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?

Walking around a 'Toulousian' suburb

Every night after dinner we explored this neighborhood.





Just walking around the suburbs in Toulouse was sometimes a treat.





Houses were gorgeous, spring in full bloom and loads of friendly cats.







We would hear singing and classical music streaming from the houses, smell the culinary skills of the french and say "bonsoir" to the people we would meet.





In this region it is rude not to be polite, it is really the little things that make the difference!

French connections

While in France and then on returning I have realized many things. Here are five examples;

1.That the Captain did not cure me...
The flights to France were fine, but going back to Spain I was scared poopless! I guess the Captains cure only works if you spend the whole day prior to your flight preparing. Now I need suggestions on what to try next... Valium?

2.That sometimes I blogging felt like something I had to do and took up way to much time...
So now I am going to read a book, watch a movie or spend all night walking around town, and if I do not feel like blogging I wont blog that day, or week or whatever! Or if I feel like it I might blog 3 times a day!



3.That sometimes all you have to do is ask...
The weekend the husband and I went to France we were supposed to go to Portugal for a long weekend. Due to this last minute change of plans we lost our hotel booking and it was non refundable. My mother told me to email the hotel and just ask if it was possible to use the room another time instead of getting money back. I did and they actually said yes!

4.That my husband has some amazing strength...
And an unique way to look at life and living. To celebrate his mothers life instead of morning the loss. I admire his faith and feel like the luckiest woman alive! Everyday we choose to do something his mother loved and ended up having a lot of smiles among the sadness of the situation.



5.That I adore France...
And especially how everything illuminates through the little details they spend their time on. Everything was in the details, the buildings, the food, the gardens, the fashion, the people. Just the tiniest thing could make the difference between OK and WOW!

Hola back!

I am back in Spain and back in the blog world!
And ooooh me' goodness, do I have a lot to tell you?!!
Don't touch that dial!