Monday 25 August Victor got up really early to go to work. His vacation had officially ended and he had to drive all the way back to Malaga, to catch a plane to Dublin. Pepa was up making him coffee and after Victor left I just waited around for Emilio to take us all back to Granada. Back at home I went to the other side of town to pay a parking ticket Victor had gotten that weekend. It was funny because as I paid it, the banker said, "Don't do it again." I looked at him perplexed because the paper clearly said Ignacio Bullejos (Victor bought the car from Nacho) and I obviously wasn't him. He lauged and said "I know, but still..." Then back at home I played on the internet until Michelle got to my house from her tutoring job. She was tutoring my old student Pablo everyday in English and would stop by on her way home. We made ourselves a yummy little brunch of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, juice and milk and ate it on the balcony. Then we just hung out and did nothing, napped, watched tv, etc. and in the afternoon went and looked for more appartments for Michelle. We did that all afternoon and evening and then I came home and went to bed.
Tuesday 26 August I woke up, went for a run and Michelle came over after her class. She hung out in my room with me while I took all the things down from my walls and started getting things in order. Then she went home for lunch and I made lunch too. I had leftover chicken and yummy sauce from Sunday. I also made mashed potatoes. Then I washed up and kept going through stuff in my room and deciding what was staying, going, being donated or thrown out. I made several trips down to Victor's, brought stuff up, went through it and then took what I was taking back, back down to Victor's and started again. It was quite the process. Then I went with Michelle to visit a piso that only cost 120 euro! We went with Sergio, her special friend, and saw a ton of our students in Triunfo, which was rather embarassing. It was her dream piso, but the girls said they would call her to see if she could have the room, but she really, really wanted it. Afterwards, they went to get some tapas, but I went home and watched tv and went to bed. I was going to continue packing but just couldn't.
Wednesday 27 August I woke up and went for a run, showered and cleaned out my room. It was really strange because someone rang the doorbell but only once and I didn't answer it. I had been slightly nervous about the landlord just stopping by and finding me there again. Adrian had said that he didn't stop by once during the 3 weeks I was gone and didn't even come by the day I left to check and see that I had moved out. He only called Adrian who told him I had left. So I had cleaned out my room and moved a lot of my stuff into what would be Jenna's room. (Brad and Jenna were still planning on moving in.) She got the stuff that was still usable but I wasn't going to bring it back to California with me. The rest of the stuff had gone downstairs. When Michelle came over we both went downstairs and I started the actual packing process. We bought down my laptop and Michelle was playing funny comedian videos and stuff online the whole time. That was the only thing that got me through the packing process, I was completely distracted. We also had Emilio there all day. He had gone to buy bread and bought us a loaf. He left to go for lunch and finally we got hungry enough to stop. Just as we were about to go up, I got a text message from Adrian saying that the landlord was there! The mystery doorbell ringing had been him. We waited till Adri sent me a message that he was gone, which was a long time, an then went up. We had been waiting so long that we ate th entire loaf of bread while waiting. That ruined our appetites but I made a little salad for Michelle and I and we watched tv with Adri. He said the landlord looked a little puzzled about the 2 rooms looking slightly inhabited, but didn't say anything. I had successfully dogded the bullet. Then we went back downstairs and finished packing. We were watching America's Funniest Home Videos and afterwards went upstairs and continued for a while. Then we headed to Michelle's so she could get ready to go out with Sergio. On the way there, Alicia called me to see if I wanted to come over and make pancakes for them. Pepa and them had been working finally moving houses. They had been cleaning the old house and doing a ton of work. They had to get ready for the renters to move into their old house, and move themselves into Los Ogijares, untill their new house would be ready. I said yes and bought some oj, grabbed my stuff and went over there with Emilio. I made pancakes, with syrup, scrambled eggs and bacon, with milk and juice. I was pretty nervous to be cooking for them, but Alicia helped and Pepa set the table. It turned out to be a huge success! I was so happy and proud (and lucky!) I told them that now I only owed them 574,328 more meal and we would be even. The best part was that Pepa had seconds... wait for it... and THIRDS!! I was so happy to be able to do something nice for the people who have done so much for me. After cleaning up, we were all so pooped we went to bed.
Thursday 28 August I woke up early and had breakfast with Pepa and Alicia. Then I went with Alicia to her old house to pick some stuff up and take it to their new house, which I hadn't seen yet. It was sad to say goodbye to their old house, (also my old house when I lived with them) but it was nice to see them finally moving into their new house, because they had been through a horrific house buying ordeal. Then back at home I waited for Michelle to come by, but she didn't because of a miscommunication. So I went to the post office and bought a huge box to ship stuff home with. I saw a really cute puppy on the way home too. He was just a little bit bigger than a Beanie Baby and I wanted to take him home. Since Michelle was doing other things that day, I went with Emilio back to Los Ogíjares for lunch. I took a nap there and came back with Emilio after he was done with his nap. Then I went and met Michelle who was out looking for more pisos in the blistering sun. We walked back to her place and watched "Knocked Up." After hanging out some more and maybe going for a walk, I went home and went to bed.
