Mi casa o la tuya?

Staying up until 4 am the night before a 6 am flight will inevitably lead to the following crash. It made for an entertaining car ride and flight, an interesting run-in with an old high school teacher and purses well-stocked with 5 hour energies. But first, a nap and some recovery time in the big city. 

The sissys, mom and Wendy took a girls trip to the city with the primary purpose of bringing home at least one Newsie for every Sanna. Newsies on Broadway! The rest was just trivial fun, really. In bathrobes.

The best choice ever for breakfast. When the sign said "Singing Wait Staff", they really meant it. Mickie's boyfriend-waiter is behind her and he later professed his love to her in song form.

It looked way more like a nightclub than a diner, except for the fact that on every TV they were playing the Little Mermaid.

 

Sissys getting creeped on. 

In order to pre-game for the Newsies, we watched video interviews with the cast members and picked out which ones we would attempt to bring home. We scored them on various categories including looks, voice, looks again, and if they were single or not.

 

The show was unreal kinds of greatness. Brought me back to the days when we would sit in the living room rewinding our favorite parts, handwriting all of the lyrics so we could memorize them. Christian Bale wearing suspenders and singing on the fire escape (sigh). Megan sat behind the biggest giant in the history of giants and therefore needed a child booster seat, but it was well worth it to not miss the musical skills of beautiful and (mostly) straight young men.

20 photo attempts to get the sign. No luck still. After the show, my llama (mom) tried to convince us to go out to dessert and get away from the crowded street outside the theater. I, however, having downed a 5 hour energy and just witnessed my childhood dream come to life on stage, was not about to set foot off that curb. I insisted on waiting outside the stage door to meet the newsies. I then pushed a few small children to get to the front of the gate.

Beautiful newsie #1. I attempted to get this one to come out with us, seeing as how he only had a small part, he surely wasn't too famous to turn down my tempting offer. And yet he did. I think I even said please! It didn't help that I didn't know his name. Or his character. Or what he did in the show.

Beautiful newsie #2, and also most talented. pirouettes atop newspapers? Phenomenal. And I told him so.

My favorite newsie! I was shouting "Davey- you're my favorite!" and as Mickie later told me, I was  whipping innocent bystanders with my hair in the process. I told him I needed a nice picture of my favorite, and he gave me this lovely pose. It took two attempts, but here he is. I should possibly have learned his real name. Ben, maybe? A little more research may have helped me scoop this one up.

And. No substitute for Christian Bale, but here is our newest Jack Kelly. "MOM I NEED A PICTURE WITH JACK!" is what I remember shouting. I truly owe her for putting up with my waiting and screaming, but what I really owe her for is her mom-like-use of her iPhone. By that I mean it took her a solid 1.5 minutes and 6 photo attempts to get this shot, buying me plenty of time to stand next to and hold onto this lovely young boy. Who sadly scored low on the single category. And by that I mean he was engaged.

I would also like to take this time to apologize to my sisters Mickie and Megan who were also in love with the Newsies. Who I did not let get close enough to talk to the boys, take pictures of them, or touch them. In my selfish excitement, I totally forgot you would have loved to hug a newsie. Let's go back.

Post Newsies. Post 5 hour energy. The most hyper Leigh that there has ever been. Momma was ready to leave me out on the streets. She also loved the show- but was rather picky about the liberties they took in changing the music and details of the show. I would have agreed with her more had I not been so focused on how they looked.

Vivi and Leigh in front of the Newsies sign in Times Square...too hyper to go home.

 

Sleeping buddies.  

 

I love how busy Times Square is- I'm sure its the reason it's so exciting. But if for just one minute everyone would stop moving and talking, this would be the coolest place ever. Slow down the madness. 

Out on the streets Megan does her makeup. So so famous.

Bryant Park. Project Runway! Lovely Aunt Wendy. 

Took a picture of every single one of these I saw. Unnecessary? For sure.

Good find! My teal nails and leather bomber jacket make this already exciting find slightly more avant garde. Anyways. I like you. Remember that.

 

No trip would be complete without Wendy making friends with strangers. She fell in love with a very fashionable semi-deaf boy in his mid 20s at the clothing store who she asked if she could adopt. She then found this lovely gentleman who had an empty spot next to him on the bench that obviously needed to be filled, even if only for a minute. They look like old friends. She even snagged a kiss on the cheek and made him the happiest bench-sitter there ever was.

Los Canadienses son hippies

It's been too long since I've country-hopped, so I took my first long weekend and booked it to the border. Thank you, Canada, for being so close and for having a different currency. It makes the try feel more legit. So, mom, Jess and I stayed at a hotel right across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum. I remember a late night or two walking past here when I used to visit in college. The McDonalds next door looked strangely familiar as well. As for the museum, we checked out the gift shop but decided to hold off on the rest. Museum gift shops are the coolest.

This is why I love fall. Though not quite as colorful as it surely is now, the park was covered in leaves. There was also a group of college kids practicing tight rope walking between two trees. Cool? Possibly.

