Madrid/Benidorm - Day 2

Well we survived the night, that's always a plus. We awoke and made our way out to find some breakfast.    Our rental wasn't available until 2pm so we had some time to kill before we needed to be back at the airport to pick it up.  Luckily it takes 4 people a really long time to get ready when you are sharing a small hostel.

View from our balcony at the hostel

Let's talk about this hostel, shall we?  Like I had mentioned previously, it was pretty nice as far as hostels are concerned.  Its about the size of a dorm room and had 2 sets of bunk beds and a twin bed in the middle so 5 people could sleep in there if you so choose.  This set up was their definition of a suite.  There was no air conditioning (standard) but luckily there was a breeze coming from the balcony, which is not typical for a hostel to have.  We had to share a bathroom with the entire floor, which had 2 showers, 2 sinks, and 1 toilet for about 7 rooms.  There weren't too many girls on our floor so we lucked out.  One girl from Japan stood next to Sarah in the morning and popped her zits in the mirror over the sink, it was just what I wanted to hear about before we went to breakfast.  You could eat breakfast at the hostel, but we wanted to explore a little more before we left (plus the Syrian boys in the room next to us kept yelling off their balcony in Arabic the night before so I was ok with leaving).


While we were getting ready, I heard some chanting coming from down the street.  We looked outside and there were some protesters coming our way.  They were protesting against the cuts to public education in several Spanish regions, and to defend education as the true path to liberty and justice. A peaceful protest, and as I'm typing this I realize this all happened the night before.  Oh well, too late now - let's just pretend it happened today.

Instead of being in school, these students were protesting. 

So we remember there is a place we had passed the night before that had Doner kebabs.  For those of you who have never had one, its a little piece of heaven on Earth and more commonly referred to as a gyro.  The ones in Spain do not have tzatziki sauce, but instead more of a toum sauce - its delish.  As we wondered down to the street we thought the delicious Doner kebabs were on, we found ourselves going deeper into Chinatown (every major city must have one).  As we were getting ready to turn around and backtrack, and small Spanish grandma came out and rushed us into a small cafe.  She said "This place has very good food and is cheap" in Spanish, so she was either related or was really a big fan of this cafe.  We ended up there and had one of the best breakfasts I had ever had.  The waiter, who I assume was the owner, brought us all coffee and water as we deliberated over what we wanted.  In Spain you typically order plates to share with everyone, but I was feeling particularly selfish and wanted my own.  We ordered a potato & aioli appetizer and then I ordered scrambled eggs with potatoes and chorizo mixed in, both major staples in a Spanish meal.  Everything was amazing and then he brought us each out a croquette, which are little fried balls of ham, beschamel cheese and potatoes. I'm drooling just thinking about them.

Once we were full and happy we made our trek back to the airport to pick up the rental car.  I must say, the Metro in Madrid is one of the cleanest modes of public transportation I have ever been on.  There was graffiti everywhere but I will take that over the dog sized rats that run around in New York. We finally arrived at the airport (mind you, I had to schlep my over sized bag through the streets again - I need to learn the art of packing) and grabbed our rental car.  It was a manual so I got out of having to drive, so I made a comfy home in the back seat full of snacks and trashy magazines.  As we were pulling out, it became apparent that Jeff did not know how to put the car in reverse.  He tried everything and finally resorted to Fred Flintstoning it and trying to push it out with his foot, while still sitting behind the wheel.  When that wasn't working so well, Sarah got out and started pushing the car.  I'm fairly certain the Spaniards thought we were nuts.  We finally figured out that you have to pull UP to reverse instead of push DOWN....which is what we do in America. Ooops.

This is how Americans back out a European car. 

Anyway fast forward a few too many hours and we finally arrived in Benidorm, Spain.  Below are a few pictures of the ride there...

We checked into our hotel and they had 4 individual twin beds for all of us...another staple of Spain.  The plus side was that we had a corner room so the balcony wrapped around both sides and we had some amazing views.

View from the North

View from the East

With views this spectacular, I was confident this was going to be the best part of the trip. Until we got to the bar...

Madrid - Day 1

As most of you know, my roommate Sarah and I recently set out on a week long adventure to Spain.  I have received requests for updates from the trip so I have decided to blog about each day in an effort make my friends/family feel like they were there with me - whether or not that is a good thing still remains unknown.

Day 1

Our day started as expected - last minute errands to Wal-Mart to pick up things we had forgotten and a trip to the bank to exchange our US dollars to the precarious Euro. Once we were sure everything we could possibly need was packed away, we headed to the airport to start our adventure.  We met up with Jeff, Sarah's cousin and faithful travel companion.  After a quick bite at The Hangar we made our way through security and eagerly waited the boarding call.

