Tuesday morning we left Pais Vasco and headed down to Spain. Burgos was the second city I served in in Spain and where I ended the mission. We arrived around noon and took a tour around Burgos' cathedral. The cathedral is HUGE for a town that is now fairly small.
After lunch we went back to the hotel (on the bus at Sean's BEGGING request) and relaxed for a few quick minutes before going out again to meet up with a few of my favorite peeps from Burgos for some more churros and chocolate and ice cream.
The day was full of eating because after that, we headed over to meet Javi at the church and followed him out to he and his wife, Hedy's, new house in a little pueblo outside of Burgos for dinner. Hedy really made the boys in the family happy by serving them spaghetti, chicken nuggets (with barbeque sauce) and mashed potatoes. They are such a cute family and were such a great help to us with the missionary work while I was serving in Burgos.
Before going home we did a quick stop by the Abajo family's house (it was quick because the Barcelona vs. Madrid game was on and I didn't want to be the cause of interrupting that because I know that in my house that would have been like interrupting BYU's sweet 16 game or actually just about any other basketball game) and it was so good to see all of them. Their son, Jairo, only 23 years old (I think. He returned home from serving a mission in Ogden, Utah while I was there in the fall of 2008) is now the branch president there in Burgos. I can't even imagine having that kind of responsibility. They are an impressive bunch.
We left Burgos early Wednesday morning and headed to Toledo. I had never been to Toledo before and so that was fun. It is a small city but jam-packed with Spanish history, culture and architecture.
We stayed in the temple housing that night in Madrid which was fun because the rooms are almost exactly like the ones that are there for the missionaries (it is in the same building as the MTC just on a different floor) and so it was fun little memory to relive (I was really only there for a week while getting my residency worked out when I made it over to Spain). And then we were able to attend a session at the temple the next morning before heading back to the airport bound for Cairo.
Chillin on the stairs to the side of the cathedral.
Enjoying pepitos (a delicious pastry found only in Burgos) before entering the Cathedral.
After visiting the cathedral, I took the family on a walking tour of Burgos from the cathedral down to the other side of the city past the church and to where we lived.
Outside the church.
Please don't mind the fact that C.J. looks a little drugged up and all of the construction happening on the street outside.
It's funny how when you are a missionary you don't even realize how much walking/running around you do in a day because as missionaries we would make the rounds of that city multiple times a day and not even think about it, but just taking them down the strip once (roughly a 2-mile walk) had both of the boys asking "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" more times than I can even count. Although I have to admit that it didn't help the situation when after making the walk all the way down with a promise of the best Doner Kebab of their lives, we arrived only to find that it was closed down for the month of April (mind you it was MAY 10th, but that is just kind of how Spanish vacations and shop closings roll). So we went to the local Eroski and picked up some picnic food and ate it in the plaza where I used to run.
Everyone whining when we found that the Doner was closed
C.J. and Sean on the bench were they plopped down on and refused to move
until they were provided with nourishment from the "long journey"
Right to left: Lia (Sara's cute friend that we taught), Margarita (Sara's mom and the mom to all the missionaries who pass through Burgos), Sara (the most AMAZING member missionary ever), Jared (her husband of about 1 year), and you know the rest.
This picture reminds me how GIGANTIC I always used to feel while around Spanish people.
Hedy, Javi and their adorable son Marcos (their baby daughter was upstairs sleeping by this point)
We left Burgos early Wednesday morning and headed to Toledo. I had never been to Toledo before and so that was fun. It is a small city but jam-packed with Spanish history, culture and architecture.
Outside the gate to the inner city of Toledo
Everyone super happy that we found them an OPEN Doner Kebap joint
Mom & Dad outside Toledo's HUGE Cathedral
Mom adding to her china colection in a cute store with an ancient basement in Toledo
Outside the city about to head back to Madrid
eating dinner in the temple hostel's kitchen/dining room
Jam packed into one room for the night.
(These bunks are the same ones the missionaries have there in the MTC)
The beautiful Madrid Temple
1 comment:
Katie, OH MY GOSH. I can't get over this trip. My favorite one of these pics though, has to be the one of the boys complaining about the long journey. They are so tough.
Post a Comment