My new kitchen wall...

This project turned out to be harder than I expected but it was well worth it. Brad was a great "executor". I love the new green wall and it really changed our kitchen!

Rome to Venice in a 9 passenger van...

Jula, Jona, Liz & Brad? CHECK

9 passenger van? CHECK

Polaroid camera? CHECK

Venice here we come!

Julia and Jonathan arrive!

Julia and Jonathan arrived in Madrid on the 27th and we immediatly got a train and headed to Sevilla (Southern Spain). Yes, it was still raining. But that did not stop us. We first visited The Plaza de Espana which was an interesting mixture of historic styles and lavishly ornate architecture. At dinner we saw some AMAZING flamenco dancers who danced to folk songs called "Sevillanas". At first I thought they were singing too loud and off key but by the end I was completely entranced. The clapping was so intense and the dancing literally caused wood chips to fly off the stage. Check out Julia's blog for some illegal video and photos from the night! The next day we toured the Alcázares Reales de Sevilla a huge estate that just kept going and going and going. It was gorgeous! The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family. Julia took some amazing photos. Check them out here.

After that we went to my brothers favorite restaurant "LA MONUMENTAL" where we had some yummy, authentic, Spanish food. Then we jumped on the train and headed back to Madrid. (Traveling by train is so easy. It is more expensive that flying but unbelievably convenient plus all in it is about the same exact travel time given you only have to arrive 15 minutes before departure. )

Madrid - Day 1

We toured Madrid on a rainy day. We did the Prado and a bus tour of "old" Spain. We had the most amazing 4 course meal for 12 euros. (It is hard to find a restaurant in Spain where no one is smoking.) We ended in up in Plaza Mayor then took the train back to my brothers house. It was a great day.

The McDevitt Family...

I love these kids. We so rarely get to see them so I tried to soak up every second. I stayed up late every night playing the guitar with Sean, piano with Shannan and chatting with Kelly. During the day I snuggled with Erin while Brad played swords with Liam and video games with Connor. For dinner Kelly made us some amazing food...pork roast, prime rib, lentajas etc. They were really amazing hosts.

Traveling to Spain...

The last time we saw Brad's glasses was that photo of him above. That sucked.

The disclaimer with the luggage is as follows: the box and blue bag were American goods requested by my brothers family. The green bag and black bag are proof that we over packed.

Happy New Year!!!

New Years Eve in Venice, originally uploaded by Lizzyb415.

Check out Midnight in Venice with Julia, Jona, Liz and Brad. Warning...graphic material. ;)