Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

20.

No matter what calendars said, the summer had already visited Baltimore, and judging by the past few weeks, it was planning to stay. If you walked around the suburbs, you could already see some people sunbathing in their gardens, or children playing with the sprinklers to freshen up. Downtown the sun was shining above the lively, crowded streets. Some bars and cafés had begun placing their chairs and tables on the outside, far-sighted. Mini-skirts, shorts and sunglasses were starting to become some sort of uniform, as were tank tops and all sorts of revealing shirts. Even in the shops it was hard to find something else.
"Thanks for coming with me" Johanna smiled "I really needed some new clothes, but I wouldn't want Marco to go through the torture of taking me shopping."
"It's fine" Sharon chuckled "I enjoy it, too. So, what exactly are we looking for?"
Johanna looked around. With the shining lights, the loud music and the people rushing around, the place looked more like a club than a boutique, in her opinion. Even she felt like dancing on the counter at the till. She had only chosen that place because the prices were reasonable and it was a big shop, which meant more space to search. Yet seeing the mess of tops thrown into a big crate with the sign Sales written on it everywhere, she was starting to doubt she could find something in there. She shrugged and answered:
"Anything, really. As long as it's comfortable, kind of loose and I can wear it without roasting, I'm fine with it."
"How comes?"
"I'm in my fourth month, so I'll probably start getting fat soon. Actually, it's starting to be noticeable" she checked her reflection on a column which was a mirror "Remember my orange dress? Well, I was going for a walk with Alex the other day and thought of wearing it... but as soon as I tried it on, I decided to wear something else because it made my belly stick out."
"Oh, I see" Sharon bit her lip "Yeah, dresses are kind of tricky..."
"And at the same time, they're the only thing you can wear during this time of the year" Johanna sighed a little "At least I. It's too hot for pants, unless they're really short. But again, they'd have to be elastic and I'd need tops which are not too tight to wear with them. You know, I don't want to be one of those pregnant girls who walk around showing off their tummies."
"Why not? It's cute. Moreover" Sharon grinned slyly "For once in my life I'm going to be thinner than you. Let me enjoy it!"
"Jerk!" the Austrian whacked her playfully, giggling "Which reminds me that I will probably have to stop working out soon, and it's driving me insane. I hate sitting around doing nothing all day."
"Hey, but that's good! You have an excuse to be lazy! Many people would kill to be in your place."
"But you know me; I get bored if I have nothing to do."
Sharon nodded. After checking out a few racks, she realized Johanna wasn't probably going to get what she wanted there. She turned back to her friend and said:
"I'm afraid this is not the right place. But I know where to take you."
"Really? Where?"
A mysterious smirk spread on Sharon's lips.
"We're going to Baby Mamma's World."
"I thought that was more like a toy shop" Johanna arched an eyebrow.
"No, apparently they have a little bit of everything. Delia talks about it all the time."
That was certainly not an exaggeration. Johanna's jaw dropped when she saw the infamous shop. In fact, more than a shop, it was almost a department store. There were four floors, each one specializing on different things, all of them related to mothers and children: Baby clothes, food, toys, maternity clothes... There was even a section for furniture and strollers. Pastel tones predominated all over the place, as it was supposed to be a happy, relaxing place which attracts pregnant women and young children. In fact, out of all the people she could see as the escalators took them to the third floor, she counted about four men.
