He'll be the first to admit it, but Elliot most definitely does NOT have the best Space-A luck. Expecting to head back to Rota from Dover on Sunday, the 14th, he was informed everyday by the PAX terminal that a) the plane was broken, which it did every. single. day. or b) there was a weather delay because of thunderstorms or c) the plane broke WHILE there was a weather delay or d) the plane just wasn't going to be taking passengers. Fortunately, he made friends with a family from Rota with two young kids, and they basically bonded over the experience, going out to dinner together and splitting cabs to and from the hotel rooms they were forced to get. I felt so bad for him, because he not only had to burn 5 days of leave, but he was in what he described as "the deepest circle of hell". There were kids screaming and running around, vomiting on themselves, nights that he was forced to stay awake b/c they plane "might" take off (it didn't). Somehow, miraculously, he got on a flight the following Saturday; the last flight he could have taken before being forced to buy a commercial ticket for $1,800. Arriving to Spain haggard, worn out and exhausted (and smelling a bit funky), Elliot metaphorically kissed the ground and swore off Space-A travel forever. If he ever does fly it again, he'll need to rub himself down with 4-leaf clovers and have a horseshoe pierced through his nose. Me? I'm just glad I have him back.
The next day, we had quite the full house for the week. Despite Uncle Jesse and Joey Gladstone not making appearances, we had Elliot's friend from college, Katie, visiting, and we were puppy-sitting for the Lombardi's while they were on vacation. They were, of course, in addition to our perpetual houseguest, Will. The Sunday Katie got in, we went right into Sevilla and introduced her to Spanish jamon, queso, gambas, rehueveltos (scrambled eggs) and salmorejo (a thicker version of gazpacho with bits of ham on top). Sadly, my favorite tapas place was closed for construction during the month of August, which is about par for the course for me. The place we did find, however, was reasonable and pretty tasty. I still really haven't eaten jamon since coming face to face with a pig's leg with the hoove attached. There's just something about eating something connected to a hoove (or is it hoof?) that grosses me out. I suppose an argument could be made not to eat ANY meat, and it's probably hypocritical of me to eat beef and other meats, but there's just something about the hooves that makes me a bit queasy...
It's always fun to have people visit you, because you can play tourist yourself, and it forces you to go sight-seeing. In DC, I was able to give my own tours filled with little tid-bits of information, thus making my visitor's experience more enjoyable and historical. Unfortunately, I am still learning about the buildings and layout of Sevilla, so my wealth of knowlege isn't nearly as vast. We went on a tour of the bullring in the city and were able to walk around the different areas. Since last week was my first week working full-time, El and I weren't able to take Katie around to different places. Fortunately (and it must be fate), Will didn't have to go in to work, so he took her to the Cathedral in Sevilla, the Alcazar, Plaza de Espana in Sevilla, and on a sherry bodega tour down in Jerez. It worked out perfectly, and she was able to still see a lot even though we weren't around during the day. We also had dinner all together at the oldest bar/restaurant in Sevilla, El Rinconcillo. Open since 1670, the building just has so much history behind it, and it really is a unique dining experience. The tapas were delicious, especially the gazpacho and spinach with this delicious sauce and garbanzo beans. The entrees were kind of bland, so I'm glad I went with my tapas choices, even though we all shared what was on the table. It's funny how quickly you lose all eating-related inhibitions once you get to Spain. Nobody hesitates at sharing the same spoon to slurp gazpacho or double-dipping solomillo into its whiskey sauce. I love that idea of "Why have one thing when you can have MANY things???" The Spanish certainly got that right.
