Meet the Parents.

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Hello everybody!



Well, since I last spoke to you from the terminal of the Seville airport my parents and I have traveled southern Spain and have now made our way to Milan, Italy to visit Chiara and her family!

First, I have to say how nice it was to finally see my parents after ten months and really now that they are here it sort of feels like nothing has changed, like it’s only been a few days since we last saw each other, not months. So far it’s been an interesting trip traveling around with them. Just to remind you, I haven’t really traveled with anybody all year except for the little trips I did with my friend Ryan, so sometimes it’s a little odd having others around.



Mom and Iris retrieved my Dad who made it to Frankfurt safely and they all met with Jana and Andreas in the airport to say hello before the two of them set off for Seville where I picked them up. Towards the beginning of the semester I was spending a lot of time in Seville, but I haven’t been there in over a month so it was nice to be back in the city, but it was suuuuuper hot. We only spent a night there before heading back to Cádiz which was definitely a new experience for them! I think they both really liked it with its narrow streets and tall buildings; however I could tell Dad caught on quickly to my frustrations walking around there. Streets crowded with cars and people who really aren't paying much attention to anything around them, or oblivious as my Dad said, equals frustration for Rex, although we were only in Cádiz for a few days so it wasn't too bad.



I walked them all around Cádiz; to the university, beaches, towers, castles and my favorite hangout places, namely La Clandestina. I don’t know if I've ever really talked about La Clandestina. It’s a café sort of hidden in the city center (it’s not hard to hide a store in the streets of Cádiz) run by two sisters, Lola and María. I started going there last October, but I don’t usually take my computer, I just go there to read and drink coffee and eat the most delicious carrot cake ever created. Mom and Dad agreed. They also have little presentations a few times a month with authors or artists or even musicians. Now, I don’t really consider myself a “literary mind” and in the States I would probably never make a point to go to a book presentation but I really looked forward to these. I think it was just something different to go listen to in Spanish and it was a reason to get out of the house in the evenings. María and Lola have always been really nice to me; they talk to me and help me with my Spanish when I need it.



Finally, Mom and Dad finally got to meet my Spanish family! I have to admit I was a little nervous for everyone to meet. Pepa, Selu and Alba don’t speak English, Mom and Dad speak no Spanish and Carly was gone and wouldn't be there to help mediate and translate with me; really awkward silence was what I was most worried about. Thankfully, our three new girls from Houston, Kimberly, Brooklyn, and Danielle were in the house when my parents got there and that broke the silence quite a bit and everything went fairly smoothly! The only people left for them to meet were Carlos, Lenka, and Javi from the barn! I had a lesson with Carlos on Monday, but we went back Tuesday for a goodbye lunch just before we left for Sotogrande and Gibraltar. I think that was actually my parents’ favorite part of our Cádiz trip. They really loved Carlos, Lenka and Javi, but what’s not to like?! They are all nice and funny and my parents though it seemed like they always have a good time when they are together. A fun fact about Javi is that he was recently on Spanish version of “The Amazing Race” called “Pekin Express.” He was on the team “Desconocidos” or “The Unknowns” meaning him and another guy were paired up randomly, and they actually came in 2^nd! It aired first semester but he must have actually done the show before I got to Spain. When I first went to Bahía Verde he was in the car when Carlos came to pick me up. He was talking about how he was on a show like The Amazing Race and how he came in 2^nd, and he even said it all in English, but I clearly wasn't understanding because I didn't realize he was on actual network TV until a friend saw his picture on my Facebook and asked if he was the guy from the show. All this time I was friends with a Spanish TV star and I had no idea! 😊



I had so much fun with all of them this year and I think my riding has improved leaps and bounds since September. We had a long lunch and although Carlos and the gang all speak pretty good English, I still had some translating to do. Translating is really sort of tiring and I never had to do it that much before. I felt like the more I had to do it the worse I got! Leaving Cádiz I had far less translating to do; all I really had to do was talk to receptionists and waiters.



