Good Cultural Fun

This was a great week full of Spanish and mini-excursions. We visited the monastery in town: Cartuja de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora, which was pretty cool. We had actually stumbled across it one of my first weekends here but didn’t know what it was and didn’t go inside. There were several galleries with huge paintings, mostly depicting Catholic priests being tortured by Protestants. This got to be a little over-the-top after a while. After more than our fill of these galleries, we went into the very last one which turned out to be the most elaborately decorated chapel I have ever seen (including ones in Rome). Every single inch of this enormous Baroque chapel was carved into elaborate images, some laced with gold and/or painted.

Another exciting excursion was to the childhood summer home of Frederico Garcia Lorca(1898 – 1936), one of my very favorite Spanish playwrights (but more famous for his poetry). It is in the middle of a park not too far from my house (but was outside the city limits when his family lived there). 

It was incredible to touch his writing desk, see handwritten pages of first drafts, and see random sketches from his good buddy Salvador Dali.

Last Sunday was another fantastic little trip-let to a small pueblo called Alhama (pronounced “a-llama”). It is a tiny little white-washed town on the edge of a cliff in the middle of beautiful farming country. 

Carol, Diego and I walked around the town and then went hiking for a few hours outside of town before settling in for a FANTASTIC authentic Spanish meal. On the way home we stopped in a small town called Santa Fe to sample some of their famous desserts- little cakelets called Pirononos. It turned out that there was a Medieval festival going on smack in the middle of town so we enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the boths set up for that. There was also an orchestra playing in a beautiful plaza, and random bagpipers strolling around. We did get to try the Pirononos and they were no disappointment.
When we arrived home from Alhama we discovered that we had a new roommate- Marco from Italy (but lives in London now). He is fun, we have all taken turns cooking food from our countries this week.
Other than that we have just been incredibly busy with hours of apartment-hunting every day. What fun to do this process for the 4th time. 
Ciao!

SABES QUE…
According to the S. Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants, Spain has 3 of the top restaurants in the world! (#1, 4 & 5)

www.theworlds50best.com

Semana Santa

This past week was a very important one in Spain: Semana Santa. Basically this entails tons of Processions- Parades that are serious religious trecks through the city, with all of these people (“Nazarenos” or “Penitents”) dressed in long hooded robes that resemble the KKK (but are much much older, but still have that connotation for me and I find them a little disconcerting) that walk very slowly. Some of them are barefoot and some have long candles or other fancy things, representing different things they are repenting. Other than them, there are women dressed all in black with tall comb things in their hair covered in long black lace, also carrying various crosses, candles and things. Each procession also has two “trunos”, or enormous float-like things that are carried by "costaleros"- men of the brotherhood (each procession is done by a different brotherhood) underneath it, resting on their shoulders. Each procession has a vision of Christ (depicting various stories from his life) and each has a Virgin. These figures are reused every year and some of them are incredibly old and well preserved. 

Each procession also has a brass band with tons of trumpets and drums, as well as gaggles of children. They all last for hours and each has a different route- including up in the Albaycin where the lanes are incredibly narrow, slippery and steep.
I saw several of the processions- and had three favorites. 1. A procession in the centre of town where Jesus got stuck in a tree and removing him became quite awkward. 2. One in the Albaycin that we all watched from the balcony of Rafa’s apartment and were just an arm away from the floats. 3. The Gitano procession, in Sacromonte (the gypsy side of the Albaycin, where the caves are) that lasted from 10 p.m.¬- 4 a.m. and included the singing of Saetas and a swift run up one of the steepest hills in town- Very impressive.

We had a day off from Spanish classes on Friday as it was a national holiday, so I joined my friend Diego for a roadtrip. 

