Is this real life? :)

As the title says, this last post is way overdue. My last few days in Spain were super crazy and since I’ve been home I’ve been super busy. I’m also sad I’m not in Madrid anymore = /

But anyway, the last couple weeks in Madrid were busy because the kids were starting school! They looked unbelievably adorableee in their school uniforms! Irene was really excited to go; she loves to learn. Luis was really excited too, but I think it was more because Irene was excited haha. The first day they went I got up early because I wanted to see them leave and they were so so cute! It was different to have my days free. Maria and I even had lunch out a couple of the days, very different from the summer. Really fun though! When the kids got home they would tell me about their day; they really love school! 

The last weekend I was there was amazingggg because I went to visit Stephanie in Florence! That was incredible; Florence is gorgeous, I got such a great feeling from the city. Here’s how the weekend went:  I’m sorry Steph, but I gotta write this because it’s too funny: when I arrived after a 6AM flight, with 1 stop, at 12PM I had to wait around for 4 hours until my darling sister woke up. But no matter, eventually she and Hallie did wake up and we walked around a little afterwards. We went out for dinner and I had literally the best pasta I’ve ever had. Italy wins the best food award in general. It was a slow night because we were all tired, but I loved hanging out with Steph and Hallie. We walked around Il Duomo (the most amazing cathedral I’ve ever seen; it’s green and so detailed in its architecture), got gelato (coconut and pineapple for me, mmm!), and then watched this hilarious street performer. I wish I could describe his act because it was so funny. He looked like Charlie Chaplin and pulled a lot of people out of the audience (not me thank god), and I think I was laughing the whole time. After that we went back to Stephanie’s gorgeous, humongous apartment and hung out and slept. 

The next day Stephanie and I went out for lunch. I had some great pizza and Stephanie had gnocchi in this chianti wine sauce; incredible. Then we walked around a huge market on the streets of Florence. There were vendors selling everything from Carnivale masks, leather wallets (which I definitely bought for myself), leather jackets, leather everything really because Florence is known for its leather. I bought a kids mask for Irene and a little wooden Pinocchio puppet for Luis. After we browsed the market Stephanie and I had coffee before she had to go to class. While she was in class I walked around and explored. After she was done we met up with Hallie at the apartment and got dressed for dinner. We went over the Ponte Vecchio (a very famous bridge in Florence), ate a delicious dinner, and then went looking for this bar they had been to but couldn’t remember where it was. We found it after an hour or so, and it was so worth the wait. There were great people, cool lights that changed color, and great drinks = )  We stayed out all night because I had to leave at 4 anyway to make it to the airport for my flight back to Madrid. I had a tonnn of fun in Florence though.

I got back to Madrid and basically had to pack up to leave right away since I was leaving for home the next day. It was so sad packing up my suitcase. Irene was mad at me because she knew I was leaving; I felt so bad. Luis seemed ok though. The next morning I got up to say goodbye to them and Irene was so sad. My nickname to them is Lucas, it’s a character in a TV show called Gormiti’s, and Irene said in the saddest little voice, “Goodbye Lucas”. I’m not ashamed to admit I teared up. It was really awful saying goodbye to the kids and Maria and Luis. I had such an amazing summer with them and really felt like I became a part of the family. I’m lucky to have them though, I know we’ll always stay in touch, and I’m sure I’ll see them sooner than I think!

It was great getting home. I love seeing my family and friends, and I can’t believe I leave again in 3 weeks. Madrid was amazing, and I’m sure Tel Aviv will be too though! 

I’ll be starting this up again when I leave so don’t forget to read!!!

Last weekend I went to Segovia for the day; it was spectacular. I got to the train station at around noon and had to wait two hours for the next train, which sucked, but was totally worth it. When I got to Segovia (about a 30min train ride because of the awesome high speed trains) I hopped on the bus that took all of us tourists to the center of Old Segovia. It dropped us off right at the Roman Aqueducts which are massive and amazing to look at. They’ve been there for almost 2000 years; it’s just unfathomable how old Segovia is! The city’s history goes back to 75 BCE, yes that’s right, BCE. It was first in possession of the Celtics before the Romans took over. There’s so much Roman architecture everywhere as well as Medieval, Gothic style architecture.

