I've been home a few weeks now. Not much has changed. Although I do see things a bit differently now. Not really differently, I just have a different appreciation of it now. Like the utter diversity here, and the fact that I can pay with my card and not get charged. But there are other things that I liked and kind of miss about Madrid/Europe too. The sights, the hanging legs of jamon, the transportation systems, the constant walking that helped get my ass into shape just a little bit.
But by the end of it I think I became so jaded. I was reluctant, defiant even, to take pictures of the beautiful things around me let alone stand in line for something like the Louvre or the Effiel Tower. I had little to no expectations from wherever I was, which was either a good or a bad thing. I had little disappointments, but I wonder if that I meant I lacked the drive to see what was really around me. Then again, I was technically on vacation and damn if I didn't need to relax for a bit.
Studying abroad and traveling has a lot of hype. Good or bad, it does. So much so that I'm not sure that my experience could've ever lived up to it. Rarely do they speak of the everyday ups and downs and quirky details of living abroad, details which I live for. But I would never say I regretted it. I still enjoyed my time there. I love Madrid and Spain, and wish I got to see more of it. Hopefully I will one day.
I suppose this is why I'm reluctant when people ask me about my trip sometimes. I feel as though they expect it to be amazing. Which sometimes it was, sometimes it was far far from it.
Pero supongo, que eso es la vida, no? Y aqui estoy. Still doin' the same ole' same ole'. Future still unsure yet steadily approaching as I go into my last year of college. Just coming back I felt somewhat different, maybe a bit bolder than I used to. But I suppose for me, talking to people that speak english is generally easier and relatively less stress-inducing than speaking in spanish. It'd be nice to say that yeah maybe in about 2.5 months time I've changed a bit for the better. That maybe I'm not so much the 'chica al borde de un ataque' as I was before. But who knows.
I still have a long year ahead of me and of figuring out my life now that I've returned to the real world, with real classes, work, graduations, and potential careers to face. Yup, life's just about the same thus far.
And still I ask, "Que coño estoy haciendo?"
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Adios Madrid, chulona mia
Due to scheduling complications, I had to take a total of 3 trains over about a 17hr trip from Paris to Madrid. Kinda uncomfortable at times but at least I more than break even with my Eurail Pass. And I get one more trip on the Barca-Madrid AVE!! The movie wasn't as good this time, bu at least I was back in a land where they spoke castellano.
I got back to Madrid at around 4pm, and again I felt a breath of fresh air being back on familiar ground. I checked into my hostel in Sol which was nice enough, despite the fact that I had to share a dorm with 3 other dudes. But whatever I was only there for one night barely.
It was just about the worst weather I remember witnessing in Madrid. Rain, clouds and everything. But I had last-minute shopping to do damn it! I shop I did, for some Filipinos for the road, and more souvenirs. If only the weather was better, I would've walked down Gran Via on last time.
The hostel was for sure awkward and loud as hell. I was reluctant to sleep in my dorm, prepping all the stuff I had to before the flight. But finally it got quiet and I figured I should sleep a little before heading to the airport.
7:30!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHH damnit! I was supposed to get up at 6:30am! I slept through my cell alarm, and ended up waking up to the loud-ass alarm of one of my awkward dorm-mates. Luckily just about everything was prepped and ready to go. I grabbed my stuff and busted outtta that mother. Took the metro to the airport, grabbed my stored luggage, took a shuttle to the other terminal, checked in luggage and got to my gate that still wasn't boarding yet. Call up George Clooney, cuz I got this airport shizz down!
On the plane to London I started hearing some English-speakers. It started hitting me that I wouldn't be speaking spanish/castellano any more, at least not when I had formal busy-ness things to handle. I already start to miss it.
So here I am on another long flight, this time going in the opposite direction. Remembering way back on that first flight, I'm reminded of how so freaked out I was the whole time. I was so anxious and felt like such a newb at everything. This time, I couldn't be more calm, feel pretty relaxed, not a worry at all. I don't know if was that I'd finally gotten the hang of flying on my own, that I was just tired and jaded by it all, or just the thought of finally being home. En todos modos, in a way I almost felt like the title of this blog was not as true for me as it was when I started it.
I arrived at good ole' SFO safe and sound, minus one piece of luggage that got stuck in London, but I got that back the next day. All that I care about now is that I'm home, where I can get some food and some sleep.
Madrid, te quiero. Espana, deseaba conocer tu y tu tierra mas. Y todavia, quiero conocerte mas. 2.5 meses es mucho tiempo, pero no es mucho tampoco. Me voy a echar de menos tu calles, tu sonidos. Espero yo para nuestro proximo encuentro. Vale vale. Chao. Adios. Hasta luego.
I got back to Madrid at around 4pm, and again I felt a breath of fresh air being back on familiar ground. I checked into my hostel in Sol which was nice enough, despite the fact that I had to share a dorm with 3 other dudes. But whatever I was only there for one night barely.
It was just about the worst weather I remember witnessing in Madrid. Rain, clouds and everything. But I had last-minute shopping to do damn it! I shop I did, for some Filipinos for the road, and more souvenirs. If only the weather was better, I would've walked down Gran Via on last time.
The hostel was for sure awkward and loud as hell. I was reluctant to sleep in my dorm, prepping all the stuff I had to before the flight. But finally it got quiet and I figured I should sleep a little before heading to the airport.
7:30!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHH damnit! I was supposed to get up at 6:30am! I slept through my cell alarm, and ended up waking up to the loud-ass alarm of one of my awkward dorm-mates. Luckily just about everything was prepped and ready to go. I grabbed my stuff and busted outtta that mother. Took the metro to the airport, grabbed my stored luggage, took a shuttle to the other terminal, checked in luggage and got to my gate that still wasn't boarding yet. Call up George Clooney, cuz I got this airport shizz down!
On the plane to London I started hearing some English-speakers. It started hitting me that I wouldn't be speaking spanish/castellano any more, at least not when I had formal busy-ness things to handle. I already start to miss it.
So here I am on another long flight, this time going in the opposite direction. Remembering way back on that first flight, I'm reminded of how so freaked out I was the whole time. I was so anxious and felt like such a newb at everything. This time, I couldn't be more calm, feel pretty relaxed, not a worry at all. I don't know if was that I'd finally gotten the hang of flying on my own, that I was just tired and jaded by it all, or just the thought of finally being home. En todos modos, in a way I almost felt like the title of this blog was not as true for me as it was when I started it.
I arrived at good ole' SFO safe and sound, minus one piece of luggage that got stuck in London, but I got that back the next day. All that I care about now is that I'm home, where I can get some food and some sleep.
Madrid, te quiero. Espana, deseaba conocer tu y tu tierra mas. Y todavia, quiero conocerte mas. 2.5 meses es mucho tiempo, pero no es mucho tampoco. Me voy a echar de menos tu calles, tu sonidos. Espero yo para nuestro proximo encuentro. Vale vale. Chao. Adios. Hasta luego.
La vie en rose - says nothing about the smells
So after a long train ride, with some very pretty views of the French countryside, we finally make it to Paris at around 11pm. We take the metro to Monmartre, where our hostel was as well as the Sacre Cour and where Amelie took place.
Unfortunately my first views of Paris weren't as picturesque as I thought it would be. Maybe it was the fact that it was late at night and Monmartre isn't exactly the Champ-Elysses, but the streets were dirty and certain areas, especially in the metro, definitely smelled. But I suppose its understandable, its an old city and you shouldn't expect everything to pleasantly wonderful.
But that is absolutely no excuse for the WHACK-ASS hostel we were staying. It was relatively cheaper than others, but if we knew it was this bad we would've paid more MUCH MORE for a better one. Our room was dimly lit, the floors covered in cheap flimsy red carpet that was not nailed/glued in all the way, the walls had a creamed colored cheap wallpaper. Seriously looked like a gross, ghetto version of The Shining. Not to mention the strange stains on the bed blankets, the 3 hangers in the closet, and the horrible view of the maid's closet down the hall. There's also the bathroom issue, in which the toilet with no toilet paper was down the hall and the shared shower for all 6 floors was tiny, not the cleanest, and flooded. Why, God, WHY!? Luckily for our last night we upgraded to an infinitely better room with its own bathroom but still...why?!
So aside from that, Monmartre is an interesting neighborhood. Lots of little shops. you can tell this is a working class, and immigrant, neighborhood. Lots of souvenir shops which is definitely appreciated.
So here's the list of major sights to see we hit up in Paris:
The Louvre - definitely is a must. But there was no way we were going INSIDE. Lines were infinitely long. And just seeing the building and seeing how huge it was, we could only imagine how much art would be inside it. That equals way too much than we could handle. But we took some great pics of the pyramids outside, despite the gray clouds hovering about. And unfortunately no roseline, no kneeling down above the tomb of Jesus' supposed babymama.
The Seine River - walking along the Seine is typically Parisian, at least in my mind. The bridges were cool, with all the locks that people leave on them. Pretty cute.
Shakespeare and company bookshop - Cool english-language book shop, as seen in Before Sunset. Pretty famous and they stamp the books that they give you. Couldn't help but get an Almodovar book from here.
Notre Dame - I didn't find no Quasimodo, but the place sure is pretty.
The Latin Quarter - Where the Sorbonne is and all the Frenchie university students are. Nice little neighborhood, shops, random comic/manga shops too. I guess for all the anime/manga nerds of the university? Also found a little theater to watch a Hitchcock film and kills a few hours until dinner. By the time it was done, the sun was setting, and made the streets look like what I'd expected from Paris, even just for a while.
Sacre Cour - Walkable distance from the hostel, so we hit that up at night. Great view of the city and the Effiel Tower.
Les Invalides - Where Napoleon was buried, and a bunch of other dudes
Musee Rodin - cool statues
Effiel Tower - as cliche as it is, it was very pretty. Though it serves nothing but to look at it and to look from top of it, it does its job well. Didn't go up it, but I touched the base of it! That's all I wanted
The Champ-Elysses/Arc de Triomphe - Lots of fancy stores on this famous street, including a HUGE Louis Vuitton store that had a line to get inside. Was only there for a little while if only because of how Audrey Hepburn spoke about it in Sabrina.
Spread out amongst these many sights there was also lots of walking and lots of talking. Talking and speculating about life as we know it and the terrifying fact that we'll soon be facing the real world, both coming back home and graduating how many months from now. I wouldn't expect any less from us, me and Katie, we think waaaay too much for our own good.
There were also many tasty foods and pastries, including yet another variation of the hot dog. This time its called a 'hotdog frommage' pretty much a regular hot dog in a baguette-like bread and covered in cheese. So horribly good.
So Paris is where Katie and I part as she continues to explore Europe and I return to Madrid for my flight home. Ciao Paris, until next time with more time and more monies. It's been interesting.
Unfortunately my first views of Paris weren't as picturesque as I thought it would be. Maybe it was the fact that it was late at night and Monmartre isn't exactly the Champ-Elysses, but the streets were dirty and certain areas, especially in the metro, definitely smelled. But I suppose its understandable, its an old city and you shouldn't expect everything to pleasantly wonderful.
But that is absolutely no excuse for the WHACK-ASS hostel we were staying. It was relatively cheaper than others, but if we knew it was this bad we would've paid more MUCH MORE for a better one. Our room was dimly lit, the floors covered in cheap flimsy red carpet that was not nailed/glued in all the way, the walls had a creamed colored cheap wallpaper. Seriously looked like a gross, ghetto version of The Shining. Not to mention the strange stains on the bed blankets, the 3 hangers in the closet, and the horrible view of the maid's closet down the hall. There's also the bathroom issue, in which the toilet with no toilet paper was down the hall and the shared shower for all 6 floors was tiny, not the cleanest, and flooded. Why, God, WHY!? Luckily for our last night we upgraded to an infinitely better room with its own bathroom but still...why?!
So aside from that, Monmartre is an interesting neighborhood. Lots of little shops. you can tell this is a working class, and immigrant, neighborhood. Lots of souvenir shops which is definitely appreciated.
So here's the list of major sights to see we hit up in Paris:
The Louvre - definitely is a must. But there was no way we were going INSIDE. Lines were infinitely long. And just seeing the building and seeing how huge it was, we could only imagine how much art would be inside it. That equals way too much than we could handle. But we took some great pics of the pyramids outside, despite the gray clouds hovering about. And unfortunately no roseline, no kneeling down above the tomb of Jesus' supposed babymama.