"There we are" Sharon announced "Mamma's Clothes."
A bit reluctantly, Johanna followed Sharon to the area where maternity clothes were located. She was surprised to see that, unlike what she thought, it wasn't full of flowery blouses, elastic pants and overalls that only old or very fat women would dare to wear on the street and still respect themselves. Some clothes were actually kind of fashionable. There must have been a lot of teenage girls getting pregnant, she thought to herself. Having a look at one of the racks, she noticed a certain top.
"What do you think of this one?" she held the hanger out, showing it to Sharon.
The straps were thin and dark blue was the main colour, yet there were many others on the pattern, which gave it a very psychedelic touch: orange, lighter blue, yellow... The upper part was tight and elastic, but it became loose right below the breasts. Sharon narrowed her eyes as she examined it and finally gave it a thumb up.
"I like it! It's quite your style, actually!"
"I know, I thought the same when I saw it" Johanna smiled "I'm going to try it on."
As Johanna went into the fitting room, Sharon had a look around. Her friend was definitely the youngest person on that floor, as long as you didn't count the children. Apart from that time, she had only been at Baby Mamma's World once with Delia, who was very fond of it. She would have never expected that the next time she'd be there would be because of the redhead. In fact, she had fantasized that the next time she'd visit that shop, it would be to buy things for herself and her yet unborn baby. Being a mother was one of her dreams in life, and it was hard to believe that even Johanna would live that experience before her.
Twenty minutes later they left the shop, but they did so with two big bags: Two dresses, a pair of elastic pants, a pair of elastic shorts and three tops. Yet the price wasn't too different from any regular shop, which was a nice surprise.
"Wanna go for an ice-cream?" Sharon suggested as they got off the escalators.
"Actually, I'd rather go for a coffee, but I can't... god, I miss it so much!" Johanna whined "See, now that the sickness is almost gone, this is the hardest part for me. I need my caffeine!"
"Yeah, I've noticed you more tired than usual" the Dutch girl chuckled "Why don't you try drinking tea instead?"
"I tried... worst exam period ever."
Lost in the conversation, Sharon didn't notice the person walking in the opposite direction in front of her. In the middle of the sentence she was saying, she bumped into someone, both of them dropping their bags accidentally.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she apologized in a choked voice, more due to the embarrassment than to having bumped into that person, and bent down to pick up what they had dropped "I didn't real... Flo?!" she exclaimed as she looked up.
"Oh... hey Sharon!" the other woman smiled sheepishly as she took the stuffed bunny from Sharon's hands.
As soon as she heard the name Flo, Johanna had to turn around and watch them. Sharon had told her many things about her ex-lover, but she had never had the chance to meet her.
"What are you doing here?" the brunette wanted to know.
"I came here to buy Sally a present" Flo pointed at the stuffed animal "It's her birthday next week. She loves bunnies."
"Aw, that's cute!"
"Yeah, I think she'll like it. What about you? What are you doing here?"
"I was shopping for new clothes with a friend" she motioned towards Johanna.
"The clothes are for me, not for her" the Austrian urged to point out "I am the one who's pregnant."
"Oh, congratulations" Flora smiled kindly "It was nice to see you again. I think I should go now. I have to help Erin with the party."
"Sounds like fun!"
