I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....almost done with the term! Half of a paper left to write and lots of studying to do, then it will be summer! I got a text from my boss today asking if I wanted to work in another club while we close down for the remodel. I didn't answer. Not sure what I'm gonna do about that. I definitely want two weeks off, but could use the money....oh well, I'll figure it out :) (I wrote this yesterday but am posting it today...I told her I want the time off...hehehe)
On another note, I got home from class earlier this week to quite a surprise. I noticed there was a car parked halfway on the sidewalk. I thought that was kind of odd so kept looking as I got closer. Then I realized that it was parked there because it had been hit and pushed up onto the sidewalk. Then I got closer still and realized it was my poor roommate's car. And she was in CA for a bachelorette party. I didn't want to have to ruin her vacation with the news, but the police said they had to talk to her to file a report, so I had to break the news to her. Anyway, the seem to think they can fix the car, so that's good I guess. I think the garbage man is the culprit, but I'm not sure if we'll ever find out.
Wednesdays are usually pretty good days for me since I have most of the day off to get stuff done. This was no exception, I feel like I accomplished so much today! I finished two papers that I had been working on and wrote one and a half papers for another class. So close! Plus I did a little cooking. I have shared on numerous occasions my love for the Pioneer Woman. But today I ventured out on my own. I had gone to Trader Joe's with Annie earlier to get a few groceries and picked up a bag of cubed butternut squash. I thought I'd make some sort of pasta or something with it. Well I couldn't really find a recipe I liked, so I just threw a bunch of stuff together. I'm gonna go ahead and brag, it was pretty amazing. I cooked the squash in some butter (this was not a low-fat recipe, sorry) and then added in some pine nuts and some chicken. Then I made a little roux (added flour to the butter for thickening) and poured in some milk til it seemed like a good consistency. I had some ricotta cheese that needed used up, so I threw in some of that and some sage, plus salt and pepper. Then I poured in some cooked penne pasta and stirred it all up. I decided I'd bake it for a bit, so put it in a pan with some cheese sprinkled on top.
YUM. The sage worked really well with the squash. I can't take credit for that idea, I had seen a recipe for sage browned butter sauce with butternut squash pasta somewhere, so decided that would probably be good to add! Anyway, I'd probably do a little less sauce next time since it kind of overpowered the squash. But it still is quite delicious! And I have enough to last a week. Or to last my roommates and I a few days anyway. So if you're hungry, come on over!
I took a picture of the finished product but it doesn't look too exciting. So I'm going to be lazy and not bother putting it on here. You'll just have to imagine it.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
sorry, more food....
I apologize for my food obsession. But I just love it so, so here is another food post!
Here are some delicious things I have made recently:
Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas. This combination, and how easy it was to make, made my roommate Megan and I decide we need to open a Quesadilla Food Cart in Portland. It would be amazing.
We had a giant box of Oreos leftover from an event my roommate went to. I wanted to use them to make something since they weren't getting eaten. These Cookies and Cream Cupcakes are amaaaaazing (frosting recipe here). I just need to get a muffin tin that will cook more than 6 at a time...
White Chicken Enchiladas. I'm not a huge fan of normal red enchilada sauce. But this was soooo good and cheesy and amazing. So amazing that I made them twice in the span of a week and shared them with about 10 people.
White Chili. A long cooking process (2 hours + to cook the dry chili beans), but sooo worth the time. The process involved boiling a whole cut-up chicken, which was quite interesting (and gross-looking), but ended up producing some homemade chicken stock! And the chicken was nice and easy to shred after boiling.
My roommates and I also made Mole recently. If you have never had Mole (which I hadn't tried until this fateful night), just imagine chocolate and peanut butter with chicken. I take that back, don't imagine that, it sounds disgusting. But those are crucial ingredients in Mole, and it is amaaaaazing. This is another dish that was made two times within a week. Shredded chicken, tomato, cocoa powder, peanut butter, green chiles...served over rice with corn tortillas and/or Juanita's chips (no other chips will do. ever.). So easy to make (although a bit messy), and sooooo good!
Michelle's (a dental student) practice skull ate dinner with us. He loved it too.
Aaaaand dessert: cupcakes (leftover from my after-school class) and Girl Scout cookies.
Besides cooking, I have been trying to try out some food carts lately. My roommate and I have been on a few food cart adventures, but I have only photographed one of them. Food carts are fantastic. Expect to pay from $5-8 on your meal, but it will be well worth it.
The first involved Peanut Butter and Jelly. I can't tell you how amazing this was. If I tell you what was on the sandwich (bacon, anyone?), you might be grossed out. But you just have to try it! PBJs Grilled, on NW 23rd-try the Good Morning or the Sun Up. Or anything else, I'm sure.
I also tried some Korean food one day as I was craving teriyaki chicken. Dosirak's (near PSU campus on SW 4th) lunchbox came with chicken, rice, salad and a spring roll. I ate alllll of it. And then almost died because I was so full. But oh so happy.
I also tried some Thai food near PSU. I love pad thai. One of my favorite all-time dishes. I had such high hopes from this food cart, as there was an adorable little Thai lady working all by herself making each order from scratch. I had to wait a while for my order, but didn't mind too much as she was fun to watch cooking and tasting the dishes occasionally. But then I got my pad thai. I am used to more Americanized versions I think, as this was too fish sauce-y for me. Quite disappointing. If you like fish sauce, you'd love this. But I like mine a little less authentic...
The other day, my roommate Megan and I were both home around lunchtime on a Friday (very unusual at our apartment), so we decided to food-cart it up. We went to the carts on Alder near 9th. We walked around for quite a while looking at the menus and figuring out what we wanted. We finally settled on Hawaiian and Southern BBQ. We each got one order, then shared our delicious meals. Besides being a beautiful day outside, the food was sooo amazing. From 808 Grinds, we got the Combo Plate, which included pork and Shoyu chicken. Along with rice and macaroni salad. The chicken was to die for. The pork was good too, but next time I'd definitely just get the chicken. We also got a pulled pork sandwich, which came with some sort of stew, from A Little Bit of Smoke. I love a good pulled pork sandwich and this one did not let me down. When I first looked at it, I told Megan, "It looks a little bit dry..." to which she responded, "just take a bite." And I did, and then I almost cried it was so good. No gloppy sauce was needed, just amazing smokey pork and some coleslaw. But then there was also the stew. Pork, potatoes, carrots, plus many other things, in a tomatoe-y sauce. It was sweet and tangy and smokey. Oh just amazing. This little meal came with a Moon Pie treat...banana flavored. We couldn't eat it. So instead we went to Ben & Jerry's for dessert.
