This was our rest day. How serendipitous that we be in Pamplona during the festivities. Yet as we were here for the Camino, we didn’t do much sightseeing. The dancing and maneuvering through a sea of red and white last night was enough.
N let us have her entire apartment to ourselves, and bent over backwards to stock her kitchen. Kat and Z slept in…woke for a light brunch of toast, eggs, fruit, and tea and went down for sime naps. B made herself sleep until 8am, and then tried to entertain herself by watching Spanish news and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse…in English. She ventured a bit and found a lovely plaza. Sitting for a while, she was amazed at the fact that entire families were just enjoying each other’s company. Dads were pushing their kids on the swing (in the U.S., it is more often than not moms who do the park thing), playing, relaxed. Men were not afraid of being men and being engaged dads. Parents didn’t hover, but kept a distant, watchful eye. Grandparents were integral parts ofhe unit. Folks just seemed relaxed and to truly understand the security and the fun of family.
B also found a great gourmet store. Just love the way pasta sauces and milks are contained in small packages rather than big jars or cartons – much less waste. It felt good to cook again, a late lunch/early dinner if spinach tagliatti, bolognese, and grilled chicken (sorry, Italians, Kat warned us this is a big no-no, but we had to make due).
Dessert of dark chocolate cookies and a chocolate poundcake with kiwi.
We ventured out again to meet N and Nd, passing a passing a concert in the park dedicated to senior citizens. These “elderly” were partying it up til all hours of the morning, hips swinging and romance brewing. We only hope that is us when we get older.
At 10:30, we sat down in a promising restaurant that opened in 1908. Perhaps it being San Fermin, the festival, and all, the food was overpriced (4euros for this ice cream), undercooked, and unloved (plastic in the salad). Fortunately, the company was lovely.
Kat and B decided to forgo waiting for the bulls the next day, and head to bed. We parted ways with N and Nd to get at least a few hours if rest, saying farewell to N and Nd’s, our fantastic hostesses.
Nos vemos, chicas.