Friday 29 August I woke up and went for a run. Then I went to the store and made sure I had all the stuff to make enchiladas for Michelle and Adrian and stew for Pepa and family that weekend. I started with the preperations for the enchiladas and made guacamole and the sauce. I cooked all morning and made a really impressive lunch for us. It was really fun and I wanted to have a special meal for 2 of my closest friends in Granada. And I made some freaking awesome enchiladas and I was so proud of myself. So I washed up and Michelle and I went out looking for and at more pisos. She was so frustrated because she hadn't heard from the 120 eruo one and it was almost the end of the month. We stopped to rest in Triunfo and just then the 120 place people called her to say that she could move in! She was estatic and we both screamed and hugged like big freaks in the middle of the park while everyone stared. Then we headed back home to get ready and celebrate. On the way I bought a University of Granada sweatshirt which I had been wanting to buy since I studied there. We got dressed up really pretty and walked to an outdoor theatre in Zaidin to see a movie. When we got there, we didn't want to see antyhing that was playing and walked back and got some tapas on Alhamar. It was nice and we talked the night away. Then after 3 rounds of tapas, we headed to Hannigan's where her old roommate worked. We hung out there for a while and I said to her in English, "I wish some guys would talk to us, I'm bored." Usually in a Spanish bar, 2 American girls wouldn't have a chance, but this evening everyone was ignoring us. Right after I opened my big mouth these two, ugly, annoying guys started chatting us up. They spoke perfect English and I'm pretty sure they heard me, so I brought it upon myself. They were ok at first, but then got annoying, asking me if in life I was a pirate or a sailor. I was in no mood to discuss my life that evening with an ugly stranger, so I told him he was a hippy. Then he got upset and asked Michelle if she had had plastic surgery for some reason and we left. Thankfully Victor had called me and we went to meet him where he was. He had arrived to Malaga from Dublin around 10 and drove to Granada. He was going to meet us at Hannigains, but went to the wrong one, (since there are 2.) On his way to the one we were at, he ran into Santi who was on his way to hang out with most of the people from the beach who were botellóning nearby. Victor called me and we headed that way. It was fun to see eveybody all together and we had a really nice time. Michelle went home early, and then Victor and I did. He was a little tired since he woke up in Ireland that morning.
Saturday 30 August I despite going to bed late, I woke up early and started prepping everything for the stew. I peeled and chopped veggies and made biscuits, and made sure I had everything I needed. Then I made Victor take me to Los Ogíjares and I started cooking everything. Pepa was freaking out, and wanted to help me and I gave her a few things to do but otherwise told her to relax and leave me alone. That was impossible but oh well. It took a long time, but I finally prepared a big yummy salad, biscuits, stew and dumplings for 6 adults, 2 kids and 1 grandma. They said they all really liked it and I tried to tell them thank you for all they had done for me. A stew dinner doesn't even come close to sufficing the debt of grattitue I owe Victor's family, but I tried my best. Then we cleaned up and of course, had a siesta. Then Victor and I went to Bea and Antonio's house where the group from last night had been having a bbq. They live in a neat part of Granada that I hadn't really explored before. They invited us to the bbq the night before, but I already had stew plans. They had been hanging out all day and when we got there we hung out too, went swimming, hung out some more, ordered pizza and told jokes till 2 AM or so. Then we all parted ways and went home.
Sunday 31 August I woke up and went to church. Then Victor and I went to the pueblo for migas. Migas are a typical Spanish dish that is like cooked bread crumbs served with fruit, ham, fish, sasuage and all sorts of other things. They are really good, but the first weekend I got to Spain, I got sick after eating them and haven't felt the same about them since. Victor's uncle and aunt came for lunch too, so we had a huge group for my last Sunday meal. Soon after eating, Victor and I headed into town to see "Una Palabra Tuya." It was the movie we were going to see the week before. It starred 2 really funny actresses from our favorite shows, "Camera Cafe" and "Aqui No Hay Quien Viva." The previews made it look like a sweet, light-hearted movie, but it was far from it. It was a good movie if you were mentally prepared for a depressing, serious, twisted, drama. But if you were expecting a comedy to make you happy on your last day with Victor in Granada, you were going to be sorely dissapointed. After that we drove around a bit, talking and went back home and loaded up my suitcases. It was really difficult for us both. Then we drove up to the Mirador de San Miguel. This is a new mirador I had never been to. It was by Antonio and Bea's house and really cool. We watched the sun set over Granada, soaked up La Alhambra and took pictures to try and hang onto the memories. After that we drove around a bit more and tried to get tapas at this one place, but it was closed. Then back at Los Ogíjares we ate dinner, Victor packed his suitcase and did some things online for his trip to Rome the next day. Because all the rooms were filled up in the pueblo because of Nacho and Company, we went back to Granada and slept there. You couldn't help but notice the bittersweetness that permeated everything.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Back in Granada
Friday 22 August, back in Granada we stopped by the pueblo for a late lunch. Then we went back to my appartment and Victor had to do some stuff. I caught up with Adrian and went on the internet, since it had been a while. Then I went with Michelle and we looked at several appartments she was looking at moving into. We walked all over looking at the signs in the area she was looking for. Then we went back to her place and made dinner and watched "A Knight's Tale." After a while we went out to walk around and enjoy the finally cool weather. It was so hot during the day and only cools off around 10 or 11 PM. Finally around 2 or so I went home and went to Victors house to get my sheets since I had moved everything out of my room. I talked with Victor for a bit and then went upstairs, made my bed and talked on the phone to my dad before going to bed.
