Christmas

We were so excited to have Parker's parents, Avril and Hal visit us in Spain for a week. As their connecting flight was delayed in Copenhagen, they missed their train in Barcelona and arrived a day late on December 24. Before Christmas, with Avi and Pops, we toured the city, and enjoyed a festive holiday party at the Wolff-Kings.

Photo: In Pilar Square with Bethlehem display in background











Photo: Zaragoza at night in the lights with Pilar in the background














Photo: Christmas Eve, party at the Wolff-King's apartment








Photo: "Climbing Santa" decorations as seen on many Zaragoza buildings















Photos: Christmas morning, opening presents



















Photo: Kelsey with her "Just Like Me" American Girl doll who has new glasses like Kelsey. American Girl doesn't ship to Spain so Celia had some presents shipped to a teaching friend who's in Spain on an exchange with the Navy; he's allowed to get mail at his APO (military) address






























Photo: Christmas Night, dessert at our apartment with the Wolff-Kings, Griffin Morse and his son, Pierre

Sierra Nevada

Photo: From the top of the mountain, you can see Africa and the Mediterranean Sea

Written by Kelsey

When our days in Cadiz were spent, we moved on to Sierra Nevada (means Snowy Mountains), which is nestled in the hills above Granada where the famous Alhambra resides. We were all very excited to ski and get a taste of New Hampshire with the snow.

Photos: Kelsey on the slopes with the town of the background





Three days were full of scenic skiing and Cola Cao (that's the Spanish hot chocolate). In Spain, you can't say "Chocolate Caliente" (Choco LAte Cal e n te) which is the literal translation for hot chocolate, otherwise they would give you a cup of warm, melted chocolate!






Photo: An olive vending machine in a local Sierra Nevada restaurant. Only in Spain!












On the 4th day in Sierra Nevada, we skated; yet, instead of ice, it was, strangely enough, cold, hard plastic, which made skating challenging. Kelsey and Colin played Broom-Stick Tape-Puck hockey. It was a 8-7 game (8 "Kelsey Killers"-7 "Sierra Nevada Skiers Colin" who lost to the KKs).

Photo: Colin and Kelsey skating and playing broom hockey which helped give Colin a 'hockey fix.' Parker and Celia were pretty hopeless trying to skate on the plastic but they gave it a go.














On the night of January 5, we participated in the celebration of the Three Kings (the actual day is January 6).






Photos: The Three Kings in the plaza at Sierra Nevada. They skied down the mountain with torches (flashlights) and then they threw HOARDS of candy into the crowd. After the mass candy distribution, they dispersed presents to children in the crowd (which the parents had planted on stage for giving). Before we figured out the drill, Colin and Kelsey thought they might get some extra "Christmas" presents.







The best-loved tradition among kids during Spanish Christmas is Los Tres Reyes Magos (the Three Wise Men). Santa Claus is getting more well-known in Spain, but the real stars are los Reyes. These Three Kings are the ones who followed a star to meet the new King of Kings (Baby Jesus) and offered him three presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn child in Belén (Bethelem).





When December comes, all the boys and girls in Spain and Latin America start to write their letters to the Three Kings or to their favorite King: Melchor, Gaspar or Baltasar. They write about the things they'd like to receive on the morning of the 6th of January, (which is the day the presents get delivered) and also about their behavior during the year. If they’ve been good, they get presents; if they’ve been bad, they get a piece of coal. Sound familiar?

Seville

After our day trip to Gibraltar, we decided to stay on Spanish territory and visited Seville, the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain and the capital of Andalucia. Seville is more than 2,000 years old, and has a beautiful historic center. It's always eye opening for us to get out of Zaragoza and see the wonders of Spain.


Photo: Plaza Nueva in front of the Cathedral










Photo: Christopher Columbus' tomb inside the Cathedral of Saint Mary, the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. The Four figures (representing the four kingdoms of Aragon, Leon, Castile and Navarra) carry Columbus's casket on their shoulders. Columbus' tomb has been moved several times from Seville to Cuba and then back to Seville when Cuba won its independence Spain. Yet, controversy over Columbus' tomb is still brewing as the authorities in Spain and the Dominican Republic both claim to have his remains. Depending on the article you read, some say he rests in the Dominican Republic while others say the DNA leans toward Spain.















Photos: Views from the top of Cathedral tower



















Andalucia is more of the stereotypical part of Spain with bullfights and flamenco dancing. Seville or Sevilla as they say in Spain lies on the banks of the Guadalquivir and is one of the largest historical centers in Europe.
















