I'm officially on my weekend and to my knowledge, I have no responsibilities. Well, perhaps this weekend I will plan my classes (lol okay, games) in my free time instead of doing it at 11pm/12am the night before. Vamos a ver (we shall see). At any rate, I have a ton of updating to do, so we shall see how much I get done. I will probably make a few separate posts to organize them all. Also, I will add pictures later, though I don't recall having taken many pictures. I should start carrying my camera around more often given that my iPhone from home works like an iPod (aka only on WiFi) and the camera on the iPhone 3s is less than stellar. I digress.
Currently, I'm sitting at my new favorite cafe/bar. It's called Amargo: place to be (I'm not really sure if that last part is part of their name or a slogan or what...). This is my third time and counting having been here this week and I love it. Yes, I know, you may be thinking "How can you say that you're broke when you're constantly spending money all the time??". To that I reply, first and foremost, thank goodness for credit cards. Without a credit card, there is no way I would have been able to buy groceries, sheets, towels, my hostels/AirBnB stay, a gym membership, or running shoes (all necessities in my opinion). I'm all about smart credit card use (shockingly so considering how absolutely horrible I am at money management), but that's another post for another time. Anyhow, one of the reasons I am able to go out frequently is because certain things are quite cheap here. Namely, coffee and alcohol.
Rarely will you find a coffee that's above €2. If you encounter ludicrously high prices, then either A) that coffee should be better than delicious or B) YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. A safe bet is café con leche. Coffee with heated and foamed milk, like a latte (I think.. Never been a barista so my coffee terminology is not up to par. I normally just kinda pick something off the menu at random...), and served with sugar on the side to your taste. Of recent, one of my favorite things to order is a cortado. A cortado is just like café con leche, only instead of coffee, it is a shot of espresso with foamed milk. Today, I decided to switch things up and order a café bombón. This is a shot of espresso mixed with sweetened condensed milk. 'Twas delicious, but probably a poor choice for me because I practically gulped it down and I'm now sitting here shaking while I'm trying to type because of all the caffeine. I'm the picture of health.
As I mentioned in a previous post, northern Spain has an excellent wine region called La Rioja. Throughout the country, wine is quite cheap and quite delicious. I'm currently drinking una copa de Crianza (a glass of Crianza wine) and it is simply divine. Beer is also relatively cheap here. I've not found much craft beer, though I have found some (which I will review for your reading pleasure at a later date). Typically you get Mahou or Cruzcampo or Estrella on tap and that's about it (aside from whatever bottled beer the bar has of those same brands). You rarely ask for a beer by name, but instead by size (caña: small, doble: double/large). Da igual (it's all the same) and it's better than Keystone, though maybe not by much.
Back to the cafe: I LOVE IT. It's relatively small, but it has huge floor to ceiling windows with tables right next to them. It gets lots of light and it's nice to be outside and looking at the world around me, as opposed to sitting in my windowless room (more on that later). Also, it has FREE WIFI that actually works (waaaaay better than McDs). To quote 510Fun (can't remember who started it originally...), PRAISE!! The owner of the cafe is super nice and remembers me (I even have my favorite table, that he knows!!), which I guess is bound to happen in a place that's quaint and cozy that you've been to almost every day of the week. Amargo also has an arroz con leche (rice pudding) that is out of this world. It was creamy, sweet, but not overtly sweet, with the faintest hint of citrus. This place is so perfect.
What else have I done? Oh! I officially joined a gym. Granted yesterday was my first day, but so far, so good. It's called Urban Fitness and it's maybe a 5 minute (at most) walk from my apt. For 6 months, my membership was €209, including the typical gym equipment/machines (obvi), all of the classes the gym offers (kickboxing, yoga, pilates, TRX, among many others), and personal training. Heaven! Especially considering the amount of weight I've gained and how steadily my health levels have declined since my arrival in this country. Last night I ran a 5k (though was slightly more with warm up and cool down) and it was shockingly easy considering I haven't run since the 10k in Chicago over the summer (side note: I totally meant to write a post about how awesome Chicago was and I forgot until just now). Quizás (maybe) I will run in the Rock & Roll 10k like I did last year. I'm thinking of checking out a yoga class later on tonight, so I will let ya know how that goes!
What else? Teaching is going to be a separate post. Apartment updates and legal things will be separate as well. Also, Barcelona things and some weekend things.
Sooooooooooooo I believe that is all for now! Ta! xxxx