Zaragoza....and other updates

This past weekend I went to Zaragoza with Christina and Cassandra, two of my Fulbright friends. Zaragoza is the fifth largest city in Spain and is located about 4 hours, by bus, northeast of Madrid. It was a really great trip for several reasons. First of all, we only decided to go about a week beforehand, and it was really easy (and relatively inexpensive) to make plans and get there. It was the kind of trip that was quite low in stress- all we had to do was take a bus from Madrid, we were only going fri night-sun am, and we didnt really have much of an agenda, except to see the city and enjoy a weekend away.

We all really enjoyed Zaragoza- the two main sites were a beautiful gothic basilica and an old, Muslim castle/palace, both of which were absolutely amazing! Also, we stayed RIGHT in the main plaza and directly across from the basilica, so we were in a great location. Also, the old center of the city was really cute- full of restaurants and bars, which all had amazing food! Furthermore, while Zaragoza is considered a city, its certainly much smaller and less bustling than Madrid...so it was nice to have that change of ambience for a few days. Its also always nice to return "home" from a trip, because I always seem to appreciate Madrid even more when I come back from somewhere else.

Other than the trip, there is not much new to report...the countdown to Global Classrooms is on; the conference is next week and we are busy as ever preparing. I'm getting nervous...but I feel like my kids are well-prepared, so i'm sure it will be great! Otherwise- basically business as usual....I've started to realize that I dont really have that much time left in Spain, which is kind of strange to think about. I've suddenly made a ton of travel plans, because i want to be sure to take advantage of my time here (although i love being Madrid as well).

Here is a summary of whats on the horizon:
1. Trip to Pamplona w/ Fulbright in a few weeks
2. Visit from some Duke friends
3. Trip with Ruth to Bilbao at the end of March
4. Trip to Vienna with Christina (and maybe Cassandra) at the beginning of April (planning still needed...)
5. Mallorca for spring break with Noel (and maybe Kelly)
6. Visit from other Duke friends!
7. Trip to Dublin with Christina in May!

Needless to say...lots to be excited about!!!!!!