Un Príncipe

(El Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo, Spain)

Today I met a prince. Officially. He is only 8 months old and it was naptime, but I looked at him and he looked at me, and there were no tears on either part, so I'm calling it a success. I brilliantly uttered something resembling baby-talk in Spanglish, which I'm sure impressed the adults in the room, but he didn't say anything too clever either, so it's okay.

I had come home from classes when I saw Julia pushing a baby stroller around the living room. I then noticed that there was a very large baby in the aforementioned stroller (the prince is rather large for his age, it seems). I veered into the living room, and Julia said to be quiet as it was naptime, but she seemed to be in a good mood and let me get a closer look. I saw a women on the couch, and at first, I thought it was Princess Maria, but it was Julia's sister, Marta, the Pricess' mother. We chatted for a bit, and she seemed nice. Fortunately, I understood everything she said.

Then I went to put my stuff down in my room, and couldn't decide whether to go back out, because Marta was reading and Julia was trying to put Prince Francesco to sleep. After an emergency-advice call to Lizzie, I wandered back out, but Marta was packing up the Prince to leave (he was really upset about having to put on a coat). We chatted a little more and then they were off. The whole ordeal was unexpected and rather exciting.

I've since been trying to get ahead on reading so I'm homework-free for Lisbon this weekend. Julia came back for dinner and even offered me flan. This is the first dessert I've seen in the house since I've arrived. Because it was half-eaten, I figured it had something to do with the Prince's visit.

It poured a few minutes ago, which is the first time it's really rained since I've been in Madrid. All today, it was very blustery, but I've always liked this weather as it is mysterious and very poetic. Anything can happen (like meeting a prince)!

Another fun tidbit: Baquita and I were having a heart-to-heart yesterday in the kitchen during breakfast. She got excited about something, closed all the doors, and came over to tell me a secret. Turns out, Julia's father was a minister under Franco. I think this explains a lot about her lifestyle and personality - it's the old-money/dictatorship in her. Baquita also told me that Julia divorced her husband, whose father was also a minister under Franco. Very interesting.

In addition to meeting princes and living in a social circle that's way over my head, things are just peachy. Classes are running smoothly, friends are drama-free, and my cold is getting better. Life's looking pretty good.