Wednesday July 3rd (Party Day!)

Wednesday was when the week got crazy again!  This was the day of the event at the Consulate.  Nikki came a little after five and sat with me while we waited for the event to start.  We actually got security detail and were asked to monitor the doors and computers until the event started, at which point I was assigned to the receiving line to entertain the guests waiting to enter.  I also was asked to see to the needs of the Consul and the Charchay. 

 

Once the remarks were delivered, I got to just enjoy the evening.  I found Nikki and we were able to take a leisurely walk around the gardens, eat, and visit.  It was not too bad.  So far all the event have had little appetizer things, and not always good.  This time we had hamburgers, hot dogs, chocolate cupcakes, and best of all…pizza!  (Just a day or two ago I was telling Nikki how much I wanted good old pizza.)  Happy Independence Day, American food and all! 

 

 

The one problem was actually one which I had forseen, but everyone else thought was ridiculous.  Given that we are both LDS, I was the only person in the planning sessions who was concerned about running out of non-alcoholic drinks.  I was told that it would never happen and we would have plenty to drink.  I would like to point out that I was correct.  We had ordered over 300 bottles of wine, over 700 beers, champagne, mojitos, and a host of other alcoholic beverages.  Unfortunately, no one thought to order the equivalent of Coca Cola and water.  Granted, we didn’t run out until towards the end of the event, but none the less, we came up short. 

 

 For me the best part of the event for me was the pizza stand.  You may have heard of New York pizza.  For all the hype, it is pretty common in that it can be found anywhere, and though it tastes good it becomes standardized.  Have you heard of Boston pizza?  Waaaaay better!  The pizza men were from Boston.  (I thought this was the case given the Bruin hat and the Red Sox hat, but I asked just to be sure).  Sure enough, even after living in Europe for 30+ years their accent was still holding strong.  The owner told me that after graduating from college he wasn’t quite ready to stop playing hockey and had moved to the Netherlands to play in their hockey league.  His friend has moved to Spain for the same reason, and after moving to Spain to play with his friend, the owner told me: “I was looking for a good pizza place and I couldn’t find one; so I made one, and here I am today”.  All I can say is that the pizza was delicious and it’s good to find Red Sox Nation, even in Spain.  (By the way, the Sox are still in first in the AL East).  The event itself was fun though and we made it home exhausted!