We wandered about, walking over the River Nervion and heading to the Guggenheim. Amazing Frank Geary structure that has reflections of light off the curved metal structure. We also got to see the huge dog outside the museum made of flowers 
(Wade says it is basically the world's biggest Chia Pet, and maybe he is not wrong). We wandered the pretty tree-lined streets and landscaped parks full of flowers and fountains. We briefly stopped in a "casino" that has various forms of video poker (because we needed to use a restroom). We walked all around, but most restaurants we found were expensive or needed reservations. We finally stopped at a neighborhood corner bar for a few pinxtos.
We head back to the river front near our hotel and grabbed a seat on the pavement to watch the 10:45 nightly fireworks for the festival. I had figured they would just be small, as they do them every night for a week. But they were huge, running for about 15-20 minutes, rivaling our 4th of July fireworks. I can't even imagine how much they cost to put on for a whole week!
The next day, I headed over to the Guggenheim. There was no line when I went at 10:30am. Wade waited outside and I wandered around for several hours. There were a couple exhibits of interest to me, but I found it to be a bit of a disappointment. 
One piece that was a standout was this enormous painting by Anselm Kiefer entitled "The Renowned Orders of the Sky" with a person laying on dry, cracked earth staring up at the stars of the night sky. I stared at it for about 20 minutes and it may be my new favorite painting. Afterwards, Wade and I headed over one of the many river bridges to try to catch the feats of strength contests featuring rock lifting and log splitting, 
but kept getting sidetracked by other free shows. We missed the feats of strength but saw great street art performers with dancers, juggling, and horns to entertain people of all ages. 
We had a nice lunch in the plaza outside a church and got to take a picture with the festival mascot, a woman with her arms up that gets marched around the city for the week (and then supposedly lit on fire at the end of the festival). After that was time for a siesta. When we woke up, I noticed the jamon store across from our hotel and just put out fresh sandwiches, so of course I had to grab one. We walked a bit and then stumbled on to a great restaurant called Kapikua for pinxtos. A-mazing and highly recommended with so much variety!! A bit of pate on a thin slice of jamon with a berry compote, lemony mousse with a slice of smoked salmon and chutney, tomato salsa with an anchovy and seaweed, and a ham salad with slice of brie, fried cod with sauce, fish on a bed of spiced sweet potato mash, and duck mousse with fried onions. While sitting there, all types of musicians and parades pass and we shared our table with a couple from Freiburg, Germany. Very full, we headed over to check out this singer outside our hotel with a great voice and sat out listening to him for a bit before heading to watch the fireworks again. Finished the evening with a late night coffee in the church plaza before heading back to the hotel.The next morning, we tried to find this massive donut we had seen at a bakery when we arrived for Wade, but failed.
We then visited the Ribera Market before heading to the airport. It was listed as the biggest space of a covered markets in Europe, but it didn't feel all that big. I did have some beautiful stained glass and a nice place for coffee and breakfast pinxtos. Then we headed by bus to the Bilbao airport for our flight to Madrid.Arriving in Madrid, we took the subway and came out in the afternoon heat, but luckily found our hotel rather easily. Hotel Principe Pio is in a great located right across from the Royal Palace. We dropped our bags in our beautiful room, glad to have air con again, a big bed and nice bathroom. We walked to a corner restaurant and had a sangria and food. I tried to order the black rice with seafood without mussels (since mussels are one of the only foods that make me sick). Unfortunately, the waiter did not speak English and when I ordered by saying "No" and pointing to the Spanish word for mussels on the menu, he thought I wanted the seafood black rice with mussels AND an order of extra mussels. Ha! Oh well, it worked out in the end as Mario, a guy I traveled with in Iceland, was right around the corner and he came by to meet up with us and thankfully ate the mussels. Mario was then kind enough to give us a fabulous tour of Madrid for a few hours, walking and driving us around. It was a perfect way to get to know a new city.
The next morning, we woke up and got out before the day heated up. We headed to a garden behind the Royal Palace and wandered around (truth be told, mainly I ignored the historical stuff and chased the many peacocks around the park as if they were tour guides). 
