Take me out to the Ball Game...!

Baseball! Alexandra has this tradition every year in which she invites Brittany (beautiful friend) for her birthday to AT-T field in San Francisco to see the San Francisco Giants. Which, incidentally, is the best team in the world. Fact, they won the world series last year. (Go, Cubs!)

This year, Alexandra will be in Europe for that happy day, so we she decided to go earlier, namely, May 22nd. And since Katie and I were going to be there, she bought tickets for us too (gee, thanks, madam!)

I have to say, that this is not my first time with baseball, despite Alexandra's efforts. I was organizing games in Fun and Learn and I had a visit to Target Field in Minneapolis to go see the Twins (wah yeah!). But this time was the funnest. I finally understand the rules of baseball. And I love some of the players (FEAR THE BEARD!) And the field was amazing this time, too! Right on the bay and with great views of the city! Yay!

It was absolutely perfect. The Giants were winning most of the time (they swept the Oakland Athletics), I got beer, a hot dog and lots of shouting! I guess one of the things I'll miss will be baseball, believe it or not. Damn yee, Alexandra and Katie! I was a Barça girl!

At night, just a quick shower and out to downtown Novato for a nightcap. Maybe it was a bit too much after all that excitement of the day. Maybe I was a bit too happy. What the heck, you can't never get too happy in California.

I'm a Tree-Hugger and a Cow-Eater.

You know, when you get something good in California, you know that you can always top it up. So the day before we got amazing view in a rolling hill in Novato, so we decided to get some more of that feeling and go mingle with some real nature. Yes, you are right, we went to the Muir Woods. Redwoods!

Getting there was kind of difficult. Windy roads are not fun, especially inside a bus and while the road is going under repairs. Boo! But once we got there, everything went great. Muir Woods is this national park full of millenia old trees and streams and birds and silence and tourists. With lots of cute little babies. However, even with the usual crowd of a Saturday afternoon, the woods were quiet and pretty. So pretty indeed.

I know! I was there! If only we had had some more time, there were miles long walks with ocean views and deer and chipmunks (I saw three chipmunks for the first time ever)! However, we were lazy, we got there a bit late, and the bus ride kind of killed us, so we just strolled happily among redwoods, love ferns and spiders. Some of my favourite things.
So that's the tree-hugging part. Where is the cow-eating part? If you know me, you know that it is everywhere. But more especifically, in the In n' Out burger (yummy!) and the dinner that we prepared. Alexandra's parents had been so nice to us. Cooking every night and making our lives in California absolutely dreamy. So in return, we had to do something, and that something was a Stir-Fry! In Illinois, Alexandra and I used to make stir-fries very often. And I looove them! The one that we did in California was yummy. Almost perfect. And gorgeous, thanks to the hand of Lady Katheryn de Bartlett.













Boy, was it wild in the kitchen...

You are not number 3 on my list anymore.

Hike day! Yes! I don't know if you have noticed in previous entries, but in Northern California there is nothing but mountains. You can't help but notice them. They are LITERALLY everywhere. It was time to explore them. So, we put on some tennis shoes, some shorts and got some turkey sandwiches for a picnic up there. Yes, turkey from Thanksgiving. That bird was big.

In truth, it wasn't really hiking so much as it was a walk in rolling hills. Something in the fashion of The Sound of Music: The hills are aliiiiiiiiiiive.... with the sound of muuuuuusic.... uh oh uh oh! See what I mean?

It was actually really nice. We just went up, walked around, saw the Bay from up the mountains, pretended we were cows, took pictures as if we were Kate and Leo... and then we went back down.

Down there, we had some Fro-Yo. Fro-yo! Did I tell you that it is Cali's official sport? Well... we just went into fro-yo weight-lifting. Those chunks were big.

Back at the house, we chilled out hard. Katie decided to jump in the pool to cool off the perfect weather outside. She likes it cold. But she was the only brave one. As good as the temperature may be, it is still May. You won't find me in there quite yet.

And what did we do for Friday night? The most amazing thing ever. Bridesmaids!!! We went to the movies to watch the latest comedy.

