Day 67: Amalfi, Pompeii & Churrascaria

After my usual hearty breakfast of cinnamon buns with extra brown sugar on top, scrambled eggs, bacon and OJ, it was off to the bus for our trip in Naples! First stop? The Amalfi Coast!!! <3 I ADORE the Amalfi Coast - it's just so blissfully gorgeous. The winding roads high, high up on the lush cliffs, the perfectly clear sea below, the brightly colored flowers and the quaintness of each little village.... mmmmm happiness!

Our tour guide took us to the main village of Amalfi and I got a few little things for my favorite people and a postcard of Amalfi at sunset, which I plan on framing. :) Next it was off to a really fancy lunch overlooking the Mediterranean. It reminded me of the meals we had in Amalfi when I was there in 2003 - blissful views with pants-wetting conversations... not that I wet my pants, but it just made me reminiscent. Haha.

After lunch it was off to Sam's destination of the trip: Pompeii. While Pompeii in general is very fascinating, I gotta say my initial introduction to it last time was a lot more attention-grabbing. Upon walking into Pompeii when I was 14, a person had just died of heatstroke in the middle of one of the old buildings. They'd placed a sheet over the person, but it still looked oddly apt considering the surroundings. This visit, however, did not include any recently deceased individuals (phew).

I think I was so intregued by this person's death on my last trip that I failed to hear some of the interesting facts of Pompeii - like that the streets often had water in them, so they had high stepping stones that carriages could still go through so that you could cross streets even when they were wet; that there were over 40 bakeries in the city; that there is still at least 25% of Pomepii buried under ash that has yet to be excavated; and that three-somes were on the menu in the brothel (but only 2 guy, 1 girl ones as far as I could tell).
 POMPEII

I also didn't recall seeing the molds of some of the deceased people (and dog!) like I saw this time. It was really freaky to see their bones and teeth all while they were in positions of asphyxiation. :-/ How awful.

By the end of the day's tours, we were more than pooped and went back to the ship for a relaxing night filled with Brazilian BBQ at world's only Churrascaria on a cruise liner! YUMMY!!! Pao de queijo, fried 'naners and enough steak to feed me for a month... DE-LICIOUS!

All in all, a fun but tiring day.

XOXO

Jet-set Cupcake

Day 66: Dancing with the Stars!!! (And Rome, too!)

I gotta be honest here and say that the tour around Rome felt a little... long. Yeah, we saw the Trevi Fountain and threw in three coins to make three wishes (hey – I got what I wished for last time!)...

 

... went to the Roman Forum...


... explored the Colosseum (there were no kitties in the underground part like last time – poo)...

... went to lunch with the group...

 

went to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica...

And yep, I can officially say I've been in two places at one time (just like in “A Walk to Remember” - awww!!): I stepped on both sides of the line marking the Vatican from Italy.

 

I can officially say I've tried Blood Orange Fanta (it doesn't taste much different from normal Fanta, except that in Italy they use no food dye in their Fantas, but instead color the plastic bottles accordingly... hmmm). I can even say I saw the canopy in St. Peter's Basilica and thought immediately of Little Gay Professor Man and thought how jubilant he'd be that I didn't need need, “Dos minutos, chicos y chicas, para fijais! De que epoca pertenece esto?” because I knew it was the epitome of the Baroque era! But all in all... it was a lot of walking, a lot of heat and a lot of exhaustion.

I felt like one of those over-spoiled types, sure, but everybody on the tour seemed to be wilting a few hours into the whole thing except for the guide, who went on and on, pleased as punch, saying repeatedly, “Look well!” and “He killed!” (instead of “He was killed”) and telling us how much every service costs at St. Peter's Basilica (Do you want to get married there? 7.000 euro for an hour with a limit of 20 guests. Do you want private time with your family in the chapel? 2.5000 euro for two hours between 18.30 and 20.30. Do you want one on one time to be blessed by the Pope? 15.000 euro for an hour and a private entrance through the Sistene Chapel.).

When we finally got back to the ship, all of us were ready to unwind. Grandma was in her swim suit and out the door before Sam and I could blink. We joined her later and went on a bunch of waterslides and went hot tubbing. :) I was keeping an eye on my watch, though, 'cause I wasn't just about to miss Dancing with the (Epic) Stars!!!

