We had to take the van to the mechanic a little while ago to fix that polluting leak of oil. But because it was a several hour job, in mechanic time that means they need to keep her at the shop for 3 days, naturally. Nothing more of a hassle usually, but since we are currently living in the van it´s not so simple. We pitched a few ideas to the mechanic in hopes of saving ourselves the cost of a hotel or the drama of a youth hostel. He replied "no" to us sleeping in the van while it was inside the shop. And while a little chuckle escaped his mouth, he also denied our idea of him leaving the van outside the shop on the street each night so we could have access to it. I guess to him rolling a van in neutral and trying to parallel park it while half the engine parts were in scattered heaps about the shop floor didn´t exactly seem like a brilliant idea to him. Point taken.
Ok, so staying in a hotel it is then. Well, I guess on the bright side, hotels do have hot showers.
So we packed up, vacated the van and turned her over to the mechanic. Before giving the keys I had a little chat with the guy. We´ve got quite the finicky van, instructions are necessary. I let the mechanic in on the details of opening the doors; this one you push here and pull there, that one you just can´t open, this one doesn´t lock unless you do this... etc. All intsructions came with a visual demonstration. And he was under strict instructions to lock all doors if she´s parked outside. It is our home, after all. He finally pried the keys from my hands, reassured me he would take good care, and we set off to find that hotel. I made sure to splash a little extra water on our dashboard plants before setting off too, almost forgot.
We walked to the metro. Took it two stops, exited the metro to walk across the block to take the train. Mind you, Spain does not have the handicap accessibility that we take for granted in the States. It´s up and down and up and down with every kilo we packed. I, in an attempt to save my forever deteriorating back from further pain, packed in a duffel with rollers. Yes, we were only going for a few days, but I planned for three days of avoiding boredom in a hotel room with as many craft supplies and books as I could fit. That and as much food and spices as I could jam in the nooks and crannies. So here I am with a rolling duffel that is awkward as heck to carry, but very comfortable to roll. I had forgotten about the metro and the trains and the fact that less than half of them seem to not have elevators nor escalators. So anyway, finally on the train. Take that a ways and then exit the station and walk up the hill to the street level. Ok. The hotel is only 1.5km. That´ll be easy peasy. So we walk. I sing a little bit. And for kicks I stick out a thumb. Spain is tough for hitching, but sometimes there are the occasional spirited folk or Dutch tourists who seem to love to stop. We continue. No one stops. The sun is shining. At first so nice and slowly it gets a bit too hot. Wow, this is a long 1.5km. Really? I can´t believe how out of shape we´ve gotten! Time to start travelling by bike again, I thought.
Hmm. This can´t be. This is too far. Wait a minute, we just passed into the next town. No way! Finally I stop and ask. Yeah, we passed it by 2km. Ok, so we turn around and go back the way we came.
Oh that´s funny, look. A massive billboard advertising our hotel as just a minute over there. I can´t believe we actually passed this gigantic sign and didn´t even notice. Must have been while we were discussing if we were lost or not.
Finally we get there. Stumbling in the door, my arm half dead, sweaty brow, stinky as ever and cranky to boot. We check in and the guy gives us room keys. We set out for the elevator. The button doesn´t work. We ask th guy. He replies with a,"Oh, yeah, it´s out of service right now." Oh. Ok. Four flights of stairs up with this way too heavy duffel then.
Door swings open, throw down the bags and immediately I start playing with the light switches and novel at having electricity for a while. Now on to the next most luxurious thing - a shower. I grab my soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a loofah (bought especially for this occasion) and go to town. Maybe it was an hour shower, and I know it´s super wasteful, but I figure no hot shower in 3 weeks entitles me to a splurge, that and it took me about that long to scrub off the dirft and extract the unwanted dreadlocks that had taken hostage of my hair.
Meanwhile, Jota is unpacking our campstove, food and spices. Before lighting up the stove we had a lengthy discussion about hotel fire detectors, the difference between smoke and steam and fire codes in Spain. So with the window wide open, all our bags packed and ready to run, bellies growling, and hearts full of love for home-cooked food, we gave it a go. And I can now say that the myth of lighting a birthday candle in your classroom will set off all the smoke alarms is soo not true. Burning a propane gas stove did not in the least bit set off, nor even muster a flicker of suspicion from the mega detector a few feet away.
About two hours later we sat down, in actual chairs, with electric lights and enjoyed a most delicious dish of Goulash - Jota style. I´d love to share a recipe, but Jota cooks as he goes. A dish is never replicated and he doesn´t work with instructions. I guess I could meticulously watch everything and take notes, but I somehow figure it will have a quantum physics effect of ruining the dish. (In quantum physics they say when a spectator is present it completely effects the outcome of the experiment) I learned that from watching the movie: Dentro de la Madriguera (What the Bleep Do We Know?)
Checked it out from the public library and I give it two huge thumbs up!