The Seine River - walking along the Seine is typically Parisian, at least in my mind. The bridges were cool, with all the locks that people leave on them. Pretty cute.
Shakespeare and company bookshop - Cool english-language book shop, as seen in Before Sunset. Pretty famous and they stamp the books that they give you. Couldn't help but get an Almodovar book from here.
Notre Dame - I didn't find no Quasimodo, but the place sure is pretty.
The Latin Quarter - Where the Sorbonne is and all the Frenchie university students are. Nice little neighborhood, shops, random comic/manga shops too. I guess for all the anime/manga nerds of the university? Also found a little theater to watch a Hitchcock film and kills a few hours until dinner. By the time it was done, the sun was setting, and made the streets look like what I'd expected from Paris, even just for a while.
Sacre Cour - Walkable distance from the hostel, so we hit that up at night. Great view of the city and the Effiel Tower.
Les Invalides - Where Napoleon was buried, and a bunch of other dudes
Musee Rodin - cool statues
Effiel Tower - as cliche as it is, it was very pretty. Though it serves nothing but to look at it and to look from top of it, it does its job well. Didn't go up it, but I touched the base of it! That's all I wanted
The Champ-Elysses/Arc de Triomphe - Lots of fancy stores on this famous street, including a HUGE Louis Vuitton store that had a line to get inside. Was only there for a little while if only because of how Audrey Hepburn spoke about it in Sabrina.
Spread out amongst these many sights there was also lots of walking and lots of talking. Talking and speculating about life as we know it and the terrifying fact that we'll soon be facing the real world, both coming back home and graduating how many months from now. I wouldn't expect any less from us, me and Katie, we think waaaay too much for our own good.
There were also many tasty foods and pastries, including yet another variation of the hot dog. This time its called a 'hotdog frommage' pretty much a regular hot dog in a baguette-like bread and covered in cheese. So horribly good.
So Paris is where Katie and I part as she continues to explore Europe and I return to Madrid for my flight home. Ciao Paris, until next time with more time and more monies. It's been interesting.
Friday, June 11, 2010
TORINO - more Italian bulls!
Finalmente! Ya he terminado con mis examenes! Y tambien no estoy enferma . La unica cosa que yo quiero hacer es relajar...
Examenes as always are stressful. Art exam analyzing Guernica - yeah cuz that's doable in 1.5hrs. All-nighter finishing cine paper on La Mala Educacion (which coincidentally my professor actually does NOT like). PLUS a so-called "recitation" of a poem for lit, in which our professor started late and kept us for an extra 1hr to finish up. But now I'm done!!
All I have to do now is pack up all my crap, shove it in a locker at the airport and get my but to Italy.
After the crowded early-morning metro ride dragging along a backpack and 2 roller suitcases (a few people actually had some pity on my poor soul and offered to help me up some steps), left my stuff in a locker and headed over to gate. On the way over I realized such a weight, both physical and mental, had been lifted up off of me. I had no hefty luggage, no tests, no hw, no deadlines, no pressure to face from here on out. I was already sick, what's the worst that can happen? I was on my way to the gate, I was way early, I knew how to get from the airport to the city. Whatever happens I can deal with it. I was calm. Plus the vending machine popped out 2 bags of cornnuts for me instead of one - I'm taking that as a good omen. This'll be a good trip. It has to be.
I finally get to Torino and meet Katie for the second time. Again, we get a little lost getting to the hostel but its a-okay. We decided to walk around the city center a bit and grab a bite to eat. We knew little about Torino which I think worked to our advantage. Little to no expectations, letting whatever happens happen can be a very good thing. We learned our lesson from Barcelona.
The city is pretty calm, older but very clean and pretty. No tourists thank god. Very conducive to my want for relaxation. And what a wonderful discovery to find that arab/turkish food is ubiquitous in Italy as well, as we found kebab places all over. Not only that, but they have a peculiar thing called a pizza kebab - PIZZA KEBAB. A wonderful discovery indeed. Seriously, why haven't kebabs and shwarmas caught on in the States?
Next up on our very loosely planned trip is the National Cinema Museum. A.k.a. the best museum everrrrrrrrrr! God I'm a geek, but I don't care. There were no lines, no crowds, and relatively cheap student entrance. Film memorabilia galore, original posters (though they be in italian), set-ups and stages dedicated to different film genres/aspects of film. Showing a few clips of movies, they showed the end scene and the oh so famous speech from Casablanca, which I could probably recite from memory. <3333333333
After my reluctant departure from the cine museum, we decided to walk around the center of town on the way to the Egyptian museum - this time the key to Katie's heart. Torino is actually very beautiful but simple at the same time. Open spaces. Felt like I could breathe better, compared to the hustle and bustle of Madrid, and that of Barcelona even.
Being above ground and using the trams also help, instead of being down underneath the ground in metros. Best part of the tram system? Just about no one checks your ticket nor does anyone validate their ticket, hence basically free tram rides!
Last day we went to the Royal Palace, but the only tours they had were in Italian. Definitely spent too much time in those rooms listening to their histories in Italian. We busted outta there, had a last few walks around town and ate bomb-ass cannolis. We made our way to the train station with time to spare, no running out to the platform for us!
Overall, we liked Torino. We didn't expect much, but got a lot back. Good bye Torino! And Italian, which is close enough to Spanish for me to kinda understand. Onto Paris, second to last leg of my European trip
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Madrid Te Quiero, pero hoy tu no me quieres
The fatties that we are, we decided to hit up Amorino for some gelato before we caught our train to
So we get back to
Unfortunately, I also return to
Aside from her own wonderings which I tried my best to advise her through, we went to
I also still had class. And a concert to get to, and goddamn it we were gonna make it. At least ONE good thing had to happen while Katie was in
JAMIE CULLUM EN CONCIERTO
Well, it was enjoyable for me anyway. Despite the fact that we got lost, we found some Madrileños who were also look for La
Highlights definitely included when he did a cool improve beatbox version of Frontin’. Then there’s his name in and of itself JAMIE. Or JAIME (hai-meh), which they chanted endlessly at the end. I was bummed he didn’t do his cover of Umbrella, but more than satisfied with the unplugged Cry Me A River. He loves to lead his songs up to a crescendo, a climax. And apparently his concerts too. I love the song Mixtape but never thought it’d be such a crowd pleaser. Energy and vibe was so high throughout the room – the song is about a music lover totally enraptured in his own world of music, and that’s what we were there for tonight.
The show ended and he left us all wanting for more, much much more. For at least 5 minutes the crowd chanted intensely for him to do an encore. OTRA OTRA OTRA!!! Not to mention the infamous oh-LEY, ole ole oleeee, oleeeeeee,oleeeeeeeee!!! So COOL. I thought I’d have to wait until I was at a futbol game to hear that one.
I'd put up my own video for this, but uploading is being uncooperative right now.
We left for Sol to get some churros con chocolate, probably not the best thing for my stomach at the time, but who cares. It was Katie’s last night and I would force both of us to go out and do stuff if I had to….which I think I kinda did. We missed the metro, so we walked down Gran Via to my apartment, stayed up with her for while, then she left for her early morning train back to
Overall, missing wallet/passport, no cool shopping, no tapas for my buddy. And illness and examenes coming up for me. I have no idea what was up with this week. Bad timing, bad a lot of stuff. Most of all I regret not being able to show and impress Katie with the Spanish culture. But apparently the way she works with meal times and naps does not fit well with the Spanish schedule, which works perfectly for me. I love a lot of things about Spanish culture and want to show others what I love about it. I suppose in that way I was disappointed I couldn’t incite the same excitement for her.
Sorry my dear friend. Hopefully
KatieLauraBarcelona would've been a horrible movie
Oh my god...Really just, oh my god. There aren't really words to describe the trip Katie and I had to Barcelona. Mostly because the way I would describe it is soooooooo not what I wanted it to be.
I was there from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, which I later realized was not nearly enough time to spend and see all that I wanted to, that I should have.
First things first - Las Ramblas. The singular street on which, for whatever reason, turistas gather, inhabit, breed for God's sake! It's so crowded and chock full of street performers and venders, overpriced souvenir shops and restaurants to appease complacent tourists. The best parts of Las Ramblas is that it is convenient, performers are entertaining, its on pretty much the same street as the Gaudi houses. It also has an awesome gelato chain shop called Amorino. For 3 euro you get 2.5 scoops of gelato on a cone shaped into a flower. So cool!
The very best part of Las Ramblas is that strangely enough La Boqueria is in the middle of it. It's a cool little market organized in different sections of fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. Its a tourist spot, but a cool one. Awesome example of the wonderful food markets in Spain, most likely those throughout Europe as well. Although I wasn't there to actually buy anything, it was very cool. The colors and arrangements amazing, under the bright lights of the stands. A photographer's dream! Not to mention the delish fruit juices and smoothies some of the fruit stands give out.
As good it was to see each other again, it was pretty much a bummer the fact that she wasn't feeling too well when she got to Barcelona after a 9hr train ride. Not to mention the fact that she was in a country where she didn't speak/understand the language nor did she know anything really of Spanish culture, not even the touristy things...siiiiigh my heart! Actually to be fair, it was semi foreign to me as well considering that pretty much all the signs and places, and a good number of locals speak Catalan, NOT castellano (a.k.a. spanish, but don't call it that in Catalunya, you might get shot) But still, we fight on to try to make the best of time here.
Another obstacle in our Barca adventures was the metro system. It's nowhere near as extensive nor as easily accessible as that of Madrid. Many times we had to make a transfer at Passeig de Gracia, which no one told us had a long-ass tunnel to walk through, which if it was any longer we probably could just walked to where we were going and it'd be about the same. Not to mention the fact that when on the actual streets of Barcelona, in order the cross over into the next block you have to go around the corner to the cross walk, then cross. Confusing I know, and with no sense at all. Honestly, Barcelona's reputation of being a unique and artistic type of city soon became inefficient and annoying. Suffice it to say, getting lost was a tendency and transportation was problematic. On a certain night we got quite lost, to the point that we settled for just eatinf at the nearest restaurant we found which was a mediocre chinese place. Still, again, we go on.
Wandering around the center area was pretty nice though. Into the tiny streets off of Las Ramblas is Barri Gotic and a slew of museums, shops, restaurants, and all sorts of other stuff. Definitely weeds out at least some of the tourists. At a certain point on this sunny day it started to rain for about 15mins, as the sun was still shining. Very strange, random, bittersweet. Quite definitive.
We had a slew of bad timing, one thing led to another and we end up cramming pretty much all the Gaudi sites into our last half-day. We decided to go inside at least one of the houses, and the Bone house won us over. As expensive as it was, it was still pretty damn cool. Meant to emulate the body of a dragon, the Bone house is unique in its design in and out. The mosaics, the colors, the curves and designs. Hard to believe that that place was actually functional and that a family once lived there. Awesome.
Next up, Parc Guell. A whole park designed by Gaudi. On the outskirts of town, and up quite a few hills (seriously, we took ESCALATORS to get up there), it has an amazing view of the city, Sagrada Familia and Torre Agbar - the grandest, most phallic object in the world. In my opinion anyway. Don't worry, Gaudi didn't design that one. Anyway, from the little we saw of the park, it was very awesome, very Gaudi, difficult to describe in little words because there's just so much. One thing's for sure, these damn tourists need to get out of my way. Never thought I could feel claustrophobic in park. At the very least they need to get out of my pictures. If they did that, I could work for a postcard company. Honestly, I take better pics with my point 'n shoot than some of those crappy postcards.
Finalmente - La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's yet-to-be-completed masterpiece. Gaudi is called "God's Architect," and for good reason. Being devoutly catholic, he dedicated the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom," and indeed it seems so. Despite the cranes and scaffolding continuing the construction, it is amazing to behold. So tall, grand and incredibly detailed and gothic, not to mention rife with religious symbolism. 18 towers representing different Biblical figures, the tallest towers representing the Holy Family it self. So wonderfully gothic, looks like as though it was made of wax and melted ever so slightly. I just wanted to touch it. I know, weird, but I just wanted to! But that meant getting through the crowd of tourists and paying for it soooooo nooooo.
Gaudi worked on it on and off for 40 years, the last years of his life was spent in depression and he madly consumed himself in his plans for La Sagrada. Even so, they don't plan on completing what they THINK he had wanted for the church until 2026, 100yrs after his death! Utter and complete passion, dedication, and pure genius even beyond death. That I can appreciate.
