self-reflection.

There is nothing like a good, solid two weeks with the family to inspire good, old-fashioned self-reflection in a person.

I explain.

So, fourteen days after non-stop European travel and fun... the Griswald... I mean Burandt family arrives in the beautiful capital of Madrid where a disgraceful amount of water is pummeling the city from its former aerial location among the Spanish heavens.

We walk out of our hotel and into mortal combat against the pluvial showers...
Mom and I struggle with the wind to find the precise degree of angle so that our matching three Euro plaid umbrellas (purchased in Rome... so that would make them Italian and therefore cooler) do not cruelly fold inside out upon themselves, therefore creating awesome "brellabowls"...
Dad and Brother Ben (who are too manly to necessitate our wimpy umbrellas) battle some-sort of psychological war of attrition, like if they just withstand the rain enough... it will stop.
So Dad dons his "Italia" baseball cap (bought as a replacement for the baseball cap he brought, then lost, but later found in his suitcase) and Ben, his hoodless Arcteryx water-resistant jacket which has long since lost its insusceptibility to water, having transformed into a rather absorbent sponge jacket.
We can all imagine how rain reacts to mind games... and the two of them soon huddle with Mom and I under our Italian umbrellas.

Well... God REALLY loves us, and this particular day he decided to demonstrate his love through the provision of a movie theater which features movies in "versión original" (ie the original language) with Spanish subtítilos. AND what is more... the theater was freaking flanked by two of the most quintessential, amazing American institutions.
That's right.
Starbucks and McDonald's.
So... Dad heads to MickeyD's while Mom, Ben, and I spend a sinful amount of money in Starbucks which God forgives us for because he provided the spot and was giving out special grace because of the Spanish monsoon that was falling.

THEN we all see a showing of the new Indiana Jones (with Spanish subtitles) on opening day, while indulging in a large popcorn and diet coke (with four straws) like six hours before it was even released in the US... wahooooooo.

(I promise I'm getting to the self-reflective part... here it is.)

I tell you all this to explain how it is that we arrive back of the hotel... having walked back in the SAME rain that we endured on the way to the "cinema"... and decide to pamper ourselves in purchasing a movie to watch in the hotel room. (To me, an American treat.)

So we choose the movie Hot Fuzz.
Now, I don't know how many of you have seen this movie. (Maybe I just live over here in Spain and therefore am WAY behind on movies... very true.)
But I had never even heard of this one... and my parents had seen it for some reason and suggested it.
Now I don't want to ruin it for anyone because I honestly suggest you ALL see it because it is HILARIOUS and one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in a LONG time (which I surprise myself in saying because I am not one for British humor... yep... don't think Monty Python is funny and don't really care to give it any more than that one chance to prove itself.)

But here is how faithful IMDB describes it... just to give you a point of reference:

Jealous colleagues conspire to get a top London cop transferred to a small town and paired with a witless new partner. On the beat, the pair stumble upon a series of suspicious accidents and events.

Ok... not giving anything away... there is this GREAT scene where these ordinary, everyday people start doing that classic Jean-Claude Van Damme style hardcore fighting, and in watching that... this entirely new thought occurred to me.

How would I, Julie Ann Burandt, fare in true, intense hand-to-hand combat?
OR... what if I was even doing it... with WEAPONS?

Now, maybe you dudes have thought about this before... but this was TRULY a NEW thought for me.

How would I manage? Could I do it? I mean... maybe I don't have the skill... but I've got a decent amount of strength and agility. Hmmmm.

(See... here in lies part of the hilarity of the movie... you are so used to seeing Bruce Willis, Sly Stalone, and Arnold... heck even Angelina Jolie doing all these fancy combat moves... it is just ludicrous to see mom, pop, billy, susie, and grandma pulling it all off. Genius, I tell you, genius.)

Time out... I could SO be Angelina Jolie. Question answered. I would dominate in such militant encounters. Done.

So... now... while you're chewing on your new pugnacious thoughts... I'll leave you some eye candy of the "Burandt Family Vaycay Spain/Italy May 2008."

(Yes, I titled it.)

A few details.

Time in Sevilla.
Dinners out with my roomies, at my pastor's house, and home-cooked for my friends (complete with real Texan chilli and cornbread... thanks Aunt Debbie for that mix).
Cathedrals. Palaces. Gardens.





Rome. Colessium. Forum. Fountains. Plazas. Buildings. Food. You name it.




Cinque Terre. Hiking. Absurdity. Food, good food.





Pisa. Towers that lean. Food.






Madrid. More palaces. Movies. And yes, even a musical.






PS... these are my pictures from my camera... hence why I don't appear in any of them. I promise I was there, too.