I laughed so hard I think I peed a litte

Bugs. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs. That is all this dang country has is bugs. All my dreams last night involved those creepy little vampire bugs and to make it worse I awoke to Lola, the stupid never ending purring cat, purring in my face. I pushed it...okay maybe threw it...across the room and BOING back up it goes purring and winding its skinny body in my business. It was the last straw of mine, she was done for. I picked it up and chucked it outside slamming the door hard and tight behind its butt. I think this country is making me less nice, I didn't even feel a bit of sorrow. I then went back to bed on the couch but bugged out Clyde climbed between my legs and fell asleep. I was so scared to move, afraid that those vampire bugs would see me moving and jump from him to me. Jenna had bad dreams about bugs too! But she was sleep talking to Amanda about dancing tomorrow... Bad dreams, bad bugs, bad bad bad bad B A D! 


Even though we woke up 45 minutes after our alarm we still made it on the road around 10:30. We were headed to the same beach as last time...so about an hour away. In between the time we got up and went going we found a hoard of ants in the kitchen, Jenna cleaned the pool...naked, and Morgan was once again a scary monster. But we did get on the road...and we didn't get lost at all. It was super duper amazing! It was blazing even at 11:30 am and we set up camp. We then played in the water and laid in the sun. Then we were feeling really feisty and said you know what "when in Spain!" So off went our tops. We perused around topless and got a few more stares then before but it was probably because we are light haired not topless. We decided that they tend to start them off early, there were babies with no tops, children with no tops, teenagers with no tops, and grandmas with no tops. No matter what - they are in a bikini...big or small and they rock them with all the confidence in the world. America could definitely learn something from these people. Jenna and I decided to leave our camp out site to walk toward the people and town about 2 1/2 miles down the beach. We walked and everyone stared. We have tops on by the way. But they just stared, all we could come up with is that she is a true blonde and is super tan and I was seriously the only "white" person on that beach. The only red-head and the only one with freckles. I was like a freak of nature, I was too much for them to handle. Dem fiery redheads just cause problems. 

When we made it back to camp, Morgan and Manda were waiting on the boogie boards to tell us what had happened. While we were gone they both fell asleep on the towels. Morgan thought she was dreaming that we had came back and Jenna was shaking her awake. We said out loud "Jenna stop!" But when she woke up she saw that the tide had risen all the way to our camp out, the tips of the towels and their toesies were getting wet. She yelled frantically at Manda to grab the stuff and move, Manda was kind of half sleeping and moaned and groaned but then saw what was happening and helped move camp. Good thing they didn't drown, that would be kind of a sad ordeal...


We sat around topless and soaked up some more sun. Once Manda, Jenna and Morg looked not Caucasian anymore we decided we should probably head home. The beach was fun but we were all exhausted. I slept the whole way home...so I don't really know if anything happened worth blogging about....It didn't I asked. 


We got home and let the dogs out. I was standing in my room when I hear Morgan yell "Maaarrrrrrryyy!!!" I go looking for the frantic scream and see Morgan standing over the fresh clean sheets that are swarming with ants. I mean they are everywhere. Thousands of ants, and that is no exaggeration what-so-ever. There was a little ant hill in the corner and they were climbing all over the walls. We stood there stunned at the millions of ants running idiotically around the room. Jenna grabbed the water/soap mixture that sends the ugly bugs to heaven and we started murdering. We sprayed, they died, and when there was no movement we waited for a wiggly movement. It came and more ants started running. Die bugs, DIE was all we could think. There eventually was no more movement and we took a sigh of relief. A total buzz kill, my happy high from the ocean was all gone and we were all shivering from the heebie jeebies. We wiped them up and then we put vinegar all over the room, covering their tracks. 

Showering felt amazing, slightly stung from my new sunburn (Sorry Mom!) but felt amazing to clean away all the sand and grossness that was stuck to my body like honey. We started dinner (noodles and cheese with garlic and bread..again YUM) and Jenna started the lawn watering. Morgan started the laundry of the dead ants and we all calmed down. Dinner was a funny experience, hilarious jokes were cracked, and we all sat in barely anything because we were burnt and hot. Noodles were put up noses and our maturity levels might have dropped to a solid 3rd graders but it was very fun and entertaining. 


Bugs - before dinner Manda was sitting on the couch and I was picking more blood suckers out of Clyde and Jesse James hair when she screams and points. Blood suckers were now invading the couch...crawling across the brown couch and semi blending in. It was horrible. I SLEPT on that couch last night. These buggers are like a bad boyfriend - stalking me, trying to get in my bidness, and showing up when I least expect it. Wish I could dump these vampire bugs and be done with them...but I can't they are everywhere!! We decided we would skype Paul McCann and see what he has to say about this situation...maybe we can spray the dogs with soapy water and make the bugs fall off...doubt it...but I will cross my fingers anyways. 


Everything is closed on Sunday's here in Spain. We couldn't go to the "Wal-Mart" of Seville because they were closed. Because we couldn't go there we couldn't get ourselves any chocolate or icecream..but we did see that McDonald's was open. We hopped in the car...with ME driving...and headed that way. I conquered my fear of round abouts..because they are at every other corner in this dang town. I need you guys to understand the McDonald's experience we had. In Spain you don't go out in sport shirts and shorts, you semi-dress up...look decent. We all were in sport clothes...I only had a sports bra on and shorts..because of my sunburn (Sorry Mom, I know that word makes you cringe). We were looking pretty redneck for Spain standards, but we thought "Hey, it is McDonalds"...we were wrong. That was the classiest damn McDonald's in the history of McDonald's. It was packed to the brim and the cashiers also got your food. It was being mass produced...but it also was going really super fast. We all got McFlurry's and received them quickly..all while...can I say it...being stared at. I know I am very white..and I know that my stomach is red...but stop staring at me. This one little girl was in a trance...my freckles must have been swarming in her mind because she was staring full on to my body. We ate outside and it was nice. << super lame sentence. I would just like to point out all the classiness and differences of this Mickey D's. 
1.You get 9 McNugget's...instead of 10
2. They call McChicken's...McPavo's
3. You can get onion rings for one dolla
4. You can get a pizza melt in your kids meal if you desire
5. You have the option of sitting in a full blown recliner...!!!
6. There is such thing as a McRoyal and a thing called a 1955...and you can eat them with your JoJo's
7. The play place is in a circus tent thing in another building and it has epic play stuffs.
8. The service is so incredibly speedy and efficent.

It was crazy. I drove us home in one piece while Jenna made weird noises and then we all sat down and did our normal night routine - facebook, skype, laugh, cherish, love and remember. Until next time! :) Peace and love my fellow Americanos.

Can these things crawl up my butt?

