Office Partae´s

At work when its someones birthday and they can be bothered to do stuff we have a little party in the office. The birthday person brings food and beer and we all stop for a little piss up. Today it was Ana´s birthday (pictured) and she bought lots of goodies but most importantly the beer. Sorry for the bad quality of the photos, the digi was left at home and I had to settle for a few dodgy phone shots.

A standard on the menu is tortilla de patata, she also had a empanada that her Mama made which was bloody tasty althoough in the pic it just looks like one giant burnt meat pie. The red stuff next to the beer is tinto de verano, which is red wine mixed with fizzy sweet soda. Its the premixed stuff, I am not a big fan, I prefer it made fresh in the bar. We have now drunk all the beer. My boss just pulled out a bottle of Ron Miel (honey rum) so as we speak I am sipping a large glass on ice, its sweet but its still rum, I have no idea how potent it is. Lucky I don´t drive. (Can´t you get pulled over for drink driving on a bicycle? In OZ I am sure you can but here I am sure its OK)

Here is a pic of me getting into the cerveza - a rare sight seeing as I didn´t touch beer in OZ. The ol cruzcampo is a little softer that VB methinks. I am looking a bit spastic and wearing my dress that Marcos calls the "Dolce & Banana Dress" Its very yellow but I likey.

xx

Weird Ass Outfits

One thing you notice walking around the streets of Sevilla is that lots of the kids are dressed like little mini freaks. Ok maybe thats a bit cruel - dressed like they are living in a different century. Mostly the parents look normal - they certainly don´t get around in this sort of get-up. Its a "look" that is quite popular here for kids and never ceases to amaze me what some parents make their kids wear. In the plazas (squares) where lots of kids play in the afternoons, if one runs past me I scream at them in english "Don´t let your parents dress you like that" They won´t understand me of course I am just hoping subconsciously they know what I mean - I am trying to save them. Here is a pic of a shop window showing some of the latest fashions. Yes thats right, that one on the left is for a BOY. Told you they look like freaks.

Birthday Weekend

Its Tuesday and I still feel like I am recovering! What a huge weekend for little ol 29 years Kristy...

Mick an aussie in London, was coming to visit for the long weekend. He arrived on Friday night at 10.15pm and after arriving back from an 8 day work holiday from south africa only the night before - he was in no real mood for a party but he soldiered on as only aussie´s can and came out to meet all my friends for drinks at Cafe Central in Alameda, which is a small bar that gets so packed everyone spills out drinking onto the street and is only a hop skip & a jump from my house. God Damn we had a fun night! Of course can´t remember much of it and all of my photos are me with isa, me with the americans etc etc. get ready for lots of me with ... photos! Is it me or do I have exactly the same smile in all photos? and why didn´t anyone tell me I had an annoying hair across my forehead? friends eh.

Here is Mick with Marcos and me with Mick - there´s that dastardly hair!

We started the night with a mojito at my place and continued with vino, beer and tintos (red wine mixed with soda or lemon drink a quick substitute for sangria) at the bar before quickly swapping to caipirinhas - as they didn´t do mojitos at the bar. (to cheap for mint - thats what I call palces that don´t serve mojitos)

Here is a pic of me with Isa, who I work with when there is that drink crossover when you find yourself with a warm glass of wine and a fresh caipirinha, don´t worry fellow aussie´s I didn´t let anything go to waste...

A few of the lovely americanitas. we have an "americanitas and one odd aussie" event coming up which will be sure to be fun. Sarah, the proclaimed leader of the "americanitas and one odd aussie" gang so kindly named me the one odd aussie, I requested it to be changed to one hot aussie but odd seems to have stuck. fuckers.

L-R Rachel, the newest addition, Sarita, Tiffany and me....with that HAIR! Argh! The photo was taken by Tiffany´s husband Luis who derserves a whatssup cause he´s so sweet.

Maria and Miguel, lookin mighty guapos, who yáll (is it the ameican influence?) might remember from last weekend´s trip to Isla Magica and the dinner party group. They are a fun (and damn good looking!) pair.

and.... the funnest gang from work... and 2 of their boyfriends.

