A Whirlwind of Activity

So ya gal Nadz has been pretty busy recently! I mean, I feel like that’s a given for anyone in the leadup to a wedding but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so nuts! I think I’ll start with the time my family were here and then in another blog post I’ll probably fill you in on the wedding etc.

Okay so let’s re-wind to just over a month ago at the time of writing. The day before my family came out. Well! That weekend I moved out of my flat and with Noly’s family, we kitted out the house that me and my family were gonna stay in for the majority of their time in Argentina, and then the house that Noly and I are now living in until our house is finished. What a busy day that was! I had gone to bed at about 3 in the morning as was finishing up with my flat, and then woke up at 6, ready to get going! Somehow, we managed to source a whole load of mattresses and with the help of everyone got the house up and running. When houses are rented out here they never have any furniture but along with the bits from my flat and things that have very kindly been gifted to us, we had a house up and running! The rest of the day was also hectic, sorting things out, unpacking, getting a food shop in etc.

Then, on Sunday, finally the day arrived! At 6pm we were at the airport and it was super emotional when they came through*- couldn’t even speak for a while, utterly lost for words after so long of not seeing them! (*It was also quite funny- Salta’s airport is really small, and so you can see people as they go into the room to collect their baggage. The door was open so I first saw my sister who stopped and waved and then along came another. And another. And another. And another!). So, just like that, they were here! Was all quite surreal to be honest.

Anyways, along with Javier and Monica we made our way back to the house and what made me chortle was upon arrival, as the fam trooped into the house, one by one they all took their shoes off, as is the British custom when entering a house. I think Javier was rather aghast because he thought everyone’s feet would get really cold but it just made me chuckle- our customs are just so hard wired in.

The next day or two the fam were mainly just relaxing and recovering after the long journey. Nolz and I had some sorting to do on the Monday however and Amy and Tim came into town with us as their first foray into Salta city centre.

Once the fam were starting to feel less jetlagged we made our first outting all together! We went to the main plaza in the city centre (Plaza 9 de Julio) and explored around a little bit. We saw some traditional dancing in this square which is always cool to see and, of course, we British folks got a shout out and a clap (in fact 2 lots of claps I think), just for simply being there which is kinda funny.

We then went to a museum about the INCAs and mummies and all that kinda stuff (you can see how much I got out of it eh… Haha nah it was interesting actually although a little creepy and intense…) and soon enough it was time for some nosh!

Some old building (…lol jokes it’s a cathedral)

Then, the following day, we went to have a nose at my old flat and the neighbourhood where I was living before so they could picture what life had been like for me the last year and a half. Then after that we met up with Noly & his parents and made our way up the mountain in the cable cars and at the top enjoyed a nice meal

On the Saturday we went off to Jujuy on a daytrip. In Jujuy we went to Purmamarca which has the hill with 7 colours (yes, 7!), las Salinas grandes (the salt flats) and Humahuaca, a little town in Jujuy. It was amazing! I’d never been to Jujuy before and whilst it was a long trip in the minibus it was so worth doing. The scenery on the roads was incredible. Whilst we did feel the altitude (i think we went up to just over 4,000 m above sea level) we were all fine, just a bit sleepy and groggy at the highest points.

The next day we had church which was really lovely! Everyone came over to say hello to my family and they got to see me singing in Spanish! We then went back to the Matus’ for lunch and soon it was time for me to have my hen do with las chicas! (Noly had his stag on Friday night). My hen do was basically a pool party and everyone had brought food (there was SO much of it, not complaining!) and we did a who knows the couple best quiz and a Mr and Mrs style quiz for me. It was really lovely! I wasn’t expecting to have a hen do here and it was really lovely that we could find a time to do it when my sister was here too!

The next day we went off to the lake to do wakeboarding. All 4 of us- me, Nolz, Amy & Tim- had a go and in fact, everyone managed to do it! Which is always very satisfying for the whole boat load of people when someone new manages to do it! The hardest part is getting up so once they’d got that we were away! After lunch we also got the jet ski going which Noly accompanied Amy and also Auntie Ray on it! It was quite amusing to see Noly and Auntie Ray whizzing around the lake on the jet ski but she had a marvellous time!

Then, the next week the preparations for the wedding started in earnest. I had my final dress fitting, the bridesmaids had their final dress fittings too (we had the bridesmaids dresses made which was all rather complicated but we got there eventually!), Auntie Ray had a hair trial, we had our nails done, painted the counters for the giant connect 4 and started with the venue… Here’s a little sneak peak!