After spending nearly three months riding solo and conquering the streets of Europe, I was finally reunited with my family over Thanksgiving. I had planned to surprise them at the airport by emailing my dad and pretending I had a test that day and saying I would meet them afterward. I showed up at the airport and watched a line of Lufthansa passengers exit baggage claim. None of them were my family.
It turns out Lufthansa, the luxurious German airline with free wine and face towelettes, had lost the fam’s luggage. The surprise was slightly awkward when they came out thirty minutes later from the baggage claim. “Surprise! Missed you! Sorry you have no clothes anymore…” Regardless, it was SO GOOD to see them, and I don’t think I have ever been so ready for family time. (In case you’re wondering, the luggage was delivered to our apartment later that day.)
After a fun-filled first day of jet lag, naps and a tour of the SLU-Madrid Campus, we ended with a variety of Spanish tapas – potatoes bravas, vegetables tempura, a ham and egg delicacy and paella. And don’t forget the wine! It was a delicious meal and a great introduction to my Spanish life.
After a lengthy night’s sleep to combat the jet lag, we were ready to conquer Madrid for round two. Madrid is such a large and dense city that, despite my many attempts at being cultural, I have yet to conquer everything I want. Thus, I decided to use this time to visit some of the main tourist attractions. The first stop was the Royal Palace, which, compared to the austerity of the other sites in Madrid, is truly a baroque masterpiece of gold leaf, red carpets, ornate tapestries, ceiling murals, etc. We rented a listening guide and took turns learning historical tidbits and sharing them with the rest of the family.
After the palace, we took a stroll through the Sabatini Gardens, passed the National Theatre and ended up off Vergara Street. My dad loved this little encounter since he is quite a fan, for obvious reasons, of Sofia Vergara (Gloria on Modern Family). Of course, it wouldn’t be a liberal Rizer family vacation if we didn’t run into a protest against homelessness and a march for better public school education. We spent the rest of the day in Parque Retiro, row boating around the lake and strolling though my favorite rose gardens.
That night, we went to the San Miguel Market to pick up meat for our Thanksgiving feast. They didn’t have turkey so we settled on meatballs as our centerpiece. My mom brought StoveTop stuffing and mashed potatoes from good ‘ole America, so we put on some Bing Crosby Pandora, poured the wine and enjoyed our foreign feast. It is a family tradition to watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles on Thanksgiving so we curled up in our cozy Spanish apartment and indulged in our favorite Thanksgiving ritual, bringing a little bit of John Hughes’ America abroad.
On the agenda the next morning: a day at the Prado accompanied by, what else, lounging at Starbucks. We walked the length of the museum, viewing the masterpieces of Velazquez, Goya and El Greco. I was quite the know-it-all around my parents since I am taking an art history class over here that focuses on the history of Madridian art and Spanish artists. I even convinced them that their tuition really was paying off! I had actually been to the Prado a few months ago during one of our first weekends in Madrid, but since then I have learned so much about Spanish history and these prolific artists that it was truly a whole new experience.
That night, we went to our City Club in Charlotte’s Spanish counterpart called Casino Madrid, an old stone building in the heart of the city that withstood the reign of Franco—complete with a library where upstanding gents were smoking cigars and knocking back brandy. It was one of the most regal buildings I have ever had the privilege to visit, decked out with a gold-plated staircase, glass chandeliers and top-notch service. We had a drink at the bar before dinner where I had my first taste of Grey Goose and then a splendid salmon ravioli and fish for dinner with raspberry sorbet for dessert. We headed to another regal-ish place, the one and only El Tigre, to meet up with the families of several other friends in my program. It was a great night and, in the cab on the way home, my noob dad acknowledged his feelings of bad*ssery, noting that we didn’t make it home until after 2 a.m. SoOoO cRazY.
The last two days were filled with a day-trip to Segovia where we visited the ancient Roman aqueduct, a the stunningly decorative cathedral, and the Alcazar, an ancient medieval castle where the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella once resided. We spent the morning in a coffee shop catching up on all things family and pestering my sister with questions about her upcoming college decisions. Segovia was quite chilly with its snow-covered mountains in the distance, so we grabbed a hot chocolate out of the 1980s-style vending machine in the bus station. Total Planes, Trains move.
Sunday was another wonderful day of sightseeing, beginning the day with Mass at a neighborhood church (we were easily the youngest people there by a good 30 years). From there we headed to the Rostro, Madrid’s flea market of sorts. I usually don’t attend Rostro on Sundays because the plebeians stress me out, and the crowds irk me. Regardless, it was a fun afternoon, and my dad and I even stopped to be cultured and ate fresh sardines (deboned them too) and bread for lunch. That evening was slightly more majestic, as we attended high tea at the Ritz Madrid. Tea sandwiches, tarts and lots and lots of tea as well as an elaborately Christmas-themed dining room were the perfect end to a perfect week. While I am still loving life abroad and cherishing every unique moment, this week was a tease into what is sure to be a great reunion over winter break.