Saturday. Morgan and I were up early and Morgan cleaned a little bit. She pointed out to me these gray tick looking bugs crawling down the center of our bed, and I about pooped my pants. I slept with that...our relationship went from non-existent to sleeping together and I didn't approve of this. Morgan washed the sheets but I could still see there little gray legs flying a mile a minute into my sheets. All day consisted of the pool, reading, pool, pool, and more pool. We sat in the water for hours, we read for an hour then sat in the water again for another couple of hours. We didn't take ANY pool pictures today, it was nuts. Really nuts for me because I go coo coo cachoo for my camera and those photos. Jen and Manda made us some scrambled eggs that were a little off of American scrambled eggs but still were delicious. While we were doing that I noticed some little gray fuzzies stuck to Clyde's ear hair, looking closer it was those freaky little bug tick nuggets. I was freaking out. I held Clyde while vet daughter Morg plucked and smushed them, some of them curdling Clyde's blood. Poor guy. Then it came down to plucking them off of his genitalia...Morgan held his body upright and put a hard core grip on his wittle jaw so he wouldn't bite off any appendages while I (the hater of all bugs ever) snatched the grey buggers up and crunched them under my fingers. I felt the hard coating bend and snap under my fingers sending shivers up my spine and making me want to vomit. I hate bugs that much. I got them all though and thought I deserved one of those Boy Scout Brave Badges. JJ is our new project because he has just as many minature scary lion eaters. For precaution we striped the beds and are not allowing any more cuddling with the cute puppies or stupid, stupid, stupid cat. Also I was F R E A K I N G out about those guys running through my scalp...I have had lice one too many times to know that bugs sucking the life out of you is not a good feeling and I can't sleep for days...I was determined for this not to happen, EVER. I showered and looked at my crevices and then forced Morgan to comb through my hair while she ate her Popsicle. She didn't find any...BUT I think I can feel them. Oh, that is also where the title of this particular blog comes from. I was very concerned that they can crawl into my butt, plant themselves and turn me into the steam hut for the creepy grey colored tick buddies, Not Okay... 

Mah Sunburn...Awkward

We tried to catch the 8 o'clock bus...but it never came...well...it did but it was on the :25 and so we sat and Jenna made noises that made the Spanish people around us stare even harder. At one point she was looking at the schedule and yelled "Savido!!!" but with a manly high voice and the Spanish boy standing next to us just starts laughing, hard. She was a hoot and obviously delusional. The bus was packed and I sat next to a man...well I think it was a man. He was dressed in capri pants with a girly bag around his body, a teal shirt and a fluffy hat, oh but he had a nice big hairy mustache that kind of set me straight to his gender. Male. Anyways he kept pushing his arm into mine...which...crap I didn't want to have to say this but...Is sunburned severely, just one arm Mom and really awkwardly...but it hurt. I kept moving closer to the glass and he would just press his arm to mine. He wasn't even cold but my arm was protruding heat, smoking furiously. I don't know what his deal was but he most definitely trying to touch my arm lots. 


The original plan was to go eat dinner then go see Flamenco dancing. We ate at this restaurant who had English menus and looked like chicken nuggets. Our waiter slightly resembled Mr. Pyette and was quite sly. He played around with the menus...you know what I am talking about the "I am going to act like I am giving this to you but pull away when you reach" game and joked with us, he also spoke little English. He wanted to take our drink order and Morg and I got chocolate milkshakes (known to the Americans as chocolate milk) and Jenna ordered a Coca-Cola Light and before Amanda could make any sort of move to order he just walked away. We all laughed and joked that he probably can read minds and we will all be sufficiently worried if he comes back with a Coca-Cola light for Manda...because that is what she was going to order and he must know how to read minds then. Morg and my chocolate milkshakes come and we wait for the magic to happen, and what do you know, he brings over two glasses of Coca-Cola. We all laugh hysterically and he just had no idea...or did he.... His partner in crime, the other waiter, wanted to take a picture with us. They both smiled and laughed with us and then things hit the fan. We went nuts. Jenna started it by making cross eyed faces and tempting the group of guys sitting on the other side of the window outside. They stared, they all stare. But once Jenna started the craziness it all flew out of control. We were teaching each other funny faces and Morgan was laughing so hard that tears were rolling viciously down her face as she tried to form words. We were causing a scene...luckily there were only like three people in the whole restaurant. The fun didn't stop there, Morgan and I ate our chicken nuggets and rice happily enjoying the coconut pieces that fell out of the meat. Manda and Jen both got salads except Manda's was a lot better because she got a sweet looking bowl. At the end of our meal we got an unexpected surprise. Our waiter brings over a little plate of...well..at the time we had no idea what they were. It was a caramely shot topped off with a TON of whipped cream. He took a picture as we took our free candied shots...except Morgan and mine wouldn't come out of the glass. Our waiter tried helping morgan out by tapping on the bottom making her laugh but still no shot. Jen and Manda both swooned over the deliciousness of the shot while wiping the whipped cream off of their lips. I on the other hand tried again and got the shot to go down. Caramely it was and yummy it was also. Tasted like liquid ice cream and whipped cream. The waiters laughed and brought us our check. We most definitely scored free yummy shots because we are American...and just plain ol' funny.

 In Spain they bring the credit card machine to you...so our waiter stood there looking at our licenses and swiping our cards...10 euros each...BINGO. He got to Morgan's and laughed and laughed at her picture...then he got to mine. Please note that I am a fresh 15 year old with buck teeth and it looks like I have no hair in my photo...oh he laughed at my photo...called the other waiter over and they both heartily laughed at our photos. They got a big kick out of it. The other waiter told us that we weren't supposed to smile in our licenses but we informed him Americans do it with smiles, always. Then they got to Jenna's. They joked that it wasn't her in the picture and you know what her response was... "if that isn't me then who is the thirteen year old boy in hers?" -- she was referring to my license. See picture below for the real deal. 

Me as a 13 year old boy...

The waiter was super busy and was flying around the restaurant. He was outside serving guests out there when he knocked on the window next to Jenna's face. He held up the platter and motioned that he wanted her to come waitress. It was that freaking "I can read your mind" thing again...Out of everyone he picked the one person in our group who is a real live waitress...!!! Coincidence? I think not!! 


We waited around to catch a picture with our waiter before we left..even though we had hardly a half hour to get back to our bus. We were being good girls tonight and going home early. Once we finally caught him he said something to us first in Spanish...the other waiter translated it to "Want to come party and drink with us at 1 am?" We all smiled awkwardly for a few seconds, weighing the options by glancing at each others faces, finally Jenna replied with a  "No we really have to catch the 11 bus." He frowned but took the picture with us anyways. He then said something in Spanish to me and I just laughed...that is what I have to do when I don't know what to say. His waiter friend translated (again) it into "he said tag him on facebook"...He then came back to write his name down and the other waiter followed suit. We just made two more friends....Juan and Giogi. Hahahaha. We decided we wouldn't take further action on adding them on facebook until we were safe in our home country. 

