¡Andaaa, hijaaa!

My five nights in Cádiz can be summed up in a few words: empanadas, cerveza con limón and la playa.

The first thing that Angelita (my host mom) said to me when I got there was "Wow, you are so skinny!" and "Do you have a boyfriend?" And then she began to pile food onto my plate and was disappointed to see that I no longer have the same appetite I did last time I was there. The most surprising thing to see was Carmen, who was about 14 mos. when I left and is now 5 years old and the cutest little spoiled brat you have ever seen. Still blonde, and still mala, she talks to Angelita like she is an adult. Carmen says to her "Anda, hija, dame de comer!!" Translation: "Let's go, child, feed me my food" and Angelita starts to spoon-feed her lunch. She is FIVE years old. 

I got to play tour guide this week while Tien and Annie were here. We ate a lot and spent some relaxing hours on the beach. I felt like I was discovering Spanish tapas for the first time in Cádiz because when I lived in Angelita's house I never ate out in restaurants (her food is amazing). It was a bit difficult to understand the menus at the bars because there are so many names for parts of the ham, as well as names that don't necessarily explain what you are getting. So I decided to order "Distraído Panceta Muy Finita" thinking it was like Italian bacon only thinner. What we got was "Very Fine Pork Belly" which was a whitish gray color with a very thin line of meat running down the middle. That is when I realized why the waiter kind of smiled when I ordered it. It tasted exactly how the ham legs smell and we choked it all down, wrapped in bread and potatoes. Nothing I would ever order again but it is something I can add to the list of "strange foods I have eaten" along with cow brains and pig tongue. 

I spent the rest of the week eating empanadas de atún (tuna empanadas) because they are amazing and only cost 1,60 euro. I felt I needed to stock up on food before I went back to Madrid, the most expensive city in this country. 

"People in Madrid are always stressed out and running around. They aren't like us gaditanos, laid back and always enjoying life." -Antonio, my host dad