Backlog

I have wayyy too much to go over now to bring this blog up to date. For the past few days especially, I have been running around like a badger with a [insert end of bad analogy]. So, I will hit some highlights to the best of my ability.

Something Familiar
So, back to my first spring break: semana santa. After returning from Italy, I had a couple of days in Sevilla. I spent the first resting since the entire Italy trip kept me pretty perpetually tired. The next day (Tuesday) I hit the street to watch some of Sevilla's famous Semana Santa pasos, which consist of 'nazarenos' (people dressed in outfits strangely similar to the KKK...see picture) parading through the street carrying crosses, candles, or massive, heavy float-like things that involve a sculpture of either Jesus or the Virgin Mary. They're pretty impressive, but the popular religion here is very unique...and a little sad.


After that, I jumped on an early flight and headed to Madrid to meet up with my family! As it turned out, their flight was delayed by some harsh weather, but they made it eventually. While I waited, I explored Madrid a little bit, including an actual Egyptian temple that was given to Spain by Egypt's government decade ago. The Temple of Debod is now...in a park in Madrid.

It was wonderful to see everyone, and we absolutely tore up the tourist scene around Madrid. We saw one of the top art museums in the world in the Prado, went to Toledo and visited the neo-Gothic cathedral there, and took a trip to El Escorial to see the palace/basilica that contains the final resting place of the monarchs of Spain from Charles I (AKA Charles V) on. Afterwards, they came to Sevilla, and it was a joy to show them around the my city. We saw the cathedral, Alcazar, and took a day trip to Ronda. I especially enjoyed smoking pipes with dad while watching the night-lit cathedral in Sevilla, a wine and cheese picnic in Ronda, and a marvelous (and much needed) back-rub from Deborah and Mary. I miss them already, but it's not but a couple months (hopefully) until I see them again.

Iceland...
...evidently the world's largest producer of volcanic ash...and heartache. I know I may be skipping some things that I have done or stories I could tell, but I can't seem to focus enough to recall them. In short, what has been occupying my mind over the last few days is the deconstruction of my big trip.

My second spring break is here now, and since the end of February or beginning of March, I have been planning a trip to London, Paris, and Barcleona. As you have probably heard, a volcanic eruption in Iceland has canceled flights all over Europe. The London portion of my trip is effectively wasted, and now Paris is questionable. I have a flight from Madrid to Paris on Monday, so my friend and I are going to look tomorrow morning and see what the chances of it actually taking off are before buying bus tickets and going to Madrid. Ayayay. What can we do though? Nothing but hope and pray for the best...it's a curveball. But, we'll see what happens, and there will be updates to come! I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I wasn't already in London and stuck there indefinitely. Actually, that may have been kind of cool. But whatever.

So, either Paris on Monday or not. Whatever happens, I remain yours, TJT.