Work with a side of Portugal

Monday morning around 4 a.m. Joan and I wake up and get ready to go to Portugal. I am somewhat excited about this trip because of the fact that it's not for pleasure, it's for business and I'm hoping we get at least an hour to see the city. We meet Anna at the airport, get a coffee and board our plane. The flight over, we all slept like babies and before we knew it we were flying over Oporto as the sun was rising. The city looked beautiful and my excitement level skyrocketed.

I know now anything can look beautiful 35,000 ft up in the air.

We land and get the metro to the city center. This was my first time on a metro like this or as they call it here, a "train". 30 minutes later we are at the hotel setting up for work. The morning goes well enough and the rest of the day would have gone smoothly except three things went wrong from the start:

1.We didn't have a plan

2. Sarah, the administrator was a witch and told the class to leave and not come back until 2 which messed up our entire day

3. No one had correct references.

I helped out when I could but I was there strictly as Joan's girlfriend and nothing more. I had time to observe the sheer stupidity of people, especially one girl. We shall call her Penelope. Penelope was a pretty girl but had funny ears, really funny ears. I never thought it was possible either but here we are. So she was pretty and thought that gave her the right to be stupid and get away with it. There are certain things you must do for a job, you must get references. Penelope had "references" on paper but when we called, none of them liked her, the professor she wrote down would not give her a reference because she failed all her classes and he didn't know her well at all. She just couldn't get that through her head.

It had been a long day, we had lunch at the hotel restaraunt, Paris Texas, and it was absolutely wonderful. The picture is above.

We ended up not being able to leave until after 6:00 and only having a few minutes to get a crepe and catch the metro to the airport. This is the part of the story that goes downhill.

We get our metro tickets and wait. Our metro is the last one so there is 10 minutes gone.

The airport is the last stop on the metro and we are 14 or so stops away.

It takes 35 minutes for us to reach the airport, the desk closes at 7:45;the exact moment we are arriving to the airport.

Realization: I am going to have to run a mile. I am wearing the 2nd highest heels in my closet. I also have been sick recently,the doctor said the humidity from the chance of temperature when I first arrived is stuck in my lungs making it harder for me to breathe so I shouldn't be running or doing strenuous activity. I am going to have to run a mile.

Joan gets the bags and such and is gone in the blink of an eye. Anna is already ahead of me. If I lose her, I won't know where to go so I stop, everyone watching me and take off my heels. I proceed to run throuh the Oporto airport which is huge and new and HUGE. I run up 5 escolators while kids laugh and point and businessmen stop chatting on their iphones and stare at me. By this point my lungs are slowly dying and Anna is still ahead of me. I get all the energy I can muster and catch uip with her, luckily we are at the desk. Joan is not.

2 minutes later he appears and we ask another lady at a different desk if it is possible for us to board the flight. She of course says it's not but will call and see.

5 minutes later a woman appears and says "You should have arrived here on time. You're late, you can't board."

Joan and Anna ask to speak with someone else so we are led to another part of the airport and we try and talk with three disgruntled employees of Ryanair. Joan asks them to call the captain and at least ask, if he says no, he says no but we have to try. Anna says that they work for Ryanair and work went longer than we thought. That we weren't here for pleasure but for business. The lady is a total witch but finally decided to let them on.

Them, as in Anna and Joan because they work for Ryanair and I don't.

How stupid is this? I have a seat on that plane, I came with them to work, It makes no sense.

"She's the girlfriend" said the bitchy attendant. Joan proceeded to argue with her until she said, "Ok fine let's all go."

We run again to the security check in, throw everything in a bin, I don't even put on my shoes and we run down two more escalators and I can feel the warm water fill up in my eyes. My lungs are in such pain, I can barely breathe. Anna is ahead of us and already is outside toward the plane. Joan is being such a good boyfriend and is holding my hand and going slow with me.

We run just a bit more and head up the stairs to the jet. When we sit, the passengers know something is wrong although I don't think the crew told them anything. Joan asks for a vomit bag and chatter ensues. We are always causing a scene.

We all feel sick from running and being stressed after awhile the excitement dies down and we enjoy our flight. Joan tells me that if we hadn't gotten on that flight, we would be stuck in Portugal until Wednesday night. We were so lucky.

That was my trip to Portugal. I don't care to ever go back.

Some advice:
Plan ahead
work out
always bring sport shoes with you to the airport

C.M.

Calçot Sundays

Joan and I were going to stay in but Albert talked us into going and having one drink with him. That turned into us meeting Jordi, Shabir, Ana and their friend David at Soda as well. It was good fun at first, talking, laughing. I even enjoyed talking with Ana, we planned a trip for me to come to Madrid for the weekend to visit her. A girls weekend, I think that would be a good idea actually, we shall see.

