Fiesta de los Padres

            You know how when you’re little your parents want to show you off to all of their friends and meet all of their friends’ kids, presumably because you’re all so darn adorable? Well, I’ve come to find that there comes an age (after the I-don’t-want-be-seen-with-you age) where the opposite becomes true. My aunt and mom (we missed you, Dad!) were visiting last week – I was eagerly awaiting their arrival because I of course missed them and wanted to see them, but also because I wanted to show them off to my friends!

            Things started off sort of shaky as a result of the “Easyjet incident” (see entry below for further details). I missed dinner reservations by an hour. My mom and aunt still got there though and enjoyed what I heard was a delicious and fancy Italian meal. I’m trying not to be bitter about it, but by now it should be clear how much I like delicious Italian food and how little I like waiting in airports unnecessarily. (It’s called Il Gusto if anyone should happen to want to take me there.)

Anyway, I was bummed that I didn’t get to see them that first night but we made plans to meet for lunch the next day. Erin, Anne, and I went from coorcooorse to Antón Martín and had a beautiful reunion / first meeting. Obviously, I selected my favorite lunch place to give them a truly delicious Spanish experience. That’s right – we went to Montaditos in Plaza Santa Ana. I might have talked up these 1 euro sandwiches a bit too much, but I think they enjoyed them nonetheless (especially the chocolate ones!) We had to part ways so that we could go to the Sorolla Museum for class. That museum was probably my favorite thus far; it’s in Sorolla’s actual house so it’s a lot less overwhelming. Basically, I’d like to live there.

After a run and Madrid class, we went home to prepare for what we hoped would be a hilarious evening. My mom and aunt were coming over for dinner! The fact that they speak solo un poco de español + the fact the Angeles and Emilio are insane + the fact the my aunt is a vegetarian (she eats chicken, so I told A&E that she really likes chicken and doesn’t like meat instead of going for  ‘vegetarian’ because that’s basically a curse word in our house) = hilarity, right? Amazingly, it actually turned out to be funnier than we had thought. First of all, the whole family turned out – we had Angeles, we had Emilio, we had her daughter Angeles, and her great nieces Eli and Arroja (spelling is questionable). Arroja is an English teacher so she was helpful with the translating. A&E got all dolled up. We gave a tour of the house and then obviously Angeles refused to let anyone but her daughter help. We tried – we walked into the kitchen and asked, leaving my aunt and mom alone for a minute or so. When we returned, Emilio is speaking rapid Spanish at my mother, who is nodding intently as though she understands. Does she know what he’s saying? Inquired Arroja. One look at my mom told me Not. At. All. (She was better than I thought she would be at understanding what we were talking about though! Go mom!)

Other highlights:

Emilio is telling us about American actors who he likes: There’s one actress…she’s an old movie star and a country singer too! Doris…something?

All of us: Doris Day? But she’s not a country singer.

Emilio: It’s not Doris Day…

All of us: Dolly Parton?

Emilio: Oh! I’ve got it – it’s Doris Day.

He then breaks out into a rendition of ¡Qué sera, sera!, which my mother of course joins in on. Check us out, crossing cultural boundaries one off-key note at a time.

This then got us onto the topic of Dolly Parton.

Arroja: She’s the one with the big chest?

Us: Yes.

Arroja: How do you say big-chested in the United States?

My mother: STACKED.

Emilio nods in agreement.

…Really, mom? Realllllly?

Of course Angeles brought up how we have no Spanish novios.

Angeles: “All of the other girls who have been here have had novios. Nicole and Erin are (spanish-word-we-don't-know) ”

Erin and I: “What does that mean?”

Arroja, Eli, and daughter-Angeles all cover their mouths in surprise, try to keep from laughing, and shake their heads.

I’m pretty sure I should be offended…

Obviously there was a TON of food. A. TON. We had tortilla, we had pasta salad, we had chicken, we had bread, we had wine, we had coffee, and we even had dessert! (Marzipan straight from Toledo – huesos de los santos, a typical delicacy for All Saint’s Day)

Mom: Tell her this food is delicious!

Angeles: How could she say it’s delicious? She hasn’t even tried it! Your mom and your aunt don’t eat very much, do they?

(This is after my mom has had three pieces of chicken)

I’m sure many more hilarious things occurred but I’m not at all sure what they were. Oh, A&E said we were the happiest girls they’ve had because we’re always laughing. Is it possible to not be laughing in this house?

Back row (l-r): Eli, Aunt Sue, Erin, Me
Front row (l-r): Arroja, ANGELES!!, Mom, EMILIO!!

