Best Parents in the World

 Mom and Dad in Chicago on their way to see me!

This particular entry is about the world's greatest parents, which happen to be mine. They crossed the United States and the Atlantic Ocean to come and visit me for Spring Break and I couldn't be any happier, unless they had brought Tonka. Or my sister (love yoooooou Jen). I met my parents in the Madrid airport on Friday morning, and the expected greetings ensued. Big hugs, a crying mom and more hugs. After seven months apart it was so great to be back together. We went and got checked in at our hotel, which was right off the Puerta del Sol, then it was off to the Plaza Mayor to get churros con chocolate and coffee. My parents got a kick out of all the characters around Madrid, Disney characters, Spongebobs (plural), painted people, balancing people, annoying people and creative people. The majority with clickers to get your attention. Overwhelming and hilarious all at once, and something I had forgotten about (it was the most fun to see Spain with them because it was like seeing things for the first time again listening to them comment on the things that stood out to them). For lunch we went to the oldest running restaurant in the world, Botín, a favourite for Hemmingway and Fitzergerald and many other famous authors that formed such a great part of my youth (probably should start reading more again...). As hoped for, it was an incredible meal, and a cool experience to eat at the same place that so many of my favorite writers enjoyed. Geek chills. We squeezed in a visit to the Royal Palace, a beautifully designed palace, that is only used for ceremonies. After the palace, it was time for mom's favorite part of the Spanish day. Siesta. My Dad and I took a walk down Alcalá, and he loved seeing the architecture and how every building was so unique from the previous. And I loved seeing him soak it all in.

Mom and dad enjoying some churros con chocolate

Plaza Mayor

Lunch at Botín

Too many desserts to pick just one

 

 Look at all those wine glasses....

At the palace

 Dad soaking up Madrid

 Madrid's bear (it's from the crest of Madrid, and this is in Puerta del Sol)

The second day my parents realized I  wasn't going to give them much of break, good thing they are such good sports, because I dragged them all over Madrid. We started with a trip to Retiro, Madrid's most famous and most beautiful park (may it be noted that all of my opinions are expressed as facts, because they are). I love the park, for many reasons, mainly because it offers the city a refuge from itself, it's big enough to get lost in, but not as worrying as when you get lost in a real forest. The park is full of runners, rollerbladers, soccer players, picnics, vendors, people dressed up for money, puppet shows for kids and the list goes on. After the park we had lunch at a Turkish restaurant (still my favorite place so far) and then off the Reina Sofia to get cultured. By the time we finished at the museum it was time to head back before our feet fell off.

Kebab and Turkish beer time

 There's an unnatural obsession with Mickey and Minnie in Madrid

 A balancing act...and their competition

So much paint

Plaza de Cibeles

Puerta de Alcalá

 

In Retiro

 

 This fish posed for the photo

 Retiro

 Little soccer champ

 

Mom spotted the BSU painting in the Reina Sofia

Ever wonder where cuts of meat come from? This piece answers all your questions

On Sunday we began our day with the Rastro, a market that occurs every Sunday in Madrid and doesn't seem to have an end, but offers anything that you may ever need. Ever. In your whole life. While at the market, I spotted an American store and drooled in the window for a bit. Then the store owner saw me (embarrassing) and opened for me (win). I left the happiest camper in all of Madrid, with my bag of Goldfish and pack of Reese's. And I am not proud of short the amount of time was that they lasted me. I also wouldn't change that. After the market we went and saw Madrid's oldest cathedral and then Templo de Debod, ancient Egyptian ruins that were given to Spain as a thank you because they funded the protection of it. We then went hunting for dinner. And my favorite night of the trip ensued. We found a pizza joint tucked in a small street behind our hotel, with vivid paintings on the walls of 'loose' Italians and mermaids and the likes. We had a drink and ordered our pizzas. And then had a couple more drinks, the waiter was a great salesman. At this point my mom starts trying to get a photo of the chef slicing the leg of ham (but stealthily) and I told her just to go ask him if she could take his picture, since everyone in the place already knew what she was trying to do. She was much too embarrassed, so she pulled the 'I-gave-you-life-and-what-do-you-for-me-card', she looked at me and said 'If you loved me, you'd do it for me', then set the camera within my reach and continued to eat casually. My response 'Damn it mom', as I grabbed the camera and went and asked a stranger if I could take his picture for my mom. He laughed and said of course, set up the ham leg properly and stood back (he apparently thought I meant the ham leg and not him) and I had to say, 'She wants you in the picture' then he stood there fake cutting the ham and just staring at the camera, I had to tell him that he needed to smile and look like he enjoyed the task. Which he did, what a good sport, and because it was small place everyone heard me. Then the waiter gave us free shots and when we left, nudged my dad and pointed out a giant penis on the wall. And giggled a bit. We were all sore from laughing so hard by the time we got back to the hotel.

 So sad, everything I could ever want inside this closed store...

