Back to España

Plaza Cervantes, Alcala de Henares

 No, we're not moving back to Spain. But I did get a chance to go back for 2 1/2 weeks. I went to teach a Photoshop workshop with the ministry we used to work with when we lived there before. It was like old times! I started this blog when we lived in Spain (from 2007-2009). You can go back to the beginning in the blog archives and read about it if you have a hankering. Good times.

Although I was there for "work", I arrived a few days early so I could hang out with my good friend, Loida, and her family in Zaragoza (half way between Madrid & Barcelona). It was SO good to see them all again. It made me realize how much of my Spanish I have forgotten, not that I knew a whole lot to begin with. But Loida had mercy on me and spoke English or VERY slow, basic and enunciated Spanish. Thanks, Loida! :)

Loida and her Spanish horchata (which is VERY different from Mexican horchata).

Her sister, Eli and her brother, Javi, also speak English very well, so I wasn't completely in the dark. But when Grandma or their parents spoke to me in fast Spanish, I did a lot of smiling and nodding.

Loida, her cousin Olga, and her grandma.

Eli in her purple room.

Such a great family.

I had missed so many things about Spain. Of course I missed our friends. But to be shallow, I REALLY missed the coffee.

My first Spanish coffee on my trip back to Spain - one of MANY.

Loida also took me to an incredible gelato place. We can get gelato in Denver, but really, does it compare to actual European made gelato??

All natural gelato place in Zaragoza.

Really??? How am I supposed to choose??

But I did choose. "Pistacchio Sublime" and Amaretto.

Before.

During.

Loida during.

After.

Seriously, this place was over the top cool. The gelato was super delicious and the decor was something I wouldn't mind adapting for my own kitchen some day. Lots of natural wood and black accents. I probably wouldn't wear the cute puffy black chef hats the gals working there had on, but maybe...

We walked back home that evening, so that we could work off a little of that gelato. I snapped this photo of the amazing cathedral of Zaragoza while standing on the bridge the spans the Ebro River. So beautiful.

I left the next morning to go back to Alcala de Henares to start the "work" I came to Spain to do (it just doesn't seem like real work!). More about the rest of my trip later...

Hope you enjoyed!

I love a good road trip.

So some of my friends have once again not so subtly reminded me that it's been a long time since I posted anything. I kind of get in a funk sometimes. I haven't even been reading blogs lately. No reason. But I started back up in the last couple of days.

Here are some updates about the doin's at our house:

• I FINALLY got my hutch open. My mom gave me a brilliant idea. She suggested that I saw through the paint that had sealed the door shut. At first I thought it would cause too much damage, but then I came across my pumpkin carving tools, which includes a very very small saw. It fit in the space at the top & bottom of the door, so I just sawed down through the paint & it opened LIKE MAGIC. Thanks Mom. So I should be posting next week about the hutch and it will be filled with DISHES!
• We're getting an estimate on our roof soon. When the roof is done, then I can paint the outside of the house and it will no longer look like it's abandoned. I'd like to do a little more planting, too, and rip out those giant shrubs in the front.
• I'm having a garage sale, so I'm in organizing mode. I'm tired of moving junk. And living in a small place, we really don't have a lot of room for stuff we don't use.

But on to the subject of the post! We went to Dallas/Ft. Worth over Labor Day weekend to visit friends & pick up some of our stuff that we had left in Spain. We went to some great restaurants & saw some fun stuff on the drive. Here's a gallery of our weekend:

 Our dear friends Christopher & Ragna

We had a great time in Dallas with our friend Jessica. She took us to this great restaurant called Park. I loved that turquoise fireplace with the stacked firewood and horizontal wood planks. This was outdoor seating.

This restaurant had a California beachy 60s flea market feel to it.

 

This was inside.

 

This was some of the yummiest pizza we've ever had: dried apricots, proscuitto, boursin cheese and basil.

 The counter at Pinkberry (super tasty yogurt place), view from our table outside.

More spying on Pinkberry patrons. This was Vino's yogurt: mango flavored with berries and fruity pebbles.

So a big part of the whole road trip experience is stopping at funky places along the way. I'm glad Vino wants to do things like that.

 

 Saw this place in Oklahoma. We thought it was an icecream parlor. We thought wrong.

 

What??

