Roman Aqueducts and Russian Ballet

April 9, 2008 at 8:24 am (Culture/Civilization/History, Daily Occurences, Travel)
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It has finally hit me that my days here are numbered, in only 56 days I shall be returning to my well missed home in the U.S.  With that in mind I plan to do my best to enjoy the few that remain.
This past weekend was well received with continuous highs in the 80’s.  I now have a slight sunburn (it will turn into a glorious tan soon, I’m sure of it) from spending Friday soaking up the sun in Retiro park.  The weather has since disintegrated into cold rain and I can only patiently wait for the sun to reappear from behind the clouds so that I may resume my sunbathing habits.
Saturday Kim and I hopped a train to Segovia.  We were under the impression (from several guide books) that it was a two hour ride.  Our plan was to leave early, hopefully around 9:00 a.m. so that we would have adequate time to enjoy the seemingly small city of about 60,000.  We were shocked and please to discover that although our train wouldn’t leave until 10:35 that morning, leaving us over an hour of free time in the train station, it would only be a half hour ride.  A nice long cup of café con leche filled the delay and we were in the center of Segovia by 11:30 (including the bus ride from the train station).  The main attraction in Segovia is the 813 meter long Roman aqueduct built in 50 BC with 20,000 blocks of granite and absolutely no mortar, to pipe water from a river 18 km away.  Since we enjoy walking so very much, Kim and I followed the aqueduct along its route through the city.  It was just long enough to take about 50 pictures or so of stones and more stones, and arches…! The other Segovia must see (besides the usual cathedral and churches) is the Alcázar.  The 11th century fortress is said to be the model for Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle.  It appeared to be a plausible claim since there are definite similarities between the spiral towers and pointed turrets.  Ice cream was our third and final Segovian highlight, and we once again enjoyed the pleasant weather as we wandered the streets, crashed a wedding party, and made friends with the birds.
I’m also almost done with ballet classes, and while I won’t be dropping out of school and running away to New York to join a company (they’d probably disapprove of my “pastry-eating” problem anyway), I can see a definite improvement in my flexibility and coordination which is promising since I can’t seem to make it a day here without tripping at least once, whether on the sidewalk or over my own feet.  My dream of becoming a ballerina however still very much exists.  Sunday night I attended the Moscow Ballet Company’s production of “El Lago de los Cisnes” or “Swan Lake” to the English speakers.  Breathtaking.  It was beautiful.  The movement, the music, the costumes, the performers, and the theatre.  I was familiar with the story from what else but Disney’s film version, and after reading the plot description in the program it was amazing to see the dancers convey the emotions, feelings, and words through their actions alone.  Very moving.  So maybe if the whole teaching/ Spanish thing doesn’t work out I can still become a dancer.  After the performance I went home and stretched!  
I’m going to Rome for a couple of days!  Excited, very!  
And I shall be returning Saturday just in time to celebrate by 100th day in Spain.  wow.
School continues to be school.  (speaking of which I should be studying for a test right now… ooops!)  I continue to learn more outside of the classroom then in, but I believe that is part of this whole experience.  
And with that, good night, good morning, have a wonderful day… depending on your time zone… where you are… when you read this…  ¡CIAO!

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Semana Santa – Part Two

March 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm (Uncategorized)

Lourdes… I believe that is where I left off.  A truly religious experience, Lourdes is the home of St. Bernadette.  She was a girl to whom Mary appeared 18 times in the mid 1800s.  Mary told her to drink from a small stream that had sprung up and to do penance and pray for sinners.  Now there is a basilica above the grotto as well as a huge underground basilica, about a mile long Stations of the Cross, and several other chapels and buildings at the sight.  There are also fountains that contain the water from the spring so that you can drink it and collect it in a bottle.  There are also baths to bathe in the water.  Many sick and elderly people pilgrimage there to drink the water, bathe, attend mass, and make confession.  We attended mass there for Holy Thursday along with at least 2,000 other Catholics in six languages.  It was amazing and so uplifting to see everyone come together and celebrate the Eucharist.  The whole Lourdes experience was refreshing and a wonderful reminder of God’s love and forgiveness, especially three days before Easter.

