The UK, Toledo, and Sparkle Extreme

The 28th of February I went to the UK, no big deal. Ok, that is a little misleading, I actually went to The Rock of Gibraltar on the Southern coast of Spain which is owned by the UK. Anyway, the rock/island has a lot of history because of the constant battle for ownership between the Spanish, English, and Portugese. All of that is interesting, but the real attractions are the natural caves, being able to see Morocco across the straight of Gibraltar, and MONKEYS! Yep, monkeys! The monkeys live near the top of the rock and are a huge draw for many tourists. Some of them jumped on us, stole our food, made monkey love in front of us, and even bit a couple of people; basically what I lerned was: never trust a shifty-eyed ape.

That next weekend the school headed to Toledo (South of Madrid). Toledo is basically a good example of a really old Spanish city with very narrow streets, a wall surrounding the city, a gorgeous cathedral, very old buildings, and, of course, sword shops! Toledo is famous for their swords; the shop owners told us several times that the swords were not 'chino': aka. made in China. The city was amazing and intriguing, but the real fun, like most trips, occured in the hotel that night. It involved my 2 roommates and I each buying and eting an entire box of cereal (I had Frosted Flakes cause they're Grrrrreat!) and 3/4 of a liter of non-refridgerated milk from a box. Tyler and I chose Heineken to wash down our cereal while Jason drank an entire 2 liter of Pepsi! I am now a strong supporter of Kellog's placing a warning on their cereal boxes about consuming in moderation and not mixing with alcohol; the amount and combination really does a number on your bowel movements! Along with that fantastic meal, we played an intense card game of Egyptian Rat Screw followed by an intense 10 person round of Oreo Madness! All of that, combined with an earlier sunset photo shoot/ hill climbing excursion, made for an amazing trip. Oh, we also stopped to see some windmills that seemed to impress some people: same old, same old.

Finally, yesterday, the 8th, I was put into a state of extreme wonder and awe as I saw the professional European version of Sparkle! If you dn't know Sparkle, you probably don't know the true meaning of the words: breath-taking, elegant, fashionable, and fergalicious. For those of you who do not know Sparkle, Sparkle is the dance group that catapulted me to stardom. Anyway, this European version combined acrobatics on a trampoline, juggling, climbing up poles like only monkeys can, and of course, dancing in spandex! Wow! Let me say it again, wow! If that doesn't make someone like Spain, nothing can. On a side note, I miss you all and, while I'm loving Spain, it will be good to see most of you in a few months.