Day 32 - No more Spanish!

I've decided not to continue on in Spanish school as it was too taxing on my brain.  And, the last thing I wanted by coming here was to be mentally drained.  I have two more weeks of school that I paid for so I might convert that to private one-on-one lessons for one week.  I'm not sure yet.  I've done better at the local English pub than I have in class so I'm not convinced it is the right course for me.

It was at the pub last night that the camarero (bartender) reminded me that I have only really started to learn Spanish in the past month and that I'm doing very well.  However, at 43 (soon to be 44), it's hard to sit in class and take in everything.  Also, I realize I didn't come to Spain to learn Spanish but to spend time with Philip.  I was doing school as a way to occupy myself.  But, again, it was more work than fun.  So, now I'm playing Facebook games until he gets done in the early afternoon =)

I'm missing many things about the U.S.  First, I had to go on a major search for a drip coffee maker.  The only coffee you can find here is some form of espresso.  As the Italian girl in my class stated, "Es no espresso en Italia!  Es cafe!"  However, I had brought 10 pounds of Starbucks with me (not realizing there is a Starbucks on every major corner here as well) so it had to be used.  It was like heaven opened the pearly gates the first day I had real "American" coffee.  Apparently, no where else in the world do they serve drip, brewed coffee.  The guy that we are renting the room from calls it "agua sucio" which translates to "dirty water".  This is coming from someone that drinks tea every morning!  sigh!

Philip and I are thinking of going to Segovia this weekend and seeing the Roman aqueducts and other relics.  I'll keep everyone posted on whether we make it or not.

Ciao!

Day 31 - Second Level of Spanish!

Today I was supposed to start A2 (second level) of Spanish classes.  I've been so wiped out from the trip to Valencia I couldn't get out of bed.  So, I skipped today.  However, having done this class on my very first day at school, I thought it would be worth it to check in on my classmates from A1 and see how they fared on their first day.  All of them said they were lost.  So, in some ways, I should have probably stuck with the A2 classes as I was as lost as they are now.

In any case, I promised to post some more information on our trip to Valencia.  Again, it is a beautiful city in my mind.  It is much slower than Madrid and has a much more casual feel to it.  I never got to see the Mediterranean but I will see it in Barcelona in April.  Valencia seems a bit more "livable" than Madrid.  However, throughout Spain there is massive unemployment (22+%) and there is no real industry here other than tourism.   Still,Valencia appeared to me to be a "port city" and had many of the cranes I've seen along New Jersey's coast to accept boxcars of freight.  However, Valencia was probably more important in the Roman and Moorish eras than today.  But, they have seemed to turned that around.  It's a vibrant and interesting city unto itself.

One of it's coolest features is that it still has the old city gates from...I don't know when.  The walls of the old city have since been demolished but the main gate still stands.  You can't really get the gravity of the height of this ancient city entrance until you scale it yourself.  You clearly are 10 stories above the ground.  What's more is you can see how they built in the defenses - even inside the gate.  You can even see an opening in the center of the "wall" that they created just behind the gate where, if an enemy force got passed the main gate, they could throw boulders, pots of boiling oil or whatever else they could find to deter the invaders.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of that spot but here's a few that show what the fortress was really like.

Philip at the very top of the wall fortress (of course, with a Valencia flag flying).

A view down from the top, as the soldiers would have seen from an invading army.

The original gates to the city - still intact.  This was the first line of defense.

Archery openings at the very top of the wall defenses.

However, as the day progressed, we found it much less interesting.  Not because of the architecture or history but because of the hoards of people that were assembling in a political protest on March 11th.  That being the day of the Al Queda bombings on the Madrid trains on March 11th.  I never even thought that I'd be on a train on the anniversary of that event.

Day 30

It's been a while since I've updated my blog.  My apologies to everyone reading, but, it's been a mixed bag of events here in Spain.  On one hand, I've gotten to see a European country for the first time in my life, on the other I've been sick half of the time and have missed a lot of Spanish school as a result.  So, I've been resting a lot and trying to get back into normal mode.

Our AVE train going the maximum speed - notice how I couldn't get a steady picture!

It's hard to believe I've been in Spain for a month now.  It seems just like yesterday that I was landing in Spain on my first international flight.  On Friday, Philip and I took the AVE train to Valencia to spend the weekend there and get out of Madrid for a couple of days.  The train travels at up to 300 km/h (186 mph) so it only took 1.5 hours to get there.  I've taken many trains in the US but they top out at 72 mph, so it was interesting, to say the least.  The downside is you can't see much as you're going too fast.


Valencia reminded me a lot of Florida as it has palm trees and is on the coast.  Still, it was very dry there - just as I've found most of Madrid to be.  Next week is a big week in Valencia with a week-long event known as Las Fallas (click the link to learn more).  So, everyone was setting off firecrackers (and I'm not talking about the US type but the ones that would send the NYC Police running!).  I'm happy we arrived the week BEFORE it really started as it seems like it would be one big loud crowd of people.

My new nick-knack, courtesy of Felipe.

Philip's new Lladró piece.