We drove from Cádiz to Sotogrande on the Mediterranean coast where the golf course Valderrama is located. We got there early enough on Tuesday that Dad got a chance to play another golf course, Almenara; lucky guy got two days of Spanish golf! Wednesday he took off so that we could tour Gibraltar which is only about thirty minutes south of Sotogrande. It was a really gorgeous day, sometimes it’s sort of hazy and it’s hard to get a good view of the strait and Africa, but it was really clear and not too windy. Shockingly, Gibraltar is a place my Dad actually doesn't know too much about. He would have known more if he would have read the book I got him about Gibraltar, but that is beside the point. 😊 The point is I think he really enjoyed it more because he got to learn about a place he had never been, plus it’s the closest he will ever get to Africa.



Now, the story I am about to tell you, you will all hear from my parents as soon as you see them, so really I have two choices: Not tell you so it’s more interesting when they do, or tell you anyways and you just get to hear it twice. Well, on the off chance that some of you may not get to hear it from them in person I’ll just give a short version. Basically, I decided I wanted to see St. Michael’s Cave which is a twenty minute steep hike down the Rock of Gibraltar, meaning to get back to the sky tram it would be a steep hike up the Rock. Dad was adamant that we not hike back up but that we just continue down into the unknown. I think my Dad’s reasoning was three-fold: one, avoid a steep hike upwards, two he hates backtracking in any form, three, he was determined to keep his fear of heights and his feet on the ground and off of the very high sky tram. The road turned into a hiking trail, not unlike those we see in Estes Park, and eventually lead us right to the door and welcoming sign of the Theatre Royal Bar.

Owned by a retired London Firefighter and his wife, Julia, from South Africa, they indeed had the best ribs I've ever tasted. Albert was originally born in Gibraltar and now that he is retired he works at his bar as well as a guide around the Rock and loves talking about its history. He gives all of his American visitors a 2 pence Gibraltar coin and tells the history of why President (on the coin he is General) Eisenhower is on a Gibraltar coin. The reason is Gibraltar was General Eisenhower’s headquarters in planning “Operation Torch” which was the Allied invasion of Northern Africa. They talked to us our whole lunch and just genuinely seemed to enjoy sharing stories with the people in their restaurant.



Thursday, however, was the big day, the day Dad had been waiting for. Valderrama day. It was an absolutely perfect day to play golf. There was a cool breeze and lots of sunshine. Unfortunately, Dad had a driver with a shaft that was too pliable on the front nine, however he got it fixed at the turn and he and his Frenchman playing partner, Christian, had a very fun back nine. Valderrama is really beautiful, and it was incredibly peaceful; I don’t remember seeing any other players our entire time on the course. To be honest though, to me it seemed reminiscent of Hillcrest with the immaculate greens and lots of trees, the only real difference being the water hazards, plus, Hillcrest has better food.



That evening we drove to the Málaga airport, drove around the Málaga airport like three or four times trying to figure out how to get into our hotel parking lot (thinking that a Holiday Inn would be easy was deceptive) and finally all just passed out.



It looks like this blog is getting a bit too long, so I will leave our visit with Chiara for next time 😊

Before I go though, I have to note that I forgot something from my last blog.

A few days before my parents got here we went out for our friend Jessie’s 22^nd birthday and at our favorite bar they gave us a free “chupito” of absinthe. The Spanish way of taking a “chupito” (a shot) is to swish it around in your mouth for 5 seconds and then swallow it. It burned going in, it burned for 5 seconds, it burned going down, and I think I burned a layer of skin off of my mouth. Lesson learned; don’t swish absinthe around in your mouth. Spain teaching me lessons right up until the very end.



Love and miss you all!

Love always,

Devin 😊

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Photos

St. Michael's Cave
Its so big they have a stage and seating for concerts!

In Sevilla!
Mom and Dad and I at the Cadiz mosaic in La Plaza de Espana.

Watching the EuroCup in Plaza de Mina
Espana vs. Croatia

Americans!
We met a father and daughter from Indiana at the Theatre Royal!