Sevilla

In January Jason and I went on a day trip to Sevilla, or Seville, a city about one hour from Cadiz.


We went inside this catholic church and climbed to the top of tower you see on the right.

J and A at the top of the tower.

This is the grave of Christopher Columbus--supposedly.
In this picture you can see the Matador and the Bull Stadium. I'm not too sure about it but Jason would like to go to a Bull fight while we are in Spain but i believe they do not start until Summer.
Jason infront of the Bull Stadium.
The architecture of Sevilla.

City of Sevilla and in the distance the Bull Stadium.

A glimpse of city life in Sevilla.

The Holidays

Jason took this picture at 4:00am when we arrived in Utah after traveling 50 hours, which included a night in the Madrid airport. I think we both are in need of sleep--and a shower.


I went to Temple Square this year to see the Christmas lights for the first time. So beautiful! We went with our friends Wren and Savana. Wren is one of Jason's missionary companions.


More lights.


We had a lot of fun being home in Maryland for the Holidays. It was great to see everyone, especially my brother Tyler who returned from his mission. We played games, went bowling, saw some movies, used our new Ironman watches on morning jogs through the woods, took some anger out at the driving range (mostly Jason), and ate--a lot.


The family.

Portugal

Just to let everyone know theses past couple trips we posted were before Christmas time. We are playing a little catch up so we can document our time here in Europe. Here is the trip we took to Portugal just before Christmas.

Lisbon is a beautiful, old city. This picture shows a bay that jets into mainland Portugal, but it eventually leads into the Atlantic Ocean.


This is a statue of St. (King) George, the first King of Portugal.

For all of you Kebab lovers, this picture is for you. Kebabs: pita sandwiches consisting of meat that's shaved off these large balls of rotating meat. So tasty.

Portugal

This is a trolly car that went up and down the hill that lead to St. George's castle. I wish I could give you more details about St. George, but I think he was the first king of Portugal.

Jason and I on top of a tower that over looks the City.

We enjoy our little jogs in the morning. Here I am in front of an enormous Christmas tree. Each night it would light up and play music. It is sure bright outside.
This is the "new" part of Lisbon. It is very modern compared to the other parts of the city. Here we found innovative and creative architecture, beautiful walkways, and fancy restaurants.
This is the famous aqueduct in Lisbon. You can't really tell from the picture, but the columns of the aqueduct were huge? At least 2 lanes of cars run between each set of columns.

Andrea has quite the photographer's eye, doesn't she? She took this while we we going about 40 mph. Very impressive. (I, Jason, added this picture.)

Zahara de la Frontera

Jason and I visited this cute little white village called Zahara de la Frontera. It belongs to a string of country villages known as the "Route of White Villages."
One thing we really love about Europe is the narrow streets. You are always sure to find the elderly local walking around.
This is the castle that stands at the top of Zahara. It was once occupied by the Arab nation, which occupied much of Spain for hundreds of years. This castle's walls were probably 5 feet thick. You could tell just how thick the walls were by going in the entrance or looking out a window. This feature was to protect the castle from projectiles, obviously. Another interesting feature was the size of the windows. The window on the outside of the wall was very small so that arrows couldn't enter. The window on the inside of the wall, however, was very wide and allows you to move from right to left and see almost 180 degrees. Smart, huh?
Jason standing on top of the castle with another white village in the distance.

I am in one of the windows of the castle where you can see lots of olive trees (this wasn't one of the windows described above). The trees were everywhere, even on the sharpest incline. Olive trees are able to grow in such locations because of their powerful root system, which grabs hold on anything it can.

Here in Spain green olives are always served as an appetizer. Jason is not fond of them and neither am I but for some reason I always try one thinking I will change my mind.

Nuestra Casa (our home)

This is what we wake up to everyday. Trust us, everyday we remind ourselves that we will never wake up to this again.

We live on the 6th floor of this apartment complex.

Believe it or not we are inside our apartment.

Bon apetite!

This is one of the many beautiful sunsets from our window.