L-R Isa, Reyes, Iciar, Jorge (Iciar´s man) and Adrian (Reyes´ man) Adrian

I almost got into a bit of fisticuffs when Adrian claimed that I spoke spanish like Victoria Beckham, considering she can´t actually speak spanish I almost had him in a headlock. We made up, I can´t remember how but there are no black eyes so everything is rosy.

Hey almost forgot Amy, my lovely americanita pal who gave me phone credits for my birthday!!Gold! She is clearly sick of me having not credits!!! I´ve never had so many credits on my phone! Its time to text it all away!!

She has superhuman white american teeth and a tan that says "I didn´t work all of august" She doesn´t do anything on Sunday´s ever which she calls "gods day" and she respects this day by staying in her pajamas and watching sitcoms all day. And she really does do this. "Wanna go to the movies?" "Sorry i really can´t - its gods day" I have now taken to using this phrase. Its a fantastic excuse to do nothing.

So after the Friday night drinking bonanza, which was held on a Friday night so that I wasn´t hungover on Sunday for my actual birthday - who´s plan that was I do not know (mine) cause we ended up going to a BBQ at Eric´s house (another american, pal and design client) for his flatmate Amelia´s birthday. I reluctantly let the focus off myself to enjoy a rooftop BBQ with lovely food - although lovely Amelia had 2 cakes and decided to share 1 with me so everyone sung us happy birthday which was nice - me me me. There was vodka consumed and we ended up at home at 4.30am and with a hango

ver the next for my actual birthday.

We went to the beach for the day which was fantastic as the weather has been a bit rainy this week and you get the feeling that summer is on the way out, so it was nice to get some sun & sand. I left the pics on my laptop so I will upload them tomorrow. A lovely & relaxing day.

I had Monday off work to spend it with Mick, we hired him a bike - one of the new sevici bikes that are in little racks that are popping up all over the streets of sevilla and we rode all around sevilla, past the cathedral...through the Parque Maria Luisa, a beautiful park in the middle of Sevilla....

We were supposed to have lunch in front of this lovely church in Triana (a neigbourhood across the river in Sevilla) called Santa Ana....but the bloody thing was closed. Lots of restaurants close on Monday´s.

So all in all it was a great birthday weekend. I am bloody tired and as I went to the beach on Sunday and missed gods day, I think it will be gods day every afternoon this week and I will be catching up on some lounge time......

Isla Magica

On Saturday we, (Me, Marcos, Isabel, Domingo, Maria & Miguel - the dinner party couples gang) went to Isla Magica - A theme park - The Australia´s Wonderland of Spain which is conveniantly located in Sevilla. We went cause Maria got free tickets, otherwise I would NEVER pay the 25 euro fee - highway robbery! Most of us had never been before and we thought we would spend a couple of hours there and then go and have some tapas back in Sevilla centre - but no...., we arrived at 1pm and stayed till midnight!!!!! MAN IN WAS FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now normally I don´t like scary rides, back in the day of OZ Wonderland I went on EVERYTHING but being prone to the odd panic attack and scared of dying I didn´t think I would fancy most of the rides.... especially "The jaguar" a rollercoaster where you are attached above your head instead of underneath you so you are kinda hanging there (shoes off!) and it goes upside down at alarming speeds. Can you believe I went on this?????????????????

Maybe it was because I absolutely hate waiting around so the thought of waiting for everyone else to line up while I waited impatiently was much worse an idea than any of the rides. I went on everything. Fun Fun Fun! It was a damn hot day so we got right into all the water rides and wet t-shirt competitioned it around all all day.

One thing we went on was like a train thing where you went through like a pirates ghost house and had to shoot targets.... I came 2nd, at least 20 shots ahead of the others making them question if in Australia we are trained with guns!!! Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!!!

It was like having a wonderpass all over again - rides are FUN! We did feel a bit embaressed being of child bearing age and going around without child, as there were gazillions of families there. But oh well.... can´t say no to a free ticket and to a heart attack inducing rollercoaster ride!

