A new year!

Sorry I haven't been posting!  A lot has been going on here in Gijon.  The day after Christmas my parents came to visit, and they left New Years day, it was fun to show them around and let them see the town we live in.  We went on a few hikes, toured Oviedo (the oldest city in Asturias) and spent a night in Aviles sampling Spanish wines.  We also spent New Years Eve in the Plaza Mayor (the big square in Gijon).  And getting them out of Gijon was quite an adventure.  Their flight was at 7:30am, and so we woke up nice and early on New Years Day (after staying up nice and late) and were ready to leave for the airport at 6, 5 minutes of 6 the lights went out.  We checked to see if it was just our lights and it was our entire street!  Luckily Greg got me a Harry Potter wand for Christmas, so I used it as a flashlight, and we made our way downstairs with luggage etc, only to discover that our garage doesn't open without electricity (there is a parking garage under our building).  So we ran to the bus station in hopes to get a bus to the airport but because it was a holiday there were no buses until 10.  So we ran back to our apartment hoping maybe the electricity turned back on (remember... it's now about 6:20, they have a flight at 7:30!).  We checked the taxi station near our house and there were no taxis, because all the New Years Eve party-goers were on their way home.  And instead of freaking out, Greg came up with the brilliant idea to go to the hotel we stayed in before we moved into our apartment and ask them to call a taxi.  So off we went on our last hope adventure-and it worked!  A taxi was at the hotel in less than 2 minutes and my mom and dad made it to the airport just in time to get on their plane!  And we went without power for about 2 more hours... what a morning.  But here are some pictures from there visit: