June 10-14, 2010
So I am about 5 cities behind and have a lot of catching up to do. We left for Paris on June 10th, right after school again. This time it was the five of us girls, Dan, Graham, and Jack. We got to the airport and found our gate with plenty of time to kill. Preethi gave us a quick French tutorial this time (bonjour, au revoir, bonsoir, desole, excusez-moi, s'il vous plait, merci, merci beaucoup, and je ne parle pas francais). When we were exchanging numbers with Dan, Yelena thought she should try to pull a "what whaaaat!", but she couldn't quite pull it off. Hahaaha--we won't let her live it down now. About 5 minutes before we were supposed to board, there was mass confusion at our gate. We turned around and found that our gate had been switched so everyone took off toward the other side of the airport to get to the right gate. We boarded about fifteen minutes later. We really shouldn't have been in any hurry, though. Our plane sat on the ground for an hour and a half, ready to take off but not moving. I don't know what was going on but it was the most frustrating flight ever. It was a shaky take-off and a bumpy landing. We took a train into the city center then the metro to get to our hostel. The map we got at the airport only had big streets labeled on it so we didn't have a clue where to go when we got off the metro. Luckily, there were 3 guys standing right outside of our metro stop and one of them had an iPhone, so he looked up our hostel on a map and pointed us in the right direction. As they were giving us directions, Mary Ellen tried to whisper to Preethi, "I thought they hated us". Buuut she was a little too loud and one of the guys helping us looked at her kind of funny :) That was one stereotype I didn't find at all in Paris. People say that French people are rude or aren't friendly, but everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful.
We found our hostel--Hotel Mondia--and checked in. It had the tiniest, red, spiral staircase. When we got to our rooms, we found out that two people had to share the queen-sized bed. After discussing our sleeping habits (who kicks in their sleep, who hits, who can't stay still) for about 15 min, Sarah and I decided to share it. We unpacked our bags, checked out our view from the balcony, freshened up, and went out to dinner. There was this plaza-like thing near our hostel with tons of restaurants to pick from. We went to a cute, little Italian place since we allll love Italian food. The inside of the restaurant was adorable! There were mirrors and old paintings everywhere. I got this penne basil pasta that was delicious! Actually, everybody's food was delicious. We all sampled each other's and our plates were spotless about 5 minutes after we started eating. We took before and after pictures because it was hilarious how spotless every single plate was. Guess we were a little hungry.
We headed back to the hostel after dinner and planned our weekend in Paris. We never have to do too much planning though because Lauren made these INCREDIBLE guides to the cities I'm visiting. We just have to see where things are at on the map, look up the weather, and decide which days we want to do what. After that, we went to bed. Even though Sarah and I move the least in our sleep, we still ended up waking each other up. I forgot that I usually lay diagnol in big beds. I woke up to Sarah's sleep-talking and realized I was laying diagnol across the bed. I was half asleep and thought she was telling me to move over, but in the morning she told me she didn't even realize I was taking up the whole bed and that she was just sleep-talking and then she woke up as she was sleep-talking, kept talking anyway, realized what she was doing, and then decided to go back to sleep.
The next day we woke up early and got breakfast at this adorable little pastry shop that we all fell in love with. I wanted to taste everything in that shop because it all looked so good. I got this little pastry with berries in it and an orange juice--soooo yummy! We headed to the metro to go the Palace of Versailles. By the way, the metro in Paris is kind of a joke. When you put your ticket through, the doors stay open long enough for a couple people to run through so most people just did that. Some random guy pushed up against Mary Ellen and scooted through behind her. We bought a 10 pass (and later we found out we bought the 10 pass that was for people 10 years old or younger so it was cheaper) and hopped on the 3 level metro! It had a ground floor, upstairs, and basement.
We got to the enormous, gorgeous, golden Palace of Versailles and went inside. It actually didn't happen that quickly--we took 3 bathroom and 2 food/drink breaks before we even got to the doors of the palace (haha!). The palace was unbelievable, with gold, satin, crystals, chandeliers, incredible paintings & statues in every corner we turned. We saw Louis XIV's bedroom, Marie Antoinette's house, the Temple of Love, the miles and miles of the breathtaking gardens, Le Boudoir, everythinggg. We got lucky too--it was supposed to rain on Friday but we had blue skies and a shining sun alllll day long! It was perfect. We spent hours & hours at Versailles, and by the time we were finished, we were starving. So afterward, we went to a kabob place on this little street lined with different kinds of restaurants. I had a doner kabob and tropical juice--both delicious!
We took the metro back into the city center to see Notre Dame--the Gothic cathedral dedicated to Mary. I loved the intricate doors and all of the little details of the church. Like the statues on the outside--there are four men standing in a line, and the last one is standing on a little man instead of a platform. I kept picturing Quasimodo at the top with the gargoyles perched over him :) The inside is just as amazing as the outside--especially the stained glass! The church is surrounded by the beautiful River Seine.
We bought some paintings and postcards just on the other side of the river. We walked around the St. Michel area to scope out a place to go for the France vs. Uruguay game. We were on our way to the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore when we found this cute little shop with accessories from ALL over the world! It was so cool! We finally got to Shakespeare & Co, which is absolutely the cutest bookstore everrr. It has shelves and shelves of all kinds of books--ancient, new, kids, classics, poetry, mysteries, everything. It had a little wishing well on the bottom floor and a ladder like off of Beauty & the Beast. Upstairs, there were a bunch of different rooms. Each room was full of books, but had a little something else in it too. One room had a bed and a piano, another room had big windows looking out onto the streets of Paris, and another room had this little hut built around a typewriter with messages left on little pieces of paper from people who had been there over the years. There were quotes and old pictures on almost every wall and people reading on the benches, couches, and chairs.
After our trip to the bookstore, it was almost time to watch the France vs. Uruguay World Cup match! We went to Cafe Le Petit Pont where EVERYONE was watching the game. The workers were all wearing France jerseys and painting the French flag on all of the customers' faces. The game wasn't too exciting (final score 0-0), but it was still a blast! They had the most delicious beer there--I wish I would have asked what it was! They kept serving drinks and desserts with little fire crackers or sparklers in them.
After dinner, we went across the street to see Notre Dame at night. It was beautiful! Then we took the metro to Moulin Rouge. It looked awesome with all of the lights on at night! It started to rain while we were there, though, so we didn't stay long. It was getting late anyway, so after we took a few pictures there, we headed back to the hostel for the night.
On Saturday, we woke up early to go the Louvre. The adorable little pastry shop from the first day was closed, so we found another one down the street. I picked up a banana that was sitting on the counter next to some other food for sale. There was only one banana sitting there, which I thought was kind of strange, but I picked it up and picked out a croissant. When I was getting ready to pay, the cute French girl who was working told me that the banana was hers. SOOO embarrassing! I apologized and gave her the banana back, but while we were eating breakfast at the bar, she gave me the banana and told me to keep it. I insisted that she take it back, but she wouldn't, so I just thanked her again. It was pretty hilarious.
After breakfast, we went to the LOUVRE!! I've dreamed for that day to come and couldn't believe I was actually there. We saw They Dying Slave, Psyche & Cupid, Venus de Milo, The Three Graces, The Winged Victory, Hammurabi's Code, the Grand Sphinx, Mona Lisa, Pierrot, The Wedding Feast at Cana, and sooo much more! It was unbelievable, and the Louvre is ENORMOUS! Sarah, Yelena, and I got the audio tour guides and looked like the biggest tourists in the world. We eventually kind of forgot we had them. I wouldn't recommend getting them if you don't have too much time to spend there. The room with the Mona Lisa was packed! Everyone was pushing, trying to get a picture of the tiny Mona Lisa that had a huge wall all to itself. When we were done with the museum (or as done as we could be), we went out to the courtyard to take pictures with the pyramids. The sun came out as soon as we went outside! Besides London, we have been EXTREMELY lucky with the weather. On Friday, one lady in Paris said we brought the sun with us because it had been so gloomy in the past week.
We decided to get lunch and walked through this cute, little park on the way there. We got some sandwiches at a cafe, drooled outside the window of Angelina's (a sweet shop), and stopped by Palais de la Decouverte. We called it the Russian building the whole time because there was a Russian festival thing going on inside. There were GIANT babushka dolls, a dance performance, and little booths inside. Afterward, we decided to go shopping on Champs-Elysees--the street with all of the major designers: Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, and all of that. There was a line down the block just to get into the Louis Vuitton store--it was insane! I felt a bit out of place in those stores, so Mary Ellen and I decided to hit up the Zara of Paris. The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of Champs-Elysees, so we went there afterward. Jack found us right as we were going to Arc de Triomphe--he found us at the Palace of Versailles too! Our phones weren't really working, but Jack always managed to find us somehow. We don't understand how he does it.