Following the recommendation of my dry-cleaning lady, I took Katie flamenco dress shopping with me at a little boutique in Utrera. Had I not asked, I probably would have ended up buying a much more expensive dress in Sevilla. The dress shop was adorable and had about 5 racks of different types of flamenco dresses: ones with sleeves, others without, dresses with fringe lining the neckline, dresses with the traditional colors of red and black, others a mosaic of different patterns and colors, some dresses knee length, others floor length, some with the tiered ruffled skirt, others with the ruffles concentrated on one side. Clearly being newbies to the experience, I picked out the ones I liked the best and started attempting to dress myself. No sooner had I stripped down to my skivvies does the curtain fling open, and I have a sales clerk pushing my boobs up and squeezing me into a dress a la Mammie from Gone With the Wind. She then started bringing other dresses for me to try on, based on my shape and the sizes. I must have tried on at least 8 flamenco dresses, all of which I needed her expertise getting in to. It was like magic how she would adjust the dress and it somehow looked 10 times better than when I tried to put it on. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, since she kept bringing me more and more vestidos. When I found a dress that fit me perfectly, she and her minions went to work on accessorizing me with fake flowers, long beaded necklaces and shoulder length earrings. Clearly in a princessy fog, I said "I'll take 'em all!" in my broken Spanish. I ended up with a white flamenco dress that is covered in a teal, purple and lime green pattern with ruffled sleeves and a tiered ruffled skirt, green and purple flowers for my hair, green and purple beaded necklaces and purple dangly earrings. Feria begins on the 8th, so I can be one of the cool kids wearing a flamenco dress. I am psyched to wear it, and I will most definitely post pictures. Loving everything about my shopping experience with the gorgeous, sassy and funky salesgirl and her boob-enhancing ways, I recommended the place to friends and Jessie and Emily found their dream flamenco dresses as well! I joked to the old lady who owns the place that I should work there, since I bring the place so much business...And by joke, I mean totally serious.
The puppy we sat, Jax, is only about 2 months old and is a mutt that looks like he has some Pomeranian in him. He is the most energetic little dude and would constantly follow me around when I was home. He always wanted his belly rubbed, tried to dig through our couch and often mistook my toes for Snausages. Despite having to now invest in paper towels and Resolve carpet cleaner, it was so much fun watching him. He is so adorable, and it definitely made me want to have a puppy in the not-so-very-distant future. He was a great source of entertainment, and having something constantly follow you around out of devotion ain't nothing to sneeze at either. Elliot, are you taking notes?
The highlight of the past two weeks was definitely the Boat Build on base. Last Wednesday was Sports Day, so all of the military had off to participate in events the gym was putting on. Elliot continued his 5k winning streak and also took home the gold in dodgeball. The events went from 7:15 in the morning until 8:00pm, with a break at 5:00 for a hamburger and hot dog cookout. Having to work all day, I wasn't able to participate in the events myself; a shame because I think I could have been a contender in the Dizzy Bat Obstacle Course. Fortunately for me the event that I really wanted to do started at 6pm, the Boat Build. Jessie, Meagan, Christine and I were on a team to represent the Key Spouses of Moron, the only all-female team in the competition. There were 4 other teams, consisting of 4 people for team. Each team had cardboard boxes, two rolls of generic duct tape, a box cutter and an hour to build a boat that could be sailed by one teammate from one end of the pool to the other. Jessie told Christine the wrong time, so Trish the Spin instructor helped us put together our sailing vessel. Finishing building in about 20 minutes, our boat resembled something that released Marines onto the beaches of Normandy. We had created a cardboard tank. We duct-taped the entire bottom of the boat to prevent leaking and kept the sides to the minimum length (12 inches) to prevent it from capsizing. Faced with an extra 40 minutes of time on our hands, Meagan cut the front of the boat into a wave-like design and asked the lifeguard for a marker. It wasn't against the rules to ask for decorating supplies, yet we were the only ones clever enough to do so :) Our WWII boat got pimped out with bumper stickers like "Check us out on Twitter" and "Honk if you love booty!", an anchor, a steering wheel with spedometer and radio tuned to AFN The Eagle, a message that the other boats can EAT MY WAVES on the rear and a beautiful mermaid we named Majestic to adorn the bow. The lifeguards also supplied us with skull and crossbone eyepatches (although the symbol was upside down), bandanas, plastic swords and mini spy-glasses. Shit, we even had our own song: (first group): HONK HONK! (second group): IF YOU LOVE BOOTY! Even if our lil' tugboat sunk immediately, it would sink in style.