"Well, it won't be that fun when I have ten kids eating cake in the kitchen and have to look after them for three hours while they're in the garden" she sighed "Sorry, didn't mean to get whiny... I love living with my sister and her family, but having to babysit after working all day is pretty exhausting."
"You're living with them?" Sharon wanted to know.
"Yeah. See, I don't really like living on my own. Plus the houses near the area where I work are a bit too expensive and not quite my style... so I thought it'd be better to stay at my sister's, even though it's kind of crowded."
"I see..."
Flo ran a hand through her hair, which was now dark brown. And it actually suited her a lot better than being blonde. She released a small sigh as she said:
"Well, it was nice to see you again. Hope we can meet up some time."
As she turned away, Johanna gave Sharon a meaningful look. The brunette raised her eyebrows.
"What?"
"You should have told her!" Johanna whispered.
"Told her what?"
"That there's a free room in your place!"
Sharon chuckled skeptically.
"Why would I?"
"Because you like her. Your face totally lit up when you saw that it was her."
"It didn't" Sharon blushed.
"Yeah, it did."
"That doesn't matter, Jo. She probably hates me by now."
"Yeah, right" Johanna laughed "If she hated you, I don't think she would have insisted so much that it was nice to see you or told you her whole life in five minutes. Besides... ok, you know I'm not into girls or anything, but... Man. She's. Hot!"
Before Sharon could demand an explanation for the last comment, they heard a voice calling them from behind. Flo was following them, holding one of the tops Johanna had bought.
"I think you dropped this" she said loudly.
With her eyebrows arched and a pout on her lips, Johanna's face was easy to read. She was saying See? This is destiny, I told you! Or perhaps Sharon wanted to interpret it like that. Grinning embarrassedly, she made her way to the taller woman to retrieve the piece of clothing.
"Thank you" she said "By the way, I... was thinking of what you said before about not having much space for yourself at home and... well..." she scratched the back of her neck "You know, I have a free room at home, so maybe..."
Flo's immediate reaction was blushing like crazy. That, at the same time, made Sharon bite her lip and cower. Johanna couldn't help but roll her eyes amusedly. They were like too teenagers.
"A-actually, I'd love that" the blue-eyed girl replied with a sheepish smile "I always liked your house. But... do you really mean it?"
"Sure!" Sharon nodded "Why would I suggest it otherwise? Besides, I still owe you one for taking care of me on that night."
"Oh. Well, in that case, I guess I'll have to take your offer" Flo's smile widened "Thank you so much, Sharon!"
"No need to thank me. Just give me a call one of these days and we can start planning the move and everything."
Johanna smiled widely as Sharon's soon-to-be roommate went away, waving. As soon as they both turned away and started walking, she couldn't resist the temptation of teasing her soul sister anymore.
"You like her! You like her!" she chanted "And I knew it! I'm the ultimate matchmaker!"
"Gosh, was that awkward!" the brunette shook her head, her face almost the same colour as her friend's hair "What have I done? It will be so weird when we're living together!"
"Why would it? She likes you too."
"She doesn't like me, Johanna. I was a bitch to her."
"Please! She was totally making eyes at you!"
"Yeah, whatever. Now pray that she doesn't have an evil plan against me or something, like killing me in my sleep or robbing my house."
"Come on, you can't be serious" the Austrian exclaimed "I might have only spent five minutes with her, but that girl seems pretty transparent to me. She looked after you when you were drunk; she already had her chance to hurt you."
"You're right" the brown-eyed beauty admitted "I just hope things won't be too awkward between us if she moves in with me."

