A Recap

Ok then. Here we go. My apoligies for being very detailed. I just didn't want to miss anything.

Thursday, 9/9/10 we left Tortosa and went to Castellon. My Uncle and I went in his car with all the luggage, while the rest of them, (10) went by train. Here's the funny story I mentioned. The train was supposed to leave at 11:35 a.m. Well, it didn't leave till 12:30 or so. Then, it takes them north abut 10 miles or so. (By the way, Castellon is south of Tortosa). They get dumped off the train, at a tiny station in the middle of nowhere. Pretty much a strip of concrete and tiny shack with a bathroom inside of it. They waited for about 45 minutes, and some of them almost didn't make it on, cause they were in the bathroom in the station, and they had to get across to the other train. You do that by going under the tracks. I wasn't there, so I can't tell you exactly how it worked. They got to Castellon though, about 4:30 we met them at the Plaza that we had agreed upon. My Aunt Marisa came the next day.

The drive with my uncle was pretty awesome. We were going through the mountains, and there were quite a few castles on the way. He was telling me about the cave paintings in those mountains that for a long time were the oldest in the world. We got to talking about ancient history, which was alot of fun. I am really interested in ancient, obscure history. Like when they find Viking ruins in Arkansas. Or when the Scots came crossed the Atlantic in the 11th century. We also were listening to this Cd that my Uncle had. Tom Waits is the name of the artist. He has a unique way of singing and making music. This guy is an amazing poet too. It's alot of fun being with my Uncle. Wish i could do it more. Having good conversation, looking at amazing scenery, listening to awesome music, nothing like it in the world. Loved it.

So we get settled in to the apartment that we borrowed from my Uncle's friend. I met him and most of his family. Nice guy. He owns two boutique stores, and one of them sells some pretty sweet knives. We bought some. Ok, ok. A lot. The only problem with the apartment was it didn't have any hot water. "That'll wake ya up in the marnin' boy!" (Spoken in a thick Scottish brogue.) Cold, cold, cold! But we brought my Uncle's espresso machine, so that made up for it. That afternoon, we pretty much just rested in the apartment.

So, to tell you this next part, I've gotta review some family history. When my dad and his family moved to Spain, they brought 4 kids with them. My Aunt Barbara, My Uncle's Eric and Timothy, and my dad. All the kids made best friends while they were there. My dad's was Juan David Lopez. Before this trip, they had not seen each other face to face in 30 years. Well, he and his family, (minus the eldest, Maria, who is in Missouri attending college,) came over to our apartment. The other three kids are, Estella, 18, Dan, 17, and Paloma, 15. They adopted Estella from West Africa when she was 6 years old. We all introduced ourselves, and got to talking. My Mom, Hannah, and Gideon were out walking when they came. After about 20 minutes, they came back. So everyone stands up again, and they introduce themselves. And Gideon, being the little boy that he is, gave everyone in their family a big hug. Well, that got everyone laughing! Gideon had gotten a deck of cards on one of the airplanes, and had been playing go fish all week with whoever he could. After getting Estella and Paloma to play with him, it progressed to another card game, called Baloney, (or Bluff.) With Estella, Dan, Paloma, Me, Hannah, Katie, Patrick and Gideon all playing. It was pretty hilarious, (the Lopez kids speak limited English, but read, write, and understand a lot more), for those of you who've played this game, you know the banter that goes on. It was even funnier in two languages. So, after that game was done, they taught us how to play Burro. It's kinda like spoons, but without the spoons. You have to say burro as you pass the cards from one person to the next, and then when you have four of a kind, you say "Burro!" and put your hand in the middle. The last person to do that is out. So anyway, some of my siblings had a hard time with pronouncing the rolled Rs, in the word Burro. It was hysterical as they kept trying to do it. So then they had us pronounce hard Spanish words. That was a whole lot of fun too. All in all, it was a blast!

The next morning, Dan and Paloma came over to take us around town. we were gone for about 5 hours or so. They took us all over Castellon. It was really neat, thinking about how my dad, and their dad were doing the same thing 30 years ago. It's mind blowing for me. Really cool.

That night, they took us up to Peniscola, which has the Castle that was used in the movie El Cid.
They town had a fiesta going on while we were there, with Amateur Bullfighting. Or if you've ever heard of "The Running of the Bulls" you could call this the running of the calves. Yep, they weren't so big. Mrs. Lopez was hilarious though. My dad, her and I cut up the hill to where the "arena" was. I have video that i might post. In the arena, there was a platform with steps up each side, a big table, and a box about 2 feet off the ground. There were bleachers that started about eight feet off the ground. Then there were metal bars a little bigger than a golf ball in diameter, and about a foot or so apart. there were at least 3 or 4 guys in the ring at all times, sometimes more. Some other guys would open the gate for the bull to come in. the first couple were alright, but the last one that we saw was feisty. He stood there pawing the ground like he was digging to China. Then the guys would start taunting him, trying to get him to chase them. The guys were sprinting like their lives depended on it. which, in a way, it kinda did. It was really fun to watch Mrs Lopez having a good time. She acted like a teenage girl a concert performance of her favorite band or something. all jumping up and down, talking about 60 miles an hour in Spanish. when the bull would run by close to the bars, she would backpedal into me. All the pictures and video of that are on my brother's computer. I'll get them soon though.

Saturday, we went shopping and visited my Aunt Marisa's Parents. But before that, Aunt Barbara, Crystal, Marisa, Uncle Eric, Nikolai and I went out to lunch at a restaurant called, Donde Marisa. For those of you who speak Spanish, that means, where is Marisa? Nik, Uncle and I all had a Spanish pizza. Not a USA pizza. no sirree. this was half a baguette, rubbed with tomato, with ham, Mozzarella cheese, oregano, and Green olives. with a sprinkle of salt, perfection. really really good.

Then Sunday we left Castellon to go to Barcelona by train. we got there, ran in to my aunt at the train station, and got a room in the same hotel that they were staying at. Then we got on the tour bus, that took us around Barcelona to see the sights. I'll post pictures, don't worry. Then Crystal and Aunt Barbara got off to go shopping at the mall. by the time they got there, the mall was still open, but all the stores inside were closed. every single one. Then we got off, and walked for about 6 miles or so. (I'll let you know as soon as I've figured it out.) We stopped for dinner about 7:00 p.m. We had Chicken Paella. We ordered the one for 7 people, and it came out in a pan about 18 inches across in diameter, and about 4 inches high. Probably the biggest "skillet" I've ever seen in my life. We had two "doggie bags" left over. We were going to the leftovers the next day, but we forgot and left them in the hotel fridge. After dinner, we walked back to The Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluna to see the water fountain/light show. Amazing. absolutely beautiful! I'm trying to post a video, not sure if it will work.

So, we get to bed after 11, and up again about 5:00 a.m. We took the train to the airport, hopped the plane to Madrid, and then took the flight to Philadelphia. From there, we flew to Norfolk. and the rest y'all already know.

So there you have it! the Larum Excursion to Spain. if I remember any stories that I haven't covered yet, I'll post them.