The chicken & carrots pictured in my last blog elicited more negative feedback than any of the previous 84 Edd vs Foods. To which I can only say, OK OK keep your hair on. I shall try harder in future.
I think I'm getting soft in my old age. Not too many years ago, a typical day on the road would encompass a pre-dawn start in a stinky hostel dorm, a sweaty 12-hour bus ride, and an exhausted late arrival at another stinky hostel dorm. Whereas so far on this trip, a typical day's 'travelling' involves a sleep-in, a noon check-out from a comfy apartment, an hour in a first-class train compartment, and then arriving at another comfy apartment in time to get all my food shopping done before tea. It's not exactly Jack Kerouac, is it?
When you board a Spanish inter-city train at a big station, you have to put your bags through airport-style security scanners. I guess this is a hangover from the 2003 Madrid bombings. Yet if you're boarding the same train at a smaller station, your bags aren't scanned, and indeed sometimes you don't even get your ticket checked.
Of course, self-defeating bureaucracy is hardly unique to Spain. And the trains are fast, comfortable and affordable. Longer journeys generally have a TV screen in each carriage showing films, to which you can listen via your earphones if you wish. On one recent journey I watched a subtitled French black comedy called 'Docteur?' Kind of low-key, but it grew on me. One to watch out for if you can get it on NetBox or whatever it's called.
Here my apartment is a bit smaller than usual because it's right in the middle of the city. I've got a nice little terrace, although it's the kind of terrace which doesn't really look out onto anything, being instead looked down on by things, mainly other people's terraces. Nonetheless, it's nice to have one's own little piece of the outdoors; and what do I care who's watching me enjoying a beer and a book? The weather in this part of Spain at this time of year is curious: very chilly and dark in the mornings, but becoming steadily warmer until the heat peaks around 5pm at 20℃ or so. Which is more than hot enough for this particular ginger. In fact, even in the mornings when it's still below 10℃, I generally don't bother wearing a coat, and of course I get funny looks from the locals. None of whom ever had to stand in the Roker End on a wintry afternoon.
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| Plaza Zorrilla |
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| Can't remember where this was. Just a nice spot. |
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| Plaza Mayor |
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| Church of San Pablo The highly ornate frontage is a notable example of the Gothic influence. Apparently. |
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| Valladolid's very own Millenium Dome (Cúpula del Milenio) Note to younger readers: Millenium Dome is what London's 02 Arena used to be called. |
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| There's nothing you can translate that can't be translated |
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| Statue of Christopher Columbus, who died here in 1506. Without Columbus, there'd be no USA, and therefore no Trump... #ColumbusMustFall #CancelColumbus |
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| I think this guy must be in the Qué Qué Qué |
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| Apartment, with terrace |
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| Edd vs Food #86 Home-made ham and cheese sandwich. Bear with me here. This is fine dining. Aged manchego cheese at €20/kg, and jamón ibérico at €120/kg. All in all, this sandwich cost me about 10 euros to make. Fresh bread from the local baker. No mayo, no butter, just a smidge of olive oil. |