Saturday 23 August I woke up and played on the internet some more and then went for a run. Then I showered and Victor picked me up to go to Los Ogijares for lunch. After lunch and cleaning up, Pepa said she wanted to show me something. I started getting nervous for some reason. She pulled out these towels that had this handmade, crocheted fringe on it. I recognized it as what Pepa is always working on in her free time. I said, "Oh how cool," and she said, "Do you like it?" I said "No! Did you make them for me?" because I knew she would give them to me, even if she didn't make them for me. She replied, "No, I didn't make them for you." "Oh good, well I like them then they are very pretty." "I tricked you, they were for you! I wanted you to have something to remember me by." I burst into tears like I never had before. Pepa wanted to get them embroidered with my initials but didn't know if I wanted R or RG. Somehow between my tears we decided on R and I gave her a big hug. I kept crying for a while and Pepa went to take a nap. Victor and I kept talking for a while and went back to Granada to take advantage of the air conditioning and cable tv for a late Spanish siesta. Then we went to El Corte Inglés so Victor could get his haircut and shopped around and found some stuff to make for dinner. We ended up getting stuff for salad and chicken with a sauce that tasted exactly like gravy. It was so delicious, I wanted to eat the sauce like a soup! After watching tv for a while I went upstairs and went to bed.
Sunday 24 August I woke up and went to church. It had been a while since I had been and at the end I made sure to talk to the pastor and his wife and thanked them and said goodbye since I didn't know if I would come next week. They are very nice people. Then Victor and I went to Los Ogijares and went for a swim. Victor had told his mom that we were going to eat out on Sunday, but since we ended up buying a dinner to eat in the night before, we both felt like swimming and Sunday paella. So when we showed up, Pepa almost killed Victor, because she had only made lunch for her and Emilio, and it wasn't paella. Of course, Pepa being a Spanish mommy, only had to take the paella mix she had already prepared and defrost it. So we had my last Sunday paella afterall. Then we all fell asleep there for another glorious siesta. We were going to go to the movies, but slept too long and so we went back to Granada for Victor to pack up his suitcase for Malaga. Then back at the pueblo, we ate dinner, chatted and all went to bed.
Saturday 23 August I woke up and played on the internet some more and then went for a run. Then I showered and Victor picked me up to go to Los Ogijares for lunch. After lunch and cleaning up, Pepa said she wanted to show me something. I started getting nervous for some reason. She pulled out these towels that had this handmade, crocheted fringe on it. I recognized it as what Pepa is always working on in her free time. I said, "Oh how cool," and she said, "Do you like it?" I said "No! Did you make them for me?" because I knew she would give them to me, even if she didn't make them for me. She replied, "No, I didn't make them for you." "Oh good, well I like them then they are very pretty." "I tricked you, they were for you! I wanted you to have something to remember me by." I burst into tears like I never had before. Pepa wanted to get them embroidered with my initials but didn't know if I wanted R or RG. Somehow between my tears we decided on R and I gave her a big hug. I kept crying for a while and Pepa went to take a nap. Victor and I kept talking for a while and went back to Granada to take advantage of the air conditioning and cable tv for a late Spanish siesta. Then we went to El Corte Inglés so Victor could get his haircut and shopped around and found some stuff to make for dinner. We ended up getting stuff for salad and chicken with a sauce that tasted exactly like gravy. It was so delicious, I wanted to eat the sauce like a soup! After watching tv for a while I went upstairs and went to bed.