For as much as I enjoy walking around new cities and seeing all of the architecture, I am not great at remembering what each building is.

This is the view opposite the building above The building on the right gives an awesome reflection We took this route down to China town, I believe. It smelled better than last time (when they were on a garbage strike), but it was also less exciting. I'm undecided about bubble tea and how many fist pumping golden cat statues does one person really need?  

The CN tower. Which stands for....? Canadian National?  

Posting this just because it reminds me of Times Square/any touristy section of any big city, complete with double decker tour bus. We spent hours looking for good shopping and were semi disappointed. Canadians are hippies (it's true, Julie!). So the clothes reflected that. Toronto was really best for the stellar weather (a fluke), the food, the Canadian accents, and the Timmy Hos on every corner.

Here's a shot I took of the old City Hall which is next door to the very modern City Hall. It is where we started our Ghost Tour of the city. We walked around downtown Toronto for 2  1/2 hours with a crowd a group of people varying in beliefs in the paranormal. It was an incredibly warm night for it and interesting to hear all of the unexplained happenings in the buildings. One girl on a previous tour had an experience at one of the sights in the woman's bathroom. She was at the sink and saw an old lady waiting behind her through the mirror. When she bent over to rinse her hands, she felt the woman pull her hair behind her ear. She stood up and turned around, and there was no one there. Gave me the chills. We skipped out on using that bathroom...though we did sneak into a University of Toronto building and wandered through the girl's pitch black locker room til we found a bathroom. Equally as creepy. 

Hasta la próxima

So, my first and closest Spanish friend, Jaime, called to tell me he'd be visiting me in NY. He and his boyfriend were planning to fly into NYC and then head north, so I rounded up some of the friends and we headed out to what we thought we be the best contrast to the city: Penn Yan. Before the boys showed up, Eric, Meg, Jen and I headed off to the Windmill in Eric's rental. As he said, this car truly is made for "two normal sized people and two really short ones".

That night Jaime and Joona finally arrived. The last time I had seen them was on the beach in Gijon, Spain, so this setting was a little strange. Joona and Meg (our two boyscouts) made us a fire so we could show the boys the deliciousness of S'mores.

Brunch the next morning with a group of so many of my favorites. We even tried some Amish-made apple dumplings. More than one person said "those amish sure know how to bake". Jaime and Joona couldn't stop talking about the Amish, and we were on the hunt for more the entire time they were in Penn Yan.

Here we stopped at an Amish farm to take pictures of the buggies and to pet some cows and a puppy. I have never seen two boys so easy to make happy.

We took a little drive out to Watkins Glen to see the gorge and play with some chipmunks. Joona stashed an acorn in his pocket to try and lure a chipmunk into being his friend, but sadly had no luck. Apparently there aren't any of those little guys in Spain or Finland.

Later that day, after many failed attempts, the boys were able to get cash out of the ATM. At 10pm they were riding with the top down yelling "American Dream!" and waving money around. It was the most excitement this town has seen in ages. We then went on to cause a little bit of a scene in the ice cream parlor.

Here's Jaime and me in Oviedo, Spain in 2009 eating ice cream annnnnd...

Here we are in Penn Yan, NY in 2011. We can't stay away from each other...or from ice cream.

The girl behind the counter had a mega crush on both Jaime and Joona. She literally giggled as Jaime tried to find which coin was worth 10 cents. Why is it that our coins (apart from the penny) don't have their values on them? Makes life difficult for our lovely foreigners.



We tried to figure out just what it was that made our Spanish and Finnish boys stick out as foreign. We decided as a group that it must be their fitted, fashionable clothes and fabric sneakers. American boys should take a hint. If you want girls to stare at you, dress like my boys here and fake an accent. It'll work every time.

I am so thankful that Jaime and Joona came so far to see where I spend my summers and to spend time with me. Some wonderful Buffalo friends were also able to come and help this a very "American" weekend. Honestly, it made me miss being in Europe but it was a good reminder of the people I met who will continue to be a part of my life no matter where we live.

Que será, será

Our Plaza Mayor

This happened to me last time I came home from Spain. On one hand, I expected  and hoped for everything to be just the way I had left it. All of my friends in a row waiting for me, all of my Hilary Duff posters still hanging on the wall, all of my favorite stores still open. Then on the other hand, I felt like I had changed so much that it would be impossible to return to the same normal life.

Well, this return home brings a lot of change, and that much I can be sure of. My boyfriend, Mike, just accepted a job advising student-athletes at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. I'm very proud, and this is exactly what he wanted. I think he's secretly thrilled to get so far south, because as a runner, Buffalo doesn't exaclty provide ideal weather. Wait til he feels the heat. But really, It's very exciting to go start a brand new life all for yourself somewhere and to be doing something you love. I know all about it, because it's exactly what I've done these past nine months. I know he will be wonderful there and I hope it's a great adventure.