If you haven't watched it yet, GO NOW. It is amazing. Sooooooooo funny and heart-warming and memorable. Those quotes will stick with you forever and ever. Really. Go.

That's the good thing of California. One minute you are in rolling hills surrounded by cows and lizards, the next you are in a movie theater watching Bridesmaids. It has it all.

What an Ocean.

What's the scariest thing you've ever seen? I have personally seen many scary things. I don't know if you are familiar with my horror level, but it's pretty low. So low that some Disney movies are banned from my view. Anyway, one of the most scary things I've ever seen is The Birds, by Hitchcock. Are you familiar with it? I mean, you should watch it. You will have a completely different level of understanding of avian creatures after it. You will thank me for it.

Where am I going with all this? Well, well, well. Guess where The Birds was shot. Exactly! Bodega Bay, California. What a happy coincidence! For your information, Bodega Bay is going of those fisher towns in the beach. Beeeeeeaaaaaach. Vamos a la playa, oh uh oh uh oh. Vamos a la playa, oh uh oh uh oh.

And yes, birds are crazy there. Imagine a dozen or so seagulls getting dangerously closer to you without you being able to do anything. Anything. They just stay there. Staring at you and closely jumping towards you. Ready to peck your eyes. Can you feel the fear here?


Can you see them carefully circling us? I just can tell you that more and more came. We got away just on time.

However, on a lighter note... Playa day! Yaha, yaha. It was May and it was Northern California, so it was nice only when we were lying down touching the sand. But still... it was amazing. Sun and books and beef tongue burritos and beers. Heaven! And guess what... the Pacific Ocean is right there! I know!! I was touching the Pacific! What a bliss.


And boy... I have to tell you. The Pacific ocean is not as pacific as you may think. Those waves were something else. And because those waves were powerful, there were also powerful surfers walking up and down. And Esteban in flowery shorts. But that's a different story altogether.











After the beach, we went to see some salt water Taffee. And we went to get some Slurpees. Note to self: taffy good, Slurpees evil. Say no to Slurpees. You can see my face of unhappiness. I guess I can't complain, though. Only one little thing that I didn't like in the super trip to California. Take that, biatch.

I Want to Go to There.

I finally made my dream come true. I finally went to Berkeley. I know, I know... visiting Berkeley is not the same as attending the university. But it really is.

I spent the whole morning saying: I.... go to Berkeley. Where do YOU go? Because I GO to Berkeley. BERKELEY is where I go. Let's all front phrases and drive to Berkely. What a fun day. There you go.

I know. I totally go there. Our day in Berkeley was nothing out of the extraordinary, though. Some walking, some picture taking, some beer drinking, some thrift storing. You know, the usual. We did nothing that you can't do in your average Salamanca-like San Francisco-look-alike University centered city. It's as perfect as it sounds, though.

After all this strolling and laying on the grass, we went to pick up Alexandra's friend, Clay. Gee, that was fun. We went to have some Ethiopian food in Telegraph. If you haven't tried Ethiopian food yet, go get some NOW. It is amazing and fun. You have to eat it with your fingers and it is spicy, but not too much and it just sticks into you. Katheryn knows. Katheryn wants some more. And you'll now see why.

And what do you eat with this beauty? Honey wine! The only problem with Ethiopian food is that you have to eat that spongy bread all the time with it, and after a couple of morsels you are beyond full. And the leftovers stayed with Clay. Darn.

We were so full indeed that we needed to walk it off. So we took this gorgeous street with selected ice-creameries. I saw the house-apartment situation in Berkeley around that area. And I am definitely moving there. For real. And it's not only the houses, but the gardens. Oh, the gardens! I would show you pictures, but I'm not going to be that stupid. Those houses will be mine.

What's the only option in a May evening after a copious meal in Northern California? Whacky ice-cream! What did I get you mean? Lavender and Cardamom! One scoop lavender and one scoop cardamom. And lavender ice cream is the best thing I've ever tried in my life. If anybody has a recipe for lavender ice-cream, please, please, I beg you, give it to me. Please. Because I liked that ice-cream so much that I would take it behind Middle School.

