Day 14: Paddle Boating In Retiro Park and Mexican Food

Kristin and I are going to Retiro Park today. We're going to rent a paddle boat on the pond and hang out in front of the huge monument thats hundreds of years old, because back home doing so at Bedford Boys Ranch and watching ducks just doesn't quite appeal. (That is if you could rent paddle boats on that pond. Not a bad idea for the City of Bedford to consider.)

Its pretty hot this day. Kristin and I are already sweating like dogs by the time we get to the pond. It costs four euros to rent a boat. Neither of us had done anything like this so it was equally exciting for the both of us. It went without saying that I was the one paddling us. I know my cousin all too well. She's above paddling.

It's nice on the water and much cooler. Watching the other paddle boats around us was mellow. It got entertaining when we saw a couple and the woman was paddling the boat while the man did the relaxing. I didn't mind paddling the boat. It was good exercise, plus I'm a gentleman. We spent about an hour or so on the water paddling around, taking pictures and relaxing.

Docking the boat was frustrating because the guy working the dock was trying to tell me to do something in Spanish. I sat there with a dumb founded look on my face. He finally leans down and takes the oar and puts it in the boat all the while getting sarcastic and frustrated with me. Kristin and I walk to Chueca because thats where her student lives.

We find a little restaurant not far from her students apartment. Maggie is meeting us here. We order some drinks and tapas. Kristin reads and I write. Maggie arrives and goes to the bar to order and discovers our server likes blonde girls…. a lot! He took every opportunity to talk to her each time he came to the table. Kristin and I are carried away with reading and writing. Maggie asks that we be more social because she has no time killer.

A few beers, some sandwiches and tapas later its time for both Kristin and Maggie to go meet their students. We walk Kristin to her lawyer students place. We got the chance to meet him. He was kind but very shy, of course I don't think he was expecting to meet us. I walk maggie to her class which isn't too far from Kristin's. I decide to go shopping while they teach. In July, Spain has sales, or "rebajas", everywhere. Everything is 50-70% off. I go to a really big department store, I don't know where the hell it is though. One thing I hate about shopping is when I have money to spend, I can't find anything. When I don't have money to spend, I find everything I want. In this case I find pretty much nothing. Although I did buy two shirts because I was getting tired of wearing the same shit.

Kristin, Maggie and I arrange to meet at the Sol metro after their classes finish. I'm on my way in the metro and Kristin runs into me getting on the same train. While waiting on Maggie in Sol, I go into the Sephora thats right next to the metro. My mission: to buy cologne. I haven't worn cologne in over two weeks and I'm going crazy because the arm straps on my day pack have absorbed so much sweat their starting to make my shirts smell every time I put it on. I originally brought a sample cologne with me from when I bought the cologne I use at home. Although when I bought the cologne at home the lady gave me a sample of the cologne I purchased and a sample of the women's version. Guess which one I brought with me to Europe!!??

I find a small bottle of Georgio Armani for thirty-five euros. The cashier hooked me up with some more samples. When I leave I double check the samples for any women's samples to make sure that situation doesn't ever present itself again. Maggie finally arrives at the meeting point. We're going to a Mexican food restaurant Kristin and I found after the thai food last night. One thing I miss is MEXICAN FOOD! It's no where here, so to find this restaurant was a sign from God! Inside the restaurant theres Mexican music playing, along the bottles of tequila behind the bar and a Mexican flag hanging from the ceiling. Last but not least…..a margarita machine! This was looking to be an outstanding meal…or so we thought.

Kristin and I order margaritas while Maggie goes the Mexican beer route. Smart move on her part. We get our margs and the first sip is like a punch to the face. It was tequila with an over powering amount of sugar. I can normally hold my own when it comes to the potency of an alcoholic beverage, but not this time. with every sip came a brand new awkward facial expression.

We order our food. I get the chicken fajitas, Kristin gets the vegetarian enchiladas and Maggie gets the the chicken enchiladas. Our food arrives and its not the most eye appealing food. I have about a tea spoon size amount of refried beans on my plate. Maggie and Kristin's looks like a skillet full of fried cheese. Some where underneath all that cheese lyes two corn tortillas. Now even though there were all these negative factors to our dinner, I do keep in mind were at a Mexican food restaurant in Spain, so expectations should be low or non existent. Keeping that in mind, I don't really say much about the food at dinner. Its food and its in my face. Kristin and Maggie on the other hand make a criticism with every bite.

Kristin can't finish her margarita, so I do. Maggie doesn't finish her enchiladas, so I do. Would you expect anything different from me? After polishing off the last of the alcohol and food, we pay our tab and bounce. But not before I motorboat the seniority skeleton statue outside the restaurant. My flight is early in the morning so we go home so I can pack and go to bed. Amsterdam, here I come.