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| heading North on a train, such a comfortable way to travel! |
30 Apr 2011
29 Apr 2011
28 Apr 2011
27 Apr 2011
26 Apr 2011
25 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 114
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| Mona de Pascua, typical sweet bread (w/ a hardboiled egg) eaten around here the days after Easter |
24 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 113
HAPPY EASTER!!!
Today's pic (click it bigger!) is from Alicante's Easter Sunday procession. At 11h30 the Virgin was carried out of her church and Christ out of his, and at noon they met in front of City Hall and danced for joy at seeing each other! :o)
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| Joyous meeting between the Virgin and Christ resuscitated! |
I'll be writing more about this procession over at Cris Crossing the Globe within the next couple of days.
23 Apr 2011
22 Apr 2011
21 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 110
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| Experiments in cooking following a friend's recipes! Cream of cauliflower and parmesan, artichoke mousse pie. Yum! |
Spanish Football Fever
Just so you don't forget my football obsession from last summer... I'm going to dip my toes back in the subject! ;o)
Although usually I go nuts for football only every 4 years - and occasionally every 2 - i.e. when Spain's National team plays the World Cup (or European Cup), it doesn't mean I'm not interested in the sport in the in-between times. It's just that I haven't been bitten by the football bug, the one that's responsible for so many "football widows" in Spain (and many other countries) on weekends. I have a favourite team (Real Madrid with goalie "San" Iker Casillas, captain of the national team and who with this victory has now won every possible title), but I won't sit down to watch them face-off with the others every week. I'll definitely choose a good movie, a TV series or going out somewhere instead of putting football on the screen. But I LOVES me a good match! So when it looks like there's going to be one, usually a particularly important event, count me in!Right now there are cars honking their horns in streets outside my window. Twenty minutes ago someone set off a huge blast (firecracker) that sent my dog running to hide in the bathtub. A little over half an hour ago my mom was yelling "gooooooooool" out the balcony and I could hear neighbours in other appartments yelling the same thing.
20 Apr 2011
19 Apr 2011
18 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 107
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| un-bandaged knee!!! fewer bruises than I expected, but still injured enough to hurt and keep me calm for a few more weeks |
17 Apr 2011
16 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 105
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| Stalls with palms and olive branches for Palm Sunday |
Today I'm adding two more (you can see I'm having trouble with this "photo a day" concept: either I forget to take a picture, or I can't choose between the ones I have taken! lol!) so you can see the palms in detail. I bought a tall plain one for my dad, one of the ones in the next photo for my mom, and the last one is the detail on a tall palm I got for myself. Tomorrow we'll probably be going to Elche (if our knees aren't complaining too loudly) for the Palm Sunday procession. I wrote about it in detail last year (lots of gorgeous photos of palms, plus some videos). If you haven't read it or would like a reminder of what will be going on tomorrow in most Spanish towns/cities (but Elche is supposed to be the best for this procession), then click HERE and go read up on it. ;o)
15 Apr 2011
14 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 103
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| "Tough Love" |
I'm double dipping today... just 'cause I wanted to give you guys a close-up of those "un-stuffed" animals, lol! Anyone car to guess what they are? Or should I say, what they used to be? ;o)
13 Apr 2011
12 Apr 2011
11 Apr 2011
Project 365 - 100
Are we 100 days into 2011 already?! Time sure flies...
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| All wrapped up with no place to go. |
10 Apr 2011
Sunny Cycling Adventure in the Marjal de Pego-Oliva
Ahhhh... what a lovely day yesterday! The sun was shining, the air was warm (HOT! bloody heatwave thanks to some crazy African wind: 35ºC!), the orange trees in bloom (AMAZING smells!!! like someone had just opened a bottle of orange blossom perfume!)... great day to go on a cycling tour of the Marjal de Pego-Oliva, a 1290 Ha marsh on the border of the Alicante-Valencia provinces (so an hour north of where I live) that has been famous for its rice since the Arabs first came (also lots of oranges and some gorgeous fig trees).
9 Apr 2011
8 Apr 2011
Countdown to World Oceans Day!!!
Only 2 months until World Oceans Day is upon us again!
World Oceans Day has been unofficially celebrated each year since it was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In 2009 the U.N. official declared June 8th to be World Oceans Day and since then the event has been coordinated internationally by The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network. From the U.N. page:
In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171). Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.
Why should we celebrate World Oceans Day? As The Ocean Project reminds us, the Oceans:
- Generate most of the oxygen we breathe
- Help feed us
- Regulate our climate
- Clean the water we drink
- Offer us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
- Provide limitless inspiration!
The participation in this event has been increasing dramatically with each passing year. There were over 300 events organised in 45 countries in 2010 (up 26% from 2009). Who knows what the increase will be for this edition!
World Oceans Day follows a theme which changes from one year to the next. In 2009 it was "One Ocean, One Climate, One Future", while in 2010 the theme was "Oceans of Life". This time they've selected a theme for both 2011 and 2012: "Youth: the Next Wave for Change". Apparently studies have shown that young people are the most knowledgeable and motivated segment of the population when it comes to the environment and its protection. They have free time, they're curious and informed (more than many people give them credit for) and they're motivated! And in this technological era, more and more families are getting their information and advice on certain issues from their kids (who, let's face it, are frequently more techno-savvy than their parents.)!
I don't know yet what I'll be doing for WOD this year. I have a couple of ideas, but I have to sit down and see which is more feasible, and then come up with the time to actually do it! At the very least I'm going to "submit" my English students to some Ocean-centric classes that week! :p
But one thing is for sure, I'll be hosting another Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! I had a lot of fun with the 2009 and 2010 editions, and it's become my favourite blogging event of the year! It's wonderful to read the stories and adventures and memories that everyone is willing to share. It's a challenge to come up with interesting factoids to "Wear Blue and Share Two". I've already registered it amongst the 2011 Events, so the ball is officially rolling! ;o)
I hope many of you will join me in celebrating our Oceans. By participating in the Blog-A-Thon, by doing something with your local community, or simply by sharing some oceanic factoids with the people around you to help raise public awareness for the importance of our oceans! In the meanwhile I leave with a love song to the Great White Shark (from the upcoming short family film The Shark Riddle -which I'm sad I won't be able to find over here, would be great for my classes!-):
So sea you around here in 2 months!
Banners available from the Ocean Project Website. Oceanic Blog-A-thon posters adapted from each year's poster provided by the Ocean Project Website.
7 Apr 2011
5 Apr 2011
4 Apr 2011
3 Apr 2011
2 Apr 2011
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