I got back to the room with an hour to get showered, dressed up in my lemon dress and made-up. By 9:05 I was in the Atrium lounge, all ready to sign myself up. So when sign up turned out to consist solely of writing your name on a slip of paper, I got nervous. What if my piece of paper didn't get selected?! What would I do?! Just then, Grandma and Sam came down to be my cheerleaders. I tried to explain I wasn't sure if I'd even get to compete, but Sam was confident I would be up there.

As 9:30 rolled around they announced the judges, then the “pros” and then finally began selecting names out of the jars. First girl? Somebody from the UK. Second girl? Someone from Ireland. Third girl? “Chelsea from Denver, Colorado!”

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I jumped out of my seat and trotted past the cameras (this was all being broadcast to the entire ship of about 6,000 people) to my partner, “Remix.” He smiled and winked at me and took my arm. As they introduced us he whispered not to worry, we'd just be crazy and have fun. I told him I was more or less a ballroom dancer and I would lead whatever he followed. This made him smile and he nodded.

There were eight couples and seven rounds (but, eek, I can't remember what one of them was... if it comes to me, I'll let you know):

First round? 70's Disco!

I had no idea what to do for this, so I let Remix lead it all. Right away he put me in hand-hold position and could tell I knew more or less what I was doing. While everybody else was doing the disco-finger, we were more or less doing the Jive with a little impromptu craziness on the side! He winked at me as the judges said all eight of the couples had sucked, “Don't worry, they always hype it up like this at the beginning – we're gonna win!” And with that, the first couple was voted off.

Second round? Waltz!

Remix claimed he didn't know how to waltz, but a few seconds into the song and it became quite clear that was a lie! We waltzed all over the stage and I tried my best to do the strange backward-bend pose I'd learned at Shut up and Dance in Fondy the year I'd lived there. We glided without to many mis-steps and we both dipped each other to get the audience going! He also picked me up and spun me semi-gracefully, which the judges commented on: “It was a nice move, but Chelsea is wearing a dress and there are small children in the front row...” Haha. Either way, another round safe!

Third round? Country Dancing!

Country dancing? I looked at him as if to say, “wtf?” thinking that was going to be like Country Two Step, but instead it was a bunch of dosey-does (however you spell that) and some little cowboy kicks. The absolute best part, though, was when he told me to jump on his back and we ran around the stage while I did the lasso motion above his head!!! :) The other couples tried to copy our awesome move, but to no avail. ;) Safe!

Fourth round? Latin!

“Hell yes,” I thought to myself. “Bring it ON.” Remix turned out to have some hip moves on him, because he got all down with the music and was doing merengue, salsa and bachata all over the place. When I followed suit, he yelled, “YEAH girl, you can move. GET IT!” and winked at me. *dancing bliss*

Fifth round? Michael Jackson (Thriller)

We'd gone in the back for another water break when the boys told us that the next song would be “Thriller.” I told him I'd accidentally missed that dance class and I had no idea what to do. “Just follow me – we just gotta entertain the audience and we'll be fine.” Sure enough, with enough “Thriller” moves, we got the judges adoring us.

The moment of truth came and there were three couples. The judges got to pick their favorite couple of the competition to advance to finals. After much debate they announced their pick: “Couple Number Five: Remix and Chelea!” OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sixth? Medley! Tango, Swing then Polka.

This was it. This was our time to shine. And Remix told me so. We ROCKED the Tango. I was a little all over the place, but when Remix asked, “Can I drag you?” I nodded and leaned in, doing my very best Tango pose I could come up with. The audience cheered and the judges loved it! Next was swing. The other couple did a lift, so we countered with swinging both of each other through our legs. :) And finally, the Polka was a big disaster. I know I lived and danced in Wisconsin for awhile, but nothing was coming to me – nor the other pair, for that matter!

After the judges gave their comments, it was time for the audience to decide. I looked over and saw Sam SCREAMING and YELLING when it was time to vote for me – it was the most adorable thing EVER!!! So many people were WOOHOOing and standing up and cheering and clapping and yelling!!!! It was a close call (and the girl from the other pair had an adorable yellow asymetrical dress with high high heels and a cute blonde braid in her Irish hair), but the winner was announced:

REMIX AND CHELSEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH.

MY.

F*ING.

GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WON DANCING WITH THE (EPIC) STARS!!!!!! The ship-wide dance competition on one of the biggest cruise ships in the world!!! HELL YES!!!! They gave me a trophy and a bag full of prizes and then asked me to do my victory dance.

“I'm too tired – somebody else dsereves this dance,” Remix said to Andy, our cruise director and host of the show/competition. And just then, the character from Avatar came out, dressed in his big costume with his giant head! HAHAHA!! They started playing “I had the time of my life” and I stared dancing with Avatar.

LOL. Half way through the song, Remix came back and finished the song with me and everybody cheered!!!! Remix invited me out to the club Bliss and countless people from the audience came up to me for the rest of the night around the ship, telling me that I'd done a great job!!! Awwww!!! Sam told me I was “famous now” and asked if he could be my “Official Body Guard.” He offered me his chocolate chip cookie and his 7up, saying he was scared the other food was poisoned and as my body guard, he couldn't have anything happen to me. Hahaha. <3 CUTE!

If it weren't 1:11 am and I didn't have to wake up at 6:15 to catch my bus to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast tomorrow, I would spend the whole night typing every detail and how surreal I felt. I'm not sure the last time I won FIRST place in something?! I always got 2^nd in Debate. I got 3^rd in my West Coast Swing competition. The only thing I can think of was the costume contest I was in when I was about 5 when I dressed up as an Orange M&M and my Elmo had a suit to match – hee hee!

But really – it was beyond AMAZING. <3 **squeal!!!*

XOXO

Jet-set Cupcake

Day 65: Florence, Italy & Captain (M)organ

Upon waking up we were docked and in Livorno! After a quick breakfast, we were in the auditorium, ready for our tour number to be called so we could catch our bus. They'd informed us the bus would take a good two hours, but this was all pure poppycock, as we were there much sooner than that. Our tour guide walked us to the Duomo and let us lose. Before running towards freedom, I asked the tour guide where Sam and I might be able to find the Monastery. We were cautioned that it was a good 45 minute walk, but he drew its general whereabouts on the map anyway and with that we were off!

First stop? Sam's choice: GELATO! I was so nervous about trying to remember any of the Italian I learned my Freshman year living in the Italian dorm (all I could remember was “Mi piace il scoiatolo!” and I was pretty sure randomly screaming, “I love the squirrel!” was not going to get me anywhere...) that Sam ended up with the largest cone in the world for a mere 10 euro. >_< FAIL. He did love it though and it did succeed in getting him uber chocolatey. Hee hee.

 

After our gelato adventure, we explored the city a bit and then began our journey towards San Ninato Monastery. I went to Italy when I was 14 and Florence had been my most favorite city of the tour – still, I was surprised that on our walk to San Ninato, I began to recognize many, many things – and even found the hotel we'd stayed in! Our guide's directions weren't very concrete, but as I looked up the hill on the other side of the river, I remembered the general path and set forth in that direction. Sam took a few rest stops, but when he started to slow down on our journey up the hill, I reminded him that true Ninjas never got tired and that he better not be slowing down. He then challenged me to an uphill race and I lost miserably. Ha.

At the top of the huge hill we were greeted by many little touristy shop kiosks that were uber cheap as compared to the shops in the center of Firenze near the Duomo! Sam got a shirt that looked like DaVinci's sketch of man, but instead it was a sketch of Homer Simpson and I got a Universita Firenze hoodie (along with a few gifts for friends)!

A slushy and an ice cream cone later and we were finally at the Monastery, overlooking the entire city! *Breathtaking!* It was gorgeous, but quite as tranquil and deserted as I'd remembered. o_O Looks like I'll have to find a different place to call “My favorite place on earth.” I think my secret spot in Madrid might just be the winner. Hee hee... <3

Anyway, we went in the monastery but the monks were off duty and so no hauntingly beautiful Gregorian chants filled the walls as they had eight years ago when I visited. Instead, there were official looking people in suits, children dressed up and holding white roses and bunches of cameras crews. Sam guessed that it was some sort of funeral, but as we waited and watched, the Firenze Football Team bus pulled up and all of the soccer players got out and climbed the stairs to the Monastery!!

 

It was pretty darn sweet seeing the entire Firenze team dressed in their little purple uniforms walking right past us!! ^_^ Later, we found out that the team was up there to announce their official team for the year and had picked that spot to announce it, as it was one of the most gorgeous places in the whole city for a photo-op! SO worth the hike/climb!!!