 

Friday morning we boarded the train once again, headed towards San Sebastian.  We had to switch trains twice.  The first time we had about an hour in between so we ate breakfast at the café in the train station.  We arrived in San Sebastian around 3:30.  It was a little cold and rainy, but the ocean was beautiful.  Our hotel was nice and after checking in we went for a walk to find lunch.  We found a wonderful restaurant and ate salad and calamari and shrimp.  Went back to the hotel and Skyped with the Elevator (always a fun experience!) and took a little break.  That night we went out to a tapas bar for a couple drinks and then went to bed.  Saturday we managed to hike to the top of one of the small mountains before the rain came in.  We did discover a church for Easter mass the next day though and we bought an umbrella.  We did a little shopping.  My mom found 10-euro boots!  We had lunch at a tapas bar.  Probably the highlight of San Sebastian was the tapa bars.  The bar would be covered with plates of food, little sandwiches, bread with different toppings, tortilla, croquetas, tarts with fish fillings, sausage, ham, mini kabobs, etc…  The bartender would give you a plate that you could go around and fill with whatever food you liked.  You would then show the bartended your plate so they could make a note of it for your bill and then you could get your drink and sit down and enjoy.  This was what we did all day Saturday more or less, oh yeah and we stopped at the bakery 3 times!  Sunday it was finally nice again.  The sun was out and we walked along the coast.  We ate breakfast at a small pub and went to church.  After mass we stopped at another bakery for dessert.  I don’t want to see a pastry for at least another week.  At the moment anything with whipped cream will make me gag!

 

Sunday afternoon we returned to Madrid and went to bed.  We were all tired.  Monday was our final day together.  We went shopping for last minute souvenirs and grocery shopping to stock my cupboards.  We ate a nice lunch at la Finca de Susana, one of my new favorite restaurants here.  And then we said goodbye.  It was a tearful parting.  I truly enjoyed being able to spend so much uninterrupted time with my mom and dad.

 

It was hard going back to school on Tuesday, but after almost three days of classes again I’m surviving.  I think Kim and I plan to go to Salamanca for Friday and Saturday.  And then if I really think about it I only have two months left in Spain.  It is unbelievable how fast the time goes by.

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Semana Santa – Part One

March 25, 2008 at 11:25 am (Culture/Civilization/History, Travel)
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A vacation within a vacation, at least in a way that is what this spring break felt like.  My parents arrived Friday morning.  Kim and I managed to wake up before 7:00 A.M. to meet them and Kim’s dad who was also coming to visit her.  I had made a lovely green sign that read “Bienvenido a España Mom y Dad” that I held up as a welcoming gesture.  It was very nice to see them again.  Hard to put into context because having my parents in Madrid broke my previous idea of what Madrid was. 

            I immediately introduced them to the Metro and brought them to my house.  We toured my neighbor hitting all of the highlights: school, bakery, and grocery store!  A definite highlight was teaching them how to put their metro ticket into the machine.  Then when we stopped at the ATM to withdraw money, my dad told my mom to get her card out.  Since we were going to get on the bus she immediately assumed transportation ticket and got her pass out.  So there we stood in front of the bank at the ATM waiting to withdraw money while my mom tried to figure out where exactly to put her metro ticket in the machine.  Lunch was a delicious pasta with shrimp and fresh strawberries on the back patio.  After checking into our hotel near Sol we hit the hot spots: Gran Vía, Calle de la Montera, Opera, Palacio Real, and Plaza Mayor.  They didn’t believe me when I said I could easily walk 5-10 miles in a day.  They know better now.

            Saturday we met my Great Aunt and Uncle, Lavonne and Dan, at their hotel.  Together the five of us ventured to the Reina Sofía to see the Picasso exhibit that is currently there from the Picasso museum in Paris.  My favorite was a sculpture that looked like a chicken but actually turned out to be a women in a garden.  Quick scare when we lost Uncle Dan right before we were going to leave, but according to him we were the ones who was lost.  He was just sitting on the bench waiting for us to come out of the gift shop.  Following the museum we took the metro to Gran Via for lunch.  We ate at Bazaar, still one of my favorite restaurants here, in Chueca.  The restaurant happens to be three buildings down from my dance studio so a quick tour was in order.  I had chicken curry over noodles.  So good, and the portions are the perfect size.  Next we walked to the Palacio, toured it, still breathtaking, and then went to find dessert and coffee.  (We had to bribe Uncle Dan so that he wouldn’t whine on the tour!)  A short visit to the Plaza Mayor, a little shopping, and then Tapas.  Once again we were exhausted.

