Exploring Grecia

We have spent the last couple of days getting to know our new little town. The main focus of the town is the cathedral and the central park. The park is decorated and lit up with holiday lights and looks very nice . We were there tonight when people got out of the Saturday service . People left church and went straight to the park. There is a playground with lots of kids, kids on bicycles and skateboards, and plenty of people just taking in the sights. Several blocks around the park is a major shopping area. The farther you move away from the center, the more residential the area becomes and it becomes hilly, much like home. All of the residences here are right at street front. Everyone has a gate to their property that is locked, including ours. We are about 6 blocks from the park . We know where the coffee shops are and have eaten at a Sopa. A Sopa is a family run cafe usually open early and closes early serving home cooked local foods at a cheap price. We also found a bar to watch the Steelers game.

Yesterday and today we went to the market, open on Fridays and Saturdays. It was filled with tons of fruits and vegetables, some that knew and some that we didn't. We bought some of both and plan on cooking in some. There is no reason for us to not eat healthy while we are here.

A few observations:
- there is no hot water here. Dishes, laundry and showers all use cold water. We do have a shower heater that heats the water (slightly) as it goes through the showerhead. Yes, there are electrical wires that run across the top of the shower. (It was suggested not to shower in a lightning storm!) Unfortunately it can only heat a little water so we can get very low stream warm shower or full stream cold shower.
- there are sidewalks everywhere which is nice for walking, but they can be uneven or broken, and the gutters between the sidewalk and roads are a foot deep so you need to be alert all the time.
- this is not a tourist town so there is not a lot of English spoken. Some people speak some Spanglish, some younger people speak English, but the older people oblige the visitors by speaking slower. Fortunately, the son of our host lives next door and speaks English very well. He has answered a lot of our questions.
- generally, food is not "cheap", although eating at La Benedicion was an exception.
- lots of cars here, not many motorbikes, differing quite a bit from last year's trip to Valladolid.Read more