Sunday 24 August I woke up and went to church. It had been a while since I had been and at the end I made sure to talk to the pastor and his wife and thanked them and said goodbye since I didn't know if I would come next week. They are very nice people. Then Victor and I went to Los Ogijares and went for a swim. Victor had told his mom that we were going to eat out on Sunday, but since we ended up buying a dinner to eat in the night before, we both felt like swimming and Sunday paella. So when we showed up, Pepa almost killed Victor, because she had only made lunch for her and Emilio, and it wasn't paella. Of course, Pepa being a Spanish mommy, only had to take the paella mix she had already prepared and defrost it. So we had my last Sunday paella afterall. Then we all fell asleep there for another glorious siesta. We were going to go to the movies, but slept too long and so we went back to Granada for Victor to pack up his suitcase for Malaga. Then back at the pueblo, we ate dinner, chatted and all went to bed.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
More Beach Pictures
Here are some beach pics in random order. I love La Herradura:
Adriana in one of her adorable moments:
The view from Ana's pool/house. The way the pool is set up it feels like you are swimming in the ocean:
The cameleon. It was so cool to visibily watch it change colors:
Victor, Floren and me in La Cochera. Notice Victor's beard:
The octopus!!!!:
Currucos! Really gross looking but edible:
A cool shot from inside the Nerja cave. It's cooler than this, but this was the best picture I had:
Victor, Floren and me in La Cochera. Notice Victor's beard:
The octopus!!!!:
Currucos! Really gross looking but edible:
A cool shot from inside the Nerja cave. It's cooler than this, but this was the best picture I had:
Week 3: The End
Monday 18 August, since the night before had been an earlier one, I woke up early to say goodbye to Pepa and Emilio, who were going to eat with Patricia and her parents before heading back to Granada. We were happy to have the house to ourselves and ironically celebrated by spending all day on the beach. In the morning we went snorkelling with Santi and Floren. It was really cool especially because Santi caught an octopus for us to see. We were there a long time and later went to get some tapas. At tapas we ran into Walli and Jose El Mei. They had been out diving all morning. Mei is almost a professional diver. He and his whole family are really into it. He can hold his breath for 4 minutes, go down really deep and fish all sorts of animals out of the ocean with his hands. So Victor, Walli, Mei and I all went out swimming and looking at stuff. we saw an octopus, but the main objective of our mission was to hunt currucos. I have no idea what they are called in English, but you hunted them by swimming way down to the bottom of the ocean where its sandy, then you see the little holes where they are breathing from and stick your hand into the sand and get them out. That is if you can stand the water pressure, cold temperatures and hold your breath for long enough. Still trying to not get anymore ear infections, I wasn't even trying to get them but did swim all the way down once just to touch the bottom. Between all of us, we got about 20. Thankfully, we also had 2 - 8 year old tag alongs with us who were in love with Mei and his diving knowledge who were also the nephews of the chambao we usually got tapas at. So the kids took our catch and since they have all the waiters and cooks at their beck and call, ordered them to cook them up for us. Unfortunately they were disgusting and full of dirt. I still ate like 5 just to make sure I didn't get a wrong first impression. The cleaning and cooking process says a lot for currucos. Then Victor and I went home and had a snack and headed back to the beach in front of La Cochera. Then that evening we ate a delicious potato salad that Pepa had made for us. Then we went to the outdoor movie theater at midnight. We saw WallE the Pixar movie. It was fun because I had never been to an outdoor theatre before and that had an intermission, which I thought was funny. After that we went and hung out with the gang on the beach for a while. We were tired so we went home early, but Victor's friends Walli and Hori had asked to spend the night, so they wouldn't have to go back to Almuñécar that night. They called and woke Victor up at 5AM or so to be let in and then woke up really early to go do stuff and woke us up too. It was pretty funny.
Tuesday 19 August since we had been woken up early by Walli and Hori, but it wasn't a good day to go to the beach because there were huge waves. So we finally finished up Season 3 of LOST. I was sad that we didn't have anymore to watch, but at least they lasted us 2 weeks. Then after that we ate and went down to the cochera to use the internet. Then we drove to Almuñécar to go to the aquarium. It was a really cool aquarium, especially after doing so much snorkelling and recognizing a lot of the animals we had seen in the wild. Then we went on a search for a magnet. For all the times we had been to the pueblo, I had never bought a magnet. There wasn't a lot of good selection, but Victor was really patienet with me and I finally found one that I liked. Then we stopped by a craft market thing and then went and had some tapas for dinner. Then back at home we cleaned up and Floren came over and watched tv with us. By now a lot of the gang had left and nobody wanted to go out as much.
Wednesday 20 August I went grocery shopping in the morning and then Victor and I headed to Las Cuevas de Nerja, or Nerja Caves. I didn't really know what to expect but we encountered a magical, enormous cave that was a combination of The Goonies, Disneyland, Indiana Jones, and all the awesome cave movies you have seen in your life. It was so surreal because I had never seen anything like that in real life, only in make believe books and movies. We went all through the cave and then I bought a magnet. Then we went to this special beach called Cantarriján. You had to hike down a hill for 1.4 KM to get there. It was really cool and special. The water was still pretty choppy but it was a nice afternoon. We also ran into Ana and her cousin there which was slightly awkward. Then we had to hike back up the huge mountain to get back to the car, but it was good. Since we had exhausted our LOST supply we went and rented 2 movies for the evening and ate dinner. We rented "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and "Habana Blues." We hadn't even finished Chuck and Larry when the doorbell rang. Floren and Nacho (Dani's little brother, not Victor's) came over to play. We just hung out and played cards till they left. Then we finished the movie.