We headed to the city center, visiting the market and then sitting at an outdoor cafe with shade and nice breeze near a plaza park. I had wanted to visit the Anatomy Museum at the University that I had read about, but they emailed me back to let me know it was closed until September. Quick trip across the street to the Robot Museum that didn't look like much, so we just visited the store looking at Star Wars stuff. Siesta and then drinks and food at our little corner restaurant we had visited the day before. The staff remembered us and greeted us, as did the other local patrons who seem to hang out there every afternoon. 
Played a few games of cribbage (I had given Wade a travel board, as we play often) and then scooted off back to the hotel to grab our bottle of cava gifted to us by Lola, our sweet woman neighbor in Barcelona. Took it up to watch the sun set at the Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple which was gifted to Spain for their help building the Aswan Dam. 
At night, the temple is lit up, bats fly about swooping over the water and there was a fire dancer performance. I can't get over how there is so much outdoor space in Spain for hanging out and enjoying. The spaces are all so well designed, generally free to everyone, and so safe and clean. I love it and wish we had more of it in Seattle. We then took the subway to a new area of town and wandered past cathedrals and through plazas until bed.I was woken up the next morning with terrible news. My dear friend, Tark, at home in Seattle was found dead. He had known heart issues, but it was shocking and I struggled with the loss, as he has always been there for me and I felt so helpless so far away. But I knew I still had to try to make the most of the trip.
We took an easy day, seeing the front side of the Royal Palace and then walking along the river, checking out the wild parakeets that roam the city parks. 
We wandered through a nice rose garden on the way back to the hotel, suggested by a random jogger that showed us the entrance. After a siesta, we went back to our little corner restaurant. While it is not the best food, I like the staff, even though little to no English is spoken. We are now warmly greeted by staff (even my favorite serious, semi-surly but hard working one) and the older gentleman who always has his afternoon cigar and whisky at an outside table next to ours. We even get a white table cloth this time, which must just be reserved for regulars. I was kind of sad that it would be our last time there. But we headed off to the Prado Museum during the nightly 6-8pm free admission time. 
But first we stopped by for me to get a closer look at this amazing building Mario took us by on our tour the first night. Palacio de Longoria is an Art Nouveau palace that now houses the Spanish General Society of Authors and Editors. Such detail and beauty in this type of architecture, and being a nature-lover, it is right up my alley. 
When arriving at the Prado,I was afraid we wouldn't get in when first seeing the line for free admission. But the line moves extremely quickly. So much amazing art (but no photos allowed)! A whole room of Hieronymous Bosch work and lots of Goya were the highlights for me. 
We then headed to a yet another nearby very large city park with statutes, a large lake with rowboats, and the crystal palace, which is a large iron and glass building like an empty greenhouse. 
Pretty place to spend sunset and then we headed back towards our hotel and grabbed dinner at a restaurant with sidewalk seating. We had fun playing with a little kid named Kimmie, the son of the bodega mart owners next to the restaurant. Staff of the neighboring businesses all kind of keep an eye on him. He kind of latched on to us, asking Wade to help fix his broken toy. He had waaaay more energy than us, wanting to get lifted up to see every police car and see all the pictures on our phones (he especially liked the ones of Wade in uniform on a horse and the fireworks videos from Bilbao).The next morning, we took the fast train to Cuenca. It is a small town in the hills known for its hanging houses. We checked in to our adorable hotel, Hotel Plaza, which is outside the main tourist area in the new part of town, but is closer to the train station and there is a bus that takes you up the steep hill to the tourist area. Each room is different and our room is designed like a cabin with artistic Moroccan-style detailing in the lights and bathroom sink made out polished rock with shells and fossils in it.
We took the bus up the hill to the old town plaza and checked out the old cathedral which was begun in the 1100s. We enjoyed walking around in the cooler weather, walking down narrow cobblestone alleys that would be lined in colorful houses and the open up to spectacular views over the river gorges 
We got stuck in a torrential downpour as storms rolled through, but luckily it passed quickly. There is lots of artists in the town with many statues and artistic details, even with eyes painted in the hillside that reminded me of the Great Gatsby. We stopped for lunch the only place open, as they take seista time very seriously here and everything shuts down for hours. 