Well all this made me hungry. So I'm going to go eat lunch, then go to work for a "mandatory" group exercise class (a new class the gym is launching). I need it after all this food...
But next time I go food carting, I'm going to have to try this Spanish Tapas cart!
Here are some delicious things I have made recently:
Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas. This combination, and how easy it was to make, made my roommate Megan and I decide we need to open a Quesadilla Food Cart in Portland. It would be amazing.
We had a giant box of Oreos leftover from an event my roommate went to. I wanted to use them to make something since they weren't getting eaten. These Cookies and Cream Cupcakes are amaaaaazing (frosting recipe here). I just need to get a muffin tin that will cook more than 6 at a time...
White Chicken Enchiladas. I'm not a huge fan of normal red enchilada sauce. But this was soooo good and cheesy and amazing. So amazing that I made them twice in the span of a week and shared them with about 10 people.
White Chili. A long cooking process (2 hours + to cook the dry chili beans), but sooo worth the time. The process involved boiling a whole cut-up chicken, which was quite interesting (and gross-looking), but ended up producing some homemade chicken stock! And the chicken was nice and easy to shred after boiling.My roommates and I also made Mole recently. If you have never had Mole (which I hadn't tried until this fateful night), just imagine chocolate and peanut butter with chicken. I take that back, don't imagine that, it sounds disgusting. But those are crucial ingredients in Mole, and it is amaaaaazing. This is another dish that was made two times within a week. Shredded chicken, tomato, cocoa powder, peanut butter, green chiles...served over rice with corn tortillas and/or Juanita's chips (no other chips will do. ever.). So easy to make (although a bit messy), and sooooo good!
Michelle's (a dental student) practice skull ate dinner with us. He loved it too.
Aaaaand dessert: cupcakes (leftover from my after-school class) and Girl Scout cookies.Besides cooking, I have been trying to try out some food carts lately. My roommate and I have been on a few food cart adventures, but I have only photographed one of them. Food carts are fantastic. Expect to pay from $5-8 on your meal, but it will be well worth it.
The first involved Peanut Butter and Jelly. I can't tell you how amazing this was. If I tell you what was on the sandwich (bacon, anyone?), you might be grossed out. But you just have to try it! PBJs Grilled, on NW 23rd-try the Good Morning or the Sun Up. Or anything else, I'm sure.
I also tried some Korean food one day as I was craving teriyaki chicken. Dosirak's (near PSU campus on SW 4th) lunchbox came with chicken, rice, salad and a spring roll. I ate alllll of it. And then almost died because I was so full. But oh so happy.
I also tried some Thai food near PSU. I love pad thai. One of my favorite all-time dishes. I had such high hopes from this food cart, as there was an adorable little Thai lady working all by herself making each order from scratch. I had to wait a while for my order, but didn't mind too much as she was fun to watch cooking and tasting the dishes occasionally. But then I got my pad thai. I am used to more Americanized versions I think, as this was too fish sauce-y for me. Quite disappointing. If you like fish sauce, you'd love this. But I like mine a little less authentic...
The other day, my roommate Megan and I were both home around lunchtime on a Friday (very unusual at our apartment), so we decided to food-cart it up. We went to the carts on Alder near 9th. We walked around for quite a while looking at the menus and figuring out what we wanted. We finally settled on Hawaiian and Southern BBQ. We each got one order, then shared our delicious meals. Besides being a beautiful day outside, the food was sooo amazing. From 808 Grinds, we got the Combo Plate, which included pork and Shoyu chicken. Along with rice and macaroni salad. The chicken was to die for. The pork was good too, but next time I'd definitely just get the chicken. We also got a pulled pork sandwich, which came with some sort of stew, from A Little Bit of Smoke. I love a good pulled pork sandwich and this one did not let me down. When I first looked at it, I told Megan, "It looks a little bit dry..." to which she responded, "just take a bite." And I did, and then I almost cried it was so good. No gloppy sauce was needed, just amazing smokey pork and some coleslaw. But then there was also the stew. Pork, potatoes, carrots, plus many other things, in a tomatoe-y sauce. It was sweet and tangy and smokey. Oh just amazing. This little meal came with a Moon Pie treat...banana flavored. We couldn't eat it. So instead we went to Ben & Jerry's for dessert.
Well all this made me hungry. So I'm going to go eat lunch, then go to work for a "mandatory" group exercise class (a new class the gym is launching). I need it after all this food...
But next time I go food carting, I'm going to have to try this Spanish Tapas cart!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
phobias. and other news. UPDATED
Whew, life has been busy lately. I don't even know what I've been busy with, but I feel like I haven't had time for much of anything! Wait, I know what I've been busy with. School. And work. And couponing...
Have I mentioned that my sister is the queen of bargain shopping? Well, she taught me some of her tricks. So I've been printing coupons, scouring the internet for sales, and shopping like a crazy woman. And paying barely anything. I love Rite Aid. I've bought probably $100 + worth of items there in the last few weeks but have only paid like $20ish dollars for it all. Lovely. Now I'm running out of room to store my stockpile of toiletries, medicine, etc. Anyway, if you want to learn the secrets, check out the Krazy Coupon Lady, Frugal Living NW and Hip2Save, some of my new favorite websites.
I've also been doing more cooking, although not as much as I had been doing. But with my new bargain shopping tricks, maybe I'll be able to afford to buy a whole ton of food now so I can cook my little heart out. But along with cooking came the realization that I have some really weird, irrational fears. Just because I'm weird like that, I decided I would share them. The first two have to do with food. The rest are just craziness.