Thursday 21 August after breakfast we headed to the beach and I did some snorkelling. I found a little clam shell and made a suprise for Victor with it. After a lovely morning, we went home and I made spaghetti for lunch. We watched Habana Blues and then went down to La Cochera with Floren. Alicia had come to the beach with the kids so after a while we walked down the beach to look for them in front of Alicia's parent's house. We found them and it was a really sweet reunion. Nachete went running into his uncle's arms and started to play with him instantly. Marina on the other hand didn't recognize her uncle with 3 weeks worth of beard on his face and clung to me because she was scared. They were all so cute, blonde and tan after a summer on the beach. Then we went back home and had dinner and watched Camera Cafe with Dani who came over. Then later we met up with the gang but left them and went and got a drink with Alicia, who had put the kids to bed and got her mom to watch them. I probably hadn't seen Alicia since May so it was really good to catch up with her. The conversation went a little South though when she asked me why I was leaving?, when I was coming back?, and told me I had to come back, no matter what. All in all it was good to talk to her after so long and once again we closed out La Cochera. Then Victor and I kept talking as we walked home, took a midnight swim, stopped by the bakery and finally called it a night.
Friday 22 August in the morning Victor and I started talking about what Alicia had said and we both got really upset. We cleaned the whole place from top to bottom to put Pepa's hosue back in order and headed back to Granada early. Although our last day of vacation in La Herradura was rather tramautic, it was ok because it wasn't our last day ever. All in all it had been a wonderful 3 weeks of vacation in paradise.
Tuesday 19 August since we had been woken up early by Walli and Hori, but it wasn't a good day to go to the beach because there were huge waves. So we finally finished up Season 3 of LOST. I was sad that we didn't have anymore to watch, but at least they lasted us 2 weeks. Then after that we ate and went down to the cochera to use the internet. Then we drove to Almuñécar to go to the aquarium. It was a really cool aquarium, especially after doing so much snorkelling and recognizing a lot of the animals we had seen in the wild. Then we went on a search for a magnet. For all the times we had been to the pueblo, I had never bought a magnet. There wasn't a lot of good selection, but Victor was really patienet with me and I finally found one that I liked. Then we stopped by a craft market thing and then went and had some tapas for dinner. Then back at home we cleaned up and Floren came over and watched tv with us. By now a lot of the gang had left and nobody wanted to go out as much.
Wednesday 20 August I went grocery shopping in the morning and then Victor and I headed to Las Cuevas de Nerja, or Nerja Caves. I didn't really know what to expect but we encountered a magical, enormous cave that was a combination of The Goonies, Disneyland, Indiana Jones, and all the awesome cave movies you have seen in your life. It was so surreal because I had never seen anything like that in real life, only in make believe books and movies. We went all through the cave and then I bought a magnet. Then we went to this special beach called Cantarriján. You had to hike down a hill for 1.4 KM to get there. It was really cool and special. The water was still pretty choppy but it was a nice afternoon. We also ran into Ana and her cousin there which was slightly awkward. Then we had to hike back up the huge mountain to get back to the car, but it was good. Since we had exhausted our LOST supply we went and rented 2 movies for the evening and ate dinner. We rented "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" and "Habana Blues." We hadn't even finished Chuck and Larry when the doorbell rang. Floren and Nacho (Dani's little brother, not Victor's) came over to play. We just hung out and played cards till they left. Then we finished the movie.
Thursday 21 August after breakfast we headed to the beach and I did some snorkelling. I found a little clam shell and made a suprise for Victor with it. After a lovely morning, we went home and I made spaghetti for lunch. We watched Habana Blues and then went down to La Cochera with Floren. Alicia had come to the beach with the kids so after a while we walked down the beach to look for them in front of Alicia's parent's house. We found them and it was a really sweet reunion. Nachete went running into his uncle's arms and started to play with him instantly. Marina on the other hand didn't recognize her uncle with 3 weeks worth of beard on his face and clung to me because she was scared. They were all so cute, blonde and tan after a summer on the beach. Then we went back home and had dinner and watched Camera Cafe with Dani who came over. Then later we met up with the gang but left them and went and got a drink with Alicia, who had put the kids to bed and got her mom to watch them. I probably hadn't seen Alicia since May so it was really good to catch up with her. The conversation went a little South though when she asked me why I was leaving?, when I was coming back?, and told me I had to come back, no matter what. All in all it was good to talk to her after so long and once again we closed out La Cochera. Then Victor and I kept talking as we walked home, took a midnight swim, stopped by the bakery and finally called it a night.
