Jan. 7 2011
Took taxi from the airport to La Puerta del Sol. Biggest, most lively and exciting plaza I've ever seen in my life! I don't even know what all those people were doing, but at 1pm on a cloudy Friday afternoon, it seemed like everyone in Madrid was there, shopping, meeting up with friends, eating, waiting in line for lottery tickets... I managed to trudge with my enormous suitcase through the plaza to the hotel. Abandoned my luggage in the room and immediately went outside to marvel at the plaza a little more. I took tentative circular loops around the plaza, in order to explore a new street in each direction without losing my way (streets here are deceptively curvilinear), found a tiny mediterranean restaurant that seemed to be popular and ate at the counter, later stopped at another place called "llao llao" for frozen yogurt (couldn't resist, haha). Wandered through the Plaza Mayor -- incredible as well, and SO many artists and performers in the square! It seemed like everywhere I went there were more and more people outside, enjoying themselves! Found the bustling Mercado de San Miguel, stuffed with food, tapas and wine vendors selling every imaginable Spanish delicacy, and I also stumbled across the Royal Palace and giant Almudena Cathedral. So much Baroque architecture, dramatic columns and ornate decoration! Eventually had to return to the hotel at Calle Arenal 15 to meet with the group, go over logistics and go to dinner.
Jan. 8, 2011
Took the bus to Granada to explore the Alhambra. Wow, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I loved it because it was so peaceful and tranquil and had amazing 360 views of the pueblo blanco (village houses painted white), the white snow-capped mountains (the houses and snow mirrored each other) and dramatic green and brown mountains and valleys off in the distance. The decorations of the palace were so intricate and detailed, unlike anything I've ever seen before, but definitely the most spectacular thing about the Alhambra was the water and fountains. The sound of the water was so calming and peaceful, especially in the gardens, surrounded by trees and plants. I really liked the water staircase (water ran down along the handrail by the staircase), and walking along the pathways, glimpsing views of the city from behind the white arches while simultaneously listening to steady flow of water -- I can't imagine anything more soothing. My words seem really insufficient to describe the Alhambra.... hmm
Travel to Nerja, small coastal town in Andalucía -- lots of German and English tourists here! But our director, Santy, argues that it's important to see the touristic side of Spain too because this country (with a population of ~47 million) receives over 50 million tourists every year! We stayed at a hotel called "El Balcón de Europa" -- how perfect :)
Went dancing in the clubs in "Plaza de Tutty Frutty" only 3 minutes from the hotel. Fell asleep listening to the gentle rushing sounds of the ocean. Is this really winter???
9 Jan. 2011
Classes about Spain and Spanish history in the morning, then free time to explore the beaches and the town. Incredible weather -- so warm, blue skies, lots of sun -- I could be in Hawaii! Paella for lunch with fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, L'Augustines (sp??), vegetables, saffron and lots and lots of rice! Very delicious. Visited the town of Frigiliana in the afternoon. Jon joked that he would name his first daughter Frigiliana -- ¡qué horror! Climbed up to the top of the mountain so we could see the snow-covered mountains in the distance as well as the sea -- makes for a very temperate climate, excellent for growing things. It was domingo, but Santy insisted we try the specialty of Frigiliana (sherry) so we went in search of this alcoholic beverage. It took several tries but we finally found a place that was open. The sherry was very sweet -- like muscat grape juice with a hint of fermentation -- but I liked it. Back to Nerja then for dinner and more dancing
10 Jan. 2011
Off to Córdoba today. Definitely cooler now that we're more inland. City of 3 religions and of great importance to the Islamic rulers. The city is a candidate for 'cultural capital of Europe 2016' and I can definitely see why! We stayed in the historic district, right next to "La Mezquita" (the Mosque which now has a Cathedral inside and is actually a Cathedral officially). La Mezquita has an incredible inner courtyard with orange trees and fountains -- these tranquil patios clearly demonstrate the Arabic influence in the city, and I wish I could see them all! Perfect places to read, think, paint, and simply disfrutar la vida. Went in search of a birthday card with Annie, Jessica and Jackie (for Shira) but I don't think Spaniards "do" birthday cards haha. This is a city with a lot of students, and we saw them everywhere (I especially saw a lot of music students lugging around their instruments). I liked wandering through the crooked, narrow streets in search of "bolsas" (purses) and "bufandas" (scarves). I observed one car scrape through the narrow streets (calles estrechas); the sound of the paint being scraped off and rubber tires against stone was a little painful!