Then we went on a tour of the tunnels under the old town (only offered in Spanish, so didn't get so much out of the tour). After more wandering, we walk down the hill back to our hotel and grab dinner across the street in a plaza surrounded by apartments. It seems many people just come down and eat and the kids stay out playing in the plaza, even at 11pm (which seems typical in Spain). Not many people speak English, but it is a very enjoyable place and a nice respite from the city heat. If doing it again, I would definitely stay in Cuenca for several nights and maybe book a hotel in the old town on top of the hill.Off in the morning on the fast train to Valencia. Back to the heat! We checked in to our centrally located hotel, One Shot Colón 46 , with super nice staff that goes out of their way to assist with anything they can. We wandered the historic area of the city,
checking out some of the older architecture around a big plaza. We wander over to check in on a paella cooking class that I tried to reserve online to make sure we still had a reservation. Then we went to check out the very long city park that runs through downtown. 
It is full of several water features, flowers, art, and play areas. One of these play areas was one of the reasons I wanted to visit Valencia (in addition to the fact we could fly to Grenada without backtracking and it is the birthplace of paella). 
The play area is shaped like a huge Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels. There are stairs to run up and huge slides down. Sadly, it was not closed for maintenance the day we were there. But at least I still got to look at it over the closed fencing :( The park ends at a huge Arts & Science Complex, which are all these interconnected modern buildings. There are interspersed outdoor art exhibits which you can enjoy for free. 
We checked out the photography and statues. We had walked quite a ways, and for some reason, there were no nearby subway stops. Wade talked the very touristy car-train that appears to be mainly for kids to drop us off at the nearest metro stop mid-tour for a small fee (and he had to talk me in to getting on it, as it reminded me og the stupid Ride the Duck tours in Seattle that I hate with a passion). We get back to our hotel area and run some errands and then head off to a paella cooking class we had agreed to take. 
The class at Escuela de Arroces y Paella (School of Rice and Valencian Paella) turned out to be fabulous! It turned out to be just us and one other couple. The chef and translator/hostess were knowledgeable, helpful and funny. Our paella turned out wonderfully. You get the over 3 hour cooking lesson, a hat/apron/and paella-eating wooden spoon to take home, shared bottles of wine, appetizers, 
your paella for dinner with salad and leftovers to take home, recipe and photos, and a diploma. Great evening that Wade and I both really enjoyed the class and it was well worth the money. Can't recommend it highly enough! Hopefully will be able to recreate the paella once we are home.Now we are stuck on the tarmac on an Air Europa flight, trying to get to Palma Mallorca for a connecting flight to Granada. Fingers crossed we get there, as we have tickets to my much anticipated visit to Alhambra tomorrow morning.
Love to all,
Betsy
Wandered around down little cobblestone alleys in the Gothic Quarter and looked at wonderful neighborhoods with tree lined parks to sit in and little cafes and restaurants filled with delicious food. Headed over to Las Ramblas and wandered down the street, taking note of places that looked good for dinner once Wade arrived. Stopped to talk to a nice artist named Kenneth and watched him paint for a bit, but it was too crowded for me so I headed to the waterfront. I did not hear the van crash, just heard lots of sirens and saw the helicopters flying about, but having never been here, figured it was normal. Wade sent me a text saying he was on the bus, heading to the Plaza Catalunya dropoff point where we were suppose to meet. I headed back to the hotel for a quick second and the owner told me the news of the terrorist attack. I quickly texted Wade, but texts weren't going through. Tried to find out information, but it was limited and the city quickly shut down. Streets lined with police yelling and motioning to move out of areas quickly, with roadblocks continually moving as they hunted for the suspects. Wade and I were both wandering the city, frantically trying to find each other around road blocks and subway closures in an unfamiliar city knowing very little of the language. We finally met up about an hour later, which then turned into several hours of us walking around as our hotel was not far from the incident. Everyone was asked to stay inside (maybe she had also said that earlier when I left to find Wade, and she mentioned to him later that I was not a good listener). We showered and were told to find dinner close by. Most places were closed and the streets are eerily quiet except for sirens, but we find a little place around the corner that was open and had delicious tapas before going back to the hotel. But in positive news, we are both safe and together and the place we are staying, 
The next day we wake up early. I had booked tickets in advance to Sagrada Familia at 9:45 with tickets to the Passion Tower at 10am. That gave us plenty of time. Luckily, the subway was open again and we stopped on the way at this yummy bakery I had seen for breakfast. Security was very tight for the church. And the towers were closed for security reasons, which bummed me out as I have been looking forward to seeing it in person since studying Gaudi in college. 
