everything is beautiful

this weekend was our long holiday weekend in spain! i went with amanda astrid and taylor to the Pyrenees! It was incredible. We left Friday en route to Jaca. We had to go through Pamplona again. We had a three hour layover so we decided to go ice-skating. it was amusing to say the least. I'm not the most coordinated person, so i was no Michelle Kwan. I was pretty proud that i didnt have to hold onto the wall the entire time! There was a local news station filming and i even got interviewed. Im pretty sure the guys were laughing on the inside the entire time at my attempt to communicate with them in spanish ha! We got on our bus and headed toward Jaca, a small town in the province of Aragon. The drive there was pretty incredible. We went in and out of the mountains and passed a beautiful lake. i saw so many of the tiny villages i love so much! We finally arrived in Jaca. From Jaca we took a cab to our hotel which was about 20km outside of the city. We stayed at Las Magas. it was a beautiful hotel, very modern and the service was great! the concierge even helped us workout a deal with a taxi driver who agreed to drive us around the whole weekend for a set price!

for our first full day in the Pyrenees we went to a small skiing village

called Panticosa. It was one of the most incredibl

e places ive ever been. on the drive there we steadily climbed higher into the mountains. we began to see more and more snow! leading up to the town were the most beautiful old houses and another lake. the cliffs dropped straight off and there was this jade colored lake! snow was still on

the ground (melting a little) but the town was so cute! astrid and taylor went skiing and amanda

and i explored the town. we got to go into the church, which was built in the 11th century! It never ceases to amaze me when i see these chruches that are hundreds and hundreds of years old still standing. the brains that must have gone into their construction blows my mind. they are completely made of stones but still are beautiful and strong. we meandered through the tiny

streets and looked at all of the stores. one of my favorite things was that they had Christmas music playing throughout the city! amanda and i even came upon a family of kittens. they were so

cute! we couldnt resist, so we bought a can of catfood and fed them. it might not have been the best idea but we couldnt help it!

sunday we decided to explore the town of Jaca. we attempted to go iceskating but the lady who worked there was adamant that we come back at 5 since they were closing soon for lunch/siesta. instead, we walked to the old town. we wandered through the streets, stopping at the occasional store (no buying, just browsing for me). we made our way to the cathedral

(it wasnt a cathedral like notre dame, but it was beautiful on the inside). as we were walking in we realized mass was starting so we decided to go! It was a lovely service, and such a blessing to be able togo to mass in such an old, historic building. after we went to lunch at a restaurant our driver

recommended called La Cadiera. this was probably the highlight of they. We felt so "spanish" because we ordered dishes typical to the region of

Aragon, and they were DELICIOUS! One was called Migas (bread, kindof crumbled but moist with flavoring, and an egg!) it doesnt sound like much but is was sooo good! I also got sopa montanesa (spanish version of french onion soup) which was excellent. taylor and astrid ordered typical meat dishes which were delicious as well! we had such a good time eating and talking. lunch took a while (another reason we felt spanish). after, we walked to "la cuidadela" (the old fortress, similar to the one i saw in Pamplona). all in all, it was a great last weekend trip! it was very relaxing and care free. i will definitely miss the ease of traveling here. i have had some great times with good friends!