Friday, June 26, 2009

craving Chico

Markel and I are longing for Chico...

On our summer list of things to do:
  • El Paisa burrito wagon
  • Mt Lassen (let's see a volcano!)
  • Outlaws baseball game
  • Bear Hole
  • Carmichael backyard oasis
  • Sara's 30th!
  • plan honeymoon road trip
  • Bidwell park
  • Chico Mad Dawgs games
  • riding bikes
  • camping trip
  • Les&Lew wedding!!
  • tour guides for familia vasca
  • American Wedding 8-01!!

house hunt

Markel and I are out of cute, little piso at the end of this month and on the search for a new one!

We're looking to move within Madrid, to a larger flat near the center of the city. Anyone know of any??

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

mister & missus

April 18th, 2009

8:45 Markel took me to his mom's house to have my hair done. His sister awoke, frantic, saying that her boyfriend couldn't move his back and they'd have to go to the hospital... They'd be lucky to make it to the wedding. Markel's mom and I simply smiled, avoiding the drama, and continued finishing my hair.

10:05 I met Markel's dad at the dry cleaners to pick up my dress. Markel's sister, María, and her boyfriend had just been picked up from the hospital where Toni had a shot in his culete to bring his neck and back up to speed.

10:10 Flowers were distributed. Yellow flowers for the family - the dads, the moms, and grandma. Purple for Markel and the four grooms buddies. (Peta, Seta, Jefe & Juanma)

10:30 Back at the house. Markel had already left to his aunt's house to get ready with his friends. Becky and Sara were in charge of makeup, making me look beautiful while they got ready too.

10:32 Markel's stepmom, Juani, told Becky and Sara to have some breakfast... couldn't start with the makeup without eating!

11:00ish Re-start makeup. Debating colors, techniques and styles.

11:54 Sara hasn't had a chance to get ready since she's been busy making me beautiful! Becky shoos her away while she finishes the last touches.

12:05 Getting in wedding dress... remember the garter, the nylons, the jewelry...

12:
35 Markel calls... "Where are you guys?" (as Markel's dad is impatiently waiting with the car for us to be finished...)

12:45 Finally we arrive to the city hall. Cheers, smiles, and cameras greet me as I get out of the car (forgetting to remove my seatbelt at first). Everyone piles into the city council's chambers. Dad walks me upstairs and seats me next to Markel and our two witnesses - Gema (my old roommate when I studied abroad) and Igor (a friend from Markel's group). First seconds of silence followed by loud cheers and claps by our friends and families - along with the occassional "¡GUAPA!"

Ceremony The councilman (of fiestas and events, nonetheless) Iñaki enters the room. He reads us the laws of matrimony followed by a poem by Rudyard Kipling. We stand up and face one another. In English, Iñaki asks if I accept the responsibilities as stated by the city of Getxo. "Yes, I do." In Spanish, he asks Markel the same. "Sí, acepto." Our ring bearers (little Ugaitz, a second cousin of Markel's, and Aimar, my new step-nephew-in-law) bring our rings. We place the rings on our left hands, as common in the USA (Spain places wedding bands on the right hand). He pronounces us marido y mujer. We kiss!

Mr. & Mrs After everyone piles out of the city hall and awaits us on the balcony, we walk down the stairs. At the door of the city hall is an archway of traditional Basque dancers, dressed in folk clothes. They make an arch with swords and candycane-like sticks. We walk through the archway and are greeted by a dancer called aurresku who dedicates his dances to the new bride and groom. He is wearing a white uniform with a red sash. After he honors the new matrimony, the entire group of Basque dancers appear on the balcony and perform a few dances all together. They dance to the beat of a small tambourine and a flute that one man plays simultaneously! Once the performance finishes, each dancer wishes us congratulations in Basque "Zorionak" and gives us two kisses on the cheeks.

Photo session We walk over to gardens near the city hall for a photo session with family and friends. Everyone jumps in who wants their photo taken with the bride and groom. Markel and I then joined our fathers and went to a nearby windmill and cliff for the professional photo shoot with our photographers. Punta galea is a beautiful area with a view of the bay. Can't wait to see the pictures!!

The neverending lunch Our chauffer, Markel's dad, drove us to la Casa Vasca restaurant in Bilbao. We mingled a bit in the wine cellar, munching on appetizers and drinking cava. The apertifs included little sausages txistorra and cod in different sauces from the region. Bubbly Spanish sparkling wine cava was adorned with a cherry.

