This weekend I tried to do two sets of field notes, one at Rayas, the heladeria that is most recommended on Google, and then I tried to do some in Triana because Kristen´s host mom apparently says the ice cream in Triana is better than the other regions. I was intrigued, so I went. It was so hot and stuffy that I only got one paragraph of notes down before I had to leave. Then I found out the shop I went to was a chain all over the city! So I´ll have to try Triana again next week. As for Rayas, Google did not disappoint. The picture above is of the ice cream I ate. Let me know if you can´t see it, and if so I´ll just stop putting pictures in the blogs and save them for the presentation.
7:30, 6/13
Rayas is packed. My pequeño cup is 3.20 euros, but you can get a small cone for 2. The ice cream itself is super creamy and delicious. There are two small tables in here, but too many people to seat them all. I sit at a small bar in a corner by two girls. They are done with their milkshakes but are still talking and are facing each other. They are about my age, give or take about 5 years either way. Two ladies sit at the table by the trashcan. A group of 4 people, maybe high school age, 3 girls and 1 boy, sit closer to the door, drinking smoothies. A small boy in a blue and green stripped polo wanders around, I don´t know who he belongs to. The rush at the counter has died down. A man orders a slushie and takes it to the other side of the girls. A couple sits outside. The 5 servers are all female, they wear blue aprons that match the color of the walls. They wear white polos underneath, and their hair in buns. There is a wide variety of flavors, maybe about 25 or so. Several people ask for small cups of water they fill up at the water fountain. The shop is a square shape with the counter taking up a large portion of the corner, and there is an employees door on the clear-but-not-see-through wall behind the counter. A new wave of people enter the store, many ordering cones. A baby carriage, grown men, a man and his daughter carrying motorcycle helmets. A man jokes with the server in a booming voice. There is not enough room to fit everyone in here, and many people eat outside. A woman wearing all white takes the seat next to me, with her cup with two flavors. She leaves when a table opens up. Some people stand while eating their ice cream in a corner. An older woman sitting by the girls eats her cone with a spoon. The blue-green shirt boy runs back i with a smaller boy wearing a matching shirt. They run outside and I hear squeals. The room is well lit. The girls leave. One fans herself with a red fan. They leave their trash on the counter and a server comes to clean it. The rush has once again died down, there are now 8 costumers in here, and many outside. There is a blue door behind me, and I don´t know where it goes. A man and a woman in formal wear share a large cup. There is no a male behind the counter in a blue shirt. Is he also a server? A 5th friend joins the high school group, and she pulls up a chair. I leave at 7:55.