We took the underground tunnel to get to the Arc de Triomphe because the roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe is absolutely insane! There are no lines for lanes and the road is gigantic--it was madness. After we were done at the Arc de Triomphe, we ended up sprinting across the intersection anyway. We always seem to cross the busiest intersections--even the ones Lauren told me specifically not to (sorryyy!). We hiked up the tiny, spiral staircase all the way to the top of the arch (Keep in mind that it is the biggest triumphal arch in the world!) It was built for all of Napoleon's conquests, and since 1920, the tomb of France's unknown soldier has been sheltered underneath the arch with its eternal falme burning for all of the dead of the 2 world wars. We could see the entire city of Paris from the top! Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, the Louvre, Napoleon's tomb, THE EIFFEL TOWER, and everything! We spent a lot of time at the top, taking pictures and enjoying the view. We watched the veterans parade on Champs-Elysees march toward the arch, and then they had a little ceremony underneath. We went down and saw all of the cute, old French veterans and the eternal flame.
We decided to walk toward the Eiffel Tower to have dinner. Sarah and Yelena went to the FIFA Fan Festival (which I really wish I would have gone to, but at the same time I loved the dinner at the restaurant we went to). Jack, Mary Ellen, Preethi, and I ate some authentic French food, like onion soup and escargot! The snails were actually pretty good. The green juice inside the shells made me even more skeptical than before, but it just tasted like garlicy, buttery, salty seafood. We headed to the Eiffel Tower after dinner to watch the light show. It was beautiful! Another thing that you can't capture its beauty in a photograph. That seems to be the case for a lot of things I see in Europe. We ended our night here, headed back to the hostel, and passed out!
On Sunday, we had breakfast at the same pastry shop where I tried taking the worker's banana. Afterward, we went to the Eiffel Tower for the second time--but this time we went up! Yelena's friend, Marie, lives in Paris and met up with us at the bottom of the tower. She said she had been up the tower a few times but never to the top. She spent the day with us and helped us out a TON! The tower was built for the 1889 World Exposition and was the world's tallest building until 1930. We hiked the 1021 steps up to the second level of the tower and took the elevator from there to the top. I didn't think the steps were too bad--I thought the ones to the Arc de Triomphe were worse. I loved seeing all of the rods and beams and the elevator and the wires and all of that on the inside. On the outside of the elevator, they have this statue of a man (like a conductor), and for a second I freaked out because I thought it was an actual person! I took a video in the glass elevator on the way to the very top, but it didn't turn out very well because I kept flipping the camera. I always get so scared on the way up to the top of these tall buildings, but once I get up there, I'm fine. The view was incredible! There was a champagne bar at the very top of the tower, and restaurants on the ground, first, and second levels. At the top, they had pictures of the flags of the countries all around the tower with the name of the city, the distance of how far away it is from the eiffel tower, and in what direction. It was really neat! The tower is absolutely enormous. I felt like an ant standing underneath it, and no picture could capture how big it actually is. It looks amazing at every time of the day too.
After our Eiffel Tower adventure, we went to get lunch at an Italian restaurant (surprise, surprise). It was delicious! I had the Regina pizza with ham, cheese, and mushrooms. Then, we went to the Gardens of Luxembourg where we met up with Dan and Graham. We heard the Yoplait yogurt in France was good, so we picked some up at a market on the way to the gardens. I thought mine tasted like soap, but no one else did so I think my taste buds were just off. Maybe we didn't buy it in the right place or something. We relaxed at the gardens for awhile, took pictures of the Statue of St. Michel, and then decided to go to the Sacre Coeur (cathedral that is said to have Jesus' Crown of Thorns). It closed earlier than when we thought it would, so we were all really disappointed about that :(
We went to the first cafe ever, Le Procope, after our disappointment at the church. The inside was so eloquent--I almost felt underdressed! Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon, and Voltaire used to go there. Apparently, Napoleon never paid his bill. Parts of the encyclopedia were written there also. I split a huge Creme Brulee with Yelena and amazing doesn't even come close to describing it! I don't think I'll ever have better creme brulee than what I had there. We walked around and looked at some shops after we were done at the cafe. Then we went to Pont Alexander III to meet up with the guys again. We all headed over to the Eiffel Tower one last time to watch the light show again. Preethi and I split a butter and sugar crepe, and as we were heading to the metro, we saw some crazy police action. Some guy came running up from behind us. I usually would have thought that to be kind of weird, but I had just seen some guys running on the sidewalk to try to cross the street so I thought he was doing the same thing. Then out of no where, these SWAT-team looking vans came from all directions and surrounded this guy. They had the doors open ready to jump out, the sirens were going, it was intense! Two cops jumped out and chased after him, were yelling at him to stop, then one of them tackled him to the ground! It was crazyyyy
After that, we got on the metro, ran back to the hostel, picked up our bags, and ran back to the metro so we could catch the train on time. Our flight was at like 6 in the morning so we decided just to sleep in the airport. I was surprised at how many people sleep in the airport. There were people everywhere! The 8 of us found our own dark corner, and tried to sleep a little. When we got back to Madrid, I went home, unpacked, and left for class for the day. Exhausting, but so worth it! I can't really put my finger on it, but I definitely liked Rome more than Paris. It might be because of all of the history you can find in Rome. I'm surprised that I'm saying this because history is my least favorite subject, but imagining everything happening in the very spots I was standing was really just incredible. Well that is PLENTY on Paris--I'll write about London and Dublin tomorrow (hopefully!)
I don't know if I mentioned this earlier or not, but we had the best luck in Paris! I mentioned how we got lucky with the weather already. Also, every where we went, we got there RIGHT before tons of other people did so we were at the front of the line. One time at the metro, we were running late and instead of messing with the machines to buy a metro ticket, some guy working on the metro held open a gate to get in and waved us through. I don't know why, but we got lucky with sooo many little things!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Segovia
June 5, 2010
We started our trip to Segovia by walking around the outskirts of town to the spot where Encarnita told us we HAD to get a picture. She says it is the most beautiful view of Segovia. We walked along the river up to where we thought we needed to be, but ended up in a park. We sat down to take the map out and the trees started raining little flowers and pollen stuff on us. Next to the park, we saw the Convent of Carmelitas Descalzos. We found out that we were just down the road from where we were supposed to be so we headed up the road and first went into La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz (a church). It was neat! There were little doors that lead to different rooms, and in the middle there was circular cave looking thing. Afterwards, we hiked up the road to the spot where we were supposed to be and took a million pictures of La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz y El Alca'zar (the monstrous castle we fell in love with!). Then we started walking toward Monasterio de Santa Maria del Parral. We went inside, but mass was going on so we didn't stay long. It seems like there is mass going on at all hours of every day in Spain. We had to rush back into town to our bus stop to catch a bus to La Granja, but on the way we found this park that I absolutely loved! It was so relaxing and beautiful with the river and the running water and the steps and the bridges and everythinggg :) We went to the Roman aqueducts on the way to the bus stop. It was amazing! Encarnita told me that there's a little story about why the Roman aqueducts were built. She said nobody knows if it's true, but everyone tells the story. She said there was this beautiful girl in Segovia who had to go fetch water every day from one side of town and bring it back to her home on the other side of town. A boy who fell in love with her built her the aqueduct as a gift and then asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the aqueducts remain. I thought that was really cute. We ran to catch our bus to La Granja, which is about 7 km outside of Segovia. La Granja is ENORMOUS! I wish we would have more time to see it all. We went into the palace and saw all of the paintings, sculptures, goregously decorated rooms, and such. Each room had a different theme. It reminded me a lot of the Royal Palace of Madrid. Inside, I touched a tapestry that was made in 1524 (wasn't supposed to touch it, but I really wanted to touch something that was almost 500 years old). Every room had something interesting in it, and there was something to see around every corner. I remember around one corner there was this fountain on the inside that was all lit up--it was so pretty. Then we went to the royal gardens! We only got to see a small part of them because there are sooo many and are huge, but they were beautiful! Encarnita said there are only 3 days of the year that all of the fountains there are running. We saw tons and tons of fountains, but only one running. We headed back to Segovia shortly after that and walked through the street of Juan Bravo to see the Roman architecture and a bunch of the churches on our way to the cathedral. Right in front of the cathedral is Plaza Mayor. I was watching a t.v. show about Segovia with Encarnita the other day and it said that Plaza Mayor isn't the largest, but it is definitely the most important plaza of Segovia. The cathedral was beautiful! Then we went to the castle Alca'zar. We walked across the bridge over the moat (minus the water) and into the castle. We saw the throne and some amazing stained glass. The view from the top was incredible! I could see all of Segovia. We finished our tour through the castle, bought Encarnita a little dish from the gift shop, and headed home. Encarnita told us that Segovia was famous for bells. She has a couple bell keychains that she loves because she can always find her keys. We didn't buy any bells there, but I bought a few postcards. Their lamb and mazapa'n (marzapan) is supposed to be fantastic too. We didn't really check the bus schedule back to the train station so we had to take a cab there to make it on time. After another long day of running through and around a small Spanish town, we were exhausted and passed out on the train ride home.