Our entrance After the rest of the guests found their place in the dining room, Markel and I entered to What a Wonderful World as performed by Joey Ramone. After a quick "thank you" and "gracias," done in both languages, we had a seat and started the five-course meal.

The meal First plate included boiled prawns, wild salmon, foie (duck paté) on toast and asparragus. Second plate included grilled prawns and ragout (a stew-like seafood dish served in a shell). First main dish was grilled seabass, followed by a lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate. Second main dish was steak tender loin with potatoes.

The dessert I cut our cake with a sword-like knife that the restaurante provided us with. Markel cut my piece next. As we were served our cake, we also were served the dessert plate with ice cream, chocolate treats, and a coffee to follow.

Bouquet & garter toss Although Spanish traditional also includes the bouquet toss, we added the American tradition of the garter toss. To the sound of Beyoncé's All my Single Ladies I tossed the bouquet... and who caught it? My sister, Sara! After a brief explanation of the American tradition of throwing the garter, Markel tossed it. His friends fought hard, but ultimately Jurgi walked away with the prize. However, the game was not over. We included the tradition (perhaps a midwest tradition?) of the bachelor who caught the garter must then place it back onto the leg of the bachelorette who caught the flowers. With red faces and lots of laughter, Jurgi put the garter on Sara's leg.

First dance Dream a Little Dream of Me sang by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong played as Markel swept me around the dancefloor.

Karaoke The DJ got the tunes started and encouraged people to get out on stage. Highlights of the incredibly successful karaoke event included Like a Virgin performed by Uncle Mark, Dad, Matt, and our friend Brandon as well as Hotel California sung by Dad and I. Markel and I also did a duet of With a Little Help from my Friends by the Beatles. Bohemian Rhapsody and a song in Basque also made the list of karaoke performances.

Regalitos Markel's gifts to the males in attendance was a Cuban cigar recommended by a friend of ours. He passed them out to the guys (and a few ladies who wanted one too) while my mother and I handed out my gifts for the girls. I gifted a heart-shaped cookie cutter with a recipe that was my grandmother's. I wanted to share my love for baking as well as an American family tradition of sweet treats to celebrate!

The Garden After a long lunch, we went downstairs to continue dancing. The restaurant has a club that is attached below. The DJ played popular tunes that we all tore up on the dancefloor. Best surprise was Markel's grandmother headed downstairs too! She continued saying that "Today I have won another granddaughter in my life!" which lit my face with a giant smile.

Divino Cielo The after-party followed at a nearby bar called "Divine Heaven." Markel and I had arranged with the bar to allow our large group to take over the bar in turn for cheaper drinks. While our party wasn't exclusive, the majority of the bar was full of the wedding guests. Uncle Mark danced with the English and non-English speaking guests, easily making lots of friends. My brother reinacted the Basque dancing we had seen earlier in the middle of a group of friends. Around 2:00 a.m., Markel and I said our goodbyes and headed the Carlton for our first night as husband and wife.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

here comes the bride


On Saturday, Markel and I will officially tie our lives together.

With friends and family by our sides, we will devote ourselves with written signatures that what we have experienced since meeting one another will last our life times.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

cows in madrid


Las vacas have found their way to Madrid. Art projects (similar to the big hearts throughout SF) in the forms of cows can be seen in many of the plazas or along the streets of Madrid. All cows have different forms and paintings. Some have flowers, some are floating in a large glass of chocolate milk, some are solid colors. There are hippy cows, happy cows, sad cows, serious cows. Between dance clubs on Saturday night, we found a lady cow.

Monday, March 02, 2009

valencia: more than a city of oranges

At the beginning of February, two of our good friends, Carlos and Jill, got married just outside of the city of Valencia. Since Markel and I couldn't make it to the ceremonia we went to celebrate this past weekend, the 6th to 8th. Not only did we festejar for their marriage, it was also Carlos 30th.

Arriving late Friday night, we met up with Carlos' friends and Jill for Carlos' surprise birthday dinner (that had already started when we got there). It was the first time I'd ever been to Valencia and first time I'd ever been to a restaurant similar to the one we went to. It was a restaurante erótico that had delicious food and fun music, but is mostly known for the show afterwards - a Drag Queen show! There were tables of groups of people all around celebrating birthdays, a group of girls having a night out, and a group of businessmen who came to be entertained. They called various people up to stage or talked briefly to different people... Luckily, the MC who asked me some questions didn't end up calling me up for anything more embarrassing - I would have been red-faced and wanting to crawl under a table! It was much nicer watching other people making fools of themselves, haha!! Overall, it was a hilarious experience that I'd be willing to repeat...

