Il mio Spagnolo

Our hotel, setting for Matty Koo-stina Barcelona

Don't worry. I haven't forgotten the most important post from Belgium: Waffles. That will be covered later today. But right now I need to share a bit about my interactions with the Spanish language today.

I went to the store to get the last few ingredients I needed for my pumpkin soup (recipe here). It turned out amazing in case anyone was wondering. But on my way back I stopped by the Paperback Exchange, a bookstore run by a couple English women here in Florence. I really wanted to get a copy of My Life in France by Julia Childs before I end up in Paris. Liz read it, and I feel that before we embark on our Parisian culinary adventures, we should be on the same page, both literally and figuratively. Anyway, I was waiting to pay when this adorable little Spanish couple walked in. They were asking the girl at the register something, but in Spanish. She had no idea what they were saying, so I mustered some chutzpah and started speaking to the abuelitos in Spanish. Well, what I hoped was Spanish. I've been in Italian for so long, I was blending everything. The good news is, I could understand them (even through their Barcelona accents). They wanted to go to Il Papiro, a local hand-made paper store, but it was closed. You'd think of all people the Spanish would understand the store was on siesta. But I gave them directions to my favorite little paper store (which is way cheaper), and they went on their merry little way.

While I thought I'd be done using my rusty Spanish for the day, we finally found a hotel for our weekend trip to Barcelona. Trieste and I decided it would be best to call them first before we booked online. So I used my Skype account and ended up speaking to a guy who kept using the word "habitaciones". In my head I was like, "why the devil does he want to know where we live?" Later I looked up the word and realized it meant "hotel rooms." I thanked him for his help and went online to book instead. I really need to brush up before we go. Maybe I'll just listen to some Ricky Martin?

Ciao Bella!

Matteo "Quijote" Yazge