After lining up our boats at the front of the pool, The Commander and the Chief examined each one and voted on which boat they deemed Most Creative. The rest of the boats were basically variations of kayaks and rowboats, with one that had pontoons on each side and "seats" inside. Ours won Most Creative hands-down, but the Commander joked that he didn't think ours was going to float. Despite our lil' guy being the laughingstock of the cardboard boat world, we were so excited to win an award that it didn't matter. We had built an awesome and hilarious boat; anything else would be icing on the cake. We got assigned to go 4th out of 5 boats, and our excitement rose as the first three capsized immediately after hitting the water. We voted that Christine be our oarsman, since she weighs only like 100 pounds, determined that our best strategy was putting her in the boat first and then lowering it in to the water and said a prayer. Jessie christened our boat with a bottle of water that was dug out of the garbage, and off she went. Nobody expected what would happen next........
IT ACTUALLY FLOATED! We were all so unbelievably excited, clapping and cheering. Despite going in circles for a spell and veering to the right, Christine managed to get our little engine that could all the way to the opposite end of the pool. Everyone laughed at our creation, but so far it was the only boat that actually made it to the pool's opposite end. Meagan and Trish swam to the end from where they had helped ease the boat into the pool, and Jessie and I helped Christine and our tank out of the water. Our boat may have looked ridiculous, but it floated AND won Most Creative, so we were all flying high.
The last boat to go was the pontoon-rowboat contraption and was paddled by a shirtless doctor who was flexing his arms and abs the entire time he rowed. Our team joined hands and held our collective breath as we watched Dr. Six-Pack swiftly ease his boat across the pool. When we realized that they would have a faster time than us, and that we wouldn't go home with two awards that night, we took the high road and cheered on Abs of Steel, MD during and after his triumphant finish.
It wasn't long after the "race" finished that everyone started jumping into the pool with their clothes on and pushing each other in. Jessie's kids were in 7th heaven when they realized they had the go-ahead to jump in with their clothes on too. Everyone was cracking up as people threw their bosses in, bosses threw their workers in and people were just having a great time. The Boat Build was probably my favorite thing that I've done on base, and one of my favorite things that I've done in Spain so far. Everyone just had so much fun throughout the whole event, and laughed until their sides hurt. I too had a smile plastered on my face and an aching stomach until I realized that the only dry clothes I had left to drive home in were the white leggings I wore to work that day (no underwear since it was soaking wet), the t-shirt Meagan had lent me that said MODELS WANTED (no bra since that was also soaking wet) and the three inch platform shoes I wore to work that day. I didn't care though, since nothing could ruin the great mood I was in. I did, however, sneak off to my car like a thief in the night...
The next day, we had quite the full house for the week. Despite Uncle Jesse and Joey Gladstone not making appearances, we had Elliot's friend from college, Katie, visiting, and we were puppy-sitting for the Lombardi's while they were on vacation. They were, of course, in addition to our perpetual houseguest, Will. The Sunday Katie got in, we went right into Sevilla and introduced her to Spanish jamon, queso, gambas, rehueveltos (scrambled eggs) and salmorejo (a thicker version of gazpacho with bits of ham on top). Sadly, my favorite tapas place was closed for construction during the month of August, which is about par for the course for me. The place we did find, however, was reasonable and pretty tasty. I still really haven't eaten jamon since coming face to face with a pig's leg with the hoove attached. There's just something about eating something connected to a hoove (or is it hoof?) that grosses me out. I suppose an argument could be made not to eat ANY meat, and it's probably hypocritical of me to eat beef and other meats, but there's just something about the hooves that makes me a bit queasy...