1.) I have a fear of onions. I am slowly conquering this fear, in fact I have even bought onions and used them recently. But I can only make myself buy the sweet onions and have to wrap leftover onions in a ziplock bag inside of a tupperware container before putting it in the fridge, for fear that it will contaminate everything else inside the fridge with oniony grossness.
2.) I am terrified that I will give myself food poisoning. Or salmonella or some other form of food-borne illness. For this reason, I wash my hands about a million times each time I cook. And I don't taste much while I am cooking because I'm afraid of...something. I don't even know. So that leads to sometimes under-seasoned dishes. But that's (almost) always fixable. I'd rather have under-salted macaroni (as was the case with yesterday's dish) than food poisoning.
3.) Ants. I hate them. More than any other insect. I know they are tiny, I know they are practically harmless. I also know that they infest my living space in droves and are impossible to get rid of. My roommate found ants inside her cereal a while back. So I bought some ant trap things that are supposed to kill them. Well, they are still around. Not as many as I used to get in my CA apartment (where I would call my parents crying, asking how to get rid of them), but enough to be gross. Sometimes I'll be sitting on the couch studying and find an ant crawling on my hand. Or I will be sitting in class and find ants on my notebook. Or there will be a little parade of them in the kitchen. I hate them. It makes me want to scream. I might have to buy some Raid and go on a killing spree soon...
4.) I don't know how my siblings and I have made it our entire lives without ever getting lice. But I am terrified of getting them. Maybe I should rethink wanting to be a teacher...Every time I have to itch my scalp I'm certain that lice are the culprit of the itchyness. And every time I go to the hair salon, I'm afraid they'll be like, uhhh, I'm not going to cut your hair, you have lice. How weird is that?! I know, but I'm still so scared. Probably, if I had had lice before, I wouldn't be as scared because I'd know what to expect. Or maybe I'd be more scared. Don't tell me the answer to that if you have had lice. Also, stay away from me if so. Maybe you still have them and will infect me.
5.) Now, the previous 4 things are pretty weird. But this one just comes out of nowhere. I have a fear of certain bodies of water. I love the ocean. LOVE it. I will swim all around all day in it, doesn't bother me a bit. But when the body of water has gross plants growing in it, and the bottom is all slimy, and the sea-plants brush up against you, I will FREAK OUT (I get the heebie-jeebies just writing about this). So most lakes and rivers are just out of bounds for me as far as swimming goes. And boating is fine, as long as I'm in the boat. But if the boat starts veering towards the gross plant-ness on the banks, I will start secretly freaking out a little, being just sure that I'm going to fly out of the boat and land in the marshy area and THEN WHAT WILL I DO?!?!?! That may sound like a (somewhat) reasonable fear. But I should mention this also applies when I am in a car. If I am driving by a body of water, and there is no guardrail (or even if there is) and very little land in between my car and the water, I get all nervous. I grip the steering wheel with both hands, palms sweaty, and I can't look at the water or I will probably drive right into it. Or that's what my mind thinks anyway. I have to look straight ahead-but even then, I have terrible images in my head of driving into the murky, gross water, and having to either stay trapped in my car or somehow get out of the car and swim through grossness. Although even if the water doesn't appear that gross, I still prefer to not drive by it as I'm afraid I'll drive in and drown. I don't have any idea where this comes from. Just don't try to talk to me while I'm driving by water. I might freak out and accidentally drive us both into the water and we'll drown in the murky depths. Please don't make this happen.
Ay, yi, yi this gives me nightmares just looking at it!
(On a side note, I really am a good driver. I don't know why I doubt my driving abilities so much that I worry about driving into water. I guess that's where the "irrational" in "irrational fears" comes from. Don't judge me.)
UPDATE: I have recently realized some more phobias. Here you go, just for your enjoyment:
6.) Revolving doors. I don't know what it is. I have a little panic attack every time I have to go in one. The airport, the library at PSU, other random places where they have revolving doors. Why would they put those in anywhere?! Why not just an automatic door?! I am always afraid I am either going to get caught in door while it is revolving. Or I will walk too slow or too fast and get hit by the door. Or something. I don't even know what. But I always feel like that scene in Elf when Buddy is trying to get on the escalator. So scared. Trying to drum up the courage. Just going for it. Fortunately I haven't got stuck or had to do the splits while getting in a revolving door. I'm just waiting for when it happens though. Then I'll feel like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman when he is in the phone booth. Stuck in a glass case of emotion. (I don't know why these movie scenes are in my head. But they seem appropriate).
7.) Bicycles. Oh how I hate them. It has been a few years since I've been on a bike. My mom tried to re-teach my sister and I how to ride a bike a few years ago. We also all tried to learn to rollerblade. We went to the same park where we originally learned to ride bikes and rode around in circles and that was enough for me. I don't know what it is, but it just terrifies me. I just feel certain that I am going to fall off. Or run into a car. Or a tree. Or something horrific like that. I prefer my own two feet, where its not all wobbly. (Usually.) Its been probably fifteen years since I actually rode a bike-like, went on a bike ride. I didn't much like it then, and it never grew on me. Soooo I have avoided bikes since then. Don't try to talk me into a bike ride. Unless you have a grown-up sized tricycle. Then I might think about it.
Have I mentioned that my sister is the queen of bargain shopping? Well, she taught me some of her tricks. So I've been printing coupons, scouring the internet for sales, and shopping like a crazy woman. And paying barely anything. I love Rite Aid. I've bought probably $100 + worth of items there in the last few weeks but have only paid like $20ish dollars for it all. Lovely. Now I'm running out of room to store my stockpile of toiletries, medicine, etc. Anyway, if you want to learn the secrets, check out the Krazy Coupon Lady, Frugal Living NW and Hip2Save, some of my new favorite websites.
I've also been doing more cooking, although not as much as I had been doing. But with my new bargain shopping tricks, maybe I'll be able to afford to buy a whole ton of food now so I can cook my little heart out. But along with cooking came the realization that I have some really weird, irrational fears. Just because I'm weird like that, I decided I would share them. The first two have to do with food. The rest are just craziness.
