During her studies in Perugia, Mathilde made a great many friends, and the great thing is that this group of friends has kept contact over the years. Once a year or so, one of the girls conveniently get married, which is a great excuse to meet up ;-). Two years ago, Katerina and Alessandros tied the knot in northern Greece, last spring Paula and Peppe did the same in Madrid. And this weekend, it was the turn of Ines and Sebastien, in Albacete.
Since Albacete doesn’t have its own airport, the easiest option for us was to get a flight to Madrid, and drive there by rental car. So up we got, at an ungodly early Saturday morning, and headed down to the airport. We were a bit nervous about the flight, since our first and last names were mixed up (so Mathilde’s boarding card just said “L. Mathilde”), but thankfully everything went OK. Once in Madrid, we also struggled a bit to find the car rental agency (Peppecar – their office was not located together with the big international firms…). Thankfully, we found the office eventually, and eventually even managed to get the car (not the easiest task either since the guy spoke no English whatsoever; thankfully Mathilde’s Spanish is a lot better than mine ;-).
So, finally we were able to hit the road. We were again struck by how different Spain is compared to even the South of France. Such flat, arid and empty scenery; yet beautiful in its own way. The land of Don Quixote, indeed… Eventually, after just one erroneous exit from the motorway, we arrived, about 2 ½ hours later.
Just in time to join Katerina, Alessandros, Paula and Peppe for lunch, as it turned out :-) Paula, well-organised as always, had already found a couple of restaurant options for us. And had a nice surprise for all of us – looks like herself and Peppe will be mum & dad soon! The lunch was the kind I like, tasty, simple and very copious :-). There was everything from prawns, olives, Spanish ham to lamb chop. And all in very authentic surroundings. Not quite what we had in mind when we asked for a “light lunch”, but I minded perhaps less than some of the others ;-). The bill was rather steep, but I reckon it was worth every cent of it!
After a short siesta (we needed it!), it was time to shower and get ready for the big event. We had bus transport conveniently organised to the nearby village, where the church ceremony was taking place. On the bus, we caught up with the rest of the group (Maria & Aitor, Aurina, Ana, as well as Milene and Kamel). For some reason, we didn’t follow the rest of the wedding guests to the church, but rather had a bit of a “walking tour” of the town first. The difficulty with Spanish towns is that you can’t just ask “where is the church” - since there are inevitably at least three even in a small town. Turns out third time lucky, this time… Well, at least we were on time!
After the church ceremony, it was time to head back to Albacete for the wedding party – which was taking place in the Grand Hotel, no less… And as Spanish wedding parties always seem to be, this was just great. Delicious food, great drink, great company, dancing… All the usual ingredients for a successful wedding. Great to see that the Erasmus group chemistry is still great, and that the Erasmus Boyfriends (well, more like Erasmus husbands these days) get along great. I learnt much this weekend: about building motorways in Greece (not easy, apparently), the fact that one must NEVER, EVER eat Bolognese sauce with Spaghetti (which comes from Rome – Bolognese obviously coming from Bologna where the local pasta of choice is Tortellini) and the fact that I apparently look like Brad Pitt (they must’ve had too much to drink)??
We really had a great time, and were very reluctant to go back to the hotel, but figured we ought to eventually, since we had to get up relatively early for our drive back to Madrid. Vague promises were made about Baptisms in Naples, Easter in Rioja, a summer weekend in Finland… I really hope something can be worked out soon, since these reunions are such great fun…
Since Albacete doesn’t have its own airport, the easiest option for us was to get a flight to Madrid, and drive there by rental car. So up we got, at an ungodly early Saturday morning, and headed down to the airport. We were a bit nervous about the flight, since our first and last names were mixed up (so Mathilde’s boarding card just said “L. Mathilde”), but thankfully everything went OK. Once in Madrid, we also struggled a bit to find the car rental agency (Peppecar – their office was not located together with the big international firms…). Thankfully, we found the office eventually, and eventually even managed to get the car (not the easiest task either since the guy spoke no English whatsoever; thankfully Mathilde’s Spanish is a lot better than mine ;-).
So, finally we were able to hit the road. We were again struck by how different Spain is compared to even the South of France. Such flat, arid and empty scenery; yet beautiful in its own way. The land of Don Quixote, indeed… Eventually, after just one erroneous exit from the motorway, we arrived, about 2 ½ hours later.
Just in time to join Katerina, Alessandros, Paula and Peppe for lunch, as it turned out :-) Paula, well-organised as always, had already found a couple of restaurant options for us. And had a nice surprise for all of us – looks like herself and Peppe will be mum & dad soon! The lunch was the kind I like, tasty, simple and very copious :-). There was everything from prawns, olives, Spanish ham to lamb chop. And all in very authentic surroundings. Not quite what we had in mind when we asked for a “light lunch”, but I minded perhaps less than some of the others ;-). The bill was rather steep, but I reckon it was worth every cent of it!
After a short siesta (we needed it!), it was time to shower and get ready for the big event. We had bus transport conveniently organised to the nearby village, where the church ceremony was taking place. On the bus, we caught up with the rest of the group (Maria & Aitor, Aurina, Ana, as well as Milene and Kamel). For some reason, we didn’t follow the rest of the wedding guests to the church, but rather had a bit of a “walking tour” of the town first. The difficulty with Spanish towns is that you can’t just ask “where is the church” - since there are inevitably at least three even in a small town. Turns out third time lucky, this time… Well, at least we were on time!
After the church ceremony, it was time to head back to Albacete for the wedding party – which was taking place in the Grand Hotel, no less… And as Spanish wedding parties always seem to be, this was just great. Delicious food, great drink, great company, dancing… All the usual ingredients for a successful wedding. Great to see that the Erasmus group chemistry is still great, and that the Erasmus Boyfriends (well, more like Erasmus husbands these days) get along great. I learnt much this weekend: about building motorways in Greece (not easy, apparently), the fact that one must NEVER, EVER eat Bolognese sauce with Spaghetti (which comes from Rome – Bolognese obviously coming from Bologna where the local pasta of choice is Tortellini) and the fact that I apparently look like Brad Pitt (they must’ve had too much to drink)?? 
We really had a great time, and were very reluctant to go back to the hotel, but figured we ought to eventually, since we had to get up relatively early for our drive back to Madrid. Vague promises were made about Baptisms in Naples, Easter in Rioja, a summer weekend in Finland… I really hope something can be worked out soon, since these reunions are such great fun…
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