Mom and Aunt Barb come to Spain!

It finally happened, MI MADRE MADE IT TO EUROPE!!  My sister and I have both been fortunate enough to go to Europe through school programs and friends, but my Mom has never been, so it was extremely special to finally share that experience with her, and my Aunt Barb who had also never been Europe.  I’m very close to both my mom and aunt so it was great to have a few days of just the three of us.  They arrived in Granada on the morning of Wednesday, April 10^th on the morning of Tuesday, April 16^th for Madrid.  They then had a full day in Madrid where they did a bus tour of the city and then they flew back to the states the next day.  Disclaimer: neither of them speak an ounce of Spanish so I got a lot of translator practice which was an extra bonus.  And they were pretty good about remembering to say things like “Gracias” and “Pardon” instead of just speaking to people in English.  Mad props!

With my mom and aunt finally came some summer weather in Granada.  Pretty much all of March was rain, but ever since they came its been nothing but sunshine with temperatures in the 80's.  I'm happy to report that the beautiful has stayed since they left, and I've made it a priority to take advantage of it.  On their first day here, they napped for a bit and then I met them around lunchtime at their hotel after I got out of class.  After I teary eyed reunion we went to lunch in front of the Catedral where we could eat outside, and they began trying some typical Spanish food and drinks.  I tried to encourage them to try the typical Spanish food throughout the week, which they normally did, and I hooked them on sangria pretty quick too ;)  After lunch we went to my flat where they met Carmen, mi madre espanola.  Carmen meeting them was precious.  Carmen her sarcastic, hott ticket, 60 year old self, and was genuinely so excited to meet them, as were they to meet her.  We had some tea and cookies while trying to coordinate the coming weekend with Carmen's help.  We had to get to a pueblo of Malaga on a weekday in order for my to go to the US Consulate and the National Police Station to get my fingerprints done, but in order to do so we had to spend Sunday in Malaga and then take a train on Monday to the pueblo of Fuengirola.  After coordinating the transportation and hotels for all of that we spent the afternoon walking through the Albacin up to the Plaza San Miguel which has an incredible view of the Alhambra.  That night I brought them to Cafe Futbol for dinner, sangria, and churros con chocolate.  All were a hit.  I spent that night at Carmen's and then met them after my morning class the next day.

After my class, we shopped on the main shopping street in Granada, Recogidas, which is conveniently on the way to my flat where we were going to lunch.  This lunch was one of the highlights of the week.  It consisted of my mom, my aunt, Carmen, Pepe, Itzar, Jose, and I all at one table.  Pepe is a 4 year old heartbreaker that Carmen babysits for and Pepe and Itzar are his parents.  The three are over all the time and stayed with me while Carmen was away for her brother's funeral, so I consider them a part of my Spanish family :) We gave them all gifts from America and had some of Carmen's amazing chicken paella.  My mom brought Pepe a bear wearing a UConn football jersey and holding a big UConn fleece blanket.  He is now in love with "Coco" and carries him everywhere.  That afternoon we shopped on and off and went inside the Catedral de Granada.  I had gone to the Catedral for the first time early in the week and liked it, but this was the first time either of them had  been in a cathedral so they were blown away by the art, architecture, the dome, and the stain-glass.  That night we got real Spanish and tapa hopped for dinner.  One of the bars was fittingly called "Garvey".

On Friday, we woke up early to get tickets and walk through the Alhambra.  We were able to go to all parts of the Alhambra including the General-life, all the gardens, the Palace, and the Alcazaba tower.  This took up our whole morning, and then after we shopped at some of the side shops in between the Alhambra and Plaza Nueva.  There my mom bought a mosaic pottery sign that says "Garvey" for our front door, and my aunt bought a leather laptop case for my uncle.  We then went Las Titas for lunch.  Las Titas is right on the river, which they hadn't been to yet, is surrounded by palm trees and has a great view of the Sierra Nevadas.  We ate outside to enjoy the weather, and they both tried their first Alhambra Especial, which is one of the beers brewed in Granada.  On Friday night, the three of us went to a Flamenco show in the Sacromonte caves of the Albaicin.  The tour bus picked us up from the hotel with the rest of the people watching that night show, and then brought us up to the Albaicin for a night tour.  The tour including bringing us to Plaza San Miguel where we had an amazing view of the Alhambra and took pictures of it at night.  This was my mom and aunt's first Flamenco and they thought the dancers were intense, which they definitely are, and loved it.

Saturday was what I was most excited for because I finally made it to the Sierra Nevadas.  The bus ride alone was breathtaking, weaving through the mountains, and giving views looking down on Granada and the beautiful Lake Quentar.  We were dropped in the ski village, which is so picturesque with mountains and slopes surrounding you.  It took us a while to figure out how to get to the top, but we eventually did and the views from there were even better.  The crazy part was that even though the slopes were still covered in snow, it was still in the 70's from even the top.  People were able to ski and snowboard in sweaters.  After going to the top we got some papas bravas (fries with spicy ketchup) and drinks while sitting in lounge chairs outside looking out at the views.  Saturday night we went to dinner and tapas at what became our favorite restaurant/bar and I need to go back pronto; La Bodega de Gran Via.  Their sangria was sooo good.... we went through 3 jugs of it, and when we went back Monday night the waiter gave us their sangria recipe!

On Sunday we left for Malaga.  We arrived at the hotel where they held our bags until check in, and we headed to the city center.  There we ate at "Cheers" (cough tourist trap cough) across from the Catedral de Malaga and visited the Picasso Museum.  We then went back to the hotel, checked into our room and walked along the beach.  It was so nice to finally be beaching.  My mom and aunt were super excited to dip their toes into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.  That night we went to the cutest restaurant with the sweetest old man waiter.  Still trying to find my card with the name on it but it was Taberna something.  There we had some very fresh cod, which malaga is know for, some tapas, white wine, and some sweet malaga wine.  The waiter gave us some free malaga wine and took pictures with us.  We were awkwardly the only ones there, but o well we loved it.  The place was decorated with signed pictures and jerseys of famous people who had ate there along with a nautical and wine theme.

The next day, Monday, was my last day with my mom and aunt and sadly we had to spend it running around Fuengirola (a pueblo in Malaga) in order for me to get fingerprinted for a fee collector job that I have received on Cape Cod national seashore.  my aunt stayed in Malaga for the day to beach it and my mom and I took the train back and forth to the pueblo.  It was a very stressful, Spanish filled day, but eventually my fingerprints were finally taken, and we were able to mail them along with all my other paperwork.  When we got back to Granada we spent out last night together at La Bodega de Gran Via and they we had to say good-bye.  It really hated to say goodbye as I got so use to having my mom and aunt with me.  But, i'll be seeing them soon and I will be coming to celebration as my cousin (my aunt's son) is graduating from college! So we'll all be reunited soon after I get home.  I feel so fortunate that I got to see Steve and them while I was here along with my friends Mike and Katie.  Soon I'll be going to Ireland and i'll get to see another one of my friends from college! So excited, and so fortunate to get all these little tastes of home throughout the semester.