This past weekend we took a car trip! Well, more like a car ride. My friend´s roommate is from a city called León which is in Castilla y León to the north. He was going home for the weekend and we got to hitch a ride, snag some free housing and have native guides for the city. It ended up being a pretty Spanish weekend with lots of eating and walking around. Its a good thing León is a relatively small city that is very walkable and with not too many important sites. I had been to León when I studied here, but that was three years a go and it was the first night we ever spent in Spain. Needless to say, I remember little more than staying in the amazing hotel/parador that we were put up in.
The main attractions in León are the Cathedral, San Isidoro (Church), and San Marcos (Monestary). Our first night we arrived in time to ¨tapear¨ which just means go to different places for a drink and a tapa. In León all the drinks you order, which include the non-alcoholic mosto, or grape juice are acompnaied by a tapa, or several. And the prices are preety good as well. Our first round came with cheese and bread and a plate of cured meats. All for the price of a small drink...like 1.50. Carlos got a sandwich the size of his forearm...from elbow to finger tips for 4.50. Coming from Madrid, we were in heaven.
In the morning we had breakfast facing the catheral and we poked in and saw the stained glass for which the catheral in famous. They are almost floor to ceiling and amazing. We also got tickets for a guided tour which allows you to go up to see the rosettes which are also famous. We learned about the restoration and the history and then we got to see the cloister. The whole cathedral is made of stone which is similar to sandstone so it has been slowly wearing away over the centuries. San Isidoro is an old Roman church and the main draw is the room with the Roman frescos on the ceiling. They are super old, and have never been restored and yet they maintain their same coloration. San Marcos is an old monestary that was taken over by the Paradors, the government run chain of luxury hotels. It has huge and really beautiful in the front.
León also has a river and we got to walk along the banks and enjoy the sun. The air in León is much nicer and clear than in Madrid and the people are aparently very proud of their blue blue sky. It is very blue blue.
In the afternoon we went and saw the inside of the Cathedral from a better point of view. We got to be inside right next to the main Rosetta and then we walked in through the Claustro. It was quite impressive to see the top of the Cathedral from right next to the stained glass. After our tour of the Cathedral we wandered around the city more and saw the old roman wall and the river and we walked past the Parador which was a converted monastary into a 5 star luxury hotel. This is also where we stayed the first night of my study abroad time. oh how times change when you have to pay for all your own things:)
Our last day in Leon we just wandered around some more and got ice cream and watched the amazing merry go round that had moving parts. The rocket ship actually went up and down and the ballon swayed back and forth and the titanic that went up and down. It was so cool. It looked really vintage, but it was actually from the 90's. Being in Leon was a nice little break from madrid.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Carnivores and almost vegetarians
Last week was a special week here in Madrid. It was restaurant week!! This means that around 130 restaurants were offering 50% off of you final bill excluding alcoholic beverages. On Tuesday we went with some friends to a place called ¨La Carniceria¨ which basically translates to ¨¨The Butcher´s¨ Needless to say its a meat lovers dream. Between the four of us we split two kilos of chuleton de ternera, or T-bone steaks and two 300gr entrecots. Add some fries and grilled peppers and we were good to go. This meat was perfectly perfect in the traditional Spanish spiceless way. Rock Salt on the grill and it was AMAZING. We also had a Marques de Caceres red wine to help it out. I think this was the most raw I have ever had meat. I swear it almost got up and mooed...we finished off with dessert and the whole tab came to 16euros a person for all that. YAY restaurant week!
To take full advantage of this amazing offer, my roommate and I went to Lempika, which boasts itself as a Libanese restaurant. It is a very cute place with hanging pictures and old appliances everywhere. We ordered a salad with beans and bacon, ground beef croquettes, pumpkin croquettes, hummus, and a duck leg with apples. It doesn´t sound like a lot and the portions weren´t huge, but we finished absolutely stuffed. The ground beef and the pumpkin croquettes were like falafel, and so garbanzo bean based as was the hummus of course, and then the salad was mostly broad beans with some lettuce to the side, so we basically had an entire meal of beans. It was good, but really filling and slightly on the salty side. I was guzzling water the wholet time. The duck was amazing, but since it came at the end it was a struggle to not waste any of it. The meat was falling off the bones and melt in your mouth yummy. Probably thanks to the fat content of duck, but hey! It was half off. That whole tab came to 10euros each a person and was well worth the try and the money. The only things that could have been better would have been to have all the plates brought out at once so we could try everything and not fill up on one thing and then still have more and the salt content. Once again, YAY restaurant week!
