Mom and Bri visit

Mom and Bri Visit

The day I got back from Morocco my Mom and Bri visited, but since I got home later we didn’t meet up until the next day for breakfast. Walking into the café on Gran Via and seeing my mom and Bri sitting at a table was so surreal, it’s always such a strange thing when different worlds collide, but it was so great to have them here. They stayed together in the same hotel room, and explored the city while I was in class, and then we would meet up later for lunch, or go to the Alhambra etc.

Isn’t it sad that you don’t really explore your home city until you have visitors come? I have to admit I hadn’t visited some places of the Alhambra (I went to some other parts already) since the time I visited 5 years ago. Anyway, the girls had tickets for the generalife (gardens) and the alcazaba (military fortress) and then we met up in the Nazari Palaces. Since my entrance was an hour before theirs, I waited inside the palace in the first room for an hour and tourist-watched. There were so many tours from all over the world, one minute a group of Korean tourists all wearing the same bright blue shirt would come, two minutes later 30 Dutch blond/blue-eyed tourists invaded. I think I probably heard about 20 different languages in about an hour.

The palace, (which I just recently re-visited at night, a completely different experience) is amazing. The ornamentation is so intricate, and it must have been amazing back in the day when the colors were still vibrant, had rugs, furniture, incense. Sort of wish I was one of the royal wives, but not a concubine thank you very much.

I tried to show them the life of an average student, so I brought them to meet some friends for tapas in Albert Einstein, and later we went to a bar that had a flamenco night. The dancers and singers were really young and bohemian, and we had a lot of fun.

Over the weekend we went to Seville since Bri was leaving from there to fly back to Italy. We revisited basically the trip I had done earlier, but it’s always fun to return and actually know a bit about what you are looking at. (And we bought some of the Seville pastries I wasn’t able to buy last time). One weird thing was that as usual, on Saturday there were a million weddings. We were leaving a park to catch the bus and saw one bride taking photos, she was really striking and I loved her dress. Anyway, 5 hours later that night, when my mom and I were back in her hotel in Granada we saw that same bride, she was having the reception in the hotel – small world, or at least Small Spain.

That week I had three midterms, so I normally stayed at my mom’s hotel to spend time with her and because it’s closer to the center than my apartment. And of course, I took advantage of the free hot water (15 minute hot showers!) and even splurged on a nice long bath. : )

My Mom(s) (Hungarian and Spanish) wanted to meet, so my mom and I invited Lilia and Valentina to get a drink. Lilia invited her into the apartment, so I brought my Mom up with me, thinking she would get a tour and then we would go a nearby bar. Well, when we got there Lilia had bought Spanish wine, jamón, cheese, olives… the whole Spanish spread. It was so sweet and they really seemed to like each other. I played translator, which is always a head-spin, but it was good they could meet each other.

It was fun showing my Mom around, especially since I’ve really come to love living in Granada, but it also made me realize how much I’m starting to grow-up. Whenever I normally travel with my family, my parents are the ones who plan things (with my input), make sure we know where we are going and often translate if we are in Hungary or French speaking country. But this time, I was the one translating, showing her my favorite places, suggesting itineraries, and though she was on her own a lot and had no problems, I still felt a dynamic shift.

I'm also really looking forward to visiting Bri in Florence. It was so fun to see people in their new worlds. I'm sad that meeting up w/GW people hasn't really worked out, but it's so hard to figure out travel schedules when everyone else is literally in their own country and own schedule.

Alhambra

Alcazar

Isn't she cute?

Seville

Granada, Paseo de los tristes

Isn't she cute?

Aren't we cute?