Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Meet The Pettigrews

Family Photo

The girl's school had requested a family photo for an activity the kids were doing.  We didn't have one handy and kind of dragged our feet hoping the request would just magically disappear.  It didn't.  Today, upon dropping off our precious cargo, the teacher reminded us that they still needed the family photo.  Oh, and by the way, you are the last family to comply.  Oops!  

Hence, you have the above, which was taken on self timer with my Nikon D90 propped up on a vase and a few books.  Amazingly the kids both said "cheese" and we did this in 2 takes.   Ali doesn't like it because she thinks she looks horrible and begged me not to put it on the blog.  Oops!

In other Pettigrew news: we finally found a quality grocery store called Corte Ingles.  Interestingly, Corte Ingles is a department store very similar to Nordstroms, which also has a full-on grocery store in the basement.  Never would have guessed that one!  We bought some fresh parsley and made chimichuri sauce which went well with the flank steak also purchased there.  I couldn't find flank steak anywhere in our hood.  I asked the meat lady for some "carne flaco" and she looked at me like I had 6 heads (at least).  Then I made the mistake of touching the produce to see if the tomatoes were ripe.  Apparently, that is a no-no here.  No tocas, solamente Yo toco.  Oops!

Other random observations:
1.  We have a lovely interior courtyard in our building that no one ever uses.
2.  We have heavy duty metal shutters on all the windows, which everyone in the building closes at night as if we were in the movie  "I am Legend".  Did anyone see that?  Mutants with superhuman strength come out at night and try to kill everyone.  I haven't seen any mutants yet and there doesn't appear to be much crime here, so, once again, I am at a loss.
3.  We have a rooftop terrace which is only used for drying clothes.  Nothing else.  There is nowhere to sit and the view is obstructed by plastic fencing on all sides.  Hello people!  Rooftop terraces with city views are cool.
4.  Apparently, people don't have dryers.
5.  Sevilla is incredibly bike friendly.  Bike lanes everywhere!
6.  For all intensive purposes, CruzCampo is the only beer here.  Makes me want to open a World of Beer.
7.  The sun in incredibly intense in the afternoon.  Although not as hot as Tampa, it feels like you are being cooked.  The siesta is making more sense.
8.  Speaking of siesta, don't try and get anything done between 2 and 5 pm.  Brian Tollberg is very familiar with the siesta from his trip here.  Brian, I feel your pain, although I am trying to shed the "get-er-done" mentality.

-Dave

5 comments:

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  2. Dave - your posts kill me! I just laughed out loud sitting in my office about your "I am Legend" reference! Yes, I totally get it :) The picture is fabulous and you are all beautiful (yes Ali, that means you too!) Love the posts - keep 'em coming! Kisses to the girls. xo Sus

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  3. next time you are at corte ingles pull out your latex gloves when 'handling' the produce. just curious what the response would be. if you get a similar response come back with a full-on hazmat suit ;-)

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  4. Forget mommy and daddy...the girls look great (can't believe they are both looking and smiling at the camera) and that's all that matters. Secondly, I understand the Spanish ways... (1) even if it's rare, crime does occur and the metal on the windows help us feel safe, so we're not up all night anxious about being victims of horrible crimes. (2) plastic fencing around a rooftop deck is genius when you have two little kids, who would probably leap off the edge for fun. (3) finally, in Florida, we also don't use terraces or patios (regardless of where they are located) until the temp drops below 70. :)

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  5. I know what you mean about the produce. I also learned that while living abroad. They really do give you the stink eye. Interesting with the grocery in the basement. Everything sounds like such an adventure.

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