Looking back on it, the bad memories of Barcelona are becoming more and more distant, maybe because I didn't take any pics of it. I realize that we actually did see a lot of things. Beautiful, irreplaceable things that can't be experienced anywhere else. I didn't leave Barcelona with such contempt for it at all, just with a thriving want to return now knowing what I know, to see everything else there is to be seen. Hopefully that might include a few locals like Manu Chao and a tall dark and handsome stranger...preferably not one with a crazy ex-wife and a gun.
I was there from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, which I later realized was not nearly enough time to spend and see all that I wanted to, that I should have.
First things first - Las Ramblas. The singular street on which, for whatever reason, turistas gather, inhabit, breed for God's sake! It's so crowded and chock full of street performers and venders, overpriced souvenir shops and restaurants to appease complacent tourists. The best parts of Las Ramblas is that it is convenient, performers are entertaining, its on pretty much the same street as the Gaudi houses. It also has an awesome gelato chain shop called Amorino. For 3 euro you get 2.5 scoops of gelato on a cone shaped into a flower. So cool!
The very best part of Las Ramblas is that strangely enough La Boqueria is in the middle of it. It's a cool little market organized in different sections of fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. Its a tourist spot, but a cool one. Awesome example of the wonderful food markets in Spain, most likely those throughout Europe as well. Although I wasn't there to actually buy anything, it was very cool. The colors and arrangements amazing, under the bright lights of the stands. A photographer's dream! Not to mention the delish fruit juices and smoothies some of the fruit stands give out.
As good it was to see each other again, it was pretty much a bummer the fact that she wasn't feeling too well when she got to Barcelona after a 9hr train ride. Not to mention the fact that she was in a country where she didn't speak/understand the language nor did she know anything really of Spanish culture, not even the touristy things...siiiiigh my heart! Actually to be fair, it was semi foreign to me as well considering that pretty much all the signs and places, and a good number of locals speak Catalan, NOT castellano (a.k.a. spanish, but don't call it that in Catalunya, you might get shot) But still, we fight on to try to make the best of time here.
Another obstacle in our Barca adventures was the metro system. It's nowhere near as extensive nor as easily accessible as that of Madrid. Many times we had to make a transfer at Passeig de Gracia, which no one told us had a long-ass tunnel to walk through, which if it was any longer we probably could just walked to where we were going and it'd be about the same. Not to mention the fact that when on the actual streets of Barcelona, in order the cross over into the next block you have to go around the corner to the cross walk, then cross. Confusing I know, and with no sense at all. Honestly, Barcelona's reputation of being a unique and artistic type of city soon became inefficient and annoying. Suffice it to say, getting lost was a tendency and transportation was problematic. On a certain night we got quite lost, to the point that we settled for just eatinf at the nearest restaurant we found which was a mediocre chinese place. Still, again, we go on.
Wandering around the center area was pretty nice though. Into the tiny streets off of Las Ramblas is Barri Gotic and a slew of museums, shops, restaurants, and all sorts of other stuff. Definitely weeds out at least some of the tourists. At a certain point on this sunny day it started to rain for about 15mins, as the sun was still shining. Very strange, random, bittersweet. Quite definitive.
We had a slew of bad timing, one thing led to another and we end up cramming pretty much all the Gaudi sites into our last half-day. We decided to go inside at least one of the houses, and the Bone house won us over. As expensive as it was, it was still pretty damn cool. Meant to emulate the body of a dragon, the Bone house is unique in its design in and out. The mosaics, the colors, the curves and designs. Hard to believe that that place was actually functional and that a family once lived there. Awesome.
Next up, Parc Guell. A whole park designed by Gaudi. On the outskirts of town, and up quite a few hills (seriously, we took ESCALATORS to get up there), it has an amazing view of the city, Sagrada Familia and Torre Agbar - the grandest, most phallic object in the world. In my opinion anyway. Don't worry, Gaudi didn't design that one. Anyway, from the little we saw of the park, it was very awesome, very Gaudi, difficult to describe in little words because there's just so much. One thing's for sure, these damn tourists need to get out of my way. Never thought I could feel claustrophobic in park. At the very least they need to get out of my pictures. If they did that, I could work for a postcard company. Honestly, I take better pics with my point 'n shoot than some of those crappy postcards.
Finalmente - La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's yet-to-be-completed masterpiece. Gaudi is called "God's Architect," and for good reason. Being devoutly catholic, he dedicated the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom," and indeed it seems so. Despite the cranes and scaffolding continuing the construction, it is amazing to behold. So tall, grand and incredibly detailed and gothic, not to mention rife with religious symbolism. 18 towers representing different Biblical figures, the tallest towers representing the Holy Family it self. So wonderfully gothic, looks like as though it was made of wax and melted ever so slightly. I just wanted to touch it. I know, weird, but I just wanted to! But that meant getting through the crowd of tourists and paying for it soooooo nooooo.
Gaudi worked on it on and off for 40 years, the last years of his life was spent in depression and he madly consumed himself in his plans for La Sagrada. Even so, they don't plan on completing what they THINK he had wanted for the church until 2026, 100yrs after his death! Utter and complete passion, dedication, and pure genius even beyond death. That I can appreciate.
Looking back on it, the bad memories of Barcelona are becoming more and more distant, maybe because I didn't take any pics of it. I realize that we actually did see a lot of things. Beautiful, irreplaceable things that can't be experienced anywhere else. I didn't leave Barcelona with such contempt for it at all, just with a thriving want to return now knowing what I know, to see everything else there is to be seen. Hopefully that might include a few locals like Manu Chao and a tall dark and handsome stranger...preferably not one with a crazy ex-wife and a gun.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Back home, Back to the blog
Oh, Hi! How are ya? It's been a while...yeeeeeeeaaah.....
It's been a loooong while. A busy, examenes, viajes, descansos filled while. But no that I'm back home and with very little else to do but to dig through my crappy short-term memory to fill in the gaps of my last weeks in europe.
That being said, going back in the time machine almost a month ago in May...
I had to make a little field trip to Barrio de las Letras for an assignment. Our professors' attempts to get us to see and go out to certain spots of Madrid are neverending but also very appreciated. This area of the city on Calle Huertas, kinda in between Plaza Mayor and Paseo del Prado area, is literally a neighborhood of letters. The streets are named after famous literary Spanish figures, many of which lived in that area. There are also plaques and writings on the walls and sidewalks with quotes from some of their works, including Cervantes' Don Quijote and I think from Garcia Lorca as well. In addition to that, its a pretty nice area to walk through. There's a bunch of little shops, some some good places to eat and drink. Kinda wish we knew about this place a few weeks earlier
Spring is finally here so we decided to stop in one small spot to cool down and get some gazpacho, and it was pretty awesome. Tasty, cool gazpacho (cold tomato soup) with fresh diced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion to add. So good. Although I must say that right before trying it, I almost suspected it to be spiked with sleeping pills. But even so, worst things could happen...
FIELD TRIP NUMERO DOS!
Same day, 2 field trips. Later that day our cine class went out to meet our professor at the Universidad Compultense de Madrid campus where she teaches. The film Tesis was filmed there so we decided to walk around the Media and Communications department where some of the scenes took place. Classes were done for the day people were just leaving. Let me say it felt kind of odd being around other students, I mean, kids OUR age. Surrounded by them. We're so used to our little world at the Instituto in el Centro that it felt strange to back on a college campus again. God if only we were there more, just to check out some of the Spanish cuties ;__:
Anyways...the building was pretty cool. Not quite the same as in the movie, but similar. We also got to see some of the production stages where they film scenes and segments, with full on camera set-ups, lighting kits, newscasts sets and green screens. Uh-buuuuuuh. So nowhere near the type of equipment I'm used to, totally sophisticated equipment, specifically TV equipment. Yeah, I felt owned.
Cine trip parte dos - Yet another film we watched took place in an old and famous restaurant called Casa Mingo, a short walk from the Compultense campus....or so the professor said. A short walk turned into at least 20-30 mins. We were tired and hungry, I'm guessing that was pretty apparent when our professor said something about Americans not walking very much in the States... It's true, sad, but true.
Finally we get to restaurant, known for its cider and roast chicken. There are bottles of cider lined and stacked above the bar, dark wooden floors and walls, has an old timey-feel for sure. Food was good and relatively cheap but the best part was our professor. She loves to talk and joke around. So adorable. But she's also got some "vestido peligroso" as she says. On the way to dinner, apparently the strap on her bag got caught and some how undid some buttons on her dress. Bra was shown....Yeaaah. But of course knowning her, she handled it wonderfully, accepted and joked about it. Oh Rosanna, so legit.
Honestly, the daily entertainment that our teachers provide will be one of the things I miss most.
It's been a loooong while. A busy, examenes, viajes, descansos filled while. But no that I'm back home and with very little else to do but to dig through my crappy short-term memory to fill in the gaps of my last weeks in europe.
That being said, going back in the time machine almost a month ago in May...
I had to make a little field trip to Barrio de las Letras for an assignment. Our professors' attempts to get us to see and go out to certain spots of Madrid are neverending but also very appreciated. This area of the city on Calle Huertas, kinda in between Plaza Mayor and Paseo del Prado area, is literally a neighborhood of letters. The streets are named after famous literary Spanish figures, many of which lived in that area. There are also plaques and writings on the walls and sidewalks with quotes from some of their works, including Cervantes' Don Quijote and I think from Garcia Lorca as well. In addition to that, its a pretty nice area to walk through. There's a bunch of little shops, some some good places to eat and drink. Kinda wish we knew about this place a few weeks earlier
Spring is finally here so we decided to stop in one small spot to cool down and get some gazpacho, and it was pretty awesome. Tasty, cool gazpacho (cold tomato soup) with fresh diced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and onion to add. So good. Although I must say that right before trying it, I almost suspected it to be spiked with sleeping pills. But even so, worst things could happen...
FIELD TRIP NUMERO DOS!
Same day, 2 field trips. Later that day our cine class went out to meet our professor at the Universidad Compultense de Madrid campus where she teaches. The film Tesis was filmed there so we decided to walk around the Media and Communications department where some of the scenes took place. Classes were done for the day people were just leaving. Let me say it felt kind of odd being around other students, I mean, kids OUR age. Surrounded by them. We're so used to our little world at the Instituto in el Centro that it felt strange to back on a college campus again. God if only we were there more, just to check out some of the Spanish cuties ;__:
Anyways...the building was pretty cool. Not quite the same as in the movie, but similar. We also got to see some of the production stages where they film scenes and segments, with full on camera set-ups, lighting kits, newscasts sets and green screens. Uh-buuuuuuh. So nowhere near the type of equipment I'm used to, totally sophisticated equipment, specifically TV equipment. Yeah, I felt owned.
Cine trip parte dos - Yet another film we watched took place in an old and famous restaurant called Casa Mingo, a short walk from the Compultense campus....or so the professor said. A short walk turned into at least 20-30 mins. We were tired and hungry, I'm guessing that was pretty apparent when our professor said something about Americans not walking very much in the States... It's true, sad, but true.
Finally we get to restaurant, known for its cider and roast chicken. There are bottles of cider lined and stacked above the bar, dark wooden floors and walls, has an old timey-feel for sure. Food was good and relatively cheap but the best part was our professor. She loves to talk and joke around. So adorable. But she's also got some "vestido peligroso" as she says. On the way to dinner, apparently the strap on her bag got caught and some how undid some buttons on her dress. Bra was shown....Yeaaah. But of course knowning her, she handled it wonderfully, accepted and joked about it. Oh Rosanna, so legit.
Honestly, the daily entertainment that our teachers provide will be one of the things I miss most.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
San Isidro, Cuando Vengas a MADRID
San Isidro Labrador - the patron saint of Madrid, who died May 15th, 1130. Though Spaniards, especially Madrileños, aren't especially religious anymore they damn sure celebrate May 15th in a BIG way.
Las Vistillas - Apparently the place to be at (during the daytime anyway) is this park, so of course roomies and friends decided to hit that place up. Imagine a huge carnival with drinking and spanish foods with thousands upon thousands of people. It was even complete with strange humongo foods, like perritos completos (huge hot dog with fried onion bits, pickles, french fries) and salchicha papas con salsa (French Fries with hotdog slices and sauce). Don't worry there was good stuff there too, we just didn't eat any of it.