But inside the church was still breathtakingly beautiful with the colors and light. We then walked over to Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau along a treelined street and saw an empanada store, of which maaayyyybbe I shoved four different types of empanadas in my face-hole. 
The hospital was beautiful inside, decked out in Catalan art nouveau. The detail was amazing, and fun for me to see in a familiar setting like a hospital. That night, we decided to head over to the Gracia neighborhood. There is a yearly festival I had read about called Festal Major de Gracia. Many of the streets in the neighborhood compete with each other to decorate best using only recycled materials. 
Each street had a different theme: The Little Prince, safari animals, caterpillars turning in to butterflies, King Kong, The Neverending Story, and many many others. We met up for a minute with a friend who was also visiting from Seattle. Supposedly, the festival was cancelled, but it was still quite busy and festive and with the decorations and people still selling food and drinks on the street. We wandered for hours and headed back to our B&B to grab late night tapas at a neighborhood outdoor plaza.
There were several memorials set up for the victims of the terrorist attack along Las Ramblas, as well as displays of hope.Then we checked out the outdoor boqueria market and snacked on more food (of course), walked around adjoining neighborhoods and the San Antonio market. We bought a little house plant for the friendly old woman across the way from our B&B because she seems to live tending to her balcony garden every morning. 
Then we went to see the outside of Gaudi's La Pederera and Casa Battlo. I had a difficult time deciding if I had to go in either, but both were expensive with long lines to get in, so we skipped the inside tours. But it was interesting even to see the outside of the buildings! 
We then went to visit the Montjuic cemetery, which was a nice quiet walk around up a huge hill with views over the Olympic stadium and the city, as well as the harbor. After, we had wanted to see the free Magic fountain show of Montjuic, but it was cancelled all weekend due to security. 
Instead, we went to Parc de la Ciutadella fountain and people watched until sunset (which was not great that night due to cloud cover). There is a huge Roman style fountain in a huge park full of sculptures and art. Plenty of people enjoying the park, having picnics, eating, drinking, dancing. Spain's parks and outside spaces are so enjoyable, safe, and family-friendly! Something I wish we did better in Seattle. We headed through the park to the beach and had a really nice seafood paella dinner in Port Olympic.
We bought tickets for the evening, and then took the bus and a funicular up to Tibidabo. It started raining once we got to the top, but then there was a break with a little sun to enjoy the amazing views over the city. It is a kind of odd spot with a church at the very top with a huge Jesus statue which seems to be presiding over the amusement park below it. But worth it for the views.
Then we took the bus and subway to the Labyrinth Park of Horta, and ran around the labyrinth and explored the park, which was free on Sunday. Again with the fabulous Spain parks being wonderful places to relax and enjoy a day. 
We finally made it back to Gaudi's Park Guell. It was fun to see and I did love the details in everything from the columns to the tiles,but it was just too full of tourists for me to really fully enjoy it. On the way back from the bus to the hotel, we decided to wander the windy alleys of the Gothic Quarter again and we accidentally happened on the historic 4 Gats bar and restaurant. It was originally opened in 1897 and a popular meeting place for artists such as Picasso and Gaudi. 
It is now a beautifully restored building and I ate "the most badass patatas bravas" (as listed on the menu). And later, we spent the last of the evening taking a stroll and sitting and enjoying the boardwalk of Port Vell.
The morning we were leaving Barcelona, Lola waves and tells us to come downstairs. She motioned for us to come up to her apartment and buzzed us up. It was a beautiful place. She had wrapped a bottle of wine in ribbon to give us. We tried to chat a little using Google translate, but not sure how much was understood as it only translated to Spanish and not Catalan. Said out goodbyes and headed to the train station. We hopped on our train to a much smaller city to the north called Girona. 
Stored our larger backpacks at the train station and headed out to explore. Interesting town located on the Onyar River with lots of cute bridges to the old part of the city. One of the bridges, Pont de las Peuxateries, is red and designed by the person who did the Eiffel Tower. 
We wandered the narrow cobblestone streets with old stone walls through the Jewish Quarter. There is a partial high wall that you can walk, as it was a medieval walled city. Great views of the town and a nice shaded garden to relax out of the heat and sun. 