I needed icecream so we hurried two doors down to grab some. Cheap and delicious and the only thing I took from that whole icecream experience was the ice cream scooper man talking about my icecream being "tiger striped...it's dangerous...like the animal, really dangerous" I just responded with a "I think I can handle it". We had 20 minutes to get to the bus station...a solid 20 minute walk...if we were walking FAST. If we missed the 11 bus we had to wait till one am, and that was not going to happen...we would of all been scary scary monsters. We started pumping. Everyone around us probably thought we were mad. Imagine this: Four young girls, holding ice cream, power walking and chatting all at the same time. One heck of a dinner and a show I'd say. We lucked out with the green lights and booked it down the narrow streets, drowning out the honks and the "Bonita"s that were yelled at us. Side note: we seriously feel like celebs...


Just you take a guess at what happens next.


We made it! But barely. The bus was full and there was just a small line of people getting on. The wheels backed out right at eleven with us aboard. 


We got home to Clyde barking, no surprise there, and a chilled home. I'd like to add here that Jenna is so weird. I mean I am weird but she is just cooky. Jenna and Morgan were skyping MaryAnn and all you could here was Jenna howling and saying funny things...none the less my abs definitely got a work out from her crazy words. Dang hilarious that one is. Amanda and Clyde became on one length, he followed her around and when she ran, he ran...when she jumped, miraculously he jumped it was a hoot and a half. 


Another one for the books, I am beginning to think there is not going to be a day where someone doesn't make us feel special and wonderful. We are all dreading going back to the States because no one there will buy us yummy drinks for being outgoing and ridiculous...or call us pretty when we walk by...we are going to be just like everyone else once again...No fun. If it stays this good around here I may just be investing in a longer stay...Mom, I might need some more money ;) Beach tomorrow, soooo pretty much the spf 50+ is covering every crack of my body...goal number one: no more sunburns! 

I hate it when people mistake me for a celebrity.

Today will be considered one of the most memorable days on this trip. In the early morning kitty cat (I don't remember it's name) rubbed it's stupid little body all over me. It was already a billion degrees in my bedroom and I didn't need a fur ball cat rubbing up on me, so...I pushed him off the bed. This same action happened at least 7 more times, each time I yelled a little bit and sternly gazed up the cat but it didn't stop him from hopping up on the bed to purr in my face or bite my toes. He eventually got the boot, a swift kick in the behind and he was done for. Except by that point I was wide a wake damnnuggit. It was around 8:30 a.m. and I was pretty bored so I just started cleaning things. Me. Mary Kaercher started to clean things. It was a freak of nature accident, don't expect it to ever happen again...
Our kitchen was infested with little ants but instead of festering in one place they were attacking from every end of the wall. I got out my soapy water and started to kill. Bravely I took  down each and every one of those little buggers with the spray bottle, but when it came to cleaning them up with a towel I was a coward. I would like to note that I am not a bug person. No bugs at all, they all creep me out and I just dont. do. bugs. So I felt really proud when I wiped all their lifeless bodies up, applied the vinegar and continued my freak cleanings.  


My housemates woke up earlier than usual and the day began. A little breakfast and then a quick decision ended Jenna, Morgan and I in tennis shoes and sport bras running around Valencia. The jog was definitely hot, even at 11 am this sun boils your skin. I had sunscreen on because my early morning escapades had led me to applying it vigorously to pass time. Our run wasn't mapped out and we got a little lost, but with the help of the big ol' towers we found our way back home again. This afternoon was dubbed a relaxing/upload photos kind of afternoon and we did so accordingly. We laid out in the sun, swam, uploaded photos to facebook and ate. Wonderful? You betcha. It got even more dynamite when we found the small trampoline...our jumping photos just got an upgrade! 

It was then decided to go into town and check out the night life. We all got ready giggling and listening to music and sipping some bubbly wine from a plastic bottle that actually was pretty good. We all looked fabulous (obviously) and we sat around waiting for 8 o'clock to come around. Yeah so, 8 o'clock came around and we missed it, so we went for the 8:30 bus instead. Waiting at the bus stop Jen realizes she doesn't have her camera, and Manda doesn't have her party ring, necessities. We have ten minutes to spare if the bus is not a minute too early so Jenna goes a running back to the house. Mind you it is still a solid 81 degrees outside. The jeopardy music comes on and the three of us tap our toes angstily waiting for her return. Will she make it? We don't know, but I sure as heck don't want to wait for the 9 o'clock bus...Minutes pass and the angstiness is almost unbearable. Morgan narrates Jen's sprint , "She is rounding the dirt corner..." and BAM Jenna appears, slightly off from Morgan's prediction but even so she made it. It wasn't even bad that she was hot and sweaty because she just glistened. 


We conjectured the idea to walk to the restaurant instead of bike so we didn't have any obligations to attend to (If we bike, they have to be turned back in at midnight...or else...). We followed the river this time making it a lot easier to find the cathedral and our restaurant. Tonight we dined at Du Plex, this cute little cafe stashed away in a small street corner. Our waitress spoke little English but did provide us with American menus. We had some pan and vino and ordered our delectable food. We were sitting in the small upstairs part of the restaurant and all of a sudden our waitress had our food. She didn't walk downstairs it just appeared, and that is when we noticed it: the coolest food elevator ever. Brought the food right up for eating. Clever, shoulda thought of that one. We were all happy and poised until it came time for the bill and we needed to split it. Up until tonight everyone has been very good about splitting the check with four cards but these Du Plex people just didn't have it together. It took about a good 15-20 minutes to run all of our cards and get them signed. It was just a hassle. 


It was then onto the search for the bars. We backtracked using solely our memories (thank you every high school play and acting class for my memorization skills), weaving back though streets and areas to get back to the water. We felt safest next to the water and figured it was our best bet for a good time. We first came across this fun bar just sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. The bartenders were pretty attractive Spanish men and mixed us up some fruity blah blah blahs. On our next hunt we pretended we were celebrities because it definitely felt like it with everyone staring at us. It is like they have never seen four light haired girls (Canadians) in one place, or everyone over here just has a staring problem...hoping not for the later of the two. 


The rest of the night consisted of walking into places and checking out what they had to offer. We most definitely wanted to dance our pants off (not literally). And after a few tries at some not so friendly older people bars we finally found some people our age. American music flowing through the speakers with low lights and lots of people swingin' their hips. The Spanish boys swarmed us asking us questions and asking if they were cute. I thought it was hard at times to understand what they were saying in English and ended up just shrugging my shoulders and saying "no hablo espanol". Clap, clap, clap hippopotamus. Next we traveled a couple doors down where the music was hot and it was looking really inviting. We walked in and heads turned. Now I don't want to sound conceited, it was more like their Spanish heads are triggered to follow blondes. A blonde walks into a bar and (this sounds like a beginning to a lame joke...) heads turn, it is a fact. Anyways we start dancing and this one guy gets up on my grill, steps on my flippy flop and as I try to take a run for it, he takes my shoe, breaking my flippy flop. We asked for tape but the bar didn't have any so we resorted to just having one shoe. After an attempt of switching shoes and Morgan going barefoot then getting told she had to have shoes, I ended up with one regular flip-flop and one broken one, completely useless except for to stand directly on. I WOULD BREAK A FLIP FLOP. Just had to get that out of my system. Morgan had the brilliant idea of using a bobby pin, so we weaved and heaved and pressed a bobby pin in there to make it work, which it did if I walked carefully, not really suitable for the dance club scene. The bouncer who told Morgan she needed shoes smiled and thumbs us up when he saw we all had two shoes. Eight shoes total. Morgan got a photo with him, he was cool except he occasionally went for the butt touch, but then again it might just be a coincidence. 


