“EEEeeiiii!!… chocolat?” (Or, The Importance Of the Do Not Disturb Sign).

voltee ♦ December 4, 2010 ♦ 3 Comments

Item: Blouse Color/Fabric: Olive with black beading, silk Designer: Vera Wang Where Purchased: ideeli.com (go here and join! http://www.ideeli.com/invite/voltee) Years Owned: 1
I apologize that I have been so delinquent in posting. It’s just getting harder and harder for me to write at night. Somehow in the last week and a half I have suddenly returned to having appointments before 9AM. It seems like it happened before I even had a chance to think about it. If I end up having a somewhat late night, I am either too tired to start writing, or I have to be up in six or less hours and it would be a bad idea.
I will keep trying to figure out the timing of this. I do much prefer writing at night when I can.
This blouse is one of my very favorite ideeli Red Sale finds. My fingers were quick like lightening that day, and I scored this beautiful piece for an amazing price. (Wonder if you have what it takes to try competitive shopping? Try it here.)I have only worn this a single time, and it was in Spain. Madrid, in fact. I still have a hard time believing that our trip was over so quickly, given how much time we had to spend there.
I still haven’t unpacked everything. Well, what I haven’t unpacked is mostly Nate’s. Unpacking is one of his absolute worst skills. Sometimes I think that he would rather just forget about the items he brought somewhere and never see them again than take the trouble to remove them from the suitcase and put them back where they belong.
A good deal of this reluctance is probably due to the fact that I purloined the entire closet space and moved all of his clothing to the spare bedroom, where there is not as much room. But it simply couldn’t be helped.
Anyway, so I have been saving my words about Spain, hoping that by spreading out my remembrances I will somehow make the trip last longer. In my thoughts, at least.
Before I left for Spain, I really didn’t give much thought to Madrid. Most of my dreamings and plannings involved Barcelona. Barcelona just had been more deeply entrenched in my imagination, due to having read more literary works describing it, knowing more people who had been there, seeing it more in movies and tv, and knowing more than one wonderful song about it.
Of course I thought Madrid would be nice. I just did not expect it to grab a hold of my heart so quickly and easily.
We stayed in a dreamy, castle like hotel due to a lucky, 2am Priceline request. It was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, and I will never forget the tall, skinny doorman in his quirky red top hat and Buddy Holly glasses, rumbling “Buenas dias” to us ever day in his unimaginable bass. It was a perfect hotel.
It was colder in Madrid than anywhere else we stayed, but it was still warm enough to feel quite comfortable in my linen jacket or just a sweater. Here I am perusing a quaint and curious book fair in my silk blouse and sweater:

I didn’t even buy a single book. I was hoping against hope that I would find something old about Spain or Spanish history, a little beat up or water-damaged and therefore cheap, with beautiful plates I could display. And I bet I could have found one had I enough time.
But since we we in Madrid for barely two days, there really wasn’t time for shopping.
We didn’t see museums, really, either. Not even the legendary Prado. I think we out-museumed ourselves the first time we went to Europe. The only one we went to was part museum, part castle, the lavish and glittering Palacio Real. And it took much convincing to get Nate to even do that.
Mostly we just strolled around and ate amazing things and absorbed majestic sights. It spite of all the crowds of people bustling everywhere, and the crazy, unorganized traffic, Madrid was so surprisingly laid back. Our favorite activity was to sit in one of the numerous open air plazas watching people and street performers and drinking a beer or two.
The tastes I remember most are the creamy, tangy combination of beets and avocados in a giant salad, our first taste of paella, olives that tasted of oregano, mud-like coffee with a thick layer of cold fresh cream, lots of salty ham, pastries filled with sweet potato paste, sweet, crispy churros dipped in a mug of melted dark chocolate, and our favorite breakfast bocadillo, ham and egg on thick, slightly sweet, fried bread. And yes, I did say that we were only there for two days!
The second day we were there, after some pretty hard touristing, we were hit by a wave of exhaustion. We went back to our hotel around 6 or so, intending to rest for a while and then head out into the night for cold beer, or perhaps another round of chocolate and churros.
Insted, we got into bed and watched four episodes of the second season of Dexter and went to bed before 10. It was wonderful!
We forgot, though, about the turn-down service that happens at nice hotels. At some point, there was a brisk knock at the door, and Nate got up in only his underpants to through on some type of clothes and answer.
He had picked up a pair of pants when the door was opened and swiftly closed again by an embarrassed maid. As I howled with laughter, she opened the door a tiny crack, just enough for us to see her clutching two chocolate bars in her hand.
“Chocolat?” she asked timidly.
This is one of my favorite memories ever. I don’t think I can ever properly recall the hilarity. Just the word, “chocolat,” spoken quietly is enough to make me giggle at any moment. It’s even better when we add in the imaginary scream the maid surely wished to do. I don’t think it will ever get old.
I do love this blouse, though. I have to admit that the fit is sort of strange. It’s almost too small, but yet a little boxy at the same time. But the silk is so dreamy and feels amazing. I also love the color; it’s an unusual shade of green, and I don’t think I have anything else this color. I think this one should stay around for a while. It’s earned more than a single wear.

**I have worn this again, and I loved it. I want to keep it around for more!