The Trip to Spain (What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been...)

The purpose of this trip to Spain was to attend the wedding of Jean’s older nephew Gabe and his fiancé Natacha, who was from France. We left home on Sunday, May 8, when Andy drove us to Philadelphia Airport. Had we left from Newark Airport, it would have cost us $500 more round-trip, as well as a 5-hour delay in Philly. At the airport we met Susan & Peter (Jean's brother), and Susan’s brother John, who took the same flight as us. It was nearly 8 hours long, but the seats were very crowded, especially when the people in front of us pushed their seats as far back as possible. We did get a meal, but neither of us was able to sleep much during the overnight flight.

When we arrived in Madrid Airport, we then had a 9-hour drive to Gaucin, a small town of 2,000 people in the absolutely gorgeous mountains of southern Spain. Along the way we stopped at a gas station restaurant for lunch, where we had a three-course “menu of the day.” I had paella for my first course, and fried egg and sausage for my second course. While Spanish food overall was not on the level of Italian or Chinese food, the croquettes and paella were very good. Spaniards also eat lots of bread and cheese, which are also good.

Driving high into the mountains was breath-taking, especially when we passed the base of a windmill farm. By the time we reached the village, we were surrounded totally by mountains. By the time we arrived in Gaucin, we had all been awake about thirty consecutive hours and were fairly tired. Gaucin resembles the town of Capri, although the roads between houses are about double the size, wide enough for a single car to barely pass through it (with us hugging the houses to avoid getting side-swiped).

We stayed in a villa, which was connected on both sides to adjoining houses. It was very pretty and convenient having many of the guests right there. On the bottom floor of the villa was a suite where Natacha’s mother Monique stayed. Outside it was a large pool and deck with chairs. The second floor had a large kitchen-living room for Peter & Susan and Jean & me, and many of the wedding guests congregated there during the week. Adjacent to it was another two-room suite where Natacha’s married brother Sebastian stayed with his wife and 5 children. Alongside those rooms was a patio with table and chairs.

The third floor had bedrooms. Jean and I had one, with adjacent bathroom, as did Peter & Susan. Behind our bedroom was another group of bedrooms for Sebastian’s family.

Beneath the pool was a basement suite where Jesse (Gabe's younger brother), Jake (Gabe’s best friend from high school) and Jerome (Natacha’s single brother) all stayed. Adjacent to the villa was another suite of rooms where Gabe and Natacha stayed.

A ten minute walk from the villa was a hotel where other guests stayed: John; Natacha’s uncle Jeanot (who was totally over the top and always lots of fun all week) and his wife Vivianne (who was equally fun-loving); Natacha’s aunt Joelle and her husband Nadine; Guillermo (Peter & Susan’s exchange student from Spain for a year of high school who has stayed very close to the family) and his wife Maria and two-year old son Guzman.

Activities were held every day of the week, so we had lots of time to bond with the other wedding guests. Natacha’s family only spoke French, so we all stumbled to speak with them, usually succeeding because Peter and I know some French, and Jerome & Natacha speak fluent English. It was fun carrying on such stumbling conversations.

Parties were held every night, and when we arrived late evening on Monday, May 9, the first one was held in our living area. Gabe ordered “tortilla” (which was really an oven-baked frittata), chicken in brown sauce and tomato.

On Tuesday, May 10 afternoon, a large group of us walked through the woods to the orchard where Gabe & Natacha worked for six months, living in a tent. That night we all had a party in Jesse’s basement suite, after which two groups left for bar-hopping in Gaucin. The “girls” originally planned to go out for dinner, but since nobody left the party until 11:15, they bar-hopped instead. Vivianne used Jean for walking support between bars. The “boys” also bar-hopped, but I did not go, since I neither drink nor enjoy the bar atmosphere. Jeanot caused a scandal by “wrapping a chair around himself” and taking it back to the villa, where it remained all week.

On Wednesday, May 11, we had lunch at a café near the hotel. I ate pimento salad and croquettes. Afterwards, we drove through the mountains to the much bigger town of Ronda, which is built atop an incredible cliffside. Its view is both exhilarating and frightening. We spent time walking through the large shopping district and main square (which all Spanish cities seem to have, a very common European feature).