At one point in this club we were surrounded and packed together with tons of Spanish boys. We were dancing with our arms like all Americans do as the Spanish boys danced without their arms....when Manda got run into by some guy he said sorry but in Spanish and she replied with an English "Oh that's okay". He: "You speak English?" Manda: "Yes, do you?" He: "I'm from Philadelphia" Manda: "Montana"...and the friendship began. These American boys saved us from the impassioned Spanish boys who were up in our bidnesssss. He saved Morgan from getting her rump rubbed by asking to swing dance. They swing danced away to the Spanish music and told us to just look for him and say "Novio" whenever we needed rescued. Hippopotamus. So from then on he was our "Novio" aka "Boyfriend". Later we had a conversation with him and his brother and found out that they were leaving tomorrow but had been here for four weeks, kind of like us. Hugh and Owen were our knights in sweaty armor last night. We also got very good at saving each other, we yelled SAVE ME and instantly someone was there to pull you away, beeline for the door but right before the exit swerve and get right back into the fun. Repeat. Repeat again. Hippopotamus. For the rest of the night it was dodging lustful Spanish boys, hoping on one foot, and kissing the cheeks of a birthday boy. We had danced all night long and had to catch the three am bus. We left in a rush and met one more boy from South Dakota on the way out. 

NOVIO aka Hugh

My poor brown flip-flop had had enough fun for the night, it wouldn't even stick together for the walk home. So I went with one, limping down the rickety streets of Spain with one brown flip-flop, sweat pouring down my face, and a slight droop to my right eye from tiredness. We were on the bus, Jenna fell asleep and almost knocked me out when we woke her up... and then we were home in a jiffy...well walking from the bus stop wasn't so jiffy since I was limping and it actually kind of hurt at that point...those roads are rocky not smooth...But we all brushed our teeths and went to bed making it one heck of a night to remember. I was glad it was a good one because we are scheduling in going out because it was one adventure for the books. Adios...until next time! :)

This is a no pants kind of household.

One small word would sum up today: HOT! It all began last night when Manda was laying on the tile to cool off. One o'clock in the morning and it was still 99 degrees outside and our little house only has ceiling fans to air our bodies out. Hot, Hot, Hot. Jenna: "Sooo hot I wanna touch the hiney"


This morning really was no different and so the clothes started to be shed. Last night we all slept in our skivvies and this morning Jenna went for a naked lap swim. All to keep ourselves chilled and crisp. It is that hot here. I guess I really shouldn't say "morning" because by the time we woke up and got rolling it was close to one o'clock in the afternoon...but hey, this is vacation, we are allowed to do those sorts of things...right?


As we prepared ourselves for our outing in Seville later in the day I decided that my contacts would be a nice addition to my eyeballs. Jenna (thankfully) switched contact lens cases with me because I lost the cap to one side of mine (imagine that, me losing something...) I was very careful last night putting my two contacts into the case because I brought two extras...and already used them. BUT this morning crazy thing happened, I opened up my contact lens case and guess what? Only one contact was there. I was fumagated I searched everywhere for the contact. I had to be the worst contact lens person ever to go through three contacts in six days. I found the contact shriveled smooshed to the bottom of my contact juice. I was so angry. I was now forced to wear one contact for the rest of the trip, I twisted the lid back on the case and went to tell my gals how angry and how blind I was going to be for the next fifteen days. They sympathized with me, bless their hearts. We then decided we should get our poop in a group and catch the 3 o'clock bus, so we all started to get ready. I walked into my room and there on top of my contact case was a fresh contact, moist and everything waiting patiently to enter itself into my eyeball socket. It was the weirdest thing ever. I certainly didn't put it there so somebody felt bad for me and sent me a contact from above. Thank heavens because it would have been awful having one eyed Mary running loose in Spain that's for sure!!


We made the three thirty bus and soaked in our hotty totty sweat. At the bus pickup zone the bike lady didn't speak English and was repeatedly saying when didn't belong here. We tried to say we were from America but we are living here...it was a no-no to her. Luckily a nice guy came in and he spoke both languages saving our lives as he explained to the bike lady our situation. She finally gave us our bike keys and we were on our way. 


First stop: the cathedral. We most definitely got lost a bit because Jenna couldn't find her map with all her notes inside of it. We tried to go from memory but then going became coming and to-ing from from-ing and then we were all sorts confused and resorted to asking individuals off the street. The one lady we asked was stupid. Manda clearly asked what direction the cathedral is and she pretended like she had no idea what we were saying...we were speaking SPANISH. She finally waved a hand toward a direction and flailed herself in the other direction scurrying her little feet as fast as she could so she wouldn't have to deal with the crazy American girls anymore. At this point in our journey I would like to stop and say: My face was like it was raining there was so much sweat rolling and polling down my cheeks. That hot people, that hot.

We found the cathedral, oh but guess what, it was not open. Imagine that. We had giant waters to soothe our roasting carcasses and we were on our way once again. This time we were headed toward the plaza to take more wonderful pictures. That ride was a bit chiller and easier to find. We slummed around the plaza, crawling up the stairs as the evil sun beat down on Mary's uber sunblocked back. We did get some amazing photos though, so the heat was worth it. 

BEAST!

Next stop: Gelato. We were on a mad hunt to find some ice cream and fortuitously found one near by the bus/bike terminal. It was the cutest place that had painter palettes to put the gelato in. We got 3 different flavors for 2,50 Euros. Such a bargain. There were tons of flavors, Manda and Jen went the Fruity route and Morg and I stuck to the chocolaty one. Obviously we all shared and chuckled over the creativity of these Spanish gelato creaters. Only once today were we bombarded by a street fellow, again we were from Canada but we were very poor this time and couldn't spare to buy a tissue. This man was selling tissues...maybe people sneeze a lot around here? Just isn't a plausible item to sell if you ask me...but since I'm not Canadian I cannot speak for Canadians, maybe they love tissues..is there such thing as a national paper...? 


We caught our bus and rode on home mostly chit-chatting about how wonderful the pool is going to feel. We had to stop at the grocery store nearby our home to pick up cheese, bread and wine, OH and floss for Morgo's teefs. All of that and a bag of chips, literally. I've been waiting a while to use that saying in context, great joy. It felt wonderful to strip down and jump into that pool, one of the best feelings ever! Liberating that is for sure. For dinner Manda boiled water. 