On our way back to the bus we hit a leather market and the public bathrooms (which, thought they cost one euro, Sam remarked that they were “surprisingly clean!”). The ride back was spent snoozing, and by the time we were back to the ship, we were both uber happy to be back. Haha.

When we got to our hotel, Sam went over all the pics with Grandma while I showered. Sam got a room delivery pizza and parked in front of the TV while Grandma and I went out to eat at one of the fancy/included restaurants on board. YUMMY.

Upon returning to my room, I was left alone while G and S went off in search of a candy store. Well – not alone. “Captain Morgan,” the guy from India in charge of our section of rooms on the ship, was in our room to clean it for the night. Usually, the man is super sweet and friendly and helpful. He's all smiles and always telling you, “You're CRUSING – let me get that for you / grab that for you / do that for you.” It makes a girl feel like royalty – that's for sure. But tonight's tune was a wee bit different: Captain Morgan started to flirt with me. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... Buzz kill on the whole “feeling like royalty” thing, guys. I swear – Hooters made me used to this whole thing, but for real. Like the guy said: I'M CRUSING. Sheesh. >_<

Upon G's return to the room, it was decided that it was casino night and we went and played a little blackjack for a good hour or so. :) Oh, blackjack! Yay!

I got pretty excited to go to my first Burlesque show after falling in love with “Burlesque” the movie, but these girls looked like they'd just learned their routine an hour or two before they went on stage. :-/ Makes me want to learn Burlesque... hmmm... maybe I'll add that to my list for this year off?

Tomorrow is Rome, followed by hoping for a place in the ship's version of “Dancing with the Stars” tomorrow night!! EEK! ^_^

XOXO

Jet-set Cupcake

Day 64: Sea Day

I awoke to a hushed room and the door to the balcony open. There, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, a mini, warm chocolate croissant and a glass of chilled orange juicy awaited me. As I sat outside, gazing at the sunny, sparkling sea I felt as if it were a scene from one of the uber chic and glamorous Sex and the City movies - way surreal. Damn.

*later*

GREETINGS FROM THE WESTERN SHORES OF CORSICA!

I spent my afternoon sunbathing on the top deck. ← Way to be a cruise ship BUM. Hell yes!

It was pretty crowded, as I got up there around 2 pm, so finding an open chair was a little bit tricky. As soon as I found one on the side of the ship I wanted (half of the ship is a little windy and half is just blissfully sunny), I asked the guy next to it if anybody were using it. He sorta stared at me funny and I went to ask him in Spanish, but he nodded and said I could use it. ← Insert strange sideways look here.

I laid out my towel, took off my cover up and plugged into my iPod. Every moment I would show signs of life, Boy Next to Me would take the opportunity to talk to me. I quickly found out Boy Next to Me was actually Baby Boy Next to Me 'cause he was only 17 and going into 12^th grade – AWW. Giggle!

Anyway, Baby Boy brought me a fruit plate while we were out there sunbathing and his family came by a few times to check up on him – haha. You should have seen the look on his father's face when he noticed his son was speaking to a real girl in a bikini. ← If only I actually looked 22, his father probably woulda peed his little swim trunks.

After I left Baby Boy, I met Grandma at the pool bar for a Strawberry Daquiri and they went off to the water slides. Sunbathing Part II resulted in a bit of a burn around the edges (reapplying sunscreen – oopsies, I totally forgot about that small detail)... crispy girl! When they returned from their aquatic journey, it was time for a Banana Daquiri. Grandma whispered something to Sam and Sam, with a perplexed look on his face, walked over to me and asked if I'd like a fruit plate. ← Haha – Clever. Very clever.

A trip to the arcade later (Sam and I won 105 tickets playing “Deal or no Deal” - hell yeah) and we were back to the room for a shower and House M.D. Currently, Sam and I are watching a Nickelodeon show, “Ni hao, Kai Lan” and they just sang a song: “Even when you're mad. Hitting is always bad. Use your words!” The Koala wanted the panda plate but the hippo took it, so the Koala had to learn to use his words and tell the hippo how he felt. It was dorky. But it was surprisingly a useful thing to teach just about everyone. Perhaps people don't hit much past the age of 5 (I hope), but you could sing, “Even when you're mad. 'You phrases' are always bad. Use your words!” ;) ← By the end of the show, Sam and I were singing and clapping to the song and Grandma was laughing at us.

