La llegada del Otoño

Well, fall seems to have arrived in Valladolid. It was quite a sudden arrival. It was a hot summer day on Sunday, and now it’s Wednesday and people are thinking about winter coats already. My host mom said the cold is here to stay, but not everyone agrees. She said that the festival (see post above) used to be at the end of September, but they weren’t getting enough visitors because it was always too cold by that time.
Whether the weather is here to stay or not, I am enjoying it immensely. In fact, I may venture to say that fall is my new favorite season. The heat in Valladolid was unbearable at times. Of course, my problem might have been that I don’t have any shorts to wear, because I assumed that the biggest fashion faux pas in Europe was to wear shorts. I was correct, but I miscalculated the capri, or as I like to call them, manpri factor. I really don’t think I could do manpris, not at this phase in my life. Perhaps never.
Anyway, I’m enjoying the weather, because I have plenty of cool weather clothing. I also really savor the changing of seasons. It doesn’t matter what season it is, I love it when I walk outside and smell the season. How does one describe what fall smells like? I don’t know, but something inside me is capable of making this judgment. What does fall smell like in Valladolid? Cool, dry air, mixed with the aroma of food from whatever café or bakery you happen to be standing near, the fragrant perfumes and colognes of passersby (and for some reason, everyone over age 60 seems to wear the same ones), slight scent of diesel fumes from traffic, and the wafting curls of cigarette smoke. You might be disgusted by the last one, but I am not. It will always be my trigger scent for Europe, and I love it. Of course, I’ve always been one to like strange smells; when I was little I loved the smell of gasoline.
Today it rained for the first time since I’ve been here. So at the moment I would add the smell of rain. I’ve missed that smell. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone seventeen days without it (Julie, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry). This is why I couldn’t live in central or eastern Oregon (Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry). Although it is situated in a desert, Valladolid ultimately does not feel like a desert because it is an urban area with parks and trees.
And with that I’ll end this olfactory tour of Valladolid.