The Crazy Family

So I thought I´d dedicate this blog to Marcos´s lovely family, who for the first time since Marcos and I have been together, are all in Sevilla at the mo. Marcos´s sister Irene and I call them "The Crazy Family" (said in english in a strong spanish accent), cause when they get together things can get crazy. Not in a funny ha ha crazy type of way, more in a mental asylm we need group therapy type of crazy.
















Here they all are (minus 1 who doesn´t do family social functions....don´t ask) in our little courtyard drinking some mojitos I prepared. They don´t normally drink to excess with beer & wine so Marcos and I like making cocktails - stronger than your average and watching them get a little loco. (in a funny ha ha crazy type of way). It could be illegal tricking people into drinking too much, disguised by the sweetness of sugar and craploads of fresh mint but do these people look scared? For the love of god thats one TANNED family! damn those spanish olive skinned people to hell! If I was in the pic I´d look like a big tomato red face. spot the foreigner!

So let me introduce you to everyone. In order of age.

El Padre-The Father
Luis AKA Luisito (which he HATES but we call him anyway)

Don´t be fooled by his unwillingness to smile in photos, he really is a happy friendly guy. Actually from the north of Spain in Cantabria he spends lots of time in "el campo" (the bush) on his land doing god knows what but coming back with honey (he recently made a beehive!), almonds, chestnuts & figs. He famously once made his own perfume which no-one else could stand but he covered himself it it claming parfum genius and during a discussion about what year they went to Morocco he once pulled out the money exchange receipt from 15 years ago in a matter of minutes. (To win the discussion of course).

La Madre - The Mother
Casimira AKA Casi

Don´t be fooled by those baby blues this lady will spear tackle you if you don´t stay for lunch.
She has the eye of sherlock holmes after once saying to marcos that she knew we went to the house while they weren´t there cause there were tracks (what am I, a bear?) on the floor from me wearing no shoes in the house and fingerprints the size of our fingers on the table (what is she, C.S.I?) . She likes to be forced into shots of liquer and can often be heard saying, "no marcos, not another one, I´m dizzy" then sipping Marcos´fathers while he is not looking.

Marcos!
AKA Marquitos, Amorcito or Amore in an annoying italian accent.

Has a penchant for pulling faces and making jokes until sometimes people can´t stand his voice anymore.
Likes watching movies in subhuman quantities and avoiding getting his drivers licence. Eats 3 packets of Kikos (bbq flavoured toasted corn) in 17 minutes (he times it - not for speed but he has eaten 3 packets of kikos in a row so many times he knows exactly how long the delicate process will take). Slightly obsessed with mopping and killing bugs in the apartment. (often at the same time).

Ruben
AKA Ruben

A nurse, probably the coolest nurse you´ll ever see apart from on ER. Lives in Lazarote in the Canary Islands. Was almost unrecognizable at the airport on arival a few weeks ago as last time we saw him he has short black curly hair.
Has lived in Italy, speaks fluent italian and also the italian language of fashion with spiffy over the top outfits.



Irene
AKA Irene

Marine Biologist (or something like that I can´t translate what the hell she does!) who works in the aquarium looking after the animals and breeding rats to feet to the snakes! Gross! Mocks me constantly saying "Feliz Navidad" in a really annoying voice cause thats all I knew how to say (or dared say) the first time I met the family. Can´t speak english but she memorized a whole monologue in perfect english about the penguins for the foreign guests at the aquarium without even knowing what the hell she was saying. She lives in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and has also lived in Italy and speaks fluent Italian.
She laughs at my jokes so I like her. Once she got so tanned you couldn´t recognize her features for being blinded by her teeth.

So thats it. The Lastra Fenutria "Crazy" family. They´re a nice bunch and Casi and Luis, god bless their kind hearts, look after me alot, even if its in the vain hope that I will give them a granchild soon (Lucia that is - Casi has already given it a name and she talks about it as if it exists or is likely to happen soon. When Lucia comes.... etc etc!)