Leaving Madrid, returning to Sahagun, SIM troubles await

So I decided I wasn't feeling up to spending another day roaming around Madrid today, so I opted to catch the 11:30 train back to Sahagun. It was a nice trip and I listened to more of In Cold Blood and read more of Capote (not at the same time!). I had a nice baguette from the train station in Madrid to snack on during my trip, and I that Nalgene water bottle is really coming in handy. Not only does it hold water, but it offers the perfect shape for using as a neck support on trains! Multitaskers unite! My train got into Sahagun at about 3:20. As soon as the train crossed into Palencia though I lost my VodaFone ES signal. Much to my irritation my phone continued refusing to work in Sahagun as well as later in Moratinos. What I don't understand is it worked wonderfully in Madrid, not to mention both Paddy and Reb use VodaFone out here, so I know it's not a matter of lack of coverage. I really don't want to buy a new phone. I headed over to German's with all my stuff to check my email and upload some pictures for my family, then met Paddy, James, and Sebastien over at Cafe Zentral for a coffee. After we got home I called up VodaFone's customer service line and spent 20 minutes on the phone, first trying to get to the English speaking operator (why is it in the States you are immediately given an option for Spanish, but in other countries there's no choice for English?) and then walking through everything I'd already done on my own with the operator who was of no help to me. Why can't I just be a normal ignorant customer so the tech service people can go through their standard solutions without me saying “Oh, I've already done all this...”? Oh well. I noshed some pate that was left in the fridge, and mashed potatoes and sausages Paddy had made earlier in the day for lunch. Good stuff, and I realized I was hungry after just the bread I'd eaten most of the morning. Spent some time reading my book and charging my iPod up after that. Later on Sebastien made dinner for us, more mash, some chicken breasts, and a really brilliant salad he whipped up. We'd bought fresh spinach instead of lettuce, and he was so confused that he could use it just as easily to make a salad. Here in Europe when people use the word “salad” they really mean “lettuce.” So he was bewildered when we grabbed spinach for “salad” (our way with tomatoes, cheese, etc.) and wasn't sure how cooked spinach would taste instead of lettuce. I assured him it was good stuff and he tried some. To his surprise he like it a lot more than lettuce, and so mixed up some tomatoes, cheese, olive oil, peas, and the spinach. It was quite good. Oh, and he put a couple egg yolks in the mash. First time for everything I suppose. Read some more after dinner, and now it's time for bed. I'm going to sleep in my sleeping bag from now on I think. It's so warm and cozy. (Thanks Jimmy!) Ciao.