Holy Toledo!

We got the saying, "holy Toledo!" from Toledo, Spain when someone looked up at the beautiful ceiling in one of the cathedrals and exclaimed it!

It was also the original capital of Spain, the home of El Greco AND had a period of religious tolerance unique in that time period up until they expelled the Jews and Muslims in 1500.

Madrid, Spain

Madrid has been the capital of Spain since the 17th century and the highest capital city in Europe.

Gaudí

The amazing artist, Antoni Gaudí, from Catalonia, Spain was inspired by nature. 

He had rheumatic fever as a child and spent a lot of time alone. The solitude and 
nature influenced much of his art work and this lead to his beautiful mosaic work 
as seen below.

The "Streets" of Barcelona

The most famous street in Barcelona is called "La Rambla." However, it is NOT just one street but five boulevards, or las ramblas (as it is called by all), joined to make one long promenade. It starts from Placa Catalunya and ends at the Columbus statue by the waterfront.

Best Beaches in the World

Barcelona is considered the "best beach city in the world" by
National Geographic. Crazily enough the beaches in Barcelona
were not used for leisure until 1992!


















This is a photo of the Mediterranean Sea, in Barcelona, Spain.

Barcelona's Origins

I learned that is it disputed how Barcelona originated. One legend says it was founded by Hercules 400 years BEFORE Rome. BUT it may have been founded in the 3rd century BC by the Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal.

Spinster at 15...

Apparently, it was normal to get married by 12 or 13 during the 18th century... however, Marie Antoinette of Austria, who married Louis the XVI of France, was 15 and he was 16. It was an arranged marriage and they didn't have their first child until 7 years after they were married when she was 22. Supposedly, Louis the XVI was faithful to her, even though it was de rigueur for the kings to be unfaithful to their queens.

No Privacy

I learned while visiting the Palace of Versailles that the Kings and Queens never slept in the same room. SO, if the King wanted to have "conjugal" or "married people" relations with the Queen he had to have his pillow delivered to her in the morning. EVERYONE knew what was going to happen that night because everyone saw the pillow being delivered and knew what it meant. Additionally, if the people didn't see the pillow, it was announced for all to hear: "Tonight the King and Queen will have sexual relations!" WOW, can you imagine having NO PRIVACY AND being a King or Queen without it??

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

While on a hillside with students in France's idyllic Montmartre, I was able to see the Eiffel Tower explode in shiny brilliance. I honestly thought that maybe all the tourists who were on it were taking pictures at the same time and that's what I was seeing, BUT what I was actually seeing was the hourly shimmering of lights that Paris gets it nickname: "the City of Lights," from... for 5 minutes every hour after dark, the Eiffel Tower twinkles with sparkling light and it's quite a sight to see! It was one of my favorite moments in Europe... and being in Montmartre was quite wonderful and romantic too!

Party for the Bible... in France?

On this date in the year in 1457 the Gutenberg Bible became the 1st printed book.

and in 1594, since I'm on my way to France, there was a King Henry IV festival in Paris... not sure if it was the first one, but somehow it's significant. 

On This Date in 1851...

Yosemite Valley in California was discovered... didn't know it needed to be "discovered." I thought everyone just knew of its existence.

On This Date in 1852...

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was published.

Whale Fall

I like the way it sounds... graceful: "whale fall." The crazy thing I learned is that the corpse of a whale that has died falls to the floor of the ocean and provides "a rich habitat of food and shelter for deep sea animals years after they have died." There is this one worm that is mouthless that feasts on it... WITHOUT A MOUTH?? I think they are called the zombie worm.

Check out more about this "circle of life:" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2295672/Antarcticas-whale-skeleton--NINE-new-species-living-it.html

Earthquakes

A "lost" tectonic plate was found. It had been lost for 500 million years!!! Wow, WHO was still around from the family of that tectonic plate to step forward and say, "find my tectonic plate! Please!"

http://news.yahoo.com/lost-tectonic-plate-found-beneath-california-114057417.html

Blue St. Patrick's Day

The actual color of St. Patrick is blue:

"...the use of green on St. Patrick's Day began during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol of nationalism and the "wearing of the green" on lapels became regular practice."

Below is the badge of the order of St. Patrick... notice it is blue.

Don't Choke on this Berry

Aronia Berries: Tart, taste like wine, medicinal SUPER-fruit-berries!
They are pretty too, but they are also called,
"CHOKE BERRIES." They are called that because
while they are chocked full of anti-oxidants, they don't
taste good right off the tree.

http://aroniaberry.org/

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/aronia-berries--the-new-antioxidant-super-fruit-195008315.html

The Ides of March

This quote appears in Shakespeare's Julius Cesar: "Beware the Ides of March." AND Shakespeare invented the words, assassination and bump. So was Julius Cesar assassinated or bumped off?

Alphabetical Order

ALMOST is the longest word in the English language that is spelled in alphabetical order.

Thank you Noah P. for this fun fact I didn't know!

Confession

I'm a confessionalist... nah, that's a lie.

See, I confessed!

Life

Everyday is a dream even when there are nightmares.

Badges

It is a fact that if a police officer loses their metal badge they get suspended for a day and lose pay! Most of them leave their badges in their lockers. I don't blame them!

Dragonflies Die

         A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

Almond Joy

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

Words for Birthday

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous.

I hope to have a tremendously stupendous birthday that is not horrendous or hazardous to anyone involved!

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

That's A Savings

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

Rule of Thumb

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

Oh, Barbie!

Mattel's Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Don't Speak

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak!

Bert & Ernie

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's, "It's A Wonderful Life."

Continents

The name of all the continents end with the same letter they start with:

N. America
S. America
Europe
Asia
Africa
Australia
Antartica