Un "Regimen"

Well, two months and three kilos later, it's time for a "regimen" or diet for all of you people who don't speak Spanish.

Tonight, after eating a HUGE spanish sandwich consisting of white bread, eggs, and cheese, I walked slowly to the sink and sadly showed Isa the result of eating two much bread and dessert. I told her (for the second week in a row) that's it's time for me to go on a diet and I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT eat any more bread and/or fried foods for dinner. She laughed at me and with a huge grin on her face, grabbed my hands and placed them on her waist.

"Feel how much weight I've lost," she said (in Spanish of course), "I've lost 3 kilos (7 pounds) in 15 days." I told her not to give me anymore details...I wasn't in the mood to hear her weight loss succcess stories!

She followed me into the hall laughing and told me she would teach me to be on a "regimen." She said I should begin by only eating fruta (fruit) or ensalada (salad) for dinner, but here comes the hard part… she told me it was time to stop snacking and eat only what she gives me.

She then proceeded to list all of the things I need to stop eating including:
1) Mucho pan (a lot of bread)
2) Postre, especialmente Neopolitanas (dessert, especially (MY FAVORITE) NEOPOLITANAS)
3) Bocadillos (sandwiches)
4) Galletas con chocolate (cookies with chocolate)

I have no idea how she knew I've been eating all this stuff (maybe from personal experience), but she told me it was time for a change!
"I promise to eat only salad and fruit for dinner," I said sticking out my hand. Isa smiled, and we shook on it. “Vale (okay),” she said.

So here goes, Isa and I shook on it. It's time for a regimen and Isa will be my instructor!! (Why do I feel like I’m making a pact with the devil)? Haha! Wish me luck! : ))

Hasta luego!!

Granada

Hola todos! I'm a terrible person and have not written in TWO WEEKS!!! What can I say, I've been busy living the life of a traveler (well, kind of)!

The weekend of February 5th-7th, I visited Granada, a beautiful city with an amazing history. The first place we visited in Granada was the Alhambra, a palace and fortress complex built by Moorish monarchs beginning around 1232. Before visiting Granada, I heard the Alhambra was Spain's most visited monument, and after I saw it, I knew why. The architecture and location of this place are absolutely stunning.

Here is a picture of one of my favorite areas in the Alhambra. This is the Patio de Arrayanes. It was cloudy the day we visited, so my picture definitely does not do this place justice. On a sunny day, this pool reflects light into the surrounding halls.



The Alhambra is also the inspiration for Washington Irving's book, "Tales of the Alhambra." I was able to take several pictures of his room, including this photo of his bed...HOW NEAT!!!



Here are a few more pictures of my visit to the Alhambra.







The second place we visited in Granada was La Capilla Real. Inside the Capilla Real are the tombs of two of the most influential people in Spain's history, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the Capilla Real, but the experience was well worth it. Outside La Capilla Real, we visited a gypsy spice market. The spices are much cheaper than in the States. I bought Saffron and Vanilla.



After a full day of touring the city, we had the oppotunity to go to the gypsy caves and watch Flamenco. It was my second time to watch Flamenco, but these dancers were definitely the best I've seen. These people have a passion for the dance, and as creepy as it may be...they don't smile AT ALL while they are dancing!



(The Spanish Patrick Swayze).



Okay, so I know I had to insert a disclaimer in my last blog because I always say, "This is the most fascinating place I have ever visited," but the Monasterio de San Jerónimo is DEFINITELY the most fascinating place I have visited. My favorite part of the monastery was the church. The interior was absolutely stunning, and I liked the story behind it. It was paid for by the Duchess of Sesa as a memorial to her husband, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. Fernández was the the "Gran Capitan" to Charles V. Here are some pictures of the church.







You will notice Fernández's original sword was used in this painting...fascinating!!





We spent the last day in Granada exploring the city. One of the places we visited was the Moroccan market. There were so many things I would have liked to buy there, but it was hard to multitask between shopping and clinging to my purse...enough said..haha!





After, shopping we grabbed a kebab (which everyone agreed was the best thing we've eaten in Spain), and then we found a park to soak up some sun. I had to have a nap, of course.





Well, that about wraps up my trip to Granada. I visited so many places in so little time, but hopefully I've done an okay job of summing up my favorite parts!!

I hope I have the opportunity to someday return to the place Washington Irving called, "Lovely Granada! City of delights! I speak with enthusiasm on this theme; for it is connected with the recollection of one of the sweetest evenings and sweetest scenes that ever I enjoyed in Spain."