After getting my bearings, I walked down the main street to the Segovia Cathedral. It was built in the 1500’s, destroyed during a revolt, and then rebuilt in the 1700’s. It was humongous and beautiful and Roman designed. I took a bunch of pictures inside even though that wasn’t allowed. What can I say, I can be sneaky = )  There were beautiful stain glass windows, painted ceilings, and incredible paintings and sculptures.   I spent about an hour there and then made my way to my favorite part of Segovia…Alcazar of Segovia, the royal palace.

Alcazar is a massive, gigantic, I can’t even describe it, castle that was built in 1122. Historians think it might even be earlier than that. It’s a mix of Roman and Gothic design as it was added to over the years. It was always a favorite castle of Castillian Royalty, including King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle. The castle was almost burned down in the 1800’s, but was saved, luckily. There was a guided tour through the castle and I was able to take a ton of pictures, legally this time! I’ll post them ASAP so you can all see at least some of the castle and hopefully understand a little of it’s grandness. 

After I left Alcazar I walked along the Medieval Wall the surrounds Old Segovia. I was able to walk through the Jewish Quarter which was very cool. There were a lot of Jews living in the area that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle banished during the start of the Spanish Inquisition. I was able to see the old Jewish Cemetery, a lot of churches that had once been synagogues, and I went on top of the wall (there’s a walkway and I also might’ve gone up when it was closed because there was no worker but there was a price to enter. But the gate was open so I didn’t want to miss it. It was only 1 euro so I don’t feel too bad. And I got to be up there alone which was super cool. Don’t judge me =) ) and was able to look over a large part of Segovia. It’s a really beautiful area. 

I was there in Segovia for about 7 hours just wandering and taking little tours. It was really a beautiful place and I really loved it there. I almost didn’t make the train back to Madrid! 

This past week has been fun. We took the kids to get there school photos and that was super cute. I also found this restaurant/bar I like in the area called Picasso’s so it’s nice to go there and chat to random people (since I can speak Spanish pretty well now woo!) after a long day of playing haha! 

This weekend I’m going to Barcelona and I’m so excited!!! Tell you all about it after I get back!!!

Well it’s been a little too long since I’ve updated my blog so I’m sorry to the masses who’ve been using it to live vicariously through me ; )  I haven’t updated though because there hasn’t been much to talk about until the last few days.

The Asturias were really beautiful. Everything is really green and it smells like the forest. It’s supposed to rain pretty much every day there, but we got lucky and it only rained 3 out of the 14 days we were there. Most nights Maria and Luis went out while I stayed with Irene and Luis, so I didn’t really get to do too much while we were there. We watched Los Pitufos (The Smurfs) about a thousand times (and it’s not a bad movie haha!) but always in Spanish. One night there were fireworks for a saint’s holiday so we watched those from the balcony of the apartment. We took walks on the boardwalk and ate ice cream and played a lot. It was fun hanging out with the kids!

One of the last few days we were there was my favorite though. The whole family and I went to visit Luis’ friend who has a four month old super adorable baby. She didn’t cry the whole time and she was so observant. But anyway, they were vacationing in a tiny town called Ardisana. About 200 people live there in the summer and about 75-100 in the winter. So when I say tiny, I mean tiny. But I have to say, it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It was one of those picturesque, “Under the Tuscan Sun” types of towns. There were wildflowers growing everywhere, a type of moss from the Paleozoic Era (that’s dinosaurs people!), wild berries that we could eat, wild hazelnuts and almonds, and apple and orange trees growing everywhere. The homes were a little run down in some places and really pretty in others, but this added to the charm of the town. Maria, Irene and I even went to look at a house up for sale. It was really nice inside but surprisingly expensive. Oh well = /  The home Luis’ friends lived in, though, was incredible and reminded me of my grandparent’s home in Vermont (definitely not as beautiful though so don’t worry grandma and grandpa!). But it was huge, had gorgeous fireplaces and woodwork, and an attic sitting room with huge skylights and plushy couches. I could’ve stayed there to read for hours = )

The next day, our last day, we went to Oviedo and while the family was out with friends I got to take my own walking tour through Oviedo. I have a ton of pictures, but as most things are in Spain, it was totally beautiful. There are structures there from Roman times which no one can disturb; they’re protected by law. There is a huge cathedral that I went into called the Santa Iglesia Cathedral which was built about 600 years ago. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary came to that spot to give the Spanish a “magical” cross and shield while they were fighting Muslims, so it’s a very special place of worship for those of the Catholic faith. There is also a cloth that is supposed to have covered Jesus’ face after his death there, along with the cross and shield and a few other relics, in the Cathedral. Now I can’t say I subscribe to those beliefs, at all haha, but it was beautiful nonetheless = D

