Spain 62nd & 63rd Weeks 22 Jun - 5 Jul 2009

Spain 62nd & 63rd Weeks 22 June – 5 July 2009

Wow, two weeks have flown by since our last update to the blog! The first week was the second of the shutdown weeks, we returned from Mallorca early Monday morning (22 June) and found our apartment upside down, they had replaced the carpet and had not put anything back together let alone in their correct places (bed in the living room, dressers in bathroom, etc). We slept until a little later on Monday morning, then did some washing and preparing for the visit of Jo and Tom from Mississippi.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we did more of the same; preparing food for the week (fried chicken, potato salad), and making some last minute food and drink purchases. On Wednesday afternoon we went to a show (movie) at a downtown Madrid theater and saw Angels and Demons. It was funny to go to an expensive movie ($21 USD) in the middle of Spain and to hear it in English with Spanish subtitles….we thought it would be just the opposite. With the cost of the movie it will be the first and the last here.

On Thursday, we went by Metro to the airport to pick up Jo & Tom, the flight was a little late and by the time they got through customs it was nearly 10:30 am. It was terrific to see them and to see their faces and smiles -to see someone from our family gave us great joy! We came back to our apartment to eat a little something and rest for just a few minutes, we then headed on the bus to Atocha (transportation center) to buy our train tickets to Valencia the next day….to save some money we bought Jo & Tom the “old folks” ticket so we could apply this to the Valencia tickets. They brought us a new camera and a few other items that we needed that we couldn't get here-thank you very much.

Following this we headed off to Retiro Park the Prado Museum and some souvenir shops to give them a taste of Madrid. Tom was anxious to try Paella, but we made him suffer with some home cooking and McDonald’s. We stayed awake until quite late talking about our families and some of the things that we would be seeing in Valencia.

Friday, we headed for Atocha, boarded the train and began the 3.5 hour trip to Valencia. We played Uno (card game) all of the way there while introducing them to the various regions and terrain of Spain. The train traveled at about 180 kilometers an hour (108mph) and was a very enjoyable ride. Jo was bragging how she was doing so well at the game, through about six hands she was whipping us pretty good, but the last two hands did her in; she went from first to last (she was pretty quiet after that for a few minutes). We stayed in the same hotel that we had used the last time we were there and found it to be still very nice. We dropped our luggage and immediately headed for the Lladro factory and the seconds store. We took the porcelain factory tour and saw the very labor and patience intensive process of creating the beautiful pieces. We then went to the seconds store and purchased a couple of figurines (these are not the ones we purchased, but are my favorites). We returned to the hotel and headed for the ‘City of Arts and Science.’ We walked around this area and were amazed at howthis ultra modern city was constructed in the middle of this two thousand year old city.

The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast and boarded the city tour bus. We took the two routes and got off at the ‘City of Arts and Science’ and entered into the Hemispheric building and watched the IMAX production of “The World Beneath.” They gave us this ultra modern hearing apparatus that we put on to enable us to hear in our own language (this picture is Tom’s last conscious moment before he fell asleep). Of course, a few minutes later we looked at Jo and she was also checking her eyelids for leaks, they missed all of the secrets of the underwater universe. When the lights came on they both sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out where they were and what on earth did they have on their heads? We continued to use this ‘blackout’ episode as blackmail for the next few days as only little brothers can do. After this, we jumped back on the tour bus and saw the remainder of the city. We reboarded the train and returned to Madrid and to our apartment.

On Sunday, we went to downtown Madrid (Plaza Sol) and boarded the city tour bus and went on both of their routes (Historic Madrid & New Madrid). We saw many beautiful sights, buildings, museums and some interesting people. We spent time in the Plaza Mayor and Sol and visited many of the local stores. We went to Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring (built 1929) and got them tickets for that night’s bullfight. They had some wonderful seats and really enjoyed the event. They were seated in ‘sun’ seats, but the weather was a bit overcast so they have the benefit of ‘shade’ seats. One of the bulls was declared ‘unworthy’ of the matador and they tried to get him out of the ring….of course he was not interested in leaving so they brought in a few cows to coerce him to leave-eventually he followed them out of the ring and they were able to get on with another bull. The last fight had another ‘near miss’ for the bull. He upended the matador, tore his pants, tore off his little shoes, but the matador came back and was able to finish him off. They made this trip by themselves and were proud of their mastery of the Metro.

