Mercado Doceanista

Did I mention that I live practically inside the Plaza de San Antonio? If not, then consider this a formal warning. I live in this plaza, and thus I have to pass through it to go essentially anywhere. Simple physics. You can imagine my excitement when two days ago I was walking through the plaza and saw a bunch of people hard at work setting up tents and medieval-looking flags and banners. After investigating the cause of all this raucous, mi madre told me that it was a book festival. Dang it. I have little interest in Spanish books. Oh well.

Then, a small miracle happened. The book festival turned out to actually be a food and artisan festival! Woohoo!

So, after two days of anticipation of what was supposed to be the best festival of my life, it finally arrived today! In fact, I am sitting in the middle of it right this very instant. Don't let my use of exclamation points or even the happy lead-in paragraph fool you. I am not pleased. As it turns out, I resent this festival very much. Not only can I no longer sit to use my computer without first buying something to eat, but I also can no longer see any remains of the beautiful plaza that I once called my home. I look to see the pretty view from my favorite bench and am surprised to see a pig being skewered and slices of octopus tentacles being handed out as free samples. Those aren't free samples! Free samples are when you walk through the food court at the mall and get all the sugared pretzel bites you can hold from Auntie Anne's.

Not to mention there is this trio of "musicians" playing bagpipes in innocent passerby's faces. Last time I checked, this wasn't Scotland. Okay, so maybe bagpipes are a European thing in general, but that noise should be outlawed, or banned from public areas at least.

I know I complain, but really, it is still so beautiful out here. Am I right? The festival only lasts four days, and knowing me, I will probably miss it when it's gone.