            Sunday we attended mass San Gimnes.  It is a beautiful church with many side chapels that are exquisitely decorated with paintings, statues, and gold.  I bought some churros for a quick breakfast, then we went to El Rastro, the huge flea market.  It was a beautiful day, excellent weather.  We took a quick stroll in Retiro after El Rastro and then had lunch at an outdoor café.  Our train left for Paris that evening at 7:00 so by 4:30 we hastily gathered our luggage, returned to my house, and repacked.  Using our Eurail passes was very easy and with no problems we were able to board the train and find our cars.  I’d never traveled overnight by train before.  Surprisingly I slept very well.  I fell asleep listening to music in Madrid and woke up well rested in Paris.

            Our hotel in Paris was in the Latin Quarter a couple blocks away from the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  Once again we walked everywhere.  The zipper on one of my boots had broken on the train the night before so Monday I walked from our Hotel to Notre Dame to the Lourve to the Arc de Triumph to the Eiffel tower in heels.  The Eiffel tower was my favorite.  We got in line to see it at about 6:30 and there was still enough light out to see everything clearly.  By the time we reached the top it was 8:00 or so and the city was lit up against the night sky.  We took the metro home and had dinner at a café near our hotel. 

            Since we saw basically everything in Paris the first day our second day was much more relaxed.  We went to the top of Notre Dame and then went to the Moulin Rouge so I could take a picture in front of it.  We walked back from there shopping along the way.  A fun discovery that morning was a quaint farm market near our hotel with fruits, vegetables, pastries, and of course scarves.  Everyone sells scarves.  And I also really enjoy the basket of French bread that is served with everyone meal.

            Wednesday we went to the museum de ‘Orssay.  Impressionist art.  I saw so many of Degas’ ballerinas!  Then we walked to the Opera house, and along the main shopping street.  It was so cold.  Paris is cold.  We ate lunch for what seemed like two hours simply to stay out of the cold.  As we began our walk back towards our hotel we somehow ended up on Rue Dennis, the prostitute street, and then it began to snow and hail.  Cold.  I missed Madrid at that point.  Our train left that night at 11:00.  After a long dinner we walked to the train station.  It was cold there too, so we went to McDonalds for soft serve ice cream and to wait in the heat.  Another overnight train, another good night of sleep.

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A Weekly Update

March 10, 2008 at 11:02 am (Culture/Civilization/History, Daily Occurences)
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Monday 3/3:  There is a new bus interchange in Arguelles so now I don’t need to walk outside to catch my bus to Berzosa (the campus outside of Madrid).  I also silently fumed during my graphic design class as the professor taught us how to do “destructive edits.”  The weather was colder and there was a strong breeze.  I made a trip to the train station to unsuccessfully buy train tickets for when my parents come (only 11 days) and then explored Nuevos Ministerios.  I found some cute artisan stands.  I will have to come back.

 

Tuesday 3/4:  I decided today would be my bocadilla de tortilla day.  I’m addicted to them.  It is a large sandwich made on a long toasted baguette with the Spanish egg and potato tortilla.  You can order them at the cafeteria at school for less then 2 euros!  After class I hurried home to change and then headed to the center.  I’d signed up for the school’s tour of El Palacio Real: the Royal Palace of Madrid.  It was exquisite.  Commissioned by Felipe V in 1738 it was completed in 1764.  The present king does not however live there.  Instead it now serves as the location for formal affairs from visiting dignitaries and head of state as well as a historical tourist site.  My favorite room of the 3,000 that exist (luckily we didn’t see all of them or I’d still be there…) was the Gaspirini Room, the former robbing room of Charles III.  It’s named after its Italian creator.  The ceiling is stuccoed with fruits and flowers and even people, and the floor is painted in an intricate paisley/fleur delis design.

