It’s freakin’ hot here. I had to get up at 8 a.m. to bake the cookies without sweating like a gringa. After converting the cookie ingredients into cookies, I discovered all kinds of other food on my shelf (anyone with roommates understands “the shelf”) which I had forgotten about. There’s a lot of eating pressure on me right now because I only have three full days and one partial day left in Valencia.
Went to see Garbage play a free outdoor concert yesterday (amusingly, spaniards pronounce it “garbaje”.) They played on a stage built out into an artificial lake. Very cool. The music, while not my favorite, made me nostalgic for Madison as some of the band members are from there.
Great night-concert weather. When I walked home from dinner at 1 a.m. today, it read 25 degrees on the thermometer. That is shorts and T-shirt weather. During the day, it’s above 30, which lowers the motivation level to zero. I can’t even find energy to go to the beach. Jo-der.
I’m only happy when it rains…
Any loquat fans out there? They’ve become my favorite summer fruit. 
In Spain, they’re called Nísperos. In German, Mispel. They have a tough skin and flesh like a pear but taste like limey mango.
Thes
e tiny little eggs are delicious. They’re shown here with a regular-sized brown egg. They tasted somehow creamy. Unsure what kind of animal they come from. A very small hen, possibly?
A middle-aged North American tourist at the train station in Barcelona was trying to figure out how to work the lu
ggage lockers. She needed to get coins from the change machine, but seemed confused. After a long conversation with a man who spoke no English, she said: “Oh, so they use Euros here, too.” Yep. Europe does the Euro thing now. Couldn’t exactly place the accent, but am guessing Canadians would be better informed.
The skunkfunk store owner asked if I’m proud to be an estadounidense (USAer). I said, “sure, why not.” He then went on a verbal rampage about President Bush. Finally, someone willing to get in my face about politics. I let it all slide and bought a fun skirt.
Life has become compressed. A series of visits and partying slid between vacations. Soon Spain will be my Mediterranean mirage. On July 5 I will move to Germany to continue my work as U.S. Ambassador of Fun. But before then: Mallorca, Madrid, Salamanca.
