Emily in Spain: Nararenos, pizza, and mojitos

Yesterday was a day of firsts for Megan and I! After two long months, we decided we needed to eat pizza, and we were thrilled about our decision.

We headed over to Alfalfa (a neighborhood) and it ended up that there were early Semana Santa processions going on!


We will probably never get this close to a real, big procession. This is the "imagen" of Jesus carrying the cross.

Look at those feet! Those are the men underneath the float (Spaniards, excuse my language) carrying the huge imagen.

This is a capirote. The nazarenos are the guys with the pointy hats.

These nazarenos held candles. Others held huge crosses. It is tradition for the children to make a ball of wax from the candles and see who can get the biggest one. Also, the nazarenos carry caramelos in their pockets to give out to the kids, too! Some of them walk barefoot to further make their penitance.

After we randomly saw the small procession, Megan and I headed to get PIZZA! We were so excited. It was so good. We each ate a whole one for ourselves, haha! They were smallish but definitely could have been shared, too. The crust was thin though so it didn't feel like I was shoving too much into my stomach.

After the pizza and after staring at the dessert fridge all night, we each got a slice of triple chocolate cake. The top layer was mousse and the bottom layers were straight up white and dark chocolate. To die for.

With the wonderful dinner in our bellies, we headed down the street to meet Kevin and Daragh. They were at a place that had mojitos for 5 Euros, and they were HUGE!

A "copa" or mixed drink, is usually 4 to 6 Euros, but these were exceptionally more bang for your buck. Mine lasted a good, long while and was very refreshing :).

We went to Calle Betis to a bar "Demo" after Alfalfa, hung out there for a few drinks and then caught a cab back to Porvenir, the neighborhood we live in.

At Demo, though, something that caught my attention was people doing shots of absinthe. Every time I think of absinthe, it reminds me of that movie Moulin Rouge. I guess I always thought absinthe was some sort of hallucinogenic drug, but really it's just very strong alcohol? I need to look into it. Everyone has a different opinion of what happens when you drink it: some say you hallucinate when you add sugar, some say it's just very strong (75% alcohol!). Jeese louise.

Nevertheless, this stuff is illegal in the U.S. so something's gotta be dangerous about it.

Alan is flying from the U.S. to Spain today! I will pick him up at the airport tomorrow afternoon. I am worried I will mess something up like get there late or be waiting at the wrong . Carmen offered to make us bocadillos for the ride to Cadiz. She is such a sweetheart.

Time for lunch! Packing later and getting ready for the week! :)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Hasta despues de Semana Santa!!

Emily