 

Wednesday 3/5:  My first American History test.  I think I may have passed… J

 

Thursday 3/6:  Ballet day.  I was only corrected twice in class, which was very promising.  I also decided that I have to take Flamenco dancing lessons since I am in Spain.  I will start in April.  The days are warmer again.  Thank goodness.  Kim and I went to some friends’ apartment to play cards and have sangria.  It ended up being more like fruit cocktail, which was just fine with me.  The fruit is my favorite part.

 

Friday 3/7: Happy Birthday Mary!  I got my laundry done.  That’s always a relief.  And it was nice enough to hang everything up outside to dry.  I really miss clothes dryers.  None of my jeans fit right because they are only ever air dried now.  I went for a brisk walk and read.  My friend Caroline’s sister arrived from Florida and I joined the two of them for some tapas in Sol.  We went to the Malaspina.  I think it may be my favorite place.  They have delicious bravas (potato slices fried and seasoned served with a ketchup/Tabasco type sauce), empanadas, bread and cheese…  I’m making myself hungry again. 

 

Saturday 3/8: I visited the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza this morning.  The museum focuses on European art from the 13th to the 20th centuries.  The collection included one of my favorite works, “Swaying Dancer” by Degas.  On the subject of art… there is currently a temporary exhibit on Picasso at the Reina Sofia.  I will have to plan to go to that, over 300 works by him, most of which are on loan from the Picasso museum in Paris.  After the museum I wandered, bought an ice cream cone, people watched, and then bought the supplies to make lasagna at a grocery store I discovered.  I went home, put it together and baked it, and now I have enough food to last me all week!  I ended up bringing some of it over to Claudia’s apartment.  We had dinner and coffee and then went to a short film festival that her roommate had put together. (the same one who had been nominated for a Goya)

 

Sunday 3/9:  Mass this morning, and then I spent sometime in the park except it was windy again and I didn’t stay long.  I spent most of the afternoon catching up on correspondences and doing homework.  Only five days until my parents come!

 

 

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inconvenience

February 26, 2008 at 11:56 am (Daily Occurences)

the bus drivers are on strike… double the amount of time allowed to travel anywhere.  

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Ávila

February 23, 2008 at 7:40 pm (Culture/Civilization/History)

I walked over 10 miles yesterday. It was a day of adventure and feeling utterly free. No classes Friday equated to a personal day, and I decided to travel solo. I arrived at the train station at 9:45 in the morning with absolutely no idea about what I was doing. Luckily I was able to catch the 10:00 train to Ávila. It was a long distance train with full service, and it made the hour and a half journey very comfortable. Upon arrival in the small city I realized I didn’t know where I was going. I wandered. (and followed the signs…) As luck would have it, if you walk long enough it is very hard to miss an entirely walled city. After picking up a plano from the tourist office I entered one of the many small puertas being extremely careful not to be hit by the cars that also sped through the no more then seven foot wide opening. Good advice: wear sturdy shoes with thick soles; the cobblestone roads will kill your feet! All of the windy roads led to el Mercado Chico in the center where every Friday there is an open produce market. I began there with some delicious potato chips and bananas! It was a great accompaniment to my All-American PB&J sandwich. Next I saw the convent and church of St. Teresa of Jesus. In the small gift shop attached to the convent there is a room of relics that includes some writings with her signature, photos, prayer books, and her preserved ring finger. The church was beautiful. It was full of paintings depicting her life story. Next stop was the cathedral. Heavily under construction I wasn’t able to see much of it, however the outside had gorgeous windows, intricate stonework, and flying buttresses. My final thing to do was walk the walls. About 2.5 km of the fortress is open to the public to walk. I explored every inch of it. My slight fear of heights only interfered on the narrow steep steps leading to the walls and the occasional landing/ platform thing. The sky was a clear blue dotted with a few large, fluffy, white clouds (8th grade science has departed from my head and I’m not sure what type of clouds they were exactly). I took a plethora of photos and I’ll try and put some up here. The day was glorious. I felt very lightheaded walking around the walls and the whole train ride home. Whether that was for the altitude, a slight head cold, or simply happiness and enjoyment, I’m really not sure. ☺It’s been seven weeks (or much more in most cases) since I’ve seen your smiling faces! I miss you all and I hope those of you in the Midwest are staying warm! (I won’t mention that our average temperature here the past three days has been 65 degrees…)Vale. ¡Ciao!