Grandma is off exploring the ship and Sam and I are watching Dora the Explorer (haha – oh jeeze – SAM PLEASE CHANGE THE CHANNEL... oh we're good … watching Victorious in Spanish). We're meet'n up for drinks then dinner at Taste (the “contemporary cuisine” restaurant that we went to last night and is ridiculously yummy!! Last night? Garlic Parmesan polenta cake with tomato basil sauce to start and baked salmon with creamy penne pasta. Yummmy! AND we had a waiter who was from Brazil so I got to order in Portuguese! Success!! It's one of the restaurants “included” on the cruise so you can just keep ordering super tasty food and they can't do anything about it. Hello hella appetizers!). Mmmmm!!! <-- Woohoo!

Day 63: Choo-chooing away

The day of the cruise was subconsciously written in my mental calendar as the first day of the end of my “Surreal Summer Journey” in Spain. As we choo-chooed away from Madrid (the place that has grown to become the only place I feel right calling “home”), this little reminder alarm went off in my mind as I began journaling, which triggered a chain reaction that ended in my eyes filling with tears and my nose with goop.

That's right – I was that one cool girl on the train looking like a Hot Mess with her greasy hair, glasses, short-shorts and... a fresh pool of tears and snot collecting around the corners of her face. >_< Classy.

I've been surprisingly zen this whole time, but for just an hour or two, the Enlightenment setting shut off and I was left with the truth in front of me that at some point I'm going to have to leave Spain and my family and school and – worst of all – L. And this is where the “losing my shit” began:

First, I put a song on repeat and sang over and over and over:

“I've got a tight grip on reality

but I can't let go of what's in front of me here.

I know you're leaving in the morning

when you wake up;

leave me with some kind of proof

it's not a dream.”

Next, I started journaling. I wrote about the first night when she took me to the highest hill overlooking the lights of Madrid late at night, looked at me with a smirk trying to mask her anxiety and said, “So you get all this AND a summer fling, too, hey?”

Muffin.

I wanted to bop her on the nose and scream and shout that I could never be a “fling” girl and not to underestimate me, but instead I remained silent and squeezed her, smiling and taking what she'd said as a challenge.

And then I wrote the sentence that sent me over the edge and made the flood gates open:

“... if after all this she ever dared use that word to describe it, I would cry and run away more hurt than I could possibly explain in words.”

Cue Grandma looking at me full of concern and hunting in her purse for a fresh pack of mini kleenexes and handing them to me telling me, “Just keep the whole pack.” Ha.

I know I came here on official business; I came to immerse myself in Spanish, to finish up my degree, to learn about Spanish art and literature and business, to enrich my cultural knowledge, etc. etc. etc. But let's be real: In my world I'm dedicated to traveling all over and learning foreign languages and immersing myself in new cultures with the one tiny hope of spreading sanguinity and love and gaining a little bit of growth the process. And the thought that I could have failed in my sole life mission on this journey made me so upset.

L has single-handedly made the past few months everything that they were; she walked me ALL over Madrid, showed me things my own host family had never heard of, let me practically become a half-time resident of Torrejon, make me all sorts of strange (but, yes, yummy) meals, help me study whenever I had a big test, just laze around and be a cabbage with me and most of all made me feel great about being who I am. Had I not met her, I'm sure a part of me would be saying, “Okaaaay – when do we get to go back to America? It's been great, but I'm ready for a little CPK, Moxie time, West Coast Swing – anything and everything that I love!” But instead I'm sitting on a cruise ship taking an hour to blog about everything I've been feeling and having very limited desire to see my country again for awhile if it means I can't see her for a year.

Don't think I'm complaining though – feeling upset to leave is way better than feeling eager to leave – it means I've succeeded. ;)

Even though she's always saying little things to make me doubt myself, they make me much more sure of who I am. She and her seemingly serendipitous presence in my life have taught more than I even realize. And because of that, I'm happy here. I'm happy with who I am here. And so I can feel it's coming – that I have to leave for awhile because I learned what I was supposed to and have to go apply it before I can come back here. I'm okay with that. I welcome challenge. But this is a big one. How can I take what I've learned here and take it backwards into my past? Is that even possible?

