There was a short break in between my adventure with the exchange student gang and the arrival of some folks that I've been eagerly awaiting since about the week after I got to Spain. On March 24, my grandma Colleen, my great aunt Marcia, aunt Cuda, cousin Kaylie, and Mom landed and met me in a Barcelona apartment that we had rented out. We lost a day in Barcelona as the flights got mixed up and they had to come in late (also, however, resulting in a hilarious time in New York City). I'll follow the same outline as the previous blog and add pictures and descriptions as I go but I'll start by saying this: The blessing of having my two lives collide, an ocean apart from each other, bettered my exchange more than I can even put into words. I really, really missed my mom. And the stories that I have to tell after two weeks of joyous mayhem with this crew have my Spanish and American friends rolling with laughter. Que suerte, mis amigos, what luck.
March 24: Barcelona
Since the family's flights in got thrown off, we lost a day in Barcelona and so I flew there alone, staying that night by myself in the apartment we rented. When they arrived in Barcelona, it was totally exhausted and yet pretty darn happy that we were finally all together and in BARCELONA! After pulling ourselves together, we hopped onto the very confusing metro and walked around the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by Gaudi that is yet to be finished and houses more styles of architecture and design than you could imagine. We also managed to teach some French toursits that were walking right behind us various words that you use when terrified and hanging off the edge of a precipice on a tower way too far above the ground.
March 25-26: Paris, France
The particularly nice thing about living in the European Union is that flights within the various countries are pretty cheap if you find the right companies, like RyanAir. Unfortunately, they make up for the ticket price in treating the whole plane ride like an advertisement, selling anything from Avon Perfume to a bar of chocolate to a portable foot massager. But hey, whatever gets you there safely, right? My grandma didn't come with us to Paris as she had already seen it and wanted to experience some more of Barcelona. We were headed for several days of early starts and nervewracking travel, with beautiful Paris in between. Despite my mom's wishes to rent a poodle (as she felt this was particularly French), our two days there flew by. We stayed in St. Christopher's Inn (a FANTASTIC hostel chain that I would recommend to all, it's also where I stayed in London) and climbed the Eiffel Tower (despite a ravaging storm that both terrified and humoured us to death). We wandered through Versailles and jumped off the steps in time to the flash of photography with the golden carvings behind us. My aunt Cuda forever left her mark on Notre Dame, posing as Quasimoto for the world to see, and we had quite a lot of fun with scarves on the Metro. It was really shocking to be in a place where I understood NONE of what was going on around me... It leaves you feeling pretty darn vulnerable (as my aunt Marcia will tell you; she nearly got taken up with a lift bridge to the yells of "Madame! Madame!")
My aunt Cuda in chandelier heaven in Versailles Palace
Fun with scarves
March 27: Barcelona
We returned on another early morning flight to arrive in Barcelona at about noon to find my Grandma tan and ready to go. We spent the rest of the day wandering around Parque Guell (a park in Barcelona designed by Gaudi as well) and Las Ramblas, the main strip downtown where there is shopping for anything from bird cages, to McDonalds, to luxury handbags.
My grandma and aunt Marcia at Parque Guell
Kaylie and I
March 28: Granada to Cordoba
We took our last (and earliest) flight out of Barcelona to arrive in Granada and catch a bus to Cordoba. Since my mom and I have already seen Alhambra, and I think that the Mosque in Cordoba is just a wee bit neater, we opted to skip the famous Palace and instead head straight to the Mezquita. Cordoba is filled with small shops and tiny streets, so we called ahead and reserved ourselves two rooms in a darling hotel and my aunt got her first taste of Sangria, the famous Spanish beverage with a red wine base mixed with fruits and some sort of tangy soda, usually Lemon Fanta. We then saw our first procession of the week as we were in the heart of the city. Instead of being called Spring Break, the week off in the spring for students is called Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and always leads up to Easter. There are processions (sort of like parades) throughout the week. People dress up in costumes that (initially shockingly) look sort of like the KKK outfits, long robes and tall, pointy hats of all different colors. The different colored robe-hat combos represent different brotherhoods, all marching in their devotion to Jesus. Each brotherhood carries a cross at the head of it and a giant float holding a representation of Jesus or the Virgin Mary surrounded by candles and carried by several men that trade off throughout the procession. Incense is in the air and there is a band playing. All in all it's a pretty solemn affair, everyone comes out to see it but it's not really a time of "celebration" as much as it is acknowledgement of the religious holiday. The most famous processions are in Sevilla (which we also got to see) and it was incredible to think we were witnessing a tradition (as opposed to a place) that dated back centuries.