We walked around massive cathedral, which was apparently used at some point on the set of Game of Thrones. Grabbed a gelato in a park and then another delicious Iberico jamon and brie sandwich. We then grabbed the fast train a few minutes to Figueres. Not much to see here, but the Salvador Dali Museum and Theater. For a few days a week during a few months in the summer, they offer limited late night visiting hours, opening at 10pm. 
It was fabulous! The place is enormous and I learned a lot about Dali's range as he has done all sorts of work, even designing jewelry. With stuff in every corner, it is like walking in a huge, surreal dream for hours. It ends on a patio courtyard with a black and white movie showing old photographs of Dali and the creation of the museum over a glass of sparkling wine. Well worth the trip to see, and even the three hours of sleep we got before catching a bus back to Barcelona airport to Bilbao. The only bummer is our hotel room at 
After my arrival in Oaxaca City, I walked around. I instantly loved the city. There is a perfect mix of new, colorful buildings interspersed with old beautiful churches. The plazas surrounded by cobblestone streets are filled with kids playing, adults chatting, live music, and occasional dancing. The streets are easy to navigate and it seems there is something to look at everywhere you turn. 
After a quick walk to get my bearings, I meet up with the two women I rode with from San Agustinillo for a drink at Cafe Praga. Like many bars and restaurants, it has live jazz music downstairs and an upstairs outdoor patio that looks over the beautiful central church, all lit up at night. 
I had my first mezcal drink with hibiscus. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant called La Biznaga, one of the many fusion restaurants of new and traditional Oaxacan food. Oaxaca is known as a foodie city and is best know. for its mole (supposedly as many different types of moles as days of the week, with different varieties of each type). For dinner, I had thin sliced chicken wrapped around plantain in guava mole sauce that was delicious.
On my way, weaving through town, I happened upon some sort of festival in a town square. Cute older women all dressed up with dapper older gentlemen handing out flowers to each of them with a live band playing nearby. One of the older gentleman saw me watching the festivities from a nearby wall and he came over and gave me a red carnation. It was very sweet, and I in turn, gift the flower to an elderly woman walking past me on the way to the bus terminal.
It is a decent sized market with so many good things to eat! 
Pork and chicken tacos, ice cream, pineapple with chili salt, empanadas filled with squash blossoms, cheese, and tomato sauce... and everything is from 5 to 15 pesos. 
Spent the day people watching as they walked past with their purchases (sometimes food, sometimes a goat, or a large turkey) and wandering. Also went to see the town church, which was colorful on the outside with beautiful wood carved doors.
After I made it back to the city, I wandered around to find a dinner spot. Happened upon a spot not on my list of recommendations, but it looked cute and had a very homey feeling to it, so I was drawn in. The restaurant was called 
The recommended restaurants in Oaxaca lean towards trendy, which is not really my style. The place was hot, as it was upstairs with an area to look out over the action on the street. A woman appeared to own, manage, and cook all the food. Instead of the trendy restaurant huge open kitchens, she cooked out of a closet sized kitchen which smelled amazing. Based on the decor, she loved the color purple, chia pet gardening and Frieda Kahlo, and took great pride in her cooking... my kind of lady. 
It was relatively early, so it turned out to be just me and another couple in the restaurant. The woman lived in Mexico City and the couple both spoke Spanish and they let me try all their appetizers they had ordered. They also suggested if I like Oaxaca to try San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Chiapas next, which I just may do as it has been on the list! Delicious garnachas, chili releno stuffed with cheese curds and nuts in an orange sauce, and amazing black mole. For my dinner, I chose creme de chapulines soup (cream and grasshopper which comes out in a boiling pot with meltey cheese at the bottom) and pork mole rojo. I do not think food comes any better than this! I could eat that chili releno every day for the rest of my life. Stuffed, I walked the city at night, enjoying all the cathedrals and people out wandering. There are several blocks blocked to traffic that everyone wanders, and it is hopping on a Friday night. But everyone is always so nice here, always with a friendly hello or good morning/afternoon/evening as they pass.
Up early the next morning, I wandered the city some more. Had a tamale in a baguette for breakfast and hot chocolate from a guy on a bicycle outside the Santo Domingo church. 