And that was basically it. If anybody knows of a job or a master or a something in Berkeley that I could use, let me know. I will give you lavender ice-cream in return. It is totally worth it, I assure you.

The Spaniard is a Monopolizer. What a surprise.

The wine tasting was deferred to another day because a relax day was needed after fall in San Francisco. Result: hours of Skype (yay!) and Monopoly! Of course, the Spanish woman (a.k.a. me) was winning. I just had to win. All that money had to be put to a use, and of course, I like my hotels and my developments. Cacacachá. The game was left unfinished due to jealousy. But it was agreed that I was the master of the world.

After that, no walk or swimming pool (darn you, rain). Instead, Thanksgiving leftovers, wine, beer, crochet and Glee. Ah! relax days in California... you rock.

Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head.

Off to San Francisco again. Weeeee!!! And you know the best part? I got shotgun! Both on the way in and the way out. Katheryn, thank you. I can be aggresive with my shotguns, but you never mind. Such a sweet soul.

Even though it seemed like a perfect day, surprise, surprise! It was a miserable autumn/fall day. Rain and rain and rain and rain and more rain. Boooo. It wasn't precisely a warm day either. So we just looked like this all day:

Идет дождь, бабушка! I could have been worse. And anyway, I'm used to it. I have that magic ability that, wherever I go, I bring coldness and wetness with me. We should find ourselves happy that it wasn't snowing or raining cows from the sky. Meanwhile, I wait for that day in which I will be able to put my coat away and stop looking like an eskimo.

The rain didn't stop us, though. How many lifetimes will we wait until we are in San Francisco again? So we took a fair promenade under the rain and we went to a wonderful Greek restaurant in which they served better food than in Greece. And I'm talking from experience here.

After that, off to H&M. Yay! I love them so... I know, I know. You are in San Francisco and you decide to get into H&M? We are not that water-resistant, though. We need warmth and happines from time to time.

After that impasse, China Town! We went walking there, so I think it is a good place to introduce my love for walks in the city. I love walking in San Francisco for two reasons: 1) It feels like Europe and 2) boys are beyond yummy! San Francisco feels like a mixture of Berlin, Barcelona and something else that I guess is native to San Francisco itself. So I feel at home and at the same time I feel like I'm in a new place that I want to explore. Yay! And boys... are they beautiful! And hipstery! A dream come true! Of course, 80% of the male population in San Francisco is gay. And I am certain than 97% of the boys I met in the street are so. But, do you go to the museums because you want to buy the paintings? That's what I thought.

So, China Town. China Town is a lot of fun. It was a gate and a couple of lions (like the ones in the Art Institute in Chicago):
We didn't have much time there. So we were just souvenir shopping (I <3 SF) and picture taking. In one corner we counted as many as 5 nationalities, if I am not mistaken.

And after that, run run run to The City Lights. It is a book store in the carrefour of 3 neighbourhoods: big buildings and ties, stripper paradise and Italian. Of course, I'm making up the names for the sake of literary impact. You get the geist. If I am not mistaken, that is the place where Howl was first read by Ginsberg. And the area has a Beat feeling to it. Not a block away you find the Beat museum.

However, it was time to go back home. It felt like fall. And what is the big day in fall? Thanksgiving! First Thanksgiving dinner for Flavia! Yay! And wasn't it amazing? It was. Oh, and in what levels!
I was soooo happy. I had seconds and thirds. And yes, we had leftovers. And yes, we are still eating them. And yes, I loove Thanksgiving. One more reason to come live in California. Thanksgiving every year!

After that, we had to keep it cool. The plan was to go to Chevy's to get Margaritas for Mel's birthday. But it was too much for our poor wretched bodies. The rain all day and the dinner were too much. And Melanie needed to rest, too. It doesn't matter. I am in California for Thanksgiving. In May.

Soul Food.

Today we started quite late. Margaritas are delish, but kind of heavy on your eagerness. So to bring the eagerness up again and working, we got a Pam's special Sunday Brunch. You will Haight me if you don't yet: homemade gluten free waffles, turkey bacon, scrambled eggs (yes, the eggs that we picked up the day before), fresh fruit, coffee and juice. And mountain views. You can't really have Sunday Brunch in California without the views.

After some quite stressful future planning (not too stressful; just quite.;quite Londonian future, too) we set off for South Marin County. Namely: Tiburon, Corte Madera and San Rafael (enter joke about Spanish names in America here).

En Tiburón we found hateful houses inhabited by hateful people with hateful views. It was all too pretty to be nice. If only I could camp there forever...

In San Rafael we went to Sol Food to get some taste of Puerto Rican food. It was kind of late for a meal (even a Spanish one) and there was a queue outside. But everything went fast and nice and fantastic. Oh Puerto Rico. You rock. My meal had a salad, rice, pink beans, pork chops, pickled onion and tostones. I found out today that I prefer maduro. I need recipes. I need plátanos machos. I need Sol Food.
Oh yeah, and coconut juice. What do you say? That you didn't get enough food yet? You want more? No worries, that's what I'm here for, to fulfill all your dreams. Roughly 2 hours after this discovery, we had dinner waiting for us at home. Spaghetti bolognesa, garlic bread, wine and melon. All California special.

I know what you are thinking. This blog is becoming more of a Anthony Bourdain kind of journal, you do nothing but eat all day. And no, you are mistaken. We also drink and sleep and enjoy the California sun. You are just yellow.

Get Thee to a Farm.

Up the mountains, up the mountains, up the mountaings we go! Through the Sonoma and Napa valley we rode up to Middletown. What's in Middletown? A beautiful hand-made hobbit-like farm by Alexandra's sister and family. Yay! So what do you do in farms? You pick eggs!

So exciting! They were warm and yummy (as tasted by my taste buds). But not only eggs, we also picked habas and eat them on the spot. Haba on the spot. While we were doing all this, who was around? Bruno the dog! But that's another story...

But, what was the reason why we went all the way up to a farm in the mountains? Well, on Monday is Natalia's third birthday! Who is Natalia? Natalia is the little cute niece of Alexandra. And Natalia and I became friends and we were playing for hours! Pony puzzles and Jumping Ants. It was wonderful practice for Bruno. The baby, not the dog. And Natalia is here:
What a beauty! Those blue eyes are worth millions.

It was a wonderful day. I want a farm. And babies. Note that down, my birthday is coming soon. I was so happy that I had to take a nap until Napa. Hah!

But it was Saturday night and it couldn't end up there. The night called for some Margaritas! Marga, marga, marga, margarita! Yum Yum Yummy! I will miss that. So we went to Petaluma where we got free parking any time as much time as you want and we went to Tres Hombres (please enter American accent here) to get our dose. They were margaritas as big as your head. So yummy. (Excuse the redness and the diva like posture. Some paparazzo was trying to get me.)














Katie had Mango blended margarita. Mine was just the regular one. But both, oh both! After a Margarita and a half and lots of water playing Kings, we finally went home a bit light headed. Life is definitely hard working in a farm.

Novato Is not that Bad either.

We were sooooo tired after the day in the city... We couldn't just start doing touristy things right away. As you understand, you can't just keep up with your life that easily after being in San Francisco. Therefore, we just chilled it out in Novato, Alexandra's hometown. Of course, she has her own swimming pool and her hottub and her lounge chairs in her backyard. The sun was shining, the air was making the trees dance and we were all happy. As you can expect, our day , whole blessed day, looked more or less like this:

It was one of the best days of my life. I personally never got to get into the water, but nevertheless I sunbathed, read, wrote and got red as a lobster. It was totally worth it. I've never been so relaxed in my life.

To top it up, we couldn't just have some average food, but we had some real California burgers for dinner (at 18.30), which looked just like this:


Do you haight me hard enough now? It was a big chunky juicy burger with all sorts of vegetables, pickle and the most beautiful melon I've ever seen. I know, I know. However, I haven't finished yet.

We could have finished our relaxing moments there and go out to a wine bar for Friday night. But today it was Friday 13th, so we didn't want to risk it. What do you do if you don't want to risk it? YES!! FRO-YO!

