Day 61: Dinner with Family & Familia

I woke up early to accompany L into Madrid and walk her to work. I'd never been in the city so early in the morning and the hustle and bustle was adorable to watch. After dropping an overjoyed L at work (well, overjoyed in L terms - which meant a little happier than usual because she was surprised I walked her all the way to work instead of just stopping a few blocks before at Grandma and Sam's hotel), I went over to wake up the jet-lagged duo and get them caffeinated up with some much needed Starbucks.

I'd made no real plan for the day - I just intended to show them around my city in a leisurely fashion, walking from here to there without a real destination, in order to allow them to take in the sites Madrid had to offer. So when they were all dressed and (sort of) awake, we started off down the street at a bar for chocolate croissants and hot chocolate - both of which were quickly rejected by Sam who said the croissant "tasted funny" and the milk in his hot chocolate had "gross skin on top."

>_<

I love the boy and know I was just the same way if not worse when I was his age... but jeesh.

We spent the morning wandering from their hotel near San Bernardo down to Tribunal, Grand Via and, eventually, ended up at Callao. All the way we were sure to use our fans, as it was as hot as ever and Sam was excited to use his new purchase and do his part to fit in with Spanish culture. :)

Sam fell in love with the store, Tiger. Think mini IKEA for random home/office/etc. trinkets. He went through the whole store twice before deciding on purchasing either a clapper fly swatter or a survival guide complete all-in-one tool. Much to our eventual chagrin, he picked the fly swatter, and for the rest of the day, neither Grandma nor myself could think straight with all those, "BOOM!" "SNAP!" "SHWAP!" noises following us and penetrating our poor ear canals!

I'd thought that a stroll would be just the perfect thing for somebody who'd just arrived the day before - after all, it'd be exactly what I would want to do - but as it turned out, it wasn't so much what either of them seemed to consider a good time. They didn't seem too terribly interested in the historic architecture nor in the culture nor in the what's-what of Spanish shopping. Minus Tiger and the largest candy shop in Spain which Sam fell in love with for their extra sour gumballs individually packaged and advertised as, "Camel Balls," I'd seemed to have failed to sufficiently entertain the pair, and so I called in the reinforcements: L.

Within seconds of answering the phone, L had directed us to the nearest metro station to meet her for her lunch break at a cute but chic pizzeria near her office and their hotel. She could see the disappointment and frustration on my face when she met us at San Bernardo and giggled.

She was always the one that had to be the tour guide and always complained about how difficult it was. I'd never believed her, but then I'd felt that I was one of the easier people to guide in a new city as everything interested and excited me to some extent. A nice pizza break was just what I needed to recharge and get excited for what was in store later that night.

A full belly and a mini siesta back at the hotel room later, and we were out the door and on our way to Alcala!!! I txted my madre and padre from the train to let them know we were coming (as they had volunteered to pick us all up from the train station so that we didn't have to bus it there) but that I wanted to show them around real quick before we met up for dinner. My txt (though in Spanish, of course) read something like, "My family and I are coming..."

I didn't receive a response for a moment, but when I did, I giggled so loud even Sam looked at me funny. My padre had responded with something (also in Spainsh) along the lines of, "Oh! I see how it is! And here I thought we were your family... I guess you don't love us anymore..."

^_^ Hahahahahaha... oh, madre mia! <3

A few minutes into our walk from the train station to Plaza de Cervantes, I caught a glimpse of my familia in the square, waiting for us with a big, giant camera I didn't even know they had! My madre and padre were so excited to see me after my two day absence from their lives (hee hee) that they grabbed me and hugged and kissed me on both cheeks! Then they introduced themselves to Grandma and Sam, making sure to be gentle about the kisses and not kissing Sam at all, as I had instructed them not to ("... the boy just isn't that touchy/feely... try to kiss him on the cheek and you'll freak him out bad!"), much to my madre's concern ("but all children should be canoodled... but then again, we're over-the-top maternal here in Spain").

We walked over to my university together, to show Grandma and Sam, before heading across the street for tapas. *I absolutely adored this photo that was taken on my university's steps with Sam and mi madre!! <3*

Going out to tapas with my family and my familia was a hoot. Plain and simple. My padre ordered our round of drinks and was surprised when I asked for a tinto de verano. "But I thought you didn't drink?!" he asked, my madre looking on with an equal expression of confusion. "You never drink at home?" I explained to them that in my CIEE contract I'd signed, I'd agreed to never drink alcohol - especially at home - and that I could be kicked out of the program for doing so. The epiphany hit both of my padres at the same time as they exclaimed, "So THAT'S why no student has ever taken us up on our offer to drink wine with dinner!" Hahaha.

Our time spent at the tapas bar was divided in me translating between my familia and my family and me just wanting to use up all the time talking with them in Spanish. Naughty me... ha. My familia told my family a little about the tapas bar we were at and how it'd been a part of their family tradition for a long time, while my family mostly just smiled and waited for me to translate.

And that's pretty much how the night went. My familia seemed overjoyed. My family seemed a little weirded out. And as for myself? I was happy as a clam. Having somebody else there who I knew didn't speak Spanish made me feel like I could speak Spanish a million times better than ever and so, accordingly, I spoke Spanish with an enthusiasm and vigor never before experienced. Thank goodness Maria was there when we got home so that she could translate, too, and also talk to Grandma and Sam in English while I continued chatting up a storm with my padres in Spanish!

After presenting my familia with their presents from America (cupcake mix/frosting and a sweet little frame that said "FAMILY" on it with a picture of all of us - which they quickly displayed on the principle cabinet in the living room!), it was time to eat...

Tonight's dinner was the feast I'd been waiting for quite some time. My familia had left the menu for the night completely up to me. For Sam, I told my madre all he'd probably eat would be bread and some plain pasta - and by plain, I meant a little drop of butter and nothing more. She quickly called me into the kitchen when we arrived home with Sam to make his pasta just the way he wanted it. Aww! As for the menu for the rest of us, I'd decided upon (with some help and suggestions from my madre):

1) Gazpacho (with cucumber and apple garnish - YUMMY)

2) Salad (mixed greens with nothing but olive oil, vinegar and a little salt)

3) Fresh baguette (as per what is served with every meal ever at my casa)

3) Empanada (the tomato-tuna one that I loved so so so so so much from a local bakery... the one that my madre would get for me before one of our CIEE weekend trips when we were supposed to have our families pack us a lunch and dinner which - for everybody but me - always consisted of bocadillos (sandwiches) and copious amounts of fruit... bus rides consisted of everybody being jealous of my delicious meal and I loved it!)

Dessert was a sweet little fruit tart they'd purchased at the bakery just for the occasion... yummmy!!! When my padres asked if we'd like any tea, we were all just about to graciously decline (despite my love for their inufusiones), when Sam piped up with one of his first comments of the evening: "SURE!" His excitement caught all of us off guard and we giggled. :)

After dinner was through, my grandma took some photos of me with my familia...

... and then it was time to drive them back to their hotel in downtown Madrid and me (with all my suitcases) to L's. The drive through downtown Madrid late at night with all the lights illuminating the gorgeous buildings was absolutely breathtaking. I'd never seen Madrid by car and fell even further in love with the city. It somehow felt like a chic little scene out of Sex & the City... but perhaps just to me. Grandma seemed wiped out from the day and from the time zone switch while Sam snored away in the backseat between us. After a mini car tour of downtown, we dropped off my family at their hotel and drove back towards home, to drop me at L's.

I'm not sure how anybody else felt about tonight - language barrier and all,- but for me, it was absolutely perfect. <3

XOXO
Jet-set Cupcake