day 14: final round

madrid -> sevilla. 

today's shift from one place to another

reflects the shift in our attitudes. 

gina and i are at ease with each other. 

it's funny...

gina seems to be making an effort to enjoy herself - it seems effortless, in fact

and i am enjoying things as they come without putting so much effort into being a manic-tourist. 

we found ourselves on the same page. 

taking time to notice and appreciate where we are

balanced with the admittance of how "traveled out" we are. 

gina's attempt to lead us to a tapas restaurant for an early lunch 

is unsuccessful. 

and im glad. 

because i finally admit, "im over tapas."

i want brunch food. 

a simple egg and cheese sandwich is all i want...it would be so perfect right now. 

so we seat ourselves at a tapas place that serves free-range chicken eggs. 

while gina orders a chorizo and scrambled egg breakfast, 

meat and seafood do not appeal to me this morning

so i order eggs with garlicky elver. 

with fresh orange juice and a goat cheese salad. 

and this is what i got. elver = baby eels. [spotty disapproves.]

yeah, i didnt know...i just assumed it was some kind of vegetable. 

when the plate of elver over my eggs was set in front of me, 

i involuntarily responded with, 

"uuh...what is that...??" 

the waitress responded with something in espanol as if to clarify, noting my confusion (aversion).

i politely nodded to which she seemed satisfied with as she walked away.

i tried to be open-minded and took a nibble or two. 

ok, not bad. 

texture of eggs. even had the taste of egg whites. 

i swallowed. 

didn't detect any resistance in my esophageal muscles. 

then promptly eased the elvers off my eggs off to the side of my plate...

which were then eased off of the side of my plate onto a smaller plate and finally covered with a napkin.

i suddenly felt as though the elvers were thrashing about in my stomach, 

hundreds of them nibbling away at my appetite. 

gone in a flash. 

i don't remember the last time i left half of my meal on my plate. 

but i will never forget this unfinished meal. 

or what elvers are. 

my desire for a good ol' american breakfast completely shattered, 

we turn to chocolate to inject some pleasure back into my tastebuds. 

the chocolaterias serve thick hot chocolate that you dip churros in!

it wasn't heaven on earth, 

but it was enough to coat the nausea. 

nausea coated, 

heavy belongings hugging our torsos [more like a gentle death grip], 

we are off to our final train ride to sevilla...

[after that brunch, im with you, buddy.]

i got to watch 'wreck it ralph' on the train. 

gina kept mentioning it throughout the trip

and she later revealed that she was wishfully thinking about 'wreck it ralph' being shown 

and *poof*

there it was. on the screen. 

gina = master manifester

such a sweet movie. right up there with 'how to train your dragon' 

family fun film, inconspicuous adult humor, cute animation, and tear-jerking/heart-warming message.

the total opposite of my brunch. 

in sevilla, 

im running on fumes. 

nearing the end of our trip, 

i am tired, i haven't had a proper meal all day, and i must readjust to a new space. 

at this point, spanish food is the last thing i want. 

so i didn't hold back on the spaghetti pesto dish - 

a nice italian restaurant, san marco. 

all of my senses were delighted at this restaurant. 

the live classical guitar, the "authentic bath vaults studded with star shapes", delicious nonspanish food...

and the mandarin sorbet. gina's ice almond parfait was a miss but it was no elver. 

near-midnight stroll through sevilla's labyrinthine streets. 

and i slept hard this evening...

much needed rest for the final round.

besos

xx