Friday 22 August in the morning Victor and I started talking about what Alicia had said and we both got really upset. We cleaned the whole place from top to bottom to put Pepa's hosue back in order and headed back to Granada early. Although our last day of vacation in La Herradura was rather tramautic, it was ok because it wasn't our last day ever. All in all it had been a wonderful 3 weeks of vacation in paradise.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Beach Time: Week 2
Monday August 11th. Sometime since we had arrived the sink water was backing up into the diswasher and making a huge mess. I now remember that made getting for company the night before very difficult because we had a huge pile of dirty dishes we had to scrub in the washroom sink which is really small. So early in the morning the plumber came, which was also difficult since we had people over till who knows when the night before. Then after he left we got ready to go to Malaga for a few days. When we got there, we stopped by Victor's place and then headed to the mall so I could shop at H and M and look for the sunglasses I had been searching for all summer. They obviously werent' there since over 3 months had passed since I had seen them, but we shopped all around and I also looked for a watch I wanted from another store. We ate lunch at the mall and watched the Olympics on tv. Then we headed to the city center and got an ice cream from a really good place. Then we went to another store where I had seen the watch I liked and it was there and I got it. I was glad it was still there. Then I tried on swimsuits and bought a purple one, my favorite color. Then we met up with Wali and Fabiola, the main reason we had come to Malaga. We kept shopping and walking around and ended up meeting with Kike, Wali's brother and their other friend for tapas. It was a long day and evening but fun. Then we all went to our respective homes and went to bed. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep. It was really hot in Malaga and uncomfortable. On top of all that, the toll of a month of island hopping, beach living had taken a toll on my ears. I had the most horrible pain I have even felt in my life. I don't think I had an infection but it was so bad that I was crying and wanted to go to the emercengy room. I had been feeling uncomfortable all day and before that but this was the absolute worst. I think I took about 4 Advil and somehow managed to fall asleep.
Tuesday August 12th. Victor's roommate Jesus is a doctor so we were going to ask him to look at my ear before he went to work and sent him a text message so we could talk to him before he left. He left anyway and when I woke up I felt better but went to the pharmacy to get some medicine. It helped but not too much. We also went to the post office so I could mail a suprise home to my mom and sister. Then we went and picked up Wali and Fabiola and went to lunch at a very famous place in Malaga, El Tintero. It is famous because you go and sit down and all the while waiters are walking around with their arms loaded up with plates of food, shouting what they have. So octopus guy walks around shouting, "Octopus! I've got octopus!!!" If you feel like a plate of that you flag him down and he gives it to you. This goes on with salad, lobster, shirmp, fried eggplant, the works. Then at the end when you and your party have had your fill, the guy with a notepad who has been walking around yelling, "I'll charge you! I'll ring you up!" comes by and counts how many plates, pitchers, etc. you have on your table and charges you for that. Back in the day when the beachfront resturant had a sand floor, people would hide the plates in the sand to get a free dish or two. Unfortunately now its a regular floot and we had to pay the full, rather expensive price. Kike had met us for lunch too and afterwards we all parted ways. Kike had to go back to work and the four of us headed back to the beach. We went straight to Almuñécar to drop them off and ended up changing and going to the beach there with them and their friends. Dani had also gotten to La Herradura that day and caught a bus over to Almuñécar and hung out with us. After a while the girls all went to a girly store and I went with them for a while. The boys went to this place where they played flamenco music. Then Victor, Dani and I went back to La Herradura, stopped at the bakery, cleaned up, had dinner and later Dani and Santi came over. I don't know if we went out or just stayed in but we did something with them according to my notes. I think we probably went out and got a bottellón against my will.
Wednesday 13 August, I got up and went for a run before breakfast. Then we went to the beach. Then we went home for lunch and I think I made chili. That was from another special spice packet from home that I combined with Spanish beans and tomato/vegetable mix in order to made some really awesome chili. We ate it in chilitos (burritos made with chili) and it was really good. Then that evening after our normal schedule of LOST and the beach we probably went out in the evening and followed the normal schedule.
Thursday 14 August, I woke up and went for a run again and then we went to the beach. After Floren left, Santi, Victor and I went and got a few tapas. Santi then went home for lunch and we went to our favorite bar and ordered a rosco for lunch. We had gone to Almuñécar and made a huge purchase the week before, but now all that food was gone. We hadn't really bothered to restock because Pepa and Emilio were coming that day and I knew she would bring lots of supplies. So we just bought lunch and watched LOST. We didn't stay too long because we knew Victor's parents were on their way to rain on our parade and take their house back. We headed to the beach and hung out with the gang till really late. Even when everyone went home we shoppped around a bit because we just didn't want to face the reality that Pepa and Emilio were waiting for us back at home. We finally could avoid it no longer and headed home. We said hello and had to shuffle stuff around as Emilio took over the master bedroom and Pepa took over Victor's room. After cleaning up we had dinner all together. It was a little awkward, but as predicted, Pepa brought tons of delicious food, stocked us up and we talked about the menu for the rest of the weekend. After dinner we got ready and went out. Tonight for some reason there were a ton of people in town and we all went out together. They were mostly Victor's old friends and I didn't really know them that well but it turned out to be the best night of the summer for me. At La Cochera there was a concert and while the boys were on the beach botellon-ing I went inside and listened to the concert. The group was this really cool rock/ska group that had such a unique sound and I loved it! They also played some really great and popular cover songs. It was so good and after a bit some of the guys came in to listen too. Now thing thing I like about going out is not the dancing in and of its self. I've never been a good dancer. But what I do love is singing my favorite songs and dancing around with friends, just being crazy. This band was the perfect music to do so to. It was really fun and funny and I spent most of the evening trying to get Victor's shy friends to go and talk to girls, being the ultimate wing woman, and making Victor, and equally bad dancer, dance with me. It was amazing night and we closed out La Cochera. Then we headed home and stopped by the bakery for delicious treats and went to bed completely content around 5AM.
