School Festival

This past week the kids had their School Festival, in honor of Blessed Faustino -the Founder of the Congregation of Nuns who began the School. Antonio and Alejandra had been rehearsing for weeks and were ready to participate in the play and festivities.

It began on Wednesday with the School Parade. Alejandra was dressed as a Spanish Flamenco dancer and Antonio was a Real Madrid soccer player. We had initially hoped that he would agree to be a Bullfighter, in keeping with the Spanish theme, but as soon as he saw the tight torero pants he frowned and said no-way! I think he was expecting something a little more "manly" and "cool" than sequence and tights!!

At any rate, to my surprise, even the teachers dressed up for the Parade, so when I picked them up that afternoon, I felt like I had walked into a Halloween party in the middle of March! It was very amusing.

Here we have both of the kids' teachers: Antonio with Beatriz, dressed as a Chinese lady; Alejandra with Margarita, dressed as a school girl -super cute!

Thursday, when I picked up the kids their faces were covered in the remains of a delicious hot chocolate snack at school; Friday they ate churros during recess and Antonio reported that they did "absolutely no school work during these days!"

Friday afternoon was the school play. Alejandra was in a number called "Paint, paint, paint without stopping" and as such, she was dressed as a painter. Antonio was in a skit about keeping the earth clean and the effects of pollution, and he was a puffy white cloud. And, well, Francisco just enjoyed trying on his siblings' "zapatillas" -which were the white, canvas shoes, typical of Spain that were required for the costumes. These zapatillas are surprisingly comfortable (and oh-so-fashionable!) and the kids have enjoyed wearing them around the house. They smell of bubblegum too! Francisco feels really left out that he didn't get his own pair and he flops around in theirs....I'm going to need to run to the store for another pair soon.



Speaking of Francisco, that boy is getting fiesty! His new favorite word is "stop!" -which is rather curious, since we don't speak in English, so we're not quite sure where he picked it up (perhaps Elmo's videos?). At meal times he absolutely insists on feeding himself, and as you can imagine, we have a fiasco thrice daily: as the yogurt dribbles down the spoon and onto his shirt and pants, I explain to him that he just can't do it alone yet. This however is not something he's willing to swallow (literally) and so begins the tantrum: he thrashes about, hopping to and fro in his high-chair, screaming, trying to tear apart the placemat, flip the plate over, spill his milk, etc. He's been succesful on a number of ocassions, but now we're all pretty much prepared.

He also corrects me frequently: "Asi no!" ("Not like that!") and then adds, "Asi, si" ("Like this") and he demonstrates the action his way...sigh...picky, picky, picky. He's still as cute as a button though, so we'll keep him.

Here are Francisco and Alejandra wearing masks of their class mascots. Fran is wearing Antonio's "Pinto" mask, a little green monster that frolics about the classroom; Alejandra is wearing "Lila", a little lilac monster. We go to this park, seen above, pretty much every day now. The weather has been warm and sunny and after school the park is swarming with kids.

So, I've saved the best for last. In January, the kids "discovered" Michael Jackson. It all started when they came home from school singing "Heal the World" (one of Michael Jackson's songs) as part of a little performance for "The Day of Peace." Well, that was the start of something special. They are completely taken to his music, his moves, and his videos (I mean, how could you not be? He was a genius before he got all weird). And after watching a couple of his videos, we noticed that Antonio was trying (with a good measure of success) to imitate his moves! It was incredibly amusing and so we tried to coax him to let us film him dancing.  Initially he was absolutely against it, but after a little bribery we managed to get a few clips. I had to haggle with Antonio a bit. He wouldn't dance for less than 2 euros, but I got him down to 1 euro. Granted, because he knew he was being filmed, he is more reserved and self-conscious (stage fright), so the video does not do full justice compared to the  all-out performances, which I will try to capture in the future. But it does serve as a little foretaste of his style!

(By the way, he requested that I let him grow his hair out like Michael Jackson, to which I said, absolutely not!)