1.) I have a fear of onions. I am slowly conquering this fear, in fact I have even bought onions and used them recently. But I can only make myself buy the sweet onions and have to wrap leftover onions in a ziplock bag inside of a tupperware container before putting it in the fridge, for fear that it will contaminate everything else inside the fridge with oniony grossness.
2.) I am terrified that I will give myself food poisoning. Or salmonella or some other form of food-borne illness. For this reason, I wash my hands about a million times each time I cook. And I don't taste much while I am cooking because I'm afraid of...something. I don't even know. So that leads to sometimes under-seasoned dishes. But that's (almost) always fixable. I'd rather have under-salted macaroni (as was the case with yesterday's dish) than food poisoning.
3.) Ants. I hate them. More than any other insect. I know they are tiny, I know they are practically harmless. I also know that they infest my living space in droves and are impossible to get rid of. My roommate found ants inside her cereal a while back. So I bought some ant trap things that are supposed to kill them. Well, they are still around. Not as many as I used to get in my CA apartment (where I would call my parents crying, asking how to get rid of them), but enough to be gross. Sometimes I'll be sitting on the couch studying and find an ant crawling on my hand. Or I will be sitting in class and find ants on my notebook. Or there will be a little parade of them in the kitchen. I hate them. It makes me want to scream. I might have to buy some Raid and go on a killing spree soon...
(I was going to put a picture of ants on here. But I threw up a little when the Google images page came up with thousands of pictures of ants, so I quickly closed it. You know what they look like. If not, come on over to my apartment and I'll gladly let you take some home with you.)
4.) I don't know how my siblings and I have made it our entire lives without ever getting lice. But I am terrified of getting them. Maybe I should rethink wanting to be a teacher...Every time I have to itch my scalp I'm certain that lice are the culprit of the itchyness. And every time I go to the hair salon, I'm afraid they'll be like, uhhh, I'm not going to cut your hair, you have lice. How weird is that?! I know, but I'm still so scared. Probably, if I had had lice before, I wouldn't be as scared because I'd know what to expect. Or maybe I'd be more scared. Don't tell me the answer to that if you have had lice. Also, stay away from me if so. Maybe you still have them and will infect me.
(I didn't even try a Google search of lice. Grossss.)
5.) Now, the previous 4 things are pretty weird. But this one just comes out of nowhere. I have a fear of certain bodies of water. I love the ocean. LOVE it. I will swim all around all day in it, doesn't bother me a bit. But when the body of water has gross plants growing in it, and the bottom is all slimy, and the sea-plants brush up against you, I will FREAK OUT (I get the heebie-jeebies just writing about this). So most lakes and rivers are just out of bounds for me as far as swimming goes. And boating is fine, as long as I'm in the boat. But if the boat starts veering towards the gross plant-ness on the banks, I will start secretly freaking out a little, being just sure that I'm going to fly out of the boat and land in the marshy area and THEN WHAT WILL I DO?!?!?! That may sound like a (somewhat) reasonable fear. But I should mention this also applies when I am in a car. If I am driving by a body of water, and there is no guardrail (or even if there is) and very little land in between my car and the water, I get all nervous. I grip the steering wheel with both hands, palms sweaty, and I can't look at the water or I will probably drive right into it. Or that's what my mind thinks anyway. I have to look straight ahead-but even then, I have terrible images in my head of driving into the murky, gross water, and having to either stay trapped in my car or somehow get out of the car and swim through grossness. Although even if the water doesn't appear that gross, I still prefer to not drive by it as I'm afraid I'll drive in and drown. I don't have any idea where this comes from. Just don't try to talk to me while I'm driving by water. I might freak out and accidentally drive us both into the water and we'll drown in the murky depths. Please don't make this happen.
Ay, yi, yi this gives me nightmares just looking at it!UPDATE: I have recently realized some more phobias. Here you go, just for your enjoyment:
6.) Revolving doors. I don't know what it is. I have a little panic attack every time I have to go in one. The airport, the library at PSU, other random places where they have revolving doors. Why would they put those in anywhere?! Why not just an automatic door?! I am always afraid I am either going to get caught in door while it is revolving. Or I will walk too slow or too fast and get hit by the door. Or something. I don't even know what. But I always feel like that scene in Elf when Buddy is trying to get on the escalator. So scared. Trying to drum up the courage. Just going for it. Fortunately I haven't got stuck or had to do the splits while getting in a revolving door. I'm just waiting for when it happens though. Then I'll feel like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman when he is in the phone booth. Stuck in a glass case of emotion. (I don't know why these movie scenes are in my head. But they seem appropriate).
7.) Bicycles. Oh how I hate them. It has been a few years since I've been on a bike. My mom tried to re-teach my sister and I how to ride a bike a few years ago. We also all tried to learn to rollerblade. We went to the same park where we originally learned to ride bikes and rode around in circles and that was enough for me. I don't know what it is, but it just terrifies me. I just feel certain that I am going to fall off. Or run into a car. Or a tree. Or something horrific like that. I prefer my own two feet, where its not all wobbly. (Usually.) Its been probably fifteen years since I actually rode a bike-like, went on a bike ride. I didn't much like it then, and it never grew on me. Soooo I have avoided bikes since then. Don't try to talk me into a bike ride. Unless you have a grown-up sized tricycle. Then I might think about it.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
more food...
As previously stated, I love food. For that reason, I have been cooking a lot more lately. Actually I think there are a few reasons for that. First of all, I watched Julie and Julia with one of my roommates. Not that it is the greatest movie ever, but it made me want to cook! Also, I have roommates. It is much more fun to cook when there are people who can enjoy the food you've made! (Plus I don't want them to think I'm a slob who survives off of like frozen meals or anything.) So I cook. ;)
I brought some fun stuff home from my time in Europe. Some couscous spices from Morocco, curry powder from Switzerland (not that curry has any relation to Swiss food at all), cinnamon from Morocco. And some delicious meal ideas from Spain.
I tried making a tortilla española, which is a typical Spanish dish. It's eggs, onions and potatoes. Pretty hard to mess up, right? Not for me. Its all about the heat-you have to let it sit and cook for a while, and if its too hot the bottom will burn before you flip it. Too low and it will never cook. So my first attempt didn't turn out all that great. Although it tasted good, it just didn't look real pretty. See the evidence.