It's always fun to have people visit you, because you can play tourist yourself, and it forces you to go sight-seeing. In DC, I was able to give my own tours filled with little tid-bits of information, thus making my visitor's experience more enjoyable and historical. Unfortunately, I am still learning about the buildings and layout of Sevilla, so my wealth of knowlege isn't nearly as vast. We went on a tour of the bullring in the city and were able to walk around the different areas. Since last week was my first week working full-time, El and I weren't able to take Katie around to different places. Fortunately (and it must be fate), Will didn't have to go in to work, so he took her to the Cathedral in Sevilla, the Alcazar, Plaza de Espana in Sevilla, and on a sherry bodega tour down in Jerez. It worked out perfectly, and she was able to still see a lot even though we weren't around during the day. We also had dinner all together at the oldest bar/restaurant in Sevilla, El Rinconcillo. Open since 1670, the building just has so much history behind it, and it really is a unique dining experience. The tapas were delicious, especially the gazpacho and spinach with this delicious sauce and garbanzo beans. The entrees were kind of bland, so I'm glad I went with my tapas choices, even though we all shared what was on the table. It's funny how quickly you lose all eating-related inhibitions once you get to Spain. Nobody hesitates at sharing the same spoon to slurp gazpacho or double-dipping solomillo into its whiskey sauce. I love that idea of "Why have one thing when you can have MANY things???" The Spanish certainly got that right.
Following the recommendation of my dry-cleaning lady, I took Katie flamenco dress shopping with me at a little boutique in Utrera. Had I not asked, I probably would have ended up buying a much more expensive dress in Sevilla. The dress shop was adorable and had about 5 racks of different types of flamenco dresses: ones with sleeves, others without, dresses with fringe lining the neckline, dresses with the traditional colors of red and black, others a mosaic of different patterns and colors, some dresses knee length, others floor length, some with the tiered ruffled skirt, others with the ruffles concentrated on one side. Clearly being newbies to the experience, I picked out the ones I liked the best and started attempting to dress myself. No sooner had I stripped down to my skivvies does the curtain fling open, and I have a sales clerk pushing my boobs up and squeezing me into a dress a la Mammie from Gone With the Wind. She then started bringing other dresses for me to try on, based on my shape and the sizes. I must have tried on at least 8 flamenco dresses, all of which I needed her expertise getting in to. It was like magic how she would adjust the dress and it somehow looked 10 times better than when I tried to put it on. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, since she kept bringing me more and more vestidos. When I found a dress that fit me perfectly, she and her minions went to work on accessorizing me with fake flowers, long beaded necklaces and shoulder length earrings. Clearly in a princessy fog, I said "I'll take 'em all!" in my broken Spanish. I ended up with a white flamenco dress that is covered in a teal, purple and lime green pattern with ruffled sleeves and a tiered ruffled skirt, green and purple flowers for my hair, green and purple beaded necklaces and purple dangly earrings. Feria begins on the 8th, so I can be one of the cool kids wearing a flamenco dress. I am psyched to wear it, and I will most definitely post pictures. Loving everything about my shopping experience with the gorgeous, sassy and funky salesgirl and her boob-enhancing ways, I recommended the place to friends and Jessie and Emily found their dream flamenco dresses as well! I joked to the old lady who owns the place that I should work there, since I bring the place so much business...And by joke, I mean totally serious.
The puppy we sat, Jax, is only about 2 months old and is a mutt that looks like he has some Pomeranian in him. He is the most energetic little dude and would constantly follow me around when I was home. He always wanted his belly rubbed, tried to dig through our couch and often mistook my toes for Snausages. Despite having to now invest in paper towels and Resolve carpet cleaner, it was so much fun watching him. He is so adorable, and it definitely made me want to have a puppy in the not-so-very-distant future. He was a great source of entertainment, and having something constantly follow you around out of devotion ain't nothing to sneeze at either. Elliot, are you taking notes?