We flew to Newark on the less than spacious ERJ and were only an hour behind, which is a small miracle when flying into that awful airport.  We met up with Sarah's former roommate, Nicole, who was also joining us on the adventure.

Kailey & Sarah excited for the beer cart!

After a quick layover in Newark we were finally on the plane to Madrid!  Luckily, United has TV screens on every chair with a pretty good selection of movies to watch since you are basically held captive for 8.5 hours.  I watched the final Harry Potter Movie and The Vow, and in between I would take naps for a few hours.  Somehow my nose recognized when food was near so I conveniently woke up in time to snag a dinner, drink, and eventually a breakfast.

Madrid from 30,000 feet

When I woke up, I was in Spain! It was about 10am there and I was rearing to go explore the city.  We grabbed our bags and trekked through the airport to get on the Metro.  A fun fact about Madrid: its not a good place to bring a giant suitcase, especially when there are more stairs than escalators.  After a few line changes on the Metro, we made it to our hostel.  It was pretty nice, as far as hostels are concerned.  There were 5 beds in the small dorm size room, but there was a balcony and it was close to restaurants and the Plaza Mayor so it worked out.

View from the bottom bunk of the hostel.

We freshened up and set out to meet up with our friend Nutty and his wife - yes, that is a nickname but I have never once called him by his real name.  Anyway, they are from the UK and were on holiday in Madrid so we met them at their hotel so we could all grab a bite to eat.  Once thing I learned in Spain is that they love to feed you.  Every time we ordered a beer, they would bring out some tapas (appetizer) for free.  It varied from a plate of olives to a tuna spread on french bread.  It was all delicious except the one the hotel gave out - I think they just gave up on being creative:

Not my favorite tapas, but I still ate it.

The 6 of us ventured over to the Plaza Mayor for more drinks and tapas, which I thought was very pretty.  They had some concert stage set up, but we were not sure what it was for.  They were testing the sound system though by playing a compilation of popular songs as sung by a female lounge singer. My personal favorite was "Like A Virgin" by Madonna....it was much slower and a little sad at the same time.

We went to La Torre del Oro, or the Bullfighting Bar for my English speaking friends. It had pictures from previous bull fights, as well as stuffed heads of slain bulls.  After seeing the graphic pictures, Im fairly certain I would not be able to survive watching one without getting physically ill.

La Torre del Oro

The weather was beautiful so we sat out on the plaza and people watched.  There were a few street performers, but performers is a huge overstatement.  Basically they wanted money for dressing up in costume and sitting there.  The most worthless one I saw was a llama looking guy with a bell on his horns.  Every time someone would walk by he would snap his head and ring the bell in an attempt to get your attention.  That was the one downside of the Plaza was that EVERYONE was fighting for your attention.  The vendors, the street performers, the restaurant owners - it was a bit much.

Please don't touch me, Mr. Llama

Finally the effects of jetlag were setting in and I desperately needed a nap.  We all went back and napped so we would be ready to go for dinner.  The people of Spain typically have their dinner around 9pm, which worked well for us so we could get a nap in and not feel rushed.  We ended up back at the Plaza Mayor for dinner, but realized we were suffering the touristy prices so we went to search for something off the beaten path. Oh, remember that stage setup I had mentioned earlier?  Turns out, there was a full orchestra and opera singers who were performing that night, it was beautiful.

Sarah's former roommate when she lived in Spain, Emily, met us there after she was done teaching and pointed us in the right direction for a non-touristy tapas bar.  We had some potato & aioli concoction which was just amazing.  We also had a bocadillo that was bread, salmon, caramelized onions, and a spread that I cant remember - what I DO remember is that is was amazing.  I finally hit my second wall and had to go to bed - they walked me back to the hostel and then they all continued to explore the city.  I just can't hang with the big kids.

My home away from home the first day in Spain.

Nutty wondering how I'm still functioning. OR questioning our friendship, Im not sure.

Sarah and Vardy enjoying the Plaza Mayor. 

In God We Trust

This past weekend was my cousin Lauren's confirmation. For all of you non-Catholics out there, its a ceremony where she is microchipped by the Holy Spirit. Baptism is when you get accepted into the club, but Confirmation is when you pledge your allegiance and they hold you to that. Forever.

