The adventures of Mom and Dad Mouchon, part deux

So, my parents have now seen Calatayud. C-town. Good ol' pueblecito. They stayed in the very nice, Hotel Castillo de Ayud, which coincidentally happens to be right next to my house. On Monday, as soon as we got into Calatayud, I took the parents right up to the old Castle on top of the mountain. As always, the view is beautiful, and dad, being the kid that he is insisted on climbing the tower. Can't take him anywhere anymore. We still had fun though.

Dad on top of the tower
Hotel Castillo de Ayud
The main drag in Calatayud

On Tuesday Mom and Dad got to see one of the schools where I work. They met my director, Rosa, and some of the teachers that I work very closely with. Of course, I had to work, but they were able to walk around the city and check things out. That morning we also got the chance to drive over the Roman Forums that are just outside Calatayud. This town is from the 1st century when Augusta Bilbilis was the leader of the Roman town. All that really exists is the original amphitheatre, the town's forum, and the hot and cold public baths. It's incredible to see, especially that it still exists after 2000 years! There is a museum here in town dedicated to the forum that contains all of the artifacts that were excavated from the site....truly incredible!!

The Roman Amphitheatre. That sucker can hold over 5,000 people!
Part of the old Forum
Bahhhhhh! the sheepies were down in the ravine!

On Wednesday we drove up into the Pyrenees to a town called Jaca. It is mainly a ski town, however it used to be the seat of power in the province of Huesca a long time ago. Also, it is one of the first stops on the Camino of Santiago. (The famous route of passage for the catholic followers in Northern Spain. It spans from the Pyrenees to Galicia and stops in over 100 churches along the way, named for Saint Santiago who was originially from Spain.) The city was so cute; tiny cobblestone streets, lamposts from like, the 1600's, and a cathedral from 1263. Only about 16.000 people, everyone definitely knew everyone in this town. With the Pyrenees looming overhead, the city was just beautiful.

The Pyrenees

The Cathedral
The roommates!

Thursday and Friday, me and the 'rents had some fun just hanging out, drinking wine, and making food. It was fun to have them around. I must say, Dad easily got used to the idea of the siesta, I think he started taking a longer one than me! Ha. Thursday night we took mom and dad out on the town! We went and played cards in Baviera and then we took them to the famed Australia bar in town and mom got to meet some of our friends. Give her two glasses of wine in Spain...and you get a silly mommy. hehe!


On Friday we set out again for Madrid, this time we walked to the Royal Palace (built in 1738) where mom and dad could see where the courts of Spain used to sit. (Now the official residence of the monarchs is el Palacio de la Zarzuela, in Madrid). We also decided to have one more go at paella before they left, we found an amazing place in la Plaza Santa Ana (ha! didn't realize the connection until just now!) where we just spent the night in true spanish style: eating, drinking and being merry.

The next day, the parents left for the airport and I met up with my good friend Christina, whom I studied with in Granada. She is currently doing her masters here in Madrid and it was the first time I had been able to see her in three years! We had a nice chat and I'm sure it's not the last time we'll be seeing each other this year.

well until next time...not sure what's in store for me next. We shall see! Au revoir!