Since Monday we’ve been back in Madrid. I’ve mainly been with the kids all day and then hanging out around here at night, except on Tuesday, when I went to the Botanical Garden’s near the Prado with Alberto. The garden is really cool; they have all types of carnivorous plants, trees, vines, and flowers with weird names (i.e. the dahlia white perfection or the dahlia arabian nights- and these were the more normal ones). We kind of felt like we were in Jurassic Park while in the carnivorous plant area because it’s in a terrarium with sliding metal doors and it looks like a raptor could jump out from anywhere. In all seriousness though it was awesome and we had a really great time!

The only thing going on now is that I can’t believe my little sister is turning 20 tomorrow!!! I love you so much Steph and I miss you always! 2 and a half weeks till I’m home yay!!!!   

Ok so we went to Portugal the day after my last post to a small town near the border between Spain and Portugal. We went to a a restaurant with this really great Portuguese dish called cataplana. It’s very traditional and is filled with shrimp (and i mean reall shrimp, with the skin and heads and eyes..) and other seafood including clams, plus rice and a great, red stew type of sauce. After lunch we drank this amazing sweet almond tasting alcohol as a type of desert. Maria and Luis said it’s not the type of drink you have in large quantities because it could easily give you the headache of the century, but that little bit tasted like heavennn.

Afterwards we just walked around a tiny bit, had ice cream (pistachio for me, although I wanted green apple desperately and they were sold out) and saw that this part of Portugal could use a fixer upper. Some of the apartments were nice, but a lot were very run down with peeled paint and broken doors. It was kind of sad. But it was a really nice trip and now I get to say I’ve been to Portugal!

Two days after that the whole family and I went to this awesome fair/carnival. It was so huge with a thousand rides, a lot of the same but some I’ve never seen before. For instance, there was a water ride for kids; basically the kids got put into a plastic ball, the attendant blew up the ball (with a leaf blower which was very funny and cost effective I’m sure), and then the ball went into a square pool that was probably 30X30 so the kids could run and jump and do whatever they wants. The kind of looked like hamsters but it honestly looked like soo much fun! Unfortunately I was only able to go on two rides (a ferris wheel and that cat and mouse roller coaster I’m sure most of you have seen before) and there were so many more rides I wanted to go on, most of which were the crazy, spinny, fast, upside-downy rides you all know I love! Irregardless, it was a super cool fair and we all had a really fun time!

The next day was our last day which we spent at the beach of course, and then later on in the night I met up with Maria and Luis (I was with the kids while they went out at first) at the first bar we went to when we arrived, the one on the beach. It was the perfect temperature with clear skies. The stars were so bright and we could hear the sound of the ocean tides; two of my favorite things. And then I got really lucky and saw a shooting star (maria and luis were not so lucky) which was the perfect ending to a fantastic vacation. Of course I can’t divulge my wish, but I promise it was a good one.

The next day we went back to Madrid for the night to sleep and repack for the not-so-beachy climate of Oviedo and the Asturias area. It’s equally beautiful here in a very different way. It’s all green (it rains here a lot, it’s in the north of spain whereas huelva was in the south) and is completely surrounded by mountains. On our way here yesterday we stopped to meet Luis’ brother Juan, his wife Lucia, and their son Diego for lunch (all of whom I’d met before) at probably the coolest restaurant I’ve ever been to. It was previously a winery and is built into a cave. Seriously, this restaurant is built in a cave. And it’s decorated so creepily, like a haunted house almost, with weird, old tables and light fixtures and mirrors, and single burning half-gone wax candles around every turn; I was absolutely in awe of it. I have lots of pictures. The food was great too; some people may not believe this but I ate a poor baby lamb after my steak was too rare (maria and I switched because I felt bad about sending it back but couldn’t eat it) and the lamb was damnnn delicious. Stephanie, you have to eat some if you haven’t already! 