From now on, this blog will probably be a bit more active. The main reason is that my destination is now official. Well, as some of you must already know, I had decided to spend next year abroad, more precisely in Germany. AND THE WINNER IS... WÜRZBURG!!! I've already known this for quite some time, but I didn't want to say anything about it on this blog until everything was sure... And well, there are still some things that need to be dealt with, but let's not get stressed out. The main reason why I'm publishing this is that today I got to know some good news. I finally have a place to live there! More details coming soon. So far, the most important things are that it's exaclty the students' residence I wanted and that I'll share the kitchen and bathroom with two more people (probably girls).

I love this silly blog games. This one is called the 666 game. 6 THINGS I LIKE 1. Chocolate. I'm a chocoholic, I love every kind of it - orange chocolate, chocolate milkshake, with hazelnut... The only one I really can't stand is white chocolate - THAT'S NOT CHOCOLATE! 2. Music. Couldn't choose between playing or listening to it. Unfortunately I'm not even close to being a professional, but I really enjoy it. I love singing, actually my favourite places to hang out are karaoke bars. Some people even say I can sing pretty well... 3. Travelling. Although I don't get many chances to do it for fun, I'm often 'compelled'. Either it's because of my studies (it's almost compulsory) or because I have to visit people in different places, but it's always nice for me. 4. Learning. I especially like learning languages, but I can become curious about virtually anything in the world, no matter how useless people might find it, be it baking cakes or reading tarot cards. 5. Using my imagination. I've always lived a little bit in my own world. This might be the reason why I easily get distracted and like writing stories. I always tend to fantasize with things that could happen, such as thinking of what will happen when I get to a certain place or what I'm going to do tomorrow. Sometimes I even daydream of the kind of film I'd like to see or the band I'd like to listen to. 6. Hugs and kisses. Of course, it depends on the person. There are some people with whom I like it better, especially one ;) I can't help being cuddly... 6 THINGS I DON'T MIND 1. Hoovering. I hate doing the housework, but probably this is the only thing I don't mind. And I find it much better than sweeping. 2. Walking. First of all, as a student I'm forced to walk everywhere, but I'm lucky enough to live in a place in which everything is pretty close. Apart from that, as I don't like sport, but going for a long walk on the beach is one of the few types of exercise I don't have too many problems with. Sometimes I don't really feel like doing it (especially if it's too hot or cold), but in the end it's fun, especially if you listen to music while doing so. 3. Giving presentations. This is most students' nightmare, but I've always been pretty good at that, so I don't mind it too much. I think I've given presentations in nearly all the languages I'm learning. But I always need to say something funny, it makes things easier for me, unless I've been given a specific topic which doesn't allow jokes. 4. Being early. I don't really like waiting for too long, but I think it's better than being late, which usually makes me feel embarrassed. 5. Doing the shopping. I'm afraid I'm not a normal girl. I really hate shopping for clothes unless it's something completely spontaneous and my own idea. However, I can even get excited when I'm in the supermarket. Sometimes it's a bit more boring and it's not nice to carry the shopping home when it's too heavy, but I usually have no problems with doing the shopping. 6. Someone else's mess. I'm really chaotic myself, so I don't think I have the right to criticize someone else for being untidy. Anyways, I find being tidy and orderly is completely unnatural, so I can even like people who are untidy. 6 THINGS I DON'T LIKE 1. Onions. Only the smell makes me throw up, I hate them!!! Maybe if there's not enough to feel the taste and I cannot see it it can be ok, but I really hate finding pieces of onion in my plate. 2. Spiders. I'm totally arachnophobian. I even get scared with the smallest ones or the ones you see in cartoons / videogames. 3. Talking about too personal things. First of all, if it's my private life, no-one needs to know about it unless I feel like telling them for some reason. I've always hated the typical conversations girls have in secondary school about which guy they fancy or how far they've gone with their boyfriends. The only thing this can give you is problems... And I don't need to know about other people's lives either. 4. Two-faced people / double standards. I really dislike people who don't practise what they preach. You can't claim to be a communist and spend 1000 bucks on clothes. You can't say that you don't care about being faithful as an excuse to screw other guys and get jealous everytime your boyfriend talks to another girl. And this doesn't only refer to people I know, but also to politicians and even the Pope. The saddest thing is that we all fall back on it now and then... 5. Being told what to do. Most of the time I already know it myself, so there's no need to tell me. I know, sometimes people are just trying to be helpful, but they should watch the words and the tone they use. And one thing that grinds my gears is being given advice when I haven't asked for it. 6. Pointless obligations of any kind. Why visit him if I can't stand him? Why clean on Tuesday and Thursday if it's enough with once a week and I don't feel like doing it at that time? I especially hate the fact that we have to do things just because we are scared of what they may say if we don't...

I've never been a fan of reality shows, especially those which promise to turn common people into overnight superstars. Apart from my personal theory that those singers / musicians who are actually worthy are those who have never taken real lessons and have developed their own style by experimenting, it is pointless to think that you can become a real artist by taking part on a TV show for 3 months. They are told what to sing, how to sing, what to look like and how to behave, they never get a chance to be themselves. How are they supposed to have their own style if they make clones out of them? Putting this aside, for some reason, I've been kind of curious about this year's edition of the Spanish version of Pop Idol (or whatever it's called). And I have to say that I've seen something that has horrified me. No, it's not how terribly the contestants are humiliated, but about the songs they've sung. As a music fan, I tend to get very pissed off when I hear a bad cover version of one of my favourite songs, and there have been two performances on that TV show which have really offended me. First I had been told that one of the contestants chose "Runaway" by The Corrs for her first performance. Even though The Corrs have been my favourite band for ages, I have to admit that their songs are not too difficult to sing. Well, this girl (Esther) manages to destroy one of their best songs. Not only does her voice sound as if she was sick, but also her English pronounciation is "amazing". Why oh why did she have to choose that very song?!?! Why did she have to punish The Corrs' fans like that?!?!

