Hasta Pronto

It was terrible leaving this morning! Mostly because we had such a great time and we didn't want to leave. And also there was so much traffic on our way to the airport, it was inching along. But we made it, no problems.

Our first flight was delayed - typical. That just made it a little hairy in NYC when we're trying to push through customs and no one really cares that your flight is in exactly one hour (because the plane landed 35 mins later than expected). We asked several airline personnel and they were like "Oh, you'll be fine! You have time!" I was reassured. For about 2 seconds, when I realized the line I thought was 7 people ahead of me was actually 27 people ahead of me. Hmm. 27 people, times at least 2 mins per person- is more time than I have!! Grrr. Finally one lady with an especially authoritative look heard my cries for help and put us right in the front. Whew.

Then the worst part is we're running to get our bag, running to the next check point, running to re-check the bag... oops - wait, Miss, you head over to that officer over there.

I look over, there are four officers just hanging out in corner by a table. I should have just ran for it. I should have played deaf. I should have ... not declared the special chorizo sausage that I brought back for my dad. Next thing I know some bored young officer is having me open my suitcase and dig out the said dried, wrapped, completely enclosed food item. Clothes and unmentionables are spilling out on the table. In my head all I can think is "I have 30 mins .... come on!" I hand it over and he smugly replies "you can't bring this in, there could be Swine Flu. Sorry." and [plunk] its in the garbage. The GARBAGE.

As Jenn tells it, "I've never seen your face that red, I thought you were going to explode". I tried to persuade them, I fought back my tears. Finally I'm like: "I don't have TIME for this!" And I zipped my suitcase up and ran off, only to have a little meltdown in the next checkpoint. I think the people around me in line were scared of me. haha. That's what happens when I'm traveling for 10 hours and you mess up my flight connection and mood. I'm going back to Spain! At least they were nice. :)

Well we made our flight (barely), got to Pittsburgh safely, and at least everything else that I brought home made it through. And Oliver was so happy to see me!

I have been awake for about 21 hours now. Didn't sleep one bit on the way. I'm going to bed!

Caracol

Packing again. I think it may all fit.

We had a special trip to El Montseny today! Its neat how we are close to both the water and the mountains.

It took less than an hour and we were at the park that includes these gorgeous mountains! We found a little historic house, that had been burned down during the war, and was rebuilt for the park. We walked on the little trail too. The view was beautiful!

Also today was the Chavez’s 42nd wedding anniversary! We treated them to a nice lunch, at a restaurant up in the mountain.

 

Just guess what I ate today! Here it is on my plate.

I got step one with no problem, lick the yummy sauce off the shell.

It took some time to work up the nerve for the rest.

It didn’t taste like anything, a tad chewy. It wasn’t so much the taste I was worried about, it’s the whole process of take a toothpick and dig the little guy out of his home so you can bite his foot off. Ew.

I kept his shell as a souvenir.

Manuel gets a kick out of making me eat new (and in my opinion weird) things, so I told him the next time he’s in Pittsburgh I’ll be the one cooking!

Also we had rabbit and lamb! Sorry to be cliché, but the rabbit tasted like chicken. But everything was really good, it was cooked on a big grill outside.

 Next door is the pen with turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, ducks, geese, chickens, even lovebirds in a cage.






See this guy? His outfit is typical Catalan, especially the red beret. We had a little dance.

And roses everywhere! They smelled wonderful.

They had one more special surprise for us! Jamon! All week they've been calling me a "ham" since I can't just take a normal photo, I have to "ham-it-up". Well it doesn't translate into Spanish really. So tonight we had this cured ham. It was delicious! Sliced sooo thin. Very salty. 

Then Manuel explained that in Spanish a "jamona" is a beautiful lady. Well, looks like I'm a ham in both languages!

Just Beachy

We’ve been here a week!

Our trip is winding down. We decided no more running around cities and public transportation, we’re hitting the beach! Too bad the weather hasn’t been exceptionally warm, but it was still a perfect temperature for sitting by the shore. Got a fro-yo on our walk down (only 1 Euro!).  Found a spot to put our towels and big umbrella. Splashed around in the water, found some shells, took a nap. And that’s pretty much all we did today!

For dinner we went to Pablo and Vanessa’s apartment - and played with Lemon. We had some soup and fondue and empanada. Everything was so delicious! They are so sweet. And just like Oliver, Lemon likes to lick out the yogurt cups.




















Here's a “family” photo. It was sad, we had to start our goodbyes tonight!

