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)

Sprechemos Beaucoup Linguas

Today I had a lovely lunch with three of my girlfriends: Alexandra from Belgium, Karen from Holland and Carol from Ireland. During the course of the meal I believe we may have actually drawn on six different languages! The other three know Dutch, we all know a little bit of German, there was some French and Italian in there as well as our English and Spanish. It started as a joke but then we all got incredibly confused- especially when our waiter overheard us and only spoke in French from then on!
The place was fantastic; it is up in the Albaycin near the Mirador St. Nicolas that overlooks the city and the Alhambra. We had a Spanish cheese plate, and two platters that contained various seafood and something pork and very tasty, along with tinto verano (a very typical drink here, comparable to sangria).

Saturday night Carol and I did indeed get a new roommate- Jaena (ABSOLUTELY no idea how to spell his name, sounds like “Hi-Nah”) arrived around 4:00 a.m. and of course I was awake because trying to sleep before 5 a.m. on a Saturday night in Granada is just a worthless cause.

 He seems very nice. He is in his mid-20s, working on his PhD in Mathematics in the UK, has acted in a Shakespeare play once (Measure for Measure) and will be here for 2 weeks on vacation. Heiner has just come home and informed me that this is the correct spelling of his name.
Last night was another Sunday Night Dinner at Paul and Gillians’. This time they cooked, and in attendance were myself, Carol, Heiner, Karen, Angel, and of course Paul and Gillian. It was great because they live right next door to the only functioning Mosque in Granada and while we were having drinks and Texas Guacamole out on the terrace we got to hear and see the call to prayer (a very loud melodic chanting that happens 4 times a day). It was surreal against the backdrop of the mountains and the Alhambra. I have decided to look into a career in chanting, yodeling, or just straight hollering. And speaking of, there is a new frequenter to our street- an older gentleman who carries around a hammer and randomly strikes walls with it while yelling gibberish at the top of his lungs. I sure do love him. Anyway another highlight of the dinner party was that I FINALLY had access to an oven (not a common thing here) and was able to make the Sprinkles cupcakes that Jennifer sent me a few months ago. I had been carrying the mix around with me in the hopes of getting that chance and it finally paid off because they were FANTASTIC! Thanks Jen!!! (from all of us!)
I have taken this week off to focus more on getting a job, so tomorrow I head off to Sevilla to look for possible work there. It would all be so much easier if I had fluent Spanish and was somehow related to a major Spanish film producer, but alas, plan B will have to do.

SABES QUE…
My very good friend Aaron is now engaged to a lovely girl- Amanda! Congrats, friends!!! 

No Pasa Nada

Great week. I love being back in classes. This week my class consisted of a 16 year old British girl named Chelsea, who is very sweet, Klaus, a German fellow somewhere in his 40s(?) and in the afternoons for conversation classes, Pius, who is a 28 year old swiss information technologist. Good fun. My favorite class of the week was a conversational one where we played the game “Taboo” in Spanish outside in the jardin. Some of the descriptions we came up with were absolutely hilarious!

On Wednesday we had a little bit of a fieldtrip: to the newspaper “Ideal”. We toured the building and saw old printing presses, as well as the current system (which turns out is very similar to that of a magazine). On Thursday, some of us went on what was called “the tour of Granada: Underground” and was advertised with images of tunnels and caves and things under the city. In actuality, it was just a tour of some of the lesser-known attractions, most of which we had already seen. We all had a nice time though, and lovely cervezas and tapas in the evening.

The rest of the week went really smoothly with a lot of studying (I had to catch up a little) and just hanging out. I still haven't had too much sleep due to our noisy neighbors, but I am  gradually catching back up from Barcelona. Today we went outside and there was just a crazy man screaming gibberish and absentmindedly banging on the wall with a hammer. I think we must live on the street that attracts the crazies. Yesterday was great because we all had tapas in the jardin at school after classes and told stories and had a ton of laughs when Pius decided he was going to teach me how to salsa and line dance (I just didn’t have the heart to tell him I already knew). After a bit of a siesta we all got dressed up and met back at one of my favorite bars: La Puerta de la Alpujarras, where we made loads of new friends (It was intercambio night) and then on to another random bar where an impromptu table fusbol tournament erupted, intermixed with more dancing. Klaus and I won the tournament the first time, and then came in second the next time around. We ended the night at a discoteca called Mae West with hours of dancing until our feet just couldn’t take anymore.

Carol and I are expecting a new roommate of unknown age, gender and nationality today. It should be interesting.

SABES QUE…
More women than men are currently enrolled in Spain's universities.