During that night’s bar-hopping by the French people and youngsters, Monique got very pale and collapsed. Everybody assumed she had a heart attack, and Gabe did CPR on her. Eventually an ambulance came and took her to a hospital in Ronda, where she stayed until Friday afternoon. Apparently, she has a history of blood clots, and possibly overdosed on her inhaler, but it was a very scary few days for everybody, especially her family.

Thursday, May 12, was the civil ceremony in Gibralter, since Gabe and Natacha had trouble with their paperwork, thus could not get married in France or Spain. We all arrived in the tiny nation mid-morning, but for awhile it looked as if all the French people would not arrive in time for the 11:00 ceremony. They had gone to the hospital to visit Monique in the morning, where Jerome had stayed overnight with her. But nobody brought his passport to the hospital, so they had to return to Gaucin before going to Gibralter. In a scene directly out of a movie, we were waiting outside the town hall with less than 10 minutes to go when a cab pulled up and all the French people climbed out of it. Besides their partying and bonhommie, they also know how to make an entrance!

After the brief ceremony, we went to a restaurant where everybody was served fish and chips (after all, Gibralter is a British protectorate). After lunch, we broke into smaller groups to explore Gibralter, so Peter, Susan, John, Jean and I hired a van to ride to the top of the rock of Gibralter. The highlight was stopping on the level where the monkeys lived, and we took pictures of them sitting on our shoulders and heads.

That evening, Guillermo was in a bar where the local residents asked him if he was part of the “wedding group” with all the drunken French people who stole the chair. Apparently, the wedding created a bit of a scandal in town, haha.

On Friday, May 13, Jean and I walked through Gaucin, then we climbed the mountain adjacent to the town with Peter. We had supper sitting at a café where we ate “tapas,” which is basically little plates of bar food, nothing particularly exciting, but everybody seemed thrilled with eating tapas.

The party that night was in Sebastian’s suite, and spilled over into our rooms. Peter and I spent a long time talking with Jeanot and Vivianne, which was a bit difficult but we really enjoyed both of them.

Saturday, May 14 was the wedding reception day. Most of the males went to the very nice b&b nestled in the mountains (where the reception was held) in mid-afternoon, while the females stayed at the villa, most of them getting their nails done. The food was the best food we ate all week, and it was followed by music and dancing. As usual, Jake, Jerome, John and Jean took tons of pictures, which are slowly being posted online.

Most people left on Sunday, May 15 for various destinations. Peter, Susan and John left at 4am for the airport in Malaga where John’s flight home was, then Peter and Susan continued to Granada. At noon Jean, Jesse and I took a train to Granada where the 5 of us stayed overnight. That is a fascinating city, and we walked mostly through the Moslem quarter where we saw the impressive Alhambra, the palace built by the Moors in the 14th century. We had a dinner of salad and pizza (which was thin and crispy, as good as the pizza I ate in Naples). Then we encountered a massive street demonstration against the Spanish government, which was loud and reminiscent of the two protests I participated in for the NJEA in Trenton.

The four of us drove Jesse to the airport at 4:30am on Monday, May 16, for his flight home to Miami, then we continued to Madrid. We stayed in an over-expensive hotel in the heart of the tourist district, so it was convenient to walking through the city. It is a very pretty city, with all its historical sights very well-maintained, and the usual squares filled with cafés and bars. Jean and I ate a dinner of tasty noodles with vegetables (which were basically stir-fried lo mein noodles), followed by chicken in oil. It was so oily the chicken was dripping in it. At night we went to a dance show featuring Moorish, gypsy and Turkish dance, which was very enjoyable.

We spent most of Tuesday, May 17, exploring Madrid, including the Prado art museum and botanical gardens. We ate a picnic lunch in the park, consisting of sandwiches and salads we bought at a supermercado. At night we went to a huge trendy shop where tourists and yuppies hung out drinking wine and eating tapas. Afterwards we encountered another anti-government protest in the main square of the city.

On Wednesday, May 18, Peter and Susan left early for home. Jean and I had a breakfast buffet in the hotel before taking a bus to the airport for our flight home. The plane was considerably more spacious than the original flight, thankfully, and they served as two meals and lots of drinks. Jean watched 2 movies while I read most of the flight. We reached Philadelphia earlier than expected. Overall, this trip was spectacular, especially the sights and the time in the villa bonding with the other guests.