We started our trip to Segovia by walking around the outskirts of town to the spot where Encarnita told us we HAD to get a picture. She says it is the most beautiful view of Segovia. We walked along the river up to where we thought we needed to be, but ended up in a park. We sat down to take the map out and the trees started raining little flowers and pollen stuff on us. Next to the park, we saw the Convent of Carmelitas Descalzos. We found out that we were just down the road from where we were supposed to be so we headed up the road and first went into La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz (a church). It was neat! There were little doors that lead to different rooms, and in the middle there was circular cave looking thing. Afterwards, we hiked up the road to the spot where we were supposed to be and took a million pictures of La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz y El Alca'zar (the monstrous castle we fell in love with!). Then we started walking toward Monasterio de Santa Maria del Parral. We went inside, but mass was going on so we didn't stay long. It seems like there is mass going on at all hours of every day in Spain. We had to rush back into town to our bus stop to catch a bus to La Granja, but on the way we found this park that I absolutely loved! It was so relaxing and beautiful with the river and the running water and the steps and the bridges and everythinggg :) We went to the Roman aqueducts on the way to the bus stop. It was amazing! Encarnita told me that there's a little story about why the Roman aqueducts were built. She said nobody knows if it's true, but everyone tells the story. She said there was this beautiful girl in Segovia who had to go fetch water every day from one side of town and bring it back to her home on the other side of town. A boy who fell in love with her built her the aqueduct as a gift and then asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the aqueducts remain. I thought that was really cute. We ran to catch our bus to La Granja, which is about 7 km outside of Segovia. La Granja is ENORMOUS! I wish we would have more time to see it all. We went into the palace and saw all of the paintings, sculptures, goregously decorated rooms, and such. Each room had a different theme. It reminded me a lot of the Royal Palace of Madrid. Inside, I touched a tapestry that was made in 1524 (wasn't supposed to touch it, but I really wanted to touch something that was almost 500 years old). Every room had something interesting in it, and there was something to see around every corner. I remember around one corner there was this fountain on the inside that was all lit up--it was so pretty. Then we went to the royal gardens! We only got to see a small part of them because there are sooo many and are huge, but they were beautiful! Encarnita said there are only 3 days of the year that all of the fountains there are running. We saw tons and tons of fountains, but only one running. We headed back to Segovia shortly after that and walked through the street of Juan Bravo to see the Roman architecture and a bunch of the churches on our way to the cathedral. Right in front of the cathedral is Plaza Mayor. I was watching a t.v. show about Segovia with Encarnita the other day and it said that Plaza Mayor isn't the largest, but it is definitely the most important plaza of Segovia. The cathedral was beautiful! Then we went to the castle Alca'zar. We walked across the bridge over the moat (minus the water) and into the castle. We saw the throne and some amazing stained glass. The view from the top was incredible! I could see all of Segovia. We finished our tour through the castle, bought Encarnita a little dish from the gift shop, and headed home. Encarnita told us that Segovia was famous for bells. She has a couple bell keychains that she loves because she can always find her keys. We didn't buy any bells there, but I bought a few postcards. Their lamb and mazapa'n (marzapan) is supposed to be fantastic too. We didn't really check the bus schedule back to the train station so we had to take a cab there to make it on time. After another long day of running through and around a small Spanish town, we were exhausted and passed out on the train ride home.
Toledo
June 4, 2010
On Friday, June 4th, Preethi and I went to Toledo, Spain. We woke up at 5 in the morning to take the earliest train! It was our first train ride--a high speed-train that only took about 30 minutes to get us there. From the train station, we walked to the city center--Plaza de Zocodover. There were flags hanging everywhere in the plaza. The streets near the Zoco have these cool curtains hanging from the top of the buildings right about the road to block out the sun. Toledo is a tiny little Spanish town that used to be the Spanish capital. You can see the city's ties to Christians, Moors, and Jews in its architecture. Toledo is famous for their mirrors--Preethi bought a cute little one while we were there. All of the streets in Toledo are ridicuously small--they don't even look like streets! They are about as big as a sidewalk so it was a little confusing trying to find our way around the town. We were trying to find different streets to take, and the streets we were supposed to take looked like little alleys so we would just pass them. We eventually figured it out though! The good thing about getting lost in Toledo was that every time we got lost, we found a really cute area (like different parks and things) to sit at and break out the map. We went to the cathedral and walked in, found out that tourists weren't allowed in there during mass, and walked out. We came back later on though. We went to La Iglesia de Santo Tome' (a church) where Greco's masterpiece is hanging right above the tomb of one of Toledo's mayors. It was awesome! We went to Museo de Greco, but it was closed because it was being rennovated :(. We went to Museo de Sefardi' and Sinagoga del Tra'nsito, which was right next to the Greco. The museum had tonsss of cool stuff in it, like the actual outfits that the leaders of the Sephardics wore (the Sephardic are descendents of the Jews). Then we went to Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes (Monastery of Saint John of the Kings). It was gorgeous! I felt like my camera didn't do it justice. The ceiling of the balcony outside around the square was made of all of these intricate wood designs. We went to Museo de Santa Cruz on our way out of Toledo which was fantastic! We saw a ton of Greco's work there, like the 12 apostles. We ran back to the station to catch our train and went home! Our legs were so sore that night from walking up and down all of the hilly, cobble-stone streets of Toledo (and running through them to catch our train). We didn't realize how much more our legs were going to hurt after our trip to Segovia the following day...
On Friday, June 4th, Preethi and I went to Toledo, Spain. We woke up at 5 in the morning to take the earliest train! It was our first train ride--a high speed-train that only took about 30 minutes to get us there. From the train station, we walked to the city center--Plaza de Zocodover. There were flags hanging everywhere in the plaza. The streets near the Zoco have these cool curtains hanging from the top of the buildings right about the road to block out the sun. Toledo is a tiny little Spanish town that used to be the Spanish capital. You can see the city's ties to Christians, Moors, and Jews in its architecture. Toledo is famous for their mirrors--Preethi bought a cute little one while we were there. All of the streets in Toledo are ridicuously small--they don't even look like streets! They are about as big as a sidewalk so it was a little confusing trying to find our way around the town. We were trying to find different streets to take, and the streets we were supposed to take looked like little alleys so we would just pass them. We eventually figured it out though! The good thing about getting lost in Toledo was that every time we got lost, we found a really cute area (like different parks and things) to sit at and break out the map. We went to the cathedral and walked in, found out that tourists weren't allowed in there during mass, and walked out. We came back later on though. We went to La Iglesia de Santo Tome' (a church) where Greco's masterpiece is hanging right above the tomb of one of Toledo's mayors. It was awesome! We went to Museo de Greco, but it was closed because it was being rennovated :(. We went to Museo de Sefardi' and Sinagoga del Tra'nsito, which was right next to the Greco. The museum had tonsss of cool stuff in it, like the actual outfits that the leaders of the Sephardics wore (the Sephardic are descendents of the Jews). Then we went to Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes (Monastery of Saint John of the Kings). It was gorgeous! I felt like my camera didn't do it justice. The ceiling of the balcony outside around the square was made of all of these intricate wood designs. We went to Museo de Santa Cruz on our way out of Toledo which was fantastic! We saw a ton of Greco's work there, like the 12 apostles. We ran back to the station to catch our train and went home! Our legs were so sore that night from walking up and down all of the hilly, cobble-stone streets of Toledo (and running through them to catch our train). We didn't realize how much more our legs were going to hurt after our trip to Segovia the following day...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Food :)
Encarnita just taught me how to make these really good vegetables so I want to write it down before I forget. It seems really simple, but it tastes soooo good...
Another recipe: Pollo Rico (this one is a little confusing since there is so much going on)
- Cut up potatoes into small pieces and cook them on the stove top in vegetable oil
- Cut up bacon into small strips and cook them on the stove top in olive oil
- Cut up a clove of garlic (maybe a tablespoon full), add it to the bacon, and stir
- When the bacon is ready, add a can of peas and carrots to it
- Add maybe a teaspoon of salt and some pepper
- Add the potatoes when they are ready then stir it up and it's ready
Another recipe: Pollo Rico (this one is a little confusing since there is so much going on)
- Heat water
- Cut up onions, carrots, and green pepper and add to the water
- Add bay leaf
- Put salt & pepper on raw chicken
- Put chicken in pot when veggies are cooked
- Add cup of white wine
- Put saffron in the little bit of win that is left in the bottom of the glass then fill up with water and add to pot
- Add spoonful of salt
- Leave lid off for a little bit so that the alcohol evaporates
- Let it cook for about 15 min covered
- Put a little bit of olive oil in pan with a little bit of cut up clove of garlic
- Take out the chicken from the pot and the bay leaf
- When oil boiling, add either corn flour or wheat flour and stir then add liquid from pot of vegetables to it
- Blend the veggies and liquid until chunks are gone
- Add blended sauce to the pot that still has a little bit of liquid left in it
- Add a little bit of water
- Cook 5 min over flame
- Serve sauce with chicken and bay leaf
Monday, June 7, 2010
Encarnita
I love my senora! I learn so much from her. She was just telling me about how people in Segovia are different from most other people. She said if you have a friend from Segovia, you have that friend for life. She said people from Segovia have good work ethics too. We were talking about how we both don't need much in order to be happy. She told me that the little things make her truly happy, like sleeping on sheets that she has just washed or smelling her skin after taking a shower. She said the best things in life are free--there's no better drink than water, there's no better taste than fruit, there's nothing as beautiful as they sky and it changes different colors every night. Then she went out on her balcony and picked a leaf off of one of her plants. She told me to rub the plant with my fingers and smell it. I can't figure out what it smells like, but it smells so clean and fresh. She said there is no better smell than that. I'm really glad I was put here to live with her. She's the sweetest lady ever! She's teaching me how to cook some more things tomorrow so I will probably write all about the food we've been eating then :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Roma!