 Pouting works, got my Goldfish and Reese's

Practically a local

 Madrid's oldest cathedral

 Madrid's city seal

 Headed to Templo de Debod

 Templo de Debod

<3<3<3<3<3

 Entrance to Retiro

 Dad and his new cow

 Plaza Mayor being too damn cute

 Taverna Pompeya

 I worked so hard for this shot haha

Hotttttie

Monday was our last day in Madrid and we started out at San Gines  for delicious churros con chocolate and then went to the bull ring. It was a beautiful ring, something that has formed such a large part of the Spanish history, but sadly continues to form a part of its present too. Though there is a movement that is slowly but surely gaining ground in Spain to oust bull fighting, for animal lovers like me it can't come soon enough. However, it is worth seeing the rings as they really are a big part of the history. My parents and I enjoyed the visit and learned a lot about the bull fighting culture that is the epitome of the Spanish stereotype, though far from true, I have yet to see a bull running through street, or men wearing bedazzled tight pants carrying a cape. After our visit it was time to head back to gather our things and head off to Barcelona.

 Characters out of character (they're taking off their heads)

 Point zero in Madrid

 Mom eyeing dad's paella

 Breakfast at Tiffany's...that joke never gets old

 Sponge Bob photo bombing me

 

Statue in memory of the bull fighters

 Bull ring

 Bull fighting

Tuesday was an amazing day for so many reasons, the main one being I saw the sun. I even got a bit burnt. After months of sun deprivation it was an amazing experience We went to the market for breakfast (our hotel was on Las Ramblas), visited La Sagrada Familia and then we walked down to the Mediterranean Sea, just a normal stroll. It was my parents first time at the sea and they were really excited, until they put their feet in the water and realized that because it's not summer yet, the water felt the Oregon coast. They hopped out pretty quickly. We walked along the boardwalk and grabbed some more food at the market and then put mom down for a siesta. After her siesta we went to Park Guell and my parents marveled at the beauty of the park. I love this park, and in fact love all of Gaudi's works.

Fruit stand in Mercat de la Boqueria

 

 Fresh fruit and fresh squeezed juices for breakfast

 Mom likes candid shots...but not the dorky ones Dad and I do

La Sagrada Familia

 Plaça de Catalunya

 World's most pampered dog

 Christopher Columbus monument

 Art, art, art everywhere

 Boardwalk stroll

 No trip to Barcelona is complete without a stop at EuroDisney

 Mom and Dad's first time at the Mediterranean Sea

 Park Güell

Typical photo from any trip to Barcelona

Gaudí put so much detail into his works, check the mosaics

 

Giant lizard greeting the visitors

Wednesday we made the hike up to the old Olympic park, and the hike itself was surely the qualifier for those games. It was long. And up a hill. And really long. Did I mention the hill? At the top there are views of the whole city that are absolutely breathtaking. We spent the majority of the day walking around the parks and the stadium and enjoying the view. When it was time to leave, we headed down the opposite side and found ourselves in an area lined by fountains and statues, something I didn´t see during my last trip to Barcelona. My mom went crazy with her new camera trying to get the best shots possible, and after having seen her photos, I would say she did pretty well. We later went to the Gothic quarter of Barcelona to visit the old cathedral. Hands down my favorite style for cathedrals is Gothic, I just love everything about it. My parents loved this area of Barcelona, it was charming and a lot like any image any American would have of a European city.

 

Starting the hike...

 Quick break for some bocce
 

Enjoying the view

 1992 Olympic Stadium

 Mom and Dad taking in the views

An entrance to the old stadium

 Schooling his dad in ping-pong

Museu Nacionald'Art de Catalunya

 

So many stairs

 Family portrait (insert Jen here)

 Mom's fountain photo op streak

Fountains, fountains everywhere

 Too much cute

Enjoying some room service for lunch (I was room service)

 Gothic Quarter

Catedral de la Santa Cruz y la Santa Eulalia

 More public art...really difficult to climb on

 Casa Battlo by Gaudi

Taking a break

Thursday meant we were off once again, this time to Dublin. It was really exciting to have to chance to see a place where I have roots, a weird sentiment to explain to any European. My mom´s heritage is strongly Irish, and my dad was along for the ride (they made a quick trip over to Germany before heading home, so he got the chance to see his heritage). Our first stop in Dublin after checking in at the hotel was....a landromat. Yipee. But it was fine. I got a free pair of gloves from my new boyfriend (jokes) It was so cold and windy that my mom planed to take my dad and I to buy gloves and hats, I jokingly said ´Maybe he has some in the lost and found that he´ll give us´ and the man working gave me two very lovely gloves. One was a snow glove, one was a sparkly glove. And proceeded to insist that I put them on. After we had clean clothes and I had warm hands, we visited the Dublin castle and  took a walk along the river (all while carrying our laundry with us). It was such an odd feeling for me to switch back to an English speaking culture, outside of work I don´t speak English, and it was the first time since I left home that I was in an English speaking country. Reverse culture shock is always harder on me than culture shock. I quickly readjusted and loved talking to the people, I adore the English speaking culture and forgot how polite and open and funny native speakers tend to be. It was a treat.