Friday 15 August I woke up to the sound of Victor's niece, Adriana running around the house. Raul and Patricia had come for lunch and I stumbled out of the bedroom to say hello. We had Pepa's favorite, paella, for lunch and then hung around a while visiting. Then Victor and I went to the Cochera beach and hung out with the gang. Then back at home we had dinner, showered and went out again till 5AM. It was fun but nothing compared to the day before.
Saturday 16 August I slept in again until lunch time. Pepa made a delicious baked fish with potatoes and shrimp and deliciousness. It was really good. Then I fell asleep for a little siesta and Victor and I went down to the beach with Pepa. We were supposed to go with her in the morning, but we were sleeping and she didn't wake us up. So we all hung out on the beach and chatted. Pepa also treated us to an ice cream and later Dani came and hung out with us too. We were there for a long time, Pepa went upstairs and we stayed even longer. Finally we went up and ate dinner and showered and went out again.
Sunday 17 August I slept in again and woke up when Raul and family got there. Today we were having Cuban rice, which was white rice, fried eggs and tomato sauce all mixed together. It sounds gross as I write it but it is one of my favorite dishes. Then after lunch and naptime, Pepa, Patricia, Victor and I went and got an ice cream. Then Victor and I went up to his friend Ana's house. Ana is nice, but not my favorite person. Regardless, she has one of the most impressive houses I have seen in my life. Her family is from Madrid and her dad spared no expense to build his dream house. Its huge, amazing and has everything you could dream of. We hung out there for a long time, because since it is up on a hill, the pool gets sun till about 10PM. Then we went back down and had dinner with Raul and Patricia and Pepa and Emilio. We had roscos and then Raul left. That evening we went down to the beach with Dani and he played guitar.
Tuesday August 12th. Victor's roommate Jesus is a doctor so we were going to ask him to look at my ear before he went to work and sent him a text message so we could talk to him before he left. He left anyway and when I woke up I felt better but went to the pharmacy to get some medicine. It helped but not too much. We also went to the post office so I could mail a suprise home to my mom and sister. Then we went and picked up Wali and Fabiola and went to lunch at a very famous place in Malaga, El Tintero. It is famous because you go and sit down and all the while waiters are walking around with their arms loaded up with plates of food, shouting what they have. So octopus guy walks around shouting, "Octopus! I've got octopus!!!" If you feel like a plate of that you flag him down and he gives it to you. This goes on with salad, lobster, shirmp, fried eggplant, the works. Then at the end when you and your party have had your fill, the guy with a notepad who has been walking around yelling, "I'll charge you! I'll ring you up!" comes by and counts how many plates, pitchers, etc. you have on your table and charges you for that. Back in the day when the beachfront resturant had a sand floor, people would hide the plates in the sand to get a free dish or two. Unfortunately now its a regular floot and we had to pay the full, rather expensive price. Kike had met us for lunch too and afterwards we all parted ways. Kike had to go back to work and the four of us headed back to the beach. We went straight to Almuñécar to drop them off and ended up changing and going to the beach there with them and their friends. Dani had also gotten to La Herradura that day and caught a bus over to Almuñécar and hung out with us. After a while the girls all went to a girly store and I went with them for a while. The boys went to this place where they played flamenco music. Then Victor, Dani and I went back to La Herradura, stopped at the bakery, cleaned up, had dinner and later Dani and Santi came over. I don't know if we went out or just stayed in but we did something with them according to my notes. I think we probably went out and got a bottellón against my will.
Wednesday 13 August, I got up and went for a run before breakfast. Then we went to the beach. Then we went home for lunch and I think I made chili. That was from another special spice packet from home that I combined with Spanish beans and tomato/vegetable mix in order to made some really awesome chili. We ate it in chilitos (burritos made with chili) and it was really good. Then that evening after our normal schedule of LOST and the beach we probably went out in the evening and followed the normal schedule.