And, Francisco has learned the Guardian Angel Prayer (although he's clowning around, so it doesn't sound as clear as he's actually able to say it):

Angel de la Guarda

Mi dulce compania

No me desampares

Ni de noche ni de dia

Hasta que me pongas

En paz y alegria

Con todos los Santos

Jesus, Jose y Maria. Amen

Segovia

A couple of weeks ago we visited Segovia, just 30 minutes outside of Madrid. We had no real expectations, and boy were we in for a treat. It was magnificent. Similar to Toledo, but perhaps better in some respects, because of the Castle (Alcazar) located here. Segovia is another fortified city, trapped in the 16th century, with a spectacular cathedral (seen above) and the very famous Roman Aqueduct.

From the train station we took a taxi to Alcazar (which literally means Castle), seen above. As soon as Francisco saw the towers (turrets) he started yelling "Rapunzel!" and spent the rest of the tour convinced that she was hiding somewhere in there. Alcazar has some of the most amazing rooms inside --exquisitely decorated in the Al-mudejar (Muslim) style of the 16th century. It is also very well preserved, complete with a throne room (with the kings thrones) and their bed chamber - so cool. We were surprised at how cold it was in the castle and visualized its past inhabitants shivering within its cold stoney walls all the time.

 

The landscapes are so beautiful in this area. Very arid with snow capped mountains, and rich in yellow and brown hues. As you can see, it was a chilly day but the brilliant sun countered this and made it very pleasant.

The kids loved seeing the artillery room in Alcazar, complete with knights, canons (and balls), swords, and arrows. We also climbed the steep spiraling staircase (yes, carrying Francisco!) up to the towers (Seen above, bottom left pic) for a magnificent view of Segovia and the mountains.

 

As you can see, Francisco found many potential "Rapunzel" towers and as he banged on door after door, insisting that she open, we finally had to tell him that she was taking a nap. Only then was he satisfied and the tour went on (in the left picture above you might make out a faint red blotch at the base of the Tower door, that's Francisco). The bottom right picture is of a small church on the outskirts of Segovia, it was too far to walk but have heard it is beautiful. Buildings such as these were almost common throughout Segovia, marking it with such a special sense of history.

From Alcazar we walked towards the main plaza to see the Cathedral, which can be seen in the background. Two rivers converge in Segovia, making it strategically very fortified.

Along the way to the Cathedral, bellies began to rumble, so we took a break at a little park and our little monsters got their fill.

This is very impressive back end of the Cathedral. On the inside, it reminded us of Toledo's Cathedral. After visiting, we took a side-street off the Main Plaza and found a restaurant called Lazaros, where we ate Cochinillo (this is the trademark food of Segovia), which is a roasted suckling pig. It was really good and the dessert, Ponche Segoviano, was awesome too.

From there, it was time to see the third major attraction of Segovia: The Roman Aqueduct. It is a thing of beauty. It has been restored somewhat over the centuries, but it retains its original structure and stones. The aqueduct is quite imposing especially contrasting with the deep blue sky.

We just hung out there (which is what a lot of people seem to do, they just hang out at the base of the aqueduct!) and walked through nearby streets for the rest of the afternoon.

It almost goes without saying that the vast majority of these pictures were taken by Fede, who did an excellent job. It'll be hard to decide which ones to frame once we're back in the States!

Here are the two boys, just as cute as can be. And, we're happy to report that they're fighting less and playing more together (yay!)

When one travels to these Castillian towns (like Toledo and Segovia) it is hard not to notice the deep impression that the "Catholic Monarchs" (Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella) had on Spain. Their crest of "Castilla y Leon" (the Castle and the Lion) are found on every historic building. Talk about effective 16th century propaganda!

 

I realize that this post is photo-rich, and it was just hard to leave out so many terrific shots. It was such a beautiful day trip and we hope that you've been able to experience a bit of Segovia through it. Signing off with one last picture, Fede's favorite!

