How lovely: What goes around comes around!

The Lovely Blog Award

So as most of you know blogging is relatively new to me. I basically started blogging as a way of recording and sharing my experiences with my family and friends. I wanted to record the happy times in my life and I figured what better way to do it than through a blog. I must admit I love it. It can be difficult, at times, to find the time to create a post but once I start writing one I become filled with joy and excitement, I just love it. However, when I started this blog, I was completely unaware of the blogging community and how supportive and encouraging they are. Obviously I had read blogs before I started writing one myself but I had no idea how great readers can be. I´m truely blessed with the readers that visit my blog and the readers who constantly support me and come back and read my work time and time again, thank you, your support does not go unrecognised. You keep me motivated and inspired.

I would like to mention http://penguinsmachine.wordpress.com in this post as she is a perfect example of just how amazing my readers are, she nominated me for the lovely blogger award and since then I have remained speechless, something that is completely rare for me I must add! Her support means the world to me as I truly admire her blog and aspire to be as talented and as dedicated to my blog as she is! If you haven´t checked her blog out yet I truly recommend it, you won´t be disappointed. Right enough of my rambling, sorry it comes hand in hand with being Irish, and onto the point!

So ill proceed to copy/paste the rules that come with accepting this nomination:

* Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post
* Share 7 things about yourself
* Nominate 15 or so bloggers you admire
* Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know

Let the rambling commence, I hope you enjoy learning some more about me, I´m quiet excited to share!

Number one: I´m overly optimistic. I must say I have my parents to thank for this quality. My parents are the most amazing people I have ever met. I realise everyone says that about their parents but it´s true. My parents are my role models, no matter how hard things get in their life they remain positive, strong and happy. They stick together and fight whatever lies ahead of them with a smile on their face and some laughs along the way. They never give in, never let life beat them, they just carry on fighting and do it with such grace; it´s unbelievable. Thankfully, they have brought me up with the same the glass is half full attitude and through them I have learnt that if you can´t be positive and optimistic then you´ll never find the happiness you deserve! So the only thing I have left to say on this one is; thank you mum and dad.

Number two: I´m a perfectionist. This one is probably a negative quality. I´m a high achiever, everything that I set my hands to has to end up perfect, and as everyone knows nothing can ever be perfect! I have to give 100% of me at all times and, believe me, it´s tiring and emotionally draining! The saying I wear my heart on my sleeve couldn´t me more true when it comes to me but it motivates me and keeps me going. It´s just how I am!

Number three: I´m an only child. People automatically assume that because I´m an only child I´m spoilt and sheltered; I´m not. I´m an adventurous person just like my parents. I´m always curious about people and life and because of this I crave experiences and have never been sheltered or protected from experiencing the world.

Number four: I love to talk. I have my quiet moments, like everyone, but in general I´m a talker, in fact I rarely shut up! If I´m excited about something then I turn into a child, talk a million miles a minute and most likely will jump up and down in the process! Some of my closest friends refer to me as a rambler; I just consider myself Irish! It´s funny when I lived in Ireland I never realised how open we are as people, how much we talk and share with people but, since moving away, I´ve come to discover that Irish people are one of the most talkative nationalities in the world, well at least my friends and I are anyway, and I love that!

Number five: My favourite film; Beauty and the Beast. On the rare occasion that I´m down and find that I need to pick myself back up again the one thing that never fails is Beauty and the Beast. Since I was a child I´ve loved this film, it´s not exactly an intellectual film but it´s definatly an uplifting one! What better message than no matter what your faults are there is someone out there who will accept them and love you regardless…amazing!

Number six: I´m a dork. I love being silly, doing stupid things, being awkward! When I was younger I was embarrassed by my dorkiness but now I´m come to accept it´s part of who I am and I love it! You´ll always find me doing ridiculous things, cartwheels, dance offs, jumping around, basically anything to burn off the energy that´s built up in my body.

Number seven. I´m an obsessive coordinator. Everything I wear has to match, don´t know why! I match my nails with my eye make-up and both of those to my clothes, shoes and handbags! A bit weird I know but hey it makes me who I am!

Now time for my nominations! Each blog I´m going to nominate I truly believe is great and think that you should most definitely check out. They are not done in any particular order and I do not prefer one over any other they all are equally great and worth checking out!

1:http://penguinsmachine.wordpress.com

2: http://walkedthru.com/

3:http://drevets.com/

4:http://21stcenturylovetriangle.wordpress.com/

5: http://miramiandmog.wordpress.com/

6:http://thingsishouldkeeptomyself.wordpress.com/

7: http://katcameronillustration.com/

8:http://littlegreybox.wordpress.com/

9:http://iheartmondegreens.com/

10:http://wanderlustfernweh.wordpress.com

11:http://expatedna.com

12:http://simplisticways.wordpress.com

13: http://thehappilysinglechick.wordpress.com

14:http://hikingphoto.wordpress.com

15:http://thirdeyemom.com/

There are so many more blogs that I think are incredible but sadly this post only asks for 15. Thank you again to all my readers and I hope you´ve managed to stay awake during my post and even manged to enjoy finding out a few things about me!