We drove a few hours to the province of Almeria and then all along the coast. It was Absolutely Gorgeous!!! These beaches were so pristine and surrounded by rolling hills and small mountains in the distance, and the Mediterranean was so clear, I felt like I had left real life for a while. A lot of the landscape in that region is similar to parts of Africa so it is also used for a lot of films. We went to the beaches where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed, as well as the scene from Indianna Jones where Sean Connery is shooing all of the birds away with an umbrella. We saw some more of the coast on Saturday, including San José, La Cala Amarilla en Monsu, Cabo de Gata, and Playazo before heading up to Murcia, Diego’s hometown. We spent most of the day with his family at his older sister’s house. This was insane! 

The entire giant Spanish Catholic family all talking very quickly and at the same time- I was more than a little overwhelmed. That night he gave me the tour of the city and I sampled all sorts of delightful food typical of Murcia. We spent all of Sunday with the family again- a far cry from my family’s awesome traditions of Easter Margaritas and tipsy easter egg hunt/race (my favorite Svoboda holiday tradition, maybe tied with our annual Halloween pumpkin carving). I am pretty sure I ate more food that day than all of the last 4 months combined. There is no telling a Spanish woman that you are full and couldn’t possibly eat any more food. There were even several points where she got up and made plates especially for me and plopped them down in front of me. I have to admit they were all delicious, but I was miserably full for the rest of the day. 

I really did enjoy being in a rural Spanish home though, and particularly bonded with a 6 year old named Carmen. I had only a few language mishaps- they asked me what I liked best about Murcia and I (thinking they had asked what I liked better than Murcia) said “Nothing, of course!” They also apparently invited me to stay for the rest of the week and one of them would bring me back to Granada at some point, to which I replied “Thanks so much!” (thinking they had said something along the lines of ‘you’re welcome to return any time).After the meal (which lasted hours) we headed back to Granada where I had a FANTASTIC phone date with Cara and Marly. All in all, a wonderful week.
SABES QUE…
Spain has over 8,000km of beaches.


Gofres!!

Spain's Best Kept Little Secret

These little treats deserve their own entry because they are ohmygoodness good. Overshadowed by the famous Chocolate and Churros, these modest postres have somehow slipped through the cracks of global awareness. The first time I discovered them was a day after Robert and I had been talking forever about how good it would be to find a waffle in this country. I was on my way up to school and lo-and-behold—what was in the window of my neighborhood bakery, but a WAFFLE!!!! (Gofre in Spanish). Well we tried one that afternoon and were hooked. You can buy them plain or drizzled with/dipped in chocolate (milk, white or dark). But don’t be fooled- 

these are no ordinary American waffles, oh no (and don’t get me wrong- I love waffles so much I wanted nothing more than a fancy waffle iron for my 18th birthday). These are slightly smaller, sweeter, denser, even more delectable versions of the classic. Or maybe they were first, I’m not sure. 

But somehow this incredible little pastry transcends genres. Once I was aware of their existence, I began to see them everywhere (although I do have a favorite little place hidden in Granada). They were all over Barcelona, with a little variation in the drizzling methods, and in Sevilla in the form of Gofre Sundaes (with ice cream, warm chocolate syrup, fruit and all sorts of goodies. I don’t know when or where they were thought up and created. All I know is that when in Spain, Gofres are a MUST.

<--- A GOFRE STAND in Murcia. Amazing!!!

SABES QUE…
The waffle dates back to the 1300s in Greece.  International Waffle Day originated in Sweden. It is called Våffeldagen.