First steps in Dublin

 

Stop one: Landromat (more kebabs)

Just rocking the new gloves...time to say goodbye :(

 Dublin Castle, clean laundry and a new hat

 Christ Church Cathedral

 Clever vandalism

 O'Donovan Rossa Bridge

 Mother daughter/father daughter picture time

Grattan Bridge, seahorses

Friday we took a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher, on the other side of Ireland. To any sound minded European the idea of traveling to the other side of a country (a three hour drive) and back in a day is absurd. To any Idahoan, it´s whatever. We made a few stops along the way in Limerick to see King John´s Castle and on the way back for food, a beach for photos and at an old abbey. When we arrived to the cliffs we were warned to not get blown away by the wind. Something we took very seriously. The cliffs were absolutely beautiful, a sight everyone should take the time to visit if ever in that neck of the woods. It is also quite blustery and dangerous, so common sense is encouraged. Post cliffs we had lunch (my parents raved about their food), then the beach for photos and then the abbey. By the time we got back we were exhausted, but we summoned the energy to go for fish and chips , after all it was Good Friday.

 Long day on the bus

 Quick stop in Limerick at King John's Castle

 What appears to be the most difficult golf course. Ever.

Wiiiiiiiindy

 Cliffs of Moher

 Lunch time, Irish sausage and seafood chowder (and of hot chocolate with marshmallows)

 Beach in Galway

The driver had us pose for family photos

 This was our fav, he had dad go down the hill and get 'stomped' by us because as he said "I'm sure this is how it normally is" haha

Hey cow

 

Stop at Corcomroe Abbey 

 Mom's maiden name on a headstone (cool to see our roots around Ireland)

 

 Traditional Irish homes

Good Friday fish 'n chips

Saturday we made the best decision we had made the whole trip, and went to the Guinness Factory. The factory offers a tour of the brewing process and ends with a pint. We chose to go to the "Pour your own Pint", where they teach you how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, and then you get a certificate and enjoy your perfectly poured pint. And the ones that other people poured and abandoned. Then we found Mexican food. We spent the rest of the day wandering through the streets and parks on our way back to the hotel (holy cold).

Frida and me

 Traffic jam waiting to happen

GUINNESS!

 Horse whisperer. This guy snotted on me, something I missed from Dancer

 Touring the factory

 Pouring the perfect pint, Dad and Mom tryied ;)

 

 

Guinness Graduates

 Beautiful

 Mom was obessed with leprechauns

Miss Molly Malone and a leprechaun, it doesn´t get any more Irish than this

Sunday (Happy Easter!) we went to the Easter Uprising celebration, the celebration of Irish independence. The ceremony included military, many men in kilts (yay) and politicians, including the president of Ireland. It was really cool to experience the celebration with the Irish, Independence Day in any country once ruled by another one, is an amazing experience. We followed this 'amazing experience' by another one. The National Leprechaun Museum. That's a real thing. You learn the history of these devious little green clad men, play in a room with giant furniture to feel like a leprechaun yourself, hear traditional Irish tales (it's obvious where my superstitions come from now) and just feel like a goof for the good part of an hour. After the museum we went to the Ha'penny Inn Pub for a drink. I saw a sign advertising Blue Moon (and let me tell you how after seven months in Spain, good beer is an even bigger treat) and I ordered one. The bartender asked if I wanted a pint of it, excited to have so much yum, I said yes. I got a pint of BULMERS. My mom thought it was hilarious, and that she was smarter than me. She pointed to the sign and said "I'll have one of those", she got a half of one of those. Damn accent barriers. My dad ordered a pint of Guinness, no problem there. The bartender talked with my mom about the history of her maiden name and her heritage, which was indescribable (it's my heritage too, and after having been told numerous rude people that I have no culture and no heritage because I'm a 'mutt', it was nice to see that in Ireland they are excited to hear that we share a small relation). After the pints (and a half a one), we headed back to the hotel to pack up and enjoy an Easter dinner of pizza. From a pizzeria run by Irish, themed Apache (with photos of the tribes most influential on the walls).

 Streets of Dublin

 Saint Patrick's Cathedral

 Fusiliers' Arch

 St. Stephen's Green

 One more European pigeon

 Irish break dancing

 Mom in front of a pub with the Irish spelling of her maiden name

 Lending a hand to the man with the rope; statues in memory of those lost to the Irish potato famine

 Easter Uprising Celebration

 Kilts and smiles

 National Leprechaun Museum

 Leprechaun yourself through the tunnel and into the giant's house

  

 Teeny, tiny

 It is not so easy being a leprechaun, I love my dad's face

 Whine, whine, whine

 But I made it

 Also quite difficult to get down...

 So many chances to be a leprechaun

 Pot of gold at the end

Responsible

Ha'penny Bridge

In Ha'penny Bridge Inn

Swiss cheese wedgies and some Native American Wisdom makes for a great Easter dinner

Pizza delivery man

Enjoying a bit of Irish pampering

The trip was amazing, and we saw much in such a short time, hence the lengthy entry, and the conclusion is that clearly my parents are the best.