On the other hand, there's another one that hurt me. OK, I have to admit that she has an interesting voice and is not bad at all. It's not one of the worst performances I've seen (well, she could be more expressive and move more while she's on stage, but that's another story), the version is quite ok and people seem to adore her but... WHAT IS MOONLIGHT SHADOW DOING IN SUCH A CRAPPY SHOW?!?! It's a wonderful song and it doesn't fit in there at all. Virginia will never be Maggie Reilly, none of those chicks will even be close to her. It's not because of her, I just hate the fact that they even dare to let one of their "instant superstars" sing it. They just shouldn't be allowed to use it. Anyways, watch it yourselves...

It's less than 2 days till the Final Round of the Eurovision Song Contest. I don't think I had ever been so excited about it before, but this year I'm really looking forward to it. Finally we know the 25 countries which are going to take part in it... We have four freaks (Spain, Croatia, France and Bosnia-Herzegovina), five pretty girls (Armenia, Greece, Sweden, Ukraine and Poland), two metal bands (Finland and Azerbaijan), a fugly hairstyle (Serbia) and (unbelievably) some normal guys (Denmark, Portugal, Russia and the UK). Personally, I'm very pissed off by the fact that Dustin the Turkey is not taking part in the contest in the end. At first, when I heard the song I got really mad and wondered how the Irish could degrade themselves in such a way. But then I changed my mind when I read the lyrics. Goddamn it! Not only should he be in the contest, he should WIN! Oh dear, you bet I'd give you the twelve points! (as indeed I did) What I liked about him is that he was criticising the fact that the European Song Contest nowadays looks more like some kind of Eastern European Gay Freakshow. Don't get me wrong - I hold nothing agains Eastern Europe and I'm very fond of the ESC, both because of the music and the freakshow, but Eastern European countries seem to take it a bit too serious at times. But hey, I'll watch the contest anyways and have my very own little Eurovision Party. There are still some nice songs in there. The ones I like best are Georgia, Germany, Romania and Latvia. However, when asked who I think is going to win, I'd say Croatia or Bosnia-Herzegovina. Why? It's simple: 1. They are freaks 2. They are from Eastern Europe 3. Their songs are a bit different from the rest 4. They are the neighbours of the host country!!!

He's English, eccentric and one of the best-known composers in the history of symphonic rock. She's Scottish, red-haired and really into folk music. What could these two people possibly have in common? The answer is very simple. Many years ago, Mike Oldfield hired a session singer named Maggie Reilly for one of his albums, and she ended up becoming some kind of muse for him. As a result, in 1983 an unique song was born... and its name was Moonlight Shadow.

This song will always be special for me. In fact, I consider it to be my favourite song above all the ones I've ever heard. I discovered it when I was only fourteen years old, and since that very first time, I was really amazed. Not only by how a man and his guitar (well, ok, later I found out that there were two guitars instead of one) could create such an atmosphere, but also because of the sweet female voice that told the story. At first I had no idea what the lyrics said, but I always felt that there was something esoteric in that song. And I wasn't wrong -Mike Oldfield himself explained that a film about the attempts to communicate with Houdini after he died was his source of inspiration. Later, when I finally read the lyrics, even though I found them strange and hard to understand, a story began to develop on my mind. Funnily enough, when I saw the video I was really surprised by how similar it was to the images in my head.