May 20-24, 2010
I absolutely loved Rome! Almost everyone there was so friendly & always joked around with us--especially at restaurants and things like that. We saw sooo much in that one weekend, so be ready for another longggg post....
Getting there on Thursday
Yelena, Sarah, Mary Ellen, Preethi, and I packed our bags before we went to school on Thursday, May 20th, and headed straight from class to the airport. At first, we thought we got there superrrr early. But after being told the wrong terminal, getting to security and finding out we need our boarding passes stamped, going back across the airport to get our passes stamped, getting back to security and finding out that we were supposed to get two stamps, heading back to the same stamp place to get our 2nd stamp, finding out that my plan of getting to the hostel from airport didn't exist because trains don't go from Ciampino Airport to the city, getting our bus tickets, and finally running back across the airport to get through security, we decided that getting there a few hours early on our first trip out of Spain wasn't a bad idea at all. While standing in line to board our RyanAir plane (that was surprisingly not sketchy at all), we met an Italian family. The dad gave us a little Italian tutorial (ciao, grazie, prego, dove, cuanto costa). When we were flying into Rome, we could see Italy's boot shaped outline against the ocean. On our bus ride to the hostel, we saw the walls surrounding the city of Rome. It was about 8:30 when we got to Stargate Hostel (which was just a few blocks away from Termini Station--awesome!!). The guy working at the hostel hated us almost immediately. We couldn't figure out how to turn the lights on in our room because you have to use your key to do it and you have to leave the key in the slot--not something we're used to. So we had him come up and show us, and we were messing with the wrong thing--something he told us not to ever touch. He said "Ayyyy American girls" and left haha. We went to dinner at a cute little place down the road where we all at pizza and pasta (don't tell my senora--she insists that I only eat gluten free food even though I have told her so many times that I can have gluten once a day). They gave us some bruschetta on the house, and the waiter joked with us and asked us to pay him in five kisses on the cheek. Then he took one of our cameras and started having a photoshoot with it. We went back to the hostel, planned what we were going to do the next day, and passed out.
Friday
Friday was exhausting but really exciting! We basically saw all of Rome that day. We took a hop on hop off bus tour so that we could get out and look at the sites and catch a bus to the next stop whenever we were done. The first stop was a hugeee and gorgeous basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. We didn't get off at this stop, but we circled around the whole thing and took pictures from the top of the double decker GLT bus. It is said to hold some of the wood from Jesus' cradle inside!
The second stop was the Colosseum--we spent sooo much time here! We went on a tour inside the Colosseum and the Imperial Forums on Palatine Hill (one of the 7 hills Rome was founded on). It was fascinating to learn about all of its history. Our tour guide told us how she loves to imagine history happening before her eyes in these spots--like at the Senate Building that Mark Antony gave the funeral speech for Juliius Caesar. I have my pictures labeled full of facts so I can tell you more about it when going through my pics.
We bought lunch from a street vendor--I had a chicken sandwich. We ate lunch on the steps of Ara Coeli. I thought we were on Capitoline Hill--which we were, but we weren't sitting at the main building. Yelena convinced everyone else that we were on the Spanish Steps--which we definitely weren't! That seemed to happen a lot with us--we would look for a building or site and ask someone where it was, and all we had to do was walk ten feet further or turn a corner.
After lunch, we went to the Pantheon and to Piazza Navona. The Pantheon is enormous and has been built and rebuilt over and over again. It has a lot of tombs and paintings inside, and the ceiling is awesome! Piazza Navona is this pretty little plaza with vendors and a beautiful fountain. I bought my painting of 3 sites of Rome here. Our next stop was Castel Sant'Angelo (castle), Ponte Umberto I (bridge), and Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II. The view was incredible!
We went by the Vatican/St. Peter's Square/Basilica, but didn't go inside because we knew we were going to need another day for it. We did get gelato near the basilica though and it was delicious! I got frutti de bosco (mixed berries) and loved it!
Then we went to the Trevi Fountain and the actual Spanish Steps! The Trevi Fountain is incredible. We went to it 3 different times throughout our trip just to see it after different times of the day. I definitely like the night view the best. It is amazing with the lights shining through the water. We made a wish and threw coins over our shoulders, took tonssss of pictures, talked about how romantic of a place it is, and saw a bride and groom taking pictures. Afterwards, we went to the Spanish Steps (which is near the Spanish Embassy building). It was soooooooooo crowded! People filled the stairs from top to bottom--crazy!
After this long day, we went back to our hostel, quickly freshened up, and left for dinner in the non-touristy part of Rome called Trastevere. We found out about the place from a guy named Jack (we think) who quickly became our guide to the city. He worked at our hostel and as a vendor near Termini so we saw him allll of the time. He helped us SO much! Trastevere has tons of little shops and side streets, restaurants and live music--it's adorable! We ate at La Taverna Scala and I had chicken cattiatore (basically an entire chicken). On the way back to the hostel, someone tried to pick pocket me. I'm lucky that Lauren and my parents scared me enough about pick pocketers to the point where I always pay attention to my surroundings and to the people around me. As soon as I got on the bus, a guy sitting in a seat got up and stood directly behind me. He was staring at my wristlet as soon as I got on. He kept bumping into me hoping I'd drop my wristlet (even though it was around my wrist, I was holding onto it, and it was tucked under my arms). I turned around and just gave him a dirty look and when I did, I saw that he was going through a brown wallet. I thought this was weird, so I just turned around and kept watching his reflection in the window. When the bus stopped, he reached over my shoulder and tried to grab my wristlet. I just turned away from him and he left. My friends and I started talking about him, and a French couple said that he tried to get the guy's wallet out of his pocket. He kept pushing on his pants pockets, but luckily he didn't get it. He did get someone else's though. There was a guy standing right behind me who had his backpack and back turned to the pick pocketer, and I'm assuming the brown wallet the pick pocketer was flipping through was his because his backpack was unzipped. Too bad he was gone by the time we realized it. After we got back, we made plans for Saturday, went through and labeled our pictures, and went to bed.
Saturday
We spent Saturday at the Vatican. I'm pretty sure we GLT'd it to the Vatican since we used the GLT a few times that weekend. We waited in line for about an hour in the hot sun. I got a fantastic half circle tan line on my back and we saw a lady have a heat stroke--which was so scary! Luckily, someone sort of caught her so she didn't hit the ground. All of the paintings and rooms in the museum leading to the Sistine Chapel were incredible! I can't imagine how long some of those pieces of art took to create. Everything was gorgeous. When we got to the Sistene Chapel, it seemed so unreal. I couldn't believe I was standing under the Creation of Adam. Preethi got kicked out of the Sistine Chapel as soon as we got inside because you aren't supposed to take pictures for copyright reasons (whoever paid to restore it got copyright privileges). Preethi got caught and put in "jail"--behind bars outside the Sistene Chapel. I felt bad for her because she looked like a sad puppy looking in on us standing in the chapel and because everyoneee was sneaking pictures and not getting kicked out. I got a good one!
After the Sistene Chapel, we went to St. Peter's Basilica which was equally amazing. Everything inside was enormous and ornate. Afterward, we took pictures in St. Peter's Square.
We booked our hostel too late so we had to stay at Peter Pan Hostel for one of the 4 nights in Rome. This hostel was out in the middle of no where, but was still a lot of fun! There was a choir of what we like to call "big, dutch men" staying at our hostel. We heard them sing a few times and actually ran into them at the Trevi Fountain after we checked out of Peter Pan. At Stargate Hostel, we had a nice private 5 bed suite. At Peter Pan, we were in a room with 12 girls and had community showers and one bathroom. It really wasn't bad though. We met new people and ended up having a good time just staying at the hostel. We bought some pizza from this local place down the roa and watched the Champions League Final in the dining room.
Sunday
Since we saw nearly everything in one day, we had Sunday just to kind of relax. We went shopping & I bought a dress, had lunch on the real Spanish Steps, got some more gelato, went back to the Trevi, and ate dinner at this amazing place called L'Archetto. The waiter here was hilarious too! They had over 100 different kinds of spaghetti to choose from (as if I'm not indecisive enough). I ended up getting one with tomato sauce, shrimp, veggies, cheese, and hot red pepper nomm nommm nommmm :)
Monday
We went to bed around midnight and woke up at 2:45 a.m. to get to the airport on time. I got a cold when we first got to Rome, so the whole not sleeping thing didn't help much. We took a CRAZY cab ride to the airport--our driver drove like a maniac and got us there in half the time it normally takes. Then again, it was like 3:30 in the morning and nobody was out. We ended up getting there before the airport was even open--really sad. We waited forever just to get inside the airport and then even longer in line because nobody was there to work yet. We got back to Madrid early enough for Preethi and I to come home before class. I should have slept, but for some reason wasn't tired. Instead I just unpacked, ate breakfast, and went off to class!
