Family Matters

I had such a hectic day yesterday that I was completely exhausted before I was able to get to my computer to blog, so I'm going to give a quick recap of the past two days for you:

Yesterday morning: I woke up an hour before we were planning on waking up, and I couldn't fall back to sleep because of excitement/nervousness for the day ahead. This was the day that I would get on a bus to Madrid, get on the Metro, find my parents hotel, and meet up with them and their companions (two of my mom's fellow autism educators and their husbands).

But first, I had an interesting day planned with the Bulls. Upon Nate's faint recollection of his trip the year before, he had gone to the twon of Granja and had a lovely time in some sort of park. Granja, which is a quick ten minute bus ride from Segovia, is also the home to the Summer Royal Palace and a magnificent botanical gardens. We visited the former and the latter before we went searching for this mythical park. The bulls hadn't eaten yet, so we decided to sit down at a restaurant with outdoor seating. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, we finally flagged the attention of a waiter, got menus, then realized that this place was ridiculously expensive. So we bailed; Alex and I went one way, and for some reason, Nate went a different way. we lost him for about ten minutes, but we were eventually reunited.

After that mini-adventure, we found a much more reasonably priced restaurant and had hamburguesas there. They were awesome!! By far one of the best meals that I have had thus far.

After that, we went searching for the park. Nate's directional instincts took us down a winding path that seemed to take us completely out of Granja and out into the middle of nowhere. After about 30 minutes and finally conceeding that Nate didn't really know where the park was, we all sat down on a foothill that was perched close to a ravine and a couple of mountains. There we took several pictures and even played UNO.

After the walk back, we got on a bus that took us back to Segovia, where I subsequently packed my things for a short weekend visit with my parents.

After the bus ride to Madrid, I took the metro. I got off at the station that I was told would be the best one to get off at; everything was falling into place. All except for the fact that I didn't know where the hotel was. I must have done several laps up and down Gran Via looking for the street was on. I even had the location narrowed down to within a blocks distance from the Plaza de Santo Domingo. Still no luck. After about 50 minutes of failure, I went into a competing hotel and asked the desk clerk if her knew where the hotel was. He told me that it was in a place that I'm sure I passed at least 3 times. My back was completely covered in sweat from the heat that was held in by my backpack. I was dejected but relieved.

I met the weary travellers at the Metro stop, escorted them to the hotel, and then took them to a tapas bar nearby. This group of six adults were very hard to interpret for at first, but as time has elapsed it has gotten progressively easier. The tapas were a hit, and thereafter we called it a night.

Today: we woke up early, got some breakfast, then took a double-decker bus tour around town to get our bearings. i had seen most of the stuff on the tour before, but it was nice to get a better understanding of where everything is geographically.

We had lunch near the puerta del sol. Bocadillos and sandwiches that were the same size but were doubled in price when toasted, were served to us by a very confused, disgruntled waiter.

After lunch, we took a different bus tour, then came back to the room for naps.

Dinner was at a restaurant that the hotel recommended. El Labriego. There we had a very sweet waitress who was very easy to understand and talk to in Spanish, and my dad and I shared a dish of paella that was probably meant for 4 people instead of 2. It was absolutely scrumtrelescent.

After dinner, we decided to take the bus tour again to maybe catch a glimpse of the city under a cloak of darkness, and see the buildings lit up. This was enjoyed by all. It was another one of those moments where I have been to unwind and just lose myself in whats around me; this time it was great architecture and my parents. I can't believe that, in between the hustle and bustle of a six credit study abroad program, I get to hang out with my parents for 2 days in Europe. I love having them here, and I'm glad that made this stop before they head back to the states. After more than two weeks of being in a different country, this was exactly what the doctor ordered; a little piece of home. This'll surely get me through the rest of the trip without any troubles.

Anyways, that has been the last two days of my life. Hope that everything at home is fantabulous!! ¡Hasta luego!