Strange Stories

A couple of nights ago Asun and I went to a friend's house to have dinner. There were eight of us and we had a delightful time. It was a beautiful, warm night, perfect for being out on a nice terrace. The dinner, which was quite extraordinary, moved along at a nice, slow pace and lots of fun stories were told. Some of these stories were centered on the strange behaviour of others. Not gossipy stories, but rather elaborate dramas that would have struck me as simply apocryphal had they not been related by people I know and trust. Can humans really be that strange? Apparently, yes. No doubt our obsessions sometimes lead us to do things we later regret, but for the vast majority of us, these little aberrations still fall within a range of behaviours that most of us can identify with to one degree or another. Then there is the uniquely bizarre. So not by a long shot have I seen it all. I guess nothing should surprise me, but in fact I do keep getting surprised. (Being a slow learner has its advantages- I love surprises!) In any case, the stories went on and on, and we didn't get home until 3:30 in the morning. Yesterday was a pretty quiet day, just some work and doing stuff around the apartment. Now Asun and Daniela have to get ready to go back to Madrid, which I feel rather sad about, but it would be cruel not to let Daniela at least explore this opportunity to study ballet with another renowned master. I trust sardines are a good thing for aspiring ballerinas to include in their diet-on Sunday Daniela ate twenty, literally! A feast on the beach, thank you Manolo. And then the bullfight, a different kind of ballet.