First Post in Spain. I will begin with a summary of the time between this post and the last. The flight was uneventful and long. We arrived in Madrid early in the morning. Although my sister and I are Spanish citizens we entered Spain using our American passports because doing so will make returning to the States more simple. Here's a picture of us shortly after arrival. We're tired.

Our uncle Antonio picked us up from the airport and after getting lost in Madrid and driving in circles a bit we arrived at the Hospital were Lucia and I waited while our uncle did his rounds. My uncle Antonio is my mother´s only brother. He is calm and very intelligent but a bit absent-minded and distracted. I enjoy conversations with him.

We spent the first few days at my uncle`s home in Toledo. The first night my cousin Juan Pedro invited me to go out with him and his friends. I have an unfortunate tendancy to get sick every time I travel, so as to not tempt fate, I declined. He told me the next day that they were up the whole night drinking and smoking, so I did well in staying home. Most of those days in Toledo consisted of recovering from the jet lag and avoiding getting ill. I spent some time with my little cousins Victoria (age 12), Pilar (9) and Mercedes (2) (daughters of Antonio).

On Tuesday we (Lucia, Juan P and I) went to Galicia to stay with my aunt Dolores (my mother´s oldest sister) and uncle Manuel that are spending their summer vacation there with our grandfather, my cousin Blanca and her friend Maria. Maria is a daughter of the owner of a successful brick-making company. Her family is friends with my aunt Lola´s family.

So Maria's father invited us to eat lunch at a resturant in La Gaurdia whose owner is a very interesting woman. She personally greets everyone who walks in and the first thing she asks is if you are on the right politically. Then she informs you that not one of her costumers are socialists (the Left side of the two major political parties in Spain, on the Right is the Popular Party). On the wall is a shrine to Franco so we know she´s serious about kicking us out if we are "damned reds". The lady is clearly a bit out of her mind so we all just shut our mouths, tried not to laugh and sat down. The food was excellent. First plate was steamed langosta (similar to lobster, but without claws and with bigger legs. I dont know as many words for seafood in English as I do in Spanish. Perhaps there aren´t as many?), the second plate was merluza filets(a large fish) with potato, then for dessert a fruit, espresso, and a few shots of liquor. One of the best (and largest) meals I´ve ever had. Well worth putting up with a crazy old facist.

Well, I´m in a cyber cafe and my time is running out so I`ve got to go. I have more to say but I´ll have to save it for later.