Shabir insisted on "taking Joan and I out" because for the last month we had been acting like, and I quote, "an old married couple". That is a sensitive spot for me because lately I have been telling Joan how I don't want to be like the couples who live together and let things get old and boring. Not that it has been our fault, we just haven't had the money to spend on going out.

ANYWAY Joan let Shabir take us out so after Soda we went to the infamous, Abacco in Blanes.
I remember having a good time, chatting with Ana, dancing, all the guys having fun. Around 3:30 in the morning, Albert brought us home and then he was going to go to another club with the rest of the group. (We found out later it was lame and he wished he would have gone home).

Sunday, Joan and I slept in and went to his parents house for lunch. His sister's boyfriend's parents were there and everyone was in the back grilling hamburgers. This weekend it is normal for Spanish families to have calçots. To better explain what this is, I have below an exerpt from an artcile from the site, http://www.iberianature.com/material/spain_food/garlic_onions_Catalonia.htm#calcots.

"The calçots are cooked on roof tiles over a charcoal vine barbecue, and are cooked when they start to ooze a milky sweat. Hunks of meat, lamb and pork chops, botifarras and other embutidos such as chorizo are roasted after the calçots have been removed from the embers. The calçots are then very messily peeled; the charred outer leaves makes everybody's hands filthy and are discarded in piles on the table or ground, while the long slim white firm fleshy phallic vegetables are dipped by increasingly frenzied revellers in a delicious variety of gooey glutinous orange romesco-style tangy pepper, almond and hazelnut sauce to then be lowered dripping into the mouth in a manner reminiscent of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at its most decadent and depraved. . .Catalans at a calçotada indulge their famed rauxa , an infectious form of collective madness and hilarity. By the time the cooked meats have been consumed, followed by coca, carajillos and licores , the sated feasters are purring like pussycats. Great fun and highly recommended."

So that explains my Sunday.


I will write another post later, one detailing the events of Monday in Portugal. It will be entertaining but I must contemplate how to go about writing it, it is that kind of story.


Hope all is well in your corners of the world.


C.M.

Joan is in Portugal today, he will be back tonight and I can't wait!

Instead of going this weekend, we are going Monday but just for the day. This weekend, in order to save some money, we are going to stay in Spain and just go to Barcelona. We may go to the zoo and see a few sights. what I'm really hoping for is a trip to Starbucks. I miss that like crazy.

I had another Spanish class today, it went very well. The teacher said I was picking up on everything quickly and had a great accent. I suppose in all the years of Spanish classes in the states some information stuck somewhere.

I was supposed to do a laundry list of things today but instead I took a four hour nap and it was an a m a z i n g nap. You know the friends episode when Joey and Ross take a nap together and they get the best sleep ever? Well, that was my nap minus a guy. Let me set the scene for you-

Last night we went to bed around 1 a.m. or so, Joan had to get up at 4:30 to get ready and leave by 5. Naturally, I woke up at 5 as well. After I got back from class, had lunch and watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother I set the stage of my exquisite nap.

The day was sunny and breezy, I opened the windows and a cool breeze blew slowly through into the living room and brought in the faint scent of ocean air. I made a bed on the couch with a fluffy pillow grabbed a soft blanket and snuggled up facing the window gazing out into the sea.

I slept for four hours. It was great, I don't know if it was attributed to the lack of sleep but-wow.
If any of you visit me you must take a nap on my couch.

Sorry for the post about nothing but I was in the mood to write and this is what I chose. The next post will by far be more vibrant.

Bella Idiota

Today I had my first Spanish class. It went very well. It's just the teacher and I which I love and she couldn't be nicer. She knows English but talks to me only in Spanish. The things I learned in Reina's class at Northwest are coming back to me and I think with three classes a week for an hour and a half for 20 hours in total, I will be doing pretty well if I keep studying.

Joan is at work and should be sending me emails to send out etc at some point today.
I need to finish painting the guest room and finish laundry. I also want to organize our closet and finish The Shadow Of The Wind. In one day I finished Mitch Albom's, For One More Day. It's a great read.

Also for you fans of cultural music, you must check out Marco Masini, he sings a wonderfully beautiful song called, Bella Idiota or Beautiful Idiot. It is Italian and about a man whose girlfriend leaves him for another man he is so angry with her because she broke his heart. You may not understand everything he is saying but you can hear him getting angrier as the song goes on. Here are the lyrics:

Bella idiota,
por tu culpa he traicionado a la mujer que me ha querido,
me he liado a puñetazos contra mi mejor amigo,
y ahora que he tocado fondo,
tu me dices sonriendo sobra y basta.

Bella idiota,
dejas verte dando vueltas del hotel al restaurante
con el culo en el ferrari de un imbecil arrogante ,
sin pensar que el millonario
hasta a los sentimientos pone un precio,
el desprecio.
Por amarte demasiado tu me ignoras,
bella idiota me sonries y me odias.