 

We're still alive and kickin'

Hi folks!

I know...we haven't posted anything in a month and a half, and I realize that some of you were worried if we had been gored by a Spanish Bull. Well, lay your worries to rest, we are all doing great!!

Truth be told, it was a combination of being really busy and then just very regular days with not much to tell. Nevertheless, routine days always hold a bit of charm when you have three kids running around. Here we are hanging out at home (Martha with a new haircut and the boys in their twin shirts giving her a little positive reinforcement!).

Francisco's vocabulary and ability to speak has suddenly exploded. He is talking up a storm and understands about 90% of everything. This makes it super fun to talk to him and to see him interact. He went on this two-week streak where he added "pol-falol" (that is: por favor or "please") to everything he said. The way this kid drinks water (at all hours of the day and night) puts a Saharan Camel to shame. Man, you'd think he was a plant! This makes potty training all the more intimidating (something Martha has been putting off since Jan 1st). But just to hear him construct sentences is so exciting, for example, this evening he said "Antonio sacame la cama pol fal-lol" (which is 'Antonio, peesh take my bed out') -he sleeps in a trundle.

We recently went to get our official Spanish ID cards (called NIE) and for that we needed some passport photos. Generally, we did a pretty good job at the "do-it-at-home" photo, save for Fran who is quite the clown!

A couple of weeks ago we had Fede's friends from the MBA come over for dinner. Marisa, who is from Peru, had her fiancee visiting and he made the most spectacular "lomo salteado" dish! And...well, we definitely think he's a keeper!!

Up top: Franco (from Mexico), Fede, Nadim and Marisa

Antonio has also really taken to drawing (finally!) -being the son of an artist, this is quite exciting for Martha. His ability to draw and color has improved enormously, as can be seen below.

 

And, as you may all know, Antonio turned 6 on the 23rd of February. We had a nice birthday dinner for him, but the real party will be this coming Saturday, March 3rd. So, stay tuned for that and for amazing pictures from Segovia (last weekend). Cheers to all!

The Manzanares River

The other day I was talking to Ana, my sister, on the phone and I mentioned we had gone to see the river here in Madrid and her reply was "Madrid has a river!?" -haha. Indeed, it kind of came as a surprise to me too, because unlike other major cities whose central point is a river (the Hudson River, Charles River, Le Seine, TheTiber River), Madrid's River only covers one quadrant of the city (running from the West to the South of Madrid). It's called the Manzanares River (sounds like Manzana, Apples, but I'm not sure why it has that name) and it's a pretty narrow, unassuming river as far as rivers go. Nevertheless, some locals had told us it was worth checking out and so we made plans.

Valentina and Miguel mentioned that they knew of a chicken joint near the river where we could have lunch that day. As we walked down the street looking for the restaurant, I was imagining some small, hole-in-the-wall place, when we suddenly came upon this big rustic beautiful building called "Casa Mingo". It was awesome, really old and had the best chicken in town!

After a delicious chicken meal with homemade Cider we were ready to hit the river. Before we got there though, we went to visit this little church where the famous painter Goya is buried. To be exact, there are two identical churches: one being the original, which houses frescos painted by Goya, and the other a replica, becuase the first one was in delicate shape. Goya is buried in the replica, which is somewhat ironic being that he's buried in a church that has an imitation of his own artwork.

The plan was to rent bicycles, but we weren't really sure where to rent them. So, we just began to walk down the river. After the first 10 minutes we came upon this really cool "pine" park - very new and funky where the kids could play. In the picture below, Francisco is riding the wooden warthog like a Harley Davidson!

 

We kept walking and about a half kilometer up the path there was another park, even neater than the first. They had what may be described as an up-side down see-saw, where you sit on hanging sticks (below). Even the adults had a blast on that one!



Park number three along the path was pretty sophisticated. It had this fortress (below) that was rather tricky to climb up (knotted rope) so we ended up hauling all the kids up the long slide, and then enjoying the ride down. No matter what your age, there's always a kid inside ready to enjoy a good slide, right Fede?