Best part of the day is that people dress up like they did back in the day. Women with pretty mantones, semi-flamenco style dresses, and the guys in vests and hats. Everyone with a carnation. Including cutie little kids!! We definitely had our fill of creeper pics of the kids.
Later in the night we headed out to Gran Via, no real plans just figured something big was going on. We were more than right. At 10:30pm the metro was packed, all of us getting off at the same place, as the train PASSED Gran Via. Apparently they had closed it off...So we got off at the next stop and walked through the IMMENSE crowd of people crowded in Gran Via. The whole street was apparently closed off to traffic and covered in blue carpet. That's a lot of carpet.
We made our way to what happened to be a convenient spot cuz it was next to a stage with some singers performing older Spanish songs. After that we realized that we just so happened to be in front of the Telefonica building, a Madrid landmark on which they planned to have 3-D projections on it, a special spectacle for San Isidro and the 100th year of Gran Via. It was so amazing, I wish I could have taped all of it but highlight moments were the speakers near the end, the frickin' robot and KING KONG, as if he was really climbing on the building. SICK
So that was definitely worth going out that night. But again we found ourselves standing around afterwards saying "OK what do we do now?" Cue fireworks. Fireworks - in a metropolitan city. So awesome.
The crowd dissipated a little, we took a few pics then headed over to El Tigre for some drinks and free tapas, of course. We ended up missing the last metro, but then we figured out that Gran Via eventually turns into Princesa, the main street parallel to ours.
Walking down the blue carpet all the way down Gran Via. Not a star in the sky. Enjoying the cool night breeze among the thousands of others hanging around Gran Via, who most likely had little plans of going home anytime soon. At some point we start singing and translating songs from "Chicago" in Spanish, "Y todo eso jazz."
All in all the night was successful. For once timing seemed just right for our time here in Madrid. Too bad its only coming in during our last few weeks of the program. One of the songs that we watched the performers sang earlier was pretty catchy. I found a new modern version of it that just so happens to be used for the tourism campaign for Madrid. It is steadily becoming my theme song for my time being here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Cines and caves and chans - oh my!
So the past week or so have been interesting. The end of our program is steadily approaching, and with it papers, finals, last traveling trips and bookings and God knows what else as we try to make the best of what we have left in Madrid....it's a scary thought.
Anyway, this week (mas o menos, I've been slacking on the blog, and things tend to blur together) in particular was relatively eventful and culture filled. First was the zarzuela (a comedic spanish opera) called "Diamantes de la corona." One of the last program trips left. Interestingly 3/4 of our teachers also made it to the show. Always fascinating to see teachs' out of their natural habitat as it were....
Shout out to one of my Spanish apt. mates, Marie, who's 21st bday was Monday. And of course we went out to celebrate. We hit up El Chapandaz, or "The Cave Bar" as we call it, because that's what it is, as if they made a bar inside a cave. They specialize in some sort of drink with milk that pours down from one of the stalactites...questionable? just a bit. So what if I had an art history paper en espanol due the next day? It was generally a good time.
So despite all the bumpyness of the past few weeks, with annoying schoolwork, crappy weather, and super-complicated traveling plans I don't mind it that much because it all gets balanced out by the utter film fest I've had.
First was my trip to Cine Dore. A small, old timey theater that plays classic and foreign films in original language, 2 euro for students. This showing was of Laura, por casualidad haha. I love old theaters, and good ole classic films as old as they are.
To top it all off, it's Almodovar week in our cine class, and I am loving EVERY minute of it! I used to think his films depicted his own little world, but the impression that I get from our prof is that he depicts an almost absurd but VERY real world of La Movida Madrilena after Franco's death, the world that our prof herself lived in. IT IS AWESOME!
I also get to watch and talk with people about my fave Almodovar films, always a good time. Let me reiterate once again how much we love our cine teacher, she's so nice but seems so badass at times, with her La movida youth and all. Apparently her son had tried out for the singing part of La mala educacion, didn't get it but got Almodovar's autograph. !!!! And during our class discussion of Mujeres al borde (sound familiar?) she stopped to tell us about an incident that happened with her car. She was at a crosswalk, about to go/run into a man. He seemed very casual, easy-going, and I think she let him pass. As he crossed and they waved to each other she realized that it was....
*chanchan CHAN - Viggo Mortenson.......
Frickin' Aragorn. I almost died...of disappointment that is. The whole time she was building up the story I was anxious, excited, nervous, imagining that she had met Almodovar, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia, SOMEONE that had SOMETHING to do Almodovar. JO-DER! I swear to God my palms were getting sweaty and I really didn't know what I was going to do if she said she had met HIM himself. I would've FLIPAR-ED like no other! But alas, it was Aragorn - good enough I guess. But damn, it would've been so cool if she had almost hit the most famous Spanish director of the last 20-30 years - something straight out of HIS movies.
So aside from that crazy, film-geek overload of mine, I've got less than 3 weeks to live up the rest of what I can in Madrid...goddamn I hope it will not disappoint. Something worthy of a scene from Almodovar, not necessary but always welcomed.
And seeing as I'm making my way to Barcelona next weekend, volcanic ash permitting, I feel this is quite appropriate.
*BTW "chan chan chan" refers to something our art teacher says all of the time. It's difficult to explain its context, but it's either used as if to say "well helloooo" or something surprising, something tongue-in-cheek like. En todos modos, always super entertaining and we say it to each other all the time. So be warned, it IS my new favorite thing to say.
Anyway, this week (mas o menos, I've been slacking on the blog, and things tend to blur together) in particular was relatively eventful and culture filled. First was the zarzuela (a comedic spanish opera) called "Diamantes de la corona." One of the last program trips left. Interestingly 3/4 of our teachers also made it to the show. Always fascinating to see teachs' out of their natural habitat as it were....
Shout out to one of my Spanish apt. mates, Marie, who's 21st bday was Monday. And of course we went out to celebrate. We hit up El Chapandaz, or "The Cave Bar" as we call it, because that's what it is, as if they made a bar inside a cave. They specialize in some sort of drink with milk that pours down from one of the stalactites...questionable? just a bit. So what if I had an art history paper en espanol due the next day? It was generally a good time.
So despite all the bumpyness of the past few weeks, with annoying schoolwork, crappy weather, and super-complicated traveling plans I don't mind it that much because it all gets balanced out by the utter film fest I've had.
First was my trip to Cine Dore. A small, old timey theater that plays classic and foreign films in original language, 2 euro for students. This showing was of Laura, por casualidad haha. I love old theaters, and good ole classic films as old as they are.
To top it all off, it's Almodovar week in our cine class, and I am loving EVERY minute of it! I used to think his films depicted his own little world, but the impression that I get from our prof is that he depicts an almost absurd but VERY real world of La Movida Madrilena after Franco's death, the world that our prof herself lived in. IT IS AWESOME!
I also get to watch and talk with people about my fave Almodovar films, always a good time. Let me reiterate once again how much we love our cine teacher, she's so nice but seems so badass at times, with her La movida youth and all. Apparently her son had tried out for the singing part of La mala educacion, didn't get it but got Almodovar's autograph. !!!! And during our class discussion of Mujeres al borde (sound familiar?) she stopped to tell us about an incident that happened with her car. She was at a crosswalk, about to go/run into a man. He seemed very casual, easy-going, and I think she let him pass. As he crossed and they waved to each other she realized that it was....
*chanchan CHAN - Viggo Mortenson.......
Frickin' Aragorn. I almost died...of disappointment that is. The whole time she was building up the story I was anxious, excited, nervous, imagining that she had met Almodovar, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia, SOMEONE that had SOMETHING to do Almodovar. JO-DER! I swear to God my palms were getting sweaty and I really didn't know what I was going to do if she said she had met HIM himself. I would've FLIPAR-ED like no other! But alas, it was Aragorn - good enough I guess. But damn, it would've been so cool if she had almost hit the most famous Spanish director of the last 20-30 years - something straight out of HIS movies.
So aside from that crazy, film-geek overload of mine, I've got less than 3 weeks to live up the rest of what I can in Madrid...goddamn I hope it will not disappoint. Something worthy of a scene from Almodovar, not necessary but always welcomed.
And seeing as I'm making my way to Barcelona next weekend, volcanic ash permitting, I feel this is quite appropriate.
*BTW "chan chan chan" refers to something our art teacher says all of the time. It's difficult to explain its context, but it's either used as if to say "well helloooo" or something surprising, something tongue-in-cheek like. En todos modos, always super entertaining and we say it to each other all the time. So be warned, it IS my new favorite thing to say.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
1 y 2 de mayo
So there were two holidays this weekend. 1st and 2nd of May. The first is Labor Day of course, which is pretty much celebrated everywhere but the US. Unfortunately I missed out on some of the demonstrations held by the labor unions, but I did catch some traditional folk dances going on in Plaza Mayor. Y otra vez there was sun in the city, if only for a day or so. Always enjoyable. by the way, the dances are quite similar to the Filipino-Spanish influenced dances, obviously....I like the Filipino ones better.
Another random discovery is Plaza de Espana, which is pretty much a 5 minute walk from my apt. It has a fountain, a HUGE monument with Don Quijote on it, some kiddies rides, and a mini-flea market. It's pretty a smaller, more quaint Rastro/Whole Earth Fest. It's also where a good pair of 5 Euro Ray Ban, I don't care if they're knock-off, I still like them.
I also found quite a few good chinese restaurants around the area, and a chinese supermarket. Guess I don't have to go all the way to another part of town to get my azn fixin's.
Dos de mayo
Just as a history refresher, the 2nd of May celebrates the uprising against the occupying French (led by Napoleon) which started in Madrid, therefore it is celebrated only in Madrid. The event was depicted famously by Goya . I randomly stopped by Puerta del Sol to see if there was anything going on, and por casualidad, I got there right in time for the military parade. Jets flew overhead leaving a trail of the flag's colors behind them. For a minute, a building was colored by sunlight shining through the red sky. It was pretty cool.
So that already made my day. The only way it was topped off was by the awesome Indian place I ate lunch at in La Latina. Chicken Tikka Masala and naan, Indian tea with milk for desert. Aah I love that it's still good no matter where you go. But the real topper was the sugar packet that came with the tea. True proof of the absolute absence of political correctness in Spain - pics will accompany soon.
Another random discovery is Plaza de Espana, which is pretty much a 5 minute walk from my apt. It has a fountain, a HUGE monument with Don Quijote on it, some kiddies rides, and a mini-flea market. It's pretty a smaller, more quaint Rastro/Whole Earth Fest. It's also where a good pair of 5 Euro Ray Ban, I don't care if they're knock-off, I still like them.
I also found quite a few good chinese restaurants around the area, and a chinese supermarket. Guess I don't have to go all the way to another part of town to get my azn fixin's.
Dos de mayo
Just as a history refresher, the 2nd of May celebrates the uprising against the occupying French (led by Napoleon) which started in Madrid, therefore it is celebrated only in Madrid. The event was depicted famously by Goya . I randomly stopped by Puerta del Sol to see if there was anything going on, and por casualidad, I got there right in time for the military parade. Jets flew overhead leaving a trail of the flag's colors behind them. For a minute, a building was colored by sunlight shining through the red sky. It was pretty cool.
So that already made my day. The only way it was topped off was by the awesome Indian place I ate lunch at in La Latina. Chicken Tikka Masala and naan, Indian tea with milk for desert. Aah I love that it's still good no matter where you go. But the real topper was the sugar packet that came with the tea. True proof of the absolute absence of political correctness in Spain - pics will accompany soon.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Las Ventas - Ole!
Las Ventas - one of the most important bullfighting rings in the world, and we get to watch a bullfight here. This is worth a single entry in and of itself.
Bullfighting has come under great scrutiny over the years due to what they would call a violation of "animal rights", becoming less and less popular even in its home country of Spain. Which is true, at the end of the day, an animal is killed for our entertainment. I understand that, though I'm not what you'd call an animal lover. That being said, the whole process is also an art, a tradition, a passion that is to be respected. At least that's the point of view of the true aficionados out there, and it's mostly because of them that I wanted to see and judge it for myself.
We, those who chose to attend, were accompanied by a kind of guide. I forget his name, but he's a professor at one of the universities and he gave as a presentation on bullfighting beforehand. His father took him to the ring since he was a boy, getting the same seats in the same section every season. He still gets those seats and hopes he gets to carry on the same tradition with his son, and possibly his grandson after him. He is one of the lovers of "La Corrida"that make the experience worth while. He also helped explain what the hell was going on at times.