To take full advantage of this amazing offer, my roommate and I went to Lempika, which boasts itself as a Libanese restaurant. It is a very cute place with hanging pictures and old appliances everywhere. We ordered a salad with beans and bacon, ground beef croquettes, pumpkin croquettes, hummus, and a duck leg with apples. It doesn´t sound like a lot and the portions weren´t huge, but we finished absolutely stuffed. The ground beef and the pumpkin croquettes were like falafel, and so garbanzo bean based as was the hummus of course, and then the salad was mostly broad beans with some lettuce to the side, so we basically had an entire meal of beans. It was good, but really filling and slightly on the salty side. I was guzzling water the wholet time. The duck was amazing, but since it came at the end it was a struggle to not waste any of it. The meat was falling off the bones and melt in your mouth yummy. Probably thanks to the fat content of duck, but hey! It was half off. That whole tab came to 10euros each a person and was well worth the try and the money. The only things that could have been better would have been to have all the plates brought out at once so we could try everything and not fill up on one thing and then still have more and the salt content. Once again, YAY restaurant week!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Barthelona
The last weekend of May I my aunt and uncle and my two cousins in Barcelona. They were going on a cruise starting from Barcelona and I took some days off of work to meet up with them and help the out and show them around alittle.
Arriving in the BCN airport was very impressive. Aparently, the Madrid airport is one of the biggest in Europe..but not the busiest. The BCN airport is so much cooler. They have shops and restaurants and it looks cool and new inside. After meeting up with my relatives in the airport and taking the train into town we made it to the apartment. It was right between the Barrio gotico and the Barrio Born. It was an old builidng that had been reformed and completely furnished with things from IKEA from the knives to the beds. That afternoon we went to the Parc Güell and walked around the Paseo de Gracia. When using the metro we used a 10 pass and as many people as you want can use a 10 ten so we all lined up and passed the ticket to the person behind us. It felt slightly illegal and daring all at the same time. In the afternoon we passed by the Casa Batllo, which is another Gaudí creation taht is AMAZING. It was built for one of the richest families in Barcelona back in the day and is tiled and has rooms that look like the supports are artsy Ribs. That sounds horrible, but looked amazing. The top of the house is shapped like a dragon and you can see themes of water and animals all over the place. Its funny to think that Gaudí lived more than 100 years ago, but his artwork and his designs look so modern and fluid and not stuffy at all. To top off the day we went to the Mercado de la boqueria. It is right off the Ramblas and has an amazing selection of food and fruit and products. We bought some fruit packages and some amazing spicy chorizo and lomo and cheeses for dinner.
Day 2 was spent in Girona. We met with my aunt and uncle´s tenent´s parents, who are French Catalan and they showed us around the older part of the city. However, them being French Catalan, the wife only spoke French and the Husband spoke French, Catalan, and Spanish, but Spanish was the worst/most rusty of all of his languages. Communication was difficult to say the least. When my aunt wanted to talk to the wife, she told me and the I told the husband and then the husband would tell the wife and then the wife would get it and the cycle would reverse to my aunt could understand what was going on. They were a sweet couple and we had a good time despite the language barriers. Girona boasts the church with the widest unsupported ceiling in the world. It is 33.something meters wide without supports and took around 700 years to complete. The architects had to convene 2 over the years to evaluate the feasibility of the project and now there was an architect shcool next door to facilitate the building ot the Cathedreal. Girona is pretty, but not extra special for me. It reminds me of a lot of older Spanish cities. The city used t ohave a sizaable Jewish population and there are aparently tunnels that run all over the city that allowed the Jews to move around and escape during the Inquisition.
On Friday we saw the cathedral and walked around the neighborhood and we had tapas for lunch. Amazing tuna. In the evening we met up with some friends of my family and we walked around the Pueblo Español which was built for the World Fair in 1920...or something like that. It represents the 19 autonomous reigons of Spain. After dinner we saw the Magic Fountain and we arrived just in time to see the last show of lights and music and water. They played three songs including ¨My Heart will go on¨and the Star Wars theme. It was GREAT. Sounds cheesy, but its actually AMAZING.
Saturday was spent seeing the Sagrada Familia and having lunch by the ocean. We got to eat right on the water and the weather was perfect. In the evening Carlos and I met with his aunt and her partner and they showed us around. Albert, his aunt´s partner is very into the history of Barcelona and he gave us a lot of information and they showed us around to some very cool things. I got to see more of Barcelona that I hadn´t seen before. Being with them was very interesting because they are hard core Catalunyans. EVERYTHING is different and from a different perspective that was both interesting and funny at the same time. They are probably the most regionally proud people I have met in Spain.