Mas si Dios te hizo mas bella que los cielos y los mares
dime por qué te revelas de quién tratas de vengarte.
Mas si Dios te hizo tan bella como el sol, como la luna
por qué no escapamos juntos de este mundo mal oliente que me abruma.
Mas si Dios te hizo mas bella que una rama de cerezo
si amas como la carcoma cometiendo un sacrilegio
cada vez que te desnudas sin sentir el hielo dentro,
cuando el paga la cuenta nunca sientes la verguenza del silencio.

Porque eres bella, bella, bella, bella idiota
que llamaste anoche hasta la policia
y que me llevaran preso les pedías
sólo porque habia perdido la paciencia, la esperanza.

Bella idiota

Te recuerdo, cuando con mi primer sueldo te compre aquella pulsera
se te iluminó la cara, yo te dije eres mi estrella
los ataques repentinos que teniamos de sexo y de ternura,
bella y dura, si.
Por amarte demasiado tu me ignoras
bella idiota, me sonries y me odias.

Mas si Dios te hizo mas bella que los cielos y los mares
dime por qué te revelas de quién tratas de vengarte.
Mas si Dios te hizo tan bella como el sol, como la luna
Por qué no eres más persona
me conformo como un perro con las sobras.

Por que eres bella, bella, bella
mi intención es arrancarte esa ropa de ramera
y metido entre tus piernas destrozar la noche entera
mas de nuestro amor tan tierno todo entrega e inociencia
solo quedaría entonces un largisimo minuto de violencia.

Por eso me despido...
Bella idiota... Ey...

He is just so passionate you can't help by laugh and love this song. His video on YouTube is a bit corny so just listen to the song so it doesn't ruin it for you.

All for now.

Much love,

C.M. xoxo

The one where I get lost in Lloret

I don't think I could ever live alone. Maybe, if I was used to the idea, but after living with Joan I would miss him to much. He is in Italy now, doing interviews and kicking ass at his job, I wish my work visa was finalized so I could be there as well....all in time.

After he left I lounged around and didn't do much. At 5:30 I was supposed to meet his mom at the meat shop and then have my massage. I left the flat at 5 till 5 to give myself some time. Upon leaving I forgot my coat and the map Joan left me. I knew which way I had to go but a cop directing traffic was saying something to me in Catalan, I was nervous already so I went the way he was pointing and took the next street. I then proceeded to get very lost and wound up in a neighborhood. A deserted neighborhood. There are no street signs, no one around and everything was closed. I went from street to street. I remembered what Joan always told me and went to the sea. I was pretty far from where I needed to be and couldn't remember which way to go. I took a chance and it was wrong again. The time was 5:15 and I was going to be late. In a weak moment I called Joan at work. I didn't want to do this for three reasons:

1. He is at work and I didn't want to bother him
2. I don't want him to know I forgot the map he made me
3. I don't want him to know how stupid I am when it comes to going into town

However, I had to do it so I called. He helped me out and at 5:25 I was saying hello to his mom and telling her I had been lost. Ay dios...

We went across to the café and I met Carmen, the girl who was going to give me a massage. She is very pretty, what you would think a spanish girl would look like. Long dark hair, big brown eyes, perfect complexion, good figure and to top it off she was as nice as can be. She said to me, "My english is nada" I laughed and said, "My espanol is nada" we did our best.

At first, I wasn't sure what to think but once she started and it was heaven. It was an hour massage and while I thought I was only getting my back done, she did my legs, my feet, my arms, my neck, my stomach and my head. It was wonderful.

She knows Joan's family because his parents receive regular massages from her. Her boyfriend is actually friends with Joan as well, they went to school together when they were children. We went for a coffee and while we both spoke very little of each other's language, I understood most of what she was saying and I managed to speak enough Spanish for us to talk to one another. Something I need to do today is brush up so I can speak with her more today. She told Joan's mom that tomorrow she wanted to meet with me again because my neck and back still needed to be worked on, I have a lot of charged muscles.

Anyway, Joan ended up arrving close to 7:00 while Carmen and I were at Cafeteria Borell. Cavok only made him work for three hours, he was so mad that he lost spending more time with me and he hardly did any work at all. His plane to Italy didn't leave until 9 so he decided to come back to Lloret. It was so good to see him because I had missed him so much already and was preparing to come back to the flat alone. He had to leave again at 8:20 but his little visit was more than I expected.

Being here alone last night I talked to a lot of my friends, KC,Tamara,Jennifer,Jessica,Heather,Eryn,Steve and my grandmother. It's good to hear the voices of the people you used to spend everyday with. I ended up talking with everyone until it was 3 a.m. here. I liked to use the line, "You are still my yesterday and I'm in your tomorrow."

This has been long enough, It is 12:00 and I have four hours and thirty minutes until I go and meet Joan's mom. I need to get ready and get this flat cleaned.

I wish you all a wonderful day.

C.M.

