Back from vacation!

After two weeks of sleeping in, daily siestas, delicious food, and virtually no schedule to think of, I quite understand why Spaniards become so grumpy on September 1. Vacations are over and it's back to work after quite a long time away from reality. I start my new job tomorrow, and I spent my last day of "vacation" getting Madrid Metro Mod back up and running as well as listing all of the little confections I made while away from Madrid.

Vacation was amazing! We spent the first week in Olombrada, Segovia (Spain), the town where my boyfriend's mother grew up. I can't imagine growing up in the house that she grew up in, mainly because the hallways have a lot in common with the staircases at Monticello (that is, to say, they are very, very narrow) and there is no heat in the house. It was in the 90s during the day, but we still slept with blankets at night. I also met the boyfriend's Aunt Reme, who is a nun in Navarra. She was really nice, did a lot of dishes, and taught me three new card games. We played cards... a lot.

The first night of vacation was spent dancing to a street band in Cantalejo, a neighboring town that had its yearly festivals. We ate churros y chocolate (think funnel cake meets really thick hot chocolate and they had a trashy love affair in your belly) and danced until super tarde... or 1am, when I was about to fall over.

Churros y chocolate from a street vendor. Yum!

The best son in the world, taking his mom for a stroll around the dance floor.

The boyfriend's brother and mom, dancing!

The plaza filled up quite a bit when Paquito el Chocolatero (think Spanish YMCA) started playing!

The next morning, to do penance for our sins - and mainly to have a drink at the wonderful café next to the church - we attended mass at El Santuario de la Virgen del Henar. Legend has it that the Virgin appeared there to some shepherds and made the water begin running in the fountain that had dried up. It still runs to this day, and I love going to mass here every time we go to Olombrada.

The ceiling of the church, like the rest of it, is absolutely gorgeous.

We went swimming at the local pool, we went shopping in Cuéllar, and on the way home, we ran into a herd of sheep! With a shepherd! And I took a picture with them, because I thought they were incredibly awesome.

While in Olombrada, I also made my first tortilla española, or Spanish omelet. The trick is to use about a gallon and a half of olive oil to fry the potatoes at a low heat, then remove the potatoes, mix them with the beaten eggs, and then put it all back in the skillet with some oil. It was lots of fun, and I didn't drop the tortilla when I flipped it!

On our last day in Olombrada, Jorge took me to Peñafiel, a town that has a medieval castle that dates from the 10th century. It was amazingly horrific, especially the open areas of the castle where the guide reminded you several times to hold onto your small children because they can fall through the cracks. If you get too freaked out, you can go have a drink in the Museo Provicinal del Vino, or the province's wine museum. It was pretty cool to learn so much about how wine is made! I promptly forgot most of it over a glass of tinto.

The castle sits on top of a terribly high hill.

Although I loved being in Olombrada, the best cure for "end of vacation blues" is to promptly go on another vacation, which we did. We packed up five adults, a bird, a dog and luggage for a week (please, read that again... I'll wait) into a Honda CRV - which, might I add, is considered a small SUV in the United States - and headed to Calpe, Valencia.

Beaches on the Mediterranean are nothing like the Carolina coasts where I grew up vacationing. The beaches tend to be very small, overcrowded with umbrellas and people, and there are very few waves. If there are waves, it's because there is a storm, and the red flag goes up and the lifeguard (yes, there was a real, live lifeguard) tells you to get out of the water, and you promptly get soaked by a downpour. This happened several times, but the beach was gorgeous.

Jorge and his family in Benidorm, another beach close to Calpe.

Calpe on the last night of vacation!

In Calpe, we visited some super important caves where cavemen and their dogs lived over 50,000 years ago! We also saw the Fonts del Algar, a natural spring with waterfalls that you can swim in... or, perhaps, kill yourself, as I saw lots of people fall on their culetes while attempting to traverse the rocks.

The diving area of Fonts del Algar.

The original cave entrance in Cueva de las Calaveras. Can you imagine having to climb down that barefoot?!

I also had a birthday while in Calpe! As a present, I threw caution to the wind and went for a 20€ haircut in a salon with a bald barber and a lesbian stylist. It turned out to be one of the best haircuts I've ever had!

After two long weeks, a birthday, missing my family, and surviving a double ear infection and gastroenteritis, I hopped back in the Honda CRV with the other four adults, one bird, one dog, luggage, and souvenirs, and traveled back to Madrid. Tomorrow, back to work, but I can't wait for next year's vacation... possibly in the USA!! :)

Oh, and yes I did do some light hooking on vacation. Allow me to toot my own horn and say that I think I made some cute things, as the first pair of ankle boots that I listed on Etsy today sold within the hour! Yipee! :)