After lunch we went to see Luis’ parents, who are so so nice and welcoming, but only for a short visit since we were all exhausted. It’s difficult to drive from the south of spain to the north, and I wasn’t even driving. We pretty much just ate and went to bed. Then today we went to buy food for the apartment, I went out for a walk up and down the boardwalk by myself and read a little bit by the beach, had a few wine with lemonades (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned how amazing that drink is, but I have it all the time and everyone should give it a try. It’s a great summer drink!) and came back to the apartment so Luis and Maria could go out with some friends. The kids and I played for a while (they’ve taken a liking to a game where I’m their baby and they take care of me, it’s adorable and hilarious) before I put them to bed, and now it’s bedtime for me.

More later!!

We’ve been here for almost two weeks now and I’ve honeslty lost all track of time. There have been a few days that I thought it was a completely different day than it actually was. It’s amazing = D  

We still mostly just spend a few hours at the beach, eat, talk, relax, and play with the kids. On Sunday Maria’s sister Cinta (who I’ve already met and really like) arrived with her two kids, Lucia (11) and Guillermo (7). They are great kids; Lucia is such a little lady and she loves horses and Guillermo is such a class clown, he’s hilarious! Watching all the cousins playing together really makes me miss my cousins (I really miss you David, Jake, Cory and Jane..and Steph even though you’re not myy cousin, you’re also their cousin lol) and I can’t wait to see you all when I get home!

Yesterday though was a little different. The weather was really bad; it was raining and the sky was dark and the water was extremely scary looking (later when we got home we found out that Huelva experienced a “little” hurricane which is crazy because that almost never happens anywhere in Spain!) We went to a town about 2 hours away called Aracena where Maria’s grandfather was born. It dates back to the Roman Empire which I love of course. Aracena is built on a mountain so all of the roads are very narrow and windy all the way to the top where an old castle sits. All of the building and homes are connected and are of varying heights, but are not too tall. They’re all painted white also with personal touches from their present residents I guess, maybe older than that. While we were there we went to La Gruta de las Maravillas, which roughly translates into The Cave of Wonders. Now anybody who has seen Aladdin should know that the cave where the Genie is found is also called The Cave of Wonders, and anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite disney movie is Aladdin, and anyone who knows that knows that I diedddd when I found out the name of the cave!!!!

Anywayyy, the cave is massive; we were able to walk through about 45 minutes worth of it on a tour and we barely got to see a 1/4 of it. It was beautiful. The stalactites and stalagmites were massive and calcium based so they were all white. There were a lot of different types of stones. Some looked like cauliflower, some looked like marshmallows, some looked like burnt marshmallows, some looked like chickpeas, I could go on for a while but I won’t. Also, the soil is very rich in iron so there were a lot of red streaks going through the caves which looked very cool. The caves are split into a lot of rooms (naturally) that had a lot of different names. One that I remember was called the Room of the Nudes because some of the formations looked like, well, you know = )  There were also a lot of lakes and I’ve never seen such still, clear water. The lakes looked like mirrors they were so clear and still. It was all very grand and “wondrous” and I really really enjoyed it (and so did Maria, Luis, Irene, and Luis Jr.!) 

Afterwards we got into the car to drive up to the castle. Before we got there (a 20 minute drive) the kids passed out so only Luis and I got out of the car for a quick walk around. I was able to get some photos which I’ll post asap. It was really cool, built hundreds of years ago and still standing, almost whole. It makes me wonder why in our time buildings need to be repaired allll the time! They must’ve been very careful workers back then/they might’ve been killed for bad work/construction workers today need to make more money thus don’t build as well as they could (not to put down construction workers, I could never do what they do). But anyway, we left after that to go back to the house and it was pretty late by the time we got back, but it was a great day!

Tomorrow should be great also because we’re going to Portugal for the day! It’s only a short drive, and after the visit I’ll write all about it! 

So we’ve only been in Huelva for a few days but I already know I’m going to love this beach city foreverrrr. 