Palabras

Yo soy Cynthia. No habla español. jajaja. Estoy bromeando, yo hablo un poquito. Ahora que cabado una frase simple, con fuerza de voluntad yo intentaré hacer todo lo posible para no escriber en ingles.

Hoy Joan esta en nuestra casa. Esta planchando. encima de eso él esta haciendo un buen trabajo. El irá a trabajar a las dos y media. Él va esta noche a Roma, él volverá otra vez la noche del martes.

Joan is helping me, which I am glad for, but it is to stressful so only a few sentences in Spanish everyday will be fine for me. We decided not to go to Tossa today to get the puppy we found yesterday. We really want him, and stupidly named him already, but we know with that cute ball of fluff comes a multitude of responsibilities. What if he gets sick, can we pay 200 euros to take him to the vet? What if we want to travel? We will have to bring him and how many hotels allow pets? More importantly, what if I travel to the states, the dog will have to stay in quarantine until he is cleared and I wouldn't want that for him. Joan and I will do more research and see what we can do. If our puppy is still there when we can get him, he will come home with us. There isn't going to be a lack of puppies in the world and if he gets adopted we will surely find another one that we will fall in love with.

Today at 5 I am going to get a massage. I'm walking to his parent's shop and his mom and is taking me to the place to get it done. I am looking forward to that very much. However, after I leave here at 4:30 I think I will just stay at his parents. They wanted me to stay the night at their home so I might as well just stay when I leave the massage at 6.

Not much else to report, I should start cleaning up the flat a bit and maybe Joan and I will watch a movie before he goes to work.

Have a wonderful day!

C.M.

The Morning After

Valentine's Day ended up being very nice. Joan and I went to the beach accompanied by a bottle of red wine and two glasses. He made me close my eyes as we drove to this private cove about 5 minutes away from our home. He led me out of the car and told me to take off my shoes, I felt sand beneath my feet but he still wouldn't let me open my eyes. When I did, I saw the most stunning coast, waves lapping against the shore, seagulls flying overhead and a blanket on the sand with the wine and my sweetheart smiling back at me. We stayed awhile and then when it got colder we packed it up and headed home. We had dinner together and just enjoyed each others company.

We were apart last Valentine's Day and this was the first one since I met him two years ago and we went out on our first date. It is amazing how much we miss each other when we're not together. When we were in our long distance relationship, yeah we missed each other a lot but we were used to going months that way. Now, when he is gone at work all day I miss him so so much more it seems.

I can't sleep without him now, it's very sad actually lol so this morning when he left at 5 to go to the airport I woke up too. He is in London by now, and won't be home until 10 tonight. I believe I'm going out with his mom and pepi this afternoon so I'm sure I'll have a good day.

The weather is looking good already, the sun just came up and the sky is a very pretty pale blue with shades of pink still highlighting the clouds. The seagulls are flying everywhere today, some passing right in front of my window. The sea looks so calm from here, maybe today I'll go down to the beach and do some reading.

All for now
Have a very Happy February 15th.

Decisions Decisions

Yesterday I went to work again. It was nice to be back in the swing of things. I didn't do much except look at 400 resumes and select people who met the qualifications, talk about tedious. We had lunch in the park and left around six. Apparently, until my work visa goes through I will be helping them about from home. Checking resumes, preparing letters to send to Rome, Madrid, Portugal and Valencia. At least I will be getting paid and able to do something.

Today is Valentines Day, a holiday that is gaining popularity here in Spain. We were going to go on a trip to Italy and France this weekend but we decided to push it back a week. Here's why:

Yesterday Joan was told he would be going to London on Friday to close a deal, this would mean he wouldn't get back to Lloret until at least 10 that night and would be exhausted I'm sure and wouldn't want to leave that night or even early Saturday morning. We were still debating the trip when I reminded him to call his friend Xevi. We haven't seen him since New Years and it is a shame because I really have a great time with him and I know Joan does as well. So, as I was browsing through the IKEA magazine for the second time that evening, Xevi was talking Joan out of our Valentine's Day trip.

"Joan, just think about it. A coffee is 5 euros in France and gas is so expensive these days..."
Basically, Xevi had been stalking my facebook, what a person is supposed to do I guess, and he had a brilliant idea. Saturday night party at our place. Dinner here and he would come along with German and their other friend Xavi who I haven't met yet. Am I supposed to cook for 4 guys? That is still undecided but it sounded like a great plan to me. I always have a good time with Joan's friends.

However, now that I think about it..maybe I can talk Joan into changing the party into next weekend. That way we can still do something together this weekend. Anyway, more importantly, tonight is Valentine's Day and I am thinking about cooking a great dinner for Joan. Maybe I will dress up tonight so when he comes home I am not only looking great but I will have a great dinner ready followed by a decadent dessert. He has to leave early Friday morning, 5 a.m. early to catch his flight to London but we can still have a great evening.

