Espana: Days 19-23 (El Campello)

Day 19:
Today (Monday 25th of July, 2016) was another low-key afternoon considering my foot is still in pain and now I have my new injuries from falling in a pond in Valencia (read days 17 and 18). Most of the day I iced my body. When Scott returned from school, we decided on going to Brel for dinner. It's a much further walk than some of the other places (actually the furthest so far on our favorite restaurants lineup) but I figured I haven't done much all day so maybe this walk will be ok! Along the way we were stopped by one of the ladies who does braids on the promenade and I decided tonight would be the night. This woman said her sister and her could do my entire head of hair in 35 minutes.  This would be a world record for my hair. So, I planned to get it done on my way back from dinner...Dinner at Brel was delicious once again and we tried a few new things.

AOVE + All-i-oli at Brel (extra virgin olive oil, tomato and garlic sauces w/ 4 kinds of bread)

Lasagna at Brel

Ensalada Quinoa y Salmon at Brel

Now Coco and I take a seat with Maureen and her sister to do my braids. When Scott caught up with us, it had already been about 20 minutes and not even half of my head was done so Scott and Coco went home while I sat there for about 2 1/2 hours! I knew it wouldn't be quick....but believe it or not, that is still record time for my hair. It was around 12:45am so Scott walked back to walk me home 😍

Day 20:
Scott's school schedule finally changed to mornings so now he can come back at 2pm and we have the rest of the day together! We went to Cavia for lunch and had our favorite paella, arroz con pollo y pimientos!

Patatas all i oli

Paella at Cavia

We didn't really do much for the rest of the day and we ended up getting some easy take-out from Restaurante Hong Kong for dinner. Coco always likes to entertain...

Day 21:
The data I purchased for my phone ran out a little early so we went to see Paul at PC Coste to get more data. Next time I will just buy a larger amount since I have to do it every 30 days and it was just about a week before I would have to renew. Today is Wed the 27th (July) and probably the first time I'm feeling lonely and without friends. Keep in mind, yes I'm in a gorgeous place with the most wonderful man & pup a lady can ask for but I suffer from anxiety and mild depression so the fact that I get absolutely zero interaction with other people, can be hard. It is also hard that there are SO MANY PEOPLE. Any time we walk out the door, there are crowds of people, families, children, teens, elderly. It's crazy.
I do miss some of the day to day interaction with people (even though it was too much for me in Santa Monica) but it is like going from one extreme to another just in a language I do not speak yet. I dont hear from people as much back in the States because I think it's true what they (whoever "they" are) say, "Out of site, out of mind." With this struggle, I wait to talk to Gwen on how to overcome...

After lunch and siesta, we went to Vistamar, one of the more touristy type of places we are always talking shit about. They attract so many families because they serve anything and everything in a very casual setting. This was all about location because I really wanted to shop at my favorite store, Elite, which is just next door and it opens at 5pm. We opted to try the sangria at Vistamar....and it was delicious! Once again I got a great deal at my store and everything was on rebajas (discount)! I got 3 pairs of shorts and 2 dresses all for only 100€.

Sangria at Vistamar

For dinner it was back to Max Pizzeria Restaurante for some tasty lambrusco and pasta! Here they know how to do smaller portions, cooked al dente with light sauce. The best pesto sauce I've ever had is at Max! Usually a pesto can be extremely heavy and also with pine nuts throughout but here it is the absolute opposite.

Lambrusco Tinto Medici Ermete at Max

Macaroni Pesto at Max

Spaghetti Carbonara at Max

Day 22:
Today was pretty uneventful as far as I can remember. Only because we didn't really do much except for eat and sleep. Coco is teaching us well....

Patatas Bravas at Cavia

Paella con pollo, pescado y pimientos

Day 23:
Friday the 29th of July....today Scott decided he would get himself a Spanish phone number! We went back to PC Coste to see our amigo, Paul but first Coco and I scoped out a cute store called Mayte Gonzales Moda on our way to meet Scott. We didnt buy anything this time but they have beautiful things that are not too expensive! Since Scott gets back from class right before Paul at PC Coste goes on siesta, we ended up meeting there at 2pm and then went to lunch after. I mentioned Paul's dog, a boxer, in a few posts ago and here is a picture of Jacques and Coco below!

Jacques at PC Coste

Trying to make friends here...

For lunch we went to Brel and I ordered something new for our appetizer! It sounded pretty normal on the menu "chicken Lolipops" with curry spices but what came out was something I've certainly never seen before! I will say, this interesting looking item was spectacular. The combination of flavors just worked so well.

Chicken Lolipops at Brel

Chicken Lolipops  (cotton candy, chicken, curry spices)

Lambrusco Tinto "i Quercioli" at Brel

Burrata and Basil Pappardelle

Salmon Quinoa 

Coco dining at Brel with her Whimzee

While we were lunching at Brel, Scott noticed that his phone wasn't working properly and that we would have to go back to see Paul but he doesnt open until 5:30 so I suggested we drink in the meantime...
The first place we stopped at is Cerveceria Campello. We have been wanting to check this place out for some reason but when we got there, we both said that it seemed like a much different look and vibe before. There was nothing bad about it, we just thought it was going to be more like a restaurant/bar but it was really just a pub. We had 2 glasses of crianza and I went inside to get an additional bottle of sparkling water. When I asked to pay, the bartender said it was 4.30€ ....for a bottle of water?! No way, but I paid it. I went outside to Scott and warned him that the glasses of wine probably won't be cheap because my water was just like 3 times the price we normally pay at restaurants. When he went inside to pay for our glasses of wine, the bartender said that la chica already paid! 😂😂😂😂 It was only 4.30€ for 2 glasses of wine and a bottle of sparkling water! I guess I paid the entire bill. We could not stop laughing!

Cerveceria Campello

Bill total = 4.30€ for 2 glasses of wine and bottle of sparkling water at Cerveceria Campello

Our next stop was at a place we've tried before for sangria called Seis Perlas Restaurante. We were kind of giving it a second chance because the first attempt was not great. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and it was really not drinkable in my opinion. We were also thrown off by a woman chain smoking at the seats right next to us. I decided maybe I could get away from it all by going to the WC (toilette) but it was even worse. 2 girls walked out reaking of cigarettes....they obviously were smoking in the bathroom, and they both worked at this restaurant! We got the check and got the hell out of there.

There is such thing as bad sangria...at Seis Perlas Restaurante

For dinner we went to this Indian place we have been wanting to check out called Star of India. Paul even confirmed how good it is so we made our way over there. The only thing that was not great was the appetizer and only because it was a little overcooked. I think it was the lamb samosa. They also brought out this thin, cracker-like snack with 3 different sauces. Of course I love the hottest sauce (it's the chunkier of the three). For my meal, I ordered the hottest sauce on the menu, the Pahl, with Lamb. Scott got the garlic chicken and we shared an order of the garlic naan and a naan stuffed with potato. Coco was very disappointed because we didnt give her anything.

Sauces at Star of India (chunky one is hottest!)

Garlic Naan, Pilau Rice and Pahl Lamb at Star of India

Jaume Serra Brut Cava at Star of India

Coco's look of disappointment from not getting a taste of Star of India

I will say, the meal was delicious however the hot Pahl sauce went right through me and I needed to get home quickly. I will spare details but let's just say next time, I wont go so high on the hot factor 😉