The purpose of La Corrida is not to blatantly torture and kill the bull. No. The point is to entertain with beauty and the prospect of fatal danger, as the matador proves man's control and intelligence over the brute force of the animal and in the end giving it a respectful, merciful, and swift death. This point could not be stressed more by our guide.
That being said, the corrida we went to was eh...It was a Sunday, when mostly tourists attend, just before the start of the real season, and with lesser known matadors. Therefore, it was a bit second rate. The best fight was the last (6 out of 6), with a bull that weighed 623 kilos (1350 lbs)! The matador had the best, swiftest passes. Then there was one guy that was pretty horrible. It took him at least 6 tries to get his sword in and kill his bull - bad form.
Highlights:
- The real fans and the kind of culture and ambiance they create is pretty awesome. We sat in Section 7, known to be the section were middle-lower class aficionados gather to watch the fights, and goddamn if they don't expect to get their money's worth out of it. At a good corrida with a good matador, you want complete silence. Whistling and clapping (esp. in a rhythm) is bad news. And there was quite a bit of whistling and clapping, and flat out yelling at the matador/toreros and at each other!
- Like I said, these people came here for a show, and they aren't shy about letting people know that. Know-nothing tourists who clap or speak at inappropriate times get shhh-ed at. When the toreros are speeding up the process to get away from a 670 kilo bull, they yell "Que prisas tienes?!" (What's your rush?!). Malo torero. The toreros were scared, they weren't doing their their jobs, they weren't respecting the bull, the art nor the audience. For that, you get yelled at.
-Mr. Barajas' IB Spanish class in high school. I learned oh so many random facts about Spain and spanish culture that I never thought would really become useful to me. Things like when bulls jump into the crowds. Like one bull almost did at ours! It was pretty lively, was running and ended up jumping over the first wall of the ring. QUE FLIPA LA GENTE! Everyone freaked out - it's that rare. Within 15 sec, the bull jumped in, the assistants jumped out, closed 1 door and opened another for the bull to get back in to the ring. No one was hurt thank god. But damn that was exciting!
Overall, it was an interesting experience. There's certainly nothing even close to comparable to this in the States. I still don't know a lot about the whole thing. But here's what I do know: the toros bravos used for the fights live up to 4-6 years before they get into the ring. Before that, they live their lives on huge ranches, plenty of space, and little to no human contact. Their lives are infinitely better than those thousands of cattle raised for food production. And once in the ring, though small, they have a chance to prove themselves worthy of a complete pardon and living life as a stud. While not an excuse for the death of an animal for the sake of entertainment, I still find respect and honor in that.
Bullfighting has come under great scrutiny over the years due to what they would call a violation of "animal rights", becoming less and less popular even in its home country of Spain. Which is true, at the end of the day, an animal is killed for our entertainment. I understand that, though I'm not what you'd call an animal lover. That being said, the whole process is also an art, a tradition, a passion that is to be respected. At least that's the point of view of the true aficionados out there, and it's mostly because of them that I wanted to see and judge it for myself.
We, those who chose to attend, were accompanied by a kind of guide. I forget his name, but he's a professor at one of the universities and he gave as a presentation on bullfighting beforehand. His father took him to the ring since he was a boy, getting the same seats in the same section every season. He still gets those seats and hopes he gets to carry on the same tradition with his son, and possibly his grandson after him. He is one of the lovers of "La Corrida"that make the experience worth while. He also helped explain what the hell was going on at times.
The purpose of La Corrida is not to blatantly torture and kill the bull. No. The point is to entertain with beauty and the prospect of fatal danger, as the matador proves man's control and intelligence over the brute force of the animal and in the end giving it a respectful, merciful, and swift death. This point could not be stressed more by our guide.
That being said, the corrida we went to was eh...It was a Sunday, when mostly tourists attend, just before the start of the real season, and with lesser known matadors. Therefore, it was a bit second rate. The best fight was the last (6 out of 6), with a bull that weighed 623 kilos (1350 lbs)! The matador had the best, swiftest passes. Then there was one guy that was pretty horrible. It took him at least 6 tries to get his sword in and kill his bull - bad form.
Highlights:
- The real fans and the kind of culture and ambiance they create is pretty awesome. We sat in Section 7, known to be the section were middle-lower class aficionados gather to watch the fights, and goddamn if they don't expect to get their money's worth out of it. At a good corrida with a good matador, you want complete silence. Whistling and clapping (esp. in a rhythm) is bad news. And there was quite a bit of whistling and clapping, and flat out yelling at the matador/toreros and at each other!
- Like I said, these people came here for a show, and they aren't shy about letting people know that. Know-nothing tourists who clap or speak at inappropriate times get shhh-ed at. When the toreros are speeding up the process to get away from a 670 kilo bull, they yell "Que prisas tienes?!" (What's your rush?!). Malo torero. The toreros were scared, they weren't doing their their jobs, they weren't respecting the bull, the art nor the audience. For that, you get yelled at.
-Mr. Barajas' IB Spanish class in high school. I learned oh so many random facts about Spain and spanish culture that I never thought would really become useful to me. Things like when bulls jump into the crowds. Like one bull almost did at ours! It was pretty lively, was running and ended up jumping over the first wall of the ring. QUE FLIPA LA GENTE! Everyone freaked out - it's that rare. Within 15 sec, the bull jumped in, the assistants jumped out, closed 1 door and opened another for the bull to get back in to the ring. No one was hurt thank god. But damn that was exciting!
Overall, it was an interesting experience. There's certainly nothing even close to comparable to this in the States. I still don't know a lot about the whole thing. But here's what I do know: the toros bravos used for the fights live up to 4-6 years before they get into the ring. Before that, they live their lives on huge ranches, plenty of space, and little to no human contact. Their lives are infinitely better than those thousands of cattle raised for food production. And once in the ring, though small, they have a chance to prove themselves worthy of a complete pardon and living life as a stud. While not an excuse for the death of an animal for the sake of entertainment, I still find respect and honor in that.
I don't know if I'll ever go to a corrida again, but if I did I'd want it to be with first rate matadors. At least there would be a bigger chance of a better show, more worthy of the bulls' death.
Que brilla el sol!
FINALMENTE. We've gotten another break from the weird gray-ish rainy weather and some solid sun! Pretty awesome! Time for some adventuring out in the fabulous sunlight
El Parque del Buen Retiro - the main park in Madrid. A group of us gathered for a picnic. We met at the Estanque, the large lake which people can rent little boats to row in, with food in hand, in some cases doner kebabs para llevar :) We walked a bit, sat for a while, saw the Crystal Palace. But there's no doubt a LOT more to be seen and take pretty pics of. I definitely must come back for them.
Apparently us Californians weren't the only ones missing the sun. All sorts of people of all ages were there at the park, walking, rowing, picnicing, tanning. Yes tanning. It just may be true the stereotypes of Europeans being much more comfortable in their own skin, because there were certainly quite a few of them in the park chillin' in they're undies. Makes sense, ain't no beach anywhere, so this is as close as it gets. Although, with all the people, families, hippies, hippie families, and even some hippies lighting up a joint next to us, the whole thing kinda reminded me of Davis Farmers Market...siiiigh memories.
The day was still early so we headed to the Reina Sofia museum - FO' FREEEEE! Well I'm going back to the museum for class for free later anyway, but other peeps wouldn't usually go, and it was something to do. Smaller, and definitely more modern than Prado, I saw the works of Miro, Dali and Picasso all in one day, including Guernica. Pretty amazing.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Cositas que se aprende
I'm a geek. I know it. I can't help but find some of the quirky, historical, cultural things we learn en clase interesting...sometimes. But when its cold and rainy outside, it's not that hard to be entertained. Seriously, esta Abril, casi Mayo ya. Que esta pasando???
BTW, I hope my spanglish isn't too annoying. I can't help it, it just makes everything sound so much better. If you don't understand something, I suggest seek the advise of my personal savior for the past few weeks aqui.
En todos modos, this week seemed to be concerned with learning about the best-of-the-best of Spanish culture, including what may be the quintessential Spanish film. Que se llama Viridiana, by Luis Bunuel of course. Obviously filled with references and critiques of sexuality, violation of trust, sin, religion, societal demands, mysticism, morality and what is the point of it all. At a glance it goes over my head, after some time to think, I can see why it's considered a masterpiece.
Ademas, we read parts of a novel/tragic-comedy called La Celestina. It's basically a older, longer, more complex/compelling, Spanish, version of Romeo and Juliet. It's second only to Don Quixote in fame and influence. But I must say this, plus Viridiana in one week culminated into quite frank lectures about sexuality and other related things. Por ejemplo, Celestina is an old bruja that does odd jobs, like housing prostitutes, sends messages between "lovers" and casting weird spells y otras cosas. One of things that people went to brujas like her back in the day, was that in order restore a woman's "honor" before her marriage, they sewed it back together....SEWED IT BACK! That was pretty awkward for the Prof to mime for us....
ANYWAY the novel also has a pre-over-the-ledge-suicide monologue so intense que tu vas a flipar. But according to our Prof, if we read it even in english, "Por favor, cuidate de las ventanas. Porque te convence" Love him!
Y FINALMENTE! We finally got to talk about Las Meninas in the Prado. I never quite understood why Velazquez was such a big deal. Now I do. The ideal painter, master of technique, ever developing his skill and knowledge, and opening the doors (possibly jumping ahead a few hundred years) of imagination for painters to come. God I feel terribly knowledgeable and cultured.
And how do I treat myself after learning oh so much about Spanish culture? A second trip to the Asian market!! This time Ibero-China was open, so I got me more of that sriracha. And guess what?! I FOUND THE QUICKLYS!!! It's actually inside the store. Too bad it looked kinda janky and no one was working it when I was there, but STILL! I saw the Quicklys posters and the machines to seal the drinks. Find a Spanish Quicklys: CHECK.
BTW, I hope my spanglish isn't too annoying. I can't help it, it just makes everything sound so much better. If you don't understand something, I suggest seek the advise of my personal savior for the past few weeks aqui.
En todos modos, this week seemed to be concerned with learning about the best-of-the-best of Spanish culture, including what may be the quintessential Spanish film. Que se llama Viridiana, by Luis Bunuel of course. Obviously filled with references and critiques of sexuality, violation of trust, sin, religion, societal demands, mysticism, morality and what is the point of it all. At a glance it goes over my head, after some time to think, I can see why it's considered a masterpiece.
Ademas, we read parts of a novel/tragic-comedy called La Celestina. It's basically a older, longer, more complex/compelling, Spanish, version of Romeo and Juliet. It's second only to Don Quixote in fame and influence. But I must say this, plus Viridiana in one week culminated into quite frank lectures about sexuality and other related things. Por ejemplo, Celestina is an old bruja that does odd jobs, like housing prostitutes, sends messages between "lovers" and casting weird spells y otras cosas. One of things that people went to brujas like her back in the day, was that in order restore a woman's "honor" before her marriage, they sewed it back together....SEWED IT BACK! That was pretty awkward for the Prof to mime for us....
ANYWAY the novel also has a pre-over-the-ledge-suicide monologue so intense que tu vas a flipar. But according to our Prof, if we read it even in english, "Por favor, cuidate de las ventanas. Porque te convence" Love him!
Y FINALMENTE! We finally got to talk about Las Meninas in the Prado. I never quite understood why Velazquez was such a big deal. Now I do. The ideal painter, master of technique, ever developing his skill and knowledge, and opening the doors (possibly jumping ahead a few hundred years) of imagination for painters to come. God I feel terribly knowledgeable and cultured.
And how do I treat myself after learning oh so much about Spanish culture? A second trip to the Asian market!! This time Ibero-China was open, so I got me more of that sriracha. And guess what?! I FOUND THE QUICKLYS!!! It's actually inside the store. Too bad it looked kinda janky and no one was working it when I was there, but STILL! I saw the Quicklys posters and the machines to seal the drinks. Find a Spanish Quicklys: CHECK.
Friday, April 16, 2010
I don't care if it rhymes, the rain in Spain plainly sucks
Rain, rain go away - cuz you're interrupting my brief abroad fun.
Those Almodovar adventures will have to be on hold for a bit longer :( BUT that doesn't mean I can't do anything.