I absolutely loved Rome! Almost everyone there was so friendly & always joked around with us--especially at restaurants and things like that. We saw sooo much in that one weekend, so be ready for another longggg post....
Getting there on Thursday
Yelena, Sarah, Mary Ellen, Preethi, and I packed our bags before we went to school on Thursday, May 20th, and headed straight from class to the airport. At first, we thought we got there superrrr early. But after being told the wrong terminal, getting to security and finding out we need our boarding passes stamped, going back across the airport to get our passes stamped, getting back to security and finding out that we were supposed to get two stamps, heading back to the same stamp place to get our 2nd stamp, finding out that my plan of getting to the hostel from airport didn't exist because trains don't go from Ciampino Airport to the city, getting our bus tickets, and finally running back across the airport to get through security, we decided that getting there a few hours early on our first trip out of Spain wasn't a bad idea at all. While standing in line to board our RyanAir plane (that was surprisingly not sketchy at all), we met an Italian family. The dad gave us a little Italian tutorial (ciao, grazie, prego, dove, cuanto costa). When we were flying into Rome, we could see Italy's boot shaped outline against the ocean. On our bus ride to the hostel, we saw the walls surrounding the city of Rome. It was about 8:30 when we got to Stargate Hostel (which was just a few blocks away from Termini Station--awesome!!). The guy working at the hostel hated us almost immediately. We couldn't figure out how to turn the lights on in our room because you have to use your key to do it and you have to leave the key in the slot--not something we're used to. So we had him come up and show us, and we were messing with the wrong thing--something he told us not to ever touch. He said "Ayyyy American girls" and left haha. We went to dinner at a cute little place down the road where we all at pizza and pasta (don't tell my senora--she insists that I only eat gluten free food even though I have told her so many times that I can have gluten once a day). They gave us some bruschetta on the house, and the waiter joked with us and asked us to pay him in five kisses on the cheek. Then he took one of our cameras and started having a photoshoot with it. We went back to the hostel, planned what we were going to do the next day, and passed out.
Friday
Friday was exhausting but really exciting! We basically saw all of Rome that day. We took a hop on hop off bus tour so that we could get out and look at the sites and catch a bus to the next stop whenever we were done. The first stop was a hugeee and gorgeous basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. We didn't get off at this stop, but we circled around the whole thing and took pictures from the top of the double decker GLT bus. It is said to hold some of the wood from Jesus' cradle inside!
The second stop was the Colosseum--we spent sooo much time here! We went on a tour inside the Colosseum and the Imperial Forums on Palatine Hill (one of the 7 hills Rome was founded on). It was fascinating to learn about all of its history. Our tour guide told us how she loves to imagine history happening before her eyes in these spots--like at the Senate Building that Mark Antony gave the funeral speech for Juliius Caesar. I have my pictures labeled full of facts so I can tell you more about it when going through my pics.
We bought lunch from a street vendor--I had a chicken sandwich. We ate lunch on the steps of Ara Coeli. I thought we were on Capitoline Hill--which we were, but we weren't sitting at the main building. Yelena convinced everyone else that we were on the Spanish Steps--which we definitely weren't! That seemed to happen a lot with us--we would look for a building or site and ask someone where it was, and all we had to do was walk ten feet further or turn a corner.
After lunch, we went to the Pantheon and to Piazza Navona. The Pantheon is enormous and has been built and rebuilt over and over again. It has a lot of tombs and paintings inside, and the ceiling is awesome! Piazza Navona is this pretty little plaza with vendors and a beautiful fountain. I bought my painting of 3 sites of Rome here. Our next stop was Castel Sant'Angelo (castle), Ponte Umberto I (bridge), and Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II. The view was incredible!
We went by the Vatican/St. Peter's Square/Basilica, but didn't go inside because we knew we were going to need another day for it. We did get gelato near the basilica though and it was delicious! I got frutti de bosco (mixed berries) and loved it!
Then we went to the Trevi Fountain and the actual Spanish Steps! The Trevi Fountain is incredible. We went to it 3 different times throughout our trip just to see it after different times of the day. I definitely like the night view the best. It is amazing with the lights shining through the water. We made a wish and threw coins over our shoulders, took tonssss of pictures, talked about how romantic of a place it is, and saw a bride and groom taking pictures. Afterwards, we went to the Spanish Steps (which is near the Spanish Embassy building). It was soooooooooo crowded! People filled the stairs from top to bottom--crazy!
After this long day, we went back to our hostel, quickly freshened up, and left for dinner in the non-touristy part of Rome called Trastevere. We found out about the place from a guy named Jack (we think) who quickly became our guide to the city. He worked at our hostel and as a vendor near Termini so we saw him allll of the time. He helped us SO much! Trastevere has tons of little shops and side streets, restaurants and live music--it's adorable! We ate at La Taverna Scala and I had chicken cattiatore (basically an entire chicken). On the way back to the hostel, someone tried to pick pocket me. I'm lucky that Lauren and my parents scared me enough about pick pocketers to the point where I always pay attention to my surroundings and to the people around me. As soon as I got on the bus, a guy sitting in a seat got up and stood directly behind me. He was staring at my wristlet as soon as I got on. He kept bumping into me hoping I'd drop my wristlet (even though it was around my wrist, I was holding onto it, and it was tucked under my arms). I turned around and just gave him a dirty look and when I did, I saw that he was going through a brown wallet. I thought this was weird, so I just turned around and kept watching his reflection in the window. When the bus stopped, he reached over my shoulder and tried to grab my wristlet. I just turned away from him and he left. My friends and I started talking about him, and a French couple said that he tried to get the guy's wallet out of his pocket. He kept pushing on his pants pockets, but luckily he didn't get it. He did get someone else's though. There was a guy standing right behind me who had his backpack and back turned to the pick pocketer, and I'm assuming the brown wallet the pick pocketer was flipping through was his because his backpack was unzipped. Too bad he was gone by the time we realized it. After we got back, we made plans for Saturday, went through and labeled our pictures, and went to bed.
Saturday
We spent Saturday at the Vatican. I'm pretty sure we GLT'd it to the Vatican since we used the GLT a few times that weekend. We waited in line for about an hour in the hot sun. I got a fantastic half circle tan line on my back and we saw a lady have a heat stroke--which was so scary! Luckily, someone sort of caught her so she didn't hit the ground. All of the paintings and rooms in the museum leading to the Sistine Chapel were incredible! I can't imagine how long some of those pieces of art took to create. Everything was gorgeous. When we got to the Sistene Chapel, it seemed so unreal. I couldn't believe I was standing under the Creation of Adam. Preethi got kicked out of the Sistine Chapel as soon as we got inside because you aren't supposed to take pictures for copyright reasons (whoever paid to restore it got copyright privileges). Preethi got caught and put in "jail"--behind bars outside the Sistene Chapel. I felt bad for her because she looked like a sad puppy looking in on us standing in the chapel and because everyoneee was sneaking pictures and not getting kicked out. I got a good one!
After the Sistene Chapel, we went to St. Peter's Basilica which was equally amazing. Everything inside was enormous and ornate. Afterward, we took pictures in St. Peter's Square.
We booked our hostel too late so we had to stay at Peter Pan Hostel for one of the 4 nights in Rome. This hostel was out in the middle of no where, but was still a lot of fun! There was a choir of what we like to call "big, dutch men" staying at our hostel. We heard them sing a few times and actually ran into them at the Trevi Fountain after we checked out of Peter Pan. At Stargate Hostel, we had a nice private 5 bed suite. At Peter Pan, we were in a room with 12 girls and had community showers and one bathroom. It really wasn't bad though. We met new people and ended up having a good time just staying at the hostel. We bought some pizza from this local place down the roa and watched the Champions League Final in the dining room.
Sunday
Since we saw nearly everything in one day, we had Sunday just to kind of relax. We went shopping & I bought a dress, had lunch on the real Spanish Steps, got some more gelato, went back to the Trevi, and ate dinner at this amazing place called L'Archetto. The waiter here was hilarious too! They had over 100 different kinds of spaghetti to choose from (as if I'm not indecisive enough). I ended up getting one with tomato sauce, shrimp, veggies, cheese, and hot red pepper nomm nommm nommmm :)
Monday
We went to bed around midnight and woke up at 2:45 a.m. to get to the airport on time. I got a cold when we first got to Rome, so the whole not sleeping thing didn't help much. We took a CRAZY cab ride to the airport--our driver drove like a maniac and got us there in half the time it normally takes. Then again, it was like 3:30 in the morning and nobody was out. We ended up getting there before the airport was even open--really sad. We waited forever just to get inside the airport and then even longer in line because nobody was there to work yet. We got back to Madrid early enough for Preethi and I to come home before class. I should have slept, but for some reason wasn't tired. Instead I just unpacked, ate breakfast, and went off to class!
