o)). So anyway, we finally found the right street. As we were driving down it, i was looking at the hotels and starting to feel a little concerned that the four star hotel was on a 10 star scale. But then the nicest hotel on the strip appeared and it was ours!!! Lots of palm trees, and a really nice pool, and an AWESOME 30 feet from the beach. :o) And it was such a nice beach. We got all checked in, also discovering that our room had a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. :o) You in the States may all feel jealous now. :o) Hannah and i got situated, then went to have some lovely hotel food. It wasnt as bad as all you people made it out to be. :o) We did some practicing for the worship team, then some of us went out to check out the beach. It was dark and cold, but it was still cool. :o) I cant remember what other fun things we did that night. Hannah will have to help me out. The next day, I got up and got a picture of the sunrise over the Mediterranean (take that, all you people who make fun of me for never seeing the sunrise!! :o)). That day Mom, JM, Caleb, Hannah and I walked all along the beach out to an ugly light house, past all the rich people's yachts. I want a yacht. Who decided a yacht was called a yacht anyway? We went back to the beach and I made an amazing sand castle while watching everyone play football and soccer on the beach. I believe it was that night that around 1, as we were thinking about heading to bed, we couldnt find our brothers. They got their own room (all the kids were two to a room, except Hannah and I, who shared with mom. That pretty much meant no sneaking out at night. :o)). So Hannah and i decided to put on our pjs and get ready for bed to give them a chance to get to their room. We got ready and they still weren't there. So we struck off in search of them. We knew (or thought we knew) most of the boys were on the second or fourth floor, and we figured they were having a late party. So Hannah and i walk, in our pjs, down the hallway, listening at every door. Yes we did. No sound. So we hunted down Stephanie, who said that Joe and Tim were across from them. We decided to ask Joe and Tim. So i all knock on the door (remember its 1am). The door opened to revel not Joe and Tim, but Mr. Steffens. He sees two girls, in their pjs, looking for his son at 1 in the morning. Hmm. If that doesn't incriminate you, i dont know what does. To make a long story short, we found the boys just as we were heading in, trying to get into their room with a faulty key. Oh well, at least we got a story.
The next day our group headed into Valencia. We past tons of orange groves on the way in. We also ate lots of oranges there by the way, to counter balance the grease of everything else. Valencia was really pretty. Sort of similar to Madrid, except all the buildings were white or really light colored. Very tropical looking. We saw pretty much cool old buildings and the cathedral. Oh we also went into a big food market so Hannah and Caleb could get that experience. Lots of seafood with eyeballs and scales and multiple legs, and also some unknown skinned...creatures. I think they were rabbits. They reminded me of the skinned dog in the Village (which we also watched one night. Much scariness). So that was cool.
We returned to the hotel to discover a volleyball game going on. Later, Hannah M. and Samira (a leader) were wrestling, and some how it became a group event. They guys found a small plastic turtle, that I believe became The Red Turtle of Power, that had to be protected at all costs. So pretty much the end result was much sand everywhere. There was also much table-topping going on (who decided that was cool?) which gets sand down your pants. I had my camera when i was table-topped, so now it also has sand everywhere and doesnt work. This could be unfortunate. Hannah was smart and took her jeans off in the tub, and washed half the beach down the drain. I took mine off in the middle of the floor. :o) So thats where the rest of the beach landed. :o) Oh, i forgot to mention that a couple of the nights there was a group of old people doing awesome ball room and flamenco dancing. It was soooo cool. They asked us to go up and dance one night, but for some reason we didnt. Why is that? Oh well. That night we had a party in Joe and Tim's room, cause they had food. :o) Actually that wasnt why. It was because their mini bar wasnt locked. :o) Ok that wasnt it either. It was just because. And it was more like lounge around and make fun of what was on tv. I think by 12:30 Tim would have gladly roasted us all on spits if it meant getting us out of his room. :o)
We only went to half of the sessions at the conference, but the ones we did go to were really good. Gabby (leader) gave her testimony and talked about the power of prayer. Dan (leader, in charge person) talked about the importance of witnessing to our friends, and the need for us to obey the Spirit when we feel Him nudging us to share with someone. He also talked about how God speaks, and how to know it is Him speaking. That one was really good. I got alot out of that one.
All in all it was a pretty amazing weekend. I had a total blast. On the way home, the Felty's only stopped once, this time for brake problems, and we only headed back to Valencia for 10 minutes before we found a spot to turn around. :o)
Monday the four of us went into Madrid with Joe as our guide/interpreter. We only got mildly lost. :o) We saw the Palace, Plaza Mayor, Sol, and Retiro. We also stopped at a couple of shops. We went to Kabobs, a first for Hannah, Caleb, and Joe. I will so miss that place when we leave. I am usually the least messy eater, but when we go to Kabobs, i get stuff everywhere. How does that happen? Oh, on the way, we stopped at the shoe store where JM got his Brazilian shoes. I think i love that place, despite the fact that it is funding the Chinese takeover of the world. Hannah and i both bought shoes. I couldnt believe it. They are sooo Spanish looking. First the jeans, now this. :o) They are really cute. I need to go back. :o) Caleb got a shirt at Pull and Bear (cool store. We need some at home) that said "My love liVe stinks". Gotta love the Spanish. I think Hannah and Caleb got a good taste of Europe. We saw several gay couples, a fair sprinkling of porn (on magazines and such, you people) and were offered weed. :o) So you see what a need there is for ECA here.
Here are some quotes from this weekend. I want to be just like Lynnette and Stephanie. :o) I cant remember as many good ones, though.
Please note some of these quotes are from the Restricted Section, and you will need a signed slip from your parents to read them. :o)
"Do you guys have a curfew? We gotta get you in bed!" - Samira, one of the leaders, to Jon-Michael and Caleb
"Aww, that shirt makes you look pregnant!" - Hannah, to me. Cause i am capable of looking pregnant, no matter what shirt i have on.
"You have to say 'alternative lifestyle'. You cant say, 'You flippin faggot!'" - Greg.
"What did you guys do during the session?" "Lots and lots of sex." - it was a purity conference, i guess. We missed those sessions. Possible thankful feelings? :o)
"She likes to read and take long, hot showers." - Hannah, in the icebreaker game, after i had said all sorts of nice things about her. What a great friend.
Hannah and I and the Mediterranean
Sunrise over the Mediterranean. Heck yes.
Who are these weird people?
Hannah did my hair. I doubted her at first, but never again. :o)
What????
Beach volleyball viewed from our hotel room.
Hannah, Michael and Joe wrestling.
Us in front of the Cervantes statue.
I love all you people. Miss you Hannah and Caleb!
Corrie |
;)