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Día de San Valentine

February 19, 2008 at 10:34 am (Culture Shock, Culture/Civilization/History, Daily Occurences)

February 14, 2008

 

People have a lot of respect for the United States.  Amazing?  I also need to brush up on my politics especially with the upcoming election.  My new housemate is from Ethiopia and tonight we had a discussion in the kitchen.  According to him it is good for Africa that the U.S. remains the dominant power in the world.  This was the first time I have heard anything of the sort.  The conversation went from the cost of universities in the U.S. to suicide bombers.  I learned that the biggest motivation for them is money.  People will come and offer $50,000 for their families if they kill themselves and everyone else around them.  Selfish?  Yes, but for the poor people it sounds like a quick solution to their financial problems.  As always I’m learning more outside of school then in school.

 

Today was Valentine’s Day.  Kim and I had a delicious comida at the typical Spanish time, 3:30 p.m.  We ate at Gino’s an Italian restaurant near our house that we’ve been waiting to try.  Chocolate crescents and coffee at the corner bakery completed the meal.  The other day I obtained a library card for the public library in our neighborhood, so that was our next stop.  I also found a dance and music studio nearby and I’m considering taking Flamenco lessons!  Flamenco is a style of music generally played on the guitar and accompanied by singing and dancing.  The typical instruments include the guitar, a simple box like drum, clapping, castanets, and heals of the feet of the dancers.  It comes from the gypsies and is most common in southern Spain, particularly Andalucia.  If you’re interested YouTube it.

 

My second week of classes went very well.  I like them all.  Not too much homework yet so in my free time I’ve been catching up on some reading and planning trips.  I hope to go to Toledo or Ávila this weekend or next.  I also would like to go to Sevilla and Grenada, as well as Rome, and the Netherlands, Austria, or Germany.  I’m looking very forward to my parents visit over Holy Week (my spring break) when we will be going to France and northern Spain, and I will be able to show them around Madrid! 

 

I love Madrid, I love living in a huge city, I love public transportation, I love the people here, I love challenging myself, I love living on my own, I love grocery shopping, I love chocolate, I love the beautiful weather, I love walking, I love ballet class, I love music, I love my library card, and I love feeling independent.

 

I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but I’ve now assumed the role of au pair for the family where I’m living.  On the weekends if I’m home I watch the two young boys for a few hours while their parents do work around the house.  Albero is six years old and Mario is 15 months, I believe.  It is very good practice for me to play games and draw with Albero because he uses a very basic language that is easy for me to understand, and I simply have to chase Mario around and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble!  Although “baby talk” in Spanish is a little more difficult…

 

Pues, es casi 23:30 y tengo mucha sueña.  Buenos noches. ¡ciao!

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El Escorial

February 10, 2008 at 6:03 pm (Culture Shock, Culture/Civilization/History)
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Saturday, February 2, 2008

 

            San Lorenzo de El Escorial is the Royal Monastery commissioned by Felipe II as a mausoleum for the tomb of his father Carlos I.  The building began in 1563 and was completed in 1595.  King Felipe took a very keen interest in the smallest details of the project.  He told the first architecture, Juán Bautista de Toledo to aim for “simplicity in the construction, severity in the whole, nobility without arrogance, majesty without ostentation.”  Toledo died in 1577 and his successor, Juan de Herrera followed Felipe’s precepts.  The design is supposed to resemble the iron grid on which St. Laurence was roasted alive.  (Lovely.)  It is comprised of a basilica, a royal palace, a monastery, a seminary and a library.

            We left around 10:30 Saturday morning.  Our train ride was about an hour.  It was enjoyable to be riding above ground for once and thus able to appreciate the mountainous landscape and small towns we passed through.  The train itself was not impressive, for two euros and a short distance you are not paying for comfort.  It was about a 20-minute walk from the train station to the monastery.  It was a cloudy morning but the darker sky allowed for excellent photos as we approached.  After purchasing tickets our journey commenced in rooms filled with tapestries and artwork.  The collection included “The Martyrdom of St. Maurice and the Theban Legion,” a work by El Greco that was intended for the altar in the basilica.  Felipe however found the style inappropriate and had it placed instead in the sacristy.  After that El Greco never received another royal commission.  Following a path marked with signs we journeyed downwards to the Architecture Museum.  Here all of the blue prints, models, and scale drawings used to build El Escorial were collected and displayed.  They also had many tools and smaller versions of the gigantic wooden cranes and hoists used to haul the granite blocks into place to build the monastery. 

