Lauren-Semana Santa

half of april has gone whizzing by!

the Friday before semana santa we didnt have class and that day we went to eat lunch at Jano's other grandma's house so that we could get the key to the house in Asturias and so that I could meet her. She's the typical grandma who says that you don't eat enough and gives you old gossip magazines to read.

Then we went to the teleferico which I'm not sure what it's called in English, like a sky tram or whatever, to see the city from above. That was cool!! Then after that we went to the Prado and we ended up getting in free on accident because from 6-8 its free! Then my contacts started being quite bothersome so we decided not to go out to dinner. :( That night we ordered pizza at home.

Then Saturday we went to Toledo and went out with his friends on Saturday night. I have introduced Cannonball and Tourettes so far and they have really taken to both of them, except they are a lot more dramatic with tourettes, taking like 5 seconds before they flip over the card.

Sunday we watched Mia Sara a Spanish movie that was kind of weird but really cute!

Monday we went to Madrid to go shopping for dresses for the wedding with Jano's cousin Paula. I ended up buying two dresses in Zara, but I'm having second thoughts about one of them and I saw one by Penelope and Monica Cruz in a store (I don't know anything about their clothes or if they're any good or not) but I liked that dress so maybe I'll buy that one instead. Who knows!?

Then Tuesday we drove to Asturias. The typical trip that should last 5 hours that lasts 7, and we were supposed to leave at 11 and we left at 1230. me and Jano were in our own car so that was fun except that his ipod cord thing is broken and we were driving through the mountains so half the time we had nothing, opera, or conservative talk shows. Asturias is so pretty though! There are snowy mountains with green pastures and valleys, and little towns where people have cows and chickens and goats that stand on like 70 degree slopes! WOW!

Then we got to the house, which has the beach right at the end of the street on the Mar Cantabrico. The whole town is really into fishing. The house, however, is meant to be used in summer and therefore does not have any heat. so we froze our little buns off until we found a little heater that we rotated from room to room. We stayed in Jano's grandma's house with Alba, Jano's sister and 4 of her friends. Tuesday we just got there and stayed up drinking and playing cards.

Wednesday we went out with Jano's parents who were staying with Jano's dad's cousin, Juan and his family. We went to a lookout to see the ocean and we took pictures! i'll show you later! then we went to a beach (the water is really cold) and then we went to a little town which is really pretty with little colored houses and fish markets in the streets and we had sidra (apple cider with alcohol in it). They have to pour it from like 2 feet above the glass the that it mixes whatever is in it when it hits the glass! I really liked it!

This week I had
clam
oysters
something else that comes in the typical seashell that comes on the beach
crab
sting ray
large shrimp
percebes (i dont know what these are in english)
2 other kinds of fish
chipirones (i dont know what this is in english either, but its like calamari)
calamari
I don't know what else!

After lunch we tried to see the Eucalypton (a really big eucalyptus tree), but we couldn't get to it because the road was blocked off due to construction. That night we went to eat dinner at Jano's dad's cousin's house. They made fish and pizza! The mom is an English teacher!

Thursday we stayed in. Jano made wonderful pasta for lunch. We watched the first half of Viva Cuba, took a nap and then studied the rest of the afternoon until dinner. We went out to dinner and ordered croquetas, chorizo a la sidra, patatas with 3 sauces (patatas cabrales is a specialty of Asturias) and calamari. Then we took a very short walk to the ocean and went home. We drank and played cards a little bit with alba and her friends but they were all tired and went to bed early (losers).

Friday we went to Juan and Alicias for lunch. Paella with a bunch of fishes and stuff. Then Jano watched Gladiator and I took a napped (we both soaked up the heat of their house before going back to our icebox) When we got home we finished Viva Cuba and then had salad for dinner. That night we drank and played cards again.

This morning we got up at 930 to pack everything up and were on the road by 1030. Jano and I stopped in Valladolid on the way home to eat lunch with a friend he has who lives there, Mario. We at pizza with him and then were off to Madrid, arriving around 530. We took a short nap at his tia sole's house then, today is her birthday, so at 8 she had the fam and friends over. We stayed to celebrate for like an hour, mostly setting out plates of food for her, then Jano went to Toledo, and I came to emi's house because I really need to hit the books tomorrow! and wash my clothes!