Thursday 14 August, I woke up and went for a run again and then we went to the beach. After Floren left, Santi, Victor and I went and got a few tapas. Santi then went home for lunch and we went to our favorite bar and ordered a rosco for lunch. We had gone to Almuñécar and made a huge purchase the week before, but now all that food was gone. We hadn't really bothered to restock because Pepa and Emilio were coming that day and I knew she would bring lots of supplies. So we just bought lunch and watched LOST. We didn't stay too long because we knew Victor's parents were on their way to rain on our parade and take their house back. We headed to the beach and hung out with the gang till really late. Even when everyone went home we shoppped around a bit because we just didn't want to face the reality that Pepa and Emilio were waiting for us back at home. We finally could avoid it no longer and headed home. We said hello and had to shuffle stuff around as Emilio took over the master bedroom and Pepa took over Victor's room. After cleaning up we had dinner all together. It was a little awkward, but as predicted, Pepa brought tons of delicious food, stocked us up and we talked about the menu for the rest of the weekend. After dinner we got ready and went out. Tonight for some reason there were a ton of people in town and we all went out together. They were mostly Victor's old friends and I didn't really know them that well but it turned out to be the best night of the summer for me. At La Cochera there was a concert and while the boys were on the beach botellon-ing I went inside and listened to the concert. The group was this really cool rock/ska group that had such a unique sound and I loved it! They also played some really great and popular cover songs. It was so good and after a bit some of the guys came in to listen too. Now thing thing I like about going out is not the dancing in and of its self. I've never been a good dancer. But what I do love is singing my favorite songs and dancing around with friends, just being crazy. This band was the perfect music to do so to. It was really fun and funny and I spent most of the evening trying to get Victor's shy friends to go and talk to girls, being the ultimate wing woman, and making Victor, and equally bad dancer, dance with me. It was amazing night and we closed out La Cochera. Then we headed home and stopped by the bakery for delicious treats and went to bed completely content around 5AM.
Friday 15 August I woke up to the sound of Victor's niece, Adriana running around the house. Raul and Patricia had come for lunch and I stumbled out of the bedroom to say hello. We had Pepa's favorite, paella, for lunch and then hung around a while visiting. Then Victor and I went to the Cochera beach and hung out with the gang. Then back at home we had dinner, showered and went out again till 5AM. It was fun but nothing compared to the day before.
Saturday 16 August I slept in again until lunch time. Pepa made a delicious baked fish with potatoes and shrimp and deliciousness. It was really good. Then I fell asleep for a little siesta and Victor and I went down to the beach with Pepa. We were supposed to go with her in the morning, but we were sleeping and she didn't wake us up. So we all hung out on the beach and chatted. Pepa also treated us to an ice cream and later Dani came and hung out with us too. We were there for a long time, Pepa went upstairs and we stayed even longer. Finally we went up and ate dinner and showered and went out again.
Sunday 17 August I slept in again and woke up when Raul and family got there. Today we were having Cuban rice, which was white rice, fried eggs and tomato sauce all mixed together. It sounds gross as I write it but it is one of my favorite dishes. Then after lunch and naptime, Pepa, Patricia, Victor and I went and got an ice cream. Then Victor and I went up to his friend Ana's house. Ana is nice, but not my favorite person. Regardless, she has one of the most impressive houses I have seen in my life. Her family is from Madrid and her dad spared no expense to build his dream house. Its huge, amazing and has everything you could dream of. We hung out there for a long time, because since it is up on a hill, the pool gets sun till about 10PM. Then we went back down and had dinner with Raul and Patricia and Pepa and Emilio. We had roscos and then Raul left. That evening we went down to the beach with Dani and he played guitar.
Más Personajes
Santi and Victor inside La Cochera:
Santi, Victor and Floren on the beach in front of El Chambao de Joaquín. Santi caught an octopus and it was in his snorkel mask:
Bea and Jose, the Jose who lives in my building. They look a little possesed but they aren't:
Another Bea and Antonio. Antonio and Santi are brothers:
Another Jose or El Mei. We went snorkelling/diving and got those big clam things out of the sand, but that story is later:
Santi, Victor and Floren on the beach in front of El Chambao de Joaquín. Santi caught an octopus and it was in his snorkel mask:
Bea and Jose, the Jose who lives in my building. They look a little possesed but they aren't:
Another Bea and Antonio. Antonio and Santi are brothers:
Another Jose or El Mei. We went snorkelling/diving and got those big clam things out of the sand, but that story is later:
Personajes
I basically just stopped posting pictures, but wanted to do a mini recap of the characters in my Spanish life, so you could see!
Michelle and I in her birthday crowns:
Not the greatest picture but this is Walli, or Javier, (the one with the beard) at the BBQ at Maria's house we went to with Michelle:
This is El Gallego, another Javier, in the red shirt, and Fabiola, Walli's girlfriend in the forefront:
Santiago, or Santi in the front and a better picture of Javier, El Gallego:
Daniel, Dani or El Baco (Victor and his friends are way too big on nicknames), Santi, Victor and Florentino or Floren. we are currently on the beach in front of La Cochera:
Michelle and I in her birthday crowns:
Not the greatest picture but this is Walli, or Javier, (the one with the beard) at the BBQ at Maria's house we went to with Michelle:
This is El Gallego, another Javier, in the red shirt, and Fabiola, Walli's girlfriend in the forefront:
Santiago, or Santi in the front and a better picture of Javier, El Gallego:
Daniel, Dani or El Baco (Victor and his friends are way too big on nicknames), Santi, Victor and Florentino or Floren. we are currently on the beach in front of La Cochera:
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