It is an intense process that involves Sunday classes, homework, Bible study, community service, and prayer memorization. The whole process takes about 2 years and in the end you are rewarded with oil on your head and money from your family who have also been microchipped. The reason I am bringing all of this up is because Lauren had asked me to be her sponsor. One who walks with her and guides her on the path of the righteous.

Quit laughing.

Fast forward to the big day - actually I should preface this whole story by saying that my great grandmother's name was Cecelia, so my aunt's confirmation name was Cecilia, MY confirmation name was Cecelia (and my aunt was my sponsor), and Lauren's confirmation name was....can you guess? CECELIA. Irish Catholics tend to stick with what they know. -

Anyway, so arrive at the church (St. Cecelia's Cathedral - coincidence? I think not) around 1:30pm so we can get her robe put on and get signed in. I give them her name and they give me instructions on what to do as a sponsor: Hand card to priest. Put right hand on confirmandi's shoulder. Walk back to pew. HOLD ON, let me grab a pencil and write this all down! I had to wonder which sponsor screwed up these basic instructions so bad that going forward they thought they had to act it out in order to gain comprehension. After I assertively nodded that I understood my role, we set out to find a seat in one of the pews.

St. Cecilia's is a beautiful Cathedral but unfortunately the pews were not made with comfort in mind. Creaky wood pews and kneelers that probably still had the same padding in them from the 70s. Oh well, I thought to myself, we will only be here for an hour -I can tough it out. Hindsight tells me that my thought process was nothing more than a lollipop dream. We had arrived so early that I decided it would be an appropriate time to check my Facebook. Apparently God had other plans because there was no wi-fi available, which rendered my phone useless. Crumbs! Well then, time to play my favorite game of "stare at people as they walk in to make them feel uncomfortable" (works every time). Finally 30 minutes had passed by and it was time to get the old show on the road.

The Archbishop was there, which little did I know meant the mass was automatically an extra hour long. Everything was sung instead of spoken (think Gregorian chanting) and the homily was borderline record breaking for how long it was. I am not trying to be disrespectful with this blog post, however traditional Catholic masses can be such a drag. Fast forward TWO HOURS later and we were finally finished. We took some pictures and then headed to my aunt's house for food and drinks in order to celebrate the newest Catholic in our family.

I think the traditional Catholic mass needs to add a little spice to it, but I know that's just wishful thinking. Surely I am not the only one who wonders why we attend church when it is just a bunch of people going through the motions? I need to find a church that makes me want to be there, not feel like I have to be there because its the "right thing to do". Perhaps make Church a wi-fi hot spot, that would attract new parishioners.

20 Random Facts about THIS GIRL!

Ok so I was going through facebook and trying to delete anything posted pre-professional career and I came across a note that I wrote back in 2009. Im sure it was one of those chain emails that everyone was filling out so I turned into a sheep and did the same.
Im saving this on my blog for posterity sake - who knows when I'm going to get fed up of deleting my past and just start fresh on FB.

SRules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you it's because I want to know more about you.
25. I think the best movie score is the opening theme to Boondock Saints. A close second is the Home Alone theme.

24. I try to email or call someone from my extended family at least once a week- I love staying in touch.

23. On the way to work I crank up the heat and dry my hair while Im driving...works every time.

22. Armageddon makes me cry every time.

21. I am deathly allergic to shellfish. I cant even touch the stuff without breaking out. The worst part? I acquired said allergy when I was 21 and before I used to eat seafood like it was going out of style.

20. A girl in grade school once told me I looked like Doogie Howser. She was a brat and I didnt like her because of it.

19. Speaking of grade school, my favorite lunch was chicken patty sandwiches.

18. I took 13 years of Spanish and can barely speak it, but I understand 80% of all conversations.
17. There is a town called Dwyer Hill in Ontario named after my family.

16. I apparently enjoy working at the most random places ever - Irish gift shop, pharmacy, grocery store, research assistant for a professor studying beetles, hockey team, children's fitness center, airport marketing/customer service, and finally insurance.....I need to just chill.

15. Everyone always asks me why Tiny Dancer is my favorite song. Its hard to pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with the song, but I remember when I was younger the song was playing in my mom's Bronco when we were driving to my aunt house and my mom was singing along to it and it always just stuck with me.

14. If given the option, I could eat mashed potatoes every day.

13. My family and really close friends call me Kailey Doll. I like it.

12. I have the ability to impersonate people's accents or mannerisms. I dont know why, I just do.
11. Me and grandma watch Walker Texas Ranger together almost every day at 7pm - we watch to see if he will get defeated, but he never does. That, and she thinks he is a hunk.