Torros

On Saturday we went to the Plaza de Torros to watch a real life bullfight! I knew I wasn’t going to like it but wanted to say I had been to one so I agreed to join Carol, Luke (from Sevilla), Paul and a few others. We sat on the sunny side of the ring (the two ticket options are ‘sun’ and ‘shade’) next to a very old man with an smoking-for-60-years voice who was more than happy to chat with us about the sport (and apparently also put ham on his face after I left). So basically it started with all of the guys coming out- the Matador, Picador, and Banderilleros and the band played and everyone cheered- the crowd went nuts at various times throughout the evening!! Then the awful action begun. The poor little giant bull came trotting out and looked up at the thousands of people in the crowd with a mix of confusion and curiosity until the torreros began to stab him with various lances, sticks and swords. Then, as he was humiliated and tortured, he was taunted with the waves of capes and flags by the guys on foot and horseback until he finally (slowly) died. At this point I was so upset that I had to leave. Apparently, though, it got much better as the evening progressed, and I had just witnessed an inexperienced torero with very little artistic flare. And I do have to admit; I could see the potential to appreciate this as an art, once you became desensitized to the death of the bull. I am not going to start protesting or anything, but I definitely won’t be going back.

SABES QUES…
Bulls are actually colorblind and the red, pink, and yellow capes are for the benefit of the crowd.

Is this not the weirdest looking tree you've ever seen?!

I think this looks like a human body growing out of the tree. I seriously sat and stared at it for a while. 

Sevilla: Dia Dos

I have to admit that I ate Tex Mex for dinner one of my nights in Sevilla. And it was awesome.

Day two of Sevilla was more sightseeing, looking at some of the English schools and walking around the city. I started out at the famous Plaza de Toros (bull fighting ring) for a tour of the stadium and museum. It was really interesting and absolutely mind-blowing what some of these mothers will allow their children to do. (Most Torreros begin training around age 9! Until this century most didn’t live past 26ish). I met a San Diegoan Navy guy on this tour and we decided to head out to the Cathedral afterwards. It was very similar to a lot of the other cathedrals I’ve seen- with the exception of being even more enormous than most. Also, it holds the remains of Christopher Columbus (which have been moved all over the world since his death). We climbed up to the Giralda bell tower as well and I was very disappointed to see that the bells are now all rigged up so that they can be rung from a button or trigger or something on the main floor. That’s just lazy.The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around, through the town, along the river, past the Teatro Lope de Vega (my favorite Spanish playwright) and then I had myself a little siesta. That night I got all dolled up for an unblelievably good flamenco show. It was in a little courtyard garden with a small wooden platform stage, some lanterns and a very small audience. The performers consisted of a tall blonde man on the guitar, a Spanish woman singing and a male and female dancer. Every single one of them was incredible- the guitarist was unbelievable- music flowed from his guitar like a stream of water, I would have sworn there were at least 3 or 4 guitars playing at once had I not seen the speed of his fingers. Both dancers were superb, but the guy in particular blew me away, there was so much soul in his dancing- I have never seen anyone perform so passionately. This put all of the other flamenco I have seen and been enthralled with absolutely to shame. I have never seen a performance more raw or vulnerable than their singing, playing and dancing. There is no way I can even begin to explain this performance or do it justice so I will leave it at that.

SABES QUE…
The Plaza de Toros in Sevilla was supposed to be perfectly round, but due to some lazy direction-following on the builders part, is kind of a wonky oval.

Sevilla!!!

The Birds and the Bees
The bus to Sevilla wasn’t too bad- only 3ish hours. Or so I’m told; I slept through the whole trip. I did wake up at one point to notice that the movie BEE Movie, dubbed in Spanish, was playing. Right as I was about to fall back asleep we hit a bird and it freaked me out. More than the actual fact that we hit it, Not one single other person even acknowledged it!! I looked around the whole bus but not even the driver flinched. Weird. Then I went back to sleep. I have developed the habit of falling asleep anytime I’m in a moving vehicle (car, bus, plane, train) that is absolutely fantastic and incredibly convenient.
Upon arrival I just took the evening to walk around the neighborhoods near my hotel, the shopping district. One of my favorite stores in Granada was having it’s grand opening here in Sevilla so I wandered in for some free champagne. I ate dinner in a little hole in the wall bar/café along with 9 little old men. We all sat at the bar and occasionally looked around at each other, but I just didn’t have the energy to start up a conversation.