First adventure was my search for Ibero-China. It is supposedly a pretty big Asian supermercado, very close to Tetuan metro stop so I figured why not drop by and grab a few fried rice fixin's and a boba drink. Somehow I've yet to completely adjust to the schedules here in Spain as I went at 2pm, during lunch/siesta time when stores tend to close - FAIL. Luckily the store is also what seems to be like a 2-block semi-kinda Chinatown, so I still went in to a few stores to check it out.
Find Filipinos (la gente) in Madrid: Check. On the same street was a Filipino convenience store called Reby's, so I decided to check it out just because. The owner started talking with me, first in spanish, then a little tagalog, then finally english (too many languages swirling in my brain). He was nice and told me there was a Filipino panaderia 2 blocks down. I didn't plan on buying anything. but he was nice so I bought 2 bags of Boy Bawang corn nuts. Hmmm garlicky MSG goodness.
The bakery was kinda small as well, selection of pinoy goods not super great but okay, I shouldn't expect much. 1 siopao (filled steambun) + 1 pack of pitsi-pitsi (rice dessert with coconut) = 5euro!! What a gyp. Luckily they actually tasted good, otherwise I would've had to stick with my other Filipinos (cookies).
Me and the roomies, the 3 of us left in Madrid this weekend, decided to go watch a movie. We picked Shutter Island, VOSE (Version Original, Subtitulos en Espanol). I know kinda lame, but we wanted to watch a solid movie that we could follow. Spanish/Spanish-dubbed flick next time.
Shutter Island turned out awesome! Very well done, well worth the 7euro. Although I must say that even HERE theater snacks are overpriced - 3euro for the smallest popcorn :(
PS Happy Picnic Day to everyone in Davis! I wish the warm California sun would make its way over here for us too!
Those Almodovar adventures will have to be on hold for a bit longer :( BUT that doesn't mean I can't do anything.
First adventure was my search for Ibero-China. It is supposedly a pretty big Asian supermercado, very close to Tetuan metro stop so I figured why not drop by and grab a few fried rice fixin's and a boba drink. Somehow I've yet to completely adjust to the schedules here in Spain as I went at 2pm, during lunch/siesta time when stores tend to close - FAIL. Luckily the store is also what seems to be like a 2-block semi-kinda Chinatown, so I still went in to a few stores to check it out.
Find Filipinos (la gente) in Madrid: Check. On the same street was a Filipino convenience store called Reby's, so I decided to check it out just because. The owner started talking with me, first in spanish, then a little tagalog, then finally english (too many languages swirling in my brain). He was nice and told me there was a Filipino panaderia 2 blocks down. I didn't plan on buying anything. but he was nice so I bought 2 bags of Boy Bawang corn nuts. Hmmm garlicky MSG goodness.
The bakery was kinda small as well, selection of pinoy goods not super great but okay, I shouldn't expect much. 1 siopao (filled steambun) + 1 pack of pitsi-pitsi (rice dessert with coconut) = 5euro!! What a gyp. Luckily they actually tasted good, otherwise I would've had to stick with my other Filipinos (cookies).
Me and the roomies, the 3 of us left in Madrid this weekend, decided to go watch a movie. We picked Shutter Island, VOSE (Version Original, Subtitulos en Espanol). I know kinda lame, but we wanted to watch a solid movie that we could follow. Spanish/Spanish-dubbed flick next time.
Shutter Island turned out awesome! Very well done, well worth the 7euro. Although I must say that even HERE theater snacks are overpriced - 3euro for the smallest popcorn :(
PS Happy Picnic Day to everyone in Davis! I wish the warm California sun would make its way over here for us too!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Random
I think I'm just gonna put up posts called "Random" every once in a while. Cuz things happen that aren't necessarily eventful, but they're interesting to me nonetheless. Well, here we go:
Random notes:
I learned some interesting info about Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon. A judge on the criminal court, his works include persecuting former members of the Franco regime, investigating mass graves from that regime and that of the Chilean and Argentine dictatorships, putting Chilean dictator Gen. Pinochet under house arrest, and even trying to arrest officials of George W. Bush for the justification of torture. Bad ass to say the least
Now, the precedents used under his Pinochet case are considered being used to bring about charges towards the current Pope, accused of covering up child abuse. We'll see how that pans out
On a much lighter note - fave street performers for the day: The Beatles "Yesterday" by keyboardist/violinist duo, and ABBA's "Chiquitita " by a woman on a cheap plastic harmonica.
***Shout out to my peeps back in the States who also are making their way abroad in the coming year/months: Beegs (Alyssa), Bonnie, Mia, Polly.
Let the string of international dreams coming true continue! I am so proud of us ;)
Random notes:
I learned some interesting info about Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon. A judge on the criminal court, his works include persecuting former members of the Franco regime, investigating mass graves from that regime and that of the Chilean and Argentine dictatorships, putting Chilean dictator Gen. Pinochet under house arrest, and even trying to arrest officials of George W. Bush for the justification of torture. Bad ass to say the least
Now, the precedents used under his Pinochet case are considered being used to bring about charges towards the current Pope, accused of covering up child abuse. We'll see how that pans out
On a much lighter note - fave street performers for the day: The Beatles "Yesterday" by keyboardist/violinist duo, and ABBA's "Chiquitita " by a woman on a cheap plastic harmonica.
***Shout out to my peeps back in the States who also are making their way abroad in the coming year/months: Beegs (Alyssa), Bonnie, Mia, Polly.
Let the string of international dreams coming true continue! I am so proud of us ;)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Palacio Real
Being sick kinda sucks. As does the rain and school. Well, school can be okay sometimes, lit is a bit of a pain, art is quite sucky though. Pretty sure I have reading for it that I've only skimmed. But I just had a test today and we have a substitute tomorrow so I'm blogging and watching Tina Fey videos instead :)
One of my apt. mates went to Barcelona this weekend, which was a good weekend to go considering FC Barcelona won against Real Madrid!! Again, here's holding out for the world cup. And aside from mugging attempts and airport confusion she said it was very nice. It makes me quite excited for when I go there next month, which I should start planning soon...
Aside from attempting to recover, which I have tremendously but not completely, Tuesday was a busy busy day: class from 10:30-12pm, movie showing for another class 3-4:30, dash over to the Palacio 4:55-6:00(we were also late), another dash to the Museo del Ciudad for another class 7-8. This plus run and city pollution does not help my semi-congested lungs. Coming back to the apartment with take out from the kebab place was quite comforting.
BUT the Palacio was amazing. It really is the palace where the royal family used to live in. But considering its inconvenience, and the fact that the Spanish royals are pretty much the most laid-back royals of Europe, they don't actually live there and when not using it for meetings they open it to the public. Unfortunately no pics allowed, but each room was gorgeous and lush and had its own personality. One I liked the most had an 18th century asian theme to it. Lots of nature and asian fruits and flowers in the decoration. I swear, the design almost looked like asian, less tacky, Capodimonte on the walls. Plus the armory is pretty cool, again more sharp-pointy objects and pretty suits of armor. All in all, an awesome trip.
NERD ALERT: After watching our first film "La lengua de las mariposas" we were each assigned a question to answer and present to the class. Luckily my question was about the end scene and its relation and meaning to the film. Relating it to the film and its symbolic and even social significance - my favorite kind, and in espanol nonetheless! That always warms my heart, and exercises my filmy-nerd brain.
I'm bummed/glad that its a bit rainy this weekend. I want to go out and do things, and I still plan on doing some of them of course. But it also gives me an excuse to rest and finish this sickiness for good. Cuz after so many transfers, those estacion stairs can be killer, as I unfortunately learned on Tuesday. Here's to resting up and catching up on Lost/30 Rock/GLEE!!
One of my apt. mates went to Barcelona this weekend, which was a good weekend to go considering FC Barcelona won against Real Madrid!! Again, here's holding out for the world cup. And aside from mugging attempts and airport confusion she said it was very nice. It makes me quite excited for when I go there next month, which I should start planning soon...
Aside from attempting to recover, which I have tremendously but not completely, Tuesday was a busy busy day: class from 10:30-12pm, movie showing for another class 3-4:30, dash over to the Palacio 4:55-6:00(we were also late), another dash to the Museo del Ciudad for another class 7-8. This plus run and city pollution does not help my semi-congested lungs. Coming back to the apartment with take out from the kebab place was quite comforting.
BUT the Palacio was amazing. It really is the palace where the royal family used to live in. But considering its inconvenience, and the fact that the Spanish royals are pretty much the most laid-back royals of Europe, they don't actually live there and when not using it for meetings they open it to the public. Unfortunately no pics allowed, but each room was gorgeous and lush and had its own personality. One I liked the most had an 18th century asian theme to it. Lots of nature and asian fruits and flowers in the decoration. I swear, the design almost looked like asian, less tacky, Capodimonte on the walls. Plus the armory is pretty cool, again more sharp-pointy objects and pretty suits of armor. All in all, an awesome trip.
NERD ALERT: After watching our first film "La lengua de las mariposas" we were each assigned a question to answer and present to the class. Luckily my question was about the end scene and its relation and meaning to the film. Relating it to the film and its symbolic and even social significance - my favorite kind, and in espanol nonetheless! That always warms my heart, and exercises my filmy-nerd brain.
I'm bummed/glad that its a bit rainy this weekend. I want to go out and do things, and I still plan on doing some of them of course. But it also gives me an excuse to rest and finish this sickiness for good. Cuz after so many transfers, those estacion stairs can be killer, as I unfortunately learned on Tuesday. Here's to resting up and catching up on Lost/30 Rock/GLEE!!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Templo del debod y El Clasico
So it just so happens that a few of the things to see that are mentioned in a a few of my Madrid guide books are literally in my backyard - the Parque del Oeste and the Templo del debod. The temple being closer, I decided to hit that up first.
Templo del debod is an actual Egyptian temple. It was restored and later brought over to Spain brick by brick as a gift. A Great Pyramid it isn't, but still pretty remarkable especially considering that it is down the street from my apartment, inside a park filled with people picnic-ing, walking their dogs, or simply lounging in the sun. Oh, also quite a few French tourists... I don't know why.
After that I decided to walk around the park, it being a beautiful day, already hearing about the gorgeous parks of Spain, and not really having anything better to do. The park was quite picturesque. Walking through it the thought came across my head, that as much as I love Central Park and Davis Farmer's Market, how different is it going to be for me now after this?
After about an hour of walking I got bit tired and the sun was waring on me a bit. Then I realized that Parque Oeste was nowhere where I was yet, because I was actually in the middle of 3 different parks that are all pretty much connected together. I decided to save Parque Oeste for another day, head for the nearest street and navigate my way back. On the way I might've encountered a filipino restaurant/bar called Meson La Tsibugan (?). I'll have to check it out next time. After about 2hrs of walking around I decided to treat myself with a Magnum ice cream bar and take it easy for the night, hopefully ready to go out for another adventure the next day!
BUT my body apparently did not agree with this, since the next morning I felt pretty horrible and possibly with a fever. Sickiness has been going around and I guess it was my turn to catch it. After a trip to the supermercado for some food, fruits, and juice, some Tylenol and a long nap, I began feeling a lot better. Timing is pretty crappy though considering that tonight is the famed El Clasico - the game between archrivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. WAAHH. While everyone headed out to a pub near the stadium to watch the game/the crazy futbol fans, I'm stuck at home. :( But I suppose it's all for the best if I want to stay healthy to do all that I want to later and for my body not to hate me. Here's holding out for the World Cup!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Prado, Caixa, y Volver
Thursday was our first field trip to the Museo del Prado - home of the works of some of Spain's most renowned artists such as El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya who we will be studying for the next few weeks.
Walking in and up to the 2nd floor where the the museum's most known and arguably beautiful works were, we passed by Velazquez's Las Meninas, one of the most famous works of Western art. DESAFORTUNAMENTE our teacher decided to plot us down on a bench 20 feet away from it while she lectured for about 30mins about spanish history and epochs and which artist belonged to which. No worries, we're going back twice.
After our trip to the museum we decided to grab some lunch. Assuming that most restaurants around the Prado would be ridiculously expensive, we opted to go little bit off the beaten path. In one small bar/restaurant we saw something on the menu about 6 tostas (toasted bread topped with any given number of things) for 24.60 Euro, meaning about 6 Euro a person - DEAL. The plate of total 8 pieces of tostas they gave us was alright, nothing to scream about. About 20 mins later we began wondering if there were anymore tostas coming - the answer was no. Apparently 6 meant 6 pieces total, and I guess they threw in 2 more just because. 6 euro for 3 pieces of toasted bread plus 2 for a tiny Coca-Cola. WORST PLACE EVER. We paid, left and headed over to Sol for ice cream. Be sure to note that we are going to that area again for more museum trips, and each time we will remember and scold that damn place.