I lost count of how many parks are along this 7km stretch of river, but it's more than seven. This was an ideal plan with the kids. The backdrop to the Manzanares River is the Royal Palace and the Cathedral of Almudena. Another Basilica (San Francisco el Grande) can also be seen. We were all impressed at how well designed portion of the river walk is, it is very exercise/kid/family friendly.

The Cathedral of Almudena

 As you can see, we did finally find the bike place and rented two of these quad-cycles: the two people in the back pedal, while the kids sit in the front. One adult steers and there's a brake in the middle. The pedaling is slow-going but super fun!

 

Antonio and Tomas were in one "car" while Eva, Alejandra and Francisco were in the other "car" and we took turns racing past the other car. The kids were in hog heaven :). Below we took a little break to enjoy these long swings that we came upon.

The Toledo Bridge can be seen above. This is as far as we got along the path before we had to turn around because we had to return the bikes to the rental place. Next time though, we are going to set aside a whole morning to spend at the river so that we can go the full 7 kms! That's it for now!

Three Wise Men

In view of the coming of the Three Wise Men (Jan 6th), here we have our Three Wise Guys you might say. Which brings me to my first point: in Spain, Christmas is not about presents, it's about the birth of Jesus....but Epiphany, now that's where the presents are at!!! All the little kids in Spain write letters to the Wise Men asking for toys and so you can imagine the excitement they feel knowing that on Friday they will receive heaps of gifts!!

One day we made an awesome Colombian "Frijoles" Dish that I just had to commemorate on the blog. It came out so tasty!

Another day we went walking to the Plaza Mayor to see the Christmas Outdoor Market. The kids loved the guy making the enormous balloons and he even obliged us with a special picture of the kids in the balloon!

Above are an assortment of pictures from this last week :) And below is the famous restaurant "El Botin" which is the world's oldest restaurant (you can see the Guiness Book of World Records Certificate from the window). It is located just off of one of the corners of the plaza mayor. The place has been open for business since 1725!!!

On Thursday night we actually got to go out (just the adults!!). You might say we pulled a fast one on all the five kids, because we put them all to bed nice and early (8:30pm) and then the babysitter came over at 9pm when they were fast asleep and we quickly slipped out! (of course, crossing our fingers that this would work, because if the kids woke up unexpectedly to find an unforeseen babysitter this could have been a big problema!). Luckily we had purposefully worn them out that day and they passed out like rocks.

I wish I could say that we were all full of energy and ready for a long night out on the town, but when you're managing 5 kids ages 5 and under, energy is a commodity that's rather spare! Still, we had a great time at some tapas bars (the tapas were AMAZING) and it was really fun to experience the Spanish nightlife, which as you all may know, is something that Spain is known for. I asked a Spaniard in our group specifically about that because it seemed to me that the streets were packed with people going out (sure didn't seem like a recession in Spain!) and he said that Spaniards would rather not spend on clothes, vacations and other stuff just so they have enough money to still go out :) haha..



So here in the picture above is Ana Maria and Pablo, Fede, me, Miguel, Valentina and Patricia. We ordered something very typical in Madrid which is called "Huevos Rotos" (Broken eggs), and it's basically a dish with homemade potato chips, fried eggs and ham on top! so bizarre but very yummy!!

We also had a great picnic at Retiro last week with our friends Scott and Leah (who you may remember from our Thanksgiving Celebration). Leah is just a month away from giving birth and we are super excited!! The weather continues to be delightful.

And finally, I just had to include this pic of us at the Planetarium, not because of its photographic quality but because Francisco looks so darn cute pre-haircut. Fede says that he looked like one of the Three Stooges with his mushroom hair (so true!!) and I just found it darling...of course he looks terrific with his buzz cut too.

Ok, next post is all about the Manzanares River Outing a.k.a. Madrid's best kept secret.

cheers to everyone,

The Martinez Family