Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Schwenks Take Spain

Hello Everyone,

From April 18th through April 25th, my parents came to visit me! They arrived on Wednesday, April 18th in Madrid. They spent the day sight-seeing and had lunch with my dad's work friend, Diego. The next day, they took the AVE high speed train to Zaragoza where I was waiting to greet them. After an emotional greeting, we took a taxi to the hotel where my parents were going to stay. After checking in and dropping the suitcases in the room, we set out to explore Zaragoza. We walked around, had lunch, and later met up with my friend Gonzalo in the city center.

After a few hours, my host mom Marta came and picked us up and took us to the hotel. My parents went to the hotel room to freshen up while I went with Marta to the store and to get my host sister Ana from the bus stop. My host dad Jose also met us at the bus stop. We then went back to the hotel where my parents were waiting for us. After all the greetings, we went to a nearby restaurant for a dinner of tapas. We then all walked back to my parents' hotel and said goodnight. My parents then went up to their room and I went home with my host family.

The morning, I went into Zaragoza with Marta and Ana. They went to school and I went to meet my parents at their hotel. We ate breakfast together and then did some more sight-seeing. After lunch, we met up with Marta and Jose. We loaded up Jose's car and headed up to Panticosa in the Pyrennes Mountains where they have a vacation home. Ana had other plans for the weekend so she didn't come with us. We walked around and enjoyed the mountain sites and spent the night there. On Saturday morning, we went to the border of France before making a few sight-seeing stops on the way back down to Zaragoza. We arrived in Zaragoza in the afternoon. Jose, my dad, and I took their dog Tinkel out for a walk around the neighborhood while my mom and Marta cooked dinner. We then stayed the night in my host family's house.

The next day, Sunday the 22nd, my parents and I took the AVE train to Barcelona in the morning. We spent Sunday and Monday in Barcelona. We spent most of our time in Barcelona with my friend Enric and his parents. They are such great tour guides! I always have the best time with them! They are so friendly, caring, and fun! On Tuesday morning, we took AVE to Madrid. When we arrived, we went to the hotel to check in and to put the bags in the room. We then took a cad into the center of Madrid to walk around and see a bit of the city before having a very nice, relaxing dinner at a cafe in the Plaza Mayor. Afterwards, we had ice cream and then went back to the hotel.

The next morning, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport very early. After a tearful goodbye, mom and dad were on their way back to New York. I took a shuttle bus from the airport to the center city of Madrid. In the shuttle bus, I met a guy from Boulder, Colorado who was about 23 years old. He came to Spain by himself and we got to talking. When we arrived in center city, we got breakfast together and I helped him find where he was staying. We then walked to the train station together where we said goodbye and I hopped on the train back to Zaragoza. Even though it was a random encounter, it was kind of cool because if I hadn't met him, I would've been by myself waiting for the train for a few hours. Anyways, I had a great time with my parents and I wish they could've stayed longer because I miss them a lot. I hope they enjoyed the trip and Spain just as much as I do!

Until next time, Brian

                                                                        Zaragoza:



                                                                    
Gonzalo and I



                                                                       Panticosa:









                                                                        Barcelona:



Enric, his parents, and I

Enric, his girlfriend Anna, his parents, my parents, and I






                                                                          Madrid:




  

No comments:

Post a Comment