Mucho dinero!

(Chocolate in Limón y Menta in Segovia, Spain)

Lizzie and I (Amanda had to go to get her crashed computer fixed) were shopping all day today at La Vaguada, a mall near our end of town. There were a lot of stores and it was an interesting look into the Spanish style. We stopped for lunch at a sandwich shop in the mall and had these fantastic baguette sandwiches with chicken, roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, and some sort of mayo dressing. I understood all of the questions the waitress asked us and I was very proud of myself.

I also found shoes! I had been getting nervous, as I hadn't seen anything I really liked in the mall, and this little store near the metro stop was my last shot. It was a sneaker store, mostly with shoes for running purposes, but I had my eye on some Pumas. I asked the man if they had a size 41 (size 9.5 here in the US - bigfoot, I know - and I rounded down) and he gave me a look. He said they only carried that size in a couple of styles, so while I tried on one pair he actually ran to another store to grab a different style in my size. I ended up getting a pair of Nike Airs for 75 euros (mucho dinero in US dollars) and when I was checking out, the saleslady asked me where I like to run. I said, "Oh, I don't run," and she gave me a look, too. But again, I was very proud of myself for having had all these shoe conversations in Spanish.

When we arrived at our respective homes, Lizzie and I decided that we should book all of our traveling tickets sooner rather than later. So I have now officially booked a roundtrip flight to Rome in December, and a roundtrip bus ticket to Seville for next weekend. So to summarize - I spent a lot of money today. But at least my computer was working okay - Lizzie was first on a fraudulent site trying to buy tickets to Rome, then ended up having to pay 20 euros more for her ticket, because the price changed mid-purchase.

Then tonight, a bunch of us met up at Sol to go out for tapas and churros. If they had just been drinking, I wouldn't have braved the cold - but they got me with the promise of food. We wandered through La Plaza Mayor and went to this little tapas bar called Cerveceria Montaditos. I got a Chocolate Blanco, Chocolate con Leche, y Almendras sandwich, which was quite delectable. We then went back to La Chocolateria for chocolate con churros, so I was quite pleased with the way the night turned out. We even managed to leave in time to take the metro home, and I was back to Julia's by 2:15 am.