Politics and Royalty and Renae's Point of View

Election day was yesterday. Duh. However, even if we wanted to ignore it we couldn't. Why? Because almost every TV station was providing minute-by-minute updates of the election. And we live in Spain! Jesse and I were shocked at how much attention our home country was receiving. So yesterday when I was at the market buying cheese from the cheese guy (that's what I call him-not his real name) I asked about it. There was another woman waiting to buy meat and cheese there and she told me that Spain is concerned because of economic reasons. "If the US Economy goes down, so does ours."

Then the cheese guy asked me who I wanted to win. "Ahh, I don't want to talk about THAT!" I said with a smile. But he assured me that he didn't want to talk politics, he just wanted to know because he too was concerned about America's economy and how it would affect Spain. Surprisingly, he told me that he thought Obama would be dangerous and he didn't want him to win. It seems a lot of Europeans wanted Obama to win so to hear this guy say the opposite was a surprise (and a welcome one at that.) Moving on . . .




I had a meeting to attend in the main part of town yesterday so Renae and I decided to explore a bit when we were done. I usually haul Renae around in the stroller, but I didn't feel like dealing with a stroller on public transportation. So once we hit the Plaza Mayor, I put her down and let her roam free. (With me close behind of course.)


Renae looks at the statues of Felipe the IDK (I don't know)


This is how she sees it. Little shrimp!



"Hey Mom! Look over there!"



Renae had spotted a royal looking tent with the royal guards, secret service men and a bunch of policemen. Why? Because the Queen and Princess were helping with a Red Cross fundraiser! We saw a big crowd of people taking pictures, and a few camera crews. When we got closer we saw that we were only 50 ft away from the Queen of Spain (Sofia) and her daughter-in-law Princess Letizia! Since Renae is so cute, I found something in the street to stand on so we could see better, AND so they could maybe see Renae. However, they never really looked our way so Renae wasn't able to put on her charm for them. Oh well. At least I can say I've seen the Queen and Princess! Oh-and on our way home, we saw another royal looking tent and in that one, we found La Infanta Elena. She is one of the King and Queen's grown daughter.


This is Renae's view as she walks down the street.


One of the advantages of riding with a baby/toddler-you always get a seat!


Renae's view out the bus window. I have to admit, mine isn't that different of a view.