Basically we get up, go to the beach for hours, come home for lunch and siesta, go back to the beach, play with the kids, eat dinner in the house or in town, and sleep. It’s so incredibly relaxing. Spanish people really know how to have a holiday = D

The first day we were here we arrived in the late afternoon and went right to the beach. It’s on the atlantic ocean, but is where the atlantic and Mediterranean Sea meet so the water is really warm most of the time. Irene loves the ocean and being in the water as much as I do, so we’ve had a lot of fun “flying” over the waves. Luis doesn’t like it as much though, but he loves playing in the sand. Maria bought this really cool castle making kit that the kids and I have had a lot of fun playing with. We’ve made huge castles with towers and sea shells but in for decorations which Luis loves to destroy after we’re done; then they just become ancient castle ruins = D Anyway, that night after the kids went to bed Luis, Maria and I went to the part of town down the boardwalk to the part of town where there are restaurants, shops, and ice cream! We got some ice cream (I had a type called leche merengada which is lemon with cinnamon and it was the best. I’ll be making it when I get home for sure!) and then walked back to a restaurant on the beach. We sat for a while with some cervezas con limon (beer with lemonade) at a table under the stars. The stars here are so bright and I love it. In fact, right now I’m writing this on their roof patio under the stars and am loving it haha! 

The next day we went to the beach again and had dinner here. It was just very relaxing.

Yesterday after spending most of the day at the beach/ playing a tonnn of Parcheesi with Irene/ watching Supergirl twice because the kids are obsessed with it right now we went out for dinner. Now, as most of you know, I hate seafood. However, seafood is pretty much all anyone eats here and that includes me now. I have the pictures to prove it. I ate coquinas (clams in a delicious garlic sauce), a type of fried fish that I can’t remember the name of, and octopus. Yes, I had all of that and enjoyed it, it’s insane. I can’t promise I’ll like it as much as I do here when I get home because here they probably cook it differently (and by differently I mean better haha) but oh well. 

Today we all went on Maria’s father’s boat for like 6 hours and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. I love boats and it reminded me of being on Fire Island with my grandparents on their boat; I felt like a kid again. We went for a swim and a really long ride. We also went to the place where Christopher Columbus set sail from to America and saw the replicas of the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria which was very cool! Afterwards we went to dinner and had more seafood that I loved, the best of which is this marinated type of fish that Maria promised to show me how to make that I will definitely cook for whoever wants it when I get home. It was so tasty. Then we went for some more ice cream and came home.

The only downside to Huelva is that the sun is so strong that no matter how often I put on sunscreen I burn (and I put it on constantly). But that’s not really a surprise and everything makes the burning worth it (mostly!) I feel like I’ve lost track of time because that’s how relaxing it is here. And Maria’s parents are so so nice, which I never doubted, but wanted to mention anyway. I wish we were going to be here longer than 2 weeks!

Well that’s all for tonight, I’ll update more later in the week!! = D

It’s been a while since I have been able to update this because I’ve been extremely busy/extremely tired…but now that I’ve had a few relaxing days at the beach I’ve recharged a couple of my batteries and am taking my siesta time to write instead of nap = )

Last week was so much fun. So. Much. Fun. This is because mom and stephanie came to visit!!!

They arrived super early on wednesday morning, and I still had to watch the kids during the day so they went to the hotel. Of course the room wouldn’t be ready until 2pm (ugh!) so they ended up wandering around for a while until I could finally meet them at around 5. By the time I made it to the hotel though they were passed out (understandably, it’s a rough flight). I was so so happy to see them here that I lied on top of Stephanie to say hello while she was asleep and she was so so happy to see me that she didn’t attack me for lying on top of her (I love you Steph!). They were still pretty tired, and so was I, so the three of us ended up taking a nap for an hour or two haha! After we got up and got dressed we walked around Sol towards Plaza Mayor for great drinks, great dinner, and great times. Mom and Stephanie had their first taste of delicious Spanish food and wine and loved it obviously. And I have to write about our dessert especially because it was so good: creamy ice cream (thicker than regular I guess) with sugary caramel on top that was burned first. I want to find out how to make it because it was incredible. After a few hours at the restaurant I went home because I had to watch Irene and Luis in the morning and Stephanie and Mom did god knows what haha!

