Snow Shoeing in Andorra

Andorra is a tiny country sandwiched between Spain and France. It is really just a section of the Pyrenees that gets to call itself a country. Most don't know that it exists, but around here, if you love the mountains, then you frequently visit Andorra!

We have wanted to visit Andorra for a long time, and we finally did! Since it's just about a three hours drive, we went with two of our good couple friends and rented a chalet in the mountains for a weekend. While two of our friends loved to ski, the other four of us weren't as fond of it. So we decided to try a new activity - snow shoeing!

Once we realized that snow shoeing really is just like hiking, but on top of the snow, we quickly loved it! We hiked up a mountain to a lake, which was covered in snow, but nonetheless beautiful.

Stumbled upon this on our hike through the woods.

A small village in Andorra.

The whole gang.

The rest of the weekend we spent staying warm, cooking meals together, and using the Spa! We loved being able to escape to the snow for just a couple of days, and then return to sunny Barcelona.

Istanbul

Istanbul is a remarkable mixture of cultures, the many layers of Christian, Islam, ancient Roman, and modern Western influences all clamoring for attention at every turn. 

We arrived from over the Atlantic after a wonderful yet hectic Christmas break in Iowa, and were ready for some good sleep.  Our rented apartment was in the trendy Galata neighborhood, across the river from the main historic sections of town.  Due to some poor directions given us by the owner of the apartment (who barely spoke English), our taxi driver had trouble finding the exact street on which to drop us off, and even at one point had to park the car and run into a market to ask directions, which still didn't really help!  We finally made it, in the rain, darkness, and jetlag, and fell asleep with the heater running full throttle. 

Our first full day in Istanbul (after waking up at nearly 11am) was spent walking around the historic downtown, seeing the Blue Mosque, the Roman Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar.  This bazaar was much more manageable than the Moroccan medinas.  Then we went through the famous spice market and then back over the river to explore the Galata tower itself.  The tower is the oldest of its kind in the world, and has the best views of the city to-date.  We then explored the surrounding area just a bit before settling down at a cozy cafe near our apartment for the evening, still fighting our jetlag.

Dressing to enter the mosque.

The beautiful Basilica Cistern.

The Grand Bazaar - calm enough for our liking.

Boats entering and exiting through the Bosphorus.

The Galata Tower in the snow. 

 

The next morning, we went back downtown to the Hagia Sophia.  This incredible building was actually built to be a Christian church and was converted to a mosque later on.  It was very rainy and cold, and so we quickly made our way back over to the Galata neighborhood to meet up with a local friend at a warm coffee shop.  By then the rain had turned to snow, and it would snow for the remainder of the evening.  

The Hagia Sophia in all its glory.

The massive inside of the Hagia Sophia.

It snowed all night and continued to snow the next morning as we made our way to the airport.  Overall, we were both very intrigued with Istanbul, but our time there was extremely short, and we were exhausted for most of it. So we put Turkey back on our list of places to visit again, in better weather!

Holidays at Home

Christmas is something we look forward to all year. Every year, we begin referencing Christmas traditions in January, already looking forward to the next December! Our Spotify Christmas playlists are on nonstop beginning the day after Thanksgiving, and we watch a steady stream of Hallmark movies, complete with their sappy storylines and cheesy music. We love everything about Christmas!

For our first married Christmas, we were not able to go back to the States, as we had just been back for the wedding. Instead, we spent our Christmas break in Germany, where we spent half of our time with our good German friends, and the other half traveling around the other side of the country. ( You can read about that here and here.) This time was really special, and we loved everything about our time in Germany, the land of Christmas markets and holiday spirit. However, we knew that this year we were desperate to be home for Christmas! So thanks to Turkish Air's inexpensive flights, we were booked on the first available flight out of Barcelona as soon as Rachel finished teaching.

Our time in Iowa was full. But we would have it no other way! When our time there is short (which is always), we try to pack in as many people and experiences as possible. Devin's wonderful parents were in Iowa to greet us when we arrived, and we loved spending a few days with them, taking in a showing of The Nutcracker in Dubuque, an ISU basketball game in Des Moines, and taking them to a Grove family favorite - Hickory Park in Ames.

