This past weekend I went to Valladolid to see my friend's friend Mapaz. Her father, Pepe, and herself came to pick me up from the train station. They took me to their very chic apartment where I dropped off my stuff, then we all walked to Plaza Mayor. This is the largest and oldest plaza in Spain, there we had coffee, as always cafe con leche. In fact, they wouldn't let me pay for a thing that weekend. I asked her why and she simply replied, "You are my guest." Afterwards, she and I walked the city looking for a skirt. Then she took me out for ice cream but I ended up getting a sandwich because I had gotten on the wrong train and spent an extra 2 hours on it, thus missing lunch. Jámon and queso was never so delicious, they actually grilled it and was amazing. We had a little chat about American and Spanish food. I told her that people don't usually get angry with me when I tell them I find Spanish food a little unhealthy with lots of oil and no fresh vegetables. We surmised it was because I'm Vietnamese and partake less in American food. Seriously, the sweetest española I've met so far. On our way back to her flat, we met up with her mom and we all went back together. I met their bird, Fifi and this hedgehog they found.
How does a hedgehog exist? Their spikes are super sharp and firmly attached into their skin. How does that happen? How do spikes just grow out of skin? I am seriously awestruck by this phenomenom.
Then, they told me we were going out to their finca, farm. I was surprised when she said farm, but it's a few little villas that are close to each other and they all own a large portion of the land there. Her mother, Rana, drove us to their villa and then we changed into bathing suits and went to her aunt's villa nearby to sunbathe and relax by the small pool. Rana cooked us this amazing Spanish tapas dinner. There was sweet torilla española, soft pan and this jámon and bread dish. The red wine was just the cherry on top.
That night, I had awful dreams of my teeth moving out of place and I was scared and alone. It's probably because being with her, sweet, kind and making this big honest effort to be my friend without some sort of agenda just made me feel so nostalgic and sad because here, I don't have that here. I know I keep uttering the same lines over and over again. But it's extraordinary how sharply you can feel so isolated and ostracised. Dreams about teeth are suppose to be stress-induced. I try to keep my feelings neutral, but it's hard not to take it personally.
In the morning, I slept in and Mapaz fixed me breakfast and coffee. Then we went an lounged in the sun, I tried to keep reading On the Road but the sun was so strong and made me so sleepy. You'll be happy to hear I was practicing some basic yoga poses and stretches. When her father came back with groceried we had this huge 3 course meal. I tried blood sausage for the first time and it was delicious as I expected. Vietnamese people eat blood, too so I wasn't aghast by it.
After lunch, we went and toured around to the historic areas and monuments. We saw some small villages, castles, monasteries, and hermitages. Later when we got into Valladolid, we met up with her friend, Alvaro, kind of strange but very sweet. We basically went around for tapas at different places. It was delicious, I had a lobster cucumber kebab, croqueta, and sepia = cuttlefish. It was a wonderful endless day.
Sunday, we walked around the city and ate food, had coffee by the river and had ice cream by Plaza Mayor. We took a walk through the park where they had these beautiful peacocks and we both discussed our mutual love of Victoria's Secret. We agreed to have an exchange of Zara and Victoria's secret stuff twice a year. Then I left... But she says she would like to come into the city for a weekend to shop and stuff, so hopefully, we'll see each other again.
When I came home, the house looked like it had been bulldozed. The living room was full of glasses, beer and liquor. The kitchen was a mess and overflowing with dishes. I cooked my dinner and tomorrow's lunch, then I washed my dishes.
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