Day of rest

Breakfast goes only until 10:00 here, so although I was asleep by 10:30 last night, I set an alarm knowing how tired I was. A good thing, as the thick shades and soft sheets kept me asleep until my phone started buzzing at 9:30 this morning. For breakfast there was cereal, eggs, toast, and tomatoes (apparently I could also have had beans, further evidence that the english are an odd lot). Coffee too, the European version of which I have become fond of in my two weeks here. I´m not sure what the difference is, but it seems smoother, less acidic. More pleasant to drink and easier on the stomach too.

After breakfast I went up to the roof patio, which looks out of the whole river valley, green and gold hills divided by highways and railways branching out from Cordoba just a few miles east. One train line, heading straight west to Sevilla 100km distant, runs just a few hundred yards south of where I sit. Far enought not to be distrubing but close enough that I watch each flying by with boyish interest. The high speed "AVE" trains, in particular, make a perculiar whistling noise at full throttle. Some sort of resonence in the rails, I presume.

I read and wrote there until the sun became too bright and hot, retreating first to the shade and then downstairs for a cold bottle of wine. I lay in bed for a time, watching what seemed to be a thousand birds playing in the orange tree outside my window. By 2 o´clock I was pleasantly drunk and, now a bit hungry, wandered out to find some food before everything closed at 3pm. I found a little pizza place, labeled simply "Restaurante," and was pleasantly surprised to get a menu in English! I quickly devoured most of the pepperoni pizza while listening to the colorful banter of the staff and friends up by the bar. Spanish is a very beautiful language, pleasant to listen to even (or perhaps especially) when you don´t understand a word of it.

I walked slowly home then and after such an exhausting morning fell fast asleep for my own siesta. I slept for almost three hours then, bringing my total for the day to 14! Mission one well on its way to being accomplished. After a workout and shower, I switched to a now-open room upstairs to be away from the street noise which had intermittently disturbed me last night. That task complete, I came out to enjoy the evening air on the roof patio. The sun, just short of setting behind the castle above, still shown bright enough to warm by head and neck. I read in just that spot while the town woke up below me. Eventually the sun went down and I put on some music instead, sitting there until the stars came out and then returned to my room for sleep and another busy day on the other side.