I can't believe this time two years ago I had a date to meet this foreign man at Chili's in Tampa, little did I know this would be the man two years later, I would be living with and planning a life with! It is amazing what roads life takes you down. I don't care if we don't go to an expensive restaurant, I'm just so lucky to be here celebrating with him.

In the meantime I have a lot I'd like to get done today so I best get it started.

Happy Valentine's Day

C.M.

Adventures Ahead

Yesterday I was sick. My monthly bill to be more specific. I lounged around all day until 2:30 when I showered and chose to join the living. Joan's mother picked me at 4 so that I could get a cell phone. Well, Vodafone was closed until 5 so we had a coffee and went to a few shops to kill time. At 5 Vodafone was already full of people. We waited and waited and before I knew what was going on we were being whisked out of the line, the ticket number thrown into the trash and being led into the back room. I was very confused but sat in the office and wondered what would happen next. When the blond woman left the room, Maribel explained that she knew the owners and they let her go in the front of the line, as to not upset the customers, they took her to the back so no one would really notice. Awesome, right?

Well, thirty minutes later I had a new phone. It's nothing fancy and that's ok with me. It is very sleek, red and black and now I can leave the flat feeling a bit more safe and the best part is that I can talk to Joan for free. I have been using skype and while it is good to call the states, it is so expensive to call Joan during his lunch hour.

Joan arrived at 6:30 and I was so relieved. I miss him so much when he is at work and I'm here in Lloret. Hopefully, they will let me come in tomorrow morning. Anyway, I hadn't eaten a thing all day and was craving Burger King. We picked up our dinner and brought it home to have a romantic candlelit dinner with a side of fries.

I still wasn't feeling well but luckily we had rented some movies or peliculas as they are called here, so we had entertainment for the evening. A great movie you should check out is Before Sunrise It is a different movie about two strangers who meet on a train and fall for each other. The whole movie is made up of their conversations and their adventures when the girl decides to delay her trip back home to Paris and get off the train in Vienna with the American man she has just met. While there isn't much action, it is terribly romantic and you see the love they have for each other progressing as they know they only have the company of each other until before sunrise.
There is a sequel, Before Sunset, which we have to rent tonight. I am so intrigued to know what happens and you will feel the same should you ever rent it.

After the film, Joan caught up on his correspondence and called his flatmate from Dublin, Adam to plan our trip to Ireland for St.Patrick's Day. I quickly fell asleep with my head on Joan's lap feeling so safe as I always do with him. I'm not sure of how much time had passed but I awoke to Joan carrying me from the living room down the hall to put me to bed. It had to be the sweetest most romantic thing he could have done. I pretended to still be asleep until he laid me gently in bed and covered me up. It is moments like this and remind me how lucky I am.

This morning he let me sleep in while he got ready for work, usually I wake up when he gets in the shower and I make breakfast and put his lunch together. The past few days he has been letting me sleep in although as soon as I hear the door shut I wake up, I just cannot sleep in this big flat without him here. He did leave me another very sweet note by the laptop this morning

"I love you my star! Lots of besos!
Joan"

Today I'm still not feeling particularly well but I need to get the kitchen cleaned up, the sink is still full of champagne glasses from Sunday. I need to do laundry and practice my Spanish. Tonight I will begin cooking dinner again and might venture into town. This could be my last day off if they let me start working regularly or at least in the mornings.

I wish you a wonderful day and I hope to hear from you soon!

Heather, I love your posts and cannot wait for the next one! Also, how do you feel about going to the Cannes Film Festival with me? I believe it's in May.

The Perfect Sunday

Saturday morning Joan and I headed out to our home away from home, IKEA.

This was Joan's first time so I knew he would be like a kid in a toy store. Walking in you are welcomed by visions of what your home could be. The possibilities are endless. We held hands and went from display to display wondering what this would be like and how that would look. After an hour we were famished and stopped at the café to have some delicious apple pie and a coffee.

I absolutely loved spending time with Joan, choosing furniture for our home it's something I have looked forward to for a long time.

After our break we continued on and I learned how indecisive Joan really is. We left our flat knowing what we could spend and what we needed most. Of course, we chose many more things that weren't on the list and left us with little money to spend on the things we really needed-like curtains. In our flat we have big floor to ceiling windows that stretch across the living room and lets all of the sunshine in. During the day I have to wear sunglasses in my home. Curtains are needed.

So far we had "spent" 118 euros and still hadn't added in the chairs and mirrors we had previously picked out. After a long search we found curtains that were the perfect size and color. After taking things out and putting things back we decided to get them. Now, as I am typing this, I am writing without sunglasses and it is nice.

They add so much to the room and later that evening two of our friends arrived to check out the place. Jordi arrived first and was amazed at our home and all the work we've done. Albert, who has seen our flat slowly progressing into something to call a home was equally impressed at the difference a couple extra chairs and some curtains make. That evening, after Jordi left and we told Albert we were too poor to go out this weekend, we celebrated our anniversary.

