After siesta, my friends and I usually meet at the Plaza Mayor or the school to go shopping or walk around. The Plaza Mayor is my favorite place in Valladolid because I think it's one of the best examples of Spanish life. Every town in Spain has a Plaza Mayor, and every day people go to the shops and bars surrounding it or take their children to chase the pigeons off its statues. Watching the children run around the Plaza has become one of my favorite things to do, partly because they're so beautiful and partly because I can understand most of what they're saying. Mothers push their babies around in buggies and little girls run around in dresses and little hats with bows.
Spanish children are always dressed to a T, no matter what day it is.
Most of the shops close around 8, and as I walk back to Blanca and Emilio's apartment I pass by the neighborhood bars that are on every street of the city. I'm not sure how they can all stay in business when there are so many of them, but every night they're full as the local crowd gets together to watch the bullfight, have a drink and eat some tapas before they go home for supper. Tapas are a special kind of Spanish snack food. Going out in Valladolid always promises some sort of fun, even if it only involves someplace quiet and a glass of wine. There are lots of bars to choose from, but there are two that have become my favorites.