It is California's national sport. You got to this place where you choose your fro-yo and all your toppings and then you get into heaven. It is like ice-cream but not as sweet or ice-creamy. It is like really cold fruit. And you can put some fruit as toppings, which I did, and which makes it abso-frigging-lutely perfect. If you don't believe me, look:


Sooo delicious. So fruity. And now, some Friday especial Sunday Funday. Pyjamas, Glee and Wine. Best Sunday Funday ever.

I'm a BadAss. I Play the Tambourine.

After the clogging the toilet incident (it cannot just be me, I've used toilets before!), we set off for the most beautiful and amazing trip ever... San Francisco! And what do you have to cross from Marin County to get to The City? Yes!! Golden Gate Bridge! With the weather in the happy side, it looks like this:
I know, right? I mean... I was THERE. I really was. And it's very pretty. The bridge and the surroundings and the breeze and the sun. *sigh*

So for starters, we went to Haight, which is the hippy hipster modern side of The City. Oh, San Francisco, how I haight you.

Our first stop was in the Thai restaurant Siam Lotus. I've never had Thai food before (apart from the Pad Thai in Noodles and Co. Mmmmh.... Noodles...) So Alexandra coerced... I mean... "helped" me to choose Emerald Curry with beef. Something looking like this:

It was delicious. Unfortunately, it was also filling. After the last mouthful came that modorra that just wouldn't go away. Not even with the fantastic second-hand shops with designer clothes and ridiculous prices. Damn you, Spanish origin!

There was something else that made the sleep go away... Hookah! In The Pride of the Mediterranean (which is not a boat). Peach and guava hookah with arabic tea. It was delicious. We had a couple of fun hours just blowing smoke at each other. And by each other I mean Alexandra, Katie, Melanie and Joe. And me. The Breakfast Club. Hah.


And that was all, folks! A bit of walking around, some Urban Outfitters, port, playing doggies and home for more toilet clogging. It's turning into a hobby. Beware.

Fladia Goes to Sausalito.

I want to show you something. Look:


Yes! It is! The Golden Gate Bridge. And what's behind it? Exactly! San Francisco! Isn't it gorgeous? I know... it's foggy. But you can't take the fog out of SF in the same way that you can't take the awesomeness out of SF. Wow. I can't stop looking at it! But no, it's not SanFran day (that will be tomorrow, dios mediante).

That was just a quick stop in the mountains, our final destination was Sausalito. A tiny town overlooking the Bay and San Francisco. And so cute. So European. It was like being in a Northern Catalan seaside town, like Cadaqués, or a nice Northern Spanish town, but with better weather. And it looks like this:


I know, right? That town it's a dream come true. If I ever have a couple of millions to spare, I'll buy a house overlooking that view. For real. On a side note, I heard my first Spanish of this period. Chilean Spanish. Maybe because Sausalito is sisters with Viña del Mar. So nice.

Oh! And I saw some friends of my still-to-be-born beautiful Bruno:
Uggh... SO ugly...!!

Absurda Goes to The City.

I woke up this morning in Cary, IL, had my shower, my milk with coffee, my bagel and went outside with Alexandra and Katie to go to Midway. What's that outside? Yes, it is. A LIMO! We went to the aerport by limo. Yuhu! Off to a good start.

From then onwards, everything went better than expected. We flew with Southwest, who proved that you can give free soft drinks, peanuts, crisps and more while having a smily brunette Claudia Schiffer taking care of you. And I saw the rockies. Take that.


In Oakland, when we landed, we couldn't go sightseeing, because the gangs have taken over the city and you have to duck down to avoid being killed by a shotgun. Shotgun! So, instead, we saw George Lucas' inspiration for AT-ATs.


In Novato (Alexandra's hometown), tour in the fantastic house with fireplaceS, swimming pools, trees, hot tub time machines and giantic tvs. Then, best Chinese dinner ever. Good job.

#5 Netflix me hace feliz. No habria tantos problemas con la ley Sinde si hubiera un Netflix for Spain. O "Netflis", como me gustaria que se llamara. Me gusta tanto tanto y estoy tan enganchada, que quizas empiece un blog de cosas que veo en "Netflis". Donald Clark y Bea Cepeda, mis gurus de los blogs de cine, perdonadme.