The next day we got up and feasted on a delicious homemade Mexican lunch. Later we toured a bit of Valencia. We saw the museum, IMAX, and aquarium that all have amazing buildings along the former river of Valencia. Gorgeous buildings that are well worth wandering around! We grabbed churros con chocolate at a local bar that filled our tummies and warmed us up a bit. The night before we'd seen the old town, so we saw a bit of it in daylight. We saw the train station and cathedral too. In the evening, we finished it off with a quick dinner at home and off to the bar that Carlos DJs at. DJ Txarly (pronounced Charlie) played all the tunes following a hip hop show put on by local singers. After the noche set in, we decided to cab it back home to snuggle in bed so we could take advantage of our Sunday...

Sunday was the beginning of Fallas, the festival for the patron saint of Valencia, San José (Joseph). Las Fallas is a huge festival in Spain most well known for the week of the 19th of March, where they built enormous floats that compete against each other for various titles. The "loser" floats end up being burned throughout the city the day of the saint, the 19th. Although we didn't see the burning of the floats (and probably won't get to this year), we saw the opening ceremony called Mascletá. It took place in the City Hall square where they lit off lots of fireworks. Although typically for the beautiful colors and shapes, these fireworks are special for the sounds. Since they are set off in the middle of the square, the louds booms vibrate off the walls and make deafening bombing sounds that awe the crowd.

After a lunch at an Italian favorite of Jill and Carlos, Markel and I hit the road back for home in Madrid. A fun weekend of new experiences spent with great friends!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Welcome to Motor City

On our journey home from Chico, Markel and I stopped through Detroit to see the Carmichael family. Although Michigan isn't one of the most common states to visit nor is Detroit a popular city to tour, we were able to experience them both in full effect with the help of our dear tour guide, my Uncle Mark. My aunts, uncles, and grandma were all great hosts who opened their homes to us and made for a memorable vacation.

My Aunt Kathie and Uncle John picked us up at the airport and took us to their place. They live in a quaint farmhouse on a plot of land where you can see few neighbors and no town or city. The house is beautifully decorated with antiques and homemade craftsmanship. Their four year-old dog, Buffy, ran around the house and entertained us the two nights we stayed there. Their tree was lit and Christmas village still up for us to enjoy. We ate delicious cheeses, fruits, and drank wine over great conversation.

Uncle Mark gave us a tour of Detroit in his Jeep Cherokee, from Motown to Grosse Pointe. On Saturday, we started by hitting the big museum stops. We went to the Motown Museum, where we saw the birthplace of some great music. The Supremes, Jackson 5, the Temptations, and more all produced their hits right in the Motown studio. We also visited the Detroit Historical Museum to learn about the years in Detroit from fur trading to building cars. My favorite stop was the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) where we saw masterpieces by Diego Rivera and Joan Miró. For a bite to eat, we tried real Detroit food - the Coney Island from the famous American Coney Island in downtown.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, we were at Grandma's house. On Sunday morning, we toured Mark's workplace where he showed us the forgotten connection between the car manufacturing industry and all of the people who help to build pieces that support it. His company is responsible for building robots that facilitate and speed up the process of making various pieces of a car and other machinery. Later that evening, Grandma hosted a family party where we met Mark's girlfriend and played pool and ping pong with the cousins. Of course, we ended the night with a Carmichael tradition of playing Blitz (and Markel brought home the winnings!).

Our last full day in Detroit was nothing short of exciting. On route back to Aunt Kathie and Uncle John's, we stopped by Belle Isle and went ice skating! Never had a seen a real-life frozen-over lake, river or canal. Not only did I get to see all three, we got to walk and skate on top of the canal! Later we crossed the border to Canada and had a late lunch while watching the sun set over the Detroit skyline. Making our way back to the farmhouse was a bittersweet reminder that our journey to the states was coming to a close... After a fantastic jaunt in Michigan, we packed our bags and flew out on Tuesday afternoon.

summer wedding, check

American Wedding
August 1st, 2009
Chico, California
TJ Farms
5:00 pm ish.