The next day, after I made it to the hotel we weren’t sure what to do and figured that we’d maybe take a tour of Madrid on a tour bus. We got on and found out it wasn’t that expensive, but instead of having the whole day to use the ticket we’d only have a few hours. We got off deciding to wait until saturday or sunday. However, as we were walking away, a very nice man caught up to us and gave us three tickets because he was done with the bus for the day! So basically we got to take a free 3 hour tour of Madrid = D  It was really nice and I even got to see some places I hadn’t seen yet, and I really enjoyed getting to watch my mom and Steph react to how gorgeous Madrid is. As we came to our stop and got off we thought we’d go check out a flamenco show and have dinner. Luckily we walked past the theater where Les Miserables was playing!!! It’s the first broadway show I’ve ever seen in my life (I picked it at age 6 as a birthday present and I’ve seen it 3 more times over the years, good times) and as kids my family would listen to the songs in the car all the time. Castle on a Cloud is the first song I learned to play on the piano. Basically, I freaking love the show! It was in Spanish obviously, but I think I almost enjoyed it even more that way. Knowing the story helped of course, but the singers voices were strong and clear and beautiful, and the theater was smaller than the Broadway theaters which made them resonate more. And hearing the songs in another language was enchanting (possibly a lame word that I might get made fun of for, but that’s exactly what it was haha!). The three of us loved the show so much, even Stephanie who didn’t know the story as well (and Kayley, I know we already talked about how much you would’ve cried, but yeah you would’ve cried hahaha!). After the show ended we walked around looking for a place to eat, of which there were basically none because it was after 1AM, but we found a little pizza place, ate some pizza, and then parted ways (which was sad every night = (

On Friday though I packed a little suitcase because Friday and Saturday night I was able to sleep at the hotel with them which was great, even though I had to sleep in the crack between two double beds pushed together. Not the most comfortable thing in the world but what’re you gonna do. We didn’t do much on Friday because on Saturday we took a day trip to Toledo. Toledo is a medieval city and is where my mom’s side of the family comes from (before the Spanish Inquisition). It’ s very hilly so we did a lottt of walking but is incredibly beautiful. We walked through churches and streets built hundreds of years ago, and if you know me well, you know that things built hundreds of years ago are my favorite. The architecture was stunning and knowing that my family had lived there made it even more exciting for us. Our ancestor, Samuel Levi Abulafia, was the treasurer for King Pedro I and was a very wealthy and famous man in his time. There was a street named for him which was so cool to see, and the artist El Greco lived in his house after he died which was also really awesome. So basically we got to go through the El Greco museum, which is in El Greco’s villa, which used to be Samuel Levi’s home; amazing!! We also went into a Sephardic Temple/museum which was in the Jewish quarter of Toledo. The synagogue had been converted into a church after the Spanish Inquisition, but was changed back to a synagogue later on. Everything about Toledo was amazing, and we spent a lot of hours walking around and just taking it all in. We didn’t even get to see the majority of the city though so I might have to go back! When we returned to Madrid we were exhausted, but went to Plaza Mayor for dinner (at which I was hit on really hard by our waiter who gave me his number right in front of mom, but it was so funny because he was a funny guy but a little too old for me) At the hotel that night we passed out and had a good night sleep.

Sunday we went for lunch at this great Mediterranean restaurant in Plaza Mayor. Then, I took them to Palacio Real de Madrid (the Royal Palace, which I’d been to before but had no problem going back!) and they loved it. We walked through the royal pharmacy, the armory, and the palace for a few hours and they were in as much awe as I had been which was great. It was great walking through a second time for me too because I was able to notice even more than I had the first time. We talked to a guard about if he got to go to the hundred or so rooms the public isn’t allowed to see, and he said yes, and we got a little jealous. I would want to work there just to be able to do that! But other than that it was amazing = D We also went to the gardens afterwards and put our feet in the fountain, well Steph didn’t, but she should have. We had some ice cream, stopped for wine on our way back to the hotel, and fell asleep for about an hour. That night we met up with Maria, Luis, Irene and Luis Jr. for dinner at another Mediterranean restaurant near the Real Madrid stadium (which was incredible to see up close!) I was really excited for them to meet and we had a fantastic time. My mom brought the kids presents: for Irene, a Spiderman backpack, lunch box, and T shirt and for Luis, a Superman backpack and T shirt, and an Ironman lunch box which they have barely been without since! We ate paella (and one of the paellas was seafood which had black rice which is black because it’s made with squid ink and is one of the best things I’ve ever had; apparently I kind of like seafood now, or at least seafood here haha) and had some great red wine and they all got to know each other. One of the most memorable parts of dinner was when little Luis put his Woody bracelet on my sister and we all died at how cute it was! After dinner was over I went home with Maria and Luis because the next day was Monday and I had to watch the kids.

