Otra Vez

I was nervous and excited to visit Spain again. Excited because it really is a wonderful Country and I was eager to experience it as a local. Nervous because Manolo and I had not really known each other that long and here I was planning to stay a week with him. And nervous because in true Spanish/Italian/Mediterranean fashion, Manolo wasn't really making concrete plans for the week and the Type A in me was going crazy not having an itinerary to follow.

I flew the 9 hours from Atlanta to Madrid and then took a 2 hour train from Madrid to Sevilla (I love the train system in Spain). As soon as I got off the train Manolo greeted me and I immediately dropped my bags, backing up traffic behind me. It was nice to see him but also very surreal.

That first night we ate dinner with his friends and then went out to the country for a botellón. A botellón is when a group of Spaniards get together, bring bottles of alcohol (open container is legal in Spain) and drink together. In Spain young people live with their parents until they marry (between the age of 30-35) so a botellón is their only way to get out of the house for a party. It was really hard for me to get back into the grove of speaking and understanding Spanish again but luckily Manolo is very patient and his friends were super nice. That night Manolo's friends decided to marry us under the Virgin of Rocio (a very famous religious statue in Spain). This was a theme that would remain constant my entire time that week. Friends told me that Manolo had been pathetic in the weeks after I left. They all knew (and told me) how much Manolo was in love with me and that I would be the girl he would marry. Their only concern was if I was in love with him as well (enamorada)

The rest of the week was filled with the same fun, family, and friends. We went to Manolo's family's country house, spent a few days at the beach with his parents and sister, ate dinners with friends, etc. More importantly we got along fantastically. Manolo is so patient, kind, and funny. Overcoming the language and culture barriers were never a problem for us. Even though we speak different languages (and don't speak each others languages fluently) we never lacked for a topic to discuss. Best of all we "got" each others humor and often had each other doubled over in laughter.

At the end of the week we knew that we weren't over and Manolo immediately decided that he would come to America as soon as he could find a job and a work visa. It was decided that I would go back to Spain again in August for his cousin's wedding and that he would come to America in September. His job prevented me coming out in August and delayed his arrival to the US, but in 2 days everything comes together and Manolo and I will be together. I am very excited and very scared. More on that later ...

The Story of Us (Nosotros)

Alternate title: How an American Fell in Love with a Spaniard

Britney and I were originally going to travel to Australia in April/May 2009. Unfortunately, due to inflation in Australia and drought conditions we decided to postpone the Australia adventure and visit another Country. We decided this on a Friday morning and that night went to the local bar. While there and discussing the vacation conundrum (which April was only 8 weeks away at the time) we randomly asked a stranger what Country he would recommend. He told us Spain and then and there it was immediately decided. We were both intrigued by his description of Spain (a beautiful land filled with beautiful people who loved to eat, drink, and party) but more importantly we were inspired by the fact that Britney's late Dad had been of Spanish descent and we both felt like this would be a great way to get back to Brit's roots.

We knew that we wanted to visit Madrid and Ibiza but were clueless as to what 3rd location we should visit as part of our two week vacation. Our travel agent knew that we wanted someplace small (ish), authentic, and close to a wine region. She chose Sevilla because it was within a train ride from Madrid and was nearby the wine region of Jerez which is famous for its sherry. Our vacation would begin with 4 days in Sevilla, 4 days in Madrid, and then finish with 4 days in Ibiza.

On our 2nd day in Sevilla we learned that the largest celebration in Sevilla was currently underway. La Feria is a week long celebration of flamenco dancing and andulucian horses. This website explains it best (as well as what a caseta is which is important for later in the story). Britney and I decided to give it a try not really knowing what to expect. La Feria was amazing and gorgeous and so hard to describe to someone who has never experienced it. Imagine rows and rows of casetas, filled with Spaniards dancing, singing, drinking, eating, and socializing. Britney and I walked down the rows of casetas and were quickly welcomed into various casetas to drink. After tons of fun and several mishaps Britney and I were on our way home (it was 3am by this point) when we were welcomed into one last caseta by a good looking Spaniard. I was reluctant at first (I was tired, my feet hurt, and it was cold) but Britney was game and the many young Spaniards inside were enticing.

The Spaniard who invited us in turned out to be very drunk and wanted to try and kiss us and touch us inappropriately more then he wanted to talk or dance. Luckily for me, a dashing young Spaniard quickly came to my rescue and beat the drunken Spaniard off me and began dancing flamenco with me. Britney was not so lucky and soon became frustrated and ran out of the caseta crying (it had been a very long day filled with men trying to touch Britney’s butt and being all around lecherous). I followed and much to my surprise so did my handsome dancing partner (Manolo).

After following Britney we calmed her down and then asked her what she wanted to do (eat churros and chocolate). Manolo took us to the closest churro shop and we sat down for a traditional 5am Spanish treat. Britney and I had already become quite impressed with the fact that Manolo followed Britney out of the caseta but were even more impressed when Manolo came back to our seats with a HUGE platter of churros. Easily enough to feed 10 people. Haha! Still I wasn’t in Spain to hook up with boys but I did find him interesting and chivalrous.

After eating our churros, I needed to find an ATM machine so that Britney and I could have enough money to take a taxi back to our hotel. For over an hour Manolo walked with us all over Sevilla to find an ATM machine that was open. While we walked Manolo let me wear his suit jacket to keep warm (people dress up for La Feria) and did his best to talk with me in his broken English. We finally found the ATM machine and then Britney decided that she wanted to eat at a nearby TexMex restaurant at 6am. During this meal (really, really late dinner? Really early breakfast?) he continued to be wonderfully entertaining, showing me pictures of his recent vacation to Egypt as well as pictures of his niece.

By this time it was almost 7am and I was ready to go back to our hotel room for some much needed sleep. Manolo offered to take the taxi with us back to the hotel but I declined. Manolo gave me his phone number and asked me to call him the next day to hang out.

The next day Britney wasn’t feeling well (she had been battling a stomach virus) and wanted to stay in that night. I was much to my surprise actually excited to see Manolo again so I ventured out while Britney stayed behind in the hotel. Manolo asked me to meet him again at the same caseta at La Feria. At first I had trouble finding him (there were so many casetas!) but we found each other and had a great time that night dancing, eating, and drinking.

The next morning I was very sad to leave Sevilla. It was actually the morning of my 29th birthday and what I wanted more then anything was to cancel our train tickets to Madrid, stay in Sevilla, and enjoy Manolo’s presence for a few more days. The rest of the vacation was wonderful but still I couldn’t shake the melancholy that I felt as a result of missing someone who I instantly connected with.

Manolo and I kept in touch by facebook and email and after only 3 weeks we both decided that I needed to come back to Spain for a second visit … To be continued.

Banana / Mañana

It is only fitting that the first post on this blog be the one thing that I hear from Manolo the most "banana does not rhyme with mañana". Try and try as I might I just can't seem to pronounce the "ñ" properly.