Aside from that pure failure, the rest of the night was alright. We went to the Caixa Forum ("kai-sha" in catalan), basically an art gallery for new, young spanish artists. The building itself is pretty awesome, red all over and with a vertical garden that you must see to believe AND an enormous statue of an elephant standing upside-down on its trunk. Just the outside beats any trip I've made to SF MOMA. There was a special exhibition of Miquel Barcelo's work, a very important artist of today's Spanish artists, which was pretty cool, but the true highlight was the photo exhibition, a collection of documentary photography of events/happenings from different parts of the world. The winning collection was that of one photographer who simply took medium head shots of Pakistani women who had be violently harmed or beaten. Many of them were attacked with acid and severely disfigured, many of the reasons were due to disputes with another family, marrying a certain man or refusing to marry another. Truly captivating and heartbreaking.
The rest of the night was not as intense. Most of us in the apartment decided to stay in and rest. I got to watch Volver again show it to a few of my apt mates for the first time, something I always relish doing. I envy people watching movies like that for the first time, because there's nothing like it. I should know, I've seen it countless times. That same involvement, captivation, and suspense is never the same after you know everything that happens. Nonetheless, I still love it for all that it is and what it has meant to me.
The next day I made it a point to make a list of all the Almodovar film spots in the city that I want to see and mark them on a map. It seems a little silly to go to these places just because I saw them in a movie, I know. I don't expect to find and meet him or Penelope Cruz or anyone from his films just by being here and going to those places. But it does seem like this as close as I can get. And I'm more than fine with that.
Walking in and up to the 2nd floor where the the museum's most known and arguably beautiful works were, we passed by Velazquez's Las Meninas, one of the most famous works of Western art. DESAFORTUNAMENTE our teacher decided to plot us down on a bench 20 feet away from it while she lectured for about 30mins about spanish history and epochs and which artist belonged to which. No worries, we're going back twice.
After our trip to the museum we decided to grab some lunch. Assuming that most restaurants around the Prado would be ridiculously expensive, we opted to go little bit off the beaten path. In one small bar/restaurant we saw something on the menu about 6 tostas (toasted bread topped with any given number of things) for 24.60 Euro, meaning about 6 Euro a person - DEAL. The plate of total 8 pieces of tostas they gave us was alright, nothing to scream about. About 20 mins later we began wondering if there were anymore tostas coming - the answer was no. Apparently 6 meant 6 pieces total, and I guess they threw in 2 more just because. 6 euro for 3 pieces of toasted bread plus 2 for a tiny Coca-Cola. WORST PLACE EVER. We paid, left and headed over to Sol for ice cream. Be sure to note that we are going to that area again for more museum trips, and each time we will remember and scold that damn place.
Aside from that pure failure, the rest of the night was alright. We went to the Caixa Forum ("kai-sha" in catalan), basically an art gallery for new, young spanish artists. The building itself is pretty awesome, red all over and with a vertical garden that you must see to believe AND an enormous statue of an elephant standing upside-down on its trunk. Just the outside beats any trip I've made to SF MOMA. There was a special exhibition of Miquel Barcelo's work, a very important artist of today's Spanish artists, which was pretty cool, but the true highlight was the photo exhibition, a collection of documentary photography of events/happenings from different parts of the world. The winning collection was that of one photographer who simply took medium head shots of Pakistani women who had be violently harmed or beaten. Many of them were attacked with acid and severely disfigured, many of the reasons were due to disputes with another family, marrying a certain man or refusing to marry another. Truly captivating and heartbreaking.
The rest of the night was not as intense. Most of us in the apartment decided to stay in and rest. I got to watch Volver again show it to a few of my apt mates for the first time, something I always relish doing. I envy people watching movies like that for the first time, because there's nothing like it. I should know, I've seen it countless times. That same involvement, captivation, and suspense is never the same after you know everything that happens. Nonetheless, I still love it for all that it is and what it has meant to me.
The next day I made it a point to make a list of all the Almodovar film spots in the city that I want to see and mark them on a map. It seems a little silly to go to these places just because I saw them in a movie, I know. I don't expect to find and meet him or Penelope Cruz or anyone from his films just by being here and going to those places. But it does seem like this as close as I can get. And I'm more than fine with that.
Monday, April 5, 2010
El Rastro, comestibles, y otras cosas
The semi-major highlight of my weekend was Sunday. Instead of going to church or huntin' for some colorful eggs, me and a housemate went to check out El Rasto - the biggest flea market in Madrid. But of course, it being a Sunday during Holy Week, it was quite crowded and we weren't really in the mood for buying anything so went to have lunch after about 30 mins. The market itself is huuuuge though, and we didn't see everything. Pero no te preocupes, I'm sure I will be back some day.
Other than that, it has been quite a slow few days which I think was definitely needed after Andalusia and Toledo. *Be warned, future blogs are probably going to be less frequent and more boring.* Classes are starting and I don't think I'm planning any weekend trips until May, so the next month or so are going to be quite averagely structured. But I don't think I mind it too much, todavia yo estoy en Madrid, and I still have a few more spots to hit up in the city.
Ademas, I still enjoy the little things I notice throughout the day. Such as the many families out during Semana Santa, during which I saw a many very smartly dressed little chicos, including a pair of matching twins. Or that Beatles music still continues to be around every corner in which there is a street performer.
Other than El Rastro, the biggest trip for me this weekend was EL CORTE INGLES!! The only department store in Spain, one of which is just down the street from me. Imagine some sort of combination of Walmart, Target, Macy's, maybe even a Safeway and a traveling agency, and there it is. But I mostly went to get grocery shopping which makes me very very happy. No more 5 euro bocadillos con jamon y queso with dry bread, at least not for a while.
Note - my classes thus far in order of preference - Cine, Cultura, Literatura y Arte. Cine not only cuz it's my territory but the teacher is super nice and chill. She even brought her family's manton de manilla to class. It's those silk-shawl things from the Philippines which used to be hand-made and shipped to Espana way back when. It was really pretty, preciosa, que deseo que yo he tenido una. Es "super sexy," in the words of my professor. Also, viewing a mini-montage of Almodovar films today (Almodovar: Plano a plano), made me want to watch Volver for the upteenth time. Now downloaded con subtitulos, I'm ready to watch it and get re-inspired to explore Madrid.
Other than that, it has been quite a slow few days which I think was definitely needed after Andalusia and Toledo. *Be warned, future blogs are probably going to be less frequent and more boring.* Classes are starting and I don't think I'm planning any weekend trips until May, so the next month or so are going to be quite averagely structured. But I don't think I mind it too much, todavia yo estoy en Madrid, and I still have a few more spots to hit up in the city.
Ademas, I still enjoy the little things I notice throughout the day. Such as the many families out during Semana Santa, during which I saw a many very smartly dressed little chicos, including a pair of matching twins. Or that Beatles music still continues to be around every corner in which there is a street performer.
Other than El Rastro, the biggest trip for me this weekend was EL CORTE INGLES!! The only department store in Spain, one of which is just down the street from me. Imagine some sort of combination of Walmart, Target, Macy's, maybe even a Safeway and a traveling agency, and there it is. But I mostly went to get grocery shopping which makes me very very happy. No more 5 euro bocadillos con jamon y queso with dry bread, at least not for a while.
Note - my classes thus far in order of preference - Cine, Cultura, Literatura y Arte. Cine not only cuz it's my territory but the teacher is super nice and chill. She even brought her family's manton de manilla to class. It's those silk-shawl things from the Philippines which used to be hand-made and shipped to Espana way back when. It was really pretty, preciosa, que deseo que yo he tenido una. Es "super sexy," in the words of my professor. Also, viewing a mini-montage of Almodovar films today (Almodovar: Plano a plano), made me want to watch Volver for the upteenth time. Now downloaded con subtitulos, I'm ready to watch it and get re-inspired to explore Madrid.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Toledo
Whooo day trip to Toledo!! Only an 1hr bus ride from Madrid, and for about 9 euros round-trip, it sounded well-worth it.
Pretty much any Madrid guide book will tell you that it's a good trip to take. And it pretty much was. At the very least it was cheap - food for the day was less than 10 Euro, went to a cathedral and a museum with free entrance, and walked the just walked the streets. Yes, more cathedrals and tiny cobblestone streets, but less pics this time cuz my batteries died :( But even though all these cities that I've been to may seem very similar, they all indeed have their own unique qualities. For instance, I had no idea Toledo was so very hill-y. It's a small city, we felt like we walked pretty much from one end to another, and it doesn't seem that far considering the very pretty sights and sunny but cool day. But once the incline hits, I was wanting at least a walking cane or some sort of support. Either that or this is just another indication that I am so very out of shape and not outdoors-y at all...This is why I'm in Madrid and not some place like Australia.
Another unique quality to Toledo is that rather than having a more Arabic influence it seems very medieval and European. There are castles and cathedrals from way back when, in addition of course to a few synagogues and a mosque.
There are also many many many MANY swords!!! Part of the reason I believe is that there is a military academy there, possibly one of the first in the area or just one that is quite significant. In either case on any given street, in most souvenir shops, there would lots of swords, helmets, some armor, some sorts of depictions of Don Quixote (we were in Castilla-La Mancha region after all) and a variety of sword-like objects....One of my apartment-mates got a lighter in the shape of a sword, which is pretty cool.
After wondering around the city for about 5 hours, up and down the hills and amongst the crowds (again probably due to Semana Santa) we were ready to go. We made one last stop to get some helado (ice cream) and listen to the lady singing for monedas to tourists. Some of her hits included Hero by Mariah Carey, Ave Maria, and My Heart Will Go On - always a favorite.
Coming back to the apartment never felt so comforting. We were all pretty exhausted from all the walking, as fun as it was. After hitting up a little shop near our estacion called Dulce King (with that name, how can you not?), I'm more than ready to stay in Madrid for a while, at least for the rest of the weekend.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Andalusia y Semana Santa Parte 1
Monday-Wednesday was our group trip to Andalusia - southern Spain and basically the last strongholds of the Arab world in Spain. Our trip also coincided with the first half of Semana Santa (Holy Week), thus making it extra special.
The bus to Andalusia took about 6hrs with a break in between, driving through what I think was La Mancha, thus the occasional windmills. Not to mention the home region of Almodovar as well.
Day 1 Granada - absolutely the last Arab fortress and stronghold in Spain. They had lived in Spain for 800 years until 1492 when they were pushed out by the new Castillian kingdom, thus allowing Colombus to sail the ocean blue. The city is no doubt ancient but also FULL of character - graffiti, hills and mountains, tiny curving streets, tea houses, and what I think are hippies. They sure have some good falafel and kebab. Not to mention the beautiful tour of the cathedral we had. Almost makes me want to be catholic.....Nevermind.
Day 2 Alhambra - before we made our way to Sevilla, and after our awesome continental breakfast at the hotel, we spent a few hours on top of a hill at the Alhambra the last Arab fortress, from which the view of the city and even the Sierra Nevadas (the other one) can be seen. At this point I should direct you to pics that are (or will be) on Facebook, because it was truly gorgeous. But at any given place I've been on this trip, I have to say that no matter how many pictures I take, none of them will ever do the real thing justice. It is, just so very immense and cool.
2nd stop Sevilla - Formerly the gateway port for ships arriving from and going to the New World. Here we had another tour of the the Alacazar, the royal palace of both Muslim and Christian influence during a time of co-existence between the two. We also saw, if only for 15 minutes, the Plaza de Espana the next morning. Again for both of these places, words are not sufficient. What I can say is the the processions in Sevilla are INSANE. Already about 30-40 walk away from the hotel, it took us 3hrs to find our way back because of the literally thousands of people in the streets at night following the processions, constantly confusing us and cutting us off. I used to think they were cool...not so much anymore
Day 3 Cordoba - the only thing really to see here is the Mosque/Mezquita, the mosque so large and beautiful the Christians decided to leave the foundations in-tact and just add to it.
On the whole the trip was well worth it. The history so very rich and the sights like none I've seen before, all in a span of 3 days. PLUS a few extraordinary finds that totally made my trip, such as seeing a couple singing "Volver" flamenco style (a la Penelope Cruz's character in Volver) in Cordoba, and some other very special find...