Oh and in that water she cooked divine elbow noodles with cheese and butter (the official food of Morgan McCann) and we had bread and garlic mixture again. I am stuffed to the brim. The rest of our night will more or less consist of listening to J.J. and Clyde bark at air, facebooking, relaxing, and enjoying each others personalities (NABI). Another one for the books me chika lika neato gals. Farewell until tomorrow! :)

Manda and I at the Plaza

Tom is a Slut

Doesn't this look mouth watering?!

Hola! My fellow lady friends and I had one heck of a relaxing day. We decided early on we were not going to go 100% every single day, we decided to have certain days set aside for hanging and loving life. Today was one of those days. 

All last night Clyde, the younger Dachshund, barked and barked giving us the frights that someone was breaking into our precious villa. After the 16,000 bark we decided he was barking at the twinkle in his eye because there was most definitely not something outside. We would fall asleep then BARK BARKA BARK and then Clyde would get yelled at. By 8:30 a.m. Morgan (aka Scary Monster in the Morning) got up and kabooted him out the front door. He be-lined it for the gate and then casually walked back inside. This action took place four trillion more times. I have never wanted to decapitate a dog more in my life. Clyde was safe from the wrath of Mary this time when I found out his short stubby legs weren't long enough to hop on my bed, so even though he tried shooting me those sweet innocent looks of cuddleness I didn't give in  because I knew it would end badly. I finally fell back asleep and had a super weird dream, but that is a whole other story definitely! Jenna also had a dream...more like a continuous nightmare in which we are taken and killed...pretty heart warming I'd say.

The next few hours consisted of peanut butter bread, cleaning, and the pool. We literally laid out in the sunshine for three hours (me with no sunblock) (haha JOKING I would never, 50+ promise!). We had epic sun time and not going to lie I got a TAN. I have tan lines, this is no joke, this is serious bidnesss. Oh the big news of the day was Manda got stung by a vicious animal that didn't even leave her a stinger for reassurance that the wittle bugger is D E A D. Picture below is the giant swelling-ness... 

Manda Got Stung!!

 We also took many photos to enjoy the evening with. We figured out how to set my camera to time it so we all could be in the photo! Jamon was also (durrr) a big part of our photo taking and since we were missing our Matilde to make our fifth letter we became creative....

J A M O N

Just minutes after this photo was taken we tried jumping into the pool spelling 

J A M O N...somewhat of an awesome picture. I will potentially post that one later...But the unfortunate event that happened seconds after was that Jenna smacked her fat swollen/broken finger on the edge of the pool, causing tears and pain. Oh the things we will do for an epic photo. 

We already knew what our plans were for the evening. Bread and wine. We needed to go get bread from the store in Valencia. We slipped on dresses over our swimmies and started to walk. Five minutes into it we all were sweating and it was hard to tell what water was sweat or pool water. We zig-zagged our way through the streets trying to remember the way Matilde took us. We definitely didn't go the way she took us buuuuttt we did get there. We bought 4 medium sized deliciouso bread for 1,80 Euros which equals about = $2.30 American money. 4 yummy breads for $2.30 ?!?! I know what I am eating everyday for the rest of my stay! Our walk back was a lot simpler and we even ran into a dead end that had my name written all over it. Literally. I got a photo.

Immediately after our return we jumped in the pool and then showered up. We decided that we should get semi dressed up to go no where. Manda and Jen cooked the dinner and it seriously was the best thing. Yummy warm bread (crunchy outside with super soft inside) with garlic, oil, salt and pepper, and a big ol' glass of wine. After dinner Morgan chased a salamander across the wall and then we started watching Pretty Little Liars. We then cooked brownies. The Spanish desserts are not as luscious as America's are...so us Americans added two giant chocolate bars to spice the fabulous brownies up. The end of our evening was painting our toenails multiple colors, eating the iceee cream!, watching the rest of Pretty Little Liars...and skyping everyone we needed to :) It was wonderful. 

We love these hang out days more than anything. Spain is wonderful, but spending it with these three girls is more spectacular than I could ever imagine. God bless and Goooooodnight! <3

We will drink and cheese our way through Spain...

Today ladies and gentlemen is Morgan McCann's 19th birthday, therefore it means the fabulouso four needed to have some fun. But  before I break into those beautiful details I would just like to say that Spain outlets are deadly. Both Manda and I were electrocuted by trying to plug ourselves into their electricity system. This stuff is D A N G E R O U S O!


Now onto the good stuff.  We woke up this morning to Pia's voice pip talking her children to get up and moving which motivated Morg and I enough to get up and adam. The morning consisted of us running around and figuring stuff out while the McCann's we are staying with traveled away. Manda and Jenna had to drive Steve and the kids to the bus stop where they were going to take off for their biking mission trip (the whole reason we are here). While they were at the bus stop Morg and I took the opportunity to jump in the pool, and were later joined with Manda and Jenna who only took TWO wrong turns the whole way back! Which is pretty good considering it was their first time on their own in Spain and no streets are labeled ANYWHERE. Every seventh turn had a sign, but that is it... The majority of the afternoon was just lounging and trying to teach Morgan how to back ward dives. After a zillion tries she still never got it. She would be soo close to doing it then freak out and scream and jump into the pool, this was acceptable because it is her birthday. It was then decided that we should probably go to the grocery store and get some yum yums for our stay.


Manda drove us into town where we needed to buy groceries. Manda did a wonderful time, whipping around the million round-a-bouts that exist over here and ignoring the stupid drivers that surrounded us, we only had one mis-hap in which we were going down a one way the wrong way and were potentially getting mean looks from the other drivers...and then continued to drive with our flashers on for the next couple of minutes. Eventually we got parked and realized we had to pay for a shopping cart! Only 50 cents, but still...ripping money off of us. Oh well!! Our shopping experience was kind of fun, we first shopped for some yummy wines and drinks. Their drinks were definitely pretty cheap compared to American yum yums, so we got lots of wine for our dinners to come! We then ventured to the fresh aisles that were full of fruit, cheese, fish and tons of bread. It was easy to  pick out the fruit and bread but when it came to the cheese and meat it was kind of scary. We got our jamon (ham) pretty easily, but turkey was another story. We decided it was best to ask what kind of meat was turkey, just to be safe. I (the one who can't speak a spec of Spanish) went up to the help with my International Travel Book (a book with tons of pictures to explain what I need) trying to explain a turkey. She spoke no English and so it was kind of confusing...at one point I was saying no but acting like a chicken, bawking and such as needed. Amanda finally came over and understood that she was saying the meat I was holding was indeed a big bird, aka a turkey. The rest of our food shopping experience was pretty norm, trying to decide which food is best and what exactly it is (not going to lie the majority of the food we bought was cheese, bread, and wine....) (oh, and we bought wine...wine...juices...soda and lots of drinks..) (drinking and cheesing our way through Spain that is FOR SURE). It was all pretty easy until we tried to check out. First they charge you for plastic bags (so we didn't take any), second we had to tell the non English speaking woman we need to separate the bill into four, and also we forgot to weight our fruit! So Morgan and Jenna ran to the fruit aisle and weighed the fruit, while Manda and I stared at the people with real big eyes smiling and grinning my pearly whites at their Spanish faces. Jenna and Morgan did get yelled out for racing in the grocery store yelling "No Espanol!!" She was a hazard, also her card declined (which is real weird) but it all got covered and good to go! Once we returned our precious little cart we got back our fiddy cents and then our drive back was fulfilled with Oreos and laughter. 


