Bonaire, Cánovas, and "Dares"

Outlet Malls at Bonaire

10/6- Bárbara and I slept in ridiculously late, and then we finally got ourselves together and took the metro about 15 minutes to a very special bus stop- this was the legendary bus stop that would take us directly to the epic Valencian outlet malls of Bonaire! We waited for a while before the bus showed up, and then it took another 40 minutes to get to the place. The bus was packed so we had to stand the whole time, and we talked about how older Spanish ladies (not the men) are for some reason always super rude, and love cutting you off and jumping lines, etc. It made us pretty angry. Then finally- we arrived! This mall complex was so “American”: I felt like I was in Ohio. It did not feel like Spain at all, which was strange. After a quick Starbucks run (all the signs at Bonaire are written in the valenciano language for some reason by the way) we hit up some of the main popular places: H&M, Zara, Pull & Bear, Mango, etc. Then, we went to a very cheap outlet store (forget the name) where I got a black blazer, some brown oxford shoes, and a little sponge thing to put my hair up in a donut bun. This store was so packed that it was stressing us out. The security guard yelled at me for trying to bring a drink in, and by the time we left I was happy to be out. The last stop we made was at “Lefties”- This place was much calmer. I got a cheetah pattern top, and the best t-shirt in the world. Why is it the best? Well, it has a hilarious “mis-translation”, which basically means that the designer tried to make it say something catchy in English but it came out wrong, and thus was hilarious to me. It has a little bunny saying “why can I go shopping?”- not too bad, but it made me chuckle. A lot. I think it was supposed to say “when” or “why can’t I”, but we’ll never know. (To visit the website: http://www.bonaire.es/W/do/centre/tiendas)

What does it mean?!

After that we fought the huge crowd of about 60 people waiting at the one bus stop to take us back to Valencia. The old ladies were fierce! We once again ended up standing, and just barely fit onto the last bus. We stood up front by the driver, and it was not very comfortable. In addition to all the territorial shoppers, a drunk guy and some kid later got on the bus. Some of the people who live out in the pueblos apparently use that bus as a daily means of transportation, and I really do feel sorry for them. This man reeked of alcohol, and he kept dropping things and making incoherent comments to Bárbara and I. Let’s just say, that was one of the slowest bus rides ever.

Barb + Marissa = Trouble

Finally, we were back in the city, and after rapidly changing clothes we hopped on a bus, hopped back off, and then speed-walked to the restaurant Tony Roma’s, where we were meeting Marissa for dinner at 10pm. I love my patatas bravas, but a nice juicy American style burger and an iced diet coke really hits the spot. We ladies had a great time as always- and once again we got some coupons from people walking around advertising their bars.  Once we were finished, we headed over about a block to one of the bars we had received free drink coupons for. This area of bars and discotecas is called Cánovas, and everything is close together and cheaper than other places, so I love it! All was going well, and we had our drinks and sat down in this chill couch area to chat and take photos (of course). Then, our girl time was interrupted by these three awkward foreign dudes. They were from all over the globe, literally. I think Japan, Korea, Bolivia, and Senegal? Talking to them in broken Spanish and trying to understand with the loud music was a bit difficult. Then, one of the guys asked Marissa if she wanted to dance- she of course said “no I’m married”, and then Bárbara chimed in “but I bet our friend Michelle over there wants to!”- Thanks ladies. I just love awkward moments like that…

Barbara, Me and the new cheetah shirt

Shortly after, we were saved from our predicament by the arrival of our friends Christie and Carlos (They are the couple I mentioned earlier- Christie is American and they just recently got engaged). We went off to a corner and talked slash semi-danced. It was then that we decided to make the night a bit more interesting. Bárbara decided we should assign “tasks” or “dares” to each other that had to be completed before the end of the night. It turned out to be a great idea, and definitely made for a memorable evening. While I don’t remember what they all were, some of them were: 1) me drinking an extremely alcoholic shot of a locally famous drink (I forget the name)- and ending up getting two more for free 2) Marissa dancing by herself in the corner of a bar for two minutes solid 3) Carlos getting a guy’s number and 4)Christie taking a photo with at least 5 guys she doesn’t know. We bar hopped through several tiny little bars in Cánovas and ended up at the much larger Las Animas- an  awesome nightclub with a great dance floor in the downtown area. We all danced up a storm, and I loved it! Spanish music is definitely my favorite! Plus being friends with Marissa, one of the only blondes around, usually leads to us all getting free drinks by association. Can't complain! Once it’s discovered you’re your American you usually end up getting free shots from sketchy men too. But hey, it’s free! Around 5am we were all standing outside waiting on a cab. Marissa was lecturing some guy about how “Fumar… Mata!” (Smoking Kills), and after a few more hilarious conversations the crazy discoteca evening came to an end. The next day 10/7 could be called a “Resaca” day- I’ll let you figure out what that means for yourself. We slept in late, hung out, watched reruns of Betty La Fea, were lazy, and I cooked some bravas- a delicious way to end a fun weekend.