Barcelona

Hola todos! I'm back from my Barcelona trip, and I must say it was definitely the MOST FASCINATING place I have ever visited. (Disclaimer: Please be prepared to hear me say this after every trip.)
While in Barcelona I was able to add to my list of "firsts." The first "first" on my list was staying in a hostel. I'm not sure what I expected to find when I entered the hostel, but Itaca failed to list "psychedelic" in their description of the decor. Upon entering the door and stumbling through a mixture of fumes smelling of cigarette smoke and vanilla vodka, I finally I found my way to the receptionist. The guy behind the counter, appearing as though he hadn't showered in a week, gave us the keys to our room and told us we would be staying in the "green room" on the second floor. The walls surrounding the stairwell were painted cobalt blue with a picture of a yellow submarine full of hippies sailing up to the second floor.
Kristen was the first person to enter the room, and I can't begin to describe the look on her face when she flipped the lights and found herself looking directly into the eyes of one of our male roommates. I had the same reaction when I walked in, looked to my left, and found myself looking directly into a pair of bloodshot eyes belonging to a man with wild red hair and a bushy beard. Staying in the hostel was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone, but after two days without a shower, I was glad to return home to my clean little room.

Number two on my lists of firsts was to touch the Mediterranean Sea. It was cold and windy in Barcelona, but I had to take at least one picture dipping my fingers into the Mediterranean. Here is the slightly awkward picture I took. I was trying to avoid getting the icy water in my shoes!



I forgot to mention earlier that we only had two days in Barcelona, so we decided to take a bus tour on Saturday. It worked out really well because the bus took us to about 15 different stops, and we were able to choose when and where we wanted to get off. We could spend as much time as we wanted at each stop before getting back on the bus to head to our next stop. (However, there were a couple of times when the bus failed to stop even though I'm positive the driver could see me sprinting behind it frantically waving my arms).

One of the most amazing places we visited was the Sagrada Familia church. Construction on this church began in 1883 but a year later was given to Gaudí who completely changed the original design. (The term "gaudy" comes from Gaudí whose works can definitely be described with this word. You will see evidence of this in the pictures I provided.) In typical Gaudí fashion, the design of this church is in a league of its own. Gaudí lived and worked on the site for 16 years before his death, but construction on the church still has not reached completion.





Everything was so detailed. I especially like the fruits. These oranges sat atop one of the towers. They looked so real!



This is a view from the top of one of the towers looking down the stairs. Needless-to-say I was exhausted by the time I finally made it back down!



I didn't find the interior of the Sagrada Familia that impressive because it is still under construction, but I LOVED the stained glass!



Here are a couple more pictures of Gaudí's work. This is the Casa Batlló. It was absolutely beautiful.





Sunday, we visited the Picasso museum and Las Ramblas Street. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos inside the Picasso museum, but it was definitely worth the visit.
Las Ramblas street was a hustle and bustle of stands selling everything from leather bracelets, to flowers, to birds and rabbits. I was most impressed by these strange costumes!






I could go on forever about how much fun I had in Barcelona. It is a beautiful city with an invigorating atmosphere, but Sunday I was ready to return to what I now call "Home Sweet Sevilla."
Hasta luego!

"Doock Leever Block"

Not much has happened since Friday's trip to Córdoba. I've pretty much kept the same schedule of sleeping, surfing the internet, reading, attempting to speak Spanish to Isa, attempting to understand Isa when she speaks Spanish to me...you know, the usual. Oh, and of course, I'm still visiting Don Divino and/or other pastry shops on a daily basis.
However, I have had two rather interesting experiences the last few days.
Saturday night, Ale invited me and a few friends to a "Beatles" concert by a local cover band. I cannot begin to describe my excitement when I found out the band would be singing Beatles music IN ENGLISH! AHHH! Anyway, on the way to the concert, I told Ale and his friends several times how excited I was to hear "Hey Jude." (This is BY FAR my favorite Beatles song, and I really hoped they would sing it.) Half way through the concert, they still had not sung my song, but never fear, a large group of 16-year-old boys began chanting "HEY YUDE! HEY YUDE! HEY YUDE!" At the time, I had no idea what they were chanting, but I yelled with them just for the sake of living the moment. It wasn't until the band began playing the first few notes of "Hey Jude" that I realized my Spanish amigos had been chanting for my song all along! I enjoyed every minute of the concert and will never again hear "Hey Yude" without thinking about my Beatles concert experience in Sevilla.

Moving on, yesterday I put my taste buds to the test and tried "duck liver block" aka "Pâté" or "Pato" in Spanish. The grayish tint of the spread should have been my first hint to STAY AWAY, but instead I dipped my spoon into the can and spread a heaping amount of the pato onto my bread. After chewing and swallowing, I asked Ale what exactly "pato" was.
"Es pato," he replied. "Es Doonald."
"Donald?" I asked.
He then picked up the can and read very slowly in broken English,
"Ninety-aaatee perceent doock leever."
"Hmm," I replied trying to decipher what I thought was another complicated Spanish phrase...then, the light bulb finally came on and I realized he just said, "NINETY-EIGHT PERCENT DUCK LIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I had just eaten ground duck liver on my bread (hence his reference to Donald Duck).
I immediately gulped down the rest of my water and swore to Ale I would never again eat "doock leever" on my bread.