Met a guy from Puebla that spoke a little English who had spent the night outside the church and we spent the day wandering around, taking photos, checking out little alleys and looking for street art. We visited a few churches and window shopped. 
We went to the huge Central de Abastos Market and grabbed chupalines (spicy grasshoppers), chicharon the size of a child (I kept trying to get a smaller piece, but it was still huge) and a fruit I had seen the previous day that I had never seen called mamey. 
We went for coffee and practiced our English/Spanish. Checked out a Graphics museum and a few art galleries and grabbed homemade ice cream at Manolo Nieves. I chose Albahacar con queso cabra, only because I had no idea what it was. Turns out it is basil and goat cheese, and it was surprisingly delicious and refreshing. Went to the Centro Fotografico Alvarez Bravo that is smaller but packed with a great black and white photography exhibit. My friend and I parted ways, as I went back to shower. My hotel doesn't appear to have hotel water at the times I shower. Strange because it does at other times, but not that bad as it is hot and a cool shower is nice-ish? Headed to a recommended place called 
The hotel shows me on a map where to go to catch the bus or colective taxis to Tlacolula for huge Sunday Market. I find the area behind the baseball stadium, but can't find the bus. Some guy waves my down and offers me a spot in a small colectivo taxi car. Maybe not the most comfortable ride, but cheap and left right away:) I arrive early before the other tourists and enjoy a hot chocolate and a yummy torta for breakfast while chatting with merchants and watching them set up. People come to this market in colorful traditional clothing. 
Other tourists started showing up and some were being super rude, sticking cameras in their faces and taking pictures of them without even speaking to them or asking permission. I got in an argument with a guy over it after watching him do it to an elderly lady, so I stepped in front of the camera and gestured to her to ask if it was okay. She shook her head now and tried to hide her face and he continued. Maybe I just unleashed on the dude, but he had it coming. She smiled and shook and clenched my hand after he left, making it totally worth the confrontation.
There was some BBQing set up that I had to watch for a while to figure out how it worked. I figured out how to go to one of the butcher stalls and was given the meat I chose on a plate. I took it over to the grill the butcher sent me to to start cooking the meat I just purchased. Vendors see a new person on the grill and flock over with all kinds of accompaniments: peppers, onions, salsa, avocado, tortillas, etc. (all for a few pesos). Nearby locals try to help me through the process. Since most come in large bunches and much more than even I can eat, I am throwing extra veggies and things on neighbors' grills (much to the amusement of everyone). 
It was pretty fun! Some tour group came by and started explaining to the group what I was doing, at which point my perfect English "I have NO idea what I am doing... I am from Seattle!" surprised and made them all laugh. Later, headed over to a beautiful church in the town plaza. I grabbed a some random drink called tejate (corn, mamey seeds, peanuts and chocolate drink?). Strange and not my favorite, but worth 5 pesos. Mass was going on in the church, so I headed over to check out a free medical clinic they had going on. Pretty neat set-up with a mammogram bus, glucose checks and vital sign checks, along with alternative medicine stuff. 
One of the staff talked me in to playing some ring toss game and I won a free t-shirt (apparently, the ring toss is not my strong suit and I was initially beat by a five year old). Then went back to check out the church, which had a beautiful silver chandelier-filled chapel. And chatted about mezcal with a small batch artisanal mezcal producer who had set up a stand next to a nun selling cookies. Nope...totally not awkward!
I soon start seeing handmade signs for alebrijes for sale. Once I hit the actual town, the signs were basically on every house. It was amazing! There are over 30 artists, most running shops out of their houses. Most were just sitting in the dark, working on their craft. But each would greet you and flip the lights on of their workshop, full of hundreds of pieces to choose from. 
And a small fraction of the price, from what you can buy them for here in the States. Each artist has their own style and I learned so much! Some families carve the wood into the figurines and others paint them. Some use different types of wood. Some make more realistic looking animals and some more fanciful. 
Some use bright colors and some incorporate more of the natural wood look, using the unique knots and gnarls of each specific piece of wood. Most did not speak much English, and yet again, I wish I spoke Spanish so I could have asked more questions and learned more. Spent all day wandering the town. 
Most had a no photographs rule, so you will just have to take my word on it about how amazing some of these pieces are. Sadly, I couldn't find any restaurants open for food (I did not see any other tourists, other than a busload of nearby school kids on a field trip). I tided myself over when I tracked down an old woman making handmade ice cream by twirling the metal containers in a wooden barrel full of ice and salt. Three flavors and 5 pesos a scoop, I tried all three. Super yummy! 