Hope you´re enjoying your Sunday wherever you are!

Giana xoxo

A walk amongst the trees- Córdoba

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Summer´s here, last Sunday was a perfect Sunday. After a hectic week at work a lazy Sunday was just what I was craving and, thanks to the glorious weather, it´s just what I got!

For months I´d been threatening to visit the Botanical Gardens. I figured, seeing as they´re located pretty much on my doorstep – well, if I´m honest they´re a twenty-minute walk but hey that´s still pretty close if you ask me! – it wouldn´t be all that difficult a task – how wrong was I? Almost every Friday I made a fairly non-committal plan to go to these much talked about gardens but, come Sunday morning, tiredness / laziness always outweighed my desire to go!

Not last Sunday though! I´m not sure what it was that motivated me to get my ass in gear and go. Maybe it was the fact I had been indoors all week or maybe it was simply because I knew that, if I kept putting it off, I would never end up going! Anyway, whatever got into me, I´m glad it did and I´m glad that I finally got there!

As I said in my previous post the gardens were not at all what I had expected – not in a bad way, they were enjoyable, just different from what I imagined. I don´t know what I had envisioned really. I think i had just presumed, given that the word garden is in the title, that i would find this large, cultivated garden filled with exotic species of flowers and plants. A bit naive of me really looking back at it! Especially seeing as I know full well that Botanical Gardens are primarily for educational and scientific use!

One of the best things about the Botanical Gardens is that they are well laid out which means you don´t waste any time trying to find your way around. When I think about it, it´s really just a long thoroughfare with a few squares, fountains and various themed gardens –  by themed I mean that each garden is organised by species – spread evenly along it. Located at the end of this thoroughfare is a garden which is devoted to various different trees and shrubs, a garden which is appropriately named ” Un paseo entre árboles” or A walk between the trees.

Parallel to this garden is a palaeobotanical museum which is home to some 15000 plant fossils. Unfortunately, due to our Sunday morning laziness, the museum was closed when we got there. However, outside of the museum there are several fossils on display to give you a little taster of what lies behind the closed doors. These fossils are so well-preserved that I can only imagine how good the ones inside the museum must be. Who knows maybe the next time I go I´ll get to venture inside and learn a bit about them!

Sunday morning seems to be one of the best days to visit the Gardens. On Sundays the Gardens host their weekly market. When I say market, I don´t mean your typical Spanish market consisting of handbags, fans and hats but rather a plant and food market. It consists of various stalls selling cultivated flowers,handmade soaps, crafts and wine – something a little different to embrace on your Sunday morning.

While there you can indulge in a typical Spanish breakfast, a toasted baguette with olive oil, tomato and cured ham with a glass of orange juice and some coffee, in their beautiful café located beside the rose gardens. No better way to refuel after a nice stroll around the gardens and the market.

It´s an ideal way to spend a Sunday in my opinion. As you roam from garden to garden you find yourself unwinding and little by little you start to feel as though you´re a million miles away from a city. If walking´s not your thing then grab a book, find a nice spot under the shade of one of their numerous trees, relax and forget about all your worries as the morning passes you by!

So; while the gardens weren´t what I expected, they were relaxing and just what I needed to unwind after my week! However, while I do like them and believe they have a lot to offer, they do not, well in my eyes anyway, compare with my favourite park Vista Alegre. In saying that, I´m delighted I´ve finally got to see the gardens and, without a doubt, will be back there again! Hopefully next time I´ll get to see the museum!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you ever been to a Botanical Garden? What did you think of it?

Giana xoxo

Summer´s here but, sadly, so are the exams!! – My weekend-Córdoba.

I must say it´s been a crazy week for me. We´re in our busy season at work – exam season – ahhh! With the official exams starting in just a little over three weeks tensions are certainly at a high. Overnight our workload, which was already quite hectic, seems to have doubled; between the mock exams, which are going on at the moment, corrections and students –  only a handful, if only  they were all so good! –  doing extra work in their own time, it´s all been a little chaotic to say the least!

It´s funny, when you´re a student, you only focus on what you´re going through in the lead up to exams, you seem to remain oblivious to just how much it affects your teachers as well as you! At times, I feel as though I´m probably more nervous and concerned for most of my students that are sitting exams than they are for themselves! It´s strange, you get to know your students so well throughout your time with them that you cannot avoid feeling for them when it comes to this time of year! And, with Summer finally here – being in the high 30s and early 40s all week – it´s even harder than ever to get students motivated to study for their impending exams. I have to admit, studying for exams is the last thing I´d want to do in this weather, I´d much rather be outside frolicking in the sun, so can´t say I blame them for their lack of motivation!