Oops!
I accidentally posted that last blog without finishing my 3 week summary--still trying to figure out how to work things haha. I'm just going to jump around from one topic to the next so sorry in advance!
Home
We're living in cute, little apartment 2B on Calle de Teruel, 15. Encarnita, Preethi, and I each have our own bedrooms. There are 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room/dining room. The hallway is so tiny and it took Preethi and I over week to find out that there was light switch in the hallway that we could use instead of blindly running into the walls or the dresser (the apt is pitch black at night). There's a balcony that is full of plants (Encarnita LOVES plants and flowers). If we don't finish our water at dinner, Encarnita told us to water the plants with it so that's what we do. Encarnita goes out there to smoke. At first, she told me she only smokes one a day and no more. Then a few days later, she told me she smokes two a day and no more. When I told her that she told me she only smokes one, she said that she used to smoke 20 a day so 2 isn't bad! I had dinner with her nephew one time (which was a little awkward because he talked fast and quietly so it was hard for me to understand him), and he told me that people in Spain always yell to each other from their balconies, from one building to the next. She is hilarious--I love her! She always calls us reinas or princesas (queens or princesses). She calls me princess of the west since my family is from the states, Preethi princess of the east since her family is from India, and she calls herself princess from the center since she is from Spain. Another little thing that's different is that in Madrid, you always wear shoes in the house.
She told us that people in Madrid recycle everything so we always put our trash in a bag for her to separate and recycle later. We love how she is always humming or singing. Right now, she isn't working because she had surgery right before we came. She had a gland removed from the left side of her neck. Usually, she works at a school with children. She says she does a little bit of everything there (secretary, watches the hallway, and things like that). I love how she always ask if we are "hhhappy hhhhappy?". She knows a few English words, and she tells me that if we are hhhappy hhhappy then she is hhhappy hhhhappy :)
Before bed, she always tells us to sleep with angels, and she has an angel hanging above each one of our beds. She told me that there is this nursery rhyme in Spanish for kids about 4 little angels on each corner of the bed. Everything in Spain happens at later times than what I'm used to. Dinner is at 9 or 10, people go out at midnight and come back at 5 or 6 in the morning. Encarnita usually goes to bed around midnight or one, and she is 57 years old!
To shower, I have to turn on the gas and light this thing in the kitchen for hot water. I always have trouble with this and the door! There are about 7 locks on the door, but we only have to deal with 2 of them really and I STILL have problems with it. I thought I got the hang of it after awhile because I went about a week and a half without not being to get into the apartment, but the other day, after hearing me struggle, Encarnita had to open the door for me again. The first night we went out, Preethi and I tried to be soooo quiet when we were leaving since Encarnita said she doesn't care when we go out or come back as long as we don't wake her up (and also because she didn't know we were going out because she was in bed before we decided to meet up with friends). The door from the hallway to the little area where the door is at is SO loud. We accidentally kind of slammed it shut. Then, there is a windchime hanging right behind the door so that it chimes whenever someone comes in or out. Well, I tried to hold it still while we opened the door so that it wouldn't chime. But, like I said, the place is pitch black at night so I was aimlessly grabbing for it and ended up making more noise than it would have made if we would have just opened the door. We were trying so hard not to laugh, but we couldn't help it! If that wasn't enough, when we were struggling to lock the door, we were using my phone for light and Preethi accidentally called Encarnita! So much for being sneaky.
Now about the food! Encarnita loveessss to cook and I loveeee to eat it :). We always start off with soup or salad (her salads are amazing! She puts carrots, grapes, apples, ham, pineapple, and things like that on the lettuce with oil and pepper and salt), then we have the main dish (like chicken and rice, lentils, fish, fried potatoes, fried eggplant, croquetas, stuff like that), and then we have dessert. For dessert, we usually bananas and strawberries in milk & molasses with cinnamon or whip cream on top. We have also had arroz con leche (rice with milk--kind of like rice pudding), flan (which I'm not a fan of--can't do the consistency, I rather just play with it), and some other thing for dessert. I can't remember what the other thing was, but she said it was a special dessert they only serve for certain occasions. It's shaped like a hash brown patty and it is kind of brown, but I can't really remember it since we have only had it once. She is going to teach me how to cook! So far, she taught me how to make croquetas. For breakfast, I usually have orange juice, gluten-free cereal, gluten-free toast, and either a gluten-free muffin, a couple rice cakes, or a couple gluten-free cookies. I think all of the gluten-free food here is better than it is in the U.S. I'm not really sure why. I don't really like cereal that much--especially not gluten-free cereal--but I love it here!
Croquetas
• Put olive oil in frying pan on stove
• Add corn flour & stir until it looks kind of creamy
• Add cup and a half of milk, stir
• Add cut up chicken, spoonful of salt, and ground nutmeg
• Stir, put in container, cover with saran wrap, and cool in fridge
• Later, make oval shapes out of the batter
• Roll in corn flour, then in egg/milk, then in bread that is ground up like flour (pan rallado)
• Fry in olive oil
She also showed me how to grill chicken (in oil and with pepper, salt, and spices). I can't wait to learn more!
Her apartment is COMPLETELY filled with paintings from Torres Martin--one of her friends who has cancer and paints. I love looking at the paintings and seeing how he progressed over the years. Encarnita has sooo many friends. I meet a new friend almost every time I come home! Our walls are paper thin so it takes some getting used to.
School
SLU Madrid's campus is basically only 4 buildings. It's a cute little campus, though. Preethi and I walk to school every day. It's about a 20-25 min walk, but we're usually speed walking to make it to class on time so we can get there in 10 or 15. We have class for 2 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. This makes it easy to travel on the weekends since every weekend is like a long weekend! (This weekend is especially long since yesterday was Corpus Christi Holiday so we did not have class). We pass this market that smells like fish every day, so we decided to walk on the other side of the street from now on since it makes us nauseous.
The first week of school, my friends and I spent hours hanging out in the ashtray (kind of like a quad--place with a fountain and a bunch of tables for people to sit and study/eat/talk at). We felt like we were wasting our days away, but at the same time we met a lot of people from being there! Time seriously flies by. We get out of class at 3:00, and it seems like 15 minutes later it is 5:30! We decided to explore Madrid instead of sitting in the ashtray for hours every day.
Right now, I'm taking Ethics with Professor Llorente and next session I'm taking Painting I with Professor Massana. I like my class so far. We have readings every night and quizzes almost every day (but the quizzes are usually pretty easy). We have a mid-term, a final, and a paper (which I'm currently putting off). We talk about interesting cases of ethics, and my teacher usually comes up with or finds some completely improbable "real-life" examples to really make us think. Our professor is really funny and makes it interesting.
Exploring Madrid
We've been exploring Madrid little by little. We spend a lot of time at Sol (especially when we go out). La Plaza Mayor (a famous historical site in Madrid) is right next to Sol. We went to a public pool/fitness club one Saturday near Green Canal Park. It was interesting to say the least. I'd call it kind of a half nude pool, but Preethi makes me fun of me for saying that. She says it is just a topless pool, but not even half of the girls were topless and some guys wore thongs and speedos so it is kind of a half nude pool to me. I was trying to get rid of my semicircle tan line on my back that I got from standing in line at the Vatican in Rome (which I'll tell you allll about soon!), but somehow I ended up getting even more funny shapes on my back so now my back looks like a maze. I'll get rid of it eventually. The pool was HUGE and was ice cold. We only got in a couple times for like 10 minutes. They don't have chairs to lay out on because people just lay on a towel on the ground. They had a balcony things to lay out on too (which is where we were). We decided that it was pretty pointless to pay almost 5 euros to go to the pool for a few hours when we don't even get in the pool that much, so we decided to start going to Green Canal Park whenever we want to lay out. Tons of people lay out next to the fountain (that is as big as pool) so that if they get hot, they can just jump in the fountain. Sarah does her workouts there so it is pretty convenient. The park is gorgeous and has a playground, soccer fields, tennis courts, walking paths, and more. We'll probably be spending a lot of time there.
Going out: Once we get off the metro at Sol, we are usually stopped by at least 10 different people from different clubs or bars who have coupons for free entrance, free drinks, free shots, or some kind of deal. Our first night out, we found the Laclede's of Madrid--Star Studio (full of smoke and had the creepy old men near the dance floor and everything). We thought it was a little sketchy at first, but once we got in, it was so much fun! (didn't hurt that the bartender looked like Heath Ledger either) They played almost all American music--lots of oldies too (& songs from the Greece soundtrack). We took a cab home around 3 or 4 because the metro closes at 1:30 and doesn't open up again until 6 a.m. It's reallyThe inconvenient since we don't go out until midnight so you can either wait until 6 a.m. til the metro opens back up, take a cab, or walk. The metro itself is so easy to use though--I wish STL had something similar. It is clean and safe too (for the most part). Dubliner's is an Irish bar that we've been to a few times. It's a nice place to go if you just want to hang out, have a few drinks, and talk. We went to a discoteca called The Palace which was insane! We went on a Thursday so not only was everything free (for girls--entrance, beer, and sangria), but it was packed! Techno music, flashing lights, fog, and dancing, what else can you ask for? We left the Palace around 5 a.m., found some dank pizza at a little shop called Open 25, and waited to catch the metro home. Before we left for the night, we told Encarnita we were going to the discoteca, and she told us that we would be getting home whenever she would be waking up--she was right! The next night we went to El Kapital--a 7 floor discoteca, each with a different theme. It was awesome! A couple nights ago, we went to the cave bar El Chapandaz. It took us awhile to find it (even though it isn't a real cave--but it looks like one!), but when we got there it was definitely worth it. The inside looks exactly like a cave! We all drank their famous Panther's Milk (or tried to at least--some of us didn't like it and some of us couldn't finish the hugeeee glass). They poured the Panther's Milk from the ceiling from a "rock". Lights shone down on the streams of milk coming down from the rock--it was really cool!