10. I have paid over $1,000 in speeding tickets.

9. I found something I wrote in 8th grade that said in 10 years I would have graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in Marine Biology, been an Olympic diver, and living in Seattle with my husband and two kids...oh, and I also said I would be 7'2. A girl can dream.

8. Getting my pilot's license was the coolest thing Ive ever done.

7. I am a Red Sox fan. I am fully prepared with reasons why and respect that not everyone is a fan, but stop trying to tell me they are the new Yankees- I will punch you in the face.

6. Billy Joel/Elton John was the best concert Ive ever been to.

5. I want to live in a house/apartment thats on the water. I dont care if its a pond, lake, ocean, whatever- just make sure there is a view.

4. I love the Golden Girls. It is hilarious and my sister and I can spend the entire day texting quotes back to each other.

3. Speaking of my sister, we have more inside jokes or just overall dumb things that have happened to us that can throw us into uncontrollable fits of laughter for hours.

2. I have an obsession with Puma shoes....its sick.

1. I have strayed off the path more times than I can count, been kicked when I was down, told I couldnt do something, and cried over things that werent worth my tears. BUT i have also been given direction, helped back up, encouraged and had a shoulder to cry on. Its for those moments that I realize what wonderful people I have in my life and it makes me smile every time.

Words with Frenemies

Words with Friends, or Scrabble for those old enough to remember it is an actual board game, is ruining my life. I have become upset over the world "jovial", excited about the word "excrement" and seriously questioned how someone found out that "vrouw" is an actual word. Come on people.

*sidenote: Vrouw is a married woman in Dutch, learn something new every day.

Every time someone gets a new smartphone and asks their friends what apps they should buy, it never fails that someone will suggest Words with Friends. I admit I was hooked when I first downloaded it and was excited to see how many friends I could play against to show my word prowess.

I played a game with my friend Matt and it went well - a close match and some great words were used in the battle. I was a little disappointed that some of my words were only 3 and 4 letters, but that's what TW and DW scores are for, amiright?!

The next game I played was with Luke, a kid I worked with back in the day down at Countryside Village. I am not friends with this kid, the only interaction we have had in the past 5 years was this Scrabble game so I thought it would go quickly. Wrong. The first day it took me about 24 hours to respond to his move and I noticed I had messages left on the board from him:

"Ur turn."

"You there"

"OMG GO"

Woah woah woah compadre, I am so very sorry. Next time I will patiently wait by my phone for you to play another 4 point word, douche. At least give me something to work with that shows you at least passed 4th grade English. I played "jogger" for 40+ points and smiled at the thought of him throwing his phone across the room in anger. About 30 seconds later he came back with "JEUX".

JEUX? What the flying crap is a JEUX?

Considering he had been playing elementary words the entire time I knew there was no way he knew what that word meant. Being the fair player that I am, I politely asked him in the messages what that word meant. He responded, "Ha, crazy right?". Yes, indeed that is crazy my four eyed recluse, but it did not answer my question. Not being one to just let things die I asked him again, "Ive never even heard of that word, what does it mean?" There was no way he was getting out of answering my prodding question (and for my avid readers at home questioning why I didn't just Google it myself, I actually did - I just wanted him to answer out of sheer principle.) He finally responded "I dunno, I just put the words in a database and that's what it came back with, geez"

I knew I smelled a rat. That little punk was cheating and I intended to beat him. It then dawned on me that the only thought he was putting in to the game was entering the letters he had and having a machine jumble them up into a gold mine of points for him. Meanwhile I was at home shuffling my letters around and using my brain like a schmuck. So I did what any American would do, I cheated too.

I'm not proud of the fact that I cheated, but I am proud of the fact that I beat him. When it got down to the last few letters I used the "lets-see-if-these-2-letter-combos-will-actually-work-so-I-don't-have-to-resign" method, which worked pretty well. Needless to say I did not accept his next game request, and I am pretty much ignoring all my other requests to play that stupid game. I like crossword puzzles better, they don't require me to make up ridiculous letter combos and hope they hold up in the court of Scrabble.

Scrabble, I hate you.

An Open Letter to Potential Suitors...

I decided to write this letter to all potential suitors, which could be viewed as my criteria or as a warning - your choice. By no means do I want a guy who is perfect on paper, just someone who, even with all his imperfections, is perfect for me.

Dear Boy,

What do I want in a guy? Well, if you are reading this then you are just as curious as I am. I should let you know up front, I am complex and confusing but I think I am worth it. However, you get to be the judge of that and you will be able to formulate your own opinion after reading this letter.