The first procession we saw in Cordoba
March 29: Cordoba to Sevilla
We went to see the Mezquita in the morning and did a lot of coffee drinking and wandering around the streets. After waiting for a brief shower to pass, we headed to the train station (my mom having a lively conversation with her taxi driver that resulted in him thinking my aunt and cousin like to dance and that they'll be attending the big dance next May... he was just as confused as you all are, believe me :) that took us into Sevilla. We stayed at the same Hotel that we stayed at two summers ago and the same friendly man was working when we arrived. We ate Chinese that night and headed off to a Flamenco show later. Flamenco is the traditional Spanish dance (especially in the South) and is characterized by a lot of rapid foot movement and very proud, measured gestures with the arms and legs, as well as the Flamenco music, a guitar and several voices. We saw my Uncle Peter reincarnated as a Flamenco singer, the least likely place you'd think he'd be, and my Aunt Cuda almost wandered onto stage thinking that the door "Privado" (private) might mean Privy, as she needed to use the bathroom.
Inside the Mosque once again
At the Flamenco show Los Gallos-- The Roosters
March 30: Sevilla
We had a full day to roam around Sevilla. We woke up late and headed over to the Plaza de Espana, reenacting Star Wars scenes, jumping with beautiful tiled backgrounds, and attempting handstands among the vendors and tourists. We then headed over to the Parque Maria Luisa right across the street which is enormous and gorgeous, where we saw several people making their way (already in costume) to the processions, looking a little out of place. On the way back to our hotel, which was in the heart of the old town, we got caught IN the procession and had to walk with the band blaring and the incense wafting... NOt good for closterphobic personalities, let me tell you. That night, the moms stayed home and Kaylie and I went out with our Grandma and Marcia for a delicious dinner and relaxed evening. How I love Sevilla.
In the Plaza de Espana
Reenacting Star Wars
Kaylie and Cuda
My mom and I
On his way to the procession
A line of hoods in the brotherhood
All dolled up for the procession
March 31: From Sevilla to Cadiz
We left Sevilla after a pleasant stroll down to the bullring in Sevilla, the Plaza de Toros (pleasant besides the large bird that defecated on my aunt Marcia from above, resulting in a quick pitstop for a new shirt and a plastic bag). We hopped on a train to Cadiz, about two hours away, and found our four star hotel on Playa Victoria with no problem at all. With a view of the Atlantic Ocean and a McDonalds right around the corner (music to my cousin Kaylie's ears) we had nothing to complain about.
April 1,2,3: Cadiz
After all the busy coming and going at the beginning of the trip it felt good to have three solid days of just laying out in the gorgeous weather. It's the kind of life where the biggest worry is finding the nearest ice cream stand and you only get worn out from being in the sun doing absolutely nothing. Since it was April Fools Day, we kept up the tradition and played a little trick on my grandma and aunt Marcia resulting in them searching frantically for their underwear and thought we'd been fooled when we came back from dinner to find a crib in one of our rooms! It turns out it was just a mistake and the "cuna" was promptly replaced by a bed. We took a stroll around Cadiz one of the days and walked the boardwalk outside the hotel. All in all, not too shabby :)
Downtown Cadiz, the oldest city in Europe
Kaylie and I on the Playa Victoria, the Atlantic in the background
The church in the center of the city... All those people are gathered for the processions
April 4,5: Madrid
We rolled into Madrid at about midnight on Saturday and settled ourselves into the hostel, which is right in the center of the city (literally) in the Puerta del Sol. My mom and grandma came to my house the next day in Majadahonda and met my host family... It's remarkable how little language matters when you've got something to say and someone who wants to understand it. My host mom fell in love with my mom, commenting how young they both looked (super nice of her) and I think my mom and grandma would've taken home my little brother Jacobo if they could've gotten away with it. Instead, after a scrumptious lunch of Arroz Negro (a special kind of seafood paella) we packed up all my winter clothes and headed back into Madrid. Leave it to Mary Weaver to chatter up a storm and enchant a room of people who can barely understand her; really admirable. We later met up with my two best friends in Madrid, Emma and Devon, and ended the night with one last ice cream cone and plans to meet in the morning. I can't say that seeing them off at the airport the next day was easier than my initial goodbyes in September... A goodbye is a goodbye. They usually stink. But instead of 10 months of uncertainty looming ahead, I now have less than two months of total joy set out ahead of me. With the famous pilgrimage of Camino de Santiago still on the schedule for April and the anticipation of school ending and the eventual dreaded and can't-wait-for-it plane ride home, there's nothing I can look back on or forward to with anything other than thanks and blessings.
I wish all the same to you, Sami
