How lucky I am.

I absolutely couldn't focus on anything; the anticipation of seeing my precious father and step mother for the first time in 3.5 months was more than I could handle. Wednesday night, at my good friend's birthday party, I could think of nothing other than the fact that they were currently crossing the ocean in route to see me. Even worse, Thursday I couldn't skip classes, therefore I had to sit through  hours of classes, knowing that they were waiting for me in a hotel a couple miles away. Absolutely awful.

After the longest day ever, I was finally free from school. Smiling ear to ear, and happier than I have been in months, flew out of Arcadia, and got a cab to The Hotel Arts. Apparently, my wonderful father and step mother had the same great idea as I did, and were planning to surprise me outside the hotel when I arrived. I, however, showed up early enough to beat them to the surprise, and made it to their hotel room door right as they were leaving to come await my arrival. That old familiar "CAROLINE," from Page, and "Punkin!" from my dad was truly music to my ears. The three of us embraced for a long long time, and honestly, I was a bit afraid that if I let go, I was going to lose them for months yet again.

"Just because things have changed, doesn't mean that anything is different."

The next hour was full of nothing but smiles, laughter, happiness, excitement, and all the wonderful things that I had expected. I am not going to lie, I was a bit nervous that things were going to be different when I saw them, I was afraid that I was going to have changed, they were going to have changed, or our relationships were going to have changed... but I was immediately reassured by the fact that 3.5 months later, it was as if I had seen them the day before. What a wonderful feeling.

After soaking up one another's presence for a bit, we set off to a tapas restaurant to eat dinner with my girls from the program. After hearing me talk about them constantly since the day I arrived, all of these girls were very excited about meeting the famous Daddy Rodes and Stepmother Page. They were hoping Rodes would bark at some strangers like I told them that he often does when very excited, or to hear Page's famous "CAROLINE," when I accidentally burp in public :) Not to my surprise, dinner was wonderful... and my parents and friends all loved each other. While my parents were impressed with the genuine friends that I have made in Spain, my new friends were impressed by the fact that my family was just as wonderful as I had described them to be. I was proud to introduce them all to each other.


After dinner, Page, my dad and myself headed back to The BEAUTIFUL Hotel Arts to get a good nights sleep in the apartment overlooking the water.  First good nights sleep in a big bed by myself in forever... it was greatly appreciated.

We woke up pretty late that first morning together, enjoyed the fact that we were still in each other's presence, enjoyed some peace and quiet on the Club level over looking the Mediterranean, and then Page and I went to the gym while Rodes played/read on his coolest new toy-- the newest Ipad.

The next part of the day consisted of walking down by the water and enjoyed not only the beaches, but also the AMAZING Barcelona weather, watching the men (similar to the ones at my gym who are stuck 30 years in the past, wearing little to no clothing in order to show off their muscles) working out on the open air "gym"/playground right in the middle of the beach and getting a bit lost. Finally, after Rodes complaining of being "light headed because we were starving him," we made our way to my favorite restaurant by the beach for a nice meal outside.

Having been re-energized by a wonderful meal, we made our way to Raval, and the Gothic neighborhood of Barcelona. It is funny that what I find so beautiful and interesting within the Old Neighborhoods' winding small streets, old Roman buildings, and roads so tiny that a car cannot pass, Page and my dad found a bit creepy, and weren't quite as fond of... this is still my favorite part of Barcelona, nonetheless... And finally, we found our way out of the maze of stone buildings onto the touristy road, where I PROMISED them that we could find a Starbucks. First, however, I led them to the Catalan market, where I could truly show them how awful Catalunya's eating habits are... by showing them exactly what I mean when I say that they use EVERY part of the animal for cooking and eating... don't waste ONE BIT. Their reaction was similar to mine the first time I saw it... horror and shock simultaneously.

The last adventure of the day was a trip to my apartment, so that they could truly witness how I have been living the past few months... though I think they were pleasantly surprised by my porch, and maybe my sitting room, they were a bit shocked to find that what I had said about my "kitchen/laundry room," my "shower," and my itty bitty bedroom and my pathetic excuse of a "closet" was all true... and lastly were pretty impressed when I opened the window to get my clothes off of the drying rack. It was pretty amusing to see their reactions to the life I am living... And finally, after having gathered enough clothing for the rest of the week, we set off to have a wonderful dinner at a restaurant on the beach, then called it a night and went to bed early. How nice it was to have a real, big shower, and a comfy-cozy bed....and to go to sleep knowing Page and dad were right down the hall.

Saturday began the same, with breakfast and exercise, however, the rest of the day was spent in the main part of the city, where my day-to-day routine is played out, rather than down by the beach. I showed them the architecture of Gaudi, Dalí and Muntaner, which Barcelona is so famous for... I showed them my precious school building, which Rodes especially found absolutely beautiful... and I took them to my daily lunch spot (my Barcelona Bread and Company), for a healthy, organic lunch... followed by a visit to "Happy Pills," perhaps one of my favorite spots in Spain. Page and I were in heaven.

After lunch, Rodes escaped the madness of a Saturday in the city and went back to the peaceful hotel to read and plan the rest of our week, while Page and I shopped, had a much needed and missed coffee date at Starbucks, before returning to the hotel as well. Tonight, we had room service in the room, before going to bed EXTRA early in order to wake up at 6:00 to catch our flight to Malaga.

Malaga, a small city on the coast of Southern Spain, was absolutely wonderful. Here, we stayed in an incredible resort, The Marabella Club, where we enjoyed 3 days of nothing but lounging by the pool, exercising, eating semi-decent food (I miss American food), enjoying the Spa, and exploring the wonderful towns of Marabella. I must admit, however, my favorite part of all was sitting in the hotel with the two of them, ordering coffee, and playing cards just as we would have at home... Page was competitive as ever, Rodes was outrageous as ever... and I was laughing, getting frustrated, and loving every minute of each... Or perhaps it was laying in bed with the two of them, and convincing them to watch Criminal Minds with me (my latest obsession)... resulting in both of them loving it almost as much as I do. Each of these moments were equally wonderful.

Wednesday came too soon, and it was time to catch an early flight back to Barcelona. Once in Barcelona we stopped by my apartment one last time to pack one of my enormous suitcases to send home with them, stopped in our final stores... and then went back to the hotel. We had a wonderful final dinner together, along with my good friend Maggie, went back to the hotel and all four watched one last episode of Criminal Minds, then went to bed early... anticipating the 4:15 wake up call, which also meant it was time to say goodbye.



Waking up that morning, I was extremely excited about my next adventure to Florence with my dear friend Maggie, however, my sadness due to the fact that I had to say goodbye yet again got the best of me, and I couldn't help but let out a few tears. An absolutely unforgettable week was over, and the act of saying goodbye again was just too sad. How lucky I am to have two people that I love so much, and who make saying goodbye so so hard...

In twenty days I will be home.. sitting on the couch with the pups, knowing that Page is in the kitchen painting, or working on her Yoga "homework," that Rodes is across the room from me hogging the remote, or complaining about the "trash" Callie and I are watching. Tommy will be hiding in the kitchen with Page, or maybe silently sitting in the den with us, rolling his eyes at dad... while Christina is telling stories about all the kids she is saving... I will be soaking it all in, loving every minute of it, and waiting for Alli and Tavarres to walk in, in order to make my life complete. What a lucky girl I am. I cannot wait.