Happy Non-Fourth of July

So, today is the 4th of July. From facebook posts I see everyone is cooking out, boating, celebrating with friends and watching fireworks. Well, they don't celebrate America's independence over here, so, we didn't do anything that special. Actually, it's been 6 years, I think, since I've celebrated 4th of July. Oh well, I hope everyone has fun!

Anyway, what have the Botella's been up to? Well, we are back in Madrid. We got here yesterday in time to watch Spain play in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup against Paraguay. We won! Spain has actually never passed the Quarterfinals in the World Cup, so they are pretty excited about finally breaking the "curse". Now we play Germany. Guillermo says he would rather play Germany than Paraguay or Argentina because if they lose, at least he knows they lost playing soccer, not talking. It's a soccer thing. Anyway, things are going to be pretty crazy around here on Wednesday. I will try to get some photos and post them.
We went to lunch today at Foster's of Hollywood. It is a "hard rock" wannabe restaurant. It is one of the few places in Spain where one can get free refills on pop. I think we drove them crazy drinking and asking for refills. The food was good. Mamá María and Papá José like to get ribs and they have them there. Not my mom's, but pretty good. After, we went grocery shopping. Stores are usually closed on Sundays, but on the first Sunday of every month they open. So, today was one of those days. We filled the cart and off we went. Then we got frappucinos from Starbucks for all the adults. They don't have peppermint, but I got my mocha fix.

This afternoon the kids spent at the pool with the older kids that they follow around. They love to play cards and baseball with them. It is a group of 13/14 year olds that they have been playing with for several years now. Carlos taught them all how to play kickball last year. Today he brought out the baseball bat and gloves. He hit the first ball over the hedge and we had to yell at the people on the other side to send the ball back over.

Guillermo's sister and Juan Carlos came over for the evening with Gloria. She is 11 months old and cries whenever she sees me! But today we had a breakthrough. She actually sat with me on the floor and played blocks. Then Carlos took the blocks across the room and got her to crawl to him. Everyone is so anxious that she is going to fall and hit her head! Of course, she did, but as those of us of Hunter Ridge know, it happens.

We were talking about the food for Encarna María's wedding. Of course, in Galicia, which is the northwest of Spain, they eat seafood. Well, they eat seafood everywhere here, and especially in Guillermo's family. I hate fish, seafood, anything that comes from water. The only fish anyone will catch me eating is McD's filet o fish. Anyway, so as they are discussing the menu, I hear my name. I go over and they are discussing how they need to order the kiddie menu for me. It's true. I ordered from the kiddie menu for my own wedding! The kiddie menu has tortilla de patatas and croquetas, much better than fish! But, for those that enjoy "delicias del mar", the menu looks like it will be pretty fabulous.

Right now, Maria is watching a tv show made for Argentina tv. It is called Patito Feo (Ugly Duckling). It is made for pre-teens and is a cross between Ugly Betty and High School Musical. The best part, is the accent. They are Argentine so they have this really cool accent. I think it's good for Maria, because all the shows she has been watching are disney channel shows that she knows are in English, so she puts the tv in English (with digital tv everything is possible). So, she is watching Spanish and loves it! Of course, she'll get back in August to Hawken and start talking with her teacher with an Argentine accent. That would be funny! "Vos sos tarado!" Ha!

So, we'll be in Madrid for the next two weeks. Guillermo wants to take a trip to Segovia one day. Carlos wants to see the Aqueduct and Alcázar (Castle) that he showed to his class for his Spain presentation. Segovia is one of my favorite cities in Spain. It is about an hour north of the city. We'll probably take the train.

Stay tuned...
Jane