A Walk in The Park

Every day after my afternoon culture class, I have decided to go for a walk to see what I might see. I try and pick one road, so as not to lose my way, open to going wherever it make take me. On Monday, I walked up a street that I would equate to Wisconsin Avenue in DC, going up and up and up and up at a gradual incline until I was basically on top of a mountain, without even having realized the elevation change as I went. There were a million clothing shops and everything else under the sun that would be considered typical on a city street. The next day, after Flamenco class, I went walking in the other direction. This time I found the best food in the world, with restaurants galore. Outdoor seating is the norm - and such a brilliant idea in my opinion. The weather is perfect and the ambiance is amazing. I found a pizza shop with pizzas that were as far from Papa Johns as coffee is from tea - definitely going there for lunch soon. My favorite, however, was accidentally coming upon a network o side streets that swept me up into another place in time. The cars went away, replaced now with more outdoor restaurant seating, craft shops, and people stopping for conversation. Not to mention the phenomenal architecture. The winding pathways almost had me disoriented, but I made it back before dark (not that impressive considering the sun sets at 9:45pm). In any case, today was a little more exhausting for me than most days. I barely made it through class without falling into my book - these 4 hour classes seem to be getting longer and longer - and after lunch I came home for a four hour nap. I almost decided not to go on another adventure, but never knowing what's around the river bend, I decided to go for a short stroll. Thank goodness I did! Who would have thought I'd end up in a palace garden within 5 blocks of my apartment! A palace. A palace garden. Are you kidding me? I'm so not in the States anymore.