Summer

The good news is: the weather is finally good and, what´s more, it´s here to stay! Waking up every morning to the sun shining on your face just makes such a difference to your day. However, I do find that it´s getting harder and harder to make myself go to work in the glorious weather. Every day, on my walk to school, I can´t help but envy all the people I walk past. People, who are sitting outside in the many cafés and bars along my route, soaking up the sun and relaxing. Especially, when I know that in a few minutes time, I´ll be indoors for the day, working and every now and then, when I get the chance, staring out at the beautiful sunshine right outside my window! Just as well I love my job or I don´t know if I could do it!

People in a Café

This weekend, due to the mock exams, we were working on Saturday .However, the minute I finished work, having already spent the first 6 days of summer indoors, I was determined to make the most of the rest of my weekend and spend it outside in the heat of the summer sun!

Thankfully, my plan was a success! Once I finished work, accompanied by two of my friends, I headed to a little restaurant with a beautiful outdoor seating area. Once there, I indulged in a delicious spinach and goats cheese pastry and several glasses of water, a poor attempt to quench my thirst in the heat! Once our stomachs were nicely satisfied we decided to buy some magazines – nothing better than some mindless reading after a tough day of work! –  an ice-cream and some drinks to take with us to one of the many charming parks Cordoba has to offer, in the hopes of finding a nice tree to relax under. Beautiful!

Later that evening, while walking home to get ready to meet up with our friends, we happened upon this marching band, dressed to the nines in their sailor like attire, slowly making their way down the street. They were closely followed by priests and people from religious orders carrying canvases and candles and, behind them, were school children in their uniforms holding candles, marching to the beat of the drums under the watchful eyes of their teachers! Fantastic – I have no idea what it was for, but, if I had to guess, going by the time of year and the fact that the children were involved, I would imagine the celebration had something to do with their communion.  Anyway, whatever the reason, it was it was a fantastic sight to stumble across! That has to be one of the things I love the most about Córdoba, it´s full of surprises, you never know what´s waiting for you behind each corner!

Once refreshed after our long day we made our way to the Corredera to see one of the May shows. Throughout the month of May; the Corredera hosts several flamenco events which celebrate this much-loved Spanish tradition! Once there, we sat outside for hours sipping on our cool drinks and soaking up the atmosphere. Unfortunately though, we didn´t get to witness any dancing. The show we ended up seeing was only a singing event. It was certainly a worthwhile experience but I couldn´t help but be disappointed; I really wanted to see some dancing! At roughly one o´clock, my bed started to call out to me; so I decided to call it a night and headed home.

After a good nights sleep I woke up this morning refreshed and ready to take on the sun! My friend and I, seeing as it was such a beautiful day, decided to head to the Botanical Gardens. We´d been threatening to go there for so long but had never got around to going, mainly due to the fact that they are located at the opposite side of the city to us. Sadly, due to the lazy mentality that comes hand in hand with Sundays, we didn´t arrive at the gardens untill quarter to two, arriving only to find out that the gardens close at three! We decided, after trekking all that way in the heat, that we may as well go in and see as much as we could and, that if we wanted, we could go back to see the rest another day! When we got the ticket office, we were greeted by this extremely friendly man who, after pointing out that the gardens closed at three, let us go into the gardens without paying the entrance fee!

While the gardens were beautiful they were not what I expected in the slightest! I had expected to find a huge manicured garden filled with exotic flowers, flowers that I had never seen before, when in fact, while it was huge and manicured, it mainly consisted of trees! However, to my delight, the tress were beautiful and there were several butterflies fluttering around the place to add to its beauty! I will write a post on the gardens during the week, if I get a chance that is, to share their wonder and beauty with all of you!

After that we decided to grab some food from the local deli and head to our favourite park, Vista Alegre, to sit under a tree and cool down while eating our rolls. What better way to spend a sunny day? It seemed as though we weren´t the only ones to think of this though as we were joined by a few families that were dotted around the place having picnics under the shade of the trees. After about two hours of basking in the sun, we were hot and decided, before heading home for a nap,  to go to our favourite frozen yoghurt shop to indulge in something refreshing and do some people watching while we were at it!

All in all, despite having to work on Saturday, it was a perfect weekend! I got to do what I love most, be outdoors in the sun, and explore a part of Córdoba I had never seen before! I hope you´ve had a great weekend!

Thank you for reading. I hope you´ve enjoyed it!

What´s your favourite way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon?

Giana xoxo