Marrakech

March has been a crazy month in the best way possible. We've taken trips, had visitors, and made big life decisions. I'll start by digging into the vacation archive and talking about our trip to Africa.

As the plane touched down in Marrakech we passed a few concrete apartment buildings, a soccer field with kids chasing after the ball, a few meandering goats, headstones that jutted out of the uneven grassy hills, and finally, the royal receiving house marked by guards in crisp uniforms.

When we got to the city center our hotel's pick up service was a gangly  man who looked like he was perpetually walking under a low ceiling, with a wheel-borough in tow for our bags. He led us through the winding streets of the city center, past gleaming stalls in the souks, fresh orange juice stands, and the scent of herbs and frying bread.

Here are a few pictures of the city:

Airport

awkward pose in front of dried fruit and food stands

One of the mosque towers in the center of the city

We only had 2 1/2 days in Morocco, and it was all amazing. We were struck by how advanced the arabic dynasties weres so early on, and in awe of the chaotic stasis that seems to exist in Morocco today. Walking through the ruins of an old palace, and reflecting on the near impossible detail and beauty of the arab architecture and craftsmanship gave us a greater sense of appreciation of the different empires that have existed throughout history. 

A few pictures from the palaces and mosque- 

In the markets, the array of herbs, pashmina, lamps, turtles, jewelry and pottery were mesmerizing. Walking through the shops was like peering into an ever turning kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. Whether we were bargaining for a leather belt (all the way down to 6 euros, which Colin was very proud of), trying to find our way back to our hotel, or just admiring someone's monkey, someone always wanted to offer us a "very good price" or a "special discount, just for you." When we paid the snake charmer less than he demanded, he pointed to our bag of fresh strawberries as a last ditch effort for more payment. The commerce culture was different than we were use to, but fun and exciting for a weekend trip. 

Now, more pictures!

A shop that makes everything from used tires

We loved Morocco! 

Sunny Slopes and 3 Years Together!

After a beautiful drive to the south of Spain, and a long ascent up into the mountains we arrived at Sierra Nevada for a weekend of skiing with Colin's company. The area was gorgeous. It was bright and sunny, and the white snow contrasted with the blue sky was breathtaking.

Colin and I skied together for most of the weekend, and by the last day we did a few reds! If you've ever heard me talk about skiing you'll know how huge that is... All thanks to Colin's patience and encouragement <3 

Here are a few pictures from the mountain: 

At one point over the weekend I had a collision with another skier. I came away ok, but he got taken down the mountain on a ski patrol stretcher. Some of Colin's co-workers now refer to me as the leg breaker, which obviously, I'm thrilled about.

Overall skiing with Colin was a blast. Being surrounded by the mountains, and having a great time made me so grateful to be sharing these experiences with Colin. We'll always have these memories to look back on, and we're sure they'll bring us closer for years to come. 

On that loving note, we came back to Madrid and celebrated 3 years of being together and Valentine's day! Our first date was at the Cheesecake Factory, so I did some recipe hunting, bought a 3 euro springform pan in the shape of a heart,  borrowed a friends oven, and surprised Colin with a cheesy first date memory.  We may have a new family tradition :) 

Nothing compares with the feeling of finding the person you want to make happy for the rest of your life and knowing they feel the same way about you. We feel so blessed and happy.  

Weekend trip to Belgium

Over the weekend Colin and I packed our bags and went to Belgium! It was like being in wintry wonderland of Candy Land. We spent one day in Brussels, and one day in Brugge, and in both cities every other store window showcased world famous Belgian chocolate. If the chocolate wasn't enough to temp us in, the warmth (high of 29 while we were visiting) made the shops irresistible.

We indulged in a few decadent desserts at Wittamer, where the Belgian royals order their chocolate.

We ducked into another chocolate shop, or two, or more... in Brugge.

We saw the site in Brussels:

I've been saying since we came to Europe that I wanted to visit Belgium for the waffles :) #worththetrip

We went to a cool instruments museum. We also considered going to the renowned art museum, but in the end we felt more comfortable with the grade school kids listening to music :)

Brugge is called the Venice of the north, and we loved walking along the cobblestone streets, frozen river, and into old churches. Brugge is the quintessential European city, and we soaked up it's charm like the young romantic Americans that we are.

We were also lucky enough to be hosted by a couch surfer. Our host was out of this world. He helped us find out way around, gave us great recommendations, and took us on a beautiful, 15.5 kilometer run though the forest. 

Sunrise just before lacing up

Home stretch

While the wintry blanket of snow was fun for a few days we were happy to come back to Madrid, where today it was 56 and sunny :) 

White Christmas in Texas

Yesterday Colin and I shuffled through the airport, and hefted our chocolate laden suitcases onto the train, through the streets and finally up six flights of two-hundred-year-old stairs into our Madrid apartment. Once we finally unpacked the last pair of Christmas socks we realized just how much we missed our family in Texas.

We got to visit Colin's family in Plano for just about two weeks over Christmas. Colin's dad, John, decided to keep our visit a secret and surprise Marilyn (mom) when we arrived. In the weeks leading up to our trip it was painful to hear Marilyn tell us how sad she was that we couldn't all be together for Christmas. When we turned up on the front porch though, everything seemed to be right again.

Colin had prepared me for watching the Lord of the Rings movies with his family. When the first DVD ended I said something like, "well, that was better than I remember. Ready for bed?" To which Colin and his dad responded, "Oh no, that's only the end of disk 1. This is the extended version!" I had to dig deep to smile and find the will power to stay awake through 2 more hours of Frodo's hairy feet journeying towards Mordor. I did it though, and by the end of movie 3 disk 1 (yes, all three movies have extended versions) I began to really feel that the fate of the world depended on one little hobbit. I felt completely involved in the battle between good and evil and I was touched by the bravery of Merry, Pippin and all the other warriors lead by Gandalf and Aragorn. Considering I fell asleep in the theatre the first time I saw LOTR, and the only thing I remembered was the trees walking and talking, I'd say this time around was a huge success!

When we weren't watching LOTR we were cycling, cooking, playing cards, or just relaxing. Being in one of Marilyn's spin classes made me feel like Frodo in his final stretch towards Mordor- weak yet determined, and completely motivated by Sam, or in my case, the desire to beat Colin (luckily on stationary bikes that might actually, subjectively, be possible). Playing cards with the Taylors can also sometimes feel as intense as the battle between good and evil in LOTR, but in the end, everyone's a winner! Right? Wrong. There can only be one winner.

Christmas Eve

I had to chance to spend a lot of time in the kitchen with Marilyn too, which was really fun. I got to know her much better, and I learned some of the family's recipes from the master. Now Colin and I will be able to carry on traditions like the cinnamon roll Christmas tree, raspberry trifle, and yorkshire pudding. Colin also took over the stove for a while on Christmas eve for another of the Taylor traditions: crepes with lemon and powdered sugar. I am happy I married into a family with such delicious traditions :)

Christmas pudding the front and trifle in the background

Colin got the chance to see a few old friends too. Between Gazeebo Burger, late night hot tubbing, Magica and Civilization it felt like old times. Just like going home to family, it's nice when you can fall back into old friendships with ease. Though John, who dislikes video games and lost a few hours of sleep thanks to the hot tub noise outside his bedroom, might disagree...

I had my first white Christmas! I never thought my first snowy Christmas would be in Texas, but there you have it. Christmas Eve night a thunder storm shook the house and woke us up then in the morning lightening flashed outside the windows and raindrops fell steadily. During a short lull Colin and I went on a run, during which we battled strong winds and eventually hail! Once we were home it started snowing! Slowly the roofs started to turn white, then the tree tops, lawns, and sidewalks were covered in a glistening blanket of soft snow. It was beautiful.

Christmas dinner deserves its own paragraph. The star of the feast was a beef roast with a port mushroom gravy that was out of this world. Supporting cast members: roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, roasted parsnips, brussel sprouts, mint peas, homemade rolls, and yorkshire pudding. Raspberry trifle, and Christmas pudding made a strong appearance at the end, and everyone's glasses were overflowing with Martinelli's bubbly.

The hats were presents from traditional English crackers

We were in town for our second wedding anniversary as well (has it really already been two-years?)! We had booked a hotel in Downtown Dallas and we got massages in our room. We also toasted a wonderful two years and ate truffles. We are so happy where we are in life right now, more in love than ever, and thrilled for whatever the future may hold.

It was with sadness that we finally packed our bags on Monday afternoon. We had an amazing trip. We love our families so much, and it was a special blessing to be with Colin's on Christmas.

We hope all of our friends and family far away were also able to enjoy the Holidays. One last time until next December, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Plaza Mayor, right behind our house