The highlight of the past two weeks was definitely the Boat Build on base. Last Wednesday was Sports Day, so all of the military had off to participate in events the gym was putting on. Elliot continued his 5k winning streak and also took home the gold in dodgeball. The events went from 7:15 in the morning until 8:00pm, with a break at 5:00 for a hamburger and hot dog cookout. Having to work all day, I wasn't able to participate in the events myself; a shame because I think I could have been a contender in the Dizzy Bat Obstacle Course. Fortunately for me the event that I really wanted to do started at 6pm, the Boat Build. Jessie, Meagan, Christine and I were on a team to represent the Key Spouses of Moron, the only all-female team in the competition. There were 4 other teams, consisting of 4 people for team. Each team had cardboard boxes, two rolls of generic duct tape, a box cutter and an hour to build a boat that could be sailed by one teammate from one end of the pool to the other. Jessie told Christine the wrong time, so Trish the Spin instructor helped us put together our sailing vessel. Finishing building in about 20 minutes, our boat resembled something that released Marines onto the beaches of Normandy. We had created a cardboard tank. We duct-taped the entire bottom of the boat to prevent leaking and kept the sides to the minimum length (12 inches) to prevent it from capsizing. Faced with an extra 40 minutes of time on our hands, Meagan cut the front of the boat into a wave-like design and asked the lifeguard for a marker. It wasn't against the rules to ask for decorating supplies, yet we were the only ones clever enough to do so :) Our WWII boat got pimped out with bumper stickers like "Check us out on Twitter" and "Honk if you love booty!", an anchor, a steering wheel with spedometer and radio tuned to AFN The Eagle, a message that the other boats can EAT MY WAVES on the rear and a beautiful mermaid we named Majestic to adorn the bow. The lifeguards also supplied us with skull and crossbone eyepatches (although the symbol was upside down), bandanas, plastic swords and mini spy-glasses. Shit, we even had our own song: (first group): HONK HONK! (second group): IF YOU LOVE BOOTY! Even if our lil' tugboat sunk immediately, it would sink in style.
After lining up our boats at the front of the pool, The Commander and the Chief examined each one and voted on which boat they deemed Most Creative. The rest of the boats were basically variations of kayaks and rowboats, with one that had pontoons on each side and "seats" inside. Ours won Most Creative hands-down, but the Commander joked that he didn't think ours was going to float. Despite our lil' guy being the laughingstock of the cardboard boat world, we were so excited to win an award that it didn't matter. We had built an awesome and hilarious boat; anything else would be icing on the cake. We got assigned to go 4th out of 5 boats, and our excitement rose as the first three capsized immediately after hitting the water. We voted that Christine be our oarsman, since she weighs only like 100 pounds, determined that our best strategy was putting her in the boat first and then lowering it in to the water and said a prayer. Jessie christened our boat with a bottle of water that was dug out of the garbage, and off she went. Nobody expected what would happen next........
IT ACTUALLY FLOATED! We were all so unbelievably excited, clapping and cheering. Despite going in circles for a spell and veering to the right, Christine managed to get our little engine that could all the way to the opposite end of the pool. Everyone laughed at our creation, but so far it was the only boat that actually made it to the pool's opposite end. Meagan and Trish swam to the end from where they had helped ease the boat into the pool, and Jessie and I helped Christine and our tank out of the water. Our boat may have looked ridiculous, but it floated AND won Most Creative, so we were all flying high.
The last boat to go was the pontoon-rowboat contraption and was paddled by a shirtless doctor who was flexing his arms and abs the entire time he rowed. Our team joined hands and held our collective breath as we watched Dr. Six-Pack swiftly ease his boat across the pool. When we realized that they would have a faster time than us, and that we wouldn't go home with two awards that night, we took the high road and cheered on Abs of Steel, MD during and after his triumphant finish.
It wasn't long after the "race" finished that everyone started jumping into the pool with their clothes on and pushing each other in. Jessie's kids were in 7th heaven when they realized they had the go-ahead to jump in with their clothes on too. Everyone was cracking up as people threw their bosses in, bosses threw their workers in and people were just having a great time. The Boat Build was probably my favorite thing that I've done on base, and one of my favorite things that I've done in Spain so far. Everyone just had so much fun throughout the whole event, and laughed until their sides hurt. I too had a smile plastered on my face and an aching stomach until I realized that the only dry clothes I had left to drive home in were the white leggings I wore to work that day (no underwear since it was soaking wet), the t-shirt Meagan had lent me that said MODELS WANTED (no bra since that was also soaking wet) and the three inch platform shoes I wore to work that day. I didn't care though, since nothing could ruin the great mood I was in. I did, however, sneak off to my car like a thief in the night...
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