Two words...

Dear Blogworld,
I have not forgotten about you, and I do have SO much to tell you!
It is just that reality is kicking my ass right now...

FINAL EXAMS!

See you soon and love always,
Annika

P.S. For those wondering, the picture is not of me, I have not transformed into a bald black man with a yellow shirt.

The Summer Feria of Andalucia

Every town and village in Andalucia has its own feria or fair and it was my town, Rotas, feria last week. Now I have to admit that the Spanish really know how to have a good time! Sherry, wine, tapas and dancing all day and night, it was marvelous! Below you can see me enjoying a gigantic cup of tinto de verano.




It is a huge event and the Spanish look forward to it all year. Women spend a lot of time getting ready in the traditional sevilliana dress, it is a sea of color! The feria concept originated in the middle ages, and was the principal means of interchange of local products within the kingdom.




The streets outside of town are closed of and during the day horses are paraded along the streets and a lot tapas are consumed. At night it turns into a huge block party and the fair shifts to become a public fairground with a traditional amusement park with lots of rides for the children. Below I show of anther gigantic cup, this time mojito, and the pirate dog Andre won me at one of the many prize winning stalls!




Also at night is when most restaurants and bars have parties in the "casetas" (tents) they set up, complete with fully stocked bars and dancing floors. Yeah, living in Spain totally rocks!

Le petit heaven

One day strolling around the rose city of Toulouse my husband was determined to show me this store his mother had taken him to last time he visited.

When he finally found the place he told me to close my eyes before getting up to its window. He did the 'tadaa!' and I opened my eyes. In front of me was the fantastical world of the most amazing chocolateir I have ever been into!



I love that my husband knows me so well! Wondering around the place I felt like I was in a daze. It was impossible to take it all in. And how could I choose from this chocolate art?
I mean just look at these marzipan fruits and vegetables, they look so real!



We ended up buying a small bag of pralines and truffles (which we had to eat as soon as we purchased them, only to prevent the melted mess of course...!) each and a bag of chocolate covered gourmet coffee beans.



Every bite was highly emotional! And yeah, of course we don't have any left over... Ah, until next time my sweet chocolateir!

Graduation crisis in the sun

Whoa! I guess I have not felt like blogging in awhile huh?

It is all good here in Spain though, last week I was busy laying on the warm sand and soaking up some rays dude!
Unfortunately this week I am just busy with school again... Nearly done though! May is my last month of school and then I have my Bachelors degree, whoohoo!

The only problem that the end of school seems to bring is that I have fallen into some confused midlife crisis! What now? Now that I am going to be graduated, what is my next step? Do I really have to grow up now?

The horror! I automatically in panic started to think that going for a Masters degree would be so much cooler then Bachelors... But that would be based on the fear of "the graduated from college" void...

I have gone from panic and to embracing the possibilities, or if you prefer, embracing the chaos! Have a lot planned for this summer including starting to work on my book, learning Greek and French and also plenty of travel. Come fall we will see how the book is going, I might be ripe for actually starting to look for a "real" job by then.

I have so many dreams and the perfect opportunity to fulfill a lot of them, now I just have to prioritize and be creative! Hmmm... Or procrastinate! Don't you hear the beach calling my name?