Chattin' with Barcelona
After I was shot down in a blaze of glory while trying to speak French to our Paris hotel receptionist, I had to call our hotel in Barcelona. It is so hard to speak a foreign language on the phone so I was nervous again even though my Spanish fluency blows my French away. On Sunday morning, however, I saw the hotel that we wanted featured in the NY Times, eek! I knew I had to act fast so I called the
Hotel Banys Orientals and got to work. I stumbled over my greeting of "buenos días" quickly compensating for the time change with "buenas tardes" but after that, it went really well. The hotel guy was really nice and asked where I was from, where I learned Spanish, said I have a Mexican/Miami accent (?), etc. Also, it was Sant Jordi day when I called which is a popular celebration in Barcelona when you buy books for men and roses for women. I told the hotel guy that I was a modern woman and wanted a rose and a book and we had a nice little laugh.
Anyway, it was a success but I still haven't received the email confirmation. I called again this morning and the receptionist said she would send it right away. Two hours later, it still isn't here (but two American hours are different than Spanish hours, ha ha). I am going to call at lunch today and see what's up. At least they seemed to actually have me down for a reservation!
And, as a tiny side note, we also got our reservations confirmed for our cooking class in Barcelona, how awesome is that? We are going to be learning about gazpacho, paella, tomato bread (a type of bread rubbed with tomato and garlic), and crema catalana (flan/custard).
Things are coming together, at least for the honeymoon, which is great because the wedding is 38 days away and the honeymoon is 39, wow!
Happy Birthday, Joan
Besides being 4-20 today (duuuude), it's the anniversary of Joan Miró's birthday. He's the crazy Catalan painter and his name is pronounced "Zho-ahn," fyi. Anyway, we'll be seeing lots of his work in Barcelona like the huge mosaic at the top of the Ramblas. You can also see the Miró-inspired masthead on Google today too; how kind of them to think of Joan.
In keeping with the art theme of the day, I heard a woman on NPR this morning describing the only painting she ever wanted to be in (Renoir's "The Boater's Luncheon"). I've wanted to be in lots of paintings but off the top of my head, the first painting I wanted to be in was when I was in middle school and it's "Christina's World" by Andrew Wyeth.
Today I would like to be in Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night." I know it's a very common painting but it looks like a really nice place to be.
Easter Recap
We had a lot of company this weekend and it kept us busy but being in our home still made it relaxing and enjoyable. On Thursday night, we had some friends stay with us on their way to Madison. We colored Easter eggs and had a mustard-glazed salmon, one of our staple "company" dishes.
On Saturday my parents, brother and his significant other, and aunt arrived. We planned on doing the Easter meal on Saturday night and then a brunch on Sunday so people could travel and get home without it being too late. For the dinner, Austin and I made the panko-breaded shrimp that we did on Valentine's Day and once again got fabulous results. The shrimp were on a bed of orange-scented cous cous so we just did a salad on the side. For dessert, my mom brought cheesecake though most of us weren't able to eat anymore. The brunch was good too: fresh fruits, fresh baked Williams Sonoma croissants, and a bacon smoked gouda quiche. Not a bad weekend's work!
Notre Hôtel
Here is the hotel in question, right by the Opéra, a block from the Tuileries and the Louvre and the Seine. Oh, and I should mention that the hotel guy was super nice to me in spite of my proficiency issues!
Good Morning, Paris
The alternate title to this post, by the way, is "Shot Down in a Blaze of Glory," just to preface things. I had to call our hotel in Paris since their online credit card thing wasn't working. I practiced all morning in the shower and then finally called (after first having to tell my cell phone company that no fradulent usage was going on, ugh). Anyway, I successfully navigated the fact that the person I asked for wasn't in, explained to the hotel man who I was and the situation. Things were going well, all en francais! Then he asked for my credit card information and I was excited, numbers, psh, kid stuff. Well, somehow I said "soixante-diz" instead of "soixante-seize" and I know those numbers, I do! So the shooting down occurred when the man had to address me in English. Oh, the shame! Austin was listening to me as he was waking up and I shouted at him "Austin, I failed my French oral, I failed!" I went off about how I even know how to say "soixante-seize" and he said that actually, I did say "soixante-diz" for some reason. Yes, I make this type of error in English too and should take comfort in that but I was so sad that I couldn't finish the transaction in French, especially since I was on to the easy part.
I do have a history of number problems in French, like when I was on semester abroad and had an issue with the pronounciation difference between "deux heures" (2:00) and "douze heures" (12:00). Why the hell didn't I just say "midi"?! I had to leave my host family without my little farewell party while French dad rushed me to the train station just before the train left at noon.
Oh well, this is good practice for me to make an ass of myself all over Europe this summer. Cuz I know I will! And really, what's the difference? I make an ass of myself in a variety of languages at work nearly everyday, either in front of my colleagues or students.
Saturday Morning, Sipping Tea
Another week has gone by in a blur but it wasn't too bad. I was a little more organized at work so that felt like a step in the right direction and made for more relaxing nights since I sometimes I have trouble sleeping when things are crazy. Unfortunately, though, Austin had a really stressful week but at least it wasn't both of us all stressy; that's never good.
Last night we went to dinner with some friends. Actually, it was a guy I had worked with in the Language Lab at college and we ran into him and his wife at Target in December. He emailed me, we decided to go to dinner, and we had a blast. It's funny how life works sometimes.
Austin and I have another weekend at home and it feels like such a luxury. We are just going to relax and enjoy it since most of May and almost all of June is already majorly booked up. Tonight we are going to make the panko breaded shrimp that we made on Valentine's Day to see if we want to do it for Easter. We're having the fam over and doing a big meal on Saturday night, then a brunch on Sunday before people head home. My mom gave us some really nice serving platters and dishes for my shower and we're looking forward to using them next weekend.
Finally, the wedding invitations are out! I was so apprehensive about sending them; once there were out there in the world, there was no way to make changes or alter anything. This is not anxiety about the wedding but fear of typos, wording, do they look ok, etc. I am the same way about turning in a big paper or even putting tests in the photocopy bin at work. I'm convinced that as soon as it's gone, I'll find a major mistake that I need to fix. Luckily, though, everything seems fine and now it's fun to watch the (online) RSVP's come in.