I've begun to understand the virtue of letting go and accepting that the only life you need any amount of control over is your own – others have their own path and have come to this little earth equipped for exactly what they needed for their journey and only by being there and supporting that crazy little journey can you come close to guaranteeing your place in their world. Controlling others to keep them close is counter-intuitive; control only acts as a self-defeating defense mechanism that only pushes others away. I would do this all the time, not understanding – I mean, I knew this on some level, but never internalized it. I hope the new perspective I got on it all stays with me, because boy am I going to need it.

I've also begun to understand that by automatically assuming 98% of people are pre-programed to dislike me, I act unlikeable from the get-go. At the beginning of the summer, I still had a little bit of Hooters Girl in me, so things weren't quite as bad – but as the summer went on and Hooters Girl me faded, I reverted back to this default thought-process. I'm not entirely sure how to change this – the logic is so circular that I'm not sure where to break the chain!

At some point I'm going to find myself in Denver and I'm going to be in Moxie on my way to my Ledge and I'm going to say to myself, “Well, now what, Chels?”

Let's not be fake here – I'm not too fearful of this huge Unknown placed in front of me as of Aug. 19^th. In fact, I'm pretty confident that it will be a whirlwind of a few weeks in which I find a new “home,” a new job, new friends and another new “life.” Conor's been leaving me enough pennies in funny places for me to know this. What I am fearful of is: What can I possibly do to make my next “life” as amazing as this one? Will I be able to keep parts of this one in my next one? What's the point of being a world traveler if you have to leave everybody you've grown to adore behind and start over each time practically from scratch? Does this have to be the case?

Sometimes feeling a little sad and scared makes me feel like I'm going in the right direction but that I'm allowed a break from all the crazy optimism to re-center myself. If I never felt sad nor scared, I wouldn't feel as grateful and happy as I often do. Cruises are to recharge yourself and I definitely need a hot minute to recharge! Phew – great timing.

*(cover later)*
Pick up G and S
Crazy train ride
Barcelona
Cruise Ship
Explore - food
Alone time
Arcade/basketball
Dinner
Hottub

Day 62: Cabbaging and Retiro (five minutes too late)

After having so much fun with my familia last night and not arriving at L's until late late late with all my luggage, it was a Saturday to do some serious sleeping in, followed by some serious hot summer afternoon, scantily-clad cabbaging on the couch with good 'ol Spanish gossip magazines and MTV. Ah... bliss! <3

It wasn't until 5 pm that we found ourselves dressed, primped (yeah – L let me CURL her HAIR today – omg SCANDAL... she looked adorable!!) and out the door. >_< Sam and G had also taken the day to recoup and conquer their jet-lag once and for all and take a little stroll around their neighborhood. :) When we finally met up, we grabbed a little lunch, bought a huge baguette of bread, took some cute pictures near Puerta Alcala...

... and headed for Retiro to feed the ferocious ducks, giant-sized fish, teeny tiny turtles and ditzy black swans.

Really, all I wanted to do was go on the boats in the mini-lake in the middle of the park, but we'd arrived a few minutes too late (and stopped to take pictures with SpongeBob. Damn Esponja Bob... it was all HIS fault) and were the first ones in line to be told there would be no more boat rides for the day. :( L and G seemed relieved, while Sam and I stopped off, upset. Haha.

Feeding the crazy pond animals did truly make up for the boat disappointment, though! I'd thought a whole baguette was going to be WAY too much, but it was so much fun hitting the ditzy swans on the head and watching the Ducks that Meant Business competing with the terrifyingly large fish that we used the whole thing up in no time! Sam really got into the whole thing, as you can see (LOL):

 

 We strolled around the park a bit, taking pictures and enjoying the evening. Retiro is really quite relaxing in the midst of the Madrid heat, because it seems much cooler around all of the trees and lakes. *mmm...*

There were some good pictures from the day, but my favorite one had to have been this one - I have absolutely NO idea what was going on, but there are just so many captions one could write for it... hahaha!!

 

During our stroll, Sam and I found a crazy hole in a tree and I taught him how to raptor walk on the site of the First Raptor Walk in Spain. ;)

Soon enough the sun began to set...

 

... and we headed back to their hotel to make hotel reservations for their last night in Madrid after the cruise and L and I headed home, making it back before 3:30 am for a change! :) For being such a short day of exploration, it sure was a hoot!

XOXO

Jet-set Cupcake

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