On Monday, we went to Toledo (the old capital of Spain and Medieval city). There we took a little train tour of the city and saw many beautiful buildings, bridges, castles and sights. This city dates back several centuries and is a beautiful city; it is surrounded by water on three sides and you either have to walk up or down…there are no level places here. It is also the city of the artist El Greco. The cathedral, with 22 chapels is one of the largest in the Christian world and its tower rises high above the city. Inside are several of the cardinal’s robes (they are so thick you think they could be carpets). The city is also famous for its steel (knives, etc) and inlaid gold plate designs.

Tuesday, was a wash day and for catching our wind. Sharon and I also went back to the Temple and what a joy it was to again enter into the house of the Lord. Having been gone for two + weeks really makes you miss the spirit that is ever present! During the preceding two weeks we saw many gigantic and beautiful buildings, castles, cathedrals, etc, but we can honestly say that nothing compares to the pure, simple-yet elegant Temple. “Holiness to the Lord” immediately came into our minds and hearts and there is no doubt that this is the house of the Lord!

We were on afternoons this week, so following our shift we went to Florida Park Restaurant in Retiro Park to see a live Flamenco show which started at 10:30pm. The setting was beautiful; the performers outstanding, the costumes elegant and the company better! We all enjoyed ourselves and got a little flavor of both the Flamenco and National dances. Wednesday, Jo & Tom visited the Royal Palace; watched a small version of the ‘changing of the guard’ and visited about 28 of the 2,800 (that’s correct 2,800) rooms. I think they say this is the largest palace in all of Europe. The King and Queen no longer live there but it is still used for formal functions. They then visited the Armory where they saw some armor, etc that was used several centuries ago. Sharon and I again had the privilege of serving in the Temple! What a joy! After we finished our session in the Temple we walked down the street with Jo & Tom and ate Chinese food.

On Thursday we again served in the Temple while Jo & Tom went back downtown to make some purchases and to see a few more sights. I believe this was the day Tom finally got to eat his Paella-Jo had a McDonalds hamburger! We ate dinner in the apartment and went to bed a little bit earlier as we had traded to mornings on Friday so that we could go to Segovia in the afternoon.

Friday morning Sharon and I went to the Temple while Jo & Tom got ready for their return home and for the trip to Segovia. We left for Segovia about 2:30pm by bus, when we arrived we immediately went to see the Roman Aqueduct that has been preserved from 2,000 years ago. It is really impressive as there is no mortar used to keep the stones in place. At its highest point it stands about 85 feet tall, we climbed to the top and looked over and surprisingly the trough that carried the water was only about 10” wide and 12” deep-at least it stopped them from having to hand carry water from one side of the city to the other side. It truly is a magnificent engineering feat! We also toured the Alcazar (castle) of Segovia. It was used in the filming of Camelot, it also was built without mortar. It has been a castle, prison and a military artillery school. We returned from Segovia and stopped at Foster’s Hollywood and ate a wonderful dinner.

Saturday, HAPPY 4th Of JULY, we arose and prepared to take Jo & Tom to the airport-they were kind enough to take one of our suitcases home with them loaded with clothes, etc that we will not be needing for the rest of our mission, they also carried home a couple of porcelain figures that we had purchased. We truly had a wonderful time with my sister and husband and hope that they felt the love and appreciation that we have for them. Having some family members visit us was a wonderful feeling/experience and brought us a little closer to home.

Jo and Sharon also worked out some clothing deals and Jo took one pair of Sharon’s shoes (actually dark navy blue-but black to Jo) and said that now she had some ‘Church’ shoes. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when she said this, I spit out the toothpaste all over the mirror cause these are two words that don’t go together when they come from Jo “Church Shoes?” After I recovered I just said well you’ve now got the shoes, you just need the church! We all had a wonderful laugh.

We also said "adios' to two wonderful couples/friends from Santiago, Spain. The Bujan's and the Sanchez's-son serving mission in Madrid, Spain- (both have been here 6 times sinces we arrived). They are the salt of the earth and some of the most faithful people that we have ever met. We took some pictures, cried and said good-bye. We look forward to seeing them again whether in this life or in the hereafter.

Sunday, we went to church and man it really felt good. We love the gospel of Jesus Christ and know it to true! God our Father, has a plan that blesses each of us individually, He sent His Son to earth to establish His church and to teach us how we should live our lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the face of the earth. We have the authority of God here on the earth that was restored by prophets of old and all of the ordinances that we perform are done with this magnificent, yet humbling power and authority. We have a living prophet here upon the earth today, Thomas S. Monson and twelve Apostles. We know that he is the mouthpiece of God and we will become closer to God by following his counsel. We have missed communicating with our children these past few days but want them to know that we know what we are doing is what we should be doing at this time in our lives. We have been blessed greatly and we know that they have individually and collectively been blessed beyond description. We love you all with all of our heart!

Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw