One Adventure Leads to Another

I have not read a whole book in English since August so I thought it was time to pick one up. Neither the university's library nor the public library have much. I looked around for a used bookstore downtown, but I did not find one that looked big enough to carry a few English books. I wound up buying a copy of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls in a department store. The story is set in Spain, and he supposedly wrote it here in Pamplona so it was a good choice.

I did not really another book, but I was still determined to find a good used bookstore after class yesterday. I had to visit the tourism office anyway, which is in the same area. My search was fruitless once again- at least in the used bookstore department. I did not accomplish my mission, but I had a ton of fun riding up and down the bumpy streets, dodging the oncoming vehicles, and pedestrians. I had been through the neighborhood several times, but never enjoyed it as much as I did yesterday. It really fits my image of a European town (I'll post a picture here later). The cobblestone streets are very narrow and filled with people. It can be frustrating trying to avoid a collision at times, but the area feels really dead when the streets are empty.

I noticed a few stores and bakeries that I somehow missed on my previous excursions. There were a couple spots where something smelled really good. Tracing its source is rather difficult. I found a good bakery by sight. A small independent bakery (unfortunately chain grocery stores and bakeries monopolize the market here as well) had some great looking chocolate chip muffins in the window. I only had ninety cents on me, but the muffins looked kind of small- about the same size as a typical cupcake- so I figured they should cost less than that. I waited in line for at least five minutes to find that it would cost 1,04€. I apologized and turned to leave, but the lady gave it to me for ninety cents. It was the best cholocolate chip muffin I had eaten since our favorite place in California closed down at least eight years ago. I will definitely return to that bakery for more muffins, and maybe even some of those good-looking cookies.