We got back and ate chips and cheese and some bread to tide us over before our din din, hopped in the shower and started to get ready. We hopped the 8:00 bus and drove our pretty little behinds into Seville. When we unloaded from the bus we had to walk to the restaurant only getting a few hoo-hahas from boys and many googly eyes from men. Ew. We ate dinner at this beautiful restaurant where we ate on the roof and enjoyed the view of the river and the festivities. Our waiter was super attractive and was very kind knowing we spoke "poco espanol".  The other waiter near by once said to us "four men for four beautiful ladies?" We had chicken salads (mainly because that is the only thing we knew on the menu), and a big ol' liter of Sangria. The Sangria was EXTREMELY strong and we all cringed while gulping it down (the oranges inside were delicious though). "Don't try to race me" - Jenna. We laughed, laughed, and laughed at multiples things, and took picture with the yummy waiter. We wobbled our way down the street fair enjoying the massive amounts of people. We picked up some mojitios (2 for $5) and giggled our way again down the street. On our second round of mojitios we ran into Billy. Billy is this nice Spanish guy who is now convinced we are from Edmonton, Canada and our names are Juanita (Jenna), Mary (Manda), Ashley (Me), Charlotte (Morgan). He made each of us kiss him on the cheeks twice as he just smiled at us and chatted away in some language that was somewhat of English and a tip of Spanish. We eventually had to sneak away from old, sketchy Billy and grab our ice cream. We walked back to the bus station at 10:30 because the last bus to Valencina is at 10:50 and if we miss that one we either have to catch a cab or wait till the 7 am bus (on weekends the buses run till 3 am). We walked back having a filly of a time, passing the on goers with some lovely "Holas" and ignoring some sketchy looking individuals. 


At the bus station we met some really lovely, lovely people. One guy (with a weird Spanish name) and a girl who is planning on being a photographer. We also met an old man but he really just wanted to take pictures with us and send us kisses. The two Spanish kids spoke "poco English" and answered a lot of our questions. It was fun to sort of interact with them and to ask them fun questions. We all rode the same bus, and they sort of made fun of us for our obsessive picture taking also at my half etempt to speak Spanish which really ended up to me speaking English super slow and exaggerated with a accent (which isn't considered Spanish...who woulda known?!). 


We potentially almost missed our bus stop because we were so intertwined in our conversation but made it just in time. On our walk back home we were hyper and active but mistakenly hooted and hollered at a little white car that continued to turn around and start driving back. We all started running and hid behind a garbage (Morg, Jen and Manda) and I (the smart one) hid behind a car. The guys saw the other girls and we quickly took off the other direction. They turned around yelling at us and we walked clearly ignoring them. Jenna was all set with her pepper spray, it was armed and ready for any freaky man trying to get up on our goodies. They finally got bored of us and sped off, leaving no trail behind them. We snuck up to our household and immediately jumped in the pool. We took one heck of a liberating swim. 

We are now sitting blogging and skyping our loved ones. We are winding down but we know for sure that we are not going to sleep for another solid three hours...mostly because it is one am and it is 85 degrees outside. It was an amazingly fun day and we know we are about to have 20 more, except next time around we won't be hooting and hollering once we get off the bus and we will be kissing that cute waiter on the cheek!!!


P.S. I don't know if there is such thing on a blog (you know a "p.s.") but I just wanted to add a tidbit of information. Since it was Morgan's birthday today I did allow her to open her present (which almost made us miss our flight), so I decided I should tell all my anxious readers what the real dangerous present is...are you ready? Victoria Secret Yoga Pants. Ones without any sort of bling, just cotton. Now that my fellow Americans is a REAL hazard to society. Every ginge should be stopped and searched if caught with cotton spandex pants, you could be vicious in/out/or around those pants! 


Also I have a story for you, one that I forgot to mention before. When we were at the ticket counter in Brussels, Belgium getting our boarding tickets the lady asked for our passports. She read all our names and then continued to call them back as she handed back our passports. When she handed mine back she pronounced my name as "Mrs. Ka chuuuchhaosdhflskh (pretend you say "Mrs. Kaer...and then hawk four loogies in a row)...that is exactly what it sounded like. A bunch of nonsense, and I think for the first time I really heard my name pronounced. It was amazing, and also made for a good story. Would be better if I could tell you in person, so next time you see me ask me to repeat the Brussel Airport lady in pronouncing my wannahawkaloogie last name.


Be Bear Aware of those Man's Pants :) God bless and goooodnight! :) <3

Pedestrians do not get the right away

The Plaza!

Monday started off with a neat fun game: let's find Mary's passport. The last place I recalled having my passport was at the ticket counter in the Brussels Airport. I handed it to the lady and then didn't remember what I had done with it after that. Everyone was on a mad search to find it, looking in every pocket of every bag. I was interrogated and asked every memory of my passport, but still the counter was the last time I could remember rendezvousing with the little blue back. It was no where to be found in the bags so we resorted to the fact that it was probably left in the Brussels airport. Pia hopped on her skype that is hooked up to call anywhere for a low charge. She called and called and called and was redirected to another number. As I was near tears thinking I wasn't ever going to go back to America we reached the lost & found. The funny man joked with Pia and eased the tension, but also informed us that their were no passports turned in from Saturday, since nobody works here on Saturday. Frustrated, somebody asked if I had checked under the beds. We went chugging back into Matilde's room to start looking again. I heaved my big bag up onto the bed and started digging....and what do you know? Poof! My little blue back American passport had wiggled its way into a Victoria Secret bag. Weird how my stuff disappears like that, I am beginning to think my passport didn't want to come on this trip.


After the passport fiasco we were determined to catch the bus leaving in five minutes. Today was the day Matilde and Pia were bound to show us Seville and the real way to navigate ourselves around. We sat waiting for the bus when the heat set in. It crept its way into every pore of our bodies making sweat stream exceedingly fast.  The bus came and off we went taking to the bus depot, where we hopped off and got the directions to how the bus system works. We had to give our passport number and our name in order to get a key to get the bike. Unfortunately the guy told us that in order for us four to rent while they are gone, Pia has to sign our sheets for every time we are going bike riding. He handed over 80+ papers and off we went.