11 Jan. 2011
We continue our journey north. First topped at Las Molinas of Don Quixote fame. Great views of "la meseta" (the valley) and again, beautiful blue skies. The flatness of the surrounding farmlands reminded me of Holland, but then I saw mountains in the distance. The windmills were very small but cute, perched on the ridge. I wonder whether the Spanish "molina" or Dutch "molen" word came first?
Next stop: Toledo! Again, a city of 3 religions and tolerance and political significance. Very distinct architectural style (no more white villages like Frigiliana and no more sandy-colored buildings of Córdoba -- now we have light brown stone and brick). More narrow streets, lots of bustling shops, and cobblestones. Visited the Cathedral. I really liked the strange, comical gargoyles that stuck out from the roof of the inner courtyard (men doing gymnastics, men with bizarre beards, animals, etc) -- the artists definitely took advantage of their artistic license. Everywhere we saw the symbols of Ferdinand and Isabella (the letters Y and F and also symbols of el yugo y las flechas, a yoke, possibly a reference to the yoke tied with the Gordian knot, and a fasces (bundle) of arrows. They really wanted to hammer the point home about Spain being a unified, Catholic kingdom.
Saw a few different representations of the Cathedral in the form of "marzapán" (a specialty of Toledo) and on the bus ride home, had a chance to sample the sweet delicacy too.
At 8:30, we met our host families (las familias anfitrionas). Mi madre, Consuelo, greeted me by enveloping me in her arms (actually, her fur coat), kissing me and then leading me through the crowd with both hands towards the bus stop. Took the bus to get my other suitcase, then a taxi to my new home -- at Calle del Alcade Saínz de Baranda. It's near the famous Parque del Buen Retiro and a few different hospitals (historically, a lot of doctors have lived here to be close to work). Mi madre worked as a nurse with Alzheimers patients for many years. Had dinner -- ensalada y tortilla (classic Madrid dish -- potatoes with egg, like a quiche, sort of... muy deliciosa) y una naranja -- and talked a lot and settled in to bed!
12 Jan. 2011
First day of classes! So weird to have school. Found my way with the metro just fine. I have 1 stopover at Nuñez de Balboa but it's very straightforward. First flamenco class -- we started late because most of the class arrived 45 minutes late, but it was fun and I loved the music. The teacher is very enthusiastic and lively and smiles a lot. She and Xavier, one of the students who was a professional dancer, danced together and it was really fun to watch. Then I had my "sistemas de la salud" class with Baker (switching over to English was SO difficult!) and then tapas and more orientation. It was so much fun to talk with everyone again and compare stories about our host families! After, had my women in art art history class -- it's going to be hard to follow because it's in Spanish, but I can't wait to visit the museums. Then a paseo por la ciudad (walk through the city) to a few different neighborhoods, and returned home for dinner. I actually really like the Spanish horario (schedule)! I feel like I can do more things in the day when lunch and dinner are later and more people are out at night. I'm surprisingly not tired late in the evening. Mi madre and I had a great dinner conversation -- I think my ability to understand her is improving hahah! We talked about America and Spain and health and working schedules and stress and diabetes and hypertension and obesity and life expectancy and how Spaniards work to live, not live to work (trabajar para vivir, no vivir para trabajar) and it was really fun! I get a little hung up sometimes when I forget how to conjugate the very correctly, and then mi madre gives me a quizzical look, scrunching her eyes trying to help extract the word from my mouth, but all in all, we can communicate pretty well! She keeps telling me she talks very loudly and talks too much and that I should go to bed, but then she continues talking about something and soon it's 30 minutes later and she's still talking haha! She's so sweet though, like a grandmother, and her little dog Doko is adorable, always greeting me with kisses and friendly playful paws. Doko is eating the carpets though -- much to the dismay of Consuelo -- and has to cough a lot! Consuelo keeps saying "la alfombra, la alfombra" so I've now learned the word for rug/carpet!
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