Sevilla

Today started with my interview. We met in a Starbucks (ugh.. I know…) that is basically attached to the massive cathedral (the world’s largest gothic church built in the 15th century has a Starbucks). Upon further inspection there are at least 6 more Starbuckses just in the touristy parts of town that I’ve encountered. I think that was my April Fools Joke. (Granada, I’m proud to say, doesn’t have a Starbucks. Or maybe it does, but it’s far from the city center out towards suburbia). As for the interview itself, it went really well, although the idea of working at a summer camp again elicits a mix of nostalgia and disdain. I always enjoyed it and

 think I would again but I really kind of feel like I’m past that appropriate time in my life and should have a real job. I don’t want to be the post-college kid still going back to highschool parties. Anyway, the interviewer and I got on really well and ended up chatting for quite some time. By the way, does anyone know the standard rules for when in the duration of the interview is best for asking the interviewer where the best local bars are?

After that I walked around some more and have to admit I had a little bit of a cultural misunderstanding. Or maybe just a sign-reading misunderstanding. I came across an antiguedades store and went in to see if they had any sacacorchos (corkscrews) and the owner looked at me like I was crazy. So I thought he just couldn’t understand my accent or something so I went on to describe (with mime) what a corkscrew is. He patiently waited for me to finish and then said something along the lines of, “Yeah, I don’t carry things like that. This is a store for religious artifacts and antiques”. To which I had to reply, “Yes, of course. But how did the 16th century Spanish Priests open up their bottles of the blood of Christ?” And then I ran. No wonder everyone thinks American tourists are a little off.

After that little adventure came a tour of the Flamenco Dance Museum which was really neat, and where I also signed up for a one-time flamenco class. 

Afterwards, I strolled down through the tiny little streets to the Alcazár. It is a 14th century Christian reconstruction of a 10th century Moorish palace that was modeled after the Alhambra for King Pedro the Cruel and his mistress. The royal family still stays here when they vacation down to Andalucía. Similar to the Alhambra, it has incredibly detailed sculpture and carving in its architecture, but differs in that it has incredibly ornate depictions of animals and humans (something not present in Muslim architecture- it is forbidden in the Quran to recreate Allah’s work in art). I spent a good deal of time in the gardens as well, they even had a labyrinth! (Not quite as fun alone as when you have a Marly Ramsour and some Austrian chocolate liquor, but I had a good chuckle nonetheless. Actually, I don’t think there is much in the world that wouldn’t be improved by adding Marly and a little bottle of Mozart.)

After a nice little lunch in the sun and some more strolling I returned to the Flamenco Museum for my dance lesson. It ended up being me, a very tall blonde young man unquestionably from somewhere Nordic and 9 senior citizens (from Italy and Belgium). It was great because the instructor kind of ignored the fact that none of the older folks had a clue what she was talking about or doing so I was able to learn a lot. (Selfish? Yes. Awesome? Yes.) I think she was impressed that Nordy and I kept up so well. Afterwards we all had admission to a show that was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. I was so enamored with the guitar and the dancing and singing that my goosebumps had goosebumps. I may have even teared up. Considering pursuing a career in flamenco.

This town has such a bright feel to it, I can’t really describe it. It’s so ALIVE. It’s so much bigger than Granada, but makes Granada feel just a little darker in comparison. I find myself walking through this city smiling or humming to myself, and actually allowing myself to get lost and just enjoy the stroll (Normally I pride myself on my sense of direction. This is not the city for it.) Don’t get me wrong, I adore and still prefer Granada, but Sevilla sure has me charmed.


SABES QUE…Queen Isabel was a big fan of St. Mary of the Fair Winds (patron saint of navigators and a favorite of Columbus) so she pops up artistically all over the city. Apparently, however, Spanish slang has emerged in the past couple hundred years that creates a little play on words: She could also be called the ‘Virgin of Good Farts’, and I’m sure often is by little Spanish boys.

(also this picture, taken in the Alcazar Admiral's Wing, is the first time Native Americans are portrayed in European Art)