We rode bikes in and out of the beautiful rugged streets. Every wall, person and building was beautiful with enough history to fill my head. We stopped occasionally and they showed us the most important places to visit. We were almost trampled many times by the speedy little cars that whipped down the very narrow streets. There were some points in which I wasn't sure whether us, the parked car, and the fast moving vehicle  were going to fit down the street. Thrilling and exciting on our bike riding adventure. We stopped at the plaza to play in the water fountain and Manda took a little spill. The water fountain was super slippery and she just wasn't ready for the intensity of the gunkness and slipped a little bit. Also her height issue made it difficult to hop up on the very tall ledge we were planning on standing. We finally all got up shining high in the sun while Pia snapped photos of our beautiful faces. We then asked this guy to hop up with us, and it ends up he spoke English and he was also from Texas. So we snapped a photo with him and were back on our way. We then stopped to get a bite to eat. The waiter told us that he was the only one working so we must write down our own orders. We ordered some yummy food and some milkyshakes (that turned out to be just chocolate milk)...and we back on our way. The rest of the day was made up of biking and looking and most definitely SWEATING. It was incredibly hot, if you even got a wisp of water you were smiling like crazy!! I mean real hard sweating, it was a braid and go kind of day! The biggest moment was when Matilde slipped on her bike and took a huge tumble through the wispy water and then Morgan's bike started making funny noises. We caught the six thirty bus home and immediately hopped in the pool. It was the most refreshing thing I had experienced in a long time. Pure joy from chlorinated water that was for sure. 


We ate, we learned the chores, we facebooked, and we skyped. We now sit patiently while our movie loads, making fun of Vincent and his new lady friend Pipa...It was an extremely fun day and it makes me excited for the days to come. Tomorrow we drop the McCann Family off for their retreat and then we take on Spain 100% alone with one kind of Spanish speaker Manda, one funny mouthed Jenna, one energetic skinny blonde Morgan and one I loose everything Mary. These next days are about to get C R A Z Y Y Y Y Y ! Let's see what can be accomplished until the next blog. Adios! :)

Jamon

One small adventure after another. After I blogged yesterday we all headed to bed, except when Manda and Jen went to their bed they found an unexpected surprise. "The ants go marching one by one, hoorah hoorah" They pulled back the sheet and found a massive amount of fun little rojo ants nesting in the bed. From the other room I heard a polite voice looking for Pia and Steve to help solve the insect problem. They hopped right on it. You kill them (so sad) with water and dish soap, and then spray their lifeless little bodies with vinegar to clear their tracks, because ants follow their scent...Then you sweep them up and let the party begin. Although it appeared they were all dead as doornails, when the sheets were pulled back the little buggers were downing long island ice-teas and jitterbuggin to the disco ball. Jen and Manda were just too tired to shake their rumps with the little fellas so took rest on the super comfy couch, where Clyde and JJ (the dachshunds we are watching) took slumbering also. (This side note is for my MOM: Clyde cuddles like Rusty does, and hogs the bed...must run in the dachshund family gene pool!!)


Today was super relaxing. The McCann's let us sleep in until 12:30 pm and I woke up sweating from the heat but really well slept and ready to rock. After a few hard shakes and a wet willy Morgan (aka as the scary monster...in the morning) finally decided to wake up. We packed up two cars and headed to the beach an hour away. Manda and Jenna man handled one car, while Morg and I drove with Steve. Jenna is the only one with her international drivers license but Manda drove this time  because she is better aquainted with a stick shift. I was informed by Steve that most cars over here are stick shifts and diesel (my bugget would have fit riiiight in!). The drive was warm and pretty quick, there was tons to look at on the way out there. We walked down a hot sandy path all while staring into a bliss of blue ocean. First thing we did was run into the water, half expecting Flathead lake cold but were delighted when we dipped into 80 degree luscious warm and salty water. My last experience with the ocean is me falling head first into it, this time around I was pleased to dunk my head in the water and feel the super salty water run through my hair and face. The day consisted of this activity and also laying out on our towels soaking up the intense Spain sun. Now mom, I wore sunscreen and lots of it and made out with only a little sunscreen on my butt and back. Just a small little sunburn! It is amazing! 


Now blondes are a rarity in Spain so every Spanish man, young and old, stared and stared and stared and stared. Almost to the point where they would be feet past us but their heads would still be cocked back, mouths open, and eyes so wide they may or may not be bulging. I would also like to point out that Jenna is INCREDIBLY dark already....dark as my freckles, and her hair is so blonde it is almost white so the contrast is super duper noticeable. At one point we were all swimming in the shallow end of the ocean (Jen, Manda, Matilde, Morg and me) and a very white man began to walk by us. Morgan said "Mary I think that man might be whiter than you!!" So creepily, I swam to shore just as he and his friends were in line with us and stood right next to him pretending to pick up shells. I bent down to pick up a shell and realized I was about to pick up a giant piece of dog poop, I started laughing and ran back into the ocean bay watch style. I was later informed it was just a super ugly rock not poop, but at the time I was freaking out. Oh and also that man was most definitely darker than me...


Now for the explanation of the post title and the picture. If you look closely to our beautiful picture you will see that we are definitely spelling the word "Jamon"... Spaniards are O B S E S S E D with ham. There are full pig legs hanging in their own section in the grocery store. And helicopters fly by advertising the best kind of hams....It is ridiculous. So we decided since they are obsessed with it, we would be too just so we fit in perfectly. Thus causing us to take a picture spelling our favorite word Jamon...plus it is super fun to say...try it. Jamonnnn! 


Jenna wanted me to point out all the things we were doing that were super American. One: we were yelling at people in English. Two: we were playing volleyball and football on the beach. Typical Americans. Three: We stared at a lady who was yelling at us in Spanish and most likely didn't do what she wanted us to do. Four: Talking loudly about the lady who was walking around with her ta-tas loose and with all the confidence in the world. None the less we were most definitely spotted as tourist Americans. 


We left the beach with sand in every crevice of our bodies and with significant color painted on our skin. We drove back toward Seville but stopped in the small country town of Rocio, where the streets are dirt because of the oxen and carts that get pulled through it on the festival days. Everything in the town is beautiful and fun to look at. We ate at this cute little place that had super friendly servers. Pia made the waiter guess which ones of us were American (and get the English menus) and which ones of us were Spanish (to get Spanish menus). He was all correct except for he gave Amanda a Spanish menu and Steve an American menu. Manda was flattered and Steve wasn't. We told Steve to just order us whatever and Pia ordered us wine. I had a little wine and it was pretty wonderful. I couldn't really tell you what we ate because I told them not to tell me because I might chicken out if I knew I was eating shark butt or something. The only thing I knew we ate for sure was yummy salad, delicious bread, and spinach and garbanzo beans. I loved everything I ate and got over my fear of eating over seas. We went inside the restaurant and saw a man slicing the HAM. Thin, thin slices and I took a picture with Jen and the ham. Their skin color matched...it was hilarious, making the jamon joke even funnier. Later we got Magnum icecream (the icecream from the commercial of the girl running through traffic to get the icecream) and walked through the town. We saw a beautiful cathedral  and lots of people riding horses. We drove back asking Steve a million questions about Seville since we only have till Tuesday afternoon until we are clearly, utterly and scarily on our own. I sit blogging, as we all catch up and pick out what movie to watch. Amanda facetimes her brother and he informs us that it is 4:30 in the afternoon in the States and it is 12:30 am here. But it is now my turn to hop in the shower and wash away the remains of sand that is imbedding itself into my skin. 


