All posts by michelene
A friendly visit…
Halloween Fun…
Sleepover with Kenyon
First Day of School
Elliot’s First Baptism!
Sunday: I confirmed Rocio as a member of the church and gave her the Holy Ghost. I was pretty focused on the prayer and the words during the confirmation, but afterwards I couldn´t stop smiling. I was just filled with happiness. It was awesome.”
Spain Trip to see Marta, Pere and kids…
Vilafranca…
The Borruts actually live in Vilafranca, about 40 minutes from Barcelona. Vilafranca is known for their vineyards and the Castellers (human towers: see videos one, two, three). We visited a castle, swam in the Mediterranean, enjoyed paella with some of their friends and attended church with them where Pere is the bishop.
Barcelona…The Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia was our favorite thing to see in Barcelona. Designed by Goudi and started in 1882 with a predicted finish in 2030, it is a spectacular cathedral inside and out. We really enjoyed the headphone tour. Thousands of people tour it everyday, so if you decide to go, save yourself a long wait by buying your tickets online ahead of time. The most amazing thing is that we actually found 2 parking places right on the curb of the cathedral next to the huge line of people. When does that ever happen?
Barcelona…The Olympic Stadium
Do you remember the cool bow and arrow lighting of the torch in the opening ceremonies of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics? The Olympic Stadium is a fun place to visit especially since while we were there, the 2013 International Swim Competition was taking place. It was fun to go home and watch it on TV after sight seeing there!
Madrid…
It was fun to spend a few days in Madrid. Phillip was our excellent tour guide. The first day we walked to the Plaza de España, toured the Palacio Real and walked to La Plaza Mayor. Not as humid as Barcelona, but still hot…I took my fan everywhere with me. Now I know why all the Spanish ladies have fans to flip open…I bought two!
Madrid…The Temple and Plaza de Toros
Saturday morning we took the metro to Spain’s Temple Square and attended a temple session. It’s a small but beautiful temple. It was fun to see the MTC where Phillip served as a missionary four years ago. On our way back into town we stopped and took a tour of Plaza de Toros in Ventas. They were getting ready for a bull fight the next day. It reminded me of “Ferdinand the Bull.”
Madrid…Retiro Park
Sunday evening we decided to take a walk through Retiro Park. It’s basically like Central Park in New York. There were lots of people…fun to see all the families. We enjoyed a picnic dinner and seeing all the statues and fountains. Europeans love their statues and fountains!
Madrid…Museo del Prado
For sure one of the highlights of our trip was touring the Prado museum on our last day. So much beautiful art. I’ve included a few of my favorites. Seems like the artists of the day either painted the birth of Christ or the death of Christ with a few portraits thrown in here and there.
We feel so blessed to have been able to take this trip. How wonderful to be with Marta, Pere, Sara and little Pere. We love them and miss them. What a great experience for all of us.
Elder Brown’s in Cusco Peru…
Elliot has been in Cusco (actually Puno now) for 4 weeks. The big question is…will he get to stay? Apparently he and 10 other missionaries traveled on a visitor’s visa and don’t have their regular visas yet. So, next week we find out if they will all fly back to the United States on August 15th. We are praying and crossing our fingers that he will get to stay, but realize that his mission is in the Lord’s hands.
Meanwhile, he has been having some great experiences in Puno with his companion Elder Cardenas from Mexico. They have been busy opening a new area, which means they are starting from scratch. Their mission president is also brand new, so I’m sure there a few kinks to work out. Elliot sounds good though and hasn’t had any altitude sickness and only an occasional problem with the food. I think having a pensionista — which is a sister in the ward that shops, cooks and does the laundry for the four of them — hasn’t been too much of a problem either!
Excerpt from his letter about his first P-day: “There’s a giant bird statue on top of a mountain. And if you´re a missionary that has nothing better to do, you can climb up the steep streets to the beginning of the stairs. Then you can climb the 646 (who´s counting?) stairs to the top. Pretty tiring, but the view was pretty great. I could see my area and beyond, Lake Titicaca and lots of mountains.”
Loren’s Art Show…
I was also honored to have Phillip contribute a poem which he had written as a response to several watercolor pieces. Thanks to all of those who came and saw the show. I appreciated your support. It has been a goal of mine for several years to have a solo show of my artwork. For those of you who weren’t able to see the show, please check out my website, which features some of the artwork which was in the show (I’m still in the process of updating it)
You can see my work at paperandwood.wordpress.com