Outdoor Adventures, continued

So my eventful Saturday just got better as the day went on.

After catching up on some things in the house (washing the car, playing w/ the kids) we all cleaned up then went over to tia Maria's house for lunch. The Finnish smoked salmon from the other night was such a hit, we were going to try and re-create it again.

And everyone was gonna be there.

In total, we had our own small party of 15-everyone extended family. While the food was cooking there was time in the pool, and Spanish wine. We ate a variety of crab and shrimp before digging into the main event. It wasn't as good as before (probably due to differences in the grill, the other one had a top, this was open air) yet it was still delicious.

Once the food was all cleaned up, Pablo, Magui's younger brother, said he was going to go play golf. Several people at the table had recalled that I was a golfer and got really excited about him taking me along.

This is where the "adventure" began.

In Spain, the majority of clubs are private, so you can only get in to play if you have a membership. The family insisted that he tried a variety of places because they really really wanted me to be able to go. After about 20 suggested ideas, there was the issue of equipment. And clothes. And cart. And money.

Imagine a scene of 2 sisters, their husbands, their mother, her sister, her husband, and then two cousins (age 25), and me all at a giant outdoor table. . .keep in mind, these kinds of conversations are always shouted, not because they're angry or mad, they just want to make sure their idea is heard. (Of course, adding to the challenge was the fact that it was in Spanish).

"Quique doesn't play, so that can't help us, but Maria does. . . Yet her clubs aren't at the house. So who has clubs? Oh! I have some in my car, Pablo go check! Oh wait, they're men's clubs, that won't do. Jenna, what do you think? Which do you prefer? Can't you just share clubs? Oh wait, what about a cart. . . Its too hot to walk!!! Jenna, do you want to walk, or drive? Wait, can you drive? Do you have a license? Does that even matter? Just tell them you have an American friend visiting Spain who's very good and you want to take her out to play. Or maybe you guys can go check in and she could just hope the fence! Ah! But what about -

Hold on! Jenna, what's your handicap?

Me: about a 14

Everyone: (Uproar of conversation)

Quique: This is true Spanish family. Everyone is always yelling!

So about 30 mins more of that, then 4, 5 trips between the family and the car, a pit stop at Magui's house so both Pablo and I could find clothes more suitable than a bathing suit, and some more switch a roos so that everything would fit in the car, and then we were at the course. 5 mins of waiting, and a harsh rejection, we were back on our way to the house.

Non members can only play on Weds, we were told that the "free guest passes" we had were basically garbage, and if we really wanted to play that badly there'd be a bunch of fees and payments that added up to about 130€.

And this was supposed to be the crappy, more leniant club.

Upon our return, round 2 of the party started as they all felt bad that I couldn't go golfing. I felt bad for making Pablo go through all that cuz of me. He was more annoyed that the family's involvement made it a problem.

There were drinks, and there was silly dancing, then around 9:30 we all decided to depart and reconvene at the Terrace for dinner.

This event lasted quite awhile, but I truly enjoyed being a part of a 12 person dinner. Sometimes I wish I had a big family, as things like this are so much fun!

If parents think US college kids party late, they obviously know nothing about Spain. It was already past 1:00 and we were just beginning to plan our evening.

In August, everyone leaves Madrid to go on holiday at the beach. This sounds silly, but literally, companies close, stores shut down, and the whole city takes a collective month long vacation. That being said, if you haven't left yet, you'll want to because the social scene is dead.

At one place we went to, she said this is the worst weekend of the year. We visited 3 different places in search of a good time, to no real success.  Around 2:30 everyone was getting tired so we decided to give up and go home.

"Sorry Jenna! We wanted to show you a good time, going out in Madrid, but we tried our hardest!"

"No worries! This was great"

And despite the failure of most of our plans, great it was.

~Jenna