The last that ever she saw him, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. He passed on worried and warning, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. Lost in a river that Saturday night, Far away on the other side. He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight And she couldn't find how to push through. The trees that whisper in the evening, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. Sing a song of sorrow and grieving, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. All she saw was a silhouette of a gun, Far away on the other side. He was shot six times by a man on the run And she couldn't find how to push through. [ Chorus ] I stay, I pray See you in heaven far away. I stay, I pray See you in heaven one day. Four a.m. in the morning, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. I watched your vision forming, Carried away by a moonlight shadow. Stars move slowly in a silvery night, Far away on the other side. Will you come to talk to me this night, But she couldn't find how to push through. [ Repeat Chorus ] Far away on the other side. Caught in the middle of a hundred and five. The night was heavy and the air was alive, But she couldn't find how to push through. Carried away by a moonlight shadow. Carried away by a moonlight shadow. Far away on the other side. But she couldn't find how to push through.

I don't know when exactly this song was created, but... I just thought the composer's birthday would be the perfect day to pay my little tribute to this work of art... :)

After the real Easter week it was far easier to find somewhere to stay. Marco felt like going to a quiet place surrounded by nature for a few days, and I had been recommended Las Arribes del Duero, a small region in the north-west of Salamanca famous for its natural attractions and for being very close to the border of Portugal. And that's where we ended up -in a completely god-forsaken place named Aldeadávila de la Ribera. First we had to take a bus to Vitigudino (I really pissed myself laughing when I first heard that name) and there we changed to... something that claimed to be a bus but looked like it was going to break down in the middle of the road. When we got there it was around four in the afternoon. My cousin had recommended me a hotel named La Jara, and according to the owner it was pretty close to the bus station (which was actually just a bus stop). It didn't take us long to get there. However, we were surprise that no-one was there to ask us about our reservation and give us the keys to our room. We rang some kind of doorbell twice, but no-one turned up, so we decided to eat our sandwiches while we were waiting. When we finally got to the room, we were very nicely surprised. It was truly beautiful! Unfortunately, I have no photos of the hotel (you can see them on their official site though: www.arribestour.com, they are pretty close to the truth). Our first idea was to go to the tourist office, which used to be a small church.

Beautiful, isn't it? As it was closed, we went for a walk around the village. We were looking for a quiet place, and Aldeadávila didn't disappoint us. As there was not much to do, especially at that time, we went for a coffee in a restaurant-hotel-café called El Portal de Las Arribes (I really recommend it!) There was no-one there but the two of us and the owner, so we decided to ask that lady whether she could give us some tips on what to do in the village. She was really kind and not only gave us some information, but she also showed us some pics of the main tourist attractions, which were hanging on the restaurant walls. She suggested that we should try to get in touch with a man who was organizing boat trips in the river so that we could see the wild birds and the Dam. Unluckily, the weather was not too good at that time, so going on a boat trip wouldn't be an option. After enjoying the coffee, we headed for the tourist office again. This time there was a very nice man who showed us some maps and told us about the different routes and their difficulty. He explained to us that whatever we did, we shouldn't do it at that time, since it was already six and it would probably get dark soon. One of the possibilities that sounded most appealing to us was the idea of hiring a bike and going one of the easy routes, so we went to a youth hostel in which we had heard that they had bikes. When we went there, one of the ladies working there told us that the bikes were not in the best conditions and showed real concern about us having an accident because of that when she refused to let us borrow them. At the tourist office we had also been told that a nice and easy walk we could do was going to the next village, Masueco, which was only two kilometres away. And that's what we did in the end. Once in Masueco, which looked to us even smaller than Aldeadávila, we had some kind of dinner in a restaurant-motel-petrol station (yeah, most buildings were a little bit of everything at the same time...) When we got out it was already dark and we had to go back to our village. Marco really enjoyed that walk in the wild without a sound, while I have to admit that I was very frightened. After all, I'm quite a city girl... The next day, after enjoying a delicious breakfast in the hotel (the owner is also the village baker, so she made most of it herself) we decided to try one of the more or less easy routes we could do on a bike named Rupurupay. There was no bike, so we had to do it on foot... later we were glad we hadn't tried to cycle... Although it was not too steep, the path was very winding and not too good to drive there...