            The next day, we met after class and a run at Sol to take them to Plaza Mayor and Mercado San Miguel for lunch! It was delicious and something they hadn’t done yet! (They’d already been to Plaza Mayor – they were quite the tourists.) We got some sort of spinach and cheese thing which was deeeeeeeelicious…and then we obviously got fro-yo. From there, we took the metro to Retiro to show them the lake and enjoy a little tinto. After Retiro, Erin went home to do some “work” (psh, who does work?) and I took them to the templo to see the sunset. It was awesome! We planned to meet up for dinner at Casa Lucio for some tapas! It was less hilarious (any moment sans A&E is by default) but so delicious. We heard about Mom and Aunt Sue’s struggles with the metro (they didn’t realize not all of the doors automatically open), with the time change (not as in jet-lagged, as in, they had to call the front desk to see what time it was), and with their locker in their hotel room (apparently it was finicky.) For the most part though, they seemed to be getting along just fine. After dinner, I sent some texts (I recently learned how to mass text on my Spanish cell) and we got a group together to meet up for Churros! Everyone was eager to meet my relatives, and I as mentioned, I wanted them all to meet, too! Churros were delicious and since everyone spoke English, conversation flowed easily. After churros we went home, because we’re not always cool enough to go out on Wednesdays. (Okay, fine. We’re rarely cool enough to go out on Wednesdays.)

Thursday was sadly their last day here (they left early Friday morning!) so we tried to make the most of it. My mom and aunt had wanted to take Angeles and Emilio out to lunch as a thank you, so we planned to meet at Principe Pio at 2 to go to a place Angeles knew. I was sure if we were food-courting in the mall or what, but I figured the woman liked her food so she would know best. We left 5/10 minutes after we were supposed to be there (got my mom and aunt used to Spanish time) and meandered our way over to a bus stop. Angeles realized she forgot something and sent Emilio (really? Emilio who hardly leaves the couch to trek all the way back to the apartment?) to retrieve it. She didn’t worry about him and just got on the bus. We said we could wait for him but she refused, so off we went. We walked down the street from the mall and ended up eating at something restaurant the had a chicken as its symbol. I forget what it’s called. We were all looking at our menus, but then Angeles started ordering in rapid Spanish. Apparently she would be ordering for all of us. This did not surprise me. Emilio eventually found us and it turns out they had bought my mom and aunt scarves – are they not the most adorable people on the face of the planet? They are, indeed. Unfortunately for Aunt Sue, everything Angeles ordered was either fish or meat aka not valid for a vegetarian. Aunt Sue, being the polite person she is, was taking a little of everything and pushing it around her plate. Angeles noticed this and tried to get her to take more. When Aunt Sue refused she put a piece of squid on her fork and shoved it in her mouth. THIS WOMAN IS INSANE! As much as I felt terrible for my aunt, it was probably one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen. We also met Javi (their son), who I had spoken with on the phone at the beginning of the semester to help me with my internet connection. We broke for class and met up with them for dinner. We went to this Thai place called Siam right by Plaza de España. It was deeeeelicious. I love Thai food and I miss it dearly. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes. It was wonderful to see them and I think they liked Spain! (How could you not?)

            We headed out to Joy after, which as always (aka the one other time I was there) was a joy. What was not a joy, however, was the 9:45AM makeup class we had for cooorcooorse. It was stupid and useless and actually the biggest waste of my time – I won’t waste your time anymore to tell you about it. After returning from class and registering for next semester (Oh, ACES how I missed you!) Erin’s parents arrived! (They were so close to meeting my mom and aunt. Sad.) Erin went to go hang out with them for awhile and we made tentative dinner plans. I tried to be productive. I did a little work, watched some TV on the internet, lurked around Facebook…it was pretty lonely. I decided to go for a long run by combining the two runs we normally do to pass the time; I decided not to bring my ipod so I could be aware of my surroundings (I did a moot court case in 7^th grade where the plaintiff’s son was killed or hurt or something while going for a run or walk or on a bike or something while listening to his walkman with his hood up. I was the leading defense lawyer, so I tried to claim that because he was listening to music and his hood was up, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, and so it wasn’t our fault the kid got hurt or whatever…I lost.) I got back just in time to plan when to meet up with Erin and the rents! After showering (I’m all about a good first impression), I headed over to Antón Martín to meet them. They were staying at an apartment right by there which is a very cool concept. I’ve never thought to rent an apartment for a vacation (I guess I don’t book most of my vacations…) but it was beautiful and well-situated! Greg and Blair (I hope we’re on a first name basis) are awesome! They definitely got me excited for meeting other parents. (Seriously. I want to meet everyone’s parents.) We enjoyed some Cava to celebrate their arrival in Madrid and family reunions! We went to dinner at this delicious restaurant which I unfortunately can’t remember the name of. We got a delicious Hake in a green sauce (Erin and I got the same thing because we’re embarrassing like that.) Everything was delicious and the waitress was so nice and helpful! We exchanged embarrassing stories about Erin (another reason I want to meet more parents) and had a really nice time! They “let us go” after dessert (brownie!) so we could go out, but we decided to go to bed instead. Delightful decision.

            Saturday was a day filled with visitors! While Erin was off being a tourist with her parents, I met up with Taylor and Katie to see Duke kids who are studying in London who were here for the weekend! We went to Plaza Mayor for lunch, where shortly after ordering, someone was taken out on a stretcher. While that made us hesitant to try our meals, I found everything to be rather tasty. After taking them to fro-yo (DUH) we walked to the Palacio and I realized just how close to everything I really am. I should walk more. We made it to Plaza de España where Shwish was verbally assaulted by some man who wouldn’t leave her alone. (Welcome to Madrid!) “You’re so beautiful. Your eyes are like the sky. They’re like…roses in the sky. Do you have a boyfriend? Is he in Madrid? Then he doesn’t matter! Seriously, you’re so beautiful.” He would come back every 5 or so minutes. Oh, Spain! You and your many times gross, always aggressive men.

