Un Paseo y Un Concierto

 I have two days left here in Spain, guys. Two days left... 

 Today, I finally got to see Maggie's neighborhood! She's been living with a family in Toledo this semester, in a neighborhood called Santa Benquerencia, or as all the locals call it, "Polígono". 

 I went to Starbucks for (the best) hot chocolate, with hazelnut and a croissant with Manchego cheese and ham. It was awesome. I also listened to worship music and Sadie Robertson's podcast, "Whoa, That's Good!" and let me tell you, it's so good. I listened to the episode with Shelley Giglio and it is filled with lots of wisdom and neat stories. 

 After I had breakfast, I took the bus to meet Maggie in the neighborhood. This is the Catholic church that she has been going to this semester. It looks really cool. 

 The houses here are so small and cute. They are really close together. I guess with the palm trees and the way the houses are close together, it sort of reminds me of my couisins' neighborhood in Orlando.

 This is her house! The window above on the right is the window of her bedroom. 

 This walkway was cool. It went for a really long way. There were some dogs and their owners walking and someone running too. We just walked and talked for a while, looking at the remaining beautiful trees of fall. 

 As we were walking, Maggie said that we went on an adventurous walk like this in the very beginning of the semester, a day or two after we met. I thought- :O That's crazy. It's like a full circle! How amazing!! These three months have been so awesome because of our adventures of exploring and discovering cool things! 

 This is just a random, cool field of olive trees past the neighborhood. I love the way the sun is peeking through the dark clouds. It's really pretty. 

 This was a friendly golden retriever who was walking around with his owner. I like the view of this bridge too with yellow leaves from the tree behind it. 

 This was just an interesting mural we saw! 

 I'm just obsessed with the pretty trees! 

 We went through a small little shopping center, with bars, cafeterías, a butcher's shop, and a bakery.

 We found a nativity scene in the window of a store. I'm so excited for Christmas! 

 This is a neat library that, unfortunately, was closed, so we couldn't explore inside. 

 While we were on the bus to head back to the foundation, Maggie had the idea of going to the Circo Romano, a historic park that was constructed in the first century.

 I love our adventures! 

 After the Circo Romano, we started to walk back to the Foundation and I picked up a leaf just because it was so whole and pretty. I ended up holding on to it all the way back to the Foundation. I just really love it. It's my piece of fall to hold on to as everything else changes into winter. We saw someone we know on the way later and she laughed at me because I was holding on to a leaf, but I don't care. 

 When we got to Zocodover, the main shopping center by the Foundation, we got some fruit as a snack at the very same store that we got fruit from on our first adventure! It just made the circle even more complete. I love it. 

 Once we arrived at the Foundation, I ate lunch and took a nap. Then, I met Natalie, my friend from the Presbyterian church I had been going to throughout the semester. We went to a cafetería and I got a Cola-Cao, which I have been obsessed with lately. It's basically hot chocolate, but not super sweet. It took me too long to realize that I shouldn't ask for hot chocolate at Spanish cafeterías, because I'll get pure liquid dark chocolate. It's just too bitter for me. Cola-Cao is a good substitute. 

 We talked about lots of things for the last time for now. 

 The theme of the cafetería was really cute. I love the blue of the decorations. 

 We went to the Teatro de Rojas to see her daughter, Vanessa, in a Christmas concert. It was so cute and fun! The music teachers had performances too! They were really good. A teacher played Gesu Bambino on the piano while some others sang the song in English. I was so happy because that's my favorite song to play on the violin, and possibly my favorite Christmas song. They also performed "Hallelujah", from Handel's Messiah. 

 This was my first time in Teatro de Rojas! It is so beautiful! I love that the theaters here in Spain are beautiful and rich in history.

 At the end of the concert, we met with the rest of the family and we got some pizza at a restaurant. Vanessa and aI shared a pizza and she let me pick the toppings. I picked pineapple and ham because they are the best pizza toppings. We talked about music and different foods. She is really sweet and precious. She loves For King and Country and hates garbanzo beans. She is me, just eleven years old. 

 This is Natalie, her kids, Vanessa and Alex, and me. Her husband, who is the pastor of the church was taking our picture. 

 Today was such a wholesome day. It filled my heart with joy. 

 ~Kthnxbai!