We went to the Royal Palace of Madrid one day after school. It is such an amazing building! We saw the Spanish throne--the very seat that the kings would sit in. We stood in the King Charles' bedroom which is also where he died. There was a room with walls made completely out of porcelain, and most of the other rooms had walls of silk. Everything matched in the rooms--the same floral print was on the floor, ceiling, couches, walls, everything! We saw the painting gallery too.
When Preethi's sister, Swathi, and Mikey came, we went out to dinner at the oldest restaurant in the world! It's in Guiness's Book of World Records. It's called Casa de Botin. The food was sooo good! We each got an entree and split all of it. We had calamari, roast suckling pig, chick in almond sauce, green beans and ham, and eggs/sausage/potatoes with sangria to drink. We had this apple pie thing with ice cream for dessert. We also went to the Real Madrid. v. AC Milan Classic Corazon Match in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium!! It was a game for veterans--all of the best old players. We got there a little late and it was tied 2-2 when took our seats. The stadium is enormous, and people were going crazy! Real Madrid won 4-3!
We've done some shopping since we've been here. I think our favorite store is Okeysi. I like Zara and Sfera too. Plaza de Espana is like the Time Square of Madrid. It has a famous statue of Don Quijote there too.
Almost everything in Madrid closes from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for siestas and tapas (naps and free appetizers with drinks you order). Some places give you pickles and olives and chips when you order drinks, but other places give you tortilla espanola, sandwiches, potatoes, and things like that. Yummyyyy :)
I can definitely tell that my Spanish is improving. Becoming fluent seems impossible, though. There is so much vocabulary to learn and vocabulary varies sooo much from one Spanish speaking area to the next. Encarnita helps me whenever she can, so hopefully it gets even better!
Well before I make this the longest blog in the world--I'm going to go finish watching The Godfather Part 2. I'll save my Rome blog for later!
Hasta luego!
Home
We're living in cute, little apartment 2B on Calle de Teruel, 15. Encarnita, Preethi, and I each have our own bedrooms. There are 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room/dining room. The hallway is so tiny and it took Preethi and I over week to find out that there was light switch in the hallway that we could use instead of blindly running into the walls or the dresser (the apt is pitch black at night). There's a balcony that is full of plants (Encarnita LOVES plants and flowers). If we don't finish our water at dinner, Encarnita told us to water the plants with it so that's what we do. Encarnita goes out there to smoke. At first, she told me she only smokes one a day and no more. Then a few days later, she told me she smokes two a day and no more. When I told her that she told me she only smokes one, she said that she used to smoke 20 a day so 2 isn't bad! I had dinner with her nephew one time (which was a little awkward because he talked fast and quietly so it was hard for me to understand him), and he told me that people in Spain always yell to each other from their balconies, from one building to the next. She is hilarious--I love her! She always calls us reinas or princesas (queens or princesses). She calls me princess of the west since my family is from the states, Preethi princess of the east since her family is from India, and she calls herself princess from the center since she is from Spain. Another little thing that's different is that in Madrid, you always wear shoes in the house.
She told us that people in Madrid recycle everything so we always put our trash in a bag for her to separate and recycle later. We love how she is always humming or singing. Right now, she isn't working because she had surgery right before we came. She had a gland removed from the left side of her neck. Usually, she works at a school with children. She says she does a little bit of everything there (secretary, watches the hallway, and things like that). I love how she always ask if we are "hhhappy hhhhappy?". She knows a few English words, and she tells me that if we are hhhappy hhhappy then she is hhhappy hhhhappy :)
Before bed, she always tells us to sleep with angels, and she has an angel hanging above each one of our beds. She told me that there is this nursery rhyme in Spanish for kids about 4 little angels on each corner of the bed. Everything in Spain happens at later times than what I'm used to. Dinner is at 9 or 10, people go out at midnight and come back at 5 or 6 in the morning. Encarnita usually goes to bed around midnight or one, and she is 57 years old!
To shower, I have to turn on the gas and light this thing in the kitchen for hot water. I always have trouble with this and the door! There are about 7 locks on the door, but we only have to deal with 2 of them really and I STILL have problems with it. I thought I got the hang of it after awhile because I went about a week and a half without not being to get into the apartment, but the other day, after hearing me struggle, Encarnita had to open the door for me again. The first night we went out, Preethi and I tried to be soooo quiet when we were leaving since Encarnita said she doesn't care when we go out or come back as long as we don't wake her up (and also because she didn't know we were going out because she was in bed before we decided to meet up with friends). The door from the hallway to the little area where the door is at is SO loud. We accidentally kind of slammed it shut. Then, there is a windchime hanging right behind the door so that it chimes whenever someone comes in or out. Well, I tried to hold it still while we opened the door so that it wouldn't chime. But, like I said, the place is pitch black at night so I was aimlessly grabbing for it and ended up making more noise than it would have made if we would have just opened the door. We were trying so hard not to laugh, but we couldn't help it! If that wasn't enough, when we were struggling to lock the door, we were using my phone for light and Preethi accidentally called Encarnita! So much for being sneaky.
Now about the food! Encarnita loveessss to cook and I loveeee to eat it :). We always start off with soup or salad (her salads are amazing! She puts carrots, grapes, apples, ham, pineapple, and things like that on the lettuce with oil and pepper and salt), then we have the main dish (like chicken and rice, lentils, fish, fried potatoes, fried eggplant, croquetas, stuff like that), and then we have dessert. For dessert, we usually bananas and strawberries in milk & molasses with cinnamon or whip cream on top. We have also had arroz con leche (rice with milk--kind of like rice pudding), flan (which I'm not a fan of--can't do the consistency, I rather just play with it), and some other thing for dessert. I can't remember what the other thing was, but she said it was a special dessert they only serve for certain occasions. It's shaped like a hash brown patty and it is kind of brown, but I can't really remember it since we have only had it once. She is going to teach me how to cook! So far, she taught me how to make croquetas. For breakfast, I usually have orange juice, gluten-free cereal, gluten-free toast, and either a gluten-free muffin, a couple rice cakes, or a couple gluten-free cookies. I think all of the gluten-free food here is better than it is in the U.S. I'm not really sure why. I don't really like cereal that much--especially not gluten-free cereal--but I love it here!
Croquetas
• Put olive oil in frying pan on stove
• Add corn flour & stir until it looks kind of creamy
• Add cup and a half of milk, stir
• Add cut up chicken, spoonful of salt, and ground nutmeg
• Stir, put in container, cover with saran wrap, and cool in fridge
• Later, make oval shapes out of the batter
• Roll in corn flour, then in egg/milk, then in bread that is ground up like flour (pan rallado)
• Fry in olive oil
She also showed me how to grill chicken (in oil and with pepper, salt, and spices). I can't wait to learn more!
Her apartment is COMPLETELY filled with paintings from Torres Martin--one of her friends who has cancer and paints. I love looking at the paintings and seeing how he progressed over the years. Encarnita has sooo many friends. I meet a new friend almost every time I come home! Our walls are paper thin so it takes some getting used to.
School
SLU Madrid's campus is basically only 4 buildings. It's a cute little campus, though. Preethi and I walk to school every day. It's about a 20-25 min walk, but we're usually speed walking to make it to class on time so we can get there in 10 or 15. We have class for 2 hours a day, Monday through Thursday. This makes it easy to travel on the weekends since every weekend is like a long weekend! (This weekend is especially long since yesterday was Corpus Christi Holiday so we did not have class). We pass this market that smells like fish every day, so we decided to walk on the other side of the street from now on since it makes us nauseous.
The first week of school, my friends and I spent hours hanging out in the ashtray (kind of like a quad--place with a fountain and a bunch of tables for people to sit and study/eat/talk at). We felt like we were wasting our days away, but at the same time we met a lot of people from being there! Time seriously flies by. We get out of class at 3:00, and it seems like 15 minutes later it is 5:30! We decided to explore Madrid instead of sitting in the ashtray for hours every day.
Right now, I'm taking Ethics with Professor Llorente and next session I'm taking Painting I with Professor Massana. I like my class so far. We have readings every night and quizzes almost every day (but the quizzes are usually pretty easy). We have a mid-term, a final, and a paper (which I'm currently putting off). We talk about interesting cases of ethics, and my teacher usually comes up with or finds some completely improbable "real-life" examples to really make us think. Our professor is really funny and makes it interesting.