Bon dia

By 8:45am Pablo and Vanessa picked up Jenn and I and we were off to the ministry  in Masnou, a neighboring village. Only problem - the language is Catalan! Its similar to Spanish, and residents will understand Spanish, but to really level with them we speak in their native tongue. We? Oh, no, I meant they. Hah I couldn’t even break out of Portuguese! I muddled through.
 Here is our humble group - Jenn, Rosa and Julian, Vanessa and Pablo. Julian and Rosa are Special Pioneers. See how little this Kingdom Hall is in the picture?

The area we preached in was so gorgeous! Nestled in the mountains, but we could still see the Mediterranean. And I loved all the pretty flowers!

After we got home Pepita (who is a machine and tirelessly takes care of us!) made some delicious lunch for us, and we had it out on the patio. Then we were only a siesta away from sail boating!

We got to put our feet in the cold, COLD water! Unfortunately there wasn’t enough wind to move us, so we didn’t get very far. But we did hang out in the boat for a little bit after we got back to the dock. It was fun being mariners for a moment.
















On the way back home Manuel was very strict that tonight I would need my camera, my notebook and a pen so that I could learn how to make Spanish potato tortilla. I was in the kitchen ready and waiting within minutes of getting home. I took extensive notes and photos, and when I get back home I’m supposed to email them a photo of my tortilla.


 In short: chop up potatoes and onion, cook them in a skillet with plenty of olive oil.








When they’re soft, poke and mash a bit. Beat some eggs and pour it on top.









Flip until the egg is cooked through.









Ta-da! Potato tortilla. Or, as we may call it, potato frittata, potato omelet, potato quiche, same thing, different names.


Isn’t Jenn’s flower garnish so sweet?

Spoken like a true Pittsburgher, I’m like - is there any ketchup?

Life's Water Free

What a lovely day it was!!

The Public Talk and Watchtower study was at 12:30pm - thank goodness! We needed a morning to rest up after yesterday. And Pepita needed the morning to cook lunch - she and Jenn made a very special dish: paella!

The meeting was so nice, the sweet elderly brother from the congregation gave the talk, I understood some things, he talked at a nice clear pace. Just didn’t know all the words! And I did give a one sentence answer in Spanish (in my own words too - after Jenn corrected my grammar). The friends are so friendly! And the kids are so adorable. I wish I wasn’t so deaf and ignorant of Spanish, probably would have been in the best friends ring with these girls like Jenn. We told them all to come visit us whenever they want.

Pablo and Vanessa, Manuel and Pepita’s son and daughter-in-law, joined us for lunch! They are in a neighboring congregation, and live just down the street.  They have a dog named Lemon (I’m dying at how cute that name is) and when we walk down towards the beach we can see him in their apartment window, just watching everyone.

They speak lots of different languages and Pablo has literally traveled around the world - he mapped out his journeys and its hanging on the wall in the loft, along with his pictures and some souvenirs. I’m so impressed. They're headed to Austria next month!

The paella was delicious, as expected! Jenn was all yummy sounds the entire time. I was glad to pass her my extra mussels and rogue octopus tentacle. But I’m proud to say I ate octopus, squid, cuttlefish, mussel and prawn today. Whew. That’s a lot of seafood for one sitting.


After a quick nap we were off again to visit more sites in Barcelona - Mount Monjuit. There we saw the huge pool and stadium built for the 1992 Olympics, way up on the hillside. it’s a pretty area, plenty of trees, and it overlooks the city. It is also were this huge museum sits. It was built for the World’s Fair years ago. Its an impressive street leading up to the museum, lined with fountains, and then steps and columns and lights.

Sidepoint: from our vantage point on the steps we could see La Sagrada Familia from across the city - and see how HUGE it still is?

Just down the street we visited some friends Jenn had met before, Antonio and Maria, and had dinner with them. Somehow even after a big lunch we still had some room for the feast she spread for us. I mean, we couldn’t be rude! It was fabulous - much more my kind of food: salad, roasted red peppers, chicken, bread with meat and cheese. Oh, and bacon-wrapped dates. Nom.
Both of their mothers live with them, and they are SO sweet. Antonia, 94, and Angela, 88. We had such a nice time with them, we even had a moment to sing our favorite show tunes, since Antonio pointed out their names are like Tony and Maria from West Side Story.

We couldn’t stay long, because Pepita wanted us to see the fountains at night, the ones right in front of the museum. We had no idea what we were in for, they were fabulous!

 The colors, the movement, even the music made the whole experience so special. The music would play about every 10 minutes, oddly enough mostly American pop songs. Our favorite was Freddie Mercury’s ballad to Barcelona. It was touching.

 I know the pictures from today really can’t capture the moments, seeing and tasting it all is so much more of an experience. I wish everyone could be here too!