It’s great to be a grandchild
As I had predicted, I’m short on time this week. The last days I had to divide my spare time between schoolwork and my grandparents. They had arrived in Arrasate on Tuesday, so after school Niké and I went to visit them in Hotel Mondragón, where they had booked a room for a few nights.
After taking them on a little tour through the city – which was actually more of a restaurant hunt – we ended up in the hotel’s cafeteria for pintxos (as an appetizer) and a nice meal. It was good to hear from the home front, and the two of them were genuinely happy to see me. Our last time together dated from the end of June, so we went almost four months without seeing each other. I don’t really notice those things, but I know my grandmother does.
Language issues (of course)
Yesterday they took a trip to Vitoria-Gasteiz, since Niké and I were sure that they’d like it. And they did! It’s quite hard for them to communicate around here though, given that they don’t know any Spanish at all, not to mention Basque… English is also pretty hard for them, so they tried to get everything done in French. Although they like the region here, it doesn’t really rank in their top ten holiday spots. I do think the siesta hours have something to do with that too, they just don’t know what to do between 1 and 5 p.m.!
Then again, yesterday evening, Michael, Koen, Niké and I took my grandparents to Bergara’s Irish pub, which they loved! Sitting in a wooden booth with pinxtos and four young students (and a good deal of beer and wine) made them feel 25 years younger. Grandma could talk to us girls, while grandpa discussed football with the guys. Nicely divided! Afterwards, they booked a room in a hotel in Bergara for their final night.
My grandparents in their hotel room in Bergara. © Sajeh
Another GREAT advantage of their visit: a huge box of Belgian chocolate and cookies! It’s a true Walhalla! Our kitchen cupboard is all of the sudden filled with sweets; I wonder how long they’ll last…
More food
This last evening of their stay, we went for dinner in a restaurant, just the three of us. They had been surviving on just pinxtos for a few days now and – although I wouldn’t mind – they were craving a real meal this time. We had three delicious courses (way too much food); it was probably the first time since I’ve been here that I went to a ‘normal’ restaurant. A great way to end their visit if you ask me, although every time I saw them here it was to eat and drink!
Tomorrow, after our day at EiTB, a bunch of us are going to a concert in Bilbao. It’s in Kafe Antzokia and The Teenagers and Crystal Fighters are playing. Looking forward to it! A concert, at last!!! It has been too long, since we go to one concert every two weeks when we’re in Belgium.
I’ll stay over at Mikel’s place again, the guy that hosted me a few weeks ago. Talk to you after the weekend I suppose! Gero arte!
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