Hola, Espana!

I was so relieved to get to Spain on Sunday. After France robbed me of too much money, I needed a chance to breathe and save and just plain not think about money getting in the way of my traveling experiences.

(On left side, former castle of King Felipe II and Elizabeth)

I was greeted by Isabel and Pablo when I arrived at the train station. Isabel was holding up a sign with my name typed on it. I felt like “a movie star,” as she put it. Pablo is Isabel’s 9-year old son. Austen gave me her information and I am soo thankful to have begun Spain with such a positive experience. Austen and Isabel met when he was here on his 2-year mission trip 2 years back. They met at the Church of Latter Day Saints, which Isabel, her husband David and their 4 kids (soon to be 5!) are a part of. She welcomed me with a bed, home-cooked meals and a huge willingness to help me see the area of Valladolid, Spain, which is just north of Madrid.

Isabel and David are from Uruguay originally. They moved to Spain about 6 years ago, so they are still getting used to some customs of the country. It was refreshing to the two countries’ cultures within both of them, and to see how they compared their lives in each country. Isabel grew up in Brazil, so with her, there was even more to contrast all together. David played semi-professional soccer in Uruguay, so it was fun to try to talk to him about sports and music and just life in general.

Isabel speaks great English. David is just learning English, and I am definitely not practiced in my Spanish, so it was both a relief and a challenge to stay with them.

With Isabel, I could speak pretty freely in English, but I would try to say as much as I could in Spanish just to get a vocabulary refreshment. Yet, with David, we both struggled a little to convey our message to one another.

So that first night, I arrived late. Took a hot shower and went to bed around 11:30pm. Isabel says they go to bed late here, but she still has to be at work by 9 in the morning, and she teaches until around 8 at night. She is a kindergarten teacher. David teaches boxing classes as a fitness trainer, so his work schedule is not so rigid. He calls himself the “hombre de la casa”, as well as the chauffer.

Monday morning, David took me into the city of Valladolid, the former capital of Spain. Isabel and David live ina smaller town about 20 minutes drive out, called Tudelo de Duero. I began my day in a park with the crazy birds, think they were peacocks. The city is fairly walkable, so I strolled through some shopping areas and poked around in some shops, tempted to buy clothes, but in the end, realizing I would only have to lug them through Spain and Portugal for 2 more weeks. I passed through many churches and restaurant areas before stopping into my first tapas bar in Spain.

Bird.

Pretty.

I walked in and it was empty. Being 11am, I figured they had just opened because there were cigarette butts and trash on the floor. Smelled like restaurants smell at the end of the night when all the customers leave but you still haven’t cleaned the place up. I wanted to try the wine of the area, because I heard vinyards were abundant. I ordered a glass of red wine for only 1.50 euro. It was SO nice compared to Paris/Bordeaux prices. Then, I asked for the guy to serve me a good tapa. He asked which one, and I pointed to the 1 euro tapa board and said, “una tapa muy bueno”. He laughed and said something really fast that I couldn’t catch to the girl standing next to him. They turned out to be nice and after first showing me an example of one with fish, I received one with steak and 3 french fries on the side. The steak was on a stick, like a kebob. It was amazing. Don’t know if it’s because I hadn’t had a warm meal in a long long long long time, or if it was just plain good, or if it was even because it was only 1 euro, but I told them I liked it. I wanted another from the board. They showed me something that looked like a bread roll that came with bacon. I said, “si”, that I wanted it.

Valladolid Cathedral.

COOL Trees.

Former Home to King Felipe. Just walked by it in town....

It was not a bread roll. It was seafood on a kebob with bacon, but I still haven’t figured out what Champinon con Bacon is. I forgot to ask Isabel. In any case, I ate it. It was seasoned well, and I had wine and some baguette to wash it down. I felt healthy. At this point, the bar was full. It suddenly became time to come in and get coffee or a breakfast of some sort. Everyone who came in smoked at least 3 cigarettes. I smelled like an ashtray when I was all done.

Strolled out and got 2 pastries during the rest of my walk. My stomach wasn’t used to feeling satisfied anymore, but it definitely remembered liking the feeling. I found a bench near the Cathedral of Valladolid and sat in the sun. It was probably around 40 degrees out, and I was loving it. Maybe less, but who cared, it was sunny and I was wearing a black coat. Passed some markets with hanging meats and cow legs and more pastries and even fruit stands. Finally,  I made my way to the Plaza of San Pablo. David walked right up to me and we went back to their house. He made me lunch and I went on their internet.

Iglesia San Pablo.

Soon, Isabel came home from work early and we left to go to the former castle of Felipe II and Elizabeth. We drove by enough vineyards to rival the drive to San Louis Obispo from Ventura. Except there were far more tasting stops along the way. One of them was very famous, so we stopped and took a picture in front of it.

We arrived into the little village below the castle and stopped in a popular bull-fighting area. Guess it gets pretty busy there in a few months. Then despite what the internet said, the castle was closed. So we took in the amazing view and according to one man we spoke to, we were able to see mountains that were at least 100 km away. It was an amazing place to see anyway, so I was just as happy.

Very Old Church.

Monestary part.

Bullifighting Area with Felipe II and Elizabeth's castle in the background.

Isabel and I.

Famous Vineyard and Tasting Room.

Isabel and I caught up on life on the drive back and hung out with the 4 kids-one 9-year old, 2 3-year old twin girls, and one baby, for the rest of the evening. I completely admire her for how capable she is each day. She works, takes care of kids, and still acts like the world is an amazing place to be.

So now I’m on a bus to Segovia. Will stay for the afternoon before heading to Madrid to take a night train to Lisbon, Portugal. Excited for a beach, finally! And spending St. Patty’s Day in Portugal will def be an interesting experience. Hasta luego!