Photo: Having a cerveza break after touring the cathedral



















Photo: After our mesmerizing carriage ride around the city and through María Luisa park



Photo: The night photos couldn't capture the beauty of horse and buggy tour. For better photos, check out this site

Gibraltar

After a couple of days in Cadiz, we took a day trip to Gibraltar, a British territory located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean and across from the northern end of Africa (you can see Africa from the top of the Rock). Americans are familiar with it in the Prudential ads of "The Rock."

Photo: The Rock


We parked our car in Spain and walked across the border to the United Kingdom...well, sort of. We got a kick out of the signs in English (rather than Spanish) along with the typically English red, double decker buses.




An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain by Spain in 1713. It became an important base for the British Royal Navy, which drove the local economy. Today, its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services (read: off shore banking) and shipping.




The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory and seeks its return. Yet, Gibraltarians have rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in referenda held in 1967 and 2002.



The highlight of our visit was taking a gondola to the top of the rock where the Gibraltar apes run free. While the apes are tame, they often climb on unsuspecting tourists, and will grab bags of potato chips or other snacks if given the opportunity.


Photos: Gibraltar Apes









The Apes of Gibraltar are actually tail-less monkeys. No one is really sure how they arrived on Gibraltar and legend has it that if they were to leave The Rock then the Brits would also go. The two most popular explanations as to their appearance is either that they crossed via a subterranean tunnel from their native Morocco or British sailors introduced them having picked them up on their travels.

During the second World War their numbers went into a decline and Winston Churchill, taking a personal interest in the them, arranged to have some more imported from Morocco. Since then, their numbers have steadily increased.

Kelsey Gymanstics and Dance Christmas Performances

In addition to her performance at school, Kelsey had rhythmic gymnastics and dance-jazz expositions through JDL activity programs. While we took some great video of both events, the files are too large to upload to the blog. In a span of less than a week (the week of Christmas), Kelsey had three performances! She impressed us with all her different talents (theater, dance, gymnastics...). She was ready for Christmas break after it was all completed.

Photo: Kelsey and her friend, Alba before the gymnastics competition. Alba is also in Kelsey's 4th grade class








Photo: Young girl from JDL holds the school sign. JDL had 5 or 6 teams representing the school from 5-12 years










Photo: Picture of the scene. At least 300 students participated from a dozen Zaragoza schools









Photo: Kelsey's group performing. Kelsey is on the front left (with her bum in the air)
















Photo: Kelsey and Parker at dinner after the competition

Cadiz

Written by Kelsey...mostly ;)

Photo: Beautiful Cadiz


After Christmas, we traveled to the warm shores of Cadiz in southwestern Spain with Daddy's parents, Avi and Pops. Cadiz, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and possibly of all southwestern Europe, has been a principal port of the Spanish Navy since the 18th century.

Photo: In Cadiz, with historic district and beach in the background. Most days it averaged in the low 60s which felt warm after being in a much cooler Zaragoza


While in Cadiz, we did all the beach and touristy stuff which means seeing the Old City, swimming (well, Colin & and Kelsey swam), hanging out on the beach, a tour walk and also day trips to Gibraltar and Seville.



Photo: Avi and Pops
















Photo: Outside the Cathedral in Cadiz


Photo: Plaza de España, on our walk of the historic district











We stayed in an apartment around the corner from the beach which would have been an ideal location in the summer. The posting for the apartment "forgot" to mention that there wasn't any central heat so we took the 'warm room' approach and moved the one working space heater from room to room.

Photo: Our W.T. living room with laundry drying everywhere and our little space heater in the middle of the room











Photo: Kelsey combing the beach





To no one's surprise, Kelsey was the only one who was brave enough to swim for more than 2 minutes; Colin took a quick dip but none of the rest of us dared. Kelsey has legitimately earned her nickname "Polar Bear" by swimming in even the coldest of water.



Photo: Kelsey swimming


















Photo: In celebration of Hal and Avril's 47th wedding anniversary (!!), we had a fantastic dinner at El Faro

Kelsey Christmas Performances

Kelsey's 4th grade class also had a Christmas performance a few days after Colin's class but they performed "Snow White," sang, and did dance at the end.

Photo: Kelsey and the two 4th grade classes singing their Christmas song (Kelsey is on the far left in the front row)














Photo: Kelsey and her friend, Sophia. Sophia is fluent in English (her father is English and lived in England for 2 years)











Photo: Kelsey's class performing Snow White













Photo: Kelsey playing "Genenova" in Snow White (she had about 10 lines in Spanish and did great!)










Photo: Kelsey's class ending the play and getting ready to start their song