Laura A. recommended that I visit Valor in Salamanca, but unfortunately I did not have time (or…read morecapacity in my stomach) while I was there. Thankfully, I had one more opportunity to try Valor's chocolate a la taza (the hot drinking chocolate) because there is a location in Vigo not far from Rua Principe, where all of the shops are. The chocolate is marvelous; so rich, thick, and slightly bitter. It was such an incredible indulgence! There is also the option to order a cup of chocolate with churros, but I decided not to because churros never sit well in my stomach. So why only three stars for a five-star cup of chocolate, do you ask? Well, the woman working there was so rude to the point that I just wanted to get up and leave. She took forever to come out of the kitchen to greet me at the bar and was really obnoxious about saying she didn't understand me - trying to bring me a large instead of the smaller size (and the two words sound nothing alike) - and running off as I was correcting her. She also kind of just threw the cheque at me. Basically, she acted like I was hugely inconveniencing her the entire time I was there. I loved my first cup of Valor chocolate, I just wish the experience could have been more pleasant. There's still Bonilla, which is about a 5 minute walk away, which also has very good chocolate.

Para mi gusto, el mejor chocolate a la taza, auténtico chocolate derretido, una delicia para el…read morepaladar. Los churros, que en realidad son porras, están bastante grasientos pero se comen con felicidad. Es caro respecto a lo que suele costar de media un chocolate con churros en España pero la calidad es sublime. Carta amplia en la que destacan mousses, helados, crepes, batidos, bombones... Un paraiso para Los chocoadictos!

Galicians are very literal when it comes to marketing or describing their products ("it's okay, I…read moreguess" is a commonly-heard phrase); you wouldn't see advertising or branding on the level of Super Bowl commercials. The name "Bo Pan" is one of these "only in Galicia" store names - it translates to "Good Bread". As a connoisseur of Galician carbohydrates, I needed to know whether Bo Pan lived up to its namesake. The shopkeeper was such a nice woman; she had so much patience with the (kind of rude) girl in queue ahead of me. When it was my turn, I asked her if she had empanadillas de bacalao, because not that many bakeries in the neighborhood have them and I was experiencing a very severe craving! She said yes, so I asked for an empandilla and a magdalena to share with my friend with our afternoon coffee. The crust/ pastry portion of the empanadilla was excellent - it had the doughy texture and flavor that an empanada ought to have. But the filling made me so upset - there was hardly any bacalao and the empanadilla was filled with air! I felt so ripped off! The magdalena, however, made my disappointment wane (if only slightly). It was lemony, not too sweet, but just a little too dry. So perhaps the name "Bo Pan" is a little misleading due to my experience; "Just Okay Bread" would have been more accurate.

My quest continues: global domination in the form of Yelping every cafe and espresso bar in the…read morePontevedra province. After losing miserably to the son of my host family at Call of Duty, I had to treat the winner to a coffee. We descended upon Muffins Café, due to its proximity to the ATSA bus stop (God only knows how many of those buses we've missed) and its inviting outdoor patio. The cafe itself is very modern and trendy, even by the standards of my very modern and trendy Spanish friends. The decor is sleek (I think the bar stools are from Ikea) and the photos and paintings that adorn the wall are international in both feel and scope. Despite the departure from the traditional cafeteria ambiance, Muffins Café does not come off as pretentious. I received an average café solo. The consistency was a little thin for my liking, although the coffee did not lack in flavor. It was also strange to receive a gominola (gummy candy) with coffee, but I suppose there's a first for everything. For those that prefer tea, Muffins offers a selection of tea much larger than all of the cafeterias in the area (and probably all of Pontevedra combined). After a caffeine break, it was time to head to a local bar to play some futbolin and do something about my losing streak...