A Very Spanish Christmas Celebration

Although I have missed celebrating my favorite holiday with all of you, I thought of all of you. My Christmas Eve was so much fun and I had a nice Christmas Day as well. Christmas Eve I was invited by my friend Jackeline to have dinner at her house with her brother, his wife and her. (Christmas Eve is a bigger celebration than Christmas Day). We had a large variety of Spanish dishes which were really good. Then on Christmas Day the girls and I had roast chicken, a side potato dish and chocolate chip cookies. We spent most of the day watching our favorite Christmas movies. It was a lot of fun. :)
A small, but lovely Christmas tree.
Jackeline's family: Fredy, Melissa, Jackeline, me, Javier and Jackeline's mom.

After a delicious dinner....Jackeline and Fredy.

Jackeline and Fredy dancing salsa.

Our Christmas Eve dinner: gambas, morcilla frita, tostadas con pate, cochinillo, bacalao, jamos serrano, queso manchego, Ribera de Duero wine, champagne, sweet white wine, turron and a chocolate cake.
Cheers.....yes, some enjoyed their champagne with caviar.

Christmas Day: Jeri with our delicious roast chicken!Emily carving the chicken....you can somewhat see the potatoes next to her.Jackeline and I at the Black Pearl celebrating the last few minutes of Christmas. :)

Christmas is all around us.....

Just to give you all a little taste of what Valladolid looks like decorated for Christmas, I will share some of my photos with you. Some of them didn't turn out well because of all the lights and movements, but hopefully they are clear enough for you to get an idea. :)

If anyone is curious as to what my plans will be, on Christmas Eve I will be having dinner with my dear friend Jackeline and her family. Then on Christmas Day my roommates and I will be making roast turkey with potatoes and peach cobbler. Yum! Not traditional, but I'm looking forward to it. Then for the next few days we have about 11 xmas movies we want to watch....we'll see how many we get through!

Merry Christmas everyone!
One of the main streets near Plaza Mayor.
Plaza Mayor all lit up.
One part of the nativity scene, the stables. This year the city expanded a bit on the traditional nativity scene.
The Christmas tree in Plaza Mayor. To be honest, I prefer the arbol de deseos.
Another view of Plaza Mayor.
The nativity scene in front of the city hall.
Carousel!
Valladolid's city hall.

Besitos, celeste

Christmas Time is Here!!!

I just want to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope you all enjoy the holidays with family, friends and loved ones! I will miss not being in California for the holidays, but I'll be thinking of all of you! I'll be sure to share with you how I celebrated my Christmas.

The past few weeks have been nice. Spending time with friends, going out and even a "Fiesta Americana". Tomorrow is my last day of work for 2 1/2 weeks. I'm looking forward to the time off. :)

Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs, this version is sung by The Almost: Little Drummer Boy

Besitos!

Due ragazze e un iPod!!!

Italy....yes, it is true. I can't resist this country; I just love it so much! I had a 6 day weekend and spent 5 of those days with my dear friend Jessica. I had a blast and even though it was extremely cold, Italy was good to me.
Jessica's hometown Castelvetro.
Trying to make an hour and a half train ride fun!
Where we stayed for the weekend when we visited Bologna and Ferrara. The town is called Poggio Renatico.
Ferrara: all ready for Christmas time!
Ferrara's castle....love medieval architecture.
On the drawbridge of the castle.
The castle's courtyard.

Measurements of how much the river has flooded the city.
Ferrara's cathedral....so beautiful.

One of the main chapel's in Ferrara's cathedral.
The cathedral's altar.
The nativity scene in the cathedral.

Palace of the diamonds, named so for the architectural design.
The palace's courtyard
Church in Poggio Renatico
Bologna!
Jessica told me that Bologna is known for their arches. There are apparently over 30 km of arches.
The men who died in WWII.



Snow!!!
Glee....I will admit it, I'm a dork!


Baciotti!
Two girls and an iPod....what was on our playlist? Glee!!!
Cordon Bleu, Italian salad, and Rocky Horror....makes for a good night.
Can't get enough of the Beatles!!!
Goofing off while staying out of the cold!
So beautiful!
O Christmas Tree!!!
Fontana di Triton
Fighting the cold....with gelato!
Yum!
For those Barney Stinson fans!!!

Phone Five!
Ringo, you've got nothing on me!
Beatles Rock Band!!!

Hope you are all doing well! Besos!