As for my friends, they have accomplished so much since I've left. I have friends in graduate school, friends finishing grad school, friends moving to different cities, living in different countries, working in fields they love, and working in fields they'd never considered. I'm so very proud and excited to see what they're all really up to. It looks like I will have a lot of places to visit when I return. Who said the U.S. wasn't an exciting place to explore? My blog may live on long after Spain...

The ever-so-famous Cathedral

"I never realize how much I like being home unless I've been somewhere really different for a while." Yes. It's a JUNO quote. I'm looking forward to settling in back home for a while, but I don't think I'll be able to quit the habit of calling Leon and Spain "home" as well. It's possible to be happy anywhere that you find friends, I'm almost sure of it.

5 days left and I'm officially wearing "graduation goggles". If you watch 'How I Met Your Mother' you'll catch the reference. Everything's suddenly wonderful, from the tapas to the views to the misbehaved kids and the Spaniards who cut in front of me at the grocery store.

La Visita Nocturna

We took a little trip to Oviedo where I got to see my lovely friend Julia, and my Spanish family. My picture is still in the hallway at my old house, so I think that means I'm doing okay. I do regret not visiting enough this year, but I'll be back. I know I can't stay away. And here: taking a stroll with Woody Allen, who might be a little crazy, but knows what he's talking about when it comes to Oviedo.

"Oviedo is a delicious, exotic, beautiful, clean, pleasant, tranquil, pedestrianied city. It's as if it didn't belong to this world, as if it didn't exist. Oviedo is like a fairy tale." I couldn't agree more. It's the place that singlehandedly made me fall in love with Spain.

We made it back to Leon after a long day to get to the Cathedral at night. The lights are only on from sunset til midnight, but I'll never get tired of walking up Calle Ancha and suddenly seeing it all lit up. Never.

With all my lovely friends, I climbed one of the towers to see the stained glass up high and at night. It looked awesome with the lighting from the outside streaming in and the inside of the building completely dark. I could have stood there for an hour just enjoying it. But then the tour guide started rambling, and I could only pay attention to so much of it. After Italy, I've had enough of tours.

At midnight, the lights outside went off and it was completely pitch black for a minute before the inner lights started to flicker on. It gave the inside a dramatic look and suddenly the stained glass looked grey, like it was metal and not beautiful and colored. It was so strange to see how fast it changed just based on the perspective. That was worth climbing the tower for, but then I was ready to leave. However, the tour guide had other plans for us. I'm pretty sure he started talking about history and architecture and that's when a few of us tuned out...

This is how much of the tour Ryan understood, and how completely thrilled by it he was.

This is Julie playing poker on her cell phone, trying not to be totally obvious about it. The three of us sat in the corner flipping through all the ridiculous pictures I have and so we at least kept ourselves entertained for a while. But truly, the 9 year olds behaved better than we did. But also- they speak better Spanish than we do. However, I saw the tour guide on the street this week and he did give me an " 'sta luego" and a head nod. Maybe it's not a good thing that he remembers me out of a group of 30...We'll never know.

Uña y Carne

"I'm glad the baby got paired with the grandma. Mija, I couldn't have asked for a better co-worker in the LB or a better friend! You truly are a wonderful, funny and caring person. I will miss you terribly! Love you mija!"--Kate

"Mini Prague just isn't mini Prague without Mr. Sarah Weber."--Julie

"Sarita, you are one of the most wonderful people I've ever been lucky enough to befriend. Your adorable smile, your crinkly nose, and your fabulous hands just make me so happy. Seeing you and hearing you laugh always made my day. I'm going to miss you oodles, but I'm excited to hear about your adventures and meet you on an exotic beach somewhere. There, I'll have a few too many drinks and try to hit on you again. ;) I love you lots!"--Sam

"Dear Sarah, my favorite thing about you is the adorable little smile and nose crinkle you get on your face everytime you hug someone. You are my favorite person to hug just because I know you make that cute little face. Also, you are a wonderful muffin and I'm so glad I got to know you this year. I love you!"--Erin

"Sara-Lee, it was meant to be."--Me

Of all the new and fabulous people that I've met this year, you're the one I'm dedicating a blog to. That says something, I'm not sure exactly what- but definitely something (non-creepy). I feel like I'm writing in your yearbook, and it's a total throwback to highschool. Anyways. When Greg told me his favorite friend from Oviedo was going to be in my same city, I figured you'd be pretty cool. Turns out, you became my best Spanish-American friend. When I think back to all the places I went to and all the things I did this year, you're the face I think of, the laugh I remember, and the friend I'll miss.

You know I'm a big believer in things happening for a reason, and sometimes it's nice to feel like you were in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. When we studied in Oviedo 2 years ago I missed you by just a couple weeks and suddenly we ended up in the same city for 9 months, with one friend in common. So whenever I think that the universe is against me and timing is always terrible and there's no such thing as fate, I'll remember meeting you.

Thanks for an unforgettable year. See you soon.

xo media naranja