Día de la Madre

This past weekend we had Mother's Day-Spanish style. On Saturday Megan and I went shopping and then studied, and the entire day I kept telling her that I HAVE to buy flowers before I go home, cause the stores are all closed on Sundays. It was a great shopping day with tons of Mother's Day sales (aww yeahhh!), but before we knew it stores were closing and I had to run into a Chino that was closing and beg him to let me buy some flowers! I took the first ones he gave me, and although it wasn't the most gorgeous plant I've ever seen, I brought it home to Marisa and she seemed pleased, so mission accomplished! That night she asked what I was doing the next day and offered to take me to Llanes with her and Lucia. Needless to say, I was totally down.

Sunday we all got ready and left right around 11:30, which is actually quite impressive for all of us. We walked to Lucia's car, which I had never even seen before. Lucia drove, which was an interesting experience, let me tell you. Lucia drives like a maniac. She likes to go fast, and Marisa likes to yell at her about it. It was hilarious, and we got to Llanes pretty quickly! We drove right up to their family vacation home, which is adorable. It is the typical old "pueblo" type home you imagine. It's townhouse style, and all stone and rustic.

We hung out for a bit and opened up the windows, then Marisa drove us up to the beach. More fighting about the driving commenced. The beach was absolutely stunning! I could not believe how clear the water was, and how blue! Lucia proudly told me that Llanes and the surrounding areas have 31 different little beaches, mostly because the shoreline is jagged and the rocks separate each little beach. Next we drove into town, stopping along the way to take pictures at a cool little cemetery on the lake. We drove into Llanes, they showed me around, we ate some tapas and drank some sidra. After taking a million more pictures, we had coffee with the mother of Marisa's other daughter's husband, Diego. Virginia and Diego moved to Chile in the fall, and we were delivering a gift to his mom. We also sat and looked at pictures of the little granddaughter, Ines, for a while, of course. Afterwards we went back to the house, where Lucia and I sat in the sun until Marisa was done cleaning up. Then back to Oviedo, during which time I proceeded to take a nap in the back of the car (what's new?).

It was a wonderful day, and I was really glad that Marisa invited me! It was fun getting to spend the day with her and see their favorite place. Their family spends the summers in Llanes, and I have to say I'm a bit jealous! It is an absolutely adorable place, and is probably my favorite place in Asturias. Lucia yelled at Marisa a lot all day, which is just kind of the way their relationship works. But it made me thankful that my mom and I get along so well, and I am so sad that I have to miss Mother's Day this coming weekend in the US. To mom and Nina, I hope you guys have an amazing weekend with the families! Take lots of pictures, catch lots of fish, and remember that I wish I could be at the lake with you!