day two in spain

So my second day in Valladolid, I really got to explore. I woke up around noon, and Ana, the lady I’m staying with, still wasn’t up! She got up around one and started to make lunch. We had vegetables, fish, and a nectarine. Then, I called Gabrielle. My friend Gabrielle and I went to the beach, the university, an internet café, the pool, the park, the plaza, and a bar.
The beach is on a river, and the water is dirty so people just wade in it to cool off, they don’t really swim in it. A lot of people were lying out in the sun and getting a tan. It was near a park. There are a lot of parks here and people are always on the benches just talking. They don’t seem to be in a rush or like they are trying to get anywhere. It’s kind of relaxing.
On our way to the university, we stopped at a café because we were thirsty and found out that the café had Wi-Fi. We were so excited because in the States, we’re always online, but here they aren’t as crazy about the internet. We spent a while there on Facebook. We met a guy there that is from Italy but lives in Spain and works as a translator. It was nice because he spoke English. He also spoke Spanish, Italian, and German. Gabrielle ordered coke at the café and it came in one of those cute glass bottles they had back in the day in the States. I want to bring one home, but it will probably break.
We saw the university, but didn’t go inside. It was only one building, and it looked like a castle.
After the university, we went to the plaza. Since it was a Saturday, it was full of people. We discovered a department store called “El Corte Ingles”. There are a few of them in Valladolid and they have everything you could ever need. The basement had toiletries and pajamas and underwear and the first floor had watches and makeup and purses. We didn’t go to the second floor but the place kind of reminded me of a Macy’s, but it also had some stuff that Wal-Mart would have.
Then, we went to the campo. An old creepy man hit on us and a younger guy asked if one of us wanted to marry him. We got out of the park quickly after they talked to us. We don’t like creepers.
We decided to check out the pool, but it was closed for the night so we went home to eat.
For dinner I had a piece of pizza and a banana. I then called Gabrielle again to see the nightlife that Spain is so famous for. We went to a bar around the university. It didn’t have a menu so Gabrielle just asked for wine and I asked for water. I tried a sip of her wine and it tasted gross. She’s used to wine though because her family is very Italian.
Then, we went to the plaza to see if we could find other people from Akron, but we didn’t see anyone. We decided to go to a bar closer to our houses. There were more people at this bar and even little kids were playing nearby on scooters and playing tag, and it was one am! I know that Spanish people stay up late, but that just seemed weird. Gabrielle ordered wine again. All we know how to say for drinks is “vino” for wine and “agua” for water, so that’s all we ever get. A nice man talked to us. He spoke a little English and was very polite. He told us more about the city.
We decided to go home around 2 and sleep. We can’t wait for Monday to come so we can talk to the rest of our group so we can all go out together.