First of all, let me apologize for not writing last week. Things were a little busy involving another tube strike… my buddy’s cousin’s birthday… a crazy b-day party for my friend / co-worker… and preparing for a trip to Espana.
I woke up last Sunday morning due to my Flatmate reminding me that I needed to pack and get on a plane. The night before had been a party for one of my co-workers and upon returning home, ended up chatting with my flatmate until 8am… Luckily, I made my flight (with an incredibly hecticly overpacked suitcase. In Madrid, we were staying at a beautiful modern hotel that was about a 10 minute walk from the client. Work has been very interesting speaking a mix of Spanish and English… One woman was explaining one of the processes and ended up switching from English to Spanish. Instead of interrupting her, I let her continue until one of her co-workers turned around and asked, “Sabes que estas hablando en Espanol?” I immediately switched into Spanish too, and let her know that I understood everything that she had been saying. During lunch, we developed the habit of visiting the fruit man at the near by Centro de Comerciales. The fruit is amazingly delicious, and I have become very addicted to the plums and pears. There was also a holiday on Tuesday, so we worked early and then around siesta time, we wondered to the Plaza del Sol. We were in the search of food, when we stumbled upon a Cuban Restaurant. It has been two months without Cuban food, so I was SOOO EXCITED. After ropa vieja, arroz con frijoles negros, platanos maduros, and a pitcher of Sangria, I thought I would cry with happiness.
On Friday, my manager and I proceeded to walk to the nearest subway to get to our train to Valencia… We did not know at the time that we would be lugging (in my case) huge suitcases uphill for 20 minutes… We had been reassured that the subway was “muy cerca” but I am inclined to say “MENTIROSO!” After 3.5 hours a “documentario” that was called El Trabajo Embarazado with Lindsey Lohan… (yay… documentary??), we arrived in Valencia. We went directly to our hotel, the Hotel Neptuno, which was located on the beach. We wondered along the boardwalk to a bar, where the waiter couldn’t quite what language to speak with us. In the end, the only thing I wanted him to know was that a Cuba Libre came with a lime and NOT a lemon. The third time he FINALLY brought a lime and rum shots, and we all cheersed saying, “Salud a las limas!”
Saturday started out a little rough, mostly due to the “ron con coka light… Y LIMA!” We purchased a day pass for a jump-on-jump-off bus tour which took us around Valencia. We went to the Catedral en La Plaza de Reina first, searching for a place to have lunch. The thing to remember about Spain, is that food is not served ANYWHERE between 11am and 1pm… because that is when they set up for lunch at 1pm. We ended up in a Starbucks, because we were starving... I know… Americans… Our day progressed at some of the most awe –inspiring sights. We went to the Mercado, where people could get fresh fruits, vegetable, meat, and fish. I literally had to run from the pungent fish booths, because rum and fish smell do not mix well.
My manager (Katie) had told me earlier in the day that the last time she was in Spain, her friend had been pooped on by a pigeon and freaked out. The Spanish woman that had also been with them had tried to make Katie’s friend feel better by saying, “ES FORTUNADA!” (It’s Good Fortune!) All I have to say, is that God has a sense of humor. While we are deciding our next plan I felt something hit my shoulder (bare shoulder), and we both had thought it was a bug or lizard… nope… apparently, I was FORTUNADA… to have a very healthy pigeon bless me while I was standing under his tree. Needless to say, I will be laughing about that with my manager for years to come.
For my birthday dinner, we went to a great small Spanish restaurant where we had a bottle of wine, cheese, pimientos de padron, and paella. We went out later to the party street and had a few drinks. We made it back to the hotel “early” at 2am and fell asleep.
Today (Yesterday) I had one of the most amazing birthdays! I woke up and went to the beach and laid out. I felt much like a solar panel, because I was storing up the sun for the next few months in London. We had “brunch” on the beach including café con leche and a Tortilla Espaniola. We then packed up everything to check out of the hotel before going to the Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Sciencias. The area was very much like a city with beautiful modern architecture that housed the Natural History Museums and the aquarium… Oceanográfico! I hadn’t been to a Zoo or Aquarium in years, so I felt like a kid who couldn’t take in enough sights of these amazing animals. I saw pelicans, flamingos, sea lions, dolphins, beluga whales, sharks, sting rays, jelly fish, swordfish, and many other types of creatures. The tanks were created with a hallway below so that one could look up and see the fish and mammals. The shark exhibit was the best. I mentioned to my manager that I really wanted one of the bigger ones to come over closer to the window, and the next thing I saw was two BIG sharks swimming towards me, which totally gave me the creeps.
My birthday ended with a train ride back to Madrid where my manager and I continued to celebrate with a few glasses of wine. It has definitely been one of my most memorable birthdays, but I must say that I am looking forward to spending my 28th with family and friends… that is… if life doesn’t surprise me and take me on another traveling adventure!
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