On Monday I ended up going to my Spanish class because I couldn’t miss another day, but after I went to the hotel to meet mom and Stephanie and we went to the Opera. Unfortunately it was sold out (we were so disappointed) but we went for dinner at this great restaurant I can’t remember the name of after walking around a little bit. We stayed there for a few hours having wine and got a few free Bailey shots from the waiter because he liked us = D We were pretty tired afterwards so we went to our respective homes, even though first we tried to find an english movie theater to see Harry Potter in. It did not work out and we were not happy about it haha!

Tuesday was their last day (so sad) and we went to see the Russian Imperial Ballet which was performing Swan Lake (katie corbs, I wish you could’ve been there to see it, you would’ve died!) The music to Swan Lake is incredible if you haven’t ever listened to it, and these dancers moved so gracefully that you couldn’t hear them hit the floor after double twirls and leaps; the ballet was so moving. I love Swan Lake and I was so excited to see it, and we all loved it so much and wanted to watch Black Swan afterwards! I plan on going to see more ballets and an opera and anything else theater related as soon as possible (which won’t be until the middle of august since we’re on holiday now, more about that later!) After Swan Lake we went for dinner at a restaurant called La Traviata and, as we all agreed, it was the best dinner of the week (spaghetti carbonara, pizza Bolognese, salad, and as always, wine!) After dinner I went back to the hotel with them and we said goodbye which was the saddest thing ever. The week passed way too quickly and I wish they could’ve stayed much longer; and so did they of course, because they fell in lovee with Madrid.

Mom and Stephanie, I had the greatest week with you both and love you both so much. Thank you for coming to see me here and I’m so happy we are going to have had this week together here that we can remember forever and one day tell our kids/your grandchildren mom, about when we’re older. I can’t wait to come home to you, but I wish you could still be here more!

My next post will be about where I am now, Huelva for the first part of the holiday, which I also wish you could see Mom and Steph (and the rest of the family). It reminds me of Fire Island! And you guys who have been to my birthday parties when we were kids know that I am lovinggg life right now because of that!

Miss you all!!!! = D

So last weekend was really fun, I just haven´t had much time to relax for more than 2 seconds since then = )

On Friday I went with Alberto, Bea, and Antonio (whom I met at Babel) to the Cines Ideal to meet another Babel type of group to see a movie and go to a tapas bar afterward. We saw Beginners and it was, surprisingly, in English with Spanish subtitles. I think most people who live in Madrid are really interested in learning English and that´s why I´ve been so popular lately haha! But for real, we had a lot of fun. The movie was good, very interesting, an independent type of film, and it definitely made me use my brain. I know a bunch of people who would like it and more people who wouldn´t really enjoy it too much haha!  (Sidenote, in Spain when you buy a movie ticket you get an assigned seat which I did not enjoy quite so much, even though I understand it might be more practical. But Alberto and I ended up in the third row with our necks in a very awkward position so I am not a fan of assigned movie seats.) Afterwards we walked across the street to a small but perfect for conversations tapas bar. (Another sidenote, I don´t know how many of you have tried beer mixed with lemonade, but if you haven´t, you MUST! It´s fantastic!) A big group of us (me, Alberto, Antonia, Bea, and a few men in their 40´s/50´s) went upstairs and talked about the movie for like 10 minutes. After that we talked a lot about America, Spain, places I have to visit, places they have to visit, the test Spainish speakers have to take every two years to be recertified as English speakers (not fair!), and my favorite topic: criminals, violence, aggression, and the human race as a whole (they started asking me about what I studied in college and it just snowballed from there!). I pretty much ran the conversation so it was pretty great = D  Later in the night after having a lott of fun Alberto and I walked to the Sol metro station to go home (not togetherrr lol!) He´s a pretty cool guy though; he´s very interested in getting to know English how an American would speak and writes down a lot of sayings he wants to look up later which I think is very smart. He and I made plans to go the the park El Retiro on Sunday (so yesterday), but I´ll get to that after Saturday..

On saturday I experienced a shoppers dream = D I went with the family to the Las Rozas Outlets and homygod it was icredible! So many amazing stores with sooo many amazing discounts. Actually, in the summer months every store has sales at least 50% off if not more. It´s incredible = D We had a realyl good time, especially Maria and I, the kids and Luis were not as excited haha! After being there for like 6 hours we went home and Maria and Luis went out for dinner. The kids and I watched Cars in Spanish (with English subtitles thank goddd) and it was a really funny movie for those of you who haven´t seen it. Not as good as UP! but that one´s the best.

