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Here are just a couple more pictures of Madrid.

These first two are just a couple that Colin took at night.  The city is just as stunning all lit up as it is during the day!

Gary, this one’s for you!  This is the post office.  It was seriously one of the biggest post office buildings i’ve ever seen… and probably the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.  I wish we could have taken a better picture to show the size and detail of this building, but it just wasn’t possible.  We would have had to block off traffic to one of the busiest streets in downtown Madrid and even then, there would be huge trees blocking part of the building.

This is one of the museums.  I can’t remember what it was called, but it had many famous paintings in it.  We were going to go in part of it, but then ran out of time.  bummer.

On the sidewalk in the city center of downtown Madrid, was this plaque.  It marks the “0″ kilometer mark.  Once you move from this point, the kilometers start being measured in any direction.

There were a few things we didn’t get to see because time was short, but we had an unforgettable time there!  We even got to see the very beginning of an “American Parade” that they were having.  I think it was celebrating the culture of mainly central America, but i did see someone running around with a texas flag!  And i think there were some people from South America in the parade as well.  How random is that!

by Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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We also went to the Plaza Mayor… or as Noelia told me, the Mayor’s Square.  It’s this huge court yard with buildings on all four sides.  There were restaurants on the bottom floor with tables outside and then all the rooms above were offices for officials.  It was quite the lively place at night… we even found live music and entertainment.

Close by was also the symbol of Madrid… a statue of a bear eating fruit off a tree (El Oso y el Madronyo).  So we took a picture by it.

They next day we went to the Palacio Real.  My understanding is that this is a building where the government officials meet to discuss things.  There is a huge cathedral right next door.  Noelia told me that when the Prince of Spain got married, his bride had to walk from the Palacio to the cathedral to wave and have the people see and “meet” her.  However, it ended up raining and she had to ride in a car and the people didn’t really get to see.  Bummer.  But once again, it was so stunning.  We didn’t get to go into it because they were preparing for a big military parade the next day.  It was a holiday, but we couldn’t stay to see it.

Close by was also the Templo De Debod.  It was a replica of an egyptian temple from ages ago when the egyptians were in this area.  Pretty Cool!!

by Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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Madrid.  Well, as we said earlier, the couple we are living with was taking a little weekend trip to Madrid and invited us to tag along.  Noelia is from there and she wanted to visit her family and show us around “her” part of Spain.  I had no idea how different the regions of Spain are… they eat different food, wear different clothes, and even speak different!  Who knew!!!  Noelia’s family was more than welcoming and was nice enough to let us all stay there.  We also met up with some of Esteban and Noelia’s friends from Madrid.  All of them went to Seattle last Dec. for some worship team training.  Then they came back to Spain to lead worship for a camp.  They are all very talented people and we had a great time talking and laughing over dinner… at 12am in the morning!!!

Anyway, now for some photos…

We took the train into the city and got off right before the Puerta De Alcala.  Noelia explained to me that back when Madrid was MUCH smaller, they had four doors on the outside of the city to go in and out of.  This was one of them.  However, Madrid has grown a ton since that time so this door is actually is the center of Madrid now.  kinda funny…

On the outside of the Puerta De Alcala,  is the Parque De El Retiro.  This is a park that used to be on the outside of the “small city” Madrid. Noelia told me that it was where the rich people would come and spend the day.   Once again, since Madrid is so large now, this is in the middle of town as well.  It is a huge and beautiful park with tons of vendors, statues, ponds, and plenty of quiet places to read or relax.  There is also an amazing building there called the Crystal Palace.  It is probably one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen.  I told Colin it would make the perfect location for a wedding… and surprisingly, he agreed!  It’s that amazing!

We also saw a mariachi band playing in the park.  That is definitely a Mexico thing and not a Spanish thing… so it was funny to see that!

By Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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Here are just some more photos… mostly buildings and more doors. Some of them are from a town called Sitges. It is a town on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea that we went to. There are some other photos from Vilafranca (a town 20 minutes away) where the human tower competitions are held. And finally there are some more pictures of our town.

I actually don’t know where this picture was taken.  It was taken in a random town we drove through when we were visiting castles.

Another Monastery we visited.

The next 3 photos are from Sitges.

And the rest are from Vilafranca.

By: Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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Monserrat is the name of a famous mountain about an hour away from where we are staying.  It has a beautiful monastery on one side where we just finished shooting some of our videos.   The first time we went just to visit, we arrived at the perfect time to see some kind of service. We heard the bells chime and went inside. I think it was monks that we saw and heard singing – and i must admit – they sounded beautiful! Just the sound of those men singing quietly in the large cathedral with maybe a little organ could give anyone goosebumps. But we didn’t stay long because we had lots to see and it was getting dark. As you can see, the inside of the cathedral was gorgeous. I don’t think you were supposed to take pictures, but when has that ever stopped Colin… lets be serious!

The twelve apostles and Jesus.  This was above the entrance into the cathedral.

A very few amount of the candles people have bought and lit as prayers outside this cathedral.

This is part of the monastery at night.

By: Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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wedding and portrait photography

We’ve been here almost 3 weeks now. We’ve seen some amazing things. I am still in awe at how old some of these buildings actually are. We’ve seen castles and monasteries that are thousands of years old, bridges from when the romans ruled this area, and cathedrals that are simply stunning. And so many of these sights have been around since before Christ was even born! It’s so weird to grasp that concept! So many of the places we’ve been – America, New Zealand, and Australia – are such new countries compared to Europe. They don’t have the long history that Europe has – probably because a lot of the “newer countries” were somehow european descendants.

So now, here are some photos… These  are from a place called Castellet. It’s a tiny town, but has a beautiful castle looking out over a river. There was also an old part of the town from when the castle was in use. There were some amazing doors.

By: Colin and Andre’a Feldhaus

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Whew… we are finally getting around to posting another blog.  Sorry it’s been so long, but it is really hard with the limited internet capabilities we have here.  Anyway, it has already been an eye opening experience.  Everyone we’ve met has been so welcoming and hospitable – it’s quite humbling.  A couple of the families have already been thinking and planning a Thanksgiving dinner for us – and wanting me (Andre’a) to cook it… hmmm, i’ve never cooked a thanksgiving meal before so we’ll see how it goes.  The couple we are staying with (Esteban and Noelia) are simply amazing!  Colin and Esteban are hilarious to be around.  Although there is a slight language barrier and they just met a week ago – they pick on one another like they’ve known each other for years.  Esteban gives private music lessons (singing, piano, guitar,etc…) and in his spare time when needed, he does a little recording in his home studio.  So if you know Colin much at all, you can probably image the immediate connection.  His wife, Noelia, is a nurse and works at a hospital in a town nearby.  She is an amazing cook and has been making us some authentic spanish cuisine that is delicious.  Esteban and Noelia are going on holiday this weekend to Madrid and were nice enough to invite us to come along.  So after all our hard work sight-seeing this past week, we are taking a bit of a vacation.  Life is rough!!!  (I know i joke about this now, but seriously, when we get back, we are going to be working overtime to get these videos finished!)

We have also spent some time with Esteban’s family.  He has an older brother Pablo who has shown us around his town and gone with us to scope out some video locations.  Pablo is a car salesman for Ford.  He is also like his brother and loves to crack jokes.  There isn’t too many dull moments around with Pablo, Esteban, and Colin.

Well we do have tons of pictures.  We’ll just post a couple for now and save some more for later.

This one is funny… who knew you could by rabbit-in-a-bag at the supermarket… almost disturbing.  you can see the legs and everything!  poor rabbit.

This one is a sign we saw at a castle… sometimes signs just shouldn’t be quite so vivid.