While Joan was dropping Jordi off at home, I lit candles and printed the first picture Joan and I took together, two years ago when I met him at the party in Florida.

We had dessert and reflected on our past and what got us to where we are today. It was the perfect moment.

Sunday was another busy day for us as his family was coming over for lunch. It was 1:30 and the flat was immaculate but I hadn't even started to cook and his family was arriving at 2.

The menu was as follows:
I started off the lunch with homemade lemonade with a sugar rimmed glass.
Fettuccine pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce and seasoned chicken breast
a copy of the cheesecake factory's coconut rice with peanut sauce and for dessert
chocolate soup with melindros.

Lunch took a but longer than planned but it was well worth it. Sergi, Joan's brother even did all the dishes for us! We sat and talked, drank wine and enjoyed each others company. Later, Pepi and Benhar came over with some champagne and the afternoon lunch visit lasted until 6:00 that evening. It was so nice to have our home filled with people. Joan's mom and sister outside on the balcony, Joan's brother watching television in the living room, Joan's father fixing our lamp, me in the kitchen and Joan running around trying to make sure everyone is having a good time.

After everyone left we collapsed on the couch and decided it was still our anniversary and to end the night we wanted to rent movies and snuggle on the couch together.

I shared with Joan and I will now share with you my exact thoughts at a particular moment during the day.

Everyone gathered around our table, each with a glass of wine or champagne in their hands, laughter echoed through the home and everyone was energized and yet so relaxed at the same time. The sun was beginning to set and the sea was beginning to calm.The sky was a beautiful orange and pink with blue shadows that danced behind the black silhouette of the mountains. The sea was a gorgeous bright blue that blended into a deep navy that made the city buildings appear even more bold and bright against the backdrop. The cool breeze drifted in through the open windows and carried the scent of a neighbors freshly baked bread. Joan was sitting to my left and we caught each other's eye, he winked at me, gave me a smile and continued with the conversation he was having. As I looked around at this perfect moment I knew this is EXACTLY where I was supposed to be. It seemed as if every turn in my life every decision I had made led me to be sitting in that chair at that moment surrounded by these great people. Was it fate that Joan and I met? I believe it was.

The truth is, everything is so clear and while I have to make decisions regarding what I will do about Northwest and my life in the states, I will enjoy every magnificent moment that living in Spain brings me.

I will be eternally grateful for his family, for him and for this amazing opportunity. I strongly encourage everyone to study abroad or vacation abroad and truly let yourself live and experience a world other than your own.

With that said, I'm going to get up and enjoy my Monday.

best wishes

C.M.

I need to win the lottery

I hate bills.

I know everyone in the world shares this hatred with me but I'll let you in on why they are ruining my life as of now.

Before I left to go to Spain I decided I wanted to be free of any debt I could. So, I paid off everything. I had two Visa cards I paid off. I had a Victoria's Secret card I paid off, I even paid of a NY&Co card I had signed up for to get the discount. I paid and canceled everything.When I left for Spain, the only bill I had was obviously my tuition and my phone bill.

Today, I get an email saying some bills are coming in the mail for me. Bills from all the companies I already paid off and canceled. It is to early to call any of these places seeing as its roughly 3 or 4 a.m. in most places where I need to call so I have to sit and wait and continue to be angry about this. I called Joan and he told me not to worry, maybe it's a mistake and I hope he is right.

The lottery is up to 130 million. Joan better buy tickets this afternoon.

This weekend is our anniversary (2 years) so we wanted to have a nice time together and I don't want to be worrying about money issues.

Anyway

Tonight I am making dinner again and I'm pretty sure Albert is coming over to join us. Tomorrow we're going to IKEA to get a few more things and maybe to Barcelona afterwards.

Sunday is our actual anniversary. After lunch with his family I told Joan it was up to him to plan something for Sunday night.

Next weekend we are hoping to get out of Spain. We are looking to go to Rome, Milan, Germany..anywhere. Hopefully Ryanair will provide free tickets.

I'm in a mood so maybe I'll go back to sleep and ignore reality for awhile.

Lazy Afternoons

I haven't really done much today. Just the laundry, lunch and the general wandering around my flat. I have started my cookbook. I forgot how much I loved to cook. Being in the dorms I never did it and always thought of it as a chore. Now that I have my own (small) kitchen I have been doing a lot of cooking lately which Joan is very happy about. Last night I tried to recreate Chili's Cajun Chicken Pasta. It didn't taste exactly like it but it was still very good. We had Caesar Pasta Salad and Cheesecake with Sliced strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. I really enjoy being Susie Homemaker except for when I get bored. Sure there are things I could do during the day but I just choose not to, so it really is my own fault.

Joan thinks he will get off work early today, around 4:30 which will bring him home around 5:15 depending on traffic. I would like to go into town, take a walk by the beach. From my windows it looks so peaceful down there.

