Goodness me. This really was an adventure in Spanglish today. It started off well; I considered where I had walked the past six days, and thought that instead of heading West/North or some combination thereof, I would head West/South. Gasp! Rebellious little me.
Madrid is divided up into neighbourhoods, or barrios, and some are more desirable than others, as is usually the case in large cities. Up to this point, I had been spending my time exploring the salubrious neighbourhoods to the North and West of our neighbourhood (Estrella). Today, I decided I would just wander in a different direction, still in the larger barrio of Retiro, but just go a little further South than I had before. This turned out to be a really, really great idea. Not only did I get to wander through the quaint, cosy and simply beautiful streets of Nino Jesus, I ended up in Pacifico, a cultural melting pot full of immigrants and interesting shops galore. I came because Trip Advisor told my hungry stomach that there was a high rated but low priced restaurant about a mile from where I was standing, and at this point, my phone's internet was working, so I walked south/west/south/west until eventually I came upon the right Calle, and fronted up to the famous restaurant. Which was closed. Bloody hell Madrid, it's 11am! I'm hungry here! So I found a bench, and I sat, and people watched for a good hour. Texted BF to ask if I could expect the restaurant to be open at 12pm.. his response was something like "maybe". Then another text, asking where I was. To which I responded, "I think I'm in Pacifico?". This did not go down well; apparently my now much-liked Pacifico is a somewhat dodgy neighbourhood. Wanting to stay and eat at the restaurant, but also wanting to heed BF's advice, I was torn only briefly, before I reluctantly left my happy spot on the bench, and meandered back to the safer, prettier Nino Jesus instead.
All this walking will make a girl hungry (hey! it'd been a good three hours!), so I decided to try a bar in our local Estrella instead. Boy oh boy, was this a lesson in Spanglish. Naturally, my phone's internet had died again at this point (it hates me, truly), so I was left with literally only the Spanish I could remember, which is insufficient when faced with a waitress who was determined to be stubborn as hell (yes, stubborn. No, not unable to understand English, actually stubborn. Because I found out later she spoke English reasonably well), and a brain that is tired from too much sun & walking and not enough water. I pointed to a few items on the menu, and before I knew it, I was enjoying a beer and boquerones fritos - flash fried boquerones (white anchovies). Delicious! I could get used to all the gorgeous different raciones here - I'm beginning to recognise some of the names which is helpful.
Must run - things to see!
M x
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