            I met Erin back en casa to prepare ourselves for another family dinner! After hearing stories about our previous experience at la casa de A&E with my family, Greg and Blair were pumped up for a good time. Obviously, A&E delivered. We again got Arroja and Eli because we’re lucky and even Josemari joined us. We got on the topic of football and things got heated. Arroja is a Barca fan and everyone else is Real Madrid. When she vocalized her opinion they joked that she had to leave the house. Apparently one Christmas a relative came with a Barca scarf and Emilio made him leave it outside the apartment before being allowed in. So dramatic. Angeles accosted Erin’s mom and was talking to her in Spanish of which she speaks very little – Erin had to swoop in and save her. Emilio was realizing the usefulness of knowing English: “I want to know what’s going on! Why is everybody laughing?” Just translations, Emilio. It’s all you. Angeles accused Erin’s dad of eating very little after he had gone through an impressive three full plates of food. What do we need to do to please you, Angeles? We had tortilla, an awesome salad that had avocado in it, a little salmon, our favorite pasta salad, wine, coffee, and dessert. They go all out for the parents. While Erin was dropping her parents off at the metro and Angeles was actively preventing me from helping to clean up, Arroja and Eli promised to take me and Erin out one day. CAN’T. WAIT.

            Conveniently we went to Karousel that night, because I’m all about going to places where I can walk to. We met up with more London people! Yay Hannah! Eli also told us about another room that exists in the discoteca which was an exciting find. We came home relatively early (right after the “show” started) and called it a night.

            Sunday morning I met up with Robyn and Katherine early in the morning to go to the Rastro! I’m working my way through getting gifts for the family, and this was definitely useful in doing so. Afterwards, we walked home because again, everything is closer than I think. I think got the chance to meet up with Hannah and Erin but only for ten minutes which is sad. I had to go because I was going to see a free MTV EMA (European music awards) concert by Retiro, so that was the opposite of sad. Erin and her padres went to go see the Real Madrid vs Atletico game (as Emilio pointed out several times at dinner the previous night: Real Madrid – from Madrid, Atletico Madrid – also from Madrid. There will be a lot of people there because they’re both from Madrid. There is a rivalry because they are both from Madrid. Thanks, Emilio!) I met up with a bunch of DIM kids and their London friends to see 30 Seconds to Mars (still couldn’t tell you anything about them), Katy Perry, and Linkin Park…oh, and guest appearance by Kanye. Not a big deal. (SUCH A BIG DEAL!) Unclear as to why Linkin Park was the headlining group since I didn’t think they’ve done anything since like 2004 but the Spaniards were super excited. I couldn’t really see anything and basically watched the show through the screen of John’s camera while he was taping, but I could hear and it was free, so whatever. After the 3^rd Linkin Park song we didn’t recognize (where was that one where the did a remix with Jay-Z?!), Robyn, Sydney, and I decided to go get something to eat. We went to a Thai place that Amanda and Lauren recommended which was awesome because we were literally the only ones there. I love Thai food. I’m not ashamed that I had it a mere two nights prior. I would do it again. Anyway, after Thai we walked to Sol (so much walking!) and to a new fro-yo place, also recommended by Amanda and Lauren. It was a self-serve where you pay by weight. Needless to say ours were all around 5 euros. So worth it. I will definitely be going back to Cherry Pop. After walking around Sol looking for the street that’s supposed to be filled with prostitutes (mostly for a project!), we headed home.

            Cooorcooorse was canceled Monday (beautiful), so we didn’t have to be in school until Painting. We met up with Erin’s parents for lunch at Mercado San Miguel. Erin and I got the same thing we got last time. Eventually we’ll expand our horizons but it’s hard to when they’re already so delicious. We then went a pastry shop by Sol! Over dessert we planned when to meet up for dinner (I live from meal to meal.) We went home to relax and try to be productive until dinner. We had no class on Tuesday and Kathleen’s 21^st birthday was on Tuesday, so she understandably wanted to go to Kapital. We considered over the course of the evening. We met up at Greg and Blair’s apartment to make a decision about dinner. Since we’re all about convenience we went to La Vaca Veronica that was literally steps away. It was adorable and delicious! I got pasta with pesto. I love carbs? We got melón for dessert because it’s delicious. It was the rents last night in Madrid, so after a lovely dinner and relaxing in the apartment, it was time to say our goodbyes. Erin’s dad actually walked us to Kapital which is awesome since again, I really did not realize how close everything is. (To Greg & Blair: Thank you again so much for everything!) We ended up not going into Kapital because I’m not looking to pay 15 euro when I was under the impression it cost zero euro. Uncool, Kapital. Un. Cool. Erin’s parents took off early the next morning, and a short 21 hours later were home, sweet home. (Wishing you lived on the east coast now, right?) Now it’s back to just Angeles and Emilio, but I think somehow we’ll be able to suffer through another month of their parenting.