I do a lot of spying up here in my flat. I can see the city so it's pretty easy. Across from our building is another apartment building, I watched the same lady do her laundry every other day. The manager showing potential new buyers the great view from the roof top terrace. The neighbor two doors down fixing up his pool. The house across the street is gigantic, I see the money making husband with his blond wife and screaming child checking out the place once a day while the workers paint and renovate it. I am hoping for something scandalous to happen but so far nothing yet. I suppose I don't want to end up like the kid in the movie Disturbia.

Perhaps Joan and I will have dinner on the roof top terrace tonight.
That sounds good to me, providing it's not to windy or cold.

Now it is time to take a nice warm bath and finish reading The Shadow Of The Wind.

P.S. to Debbi. The Vienna Opera sounds marvelous!

Dinner and Drinks For Two

After yesterday's fiasco the rest of the day went very well. I wanted to get the flat in order for when Joan got home. I ran around like a mad woman and when 6:00 hit I knew I only had thirty minutes to go and I was a bit behind so I called him and so kindly asked him to pick up a few things for me-just to delay his arrival! He ended up getting here around 6:45 and I was anxiously waiting by the window for our usual greeting; he honks, I open the window and say "Hey Honey!" he waves and says the same and I tell him to hurry hurry hurry and give me besos! A routine I will miss when we start working together.

When he finally reached the 5th floor I was so excited to show him everything I had done today. The walls in the room had their second coat, so he didn't have to do it, which he LOVED. The best part was the living room. The white table accented by the bamboo rug underneath which is complemented by the cream couch covers. The dining room table is silver and frosted glass with two white and silver chairs on either side. It looks great during the day when I'm sitting on the couch and the bright blue of the Mediterranean blends seamlessly with the top of the table.
Our new lamp was up, it looks like a tulip, it's white of course and hangs right above our table. I lit candles and the show was on.

Joan couldn't believe it, it did look very different from when he left this morning. To top it off, I made dinner. No Alfredo sauce has been found in Lloret as of yet so I made my own. Thanks to a few websites I got the site to restaurant recipes and made Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo and their House Salad with the exact dressing. It tasted just like the original! I also made Salmon coated with a glaze of barbecue sauce and for dessert-chocolate gelat with bananas and peanuts.
We drank champagne and enjoyed the night.

Now, I'm wondering what I could do to top that. I need to add the second coat of paint and get the room set up correctly. I could go to the store again and attempt to make The Cheesecake Factory's Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp-my absolute favorite! I need to do laundry but I have to wait for the landlord and his uncle to come and change a wire or something to the washing machine.

Oh I almost forgot, Joan came home last night with some good news of his own.
The boss, Moises Oliver is leaving Cavok. He finished his pilots licence and we're pretty sure he will be a pilot for ryanair. He told Joan he wants us to take over the Recruitment Department. This means possibly going to Bratislava next week. I REALLY want this job and I REALLY want to start working now. If I know that that job is in the bag, I'll be more than ready to start.

All for now, must work on dinner plans.

Talk to you soon!

C.M.

Under the Catalan Sun

I am painting my room GREEN today. So far it is looking good. I will post pictures when it's finished. I am hoping for everything to be done by this Saturday. That is the goal for most of the things in the flat.

Yesterday I went to IKEA with Pepe and Joan's mom. I still can't believe how much she bought us. I felt so bad but she wanted to get things for us. We have new couch covers, a new coffee table, a new side table, three new lamps, three new pillows, new sheets, a new hamper, two new chairs, mirror...incredible. Last nigh Joan and I were like kids on Christmas, opening our boxes and looking at everything we got. We managed to get the chairs built and one table. Today I may attempt to build the side table myself. Saturday Joan and I are going to IKEA to get a couple more things. Some artwork for the walls, a couple more chairs for the table, curtains. This place is coming along nicely.

I have to wait 5 hours before I put the second coat of paint on and now I'm not sure what to do. I keep thinking about EVERYTHING. What I should be doing, what I want to do, my job, money, that I really would rather say screw it and go down to the beach and read. It is only 11 so I have time to maybe do all that.

I feel like Frances Mayes in Under The Tuscan Sun...buying a house in a foreign country, renovating it and continuing your life there. It is a terrific movie and if you haven't seen it it's worth checking out.



Message for Tink: There is great radio station here you would love, it's called flaixbac like flashback, they play a mix of American music (all kinds) and popular Spanish music. The site is http://www.radioflaixbac.cat/ maybe you can check it out!

This is for Ms. Heather in Florida, I miss you mucho and cannot wait for your next blog post! Get to writing!

Miss you all,
C.M.

Catalan Favorites

Last night I planned to have a quiet night in, drink some wine and curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and watch a movie with my sweetie.