I managed to choose some of my favorites and purchase several different alebrijes to take home, trying to spread my money out between different families. But eventually headed back to the city, as I was super hungry and pretty hot after walking around all day in the sun. Walked back to the main highway and waited for a shuttle bus to come by. But most that passed me were full. The highway was hot with no shade. A big rig commercial truck pulled up and I saw the guy just watching me from his truck. I was wondering if it was going to be an issue, but he stayed in the truck. Finally, I flagged down a shuttle bus that wasn't full. The trucker made sure I got on, tipped his hat and smiled and waved. Pretty sure he was just making sure I was okay in the heat, by myself. So nice! 
I decided to try out as many different restaurants as possible by just eating appetizers in each. I went back to El Escapulario for the chile rellenos with cheese curds, nuts, and an orange sauce. Seriously, sooooo good!! I tried guarachos one of the recommended and highly acclaimed Zanduga restaurant. I did not like the feel of the restaurant, which had a New York style chic meets Mexico vibe that may work for some, but I do not need when traveling. And I tried one other recommended restaurant, which also felt geared to tourists. I finished my night by visiting the ice cream store I had previously found and loved. Some random kid hit on me and asked me out, until he found out I was his dad's age at which point he introduced me to his dad... ummm, still a no. But at least I found out they had bought me my ice cream after they had left and I went to pay.
On my last day in this beautiful city, I stayed in the city to see more sights. I skipped the free breakfast at my hotel because I wanted to start my day with a fabulous breakfast at my now favorite El Escapulario. Coffee and super yummy omelet where you can pick three ingredients from the list which included grasshoppers or squash blossoms to the more basic cheese or chorizo. The lovely owner/chef and I chatted and I told her it was my last full day here, as I was flying home on my birthday early the next morning. The local baseball team was playing a home game that night, and I thought I would treat myself as an early birthday celebration. She made me promise to come in for my last dinner before the game, which was perfect as I loved every single dish she had brought to my table and I still hadn't tried her amarillo mole (yes, there really is enough mole varieties that you could eat a different one each day of the week). 
After breakfast, I headed to see the botanical garden, which is only available on a tour. The tour did not appear to be offered in English that day, as I asked and the not so nice people at the desk just shook their head and said "no, not today." So I went on the one in Spanish. The grounds were quite nice, but they herd you around like cattle, making sure everyone stays in a tight group and doesn't stray even a few feet from the others. 
Afterwards, I went to the nearby Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca, which was really nice and it turns out had great views of the botanical garden (and could have saved me the money and time of the tour). 
Walked to the local marketplace to pick up last minute gifts and wandered the city one last time before heading back to the hotel to pack for the early next morning departure. A few hours before the baseball game, I headed back to El Escapulario as promised for my 
last real meal in Oaxaca. Had the most wonderful meal with the subtle and deliciously flavored yellow mole. After my meal, the owner came over with a small decorated bag and handed it to me. In it was a red and blue embroidered shirt that she had gotten as a birthday gift for me. It totally made me cry at her generosity and kindness, which in turn made her tear up. So nice that someone would take the time to reach out and do something for an almost stranger who doesn't even really speak much of the same language. Hugs goodbye and off I go.
I walk over to the stadium for a Oaxaca Guerrero baseball game. There is fabulous street art along the whole street behind the stadium. I buy my ticket a few minutes before the game and get front row seat right above the dugout. Along with two big beers, and an official hat, the grand total is $23! 
I cheer hard for the home team, making everyone laugh around me. I take in all the differences such as the cheerleaders on the field between innings, the different food vendors, strange 80s hair metal band videos on the big screen, different song and lyrics for the seventh inning stretch, and how brutal people are at yelling at the umpires (I don't know all that much Spanish, but I do know when someone is talking about someone else's mother and the ump did not look very happy about it). 
But in the end, we scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 4-3!!! The crowd and players went wild and all the people in the stands were high fiving. Great way to spend a warm evening and great way to wrap up a fabulous trip. Oaxaca City is may just be one of my favorite cities ever. I honestly can't imagine anyone not loving it.