On our first day in Valencia, we went the a world-renowned porcelain factory of Llardó for a private tour.  Philip's mother and her sisters collected the figurines from the company for many years.  The company is know for their ability to create an expressiveness in their pieces unlike other porcelain manufacturers.  They have grown from simply 3 brothers working in a workshop to over 1,000 artisans now working for the company.  Philip and I both wanted to buy a piece but, with the Euro conversion, it made no sense to buy it at their prices.  When it became clear to the tour guide that we weren't going to buy one of their "firsts", she quickly directed to their "seconds" shop - which we had no idea existed prior to that point!  Philip bought the above piece of soccer players and I guilted him into buying me the Asian boy carrying the potpourri bowl.  Needless to say, my Asian boy was MUCH less than the soccer players.  So guilt works when the economics are in your favor!

Later in the day we went to view the City of Arts & Sciences which - as the Wikipedia link explains - is a series of buildings designed and built in the late 90s in period of transformation and growth in Valencia.  Philip's Blog does a better job of explaining it than I am.  But, here's a few pictures of the cool buildings.

Philip pretending to be a harpist.

So, that was the first day in Valencia!  I'll post some more tomorrow.

I've decided to reinvest in Spanish school as an American friend that I've met there has asked me to join her in the next level of classes.  I don't hold out much hope for understanding the teacher any better, but I'm going to try it for a day or two to see how well I can survive.

¡Hasta luego!

Day 24 - Not much!

Last night Hector brought home a new cat and he spent the night howling because he was in a strange place.  So, needless to say, I had about 2 hours of sleep and slept past the time to get up for school.  Also, Philip has caught a bug that gave him a 101° temperature yesterday.  It seems that these Americans haven't been exposed to the same bugs as the Spaniards have, as we both keep getting a bug here and there.

Being tired all day, I eventually got myself out of the apartment at noon to have "tortilla de patata".  Which, is not the same at all as what we, in America, think of tortillas.  As we've been influenced by Mexico and their definition of a tortilla is simply a flat corn bread used to encase some sort of beans or meat inside of (think Taco Bell!).  In España, tortilla is a basically an omelet.  "De patata" - which is the most common - is with potatoes and onions.  Since there is no real breakfast in Madrid, this has become my favorite breakfast meal (albeit at noon).  Hector says he's going to show me how to make it.  Apparently, the key has to do with the temperature of the oil.  I'll post a pic of my first attempt!

After eating tortilla, I came back home and played Facebook games as both Philip and I are both not feeling our best.  After a couple hours, however, I decided to get out and do some homework.  So, back to the English Pub I went and did 3 chapters of homework (along with some Cuban rum!).

On my way back home I strolled through Plaza de Mayor, which was the originally formed by two crossroads which evolved into a plaza/market unto itself.  It is a very historic site and a popular tourist stop.  Today, it's primarily a place where one can sit outside and have a drink and/or eat.

 There are many unique characters that parade around the plaza attempting to solicit some money from the tourists.  They are more odd than the "Naked Cowboy" in Times Square.  Here's one such oddity.









Here's a nice panoramic view of the entire plaza.

Tonight I'm going to make a Julia Child's recipe for dinner and introduce Hector to something different.  More later!

Day 23 - Pastry!

Yesterday I had gotten up earlier than Hector and Philip so I decided to go for a stroll outside to not wake the two of them and to kill some time.  I had remembered Philip telling me about a pastry shop (la pastelería) that Hector had taken him to that was supposedly the best one in the area.  And, in Madrid there are plenty of them!  Spaniards apparently enjoy their sweets. 

One thing I've been surprised by is how well made the pastries are here.  I'd say they are on par with the French.  I hadn't realized how much they value their art of baking here.

As you can see from these photos, there were many choices and the decision was challenging. 

In any case, I made a selection of an apple tart pastry and Philip and I enjoyed it over some great American coffee.


We're not yet sure what the remainder of our day will be as we're both still recovering from not feeling well for most of the week.  So, we might just lounge around.  I'll let you know later!

UPDATE:  3pm - Philip is not feeling well again today - it seems like one of the two of us has something every day!  It seems to have been something he ate yesterday.  So, I'm using Rosetta Stone to listen to stories en Español to improve my listening skills.  So far it isn't working!

Day 22?

I'm not sure if my math is correct or not but I can't believe it has been 22 days since I've been in Spain.  Although, that's only 3 weeks and it makes sense since the first week I just lounged around and the next 2 weeks I've been in Spanish classes.

Speaking of which, class is MUCH harder than I expected.  I tested out better on grammar and vocabulary than the level at which I can speak/hear.  So, I stepped back a level and am still struggling to understand la maestra (teacher).  I'm considering switching to one-on-one tutoring next week but won't know if I can until Monday.

Other than missing school, I've found an English Pub that has become my daily haunt.  I've become friends with the bartenders (think Norm in "Cheers").  And, they won't let me speak any English with them.  It's been a great place to hang out - not just for the Cuban Rum - where I can do my homework and they actually enjoy helping me with it.  It's been great fun and their tapas are wonderful!

In any case, here's a pic of Philip, me and "Patricia" (my favorite bartender there).

Day 15

Well, I've been under the weather for about 4 days now and missed 3 days of school this week.  It appears I'm getting the same cold Philip got when he arrived here after about 2 weeks.  Not much to report other than I've been sleeping a lot and studying Rosetta Stone since I haven't been going to school.  I'm a little concerned about getting too far behind in class although I've looked at everything they did while I was out and I know it already, so I should be fine (as long as I'm better by Monday).

In any case, I don't have much to add to my blog but Philip has spent a decent amount of time documenting some things we've done the last couple of days.  So, check out Philip's Most Recent Blog Entry for the latest news.