            More rooms filled with paintings followed.  The most interesting for me was the Gallery of Battles.  This long rectangular room was completely covered with frescoes by 16th-century Italian artists.  Walls and ceilings; every single inch of space was covered with reenacted battle scenes.  There had to have been more then a million miniature horses and soldiers.  There were villages being plundered, men with bow and arrows and swords, and ships in the sea.  All of the paintings were intended to validate Felipe II’s military campaigns.  The Panteón de los Infantes is the royal interment for over 60 children.  Their ornately decorated tombs line small rooms and cubbyholes, many with altars.  It is also rumored that many illegitimate royal offspring lie within the crypts.

            The Chapter Houses contained more artwork; the grand staircase has a beautiful fresco by Luca Giordano above it called “Glory of the Spanish monarchy,” and the library contains more then 4,000 manuscripts and 40,00 folio volumes all arranged with their pages facing outwards to allow air to the pages.  The basilica was extremely impressive with 42 chapels, high vaulted ceilings, more incredible frescoes and an ornately decorated main altar.  The courtyards and gardens were also impressive.  By the time we exited the sun had come out and we enjoyed a light lunch outside the Courtyard of the Kings.  We walked back to the train station through a large expansive garden, stopped and had a café con leche in a local pub and then caught our train back to Madrid.

 

Some random facts about El Escorial:

            2,673 windows

            1,200 doors

            88 fountains

            86 stairways

            73 statues

            16 courtyards

            42 chapels 

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Fat Tuesday

February 6, 2008 at 9:19 am (Daily Occurences)
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The Spanish love sweets; sweets that you can buy from the bakery on the corner.  I however love to bake, or maybe I just love to eat the raw dough!  Currently I’m stuffed.  And my head hurts from too much sugar.  To properly celebrate Mardi Gras my friends Claudia and Kim joined me in a baking extravaganza.  We began with a trip to the grocery store.  The Spanish don’t bake.  It took us an hour to find the basic ingredients for brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  Oh wait; they don’t have chocolate chips in Spain.  We ended up buying candy bars that we chopped into pieces.  They also don’t have vanilla extract and it was nearly impossible to find baking soda. 

 

After the ingredients were collected and bought the experimenting began.  There was a definite lack of measuring utensils in the house.  An old herb jar became a half a cup, and a small glass was a cup.  Not that it would have really helped to have measuring cups because our heads were a jumble of cups and grams.  We guestimated.  After a lot of trial and error and taste testing we ended up with a chocolate cream cheese cake (the brownies) and flat caramelized dough with lots of white and milk chocolate chunks.  Delicious.  We probably put way too much butter in everything and way too much chocolate, but it was Fat Tuesday and the bottle of wine helped wash it all down.  All in all it was a successful day.

 

Oh and P.S.

Claudia’s roommate was nominated for a Goya (Spanish Oscars) for a film he’d worked on!  Insane.  I like the crazy artsy people here.

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Oh that’s right, I came here to go to school…

February 4, 2008 at 12:55 pm (Daily Occurences, The University)
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The intensive Spanish course that I took finished last Thursday.  I had two final examinations, both of which went well, I think!  The course was a great review of all the Spanish grammar that I’ve ever learned.  I have also chosen all of my classes for the semester now.  Here’s what my schedule looks like:

 

Monday and Wednesday:

 

10:30-11:50 -            Tecnología de la Edición Gráfica (Planning and designing magazine and newspaper layouts, photoshop, and other graphic design software)

 

12:10-13:30 -            History and Institutions of the US (US history in English!  This should be interesting.)

 

 

Tuesday and Thursday:

 

10:00-11:20 -            Conversación y Composición III (Speaking and Writing Spanish, Level 3)

 

13:10-14:30 -            Arte y Civilización (Spanish history and art)

 

 

So that’s my schedule!  I’m excited and I’ll let you know how they go.  This weekend we went to El Escorial, I will write more about the excursion later.

 

Hasta Luego. 

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