So why exactly did I decide to share these two experiences with you? The truth is...I have no idea! : ) Hasta luego!!

Córdoba

Friday, our group visited Córdoba. It was an amazing place (as are all of the cities in Spain). The main attraction in Córdoba is the Mezquita, or Mosque, built between the years of 785-787 A.D.



This Mezquita stands as a physical remembrance of a time when Islam dominated the Iberian Peninsula. Many additions have been made to the Mezquita since that time, but the most interesting addition comes in the form of a Gothic cathedral built directly in the center of the Mezquita after the Spanish Reconquista around 1523.



There are more than 850 columns inside the mosque, each of which was individually painted. My pictures do not do this place justice, but here are a couple of pictures of the arches and pillars.





Another really interesting thing our teacher pointed out to us was this tomb. It's kind of hard to read the name on the tomb, but the most important thing about it is that this is the only woman buried inside the mosque. Below the tomb, it says that she was buried in the mosque upon the request of her brother who my teacher said probably played a part in the construction of the mosque. I thought this was a neat story!



Even though putting a cathedral inside the center of the mosque destroyed the architecture and beauty of the mosque, the cathedral is breathtaking. Here are some pictures...









Once again, I was amazed that something this incredible could have been built so long ago. I'm going to Barcelona this Friday so expect more pics soon! Hasta luego!

Chocolate...

When I made the final decision to come to Sevilla, I came with several goals. My three primary goals were to...

1) Visit as many places in Europe as possible
2) Become fluent in Spanish
3) Eat healthy and return to the United States a few pounds lighter

After two weeks in Spain, I have visited Itálica and many different locations in Sevilla, and I am taking a trip to Córdoba this Friday. Next week I am going on a trip to Barcelona.
My Spanish has improved tremendously, and I am constantly forcing myself to think and talk primarily in Spanish.
Alas, these last two weeks have been a success as far as my first two goals are concerned.

HOWEVER, I have decided to make some changes to goal number three. (I tend to alter my goals rather than alter my habits).
Before I go into the changes I plan to make to goal number three, let me explain the reason for the change.

Isa's house is about a 20 minute walk from the school. I make this walk at least twice a day, and on the way to the school, I pass a little "pastelería," or bakery, called Don Divino. I can smell this place from a mile away. The first 10 days I was here, I resisted the tempting smells of chocolate and pastries and walked quickly past la pasterlería de Don Divino. However, yesterday I made the fatal mistake of entering the shop just to "check it out." Two cookies and a piece of cake later, I waddled out of Don Divino happier than ever.
Today I revisted Don Divino, but didn't buy a pastry because I had already bought one at another bakery near the school.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of this week I ate the most AMAZING chocolate fondant ice cream you have ever tasted!

Needless-to-say, my three goals have become...

1) Visit as many places in Europe as possible
2) Become fluent in Spanish
3) Try not to return to the US 100 pounds HEAVIER

That's all for today...Hasta luego!

Itálica: "I walked where the Romans walked."

Not much has happened since the last time I blogged. I have spent most of my time unsuccessfully trying to get over a cold.

However, Saturday, we did make a quick trip to Itálica, a Roman city which dates back to 250 B.C. I can honestly say, Itálica is one of the top five most amazing places I've seen. We walked through a stadium which could seat 20,000 people. The whole time I was walking through the stadium, the same thought kept running through my mind, "I am walking where the Romans walked."



I had these similiar feelings a few years ago when I walked through George Washington's house in Mount Vernon, but to think I was walking through a tunnel built by the hands of people older than Christ was absolutely amazing.



After the stadium we walked down an old "street" lined with the foundations of what once were the homes of the Roman patriarchs. My teacher explained to us that movies often portray these homes to be very large, when in fact, each room was actually only about 12 by 15 feet. I was especially awestruck by the mosaic floors in many of these homes. My favorite floor was decorated with tiles of birds...(most of you already know about my obsession with owls).





After leaving the Itálica site, we walked to a Roman theatre. Our teacher said a man discovered it a few years ago when trying to put in a garage behind his house. Needless-to-say he never got his garage once they discovered the remains of an ancient Roman theatre beneath his house. All of the houses around the theatre have avoided doing any construction, because the owners are scared that should they dig, they, too, might lose their homes to excavation.



I loved every minute of our quick excursion to Itálica. I am amazed by the abilities of man and look forward to visiting more of these incredible places! Hasta luego!