Getting ready for Christmas!

K, so I was craving a burger last week so I made these delicious healthy black bean burgers. Super yummy!

 Avril, Jose and I walked to a bakery to get some bread one day and when we came back we stopped at this café and had churros and chocolate. The churros were a bit greasy, but still tasted pretty good.

 Avril with her chocolate lips. So cute!  I couldn't finish my hot chocolate so she finished it for me :)

 After getting churros and chocolate, Avril and I made these yummy apple cinnamon muffins. She loves cinnamon, so she got all excited when I told her about the recipe.

 On Wednesday at school one of the 4th ESO classes went to a museum and I joined them. It was all about the history of Lleida. I didn't understand that much, since it was all in Catalan, but seeing the pottery and such was pretty cool.

 Here is one of the xmas gifts in a package from a business that works with Jose's company: some aged ham. There was wine, champagne, whiskey, chocolate, cookies and other such stuff included in the package as well. I was surprised that this type of ham (still on the leg with the hoof and all) is so common that it's normal for every family to have one of these stand thingies to cut it on.

 

 Last weekend we went to a theme park in Tarragona, PortAventura. Since it is winter they had special shows that were Christmas themed. There were also loads and loads of Santas hanging from all the buildings.

 This section was the Mediterranean, xmasified.

 The Old West

 The mascot of the park is Woody Woodpecker.

 Mexico

 This was a mirror maze. It was actually pretty cool. Though you had to put on plastic gloves to go in so people wouldn't smudge up the mirrors when they touch them.

 China

 Noelia and Jose going on a roller coaster. There was no way I was getting on this one.. I saw the track and it's many many many loops and twists. Motion sickness for the next hour? No thanks.

 This one I went on! Just Jose and I went. It's just like the power tower, but it only drops (doesn't shoot you up) and it only drops once. It was a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean sea from the top!

 They had this cool bird show with loads of different types of birds. Some I knew, others I've never seen before.

 I didn't know this bird actually existed! There is one in Ferngully, but I had never seen one outside of that movie! It's wings are almost nonexistent. No clue what kind it is.

 I liked this ride.. Just a ship swing. Nice ticklebellies.

 One of the shows we went to was some actors doing skits with Santa and Elves, as well as a singer who was amazing. She's like a Spanish Mariah Carey. She could even do the super high whistle singing (the dolphin singing, I think Mariah calls it).

 Churros and chocolate at the show... these ones were awesome, not greasy at all.

 Later we went to another show and I got all excited when I saw aerial silks hanging above the stage. It also had a breakdancing Santa, basketball dunking Santas, acrobalancing reindeer girls, and a very impressive handbalancing guy who kept taking selfies.

 On our way out, once it was dark, we could see the pretty lit up sails on the ships in the Mediterranean area.

 The next day (Sunday) we went to Alcampell to celebrate Mama Laura's birthday. She made paella (I brought my black bean burgers) for everyone to eat.

 My mom sent me these super soft pjs to give her, and she loved them.

 Before we headed home we stopped in Tamarite and saw this mural made on the ground with dyed wood chips, sand, feathers and straw. It was gorgeous!

 

 Time to assemble the tree! I got to help! It helped get me more into the Christmas spirit, since it doesn't feel like December over here, and their stores aren't as Christmas crazy as ours are in the US. I really wished I had some hot cocoa to go along with it. We listened to Christmas music in Spanish as we put up and decorated the tree.

 

So pretty!