Now, I've only taken a train once. That one time was one a train from Sydney, Australia to Newcastle to visit a friend while I studied abroad. Truthfully, this train was more like a crappy subway train with flickering lights and graffiti. But the train I took with Pilar felt like the damn Hogwarts Express!!!
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| My"Welcome" sign! They worked hard on the USA flag. |
It was clean with reclining seats and big windows as we zoomed through the Spanish countryside. The little man on the trolley cart gave out food, newspapers, and free headphones. The train was relatively empty, and I promptly fell asleep for the 2 hour ride.
Once we arrived, Luis and the kids were waiting for me with a "Welcome to Spain!" sign they made themselves! There are four kids; Lucas (8), Marta (6), Jaime (4), and Paloma (2). They are so cute!! Lucas and Martha speak English fairly well, and Jaime is learning a little bit, but Paloma is still learning Spanish.
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| Lucas, me, and Marta! |
We quickly got in the car and hit the road to Marbella. We drove about 45 minutes to the city in Pilar and Luis' minivan, busting 60's Spanish music the whole way. When we got to the flat, they showed me to my room, which I shared with Martha, and we changed and got ready to go to the beach!
Pilar's parents have a flat nearby, so they met us at the beach.
Fun Fact #6: The Spanish words for Grandma and Grandpa are Abuela and Abuelo.
Fun Fact #7: In Spain, the proper way to say hello is to do a double cheek kiss. It takes a while and is slightly awkward, but its what they do!
So after some double kissing, I learned that Abuela speaks almost no English, but Abuelo speaks English fairly well! We chatted on the beach for a while before going to get lunch with everyone.
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| Sardines for lunch=salty burps |
From what I have experienced so far, lunch is a bunch of different dishes that are passed around the table, kind of like appetizers. Pilar asked me if I wanted American food like a hamburger and fries or something, but I figured, When in Rome, right? So I had them order whatever they wanted for the table and I would eat anything.
The first dish was smoked sardines- heads, tails, bones and all! Luckily, I'm no stranger to boning a fish (thanks Dad!) and it tasted pretty good! Kind of salty though. Next was steamed clams and calamari, which of course were delicious. I wasn't a huge fan of the fried anchovies though, which I was told to eat bones and all. I think is was a texture thing, but I think I might steer clear of those for a while.
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| Jaime: jumping only on the red squares |
After lunch, everyone went home to rest and the kids to watch a movie (which is the only time they are allowed to watch tv all day!) I stayed out on the beach for a few hours and read my book. It was sort of nice to have a little alone time to relax on the beach!
I found the flat easily as it was only a couple blocks from the beach. I showered and changed and we all went for a walk around Marbella.
The first thing we did was go to Naranja Plaza, which means Orange Square. Rather easy to figure that one out by the shape of the area and the vast amount of orange trees there. Pilar and Luis said that one thing they always do when on vacation is get the kids churros and chocolate. I had never had a churro before, but I gathered it was much like fried dough, so we sat down and ordered a huge churro to share with the family. Now, when they said that the churro is best dipped in chocolate, I figured it would come with a little chocolate drizzled on top.
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| churros and chocolate- I almost died it was so good. |
No No No No.....
Each kid, myself included, received a coffee mug full of melted chocolate. And I mean melted chocolate- not hot chocolate. It was actually a whole cup of melted chocolate that the kids dunked their churros into and then proceeded to eat by the spoonful. They all finished their mugs! I didn't (thank God).
After the churros, we proceeded to walk around the center of Marbella. We passed some little shops, and Pilar insisted on buying me my first fan. Apparently, everyone has their own fan in Spain, as it is so hot. I picked out a pretty red one with flowers on it.
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| My beautiful red fan! |
When 8 o'clock rolled around, we met up with los Abuelos to go to church. Thank goodness I had the fan- it was very hot in there. I could imagine looking down from the ceiling on the scene below and thought it must look like a flurry of butterflies, as every woman in the place was flapping a fan.
The cathedral was big and beautiful, with television screens attached to the columns so everyone could see what was happening at the alter. The alter was this giant gilded thing that looked half gaudy and half gorgeous, it was very strange. On the wall, I noticed a large painting of a priest in a green robe with glasses and a Mona Lisa like smile on his face. I found the painting to be very well done, and assumed this was the portrait of a former priest of this church.
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| Walking in Marbella |
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| Marta, Lucas, Jaime, Pilar y Paloma |
I also noticed how the center aisle was rather overcrowded, with extra chairs brought in that blocked the way. I was beginning to wonder how the priest and his procession would get to the front of the church when mass began when all of the sudden, the green clad priest from the painting appeared at the alter! Everyone crossed themselves and mass began. There was no music, (although there was an organ that no one played) and no one sang. Communion was a bit of an unorganized free for all, and before I knew it, mass was over!! When I was a kid, the music was the best part of church. But truth be told, I didn't mind missing it as cutting it out shaved off an extra 20 minutes!! And with four rowdy kids at church, it was most definitely a blessing.
After church, we went home. We ate dinner on the balcony and the kids headed off to bed. Pilar told me I didn't have to go to bed right away, but with so much happening, I was exhausted. I was out like a light, once again.
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