You must love watching movies (often times they are animated), taking risks, kissing in cars, and decorating for the holidays. No specific weight, hair color, or political affiliation required but would prefer a warm spirited non racist who is taller than me. Cynics, Critics, Pessimists, and "fuddy duddies" need not apply. Any similarity in look, mind set, or fashion sense to Anderson Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Aladdin, or Justin Timberlake wholeheartedly welcomed. I am dubious of politicians, felons and lawyers but don't want to rule them out entirely. Must be tolerant of cracking knuckles, tears when I'm happy and sad, Jason Mraz, and sleeping in late when given the option. I appreciate a man who isn't afraid to sing in the car, that remembers the insignificant details, and hugs me like there is no tomorrow. A man in a suit is attractive, but a man with strong convictions on any subject is beyond sexy.

I have learned that making plans just gives God a reason to laugh at you. I pray before I go to bed, make a mean deviled egg, and play the piano when I am stressed out. I was picked on in grade school, a wallflower in high school, and the center of attention in college. If you can handle that, you can handle anything.

I have odd scars , love handles, and a preternatural love of autumn. I once saw an elderly couple holding hands at the grocery store, and it made me smile the rest of the day. I fidget for at least a half hour before I fall asleep, I get sick when I see someone bleeding from the mouth, and think Beauty & The Beast is one of the greatest films of all time. All I want are rabbit kisses in the morning, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches shaped like a heart, and to make you smile until it hurts.

That's it, that's all.

Kailey

Even Ugly Dolls Need Love

I have a penchant for being attracted to ugly things. Doesn't matter what it is, if it's ugly I will love it. The first real example is a dog I had named Murphy. He was, for lack of a better word, hideous. The shelter had found him on the side of a road and he was so matted that they had to completely take all his hair off. He had to wear sweaters in the summer so his poor doggy skin wouldn't get sunburnt and when you pet him it felt like you were petting a warm ballsac. Did I mention he farted? A lot.

Turns out grandma couldn't handle Murphy and one day while I was at work she dropped him off at the shelter. Imagine my surprise when I came home to find no ugly ballsac dog to greet me! That was the first time I was ever mad at my grandma.

I told you that story for two reasons: one, because I still miss that dog and this is part of the healing process and two, it confirms that I am bat shit crazy.

Fast forward a few years....

My new obsession is going to garage sales to see all the beautiful crap people are trying to make money off of. Nine times out of ten the stuff is beyond repair or just plain useless, but if you look hard enough you find a gem or two hiding in crap. My sister and I (along with her friend who was unaware of my craziness) decided to go to the Omaha Community Playhouse prop sale to see what fun stuff we could find. Most of it was junk, but there were some cool paintings and vintage furniture that would complement a crazy cat lady's house.

While we were walking through the aisles we found a shelf that was marked "Toys: 50 cents each" and on it were stuffed animals that looked like they came from the Island of Misfit Toys. We glossed over the items and were about to call it a day when I saw a head poking out of the pile with only monk like ring of hair on it. I immediately grabbed it out of the pile and what I saw when it emerged was beyond my wildest dreams. It was the creepiest doll I had ever seen.

The doll was dressed in a pink cloth that resembled a toga, and it was clear that he used to be a clown but hard times washed away all the joy. After the initial shock wore off, I collected my thoughts and immediately searched for two quarters.

"You're not actually going to buy that, are you?" my sister questioned.

"Well of course I'm going to buy it, look how creepy he is!" I exclaimed

"That doesn't mean you have to buy it"

"....well....yes it does?"

Little sisters just don't get it. I grabbed my new treasure and headed over to the cashier, but not before picking out a new wicker sleigh for my mom because Cheryl loooves wicker. I walked up and the elderly lady at the register asked what I was purchasing for the day. "One sleigh and two creepy dolls please!" I could hardly contain my excitement. I gave the lady my money and away I went with my treasures. Finally, my precious and I were together.

When I got back to work I immediately whipped him out and tried to come up with a name. The usual creepster names came to mind: Chester, Sid, Larry, and Vladimir, but nothing seemed to fit. Then it hit me: Felipe! Not only does it sound exotic, but it rhymes with creep. Felipe the Creep was born anew, so now it was time to show him off. The general reaction to Felipe was less than welcoming, and the more he stared at you the more you realized he was gazing into your soul. Naturally I had to capitalize on this and had him keep an eye on Cheryl at work.

I plan on advertising Felipe's services if you need a special guest for a birthday party or bar mitzvah, which will come in handy if you hate your kid. Until then, sleep with one eye open!