General Curiosities & Best Damn Haircut

So...we're not in Kansas anymore? By which I mean the United States as a whole, or at least suburbia. Here are some little differences we've encountered, in no particular order:

WHERE ARE THE SQUIRRELS?

Our yard in Kentucky was native to what we considered the typcial run of rodents. Some pumpkins volunteered from the Halloween jack-o'-lanterns we threw in the compost, and then the rodents found the pumpkins. This meant that the everyday, casual glance out the house window into the yard was typically met with the spying of a rather obese squirrel. Then when we said goodbye to our puppers, the bunnies also became comically, if not audaciously, fat. We also had moles, chipmunks, opossums, and the occasional raccoon, fox, or deer.

In Zaragoza, the predominant wild animal is the - pidgeon. By which I mean to say - I haven't seen a squirrel, rabbit, or chipmunk of any kind. (And thankfully no mice or rats yet either.) There was a park close to the hotel - a big park - and...nothing but the birds. It's a little eerie. (I read online that there was a squirrel disease, but I mean I have seen ZERO wild, mammalian creatures.) No bulls either.

There are plenty of pidgeons though, and other birds as well. And the bugs ate me alive (mosquitoes?) one night. So far, our wildlife fancy has been piqued by naught but the magpie, which looks like a crow or grackel with a white stripe across the belly and wings. 

In our limited time here, we also haven't seen any domestic cats, but there are an appreciable number of dogs being walked down all the city streets and being set free to scamper and frolic in the parks. Big dogs, little dogs, all and many kinds.

24-Hour Pizza Machine

What you see before you is a 24-hour pizza vending machine:

We've seen a number of these across town. We haven't seen anyone use one, and maybe this is a holdover from the pandemic, but we are curious.

I also thought there were 24-hour burger and fry machines, but upon closer inspection, the "burger" advertised on the side wasn't available. It's just vending machines, including a coffee vending machine for when you're desperate. (Maybe the coffee's good. No judgments here.)

Side note: I think that Pica & Pica is a play on words? Pica pica is the scientific name of the Eurasian magpie, and picar in Spanish can mean to nibble or snack.

POSTSCRIPT/CORRECTION: We later found another Pica & Pica station with burgers, burritos, and sandwiches:

Outdoor Workout

In addition to the traditional playgrounds for children, we've seen a number of outdoor training circuits like this one for adults:

These exercise machines are designed to use bodyweight as resistance. Currie also spotted a couple park benches with pedals in front of them, so you can presumably pedal in the park. We tried them out for sure, but I don't know if these will be part of our regular routine when we settle into a more permanent residence.

Best Damn Haircut

I admittedly don't have a lot of experience when it comes to getting a nice haircut. I buzz my head, people. Since the pandemic, I've been doing my own hair and beard with my own clippers with the help of my son.

Well we got here, and we brought some power adapters, but the voltage was NOT right for my clippers, because they were vibrating on hypersonic. I was not going to put that thing close to the only face I plan to have for the rest of my life.

So I braved the local barber shop, of which there are quite a few - and I felt like I was getting ready to play for Real Madrid (world-famous soccer team) in that chair. Somehow my barber found 3 layers of hair on my bald head, and then there was the beard taming and the thorough straight razor shave and work around all the edges. And the scalp and beard oil or who knows what happened. It was like one of those good massages where you feel like you've been beat up and like a million bucks afterwards. Best. Damn. Haircut.

Yes, I know Eden Hazard is younger and cuter, but I felt like Eden Hazard on the day he signed for Real Madrid.

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Magpie photo taken from https://birdfact.com/articles/magpie-nesting

Even better, if you want to see and hear them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uETpYbqdbGI