I also used my Moroccan couscous spices. AMAZING. The couscous I had in Morocco was one of the best meals I think I've ever had. So much couscous. So many delicious veggies. And amazing chicken. So I tried to replicate it: I steamed some veggies, cooked some chicken with the spices, mixed some spices into the couscous (which I had made with chicken broth), then put it all together. I used zucchini, carrots, potatoes, green peppers, garbanzo beans and a little bit of onion. So good. Good thing the spices will last me the rest of my life, cuz I will definitely be making that again.
Next up I made some soup. I love soup. I also love the Pioneer Woman. So of course her cauliflower soup was amazing. I only made half the recipe, and it was still enough to feed me and my roommates for a few meals. I used more veggies than the recipe called for, since I had things I needed to use (zucchini, potatoes, carrots, corn). Also, Trader Joe's sells this soup veggie stuff ("mirepoix" is the technical term), that is genius. I have an irrational fear of onions. I don't like them anyway, but sometimes you just need a few in a soup. But I can't make myself chop one up. So this mix came with diced onion, carrot and celery. Perfect for soup. More perfect for not having to chop an onion yourself. Turned out delish!
What's next, you ask? Why, this is!
I brought some fun stuff home from my time in Europe. Some couscous spices from Morocco, curry powder from Switzerland (not that curry has any relation to Swiss food at all), cinnamon from Morocco. And some delicious meal ideas from Spain.
I tried making a tortilla española, which is a typical Spanish dish. It's eggs, onions and potatoes. Pretty hard to mess up, right? Not for me. Its all about the heat-you have to let it sit and cook for a while, and if its too hot the bottom will burn before you flip it. Too low and it will never cook. So my first attempt didn't turn out all that great. Although it tasted good, it just didn't look real pretty. See the evidence.
I also used my Moroccan couscous spices. AMAZING. The couscous I had in Morocco was one of the best meals I think I've ever had. So much couscous. So many delicious veggies. And amazing chicken. So I tried to replicate it: I steamed some veggies, cooked some chicken with the spices, mixed some spices into the couscous (which I had made with chicken broth), then put it all together. I used zucchini, carrots, potatoes, green peppers, garbanzo beans and a little bit of onion. So good. Good thing the spices will last me the rest of my life, cuz I will definitely be making that again.
Next up I made some soup. I love soup. I also love the Pioneer Woman. So of course her cauliflower soup was amazing. I only made half the recipe, and it was still enough to feed me and my roommates for a few meals. I used more veggies than the recipe called for, since I had things I needed to use (zucchini, potatoes, carrots, corn). Also, Trader Joe's sells this soup veggie stuff ("mirepoix" is the technical term), that is genius. I have an irrational fear of onions. I don't like them anyway, but sometimes you just need a few in a soup. But I can't make myself chop one up. So this mix came with diced onion, carrot and celery. Perfect for soup. More perfect for not having to chop an onion yourself. Turned out delish!
What's next, you ask? Why, this is!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
La comida
I should be doing homework or cleaning or cooking or something. But I just saw some of the new Sevilla students through facebook and heard stories and now I'm sad and reminiscing. So instead, I'm blogging. Plenty of time later for homework....
I love to eat. If you couldn't tell this from my previous blog posts (of which I think about 90% mention food), you will now know. I was nervous going to Spain, because I had heard not-
so-great things about the food from friends who had studied there before. But apparently I picked the right area to travel to, because the food was much better than I had been led to believe it would be. My friend Annie studied in Segovia (closer to Madrid-in the middle of the country) and she says that literally 90% of the meals she was served consisted of pork. Not that I have anything against pork, but I like a little variety. There is plenty of pork eaten in Sevilla too, as evidenced by the jamón legs hanging in stores and in kitchens. But fortunately my host mom preferred to cook other things.
Here are some things that you should definitely eat while in Sevilla/Spain:
-Tortilla española. Get any thought of flat, boring, flour Mexican tortillas out of your brain. This is a dish made of eggs, potatoes and onions. I don't like onions. I don't really like eggs. But I love tortilla española.
-Patatas bravas. This is a traditional tapas dish and is made of fried potato wedges with a sauce on it that is a bit tomato-y and spicy and I don't know what else. But its delicious.
-Jamón. I don't actually really like it all that much. But you have to try it as the country is known for it. If you just can't handle eating it on its own, get a jamón bocadillo (sandwich) as its quite good in that form.
-Tostada. Just plain ole toast. Go to a bar/cafe and order tostada for breakfast. You can get it with butter (mantequilla), jelly (mermelada), tomato, olive oil (aceite), jamón, etc. I don't know what it is, but the bread is so good and it just makes a perfect breakfast.
-CHURROS
. Again, these are not Mexican churros. They are deep-fried goodness. You can get it with chocolate (which you should, the chocolate is to die for), but honestly I preferred to eat them just with sugar sprinkled on them. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
-Boquerones. Fried little fishies. Like sardines or anchovies or something. You just eat the whole thing, bones and all if they are the small ones. Can hardly tell there are bones. If they are larger, you might want to avoid the bones as they are kind of unpleasant. I was pretty scared to eat these at first, but because my friend Sofie swore they were the best thing ever, I tried them. And love them.
-Paella. Sevilla isn't number one for paella. But you still must try it. Rice, seafood, meat, yum. Just whatever you do, don't go to one of the places that has a sign outside the door showing all the kinds of pre-made paella junk they have. Go to a place that serves it "casera" style (home-made). Get a tapa portion if you're nervous, although sometimes that means its kind of old and not as fresh. Just try it.
-Gazpacho. Cold tomato/cucumber/veggie soup. Sounds gross, but its quite refreshing on a hot day. You can eat it just plain, but my host mom served it with diced cucumber and hard-boiled egg, which made it even better. You can also try salmorejo, which is just a thicker, smoother version. I never actually tried that but heard it was good.
-Pork. It is so good there. Try "solomillo" which is a cut of the pork (don't ask which cut, I have no idea)-you can get it with whisky sauce which is really good. "Pluma" is amazing too. It's so tender and delicious. Maybe a little fatty, but that's what makes it so good.