Seriously. I think Vino wanted to take this one home.

Why would anyone think this place had ice cream? 

I peeked in the window of that pink camper. It has cheetah print carpet!

I asked that green guy permission first. He didn't care.

 

Of course there were singing metal frogs with GIT-tars.

 

I'll take one of each, please.

 

More than anything else at this store I wanted that soda bar arrow sign like nobody's business. Who cares that I have absolutely nowhere to put it right now. Lucky for me, it wasn't for sale. I really don't need a giant red arrow in my tiny house. But if I lived in a cool urban loft...

 

Pretty jar of ribbon on spools.

 

 

I was laughing at a shelf that had a giant head of the Burger King and one of Ronald McDonald on top.

It looks like I'm wearing a green chandelier hat.

 

Pink bike fencing.

 

Creepy doll-head fencing.

 

Last stop on the way home. Breakfast at this "famous" cafe in Oklahoma.

 

They were really nice to us, even though I was wearing my Husker shirt. 

It was the only clean thing I had left in my suitcase. :)

 This week I vow to return to the land-o-blog. I've missed it!

Back to Romania: Tour of a Wooden Church in Bradet

It's me, Erin, the girl who used to post on this blog. I've been missing from blogtown for several days - and I have no excuse. I have been busier with work stuff and getting ready for our trip, but for some reason I just went through a short period of time where I lost interest. I'm even WAY behind on reading the blogs I subscribe to. I guess it's not a bad thing - I actually spent time away from my laptop and did human things. Like, Vino & I started the P90X workout. I INTENSELY DISLIKE IT. But I know I will be glad I did it when the 90 days are over and I'm in better health. We will be returning to the States around that time, and I am looking forward to being less...shall we say...fluffy.

Enough of that. This post is really about us being back in Romania. We're here for extended video editing training with the media students at the Bible school in Oradea. Vino is training this next week in Motion & LiveType, and I'm doing two Photoshop workshops. I'll post photos later of all that. Today I'm sharing a tour of one of the historic wooden churches that are scattered about this region of Eastern Europe.


This particular church is in Bradet, a town in a rural area south of Oradea. We visted here when we were in Romania last October. From what I've read, the wooden churches were commissioned in the 17th & 18th century by wealthy land owners and built by special church craftsmen who passed the craft on through the generations. The structures were made with no iron nails. This particular church was rebuilt in 1724 when the original was in "a state of demolition." The wooden church was rebuilt with the contributions of the parishioners. You can read more abut the wooden churches here, including the Bradet church.


Let's take a tour!


The church is on top of a hill that you have to climb to get to it. The hillside is covered in graves as the cemetery apparently was not big enough.


The original wood roof was at some point replaced with tin.


Rustic yet stunning hand carved detail. This church is known for its "torsioned rope" carved around the door.


Stepping inside, you enter the outer room. This is Ady. I introduced his family here.


This is what hangs on the wall above the entrance to the more sacred room.


The benches in the outer room have obviously seen a lot of use. I love how the rough wood is softened and polished by the touch of hands, legs & behinds over all those years. This church is still in use, as you can see by the rugs & cushions that cover the seats. This one was right inside the front door.


Walking into the inner sanctuary, it's almost overwhelming the layers & layers of color & texture. The painted wood walls, hand embroidered cloths, candelabra, chandelier, and that rug...that doesn't look quite old enough to be original.


Items on tables up front. The book was made in 1768, but we were allowed to look through it and touch the paper. I love the feel of old paper.

Painted wooden chandelier. Love the wooden chain links!


Doors that lead to a myster room...the holy of holies? I don't know enough about the Orthodox church to know what everything is for.


More detail of important stuff. Some women went to a lot of work hand weaving those blankets!


This is what the seating area opposite the altar area looked like. That's Vino & our friend Estera.


The back wall behind the chairs was full of these old painted wooden crosses.


Back in the outer room, there are stairs that lead to the steeple and the bell.


I could have rung the bell - the rope was right there and no one was watching - but I didn't think that would be a good thing!


Going back outside, here's the view of the front cemetery from the doorway.


So that's the tour. I hope you liked it! I'm always fascinated by the specific architecture, painting styles, linens, etc. that represent each culture so well. I hope that more can be done to preserve the old wooden churches like this one!