From the gutter to Paradise (2/2)

Ana's house is magnificent; small, but superbly furnished. I got the couch bed in the library on the top floor, which is the most beautiful room in the house, with sliding glass doors on two walls that can be opened for a crossbreeze. When we first got home I slept for about an hour and a half, then did some Tai Chi on the library balcony. When Ana's little brother Hendrique got home from school the three of us played SingStar, a music game with Disney songs, on Hendrique's PlayStation. I actually scored better singing in Spanish than in English.

That night Ana and I went out to a tapas-style Japanese restaurant near her house. Everything was delicious. We talked for about two hours about anime, relationships, and horror movie. Ana said the restaurant knows her as a regular customer, which isn't at all surprising, because she's one of the most ardent japanophiles I've ever met, and I'M IN THE YACHTING CLUB! Later, she showed me the photos of when she cosplayed Misa Amane from DeathNote at the ExpoComic anime convention last year.

Felt so good to sleep in a real bed, especially one so luxurious.

Yesterday at breakfast I had a culinary revelation: café à l'espagnol. It's so simple and so delicious! You simply stir instant coffe directly into milk instead of water. I am going to start having it every day.

Then Ana and I went into the city and explored all the major historical sites of Madrid, except the museums. We saw the Palacio Real, the Teatro Real, and then walked to the Plaza Mayor, where we stopped at a tapas restaurant. We got a plate of Spanish meats and Ana insisted I also try the octopus cooked in oil, which was pretty good. We took the metro to Retiro Park, where we found a spot away from the tourists and sat down in the shade to relax. We talked about roleplaying games (how I've missed these discussions with hot nerdy girls), and I got to recount the epic saga of Vortigern the Immortal and the Dark Duchess, mine and Abigail's characters from last year's Changeling game. Afterwards, we went several goth shops at Funcular, and I bought a jacket.

When we got home, Ana's mother Cristal actually gasped at how sunburned I'd gotten, and rushed to get me some AfterSun. I know I should be more aware of sunburn, but I figure any risk of skin cancer has already been balanced out by the sunny days I've spent inside playing Civ III and Age of Empires.

Ana made dinner, and that's when I had my second culinary epiphany. The meat dish was ground beef in a sweet dark brown sauce. I asked Ana how she'd made it and she said it was just beef with sugar. Just beef with... sugar? How have I not heard of this before? Spanish food may be my new favorite cuisine, simply because of the way it so delectably subverts the conventions of most Western dishes.

I love it here.