-Bacalao. Cod. I don't like it. But it's everywhere and worth a try I think. Make up your mind for yourself. The fried version isn't half bad. But if you are served a whole cod with onions and tomatoes, that was cooked in the microwave by your host mom....well, that's not my favorite.
-Patatas fritas con huevo-French fries with an egg. They love their eggs in Spain. It sounds weird, but is oddly good.
-Croquetas. Deep-fried goodness. Its like a little ball of mush that is deep-fried. You can get spinach ones, ham ones, cheese ones...try one of each.
-Cheese. Manchego cheese is delish.
-Pastries. Try any kind that strikes your fancy. And eat them often.
-Ice cream. You can get fig, chocolate, nutella and everything in between.
-Arroz con leche. Basically rice pudding. Cinnamonny and sweet and so good.
-Soup. I don't know if its any good in the restaurants. But if its anything like my host mom's, you will never want to eat anything else in your life. Made with all kinds of meat (don't ask whats in it, just eat it), they make the soup and then take the meat out to eat later. My soups would usually have some sort of beans (garbanzo, giant other kinds, lentils, whatever) and veggies and yummy meaty broth. I want some right now. (The meat that it is cooked with on the other hand...I'll pass. Although you really should try it at least once, it's not nearly as bad as it looks.)
-Espinacas con garbanzos-garbanzo beans with spinach. Eat it with bread or just plain. Pretty delish and a traditional Sevillan dish.
-Oranges. Eat all the oranges you can. Don't stop eating them. (As long as you don't try the ones growing on the street-I hear those will make you sick...).
-Convent sw
eets. Go into every convent you can find and get dulces ("sweets"). Especially magdalenas-sweet muffiny things. Don't skip the magdalenas. But also try other things, whatever looks good.
These were some of my favorite things. Try them all, and try them often. But really, just go into pretty much any eating establishment and try whatever they've got. I pretty much guarantee it will be amazing.
Oh but we aren't done yet. Here are some things to drink.
-Cruzcampo. Sevilla's beer. Its actually not that great, but you've got to try it. Each area of Spain has their own beer. Cruzcampo is pretty much all you can get in Sevilla, but you can find other things here and there. Make sure its really cold. You can order a "caña" (small glass), botella or jarra-giant glass. Or you can go buy a 40 at a grocery store.
-Manzanill
a-white wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Our friend Gerardo's hometown is known for this wine and he had us try some. It was delicious. It's possible I just liked it because I had already had a lot to drink. But either way, I'd drink it again.
-Rioja-red wine. There are a lot of versions of Rioja, but they are all supposedly pretty good. Not a big red wine fan, but some of it really is good.
-Tinto de verano. You can get this at any bar and it is red wine mixed with fanta. Literally. Y
ou can get it with "casera" which is just sparkling water, or with lemon or orange fanta. It sounds gross. But is quite delicious and refreshing. And doesn't even taste very wine-y.
-Agua de Sevilla-I don't really know what it is, but is a giant "jarra" (pitcher) of a mix of all kinds of things. With whipped cream on top.
-Fresh-squeezed orange juice. See above note about oranges. This stuff is to die for. A lot of bar/cafes (they are usually one in the same) have orange-squeezer things. And they will serve you up a fresh glass of orange juice with a packet of sugar, just in case you like it sweetened a little.
-If nothing listed above strikes your fancy, you can always order a Coca-Cola or a "vaso de agua" (glass of water). We aren't in a third-world country here. Its okay to drink the water. If you just ask for "agua" you will get charged for a bottle of water. If you ask for a "vaso de agua" they will bring you a nice cold glass of tap water, which tastes just fine.
Now that you know what to eat, let's talk about where.
For TAPAS:
-Eslava. Super busy but oh so good.
-Los Coloniales. There are a couple of them in Sevilla and they have some amazing stuff on the menu. Think roquefort cheese with blackberry sauce. Or "calamari del jardín," tempura-d peppers, onions, etc. that look like calamari.
-Los Claveles. My friends went here once and made quick friends with the owner, Santiago (I think, I only met him once). From then on, every time we would walk by he would call out their names and wave. Adorable. Oh yeah, they also have good food. Try the cheese with "cabello de ángel" (angel hair), or a sweet sauce made by the nuns consisting of some sort of squash. Weird, but good.
-El Rinconcillo-the oldest bar in Sevilla. We're talking like 400 years here. You've got to go try it.
-Levies-bright and fun and a little bit touristy looking, but with lots of locals also, its got a good menu.
Bars are always packed in the evening. You may have to eat standing at the bar or outside or at the tall tables they have around. Don't be afraid to just push your way in and grab the first spot you can find. The waiters won't waste their time talking about specials and how your day was. They'll ask what you want and if you aren't ready, they'll come back later. But don't be put off by that. Just figure out what you want and ask for it.
For a full meal:
Well, I pretty much only ate meals at home. So if Angeles Navarro Garcia invites you to her house for lunch, DO NOT PASS IT UP.
Otherwise, here are some of the places we ate:
-ConTenedor. So. good. We had tea here a few times but did go in for dinner our last night in Sevilla. And then wondered why we hadn't eaten there before. It is so amazing and the menu changes quite often and the staff is like a little family. Delish.
-Nomada-for pizza. And amazing desserts.
-Restaurants at the Feria food market. Get the freshest fish around. Try boquerones here.
That's pretty much it as far as "meals" go. But usually we would just go order enough tapas to make a meal. So, again, go into any bar you stumble across and order a few (or 10) plates of tapas. That way you get to try lots of little different things for cheap and figure out what you like.
Drinking
I didn't go "out" nearly as much as the rest of the group. So I'm sure they have better recommendations. But I think most of the bars in Sevilla are pretty legit. Just wander in (or push your way in), order a cerveza and have fun. Just expect it to be smoky and crowded. But that's why its fun, right?!
Bars:
As stated above, Rinconcillo and Los Claveles are both great. So is:
-Anima-for some "vino caliente" or hot wine. So good. I can't even explain what it is, and it isn't anything Spanish at all (the owner is Austrian), but is amazing.