.
I can go home now.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
El Tigre y La Fontana de Oro
Bar hopping all night until the morning, churros con chocolate in the early morning, and more until the 6am Metro home - that is the infamous Madrid nightlife. So of course we had to do it at least once...in the first week.
We waited until about 11pm to head out and redeem ourselves from our failures the first night and get drinks/dinner at El Tigre. It was super crowded. Drinks were huge but came with basically endless tapas that were pretty good. More people joined up later on. While ordering at El Tigre there were 2 very tall and loud women (possibly transvestites) being quite obnoxious, saying things like "Este bar es para putas, solas putas!" Meanwhile the people around us would just tell us "Estan locas." The trannies then got into a bit of an argument, but still stayed until by the time we left so they had a good time. Next stop whatever bar we heard was cool.
La fontana de oro. Whose name also could have been McKinley's, or Finnegans, or Finbar's cuz it looked straight up like an "irish" pub, just like any of the given pubs around every corner. Music was pumpin, very Euro not heavy on the beats. The hardest song was probably Black Eyed Peas "Pump it." So many people, so many creeper guys trying to hit on all the girls. Again, we stick out like sore thumbs - a group of Americanos dancing in a bar where not that many people are wildly dancing...
4:30am - At this point some people have drifted away. I decided to stick around with the roommates until we left for churros. This is also when the excitement wore off and I just observed, and tried to stay away from the random drunk guys.
International Encounters - several people we encountered throughout the night included 2 guys studying here from Mexico, a few asianos studying in Bristol but really from UC Berkeley, A random middle aged, and very opinionated, man from Tel Aviv, some people from northern Spain also studying nearby. I'm continuing to find endless diversity here, which I appreciate, for certain.
5:30-ish: Chocolateria San Gines was definitely packed. We sure weren't the only ones who pulled an all-nighter and decided to end it with some churros, which were again very delicious.
6:45 - Heading back to the apartment, all I wanted to do was shower, sleep, and later figure out how to get the smoke smell our of my jeans and jacket. All in all it was an interesting night. But one that definitely is not meant to be repeated on a regular basis.
We waited until about 11pm to head out and redeem ourselves from our failures the first night and get drinks/dinner at El Tigre. It was super crowded. Drinks were huge but came with basically endless tapas that were pretty good. More people joined up later on. While ordering at El Tigre there were 2 very tall and loud women (possibly transvestites) being quite obnoxious, saying things like "Este bar es para putas, solas putas!" Meanwhile the people around us would just tell us "Estan locas." The trannies then got into a bit of an argument, but still stayed until by the time we left so they had a good time. Next stop whatever bar we heard was cool.
La fontana de oro. Whose name also could have been McKinley's, or Finnegans, or Finbar's cuz it looked straight up like an "irish" pub, just like any of the given pubs around every corner. Music was pumpin, very Euro not heavy on the beats. The hardest song was probably Black Eyed Peas "Pump it." So many people, so many creeper guys trying to hit on all the girls. Again, we stick out like sore thumbs - a group of Americanos dancing in a bar where not that many people are wildly dancing...
4:30am - At this point some people have drifted away. I decided to stick around with the roommates until we left for churros. This is also when the excitement wore off and I just observed, and tried to stay away from the random drunk guys.
International Encounters - several people we encountered throughout the night included 2 guys studying here from Mexico, a few asianos studying in Bristol but really from UC Berkeley, A random middle aged, and very opinionated, man from Tel Aviv, some people from northern Spain also studying nearby. I'm continuing to find endless diversity here, which I appreciate, for certain.
5:30-ish: Chocolateria San Gines was definitely packed. We sure weren't the only ones who pulled an all-nighter and decided to end it with some churros, which were again very delicious.
6:45 - Heading back to the apartment, all I wanted to do was shower, sleep, and later figure out how to get the smoke smell our of my jeans and jacket. All in all it was an interesting night. But one that definitely is not meant to be repeated on a regular basis.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Random details
I realize that my blogs have been suuuuuper detailed. Sorry if it seems boring, but yeah that's what I do - I observe people, things and details I find interesting. Here are a few that I think are worth commenting on:
Groups, most of us have been traveling in groups, packs if you will. The afternoon at the Plaza Mayor was crazy. Nothing says "turistas que no saben nada" like a group of 20something jovenes with backpacks, looking around trying not to get lost. We also tend to pack an already crowded place where the workers/servers have to serve everybody. Seriously, people must hate us.
Speaking of groups, I've been floating around a bit, trying to talk to different people. Roomies are good and we generally hang together, but hopefully I'll get to know other people in the group better and get to do stuff with them.
The other day I walked to Citibank to withdraw money, BY MYSELF. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was the first time since being in this huge yet wonderful city. One small step down the street, but one giant leap for my adventurous spirit.
People are at least semi-fashionable here. Apparently people go all out at the discotecas, but I Haven't seen for myself yet. Its been chilly but everyone's got pretty nice jackets, and I'm glad I brought a couple of my fave ones.
Spaniards must love the Beatles. Not a day goes by that I don't hear someone playing a Beatles song somewhere, mostly the estaciones. Either that or they're just pandering to a more international crowd. Either way, my dad would be very pleased.
The people pandering in the estaciones. Typically guys with some sort of musical instrument. The guy at our estacion kinda has karaoke machine and he just sings. Not bad though. Los mejores: Guy with the harp - A HARP. That is legit. Also, one man sitting and playing the violin beautifully while another woman (his wife?) holds the music piece for him to read. :)
Groups, most of us have been traveling in groups, packs if you will. The afternoon at the Plaza Mayor was crazy. Nothing says "turistas que no saben nada" like a group of 20something jovenes with backpacks, looking around trying not to get lost. We also tend to pack an already crowded place where the workers/servers have to serve everybody. Seriously, people must hate us.
Speaking of groups, I've been floating around a bit, trying to talk to different people. Roomies are good and we generally hang together, but hopefully I'll get to know other people in the group better and get to do stuff with them.
The other day I walked to Citibank to withdraw money, BY MYSELF. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was the first time since being in this huge yet wonderful city. One small step down the street, but one giant leap for my adventurous spirit.
People are at least semi-fashionable here. Apparently people go all out at the discotecas, but I Haven't seen for myself yet. Its been chilly but everyone's got pretty nice jackets, and I'm glad I brought a couple of my fave ones.
Spaniards must love the Beatles. Not a day goes by that I don't hear someone playing a Beatles song somewhere, mostly the estaciones. Either that or they're just pandering to a more international crowd. Either way, my dad would be very pleased.
The people pandering in the estaciones. Typically guys with some sort of musical instrument. The guy at our estacion kinda has karaoke machine and he just sings. Not bad though. Los mejores: Guy with the harp - A HARP. That is legit. Also, one man sitting and playing the violin beautifully while another woman (his wife?) holds the music piece for him to read. :)
Tan bellisima y emocionante
Not gonna lie, jet lag has been taking a little bit of a toll on me. Sleep has been irregular and so has my appetite. So although I want to be super excited, negative thinking starts to creep on in.
And then came the Calle Mayor. We had a walking tour today with the people from ACCENT center, our program center, of cheap deals and of the center of Madrid. EL CENTRO. Around the Palacio at 0 km, from which everywhere else in Madrid is measured from (i.e. 5km, 15km).
The Calle Mayor is a the main street. It's super busy and full of different shops. Further down the Plaza Mayor, completely gorgeous despite the gray weather. The area is pretty much where everything is, shopping, food, the market, the famed Rastro flea market, cines, museos, the list goes on. With so much to do and a beautiful place to do it in, there's no way you'll have nothing to do. Despite my temporary blah-ness, I was reminded that this is Madrid, and there's nothing blah about it.
The area is also tourist attraction, so street vendors and panderers are expected. Best ones: A puppet guy controlling John Lennon, Jimi Hendriz, etc marionettes dancing and lip-syncing to songs. A guy sitting on a chair in a costume of a little man playing guitar on a stage - I know, hard to imagine but pretty clever.
* TO ALL MY FATTY FRIENDS AND FAMILY - this section is for you!
We all went to eat lunch at a tiny place recommended to us - La Campana, where we ordered bocadillos de calamares - calamari sandwiches. Add a squeeze of lemon and some kinda-not-really hot sauce - like butt-uh! 2.30 Euro
Next stop Chocolateria San Gines - very cute kinda hidden cafe. 14 of us ordered churros con chocolate, mi primera vez. Churros - lightly crisp on the outside, soft on the in. Chocolate - literally like good melted chocolate, thick, and justa little bitter. I finished the whole cup and could have drunken more. 3.50 Euro and so worth it.
And then came the Calle Mayor. We had a walking tour today with the people from ACCENT center, our program center, of cheap deals and of the center of Madrid. EL CENTRO. Around the Palacio at 0 km, from which everywhere else in Madrid is measured from (i.e. 5km, 15km).
The Calle Mayor is a the main street. It's super busy and full of different shops. Further down the Plaza Mayor, completely gorgeous despite the gray weather. The area is pretty much where everything is, shopping, food, the market, the famed Rastro flea market, cines, museos, the list goes on. With so much to do and a beautiful place to do it in, there's no way you'll have nothing to do. Despite my temporary blah-ness, I was reminded that this is Madrid, and there's nothing blah about it.
The area is also tourist attraction, so street vendors and panderers are expected. Best ones: A puppet guy controlling John Lennon, Jimi Hendriz, etc marionettes dancing and lip-syncing to songs. A guy sitting on a chair in a costume of a little man playing guitar on a stage - I know, hard to imagine but pretty clever.
* TO ALL MY FATTY FRIENDS AND FAMILY - this section is for you!
We all went to eat lunch at a tiny place recommended to us - La Campana, where we ordered bocadillos de calamares - calamari sandwiches. Add a squeeze of lemon and some kinda-not-really hot sauce - like butt-uh! 2.30 Euro
Next stop Chocolateria San Gines - very cute kinda hidden cafe. 14 of us ordered churros con chocolate, mi primera vez. Churros - lightly crisp on the outside, soft on the in. Chocolate - literally like good melted chocolate, thick, and justa little bitter. I finished the whole cup and could have drunken more. 3.50 Euro and so worth it.
Soy una nerd
Today was the first day of class. I didn't think I'd be too excited about it, but they seem pretty cool thus far.
Of course the cinema class is going to be my fave at this point. And being the Film Studies major, I'm already the go to person whenever the profesora mentions a film: "Laura, tu has lo visto?" But I don't mind, since chances are, I probably have seen it.
Our literature professor is gonna make us work. But he's what I like to think of a passionate, animated, European professor of literature that thinks the literature of HIS own country is better than all others. Still, he's pretty entertaining.
Jamón, Jamón. For lunch we had sandwiches, apparently I was the only one willing to try the Jamón serrano, cured ham like prosciutto which again, is everywhere. Pretty good, a little salty but also cheap.
Weather is strange here. Partly cloudy with random bursts of rain. You go in the Metro and its raining. Come back out, its done. Que pasando?
Tonight the apt. girls split up in search of food. Judy, Danielle and I decided to drop by pizza place next to our building. We started up a conversation with a the guy working there. 25 years old, from Morocco, and his name is Bashir. Apparently Spaniards have trouble saying his name (bah-cheer instead of bah-sheer) Maybe he'll get to be a new local friend to say hi to on out way to school.
Of course the cinema class is going to be my fave at this point. And being the Film Studies major, I'm already the go to person whenever the profesora mentions a film: "Laura, tu has lo visto?" But I don't mind, since chances are, I probably have seen it.
Our literature professor is gonna make us work. But he's what I like to think of a passionate, animated, European professor of literature that thinks the literature of HIS own country is better than all others. Still, he's pretty entertaining.
Jamón, Jamón. For lunch we had sandwiches, apparently I was the only one willing to try the Jamón serrano, cured ham like prosciutto which again, is everywhere. Pretty good, a little salty but also cheap.
Weather is strange here. Partly cloudy with random bursts of rain. You go in the Metro and its raining. Come back out, its done. Que pasando?
Tonight the apt. girls split up in search of food. Judy, Danielle and I decided to drop by pizza place next to our building. We started up a conversation with a the guy working there. 25 years old, from Morocco, and his name is Bashir. Apparently Spaniards have trouble saying his name (bah-cheer instead of bah-sheer) Maybe he'll get to be a new local friend to say hi to on out way to school.
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