Visit from my sisters :)

My two sisters visited me here in Spain last week over their spring break! My older sister Nora spent a year in Valencia with a Fulbright grant two years ago, so she's quite familiar with Spain. For my younger sister Lily, however, it was her first time in Europe!

They flew into Madrid last weekend and we stayed there overnight, met up with some of me and Nora's friends, and visited some of the major places like Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, el Rastro market, and el Retiro park.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid

Then we spent a few days in Sevilla, and all of us slept in my little room in my apartment. We saw the main sites (Plaza de España, the cathedral, the Alcázar, all of which you should recognize if you've been reading my blog :) ), met up with some of my friends, went to the lab for my sisters to meet my labmates, had a dinner at home with my roommates, and saw some flamenco. We made sure Lily tried some typical foods like tortilla española, jamón, salmorejo (like gazpacho - cold tomato soup), churros con chocolate, and croquetas (croquettes).

Tortilla española for dinner with my roommates

Plaza de España

Waiting for flamenco to start at La Carbonería

Last of all, we spent a couple of days in Valencia. We stayed with a family that Nora spent a lot of time with during her year in Valencia: the parents, the daughter who's in her second year of college, the aunt and uncle, the 6- and 12- year old little cousins, and the grandma. With them we did some sightseeing in the city (the cathedral, City of Arts and Sciences, the market, the beach) and hung out at home: we dyed Easter eggs and baked oatmeal butterscotch cookies with materials brought from home, played Just Dance and Wii karaoke, and they prepared every single meal for us (including homemade paella and fideuá, both of which are typical Valencian dishes).

Sightseeing in Valencia

Paella lunch with the family!

It was a whirlwind trip, and we did a ton of things in one week! It was so nice to have time with my sisters, especially now as I realize that it's getting harder and harder these days to have us all together. It was also fun getting to show Lily around for her first real trip out of the country. Their visit also made me realize I feel pretty established in Spain - I have friends here, I know how to get around, and can show people around!