Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

These past two weeks have flown by and now it's already 2012! There's a lot to catch up on!

I was fortunate to spend the Christmas Holidays with my Gustavus friend, Megan Mundt, in Sevilla, Spain! After 20 odd hours of traveling, I finally made it from Potters Bar to Sevilla, only to be taken to Alcala, Malaga, and Granada over the course of the week. By covering so much ground, I was able to see three different cathedrals in three different cities in three consecutive days! Highlights of the trip include Megan's Staff Christmas Party and Student Christmas Party, climbing the Giraldi Tower of the Sevilla Cathedral, touring the Alhambra in Granada, seeing the Mediterranean Sea for the first time ever, and tasting all the wonderful Spanish food, including the gambas (prawns) I peeled. Megan was indeed a gracious host and knew all the right people to make the trip an amazing success. If only I had friends like her in every country I want to visit!

After coming home and not sleeping for another 30 some hours as a result of travel, I was eager to relax in Potters Bar. As New Year's Eve approached, I was quite keen on the idea of spending the holiday in London with friends. Due to the threat of train strikes in London, however, I unfortunately did not see Big Ben strike midnight live. Instead, I toasted in the New Year watching Big Ben on the tele with my host at home in Potters Bar. Someday I'll be back to watch Big Ben properly on New Year's Eve.

Only a few more days of holiday left, then back to work! Lucky for me and the rest of the Time for God volunteers, our BIG Conference in Wales kicks off January 16th! Although I am glad to be home right now, I know that another change of scenery is always good! Hopefully I'll update this before then, otherwise, Happy New Year and best wishes for a blessed January!

Here, of course, are some pictures from Spain!

 The palm trees and Mediterranean Sea!

The Alhambra at night. We climbed and climbed and climbed to get to this spot. Then we watched the sun set. 

 Inside the Alhambra the next day. My picture of the reflecting pool would look cooler if I had the chance to stop and take a picture. So many people kept getting in the way! It's a popular spot, I suppose.

The view from the top of the Sevilla Cathedral. This is looking over the courtyard and into the King's Palace which we toured before climbing the 34 ramps to the top of the tower. Yes, ramps, for horses, rather than stairs. Those Spaniards are smart.