There were olive trees all around us and once again we were completely alone. It was a shame that the weather was not what you would expect from Spain... As you can see, it was pretty cloudy, we even had some drizzle. Anyways, it was something different, which was exactly what we needed on that holiday. But we must have taken the wrong route or something, since according to the map there was no end, but a point in which it turned so that you could go back. The path led us to a scenic view. I have no clue what its name was, but it was very beautiful. I think I forgot to mention that one of the biggest attractions in Las Arribes is the River Duero, one of the rivers that both Portugal and Spain share. The villages in Las Arribes are famous for being close to the river and therefore having lots of scenic views and cliffs.

After watching the river and taking some pics, we started our way back. Everything was just as lonely as silent as before and the landscape was the same, so we decided to try to take alternative ways so that we could find something new and interesting. When we finished our walk, we sat on a bench at the entrance of the village and ate our last two sandwiches (we had thought that taking some sandwiches with us would solve the problem of where to eat temporarily). Meanwhile, a man with a donkey walked past us and said hello. Marco was really surprised, not only because he had never thought he'd see a donkey in the 21st century, but also because of the greeting. He wasn't used to village people, who have no problem to talk to strangers in a very friendly way. As it was cold and we were feeling slightly tired, we thought we could relax a bit and go for some more adventures the next day. But first we dropped round the same café as the afternoon before for a hot drink. Once again, the lady was very friendly and seemed to be interested in how our trip was going. We loved that. We loved that so much that we decided to have dinner there (some hours later, of course!) As there's not more to say about that day, I can go straight to dinner. It was fantastic. That restaurant was specialised in Spanish food, and Marco had never tried it. Even though he has never been a big fan of meat, he liked the rabbit. And he even found the soup interesting. And as for me, I decided to go 'classical' -fried eggs and ham. I know, not too classy, but it will always be one of my favourite meals. And the dessert left an even better taste in our mouths -tiramisu cake! And we also had some local wine. Then we went for a little walk in the village before going back to the hotel. Although pretty illuminated, there was not a soul on the streets after ten. That's something Marco really liked. Personally, I like lively places better. Another thing that really caught our eyes in that village were the doors, so we really had to take a pic of them (the one you can see below). Some time later, I learnt that they are the stereotypical village doors, but I had never seen so many together.

The next day was our last whole day in Aldeadávila. We stayed there for three nights. We were not completely sure whether to stay for one day longer, but we thought that we might have problems to go back on a Sunday, so we returned to Salamanca on Saturday. On that Friday, our destination was what they call El Pozo de los Humos, a big waterfall located in Masueco. We took the same 2-kilometre walk to Masueco as two days before in the morning. The first part was not too bad, but the second was much harder than we expected. More than a walk, it turned into some kind of hike. The weather was really lovely... maybe too hot for something like that. In order to get to the waterfall we had to go quite a long way down... so that meant we would have to go a freakin' long way up afterwards. Yeah, it was definitely tiring... but it was worth it. In my opinion it was much nicer than the walk we had had on the day before. Ok, maybe this did have something to do with the weather... and of course with the fact that I'm rather fond of waterfalls :) Before we started the way down, we came across a car trying to go up... nearly having an accident. It was really mental to drive that way -it was full of mud and very steep. On our back, we would meet the driver of that car, who happened to be the guide for those who wanted to see the waterfall. It was his first day and he was checking whether it was possible to get there by car... Once we were down there, we took some cheesy pics of us by the waterfall like the one you're seeing. I have to say that it was not as impressive as we expected, since there was not that much water. Anyways, that wasn't bad, since it gave us the chance to jump around the rocks and explore the area a little bit. By the way, the ants living there are huuuuuge. After some more pics and so on, we started the difficult part... When we finally got to Masueco, we were tired and starving. Luckily we had enough water and we came across a water fountain, otherwise who knows what might have happened... It was already five and every single bar / restaurant in Masueco was closed, even the petrol station, so we were forced to go all the way to Aldeadávila. Besides we had run out of sandwiches the day before and our attempt to buy something ready-made in the village supermarket before the hike failed. After a baguette in the sports centre, we desperately looked for a place where they had pinchos or other edible things, for we were still hungry. This made us learn something about people from that village: they are really kind. I don't know how many bars we visited asking whether they had something to eat, but in all of them we were given the name of another bar in which apparently we could get what we wanted. We ended up in the Main Square (well, if you can call it like that), in a café called Evasion. Those pinchos were really tasty and we could even have a coffee with some sweet stuff. We were tired enough, so we didn't do anything until dinner time. For the third time, we went to the same restaurant as the evening before. The lovely lady made some dish consisting of pork meat which was really tender but with a crispy touch. Marco doesn't like pork at all, but he enjoyed this meal a lot. That says a lot about the lady's cooking abilities. As it was our last time in that restaurant, we wanted to say goodbye to the owner and thank her, but she wasn't there, so we had to send her our regards through her husband and son, who were working there on that night. After that, we went on a small photo-tour in the village. It was definitely a great ending for our holiday. On the next morning we went back to Salamanca to spend the last days of my Easter holiday... and I can say they were not bad at all ;)