Christie completing one of her "dares"

The Ladies- Christie, Marissa, Barbara and Me

Pools, Botellons, & Discotecas

The pool at Marissa's Apartment

8/11 Today was more or less a perfect day- and this is why: To start, Bárbara, Whitney and I were invited to go swimming at Marissa & Josep’s apartment! We packed our bocadillos (in true Spaniard fashion), and Bárbara’s Dad drove us over to their place! After preparing some snacks and alcoholic beverages (complete with the little umbrellas) we went down to the luxurious pool at her apartment complex. We spent the afternoon tanning, girl talking, swimming, and sipping on mixed drinks- and it was perfect! I love the beach, but there is something extra refreshing about a pool. Anyways, after that we went back up to Marissa’s apartment and had some more food, and I got to spend time with her super precious puppy named Coco. I was hogging up all of Coco’s attention because I already feel “deprived” of cuddling with my dog on a daily basis. Once we’d had enough sun, we ladies parted ways.

Marissa, Whitney, Myself & Barbara

Coco the Puppy - My Love

Our next event of the day was dinner reservations at an Italian restaurant on the beach- in Spain it’s normal to eat dinner between 9pm – 11pm, and so we had dinner reservations for 11pm (which in the states is unheard of, haha). I went with Marissa, Josep and Bárbara, and there we met Bárbara’s childhood/school friend, an adorable and fashionable Valencian girl named Patri (short for the Spanish named Patricia, but you pronounce it Pa-Tree-See-Uh). We were later joined by two of Josep’s friends named Miguel & Ruben, and then our little group was complete. We had a huge dinner, full of tapas and cerveza of course, but then I started feeling miserable from the heat. August in Valencia is notorious for having almost unbearable heat and humidity, and since no places have AC, it really does get bad quick. I was sweating so much, and the heat was making me have a headache. Unusual for me, I had no appetite because of the heat. There was a moment when I thought I’d have to leave and go home, but luckily Patri got me some water and then when we went outside there was more of a breeze.

Patri, Vicente, Barbara y Yo!

The next step to our great day was to partake in the Spanish activity fondly called Botellon. It’s a bit hard to describe what a botellon is perfectly, but it can be summed up as Spanish Pre-Gaming. Basically, it’s common for young Spaniards to get together before going out to the bars and dance clubs, and mix their own drinks. Because in Valencia it’s much more of an “outdoor culture” (meaning it’s very uncommon to party or drink at a friend’s house, or invite people over to hang out) and almost all socializing happens at a restaurant, café, or park, it’s now common to buy drinks and mixers at a local supermarket to save money, and then mix and make the drinks at some outdoor location. In this case, we began our botellon in the parking lot near the beach. We mixed our drinks in the trunk of the car, and had a great time laughing and chatting. Vicki joined us at that point, and also one of Bárbara’s childhood friends named Vicente. Vicki brought an American along who was visiting her (a Cornell student from New York), and I was just really happy that I was there, in Spain, at a beautiful beach at night, having the chance to relax and talk to all of these different people and hear their varying life stories.  When the police drove by, our group and all the other nearby botellon groups, hid our drinks in the bushes. It’s technically illegal to drink outside, but everyone still does it J Somehow, our group eventually moved down closer to the beach, and we were sitting on a ledge near the sand surrounded by tons of other botellon groups too. It’s just a very fun, free atmosphere and it’s hard to describe how cool it is without actually having been to the beach in Valencia on a Saturday night. As the sangria and other drinks were flowing, my Spanish speaking abilities were getting better, haha. That’s how it always works though right? More drinks, less inhibition, more confidence, better foreign language skills!

?, Patri, Vicki, Vicente, Michelle, Barbara, Jarad - BOTELLON!

Once the botellon times ended (around 2am) our group was headed off to a discoteca! This place is called Las Animas, and I went there a few times with my friends back in 2007- it's pretty "posh" and has all these sofas and beds spread out on the terrace and dance area. Needless to say, I was so excited to be going there again because I know it’s an extremely fun, awesome dance club. It’s located near the port on the beach, and the dance floor is on a huge rooftop. They play all Spanish/reggaeton music, and everyone is always dancing like crazy- which is great because I love the Spanish “style” of dancing so much more than the “American style”! Somehow one of the guys in our group got us on some VIP list, so we got a free drink and didn’t have to pay the cover- awesome! Somehow, we were there drinking, dancing, laughing and having an amazing time until 6:30am!! Highlights of the evening include walking around with Marissa and Bárbara, talking to random guys in hopes of getting free drinks (we never succeeded), and Bárbara lying to these guys saying she was American, and then speaking Spanish with a horrible American accent- it was hysterical.  When we watched the sunrise from the roof of the club, we decided it was probably time to go home. In Spain though, this is the norm. Most clubs aren’t crowded until about 2 or 3am, and they don’t close early like at home. So, with my first late night botellon-discoteca experience this year complete, we headed back to the piso happy, but tired! By the time we went to sleep, it was 7:30am, and we slept in until about 3pm on Sunday (8/12). To top off a fabulous weekend, my roomie and I walked to a nearby “American” restaurant called Tony Roma’s that night on a little "date", and I indulged in a typical American cheeseburger. Sometimes you just really crave a good, fattening American meal after a tough weekend of pools and dancing!

Tony Roma's Valencia- Mmm