Nothing Says Solstice Like Incendiary Devices

I know all of you enjoyed your summer solstice.

Wait, WHEN is the summer solstice, you ask? June 23rd. Duh.

It's okay, I understand. Most years, I really could care less about the summer solstice. Just like most Spaniards could care less about when Thanksgiving is. However, the Spanish care a whole lot about the Summer Solstice, because it heralds the festival of San Joan (St. John the Baptist).

SAN JUAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps you are wondering how the Spanish celebrate the solstice?

Maybe you're thinking some family bonding, a large dinner...you know, those staple traditions of human festivities. Well, yes and yes.

If you really want to know, San Juan is basically like a frat party all across Spain.

You think I am joking. No, I am not. On San Juan, there are bonfires in the streets of Terrassa, hogueras seven feet tall. Firecrackers (petardos) exploding all through the night, in the streets, by your feet. It both looks and sounds like a war zone, except people are walking around nonchalantly (or staggering around, depending on their state of sobriety) like nothing is wrong.

You know how, in the Bay Area, or in Michigan, or just in the US in general, we have to go to a body of water to observe fireworks? Drive 15 minutes, something like that? Well, the Spanish don't believe in pesky fire regulations. I literally sat out on the patio and watched fireworks (fuegos artificiales) emerge from behind buildings. In the middle of a city of 200,000 people. No water for miles. Even as I type this, there are still firecrackers going off in the streets.

On the news this morning, I got to watch the whole nation of Spain do the Walk of Shame. On the beaches, it looked like a shipment of beer bottles had capsized in the water and thousands of bottles had drifted ashore. There were bottles everywhere. We got to watch the volunteers cleaning the beaches prod people into consciousness who had passed out and laid comatose on the beach for the night.

It's sort of oddly amusing to be living in a country that has the ability to outshine college parties.

COCA. AND NO, NOT COCAINE.

Sort of like we have turkey and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, the Spanish have food that is special for San Joan/San Juan/ St. John the Baptist. The first food is called coca. For those of you who know who to say various drugs in Spanish (why you know that, I don't want to know), you already know that "coca" is also the word for cocaine. Moreover, the word "coca" is part of Diet Coca Cola, my one true love, but that's beside the point. So, my boss at work (Carles. Awesome guy. Super funny.) was explaining San Juan to me, and he basically says to me, "And we eat coca. No, I don't mean this kind," And then he mimes snorting cocaine. In his office. Right after discussing important benchmarks for Spanish social welfare. Like I said, kind of an awesome guy.

But yeah, coca is also a very delicious type of pastry. There are five kinds...and I only know how to say three of them in English. There is

• Coca Brioix (that's Catalan. No clue what it is in English, or Spanish)
  
• Coca de nata (I don't know if this is Spanish or Catalan)
• Coca de xocolat (Catalan for coca of chocolate)
• Coca de fruta (this is especially for San Juan. The others are a year-round thing, but this kind is for the solstice) Oh, and that's Fruit coca, for those of you who don't speak Spanish
  
• Coca de crema (Cream coca. Or creme coca. Both synonyms for DELICIOUS)
  
• I think there are actually others...but I have no idea what they are. As you can tell, I'm not exactly an expert here.
  

So Montse insisted on buying three of the five kinds for me to try. Long story short, I am now a coca addict...in both the pastry and beverage sense. The coca de fruta is AWESOMENESSSS, and the coca de crema is deliciousness. I am currently fighting the urge to sneak some from the fridge. So good.

They are basically pastry bread with things inside. Chocolate, cream, fruit, straight up bread, any way you do them, they are amazing. Check the pictures:

From 2009-06-24 Barcelona (2)

Left: Coca of some unknown, but delicious, variety; middle, coca de creme; right; coca de fruta...don't worry, we only bought have of one, so we didn't actually eat all that ourselves.

This is a whole one:

From 2009-06-24 Barcelona (2)

It's the one with colorful things on it. Those would be fruta. I am salivating just thinking about it...

Speaking of sneaking food, I have decided I am now the Ladron de Melocoton (Peach Thief). For two reasons:

1. It rhymes. Best reason ever.
2. I have this unfortunate habit of eating all the peaches I can find.

Spanish peaches are rather excellent. And I have a strong, strong sweet tooth. Strong here defined as Superman strong. Chuck Norris strong. Think of the strongest thing you can, and that is my sweet tooth. So, when I see peaches, those peaches are mine.

Apparently I'm turning into a fruit klepto. But I do pay for them...actually, lies. Montse pays for them, and I eat them. But she told me I could eat what was in the fridge. She probably just didn't think I'd eat every single peach in her fridge.

For now, that is all. I am going to go either a) try to avoid stealing coca from the fridge, or b) try, fail, and then steal coca from the fridge.