After wiping our eyes, I was finally introduced to our chauffer Lola’s brother Edu, who generously played driver for us the entire time we were in town. THAT guy has got it together! He is 23 and about to spend a year studying in Paris to finish up his degree in Engineering. On top of that, he is funny and smart, and a heck of a watch dog when people start getting crazy (like crappy cab drivers in Paris…more on that later). He rocks! (Hi Edu!!)

So, we got home, and I toured the house, and met Mamá who is completely wonderful and Dad (Rafa) who is really, really, really smart and considerate. They are super sweet people for letting me stay with them (and later, Daron too!) and they have a beautiful home. Before I passed out from exhaustion, Mamá presented me with a present, a beautiful Spanish fan. After a quick lesson on how to flick it open and closed like a pro, I was ready to crash. Lola and I were catching a train in the morning to the Mediterranean coast and the city of Alicante.

In the morning, we got on the train, and I have to admit, it was completely awesome! It was a great temperature, roomier than a plane, and the scenery was amazing. I’m so glad I had that experience. When we got there, it was time for me to head to the conference packet-pickup, and touch base with my school people.

The next few days were a mixture of work and play. In the mornings I would go to the conference to work a little bit (because my professor was the organizer of the whole shebang) and learn. In the afternoons, I would meet up with Lola and we’d go walking around Alicante to window shop, eat, or visit the beach. After 2 days, I think, Edu and Rafa (the other Rafa, Lola’s amazingly smart and funny boyfriend) drove down and spent the last 2 days in Alicante too. Their hotel was just up the street from us, and it was nice to have some men folk around to protect us delicate-female-type-flowers. hehe.

Highlights of Alicante include:

• the first of 3 Nutella crepes that I ate while I was in Europe,
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• a PERFECT day at the beautiful (boobie covered) beach,
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• seafood paella,
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• discovering lemon KAS (best soda ever),
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• falling in love with Spanish café con leche,
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• sunrise over breakfast on conference days,
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• the adorable streets in Alicante (once you get far enough away from the touristy part),
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• and my first conference presentation!

To briefly mention my presentation, I’ll say that it went really well, I think. I had a relatively big turn out for the numbers there, and I got lots of positive feedback! It was an amazing experience, and I’m sure I’ll present more in the future. For what it’s worth, I think that the “RCC” is more suited for classroom teachers’ development, but it went well anyway. On top of that, I got to spend a lot of time with my mentors (doc students that are also TA’s in some of my classes)… those girls are amazing. I learned so much from them. Maybe one day soon, I’ll feel like a peer, and not their dumb student. haha.

At the last minute, we decided that we’d get a refund on our return train ticket and go back to Madrid with the boys via car! It was a great ride back, and I had my first taste of Spanish tortilla (which has nothing to do with flour or corn) at a GAS STATION cafe but eventually became my favorite Spanish food.

Back at home, we have come time to kill in Madrid before hubs shows up, so we need to find a way to keep ourselves busy!

Up Next- Part 3: Madrid before and after hubster’s arrival!

If you missed part 1 of my Vacation Recap, you can read it all here.