We finally found our way to our home away from home for the next 7 days. Hubby got us an apartment in an area called La Latina, along Calle Toledo. So after some help from the English-speaking lady at the airport information desk, we caught the Renfe train and Metro to our new 'home'. We considered taking a taxi but this would have been double the price at around €40. We had just arrived with a full three and a half months ahead of us. Now was not the time to start blowing the budget. Besides, if we were to do as the locals, we may as well start by learning the local train and Metro system.
La Latina looked beautiful, I thought. Rows and rows of older buildings with Juliette balconies. It somehow reminded me of walking in downtown Manila (Philippines). I used to work in Malate some years ago and this is what the place reminded me of - only prettier and colder. A lot colder! It was around 9 degrees centigrade but the icy chill in the air made it feel colder. I didn't have a scarf or gloves with me, none of us did, and I was already starting to feel it in my throat. Scarves, gloves and beanies were going to be on top of our shopping list.
There were little stores everywhere and quite a few alfargatas (espadrilles) stores along the way. They were everywhere and they had them in so many different colours and styles starting from just €5.50 for the basic ones.'Wow, this place is cheap!', I thought. We continued to wander through the cobblestoned lanes in our new neighbourhood with no map and no particular destination, guided by our innate sense of direction. Everyone around us was speaking Spanish. Not a tourist in sight. It was around 5pm at this stage and the tapas bars we passed were starting to fill. One in particular, Cafe de San Millan, seemed busier than the others so we decided to go in.
"Ola!", we greeted the man behind the bar. "Ola!", he replied...followed by a whole lot of other Spanish that left me staring at him. I just smiled and gave him a look that said "what?!". I don't know why, but I couldn't really bring myself to utter the words "No abla Espanol" just yet. It was too early, we just got here and I felt like those words were like throwing the white towel into the ring. Nor did I really want to look like the ignorant tourists that we clearly were. So in the worst combination of broken Spanish and sign language, we managed to order a few tapas from the overhead menu. There was croquetas, tortilla de patata, empanada....all familiar words so that's what we asked for at €4.99 a plate. Not bad, we thought. There was also something under each of the menu items that we didn't understand so we ignored it - Regalamos 2 canas. It felt like such a struggle that in the end I didn't really know what we were going to get. All the while the man behind the bar continued to speak to us in Spanish as if we understood him perfectly. At one point in the process, Hubby and I looked at each other - "We're so f***ed!", he laughed. I had the same thought. This is Spain! We sorta, kinda thought we could understand and speak a bit of Spanish. How are we going to survive in all the other countries?!
As we process all this the gentleman motions to Hubby offering him beer from the tap. "Si", Hubby replies. "Una cerveza". Then I order myself "Una Sangria, por favor". As our food comes out, we start eating it faster than they can bring it out. We were famished. Meanwhile, Hubby is onto his second beer, then a third, when he motions to the man behind the bar "no mas" when he offers him another one. The gentleman starts saying something, then starts counting. Something about the number seven. We had no idea. Meanwhile, we were surrounded by locals at the bar, all of them ordering their beer and tapas when Hubby exclaims "I get it!" - for every tapas ordered you get 2 beers. That's it! That's what '2 canas' means. So Hubby could have 7 beers. A bit much for a non- beer drinker who was starting to feel the effects after 2 beers! Whatever happened to the word "cerveza"? What the hell is "cana"?, I thought. (Postscript: apparently 'cana' is used to specifically refer to beer on tap, while 'cerveza' is the general term for beer whether bottle, can or tap).
With our bellies full and our bodies tired from the long journey we headed back to the apartment for an early night. Maybe tomorrow our Spanish will be better.
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