-Indie bar on Calle Betis (across the river) for some chupitos (shots) and fun music.
Discotecas
Well...I never went to one. Tried to a couple times. Ended up either getting lost, getting there to late, or changing our minds. But I kept hearing people talking about "Buddah." By Plaza de Armas mall/bus station. Sounded pretty cool, everyone seemed to have fun there. If you are a guy, do not try getting in if you are wearing jeans and sneakers. You've got to step it up a little. And girls, put on a cute dress or a nice top and heels and you'll be fine.
Tea.
-Douchka. Don't ever go anywhere else. Order the Boolywood
tea. Eat the sugar cubes plain. Enjoy the little pastry goody that they serve with it. Stay for hours. Go back day after day. Love.
-Also, order "te con leche" at a bar. You might get tea with a little pitcher of steamed milk to pour in as you wish. OR you might get a glass of steamed milk with a tea bag in it. Either way, its good.
Sweets
CHURROS
-Go to the place on Calle Cano y Cueto. We walked by this every day on our way to the university. And every once in a while got a package of churros. Actually we only did this twice. But they are the best churros ever. Its a tiny little place, and all they do is sell churros and chips. It's sandwiched in between two big restaurants and is easy to miss behind all the umbrellas and tables. But find it. Get the little churros, not the big ones. Otherwise, churros just about anywhere are pretty good. Sprinkle some sugar on them and enjoy.
PASTRIES
-Calle Santa Maria la Blanca has the best pastry shop ever. Its really close to the churro place. Get them both in one day if you're feeling the need for sweets. It's called like Doncella's or something, from what I can read off of the photo I took of one of the sweets we got there. Its usually crowded with people getting their bread for the week. But squeeze in and get a pastry. You'll be glad you did.
CONVE
NT GOODIES
-Convento de Madre de Dios. Get the magdalenas. Get 5 bags of them. Eat them all in one sitting. Preferably with a cup of coffee or tea. These things are so good, you just can't miss them. They are sweet muffin/cupcake things that are so plain and simple yet so amazingly delicious. They come in a bag of 10 or 12 for 4 euros, and if you're lucky you'll get them when they are warm. Pretty much all the convents sell magdalenas. But I tried three different ones, and this is just the best. Also good are the "bocaditos de almendras" and the something-"arabes." But I guarantee you won't try anything you don't like.
ICE CREAM
-Rayas. They have a million flavors. And they are all amazing.
-There is also a place in the Feria market that is "organic" and is possibly the best ice cream in the world. So fresh and flavorful and just amazing.
STREET GOODIES
-Go to any little stall on the street (they are all painted green and sell magazines, newspapers, souvenirs, goodies...) and get a 1 euro bag of gummies. Avoid the banana-flavored ones.
-Also go to a street vendor and try some roasted chestnuts. You have to peel them apart to eat them, but they are so good. They are giant, so don't get too many!
Oh what I would do for some Spanish food right now. I know I'm leaving out a lot. But this is the best of the best from my experience. So enjoy! I will add more to this as I think of things!
I love to eat. If you couldn't tell this from my previous blog posts (of which I think about 90% mention food), you will now know. I was nervous going to Spain, because I had heard not-
so-great things about the food from friends who had studied there before. But apparently I picked the right area to travel to, because the food was much better than I had been led to believe it would be. My friend Annie studied in Segovia (closer to Madrid-in the middle of the country) and she says that literally 90% of the meals she was served consisted of pork. Not that I have anything against pork, but I like a little variety. There is plenty of pork eaten in Sevilla too, as evidenced by the jamón legs hanging in stores and in kitchens. But fortunately my host mom preferred to cook other things.Here are some things that you should definitely eat while in Sevilla/Spain:
-Tortilla española. Get any thought of flat, boring, flour Mexican tortillas out of your brain. This is a dish made of eggs, potatoes and onions. I don't like onions. I don't really like eggs. But I love tortilla española.
-Patatas bravas. This is a traditional tapas dish and is made of fried potato wedges with a sauce on it that is a bit tomato-y and spicy and I don't know what else. But its delicious.
-Jamón. I don't actually really like it all that much. But you have to try it as the country is known for it. If you just can't handle eating it on its own, get a jamón bocadillo (sandwich) as its quite good in that form.
-Tostada. Just plain ole toast. Go to a bar/cafe and order tostada for breakfast. You can get it with butter (mantequilla), jelly (mermelada), tomato, olive oil (aceite), jamón, etc. I don't know what it is, but the bread is so good and it just makes a perfect breakfast.
. Again, these are not Mexican churros. They are deep-fried goodness. You can get it with chocolate (which you should, the chocolate is to die for), but honestly I preferred to eat them just with sugar sprinkled on them. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.-Boquerones. Fried little fishies. Like sardines or anchovies or something. You just eat the whole thing, bones and all if they are the small ones. Can hardly tell there are bones. If they are larger, you might want to avoid the bones as they are kind of unpleasant. I was pretty scared to eat these at first, but because my friend Sofie swore they were the best thing ever, I tried them. And love them.
-Paella. Sevilla isn't number one for paella. But you still must try it. Rice, seafood, meat, yum. Just whatever you do, don't go to one of the places that has a sign outside the door showing all the kinds of pre-made paella junk they have. Go to a place that serves it "casera" style (home-made). Get a tapa portion if you're nervous, although sometimes that means its kind of old and not as fresh. Just try it.
-Gazpacho. Cold tomato/cucumber/veggie soup. Sounds gross, but its quite refreshing on a hot day. You can eat it just plain, but my host mom served it with diced cucumber and hard-boiled egg, which made it even better. You can also try salmorejo, which is just a thicker, smoother version. I never actually tried that but heard it was good.
-Pork. It is so good there. Try "solomillo" which is a cut of the pork (don't ask which cut, I have no idea)-you can get it with whisky sauce which is really good. "Pluma" is amazing too. It's so tender and delicious. Maybe a little fatty, but that's what makes it so good.
-Bacalao. Cod. I don't like it. But it's everywhere and worth a try I think. Make up your mind for yourself. The fried version isn't half bad. But if you are served a whole cod with onions and tomatoes, that was cooked in the microwave by your host mom....well, that's not my favorite.
