Things are getting steamier; and I mean that in the most literal sense. It feels like a sauna outside. I'm really sleepy all the time, but I did have a nice day off on Sunday, just did domestic stuff and walked to the grocery store about 8 blocks away. It was sunny and lovely and hot of course. I didn't intend to get much, but well, ended up taking a cab home because I did get too much to have walked home for 8 blocks.
I am mesmerized by the amount of cleaning products on the shelves. The most popular thing is called Fabuloso. It comes in many flavours and colours and sizes. It is like Mr. Clean, you put it in water and throw the mop in, but it is NOT Mr. Clean, it is Fabuloso, it smells great and EVERYONE uses it to mop. There are only string mops here. I've looked and looked. I saw a sponge mop replacement head once, but NO sponge mop. Mysterious isn't it?
Pet peeve in Mexico : little kids get work at grocery stores bagging groceries. They don't have a clue how to pack anything. I hate it. I have to first wait for them to finish tossing all my nice veggies and stuff into itty bitty bags, then i take it all over to the side of the store and repack it all into something I can almost carry.
So to be fair, one thing i love in Mexico: coconut popsicles for 50 cents from men pushing little carts.
After disinfecting all the veggies and putting away my groceries in my new fridge that I got because the old one packed it in two days ago (I lost my food and had to mop up a lot of water) I made shrimp, octopus and conch ceviche on tostadas with avocado. The sauce was a little mayo with lime juice, salt and mexican crema. My heavens, that was very tasty and I ate it on my balcony with a glass of beer, and received the little breeze there was that evening. I never sit out on my balcony and it was really nice, except that when I stood up, I kicked my glass over and it smashed. That's two glasses now and one plate. Oops. Glass and mexican tile just don't go together. I'll have to stick to plastic, since I'm so clumsy.
Yesterday, Monday, I took the bus to Walmart and also to the Vallarta Galleries, a new shopping mall in Pitillal, a neighbourhood of Vallarta. I only had so much time, so I went into the first store that looked good and spent two hours picking out some clothes and accessories and having fun feasting my eyes on all the cool stuff that was sectioned off into colours. A very Mexican thing to do is have coordinating earings, bracelets,, bag and top, along with your super tight jeans and high heels. I'm sort of getting used to it and spent a long time looking through all the cheap colour coordinated jewelry thinking of what I could wear it with. It was the only thing that was affordable. Clothes are not cheap here, but they are made cheaply, unless you pay a fortune for them, and even then they often fall apart after two wearings. But this store was great and posh enough to have changing rooms and young ladies who would find me sizes. By posh I mean I didn't have to schlep my sticky body through the noisy and busy streets to search through racks of poorly made and sometimes affordable primary coloured tops, or go into the back of a store to try it on in a closet under the stairs that serves as a change room. It was a nice change. God I loved that shopping mall Too bad it is so far away. It is huge and I only saw two stores in it, so I'll go back when I have some more time.
Walmart was interesting and not cheap either. I got the essentials and got out fast. One good thing though, is that I couldn't understand the droning of the lady and the advertising that went on through the loudspeaker. It was white noise to me.
Other things I love about Mexico:
salt & lime potato chips
salt & lime peanuts
sun chips that are made of fried bananas
fruit with salt & lime and chili
virgin mary icons on everything from buses to shopping bags
helpful people
taxis that have their own wolf whistle horn
Later that night, I worked from 4-8 and Eva, the other hostess, covered my shift so I could go to the Bastille Day event at this famous french restaurant; Cafe des Artistes. I had been there once and it was fabulous. This event I saw in the paper and it happens every year for french people living in Vallarta. I slipped out of my comfort zone and just did it. i walked over and didn't know a soul and everyone was sitting together in groups. I felt very uncomfortable, but walked up to the first person sitting alone and introduced my self. He was John, an older gentlemen who is a manager of 4 star restaurant in Reno and a fellow foodie and mexican culture appreciator - we ended up talking for the most part of the evening, and I also met some wonderful people, Ian, a chef at the St. Regis (yes, THE St. Regis hotel company) and his lovely wife Sabrina. They had just moved to Vallarta from Cancun. I also met a few other people and some who knew people I knew and the night was filled with free wine, champagne, cheese, canapes, and deserts. How civilised. I got to meet Theirry Blouet, the chef and owner of 4 other restaurants in Vallarta and also his wife and a few friends of his who were "international" types. There was a fabulous piano player and we all ended up singing Edith Piaff and jazz standards around the piano. I'm a little tired today, lets just say. And . . . . yes, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. Oh, and as I finish writing this a few days later, I got my picture in the Tribunal, posing with the aforementioned people. Lupita at the local convenience store told me she saw me in the paper when I was in for ice cream today. I'l have to find a copy.
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