Christmas, although disappointedly not white, was everything we dreamed of it being from afar. Our house was full of bodies and love, the table held a steady flow of delicious food, The Carpenters CD could always be heard, and pajamas were worn all day. Our family tradition is normally to go sledding on Christmas afternoon, but since we could not do that this year, we went caroling at a nearby rehabilitation center. It was another memorable way to spend the afternoon!

The rest of break was a blur, as we hopped from coffee date to dinner date, played many rounds of board games, watched the Bowl games, spent a lot of time at Core Fitness, hit up Iowa City's finest thrift shops, and got our fair share of beverages at the Java House.

We loved every moment of being there, and are so thankful we were able to see both of our families, and many of our closest friends!

Intimided?

Since we couldn't sled, we took a walk instead!

At the Nutcracker.

Christmas time in Provence

The last month has been a whirlwind! Devin returned from a trip to the US, and the next day we left for a long weekend away with friends. Upon returning, we had Rachel's big winter concert at school, holiday parties and events, and before we knew it, we were on a plane to see our families for Christmas! We are now back in our apartment in Barcelona and attempting to catch up and settle in. We have seen some beautiful places and people, so will start by sharing about our time in Provence with you.

The first weekend of December, we rented a car with our good friends and set off for the countryside of Southern France. We had no real agenda for the weekend other than to experience the slow pace of  this dreamy region. After about 4.5 hours of driving, we arrived at our house for the weekend, surrounded by orchards and vineyards, and complete with a fireplace. We knew that if we did nothing but sit by the fireplace for the next three days, we would still be happy.

As we explored the region, we found a lot of small villages, vineyards in their off season, mountains in the distance, and empty fields normally occupied with endless Lavender. We loved the slow pace, the sweet people, and the variety of landscape. We approached each village with no expectations, but simply glimpsed at what they had to offer, and then we were on to the next stop!

We found a wine and cheese tasting at a winery we passed, so we pulled over and sampled a few!

The beautiful village of Gordes, France.

More Christmas market goodies 

The seaside village of Cassis offered breathtaking scenery as we hiked around the Calanques.

Christmas market in Avignon 

After an afternoon in Avignon, we hit the road back to Barcelona, full of Christmas market cheer and a new fondness for Provence.

Nearby Hiking

In early November, we had a hankering for hiking. Our goal this year has been to explore the mountains near us more. We aren't ever sure quite how to get there or where to go, so we tried a couple of group hikes this November. We went on one hike arranged by Meet-up and another one organized by the American Society of Barcelona. We really enjoyed the scenery, as well as meeting people from all over the world (New Zealand, Estonia, Germany, England, the US, etc.), each with a unique story of why and how they are in Barcelona. We are enjoying experiencing more of our own region and spending more of our weekends doing local day trips rather than always leaving the country!

Sibling Weekend

Things have been extremely busy around here, hence the lack of updating. Devin has been gone from Barcelona for about five weeks, and Rachel spent 1 1/2 weeks in the US doing professional development. We have been apart for a long time, but Devin soon returns to Barcelona, and we plan to not do this distance again anytime soon!

Just before we set off for separate work, we had a weekend visit from Sarah and Peter. As we mentioned in a previous post, we love having visitors, because they help us to get out and explore our own city! We have been out of town so many weekends this Fall that we have not spent much time in the city. Sarah and Peter arrived late Friday night, and we spent the next few hours eating pizza on the roof and laughing until our bellies ached.

We had a blast with them - ate amazing food, drank delicious coffee and wine, rode bikes on the beach and ventured into the hidden corners of the city. Here are some pictures of the way we spent our time together!

We had to start the day at the famous Boqueria to get some fresh fruit juices

First Coffee Stop in Placa Real

Love this sunny placa full of palm trees.

x

We went to the museum of the original city of Barcelona, which is underneath the current city! Very cool.

Another favorite cafe, this one underground. 

Strolled through an antique market

Catalonians gathering to do a casual traditional dance on Saturday afternoon.

Les Mills was hosting their traveling "Immersive Fitness" on the beach in Barcelona this weekend. Extremely cool!

We Love Les Mills!