Rocío

I love chatting with Rocío. She is really young and fun. Listening to her talk about her complicated love life is almost better than watching THE SHOW or reading People. Last night I went over to her house to watch a show (THE SHOW) that we both like. It was really late at night and her parents didn't want me to walk home and they didn't want Rocío to walk me home and then have to walk home alone. They actually invited me to spend the night. I was tempted because one of the things I miss the most about being a teenager is the sleepovers. But I knew Collin would not be cool with it, plus he would have to get the kids all ready in the morning AND walk them to school. So I took a cab home. I should have driven because I probably could have parked on her street since it isn't as crowded as the center of town. When I asked her if her neighborhood was safe, she said, "Are you kidding? My neighborhood is the Beverly Hills of Granada!"

She made us open faced scrambled egg and tomato sandwiches on baguettes, peach yogurt and membrillo. Membrillo is a dessert made from Quince fruit. The best way to describe it would be a cross between preserves and Jell-O Jigglers. I LOVE membrillo. It tastes great alone, but is also fantastic combined with Manchego cheese. (When I eat Manchego and Membrillo together, I feel like Ratatuoille's brother rat when he eats the cheese and grape together and all the sparks and colors are flying around his head to symbolize the yummy flavor combination.) Could I be any more Spanish? Rocío and I ended up eating almost an entire container of membrillo that her mom made. She also sent a new container home with me. Seriously, it's like candy. I helped her come up with a Cleopatra costume for a presentation she has to do with some kids about Egypt. I also let her borrow my gold cuff for her costume.

The show we like is way more fun to watch with a friend who is as obsessed with the show. We spent the whole time gasping at shocking events, laughing at some of the characters and speculating about what we think will happen in the next episode. We were cracking up because one of the characters had an outfit on and her hair done in a way that made her look exactly like a Flintstone, a cross between Betty and Wilma.

She offered to iron my hair for me the next time we hang out. Today we went to a restaurant called Manzanilla in the la giratoria. On our way there we got the most piropos (catcalls) I have ever experienced in such a short amount of time. I think it was a combination of factors. We had to walk through tons of construction to get over to the restaurant, there were two of us in skirts and Rocío is really tall with a cute face and figure. One guy actually said, "La Madre del Cordero!," when we walked by. It literally translates to "the mother of a lamb," but means OMG! She told me of some really gross piropos that guys sometimes yell at her. I'm not going to write them here because they are disgusting! What are those guys thinking? That some girl is going to stop and start flirting with them or more because they catcalled?

It is a all glass circular room that revolves around and offers an amazing view of Granada. If you sit in one spot for an hour you will turn go all the way around. We both had mosto. The tapa was olives, gherkins and onions with chorizo on bread. I ate the olives, gherkins and bread, but left the chorizo alone. So did she and she's Spanish. We also chatted quite a bit about her love life. She also told me that I pronounce the name José incorrectly. She said that in Spain they put the emphasis on the JO, not the SÉ eventhough the accent is on the SÉ. She and Inma said that it is because usually the Josés in Spain usually have a second name added like (José) María. We could actually see the balcony of her apartment from la giratoria and her parents waved to us as they set up for lunch. Tonight she is going dancing and I wish I could go with her. I haven't been dancing in probably 10 years. Tomorrow she is going to a Halloween party dressed an an evil doll.

After our drink in la giratoria, she walked me over to the kids' school which was coincidently the school she attended as a child. On the way there we got more piropos, some guys on a motorcycle actually swerved towards us yelling. When we got to school, we saw Inma, Emma's friends' mom. I had told her that Rocío was a nanny in Ireland because Inma was looking for someone to take care of her kids while she and her husband go out sometimes. They exchanged phone numbers.