Sunday morning was spent at the BEACH!!!!!! it was really nice. There were a lot of people but we still got a spot. We enjoyed the sun and people watched for a little and then we did some beach clean up...mostly picking up cigarete butts and plastic bottles and then we went for a swim. The water was quite cold, but I took full advantage and swam anyway. The Medditerranian is an interesting body of water because it doesn´t smell like ocean or water. It really doesn´t have a smell. Carlos´aunt took us to the airport and while we were waiting and being hungry we found the same restaurant that we had had dinner in the night before and sat down and had one of the fastest dinners at a sit down restaurant the I think I have ever had in my life. I ate the exact same thing and it was exactly as yummy as it was the night before. I thouroughly approve of the Barcelona airport!
This trip was actually one of the best trips to Barcelona I have had. It probably has something to do with going with people who treat you to things, and also with having more time to see things. I saw a lot more of the city and while I still don´t like how they treat you in terms of customer service, I like the city a lot more than I did before. There are a lot more restaurants and the food is more varied and fresh than in Madrid. I liked walking around the older neighborhoods and I REALLY liked the beach. This might call for a repeat trip...
Arriving in the BCN airport was very impressive. Aparently, the Madrid airport is one of the biggest in Europe..but not the busiest. The BCN airport is so much cooler. They have shops and restaurants and it looks cool and new inside. After meeting up with my relatives in the airport and taking the train into town we made it to the apartment. It was right between the Barrio gotico and the Barrio Born. It was an old builidng that had been reformed and completely furnished with things from IKEA from the knives to the beds. That afternoon we went to the Parc Güell and walked around the Paseo de Gracia. When using the metro we used a 10 pass and as many people as you want can use a 10 ten so we all lined up and passed the ticket to the person behind us. It felt slightly illegal and daring all at the same time. In the afternoon we passed by the Casa Batllo, which is another Gaudí creation taht is AMAZING. It was built for one of the richest families in Barcelona back in the day and is tiled and has rooms that look like the supports are artsy Ribs. That sounds horrible, but looked amazing. The top of the house is shapped like a dragon and you can see themes of water and animals all over the place. Its funny to think that Gaudí lived more than 100 years ago, but his artwork and his designs look so modern and fluid and not stuffy at all. To top off the day we went to the Mercado de la boqueria. It is right off the Ramblas and has an amazing selection of food and fruit and products. We bought some fruit packages and some amazing spicy chorizo and lomo and cheeses for dinner.
Day 2 was spent in Girona. We met with my aunt and uncle´s tenent´s parents, who are French Catalan and they showed us around the older part of the city. However, them being French Catalan, the wife only spoke French and the Husband spoke French, Catalan, and Spanish, but Spanish was the worst/most rusty of all of his languages. Communication was difficult to say the least. When my aunt wanted to talk to the wife, she told me and the I told the husband and then the husband would tell the wife and then the wife would get it and the cycle would reverse to my aunt could understand what was going on. They were a sweet couple and we had a good time despite the language barriers. Girona boasts the church with the widest unsupported ceiling in the world. It is 33.something meters wide without supports and took around 700 years to complete. The architects had to convene 2 over the years to evaluate the feasibility of the project and now there was an architect shcool next door to facilitate the building ot the Cathedreal. Girona is pretty, but not extra special for me. It reminds me of a lot of older Spanish cities. The city used t ohave a sizaable Jewish population and there are aparently tunnels that run all over the city that allowed the Jews to move around and escape during the Inquisition.
On Friday we saw the cathedral and walked around the neighborhood and we had tapas for lunch. Amazing tuna. In the evening we met up with some friends of my family and we walked around the Pueblo Español which was built for the World Fair in 1920...or something like that. It represents the 19 autonomous reigons of Spain. After dinner we saw the Magic Fountain and we arrived just in time to see the last show of lights and music and water. They played three songs including ¨My Heart will go on¨and the Star Wars theme. It was GREAT. Sounds cheesy, but its actually AMAZING.
Saturday was spent seeing the Sagrada Familia and having lunch by the ocean. We got to eat right on the water and the weather was perfect. In the evening Carlos and I met with his aunt and her partner and they showed us around. Albert, his aunt´s partner is very into the history of Barcelona and he gave us a lot of information and they showed us around to some very cool things. I got to see more of Barcelona that I hadn´t seen before. Being with them was very interesting because they are hard core Catalunyans. EVERYTHING is different and from a different perspective that was both interesting and funny at the same time. They are probably the most regionally proud people I have met in Spain.
Sunday morning was spent at the BEACH!!!!!! it was really nice. There were a lot of people but we still got a spot. We enjoyed the sun and people watched for a little and then we did some beach clean up...mostly picking up cigarete butts and plastic bottles and then we went for a swim. The water was quite cold, but I took full advantage and swam anyway. The Medditerranian is an interesting body of water because it doesn´t smell like ocean or water. It really doesn´t have a smell. Carlos´aunt took us to the airport and while we were waiting and being hungry we found the same restaurant that we had had dinner in the night before and sat down and had one of the fastest dinners at a sit down restaurant the I think I have ever had in my life. I ate the exact same thing and it was exactly as yummy as it was the night before. I thouroughly approve of the Barcelona airport!