Well, that´s all for now. Off to visit the organic farmers market in town! I already can wait for dinner.
P.S. Almost forgot - we collected the van. The mechanic did a fantastic job, surprisingly enough. When he gave back the keys he mentioned he loved the dash plants and he went to give them water but noticed we´d already done it. That´s a cool mechanic!
Ok, so staying in a hotel it is then. Well, I guess on the bright side, hotels do have hot showers.
So we packed up, vacated the van and turned her over to the mechanic. Before giving the keys I had a little chat with the guy. We´ve got quite the finicky van, instructions are necessary. I let the mechanic in on the details of opening the doors; this one you push here and pull there, that one you just can´t open, this one doesn´t lock unless you do this... etc. All intsructions came with a visual demonstration. And he was under strict instructions to lock all doors if she´s parked outside. It is our home, after all. He finally pried the keys from my hands, reassured me he would take good care, and we set off to find that hotel. I made sure to splash a little extra water on our dashboard plants before setting off too, almost forgot.
We walked to the metro. Took it two stops, exited the metro to walk across the block to take the train. Mind you, Spain does not have the handicap accessibility that we take for granted in the States. It´s up and down and up and down with every kilo we packed. I, in an attempt to save my forever deteriorating back from further pain, packed in a duffel with rollers. Yes, we were only going for a few days, but I planned for three days of avoiding boredom in a hotel room with as many craft supplies and books as I could fit. That and as much food and spices as I could jam in the nooks and crannies. So here I am with a rolling duffel that is awkward as heck to carry, but very comfortable to roll. I had forgotten about the metro and the trains and the fact that less than half of them seem to not have elevators nor escalators. So anyway, finally on the train. Take that a ways and then exit the station and walk up the hill to the street level. Ok. The hotel is only 1.5km. That´ll be easy peasy. So we walk. I sing a little bit. And for kicks I stick out a thumb. Spain is tough for hitching, but sometimes there are the occasional spirited folk or Dutch tourists who seem to love to stop. We continue. No one stops. The sun is shining. At first so nice and slowly it gets a bit too hot. Wow, this is a long 1.5km. Really? I can´t believe how out of shape we´ve gotten! Time to start travelling by bike again, I thought.
Hmm. This can´t be. This is too far. Wait a minute, we just passed into the next town. No way! Finally I stop and ask. Yeah, we passed it by 2km. Ok, so we turn around and go back the way we came.
Oh that´s funny, look. A massive billboard advertising our hotel as just a minute over there. I can´t believe we actually passed this gigantic sign and didn´t even notice. Must have been while we were discussing if we were lost or not.
Finally we get there. Stumbling in the door, my arm half dead, sweaty brow, stinky as ever and cranky to boot. We check in and the guy gives us room keys. We set out for the elevator. The button doesn´t work. We ask th guy. He replies with a,"Oh, yeah, it´s out of service right now." Oh. Ok. Four flights of stairs up with this way too heavy duffel then.
Door swings open, throw down the bags and immediately I start playing with the light switches and novel at having electricity for a while. Now on to the next most luxurious thing - a shower. I grab my soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a loofah (bought especially for this occasion) and go to town. Maybe it was an hour shower, and I know it´s super wasteful, but I figure no hot shower in 3 weeks entitles me to a splurge, that and it took me about that long to scrub off the dirft and extract the unwanted dreadlocks that had taken hostage of my hair.
Meanwhile, Jota is unpacking our campstove, food and spices. Before lighting up the stove we had a lengthy discussion about hotel fire detectors, the difference between smoke and steam and fire codes in Spain. So with the window wide open, all our bags packed and ready to run, bellies growling, and hearts full of love for home-cooked food, we gave it a go. And I can now say that the myth of lighting a birthday candle in your classroom will set off all the smoke alarms is soo not true. Burning a propane gas stove did not in the least bit set off, nor even muster a flicker of suspicion from the mega detector a few feet away.
About two hours later we sat down, in actual chairs, with electric lights and enjoyed a most delicious dish of Goulash - Jota style. I´d love to share a recipe, but Jota cooks as he goes. A dish is never replicated and he doesn´t work with instructions. I guess I could meticulously watch everything and take notes, but I somehow figure it will have a quantum physics effect of ruining the dish. (In quantum physics they say when a spectator is present it completely effects the outcome of the experiment) I learned that from watching the movie: Dentro de la Madriguera (What the Bleep Do We Know?)
Checked it out from the public library and I give it two huge thumbs up!
Well, that´s all for now. Off to visit the organic farmers market in town! I already can wait for dinner.
P.S. Almost forgot - we collected the van. The mechanic did a fantastic job, surprisingly enough. When he gave back the keys he mentioned he loved the dash plants and he went to give them water but noticed we´d already done it. That´s a cool mechanic!
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love comments!
You're more than welcome to leave one...