Exploring Madrid
We've been exploring Madrid little by little. We spend a lot of time at Sol (especially when we go out). La Plaza Mayor (a famous historical site in Madrid) is right next to Sol. We went to a public pool/fitness club one Saturday near Green Canal Park. It was interesting to say the least. I'd call it kind of a half nude pool, but Preethi makes me fun of me for saying that. She says it is just a topless pool, but not even half of the girls were topless and some guys wore thongs and speedos so it is kind of a half nude pool to me. I was trying to get rid of my semicircle tan line on my back that I got from standing in line at the Vatican in Rome (which I'll tell you allll about soon!), but somehow I ended up getting even more funny shapes on my back so now my back looks like a maze. I'll get rid of it eventually. The pool was HUGE and was ice cold. We only got in a couple times for like 10 minutes. They don't have chairs to lay out on because people just lay on a towel on the ground. They had a balcony things to lay out on too (which is where we were). We decided that it was pretty pointless to pay almost 5 euros to go to the pool for a few hours when we don't even get in the pool that much, so we decided to start going to Green Canal Park whenever we want to lay out. Tons of people lay out next to the fountain (that is as big as pool) so that if they get hot, they can just jump in the fountain. Sarah does her workouts there so it is pretty convenient. The park is gorgeous and has a playground, soccer fields, tennis courts, walking paths, and more. We'll probably be spending a lot of time there.
Going out: Once we get off the metro at Sol, we are usually stopped by at least 10 different people from different clubs or bars who have coupons for free entrance, free drinks, free shots, or some kind of deal. Our first night out, we found the Laclede's of Madrid--Star Studio (full of smoke and had the creepy old men near the dance floor and everything). We thought it was a little sketchy at first, but once we got in, it was so much fun! (didn't hurt that the bartender looked like Heath Ledger either) They played almost all American music--lots of oldies too (& songs from the Greece soundtrack). We took a cab home around 3 or 4 because the metro closes at 1:30 and doesn't open up again until 6 a.m. It's reallyThe inconvenient since we don't go out until midnight so you can either wait until 6 a.m. til the metro opens back up, take a cab, or walk. The metro itself is so easy to use though--I wish STL had something similar. It is clean and safe too (for the most part). Dubliner's is an Irish bar that we've been to a few times. It's a nice place to go if you just want to hang out, have a few drinks, and talk. We went to a discoteca called The Palace which was insane! We went on a Thursday so not only was everything free (for girls--entrance, beer, and sangria), but it was packed! Techno music, flashing lights, fog, and dancing, what else can you ask for? We left the Palace around 5 a.m., found some dank pizza at a little shop called Open 25, and waited to catch the metro home. Before we left for the night, we told Encarnita we were going to the discoteca, and she told us that we would be getting home whenever she would be waking up--she was right! The next night we went to El Kapital--a 7 floor discoteca, each with a different theme. It was awesome! A couple nights ago, we went to the cave bar El Chapandaz. It took us awhile to find it (even though it isn't a real cave--but it looks like one!), but when we got there it was definitely worth it. The inside looks exactly like a cave! We all drank their famous Panther's Milk (or tried to at least--some of us didn't like it and some of us couldn't finish the hugeeee glass). They poured the Panther's Milk from the ceiling from a "rock". Lights shone down on the streams of milk coming down from the rock--it was really cool!
We went to the Royal Palace of Madrid one day after school. It is such an amazing building! We saw the Spanish throne--the very seat that the kings would sit in. We stood in the King Charles' bedroom which is also where he died. There was a room with walls made completely out of porcelain, and most of the other rooms had walls of silk. Everything matched in the rooms--the same floral print was on the floor, ceiling, couches, walls, everything! We saw the painting gallery too.
When Preethi's sister, Swathi, and Mikey came, we went out to dinner at the oldest restaurant in the world! It's in Guiness's Book of World Records. It's called Casa de Botin. The food was sooo good! We each got an entree and split all of it. We had calamari, roast suckling pig, chick in almond sauce, green beans and ham, and eggs/sausage/potatoes with sangria to drink. We had this apple pie thing with ice cream for dessert. We also went to the Real Madrid. v. AC Milan Classic Corazon Match in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium!! It was a game for veterans--all of the best old players. We got there a little late and it was tied 2-2 when took our seats. The stadium is enormous, and people were going crazy! Real Madrid won 4-3!
We've done some shopping since we've been here. I think our favorite store is Okeysi. I like Zara and Sfera too. Plaza de Espana is like the Time Square of Madrid. It has a famous statue of Don Quijote there too.
Almost everything in Madrid closes from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for siestas and tapas (naps and free appetizers with drinks you order). Some places give you pickles and olives and chips when you order drinks, but other places give you tortilla espanola, sandwiches, potatoes, and things like that. Yummyyyy :)
I can definitely tell that my Spanish is improving. Becoming fluent seems impossible, though. There is so much vocabulary to learn and vocabulary varies sooo much from one Spanish speaking area to the next. Encarnita helps me whenever she can, so hopefully it gets even better!
Well before I make this the longest blog in the world--I'm going to go finish watching The Godfather Part 2. I'll save my Rome blog for later!
Hasta luego!
Almost three weeks in...
So I have a TON of catching up to do. I really should have started this blog about 2 weeks ago, but I will try remember everything I can!
Getting here
On May 15th, I flew out of STL with Yelena & Sarah. The plan we took to DC was soooo small that we had to crouch down just to walk to our seats. We switched planes in DC, picked up Preethi, and then we were off to Madrid! I think the flight was about 9 hours. When we got to the airport, we picked up our bags and made a sign that said "Mary Ellen" for Yelena. She was meeting her roommate at the airport and didn't know what she looked like. After obnoxiously screaming her name, we found her :) Preethi and I took a cab to our apartment and nervously buzzed our Senora (Encarnita). She greeted us at the door and helped us to her apartment. It was Sunday around noon Madrid time when we got in (5 a.m. back in the States). Since we didn't sleep much on the plane and had been awake since about 7 a.m. Saturday, we passed outttt! When we woke up, we started talking to Encarnita (well it was mostly me talking since Preethi doesn't speak any Spanish). When she was going over rules and basic stuff around the apartment, I thought she told me that we have to be home by midnight every night otherwise she would call the cops. We were ready to call housing after that because we knew that people in Spain don't go out until 11 or 12 at night and come back at 5 or 6 in the morning. It turns out that what she ACTUALLY said was that she didn't care what time we came home, but if we weren't home by noon the next day, then she would call the police (guess my Spanish was a little rusty). We unpacked and relaxed for the rest of the night. The next day, Encarnita walked us to school (she's so cute!), and later that night she had one of her former students Ian and his cousin over for tea. Afterward, Ian walked us down Bravo Murillo, told us how to recognize our street (the big red If sign), showed us how to use the Metro (usually take the light blue line to get home--Pinar de Chamartin & Valdecarros are the ends of the line and he told us to remember that Pinar de Chamartin is longer so we take the long way home), and took us to Sol (a popular plaza in Madrid). We also found out that Encarnita is an amazingggg cook! Those were our first few days of Madrid.
Getting here
On May 15th, I flew out of STL with Yelena & Sarah. The plan we took to DC was soooo small that we had to crouch down just to walk to our seats. We switched planes in DC, picked up Preethi, and then we were off to Madrid! I think the flight was about 9 hours. When we got to the airport, we picked up our bags and made a sign that said "Mary Ellen" for Yelena. She was meeting her roommate at the airport and didn't know what she looked like. After obnoxiously screaming her name, we found her :) Preethi and I took a cab to our apartment and nervously buzzed our Senora (Encarnita). She greeted us at the door and helped us to her apartment. It was Sunday around noon Madrid time when we got in (5 a.m. back in the States). Since we didn't sleep much on the plane and had been awake since about 7 a.m. Saturday, we passed outttt! When we woke up, we started talking to Encarnita (well it was mostly me talking since Preethi doesn't speak any Spanish). When she was going over rules and basic stuff around the apartment, I thought she told me that we have to be home by midnight every night otherwise she would call the cops. We were ready to call housing after that because we knew that people in Spain don't go out until 11 or 12 at night and come back at 5 or 6 in the morning. It turns out that what she ACTUALLY said was that she didn't care what time we came home, but if we weren't home by noon the next day, then she would call the police (guess my Spanish was a little rusty). We unpacked and relaxed for the rest of the night. The next day, Encarnita walked us to school (she's so cute!), and later that night she had one of her former students Ian and his cousin over for tea. Afterward, Ian walked us down Bravo Murillo, told us how to recognize our street (the big red If sign), showed us how to use the Metro (usually take the light blue line to get home--Pinar de Chamartin & Valdecarros are the ends of the line and he told us to remember that Pinar de Chamartin is longer so we take the long way home), and took us to Sol (a popular plaza in Madrid). We also found out that Encarnita is an amazingggg cook! Those were our first few days of Madrid.
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