Another beautiful day in Spain, and you know what...I didn't get stopped by any security, nobody flailed their arms, and everyone is still intact. Win. Until next time...God bless and Goodnight :)

What is it, bring your child to Spain day?

Flying over the Ocean :)

As I sat down to write this blog entry today I got utterly confused and had to ask Manda what day I needed to pick up on. We have been flying/sitting in an airport for 24 hours straight and the nights turned into day and we weren't quite to sure when we were supposed to sleep. We left Denver (safely and on time) and flew into Philadelphia. Philadelphia's airport was extremely hot and we were dedicated to following the signs to get where we needed to be. As we sped for our gate, with Morg and Jen leading the way a man semi-lunged toward Morgan making wild animal noises. Jenna said she was thinking "Where is my pepper spray? Where is it? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Fail." Thankfully the man just was making crazy noises and wasn't actually a huge threat or anything and we found out that Jen's pepper spray was in a zip block bag in the bottom of her bag...really handy Jen, real handy. Feel so much safer with it locked up in there ;)

We had to get our tickets stamped at the counter in order to enter our international flight. So one by one we go through the line and got our passports examined. I was last to be examined. The round bellied man with round glasses and a round face was in charge of stamping my ticket. He glanced down at my 14 year old self framed in time (with my big ol' buck teeth and scraggly red hair) and stared back at my self today. He stamped my ticket and then stared a little longer at my passport. Beads of sweat started to form at my head, what could possibly go wrong now? The round man licked his teeth and let out a sigh of...well...disgust I guess. "Where you traveling to ma'am?"..."Spain, Mr. Sir"..."Hmmm.." Those forms of sweat turned into running waterfalls, most likely from the intense heat radiating from the walls in Philly, but also from my deep down fear of having one more possibility of not making it to Spain. "You know ma'am if you were traveling to Ambsterdam I wouldn't be able to let you on this plane."...Insert here a minor panic attack streaming from my forehead wrinkles. "Why?"..."Because Ambsterdam along with tons of other places will not let in a traveler that does not have a Visa passport valid through three months after their arrival."...."But I can like go still right?".."You may but seriously, next time check those things before you try to leave the country." International travel =2....Mary= 0

We sat in the Philly airport as our plane was delayed because the cleaning crew was taking their sweeet sweet time. We were chatting and facebooking and having a jolly good time until one of us (I don't recall which brilliant one of us it was) asked..."Sooo how do we get our tickets once we are in Brussels?" We then realized we were about to board an international flight and lose all contact with the lovely Americans we love but we had no idea where or how we were supposed to get our boarding passes to Seville from Brussels, Belgium. Morgan called MaryAnn, we figured heck if MaryAnn doesn't know, nobody will know. She tell us to go to information and tell them our issues, psh why didn't we think about this?

We load up into the plane and are surrounded by what it felt like 14 different languages. Every instruction was repeated again in French. But the people surrounding us talked to fast I wasn't sure whether it was French, Spanish...even English for goodness sake! The flight went well, we were served a precious little dinner consisting of chicken and mash potatoes or pasta and a brownie. Yummmmm. Then Jen and Manda took a dramamine and conked out. Morgan and I tossed and turned with our matchy pink pillows trying to become comfortable. At one point my seatbelt was completely loose but still buckled, but I was turned on my side laying my head on the seat. The comfiest position I had laid in yet,  but still I only slept through part of a movie and then continued to toss and turn. This flight was semi cruicial for our transition into the 8 hour jump. We were going to call the sleep on the plane our night time sleep. We used the phrase "like we were up all night partying" to compare our tiredness to something other than just being awake with deathly low amounts of snoozing.

Brussels was an experience. We were "Au Revoir"ed and "Chao"ed as we left the plane and then continued our journey by following English signs held by French individuals. We wandered and looked at boards, we knew our gate was A but we had no idea the gate number. We also thought we had to re-check our bags. We sat and watched as loads of bags cruised us by, taunting us with their boxy figures and similar colors. Our bags never scurried across the conveyer belt and so Jen and Manda took charge to go find out the real story...Turns out our bags got a first class trip past the re-checking and into the plane to Seville. Boooyah! That then left us with our last dilema...boarding passes. We were told we needed to go through customs/security again. Obviously I began to mentally sigh because I knew they would find some way to get me and hold us back, luckily this time we had an hour and a half till our flight...not two minutes. We all go cruising through the security, taking our shoes off and laying our liquids out for them to examine. I casually walk through the beeper thing-a-mo-bob and then politely asked if the backpack in his hand was mine. OF COURSE it was mine, I had to be stopped by security for this to be a real experience. This time I wasn't fondled or touched, I actually got to open my bag and pull things out, and this time I was stopped because it was my fault...I left American water in my water bottle. Sin. I was then asked if I would empty it and then re enter throughout the beep bopper thing. I went through loud and clear this time, sending us on our way once again.

We got our boarding passes at the information desk and she directed through the glass wall. In the room we were in there were glass walls. You could clearly see the exit..but the entrance looked about every other square. That Windex stuff really does work, looks see through. We look like dumb tourist Americans standing droopy eyed and lost while happy swift Europeans flee behind the great wall of glass. Failing the arms got us no where so we decided to walk next to the edge, and guess what? Walah! We found the entrance and then made our way to A43 to the last leg of our journey.

The ride to Seville was controlled by Spanish speaking workers and I slept like a baby. Only weird thing (because there most definitely has to be a weird thing to happen to us) is the girl who was seated next to Manda and I on the plane had a HUGE staring issue. She sat down and stared, we talked she stared, we slept I am sure she stared, I looked out the window, she stared. You get the idea. She was super creepy staring at us and watching our every move but never actually saying anything. I figured she as just creepy or something but Manda came to a logical conclusion that she probably didn't speak English and was trying to figure out what we were saying...makes sense. I guess...Also, our bags made it safely and thus confirmed a super successful 24 hour flight. The name sake of this entry is because there was at least 15 children on our plane ride from Brussels to Seville. The most kids any of us have seen on a plane ride, we are talking itty bitty babies and hotty totty toddlers. It was nuts.

Steve and Pia (the people we are house sitting for) have a beautiful home. Matilde and Vincent are wonderful and they showed us a wonderful first day. We swam and tanned (I sat in the shade and coated on my sunscreen) and also took our first journey into Seville to do some grocery shopping wiht Matilde and Pia. We didn't feel like we stuck out too bad, but people definitely did a double take. There aren't too many light skinned or blondes around these parts. Steve cooked us a delicious meal called Paella. And now we sit in a cool living room watching a movie and soaking up the day ended.

Tomorrow they are showing us the way to the ocean (about a hour away) because we were informed the Spainards don't do anything on Sundays. Nothing at all. I think I am going to like it here. We learned today that I most definitely cannot speak Spanish, that funny things come out of Jenna's mouth at all points of the day, and that being in good company is the best feeling in the world. Until the next crazy adventure...peace&love.