After the nice time in Ciudad Rodrigo, we decided to go for a one-day trip somewhere nearby. The girls in the Tourist Office recommended us Alba de Tormes. On the other hand, some friends of mine had already been there and told me that it was very boring. Nevertheless, we decided to have a look... Maybe it's just because it was a pretty grey day, but I felt there was something depressing in the air in that place. Catholicly depressing. When we visited the Tourist Office, we got a small map telling us what to visit - churches, churches and more churches. There was also a castle (the big tower you see in the picture), which was now an Art / History museum, and a half-destroyed cathedral. In any case, we decided to go to the town centre. This is the Main Square. I personally loved it, even though it's ridiculous compared to the one in Salamanca. But before that, there was another small square surrounded by churches and museums, and this was our first stop. One of them was a museum dedicated to Saint Teresa of Ávila, in which you could even see the cell where she died, including (what I like to think of as) a figure of the saint. But that was not the creepiest thing we saw there. What really shocked me was to see her HEART and ARM, being kept in that museum as important relics. This is something I'll never understand... As it was forbidden to take pictures there, I don't have any images of neither the heart nor the arm to show you... luckily or unluckily. The next one we visited was another museum dedicated to Carmelite missionaries in Africa. On the ground floor there were some relics they had found there, as well as a couple of figures of two of the most important saints in that order, while on the first floor there were some disturbing images of third-world children, leppers and so on. Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate their interest in helping people from those countries, but some of the images were really shocking... However, lunchtime was coming and we soon felt hungry (amazing!) I have to say that it was pretty difficult to find a restaurant, there didn't seem to be many, and some of them were even closed. We ended up in "Manolín", near the Main Square. It also was both a cafeteria and a restaurant and looked rather elegant, but this time it was not that far beyond our reach ;) The food was excellent, we really enjoyed it (god, those were the best fried potatoes I had ever had in a restaurant!) Of course, after lunch we went for a coffee... that's how it's got to be, isn't it? We were very suprised how cheap it was (don't remember the name of the bar, but it's on the Main Square, that's where we took the pic you see from). Then we had to choose between the castle or the church next to the Main Square, which was supposed to be interesting and looked pretty nice in the brochures. As you can imagine, in the end we went for the latter. And yeah, certainly there were a couple of interesting things... First of all, in some parts of the inside you could see the red brick it had been built in. And secondly, there was a scale model of what the cathedral was supposed to look like... apart from that, the rest of it was packed with creepy images of saints. Then we took the bus back to Salamanca, thinking that there was only one possible word to describe Alba de Tormes: BOOOOOOOOORING!!!