Cena Española

Last night I went to a Spanish dinner with some Spanish friends. Actually there were four Spaniards, one Brazilian, three Czechs, and me. :)

We went to a restaurant that I got terribly lost trying to find. I got to I.P. Pavlova without a problem, and from there I was supposed to take the number 11 tram just a couple of stops to Italska. I got out of the tram to IP Pavlova and didn't see an 11 anywhere. As I was standing there, a guy came up to talk to me who was about 40 years old and a bit of a creeper. He kept speaking Czech and I finally said, "I don't speak Czech."
"English?"
"Yes."
"Arabic?"
"Not re.. wait, what?"
"I saw your face and I thought you were Arab, because of your eyes." He then asked if he could see me tomorrow (today) for a coffee, and I just said a polite no.

It's always nice to be picked out on the street as an Arab though :) Makes me feel closer to my roots.

I tried to ask a Czech woman where I could get the number 11 tram to Italska, but she just looked at me with a burning, angry stare and then looked away. So I just said, "Fine," and went to an Indian guy behind her and asked him. He was super nice. She then turned around, maybe feeling bad, to try to help but at that point I didn't want to hear what she had to say. How rude when someone just asks you where a street is and you just give a bitchy look and roll your eyes away. She could have just said something - anything - even in Czech - and given a little smile and I'd have left her alone. Anyway, the Indian guy was super nice and showed me where the 11 would stop. It started to rain then, so I hurriedly got on the tram and, content, waited a few stops.

Except none of the stops sounded familiar. After 4 stops I realized I was going the wrong way on the tram, and had to get off (in the rain) and turn around and go 6 stops now. I found the restaurant after that relatively easily, and was only about 15 minutes late.

The dinner was lovely, and everyone was so welcoming and nice. The Czech people spoke really great Spanish, I spoke a lot of Portuguese with the Brazilian guy (Marcelo), and everyone seemed to have a great time. The food was good and not overpriced, and the evening was just a success all around. It's always nice to meet new people.

We left around 11 (yes, 4-hour dinner) and I got home around midnight because I got a bit lost again. All in all though I was glad I went, even if I'm exhausted today.


In other news, I found a 70cm TV for 1900Kc :) Petr said he'll help me carry it up the stairs, and that I can bring it home in a taxi (I'm buying it used from someone who left the country). I will pay him back with 500 games of bowling and his very own Mii. :)