On Sunday I slept in for once which was great and spent the day at the pool with Maria and the kiddies. Irene is learning how to swin pretty well and Luis uses his noodle (which they call churros here, very different). Afterwards I went to meet Alberto at El Retiro which is such a gorgeous park. There are actually a tonnn of parks in Spain. El Retiro is close to the Prado. It was a really big park with tons of people and a lot of performers (we saw a jitterbug dancing type of class) and other stuff. He showed me around the main square of the park where lots of people were in a “lake”(a very big pond haha) in row boats which was pretty cool. Then we just kind of walked around aimlessly and talked and he bought me an ice cream and water because he said that on friday he’d wanted to buy me a beer but I’d already bought one for myself lol! Then we just sat down in the park in a random really pretty spot and talked a lot about our interests and relaxed. It was really nice, a good, relaxing sunday = ) Then he walked me to the metro and we made plans to meet before madrid babel on wednesday to walk there together so that´ll be cool! He´s a really nice guy, is starting his masters in film so we obvisouly had a ton to talk about hahaha!

Finally I just wanted to mention a couple things i saw on the street: a man running in speedos (the really tight, underwear looking type) and a sad, begging clown (which kayley should immediately connect with what I mean heehee) so that was awkward = D

Tomorrow is Babel so I´m sure I´ll have some updates. And then Mom and Stephanie will be here thursday YAYYY!!! Can´t wait to see you both!!!!!!!

Adios!

Hi everyone! 

Monday night I went out with Anna after class. We didn’t have a specific place in mind that we wanted to go except that it had to have beer and tapas = D  So we were walking around Arguelles (where our class is/where Maria grew up) looking for a bar when I spotted the church Maria and Luis were married in. She had showed it to me the first week I was here when we were in the neighborhood visiting her parents. Now being Jewish and all I’m not very familiar with churches (hope that made some of you laugh, you know who you are!) but I just had to go in to see it! It was really beautiful and Maria was really happy I saw it. 

We continued our aimless adventure and stopped at a few bars (Stag’s Head was the most memorable name of them all) to have delicious cerveza y tapas. I’m sorry America, but your beer sucksss compared to the beer here. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to drink a Bud Light again; I definitely won’t be able to stomach Natty Light anymore blech! Sorry I got sidetracked…so anyway we ended up in the park right where Maria grew up and it was so awesome! There were people everywhere just having a great time, playing games, dancing, taking pictures of the gorgeous view (the park is pretty high up and you can see the Palacio from there!), and relaxing in general. We walked around most of it towards Gran Via. We walked all the way up Calle de Gran Via where there are about a bazillion restaurants (mayyybe that’s an exaggeration) that I want to go into and about a bazillion people (not as much of an exaggeration) just having a good time. It felt good to be a part of it all; being a little buzzed also helped with having a fun time/walking 3 miles back to Sol = ) 

Today after class Anna and I went to Madrid Babel again; it’s the best. I’ve met so many great people there and tonight was no different. It’s interesting also because although it’s meant to be more for English speakers but it always ends up that I’m speaking English to everyone (most of whom are from Madrid) because they want to learn Spanish. But they all made me speak Spanish tonight at some point for a bit, and I’m happy to announce they said I’m pretty good, yay! I met a bunch of great people tonight and already have plans for the weekend with some of them so I’m pretty excited about that and will let you know how it goes! 

Also, I realized I haven’t written much about the kiddies and just wanted to say they are the cutest! I can actually communicate with them now pretty easily (such a relief!) We spend a lot of time at the pool during the day since it’s so hot. They ask me (mostly Irene asks me) what everything is in English and even though they don’t really respond in English they understand what I’m saying to them (if the sentences are short, about games/toys, food, colors, clothes…). Irene is obsessed with Spiderman (not my favorite but I’m not going to tell her that) and Luis is superrrrr obsessed with Superman (who is my favorite so we have a lot of fun with that). He runs around the house all the time in his adorable Superman costume going “Do-Do-Do-Dooo” and if he doesn’t want to do something (like brush his teeth) I tell him “Superman does it” and it works every time = D  They play Superman and Spiderman all the time, it’s hilarious and so freaking precious. 

I think that’s all for now…I’ll post again soon! <3