WALK

today i went for a clarity walk in my neighborhood, and i had an amazing moment of life...

december

The holidays, it was harder than I thought to be away from all you that i love....but then Mamie, Tati, and Dave came to visit!

november

Visited Granada, a neighboring city I think in this case the pictures will speak louder than my words (well maybe one, ALHAMBRA)....

I saw Lizz Wright in concert...very good!


amazing yummy food,


and beautiful sunrises....

last few months of 08 in a..."blog-shell"

OCTOBER: Weddings and Coffee We held a wedding ceremony and reception here at the hotel, very nice with the views and of course the relentless sun.

I was invited to my co-worker Jonathan's wedding, my first Spanish wedding, it was unbelievably windy that day. The ceremony was held in an Arabic castle on the beach, it lasted only 16 minutes and I loved that it was sooo short!

Went to the beach in my bathing suit for the last time before it got..."cold"

Learned that even Burger King serves CERVEZA in Spain and Dunkin Donuts is called Dunkin Coffee....

Malaga, first days...

On my second week here but feel the need to share a little of my first week which feels both as if it flew by and that I’ve been away from home for a long time. Its definitely true that Spaniards are warm and nice people. Its has made my time here so far much easier to adapt to.

I know why its called Costa del Sol, its been beautiful and sunny since I arrived, with rain (drizzle actually) today for the first time. The people are also sunny in the sense that everyone always seems to be in a good mood, relaxed and in no rush for anything. I love it!

I arrived with no voice and somewhat sore throat that became worse by my second night. On the 3^rd day I went to the hospital because I do not have a doctor here yet and even the staff at the hospital were nice and extremely helpful. What amazed me however was that they took ex-rays of my chest to make sure there was nothing wrong and gave me a copy of it. I have never had ex-rays taken before, none the less been asked to have a copy. Im much better now by the way and felt better an hour after leaving the doctor because they gave me an injection…..

The hotel is very quiet and nice, here are some random shots of it.

The guests here are very friendly and I’ve already made some friends among them. My room is in a villa separate from the main building of the hotel. This annex is used for more long term gues

ts. Here are some shots of my room and the amazing view from my patio (yes that is the moon!!!!!!!).

The beaches.....of course different than what I've experienced before but still the beach and I love them. I've been to two so far

La Malaqueta (local beach right in downtown Malaga):

El Palo (neighboring town to the East of Malaga):

Parc du Cinquantenaire

It was a gorgeous day to be outside - a perfect fall day. I explored Parc du Cinquantenaire.

If the Grand Entrance does not impress you, I do not know what will.

The park was filled with families, friends playing sports, students reading.... it had a real laid back Sunday vibe.

Girls nite...in French

I had my Belgian first club experience the other night. Let me start by saying smoking is still permitted in clubs, restaurants, bars.... in Europe. By the end of the night I felt as though i smoked 2 packs of cigarettes myself - YUCK!

The scene was actually pretty similar to NY believe it or not, LOTS of Hip-Hop, Reggea, and Pop Hits (Shakira 20 times). The crowd was very mixed and I liked that, drinks were expensive as expected. The dancing was great.

















Mostly, I learned..... its possible to have girls night in any country(avec fumer)!!!

Manneken-Pis

Much ado about nothing if you ask me, this manneken-pis. I was amazed to see people lined up to see this little boy and his pee. Apparently he managed to extinguish fires that were theatening Belgium with his pis - and now he's famous.















Something that did manage to catch my eye is the statue below. I can not remember the name of it but its gorgeous! It is supposed to bring luck and wishes come true to anyone who touches it. My friend thinks its just a good way to get germs - but u better believe I rubbed it and WISHED...... I also visited Parc de Bruxelles (the equivalent of Central Park of NYC). It was very quiet, as Im learning all of Brussels is. Mostly there were people going home from work walking through it. Now that I realize this parc seems more romantic....

I fell in love with this ad about latino culture. If you look closely the woman looks like my mother when she was younger.

On Foot

I explored my home-base neighborhood a bit yesterday. I first came across the Palais de Justice, it the size of a NY Avenue, and its going through some renovation.


At the back of this building there is a drop where you can take a glass elevator to the ground. It was quite different, I've never seen an elevator like this in the middle of a city - and it was free! It was actually kind of scary because 3 walls were made of glass. I met someone sitting on the bench next to me and she took the elevator with me.

When you get off you're in a little inlet of shops and restaurants. Even though temps are cool everyone still prefers to eat their meals outside (almost all restaurants I've seen have heaters however).