That turned into Albert coming over and helping us move the huge monstrosity in our living room that someone once called furniture. Which turned into dinner and more glasses of wine which also included Shabir and Ana.

I went from not wanting anyone over (not because I don't like them, I do!) because the flat is not perfect yet to having a small get together. It ended up being very nice, I enjoy the company of Albert, although we don't speak much without a translator (ehem...Joan) he is very funny and enjoys a good bottle of wine now and again. Ana is very sweet and Shabir knows how to be the life of a party. In the end, it wasn't so bad and the neurotic holly housewife inside me got over the fact of our place not being "perfect" and more into having a good time.

Today was great as well, we went to Joan's parents and had a great Sunday lunch. This is something that we will always look forward to because Joan's mare can cook. Dessert consisted of these delicious, delicate and delectable pastries that could have been picked right off the pages of a cookbook. Buttery crust filled with custard and kiwi's and strawberries; light layers of angel food cake with a soft and subtle kiwi glaze with fresh strawberries on top. Lastly, a chocolate cake topped with baked apples and warmed to perfection.....incredible. I really must learn to cook. For the sake of Joan's stomach and mine. Not that I can't cook, I can, but more things of the American variety.

Joan has work in the morning and I should get to bed as well. Tomorrow I'm going to IKEA with Joan's mom and we are going to get a few more things for the flat. Hopefully some nice lamps and a coffee table, possibly a mirror and some paint. I should be returning to work soon but I'm hoping that maybe I don't return until later in the week. I know I am going to want to get our room done as well as the living room and if I start working we will have to wait for the weekend.

It's raining babies outside....(an expression that I hope catches on soon) and I always fall asleep so soundly during a thunderstorm.

Perhaps I'll make it down to the beach tomorrow, I could use a good workout.

Take care and talk to you all very soon!

C.M.

T.G.I.F.

Yesterday ended up being better than I had thought. After I went next door to use the phone to call Joan, the neighbors and our landlords, Pepe and Benhar invited me to lunch with them. It was about a 20 minute walk but I didn't even notice with the great company I had. Pepe doesn't speak English but Benhar does and is such an interesting person to talk to. They are a couple in their early thirties, very nice and genuine people. Pepe is from Andalusia where the people are known to party-all the time. Benhar is from here in Lloret, he actually lived in our flat when he was a child.
Anyway, we walked to this great restaurant where the paella was the specialty. I have never had paella but I wasn't going to turn down a trip to lunch.

First, they ordered me a bowl of mussels. I tried them, a bit salty, so no more of those. I had plenty of calamari and then the paella. The eyes of the shrimp looking up at me disconcerted me a bit but after I got past that, it was delicious. We had wine and gelat for dessert. Here, lunches last 2 hours or more. It's all about friends and wine and enjoying the company of others. When we left, Benhar was talking to me about walking and if I, being an American, was used to walking so much. I told him no and that if we were back in Maryville or Saint Leo, everyone would take a car. Benhar made good points, after lunch, why not walk it off, exercise and let the digestion process happen rather than driving to your home and being stationary the rest of the afternoon. I couldn't agree more.

We found ourselves on the beach that was littered with children. Being the last day of January, the schools take the children to the beach for the day and the parents come and give them omelet sandwiches which is a very special treat. We met Benhar's brother who was there with his girlfriend to pick up their child. He thought I was Russian. Why? because of my dark hair and piercing blue eyes he told me. I can take that. I like to take many forms, when I was blond I was "the American" when I had red hair I was "the Irish girl" when I dyed my hair dark brown I have been both "the Russian girl" and "the Spanish girl".

Walking along the beach and seeing the waves crash on the rocks, the seagulls overhead and the sweet perfume of chocolate churros is now my favorite moment. On our way back home we met a friend of theirs, Carlos, who has a American girlfriend as well. She is studying in Barcelona now and has to go back to California in a month. He said that one day we should meet. It would be nice but I would prefer Alison to come back instead.

We returned at 5 and I only had an hour or so to get the flat ready for Joan. I managed to get everything unpacked and everything cleaned by 6:30 and lucky for me Joan arrived at 6:45. damn traffic.

We had our first official dinner in the flat. We sat in front of the windows and watched the city go by.

Today, I am at home again and waiting until 11 for Pepe and I to go into town. She needs to get a few things from Joan's parents meat shop so I figured another afternoon would be fine, she is hilarious and although she doesn't speak English and my Spanish is very basic, usually I can understand what she says. At 4 Joan's mom, Maribel and his sister Ariana are picking me up and we're going to get a few things for the flat; cleaning supplies, more pillows,decorations. I want to get it clean incase they come upstairs to see it.

Tonight Shabir wants Joan and I to go out with him and Ana, she just flew in from Madrid last night. I'm not sure that we will go, Joan ends up being exhausted after work. Possibly Saturday.

It is only 9 now so I have two hours to get myself together.
I miss you all and wish you a very wonderful day!

C.M.