This trip was actually one of the best trips to Barcelona I have had. It probably has something to do with going with people who treat you to things, and also with having more time to see things. I saw a lot more of the city and while I still don´t like how they treat you in terms of customer service, I like the city a lot more than I did before. There are a lot more restaurants and the food is more varied and fresh than in Madrid. I liked walking around the older neighborhoods and I REALLY liked the beach. This might call for a repeat trip...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Oxford
Sorry folks. I went to Oxford the last weekend in April. I was visiting my friend who is doing her doctorate program there. She is in psychology and I got to be one of her many test subjects as payment for my staying with her. It was actually quite fun. Being in Oxford was like being in a huge international version of the Claremont Colleges. I rather liked it. There are restaurants/palces to eat everywhere and I am sad that I only got to sample a few of the many, many options. We had burritos, GOOD Indian food...uhm tea, and other things I don't remember. Some rather healthy stuff that is had to come by in Spain..apart from all its olive oil.
It was strange to be in an English speaking country to begin with, but more so when you can't understand anything because of the accent. It also made me laugh because everyone sounded exactly like the CDs we use at school. The ones the kids listen to for listening comprehension. I had to keep from cracking myself up sometimes.
I was also in Oxford for May Day, which is apparently a big tradition where people get up before 6am and wait by a bridge and listen to some singing n a church and then some bits of scripture and then they jump off the bridge into the deep enough, but not super deep river below. These people have also been out drinking since the night before. If this were Spain, it would sound very normal...out all night and the do silly things in the morning, but in Oxford it is a once a year thing. After our early morning wake up call..we didn't jump, just photographed, we went and had some fresh waffles and cocoa. I got to see some of the quintisential Oxford rowers and enjoyed my only sunny day in England in the wee hours of the morning.
My last day of England was spent in super rainy London town. My friend and I took the bus and went to China town!!!!! woot woot. It was actually more like China block, but they had a lot of restaurants and we chose one for Dim Sum. AMAZING. Not as good as at home, but tasty and familiar. What was weird about it was that they didn't have descriptions of the item, I know my favorites mostly by sight, and you had to order off a menu. Weird. Bad for vegetarians. If something says 'spinach dumpling' how am i supposed to know it has meat in it!!?? Nayway, I bought som bao to take home and then we walked along the river from Big Ben to allllmost the London Bridge. We didn't quite make it. By the time we were almost there it was dark and we were freezing. We opted for trying to find good warm food instead. I guess I'll just have to go back to England and specifically visit London.
Over all it was a great trip. I got to see a new place, catch up with an old friend, and eat yummy food. The downside was the cost. Really expensive transportation. The British pound is a funny money. The coins are all random sizes and the one pound coin is super heavy. I think I will try to make it back to London, with more cash money in the near future.
It was strange to be in an English speaking country to begin with, but more so when you can't understand anything because of the accent. It also made me laugh because everyone sounded exactly like the CDs we use at school. The ones the kids listen to for listening comprehension. I had to keep from cracking myself up sometimes.
I was also in Oxford for May Day, which is apparently a big tradition where people get up before 6am and wait by a bridge and listen to some singing n a church and then some bits of scripture and then they jump off the bridge into the deep enough, but not super deep river below. These people have also been out drinking since the night before. If this were Spain, it would sound very normal...out all night and the do silly things in the morning, but in Oxford it is a once a year thing. After our early morning wake up call..we didn't jump, just photographed, we went and had some fresh waffles and cocoa. I got to see some of the quintisential Oxford rowers and enjoyed my only sunny day in England in the wee hours of the morning.
My last day of England was spent in super rainy London town. My friend and I took the bus and went to China town!!!!! woot woot. It was actually more like China block, but they had a lot of restaurants and we chose one for Dim Sum. AMAZING. Not as good as at home, but tasty and familiar. What was weird about it was that they didn't have descriptions of the item, I know my favorites mostly by sight, and you had to order off a menu. Weird. Bad for vegetarians. If something says 'spinach dumpling' how am i supposed to know it has meat in it!!?? Nayway, I bought som bao to take home and then we walked along the river from Big Ben to allllmost the London Bridge. We didn't quite make it. By the time we were almost there it was dark and we were freezing. We opted for trying to find good warm food instead. I guess I'll just have to go back to England and specifically visit London.
Over all it was a great trip. I got to see a new place, catch up with an old friend, and eat yummy food. The downside was the cost. Really expensive transportation. The British pound is a funny money. The coins are all random sizes and the one pound coin is super heavy. I think I will try to make it back to London, with more cash money in the near future.
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