-Patatas fritas con huevo-French fries with an egg. They love their eggs in Spain. It sounds weird, but is oddly good.
-Croquetas. Deep-fried goodness. Its like a little ball of mush that is deep-fried. You can get spinach ones, ham ones, cheese ones...try one of each.
-Cheese. Manchego cheese is delish.
-Pastries. Try any kind that strikes your fancy. And eat them often.
-Ice cream. You can get fig, chocolate, nutella and everything in between.
-Arroz con leche. Basically rice pudding. Cinnamonny and sweet and so good.
-Soup. I don't know if its any good in the restaurants. But if its anything like my host mom's, you will never want to eat anything else in your life. Made with all kinds of meat (don't ask whats in it, just eat it), they make the soup and then take the meat out to eat later. My soups would usually have some sort of beans (garbanzo, giant other kinds, lentils, whatever) and veggies and yummy meaty broth. I want some right now. (The meat that it is cooked with on the other hand...I'll pass. Although you really should try it at least once, it's not nearly as bad as it looks.)
-Espinacas con garbanzos-garbanzo beans with spinach. Eat it with bread or just plain. Pretty delish and a traditional Sevillan dish.
-Oranges. Eat all the oranges you can. Don't stop eating them. (As long as you don't try the ones growing on the street-I hear those will make you sick...).
-Convent sw
eets. Go into every convent you can find and get dulces ("sweets"). Especially magdalenas-sweet muffiny things. Don't skip the magdalenas. But also try other things, whatever looks good.These were some of my favorite things. Try them all, and try them often. But really, just go into pretty much any eating establishment and try whatever they've got. I pretty much guarantee it will be amazing.
Oh but we aren't done yet. Here are some things to drink.
-Cruzcampo. Sevilla's beer. Its actually not that great, but you've got to try it. Each area of Spain has their own beer. Cruzcampo is pretty much all you can get in Sevilla, but you can find other things here and there. Make sure its really cold. You can order a "caña" (small glass), botella or jarra-giant glass. Or you can go buy a 40 at a grocery store.
-Manzanill
a-white wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Our friend Gerardo's hometown is known for this wine and he had us try some. It was delicious. It's possible I just liked it because I had already had a lot to drink. But either way, I'd drink it again.-Rioja-red wine. There are a lot of versions of Rioja, but they are all supposedly pretty good. Not a big red wine fan, but some of it really is good.
-Tinto de verano. You can get this at any bar and it is red wine mixed with fanta. Literally. Y
ou can get it with "casera" which is just sparkling water, or with lemon or orange fanta. It sounds gross. But is quite delicious and refreshing. And doesn't even taste very wine-y.-Agua de Sevilla-I don't really know what it is, but is a giant "jarra" (pitcher) of a mix of all kinds of things. With whipped cream on top.
-Fresh-squeezed orange juice. See above note about oranges. This stuff is to die for. A lot of bar/cafes (they are usually one in the same) have orange-squeezer things. And they will serve you up a fresh glass of orange juice with a packet of sugar, just in case you like it sweetened a little.
-If nothing listed above strikes your fancy, you can always order a Coca-Cola or a "vaso de agua" (glass of water). We aren't in a third-world country here. Its okay to drink the water. If you just ask for "agua" you will get charged for a bottle of water. If you ask for a "vaso de agua" they will bring you a nice cold glass of tap water, which tastes just fine.
Now that you know what to eat, let's talk about where.
For TAPAS:
-Eslava. Super busy but oh so good.
-Los Coloniales. There are a couple of them in Sevilla and they have some amazing stuff on the menu. Think roquefort cheese with blackberry sauce. Or "calamari del jardín," tempura-d peppers, onions, etc. that look like calamari.
-Los Claveles. My friends went here once and made quick friends with the owner, Santiago (I think, I only met him once). From then on, every time we would walk by he would call out their names and wave. Adorable. Oh yeah, they also have good food. Try the cheese with "cabello de ángel" (angel hair), or a sweet sauce made by the nuns consisting of some sort of squash. Weird, but good.
-El Rinconcillo-the oldest bar in Sevilla. We're talking like 400 years here. You've got to go try it.
-Levies-bright and fun and a little bit touristy looking, but with lots of locals also, its got a good menu.
Bars are always packed in the evening. You may have to eat standing at the bar or outside or at the tall tables they have around. Don't be afraid to just push your way in and grab the first spot you can find. The waiters won't waste their time talking about specials and how your day was. They'll ask what you want and if you aren't ready, they'll come back later. But don't be put off by that. Just figure out what you want and ask for it.
For a full meal:
Well, I pretty much only ate meals at home. So if Angeles Navarro Garcia invites you to her house for lunch, DO NOT PASS IT UP.
Otherwise, here are some of the places we ate:
-ConTenedor. So. good. We had tea here a few times but did go in for dinner our last night in Sevilla. And then wondered why we hadn't eaten there before. It is so amazing and the menu changes quite often and the staff is like a little family. Delish.
-Nomada-for pizza. And amazing desserts.
-Restaurants at the Feria food market. Get the freshest fish around. Try boquerones here.
That's pretty much it as far as "meals" go. But usually we would just go order enough tapas to make a meal. So, again, go into any bar you stumble across and order a few (or 10) plates of tapas. That way you get to try lots of little different things for cheap and figure out what you like.
Drinking
I didn't go "out" nearly as much as the rest of the group. So I'm sure they have better recommendations. But I think most of the bars in Sevilla are pretty legit. Just wander in (or push your way in), order a cerveza and have fun. Just expect it to be smoky and crowded. But that's why its fun, right?!
Bars:
As stated above, Rinconcillo and Los Claveles are both great. So is:
-Anima-for some "vino caliente" or hot wine. So good. I can't even explain what it is, and it isn't anything Spanish at all (the owner is Austrian), but is amazing.
-Indie bar on Calle Betis (across the river) for some chupitos (shots) and fun music.
Discotecas
Well...I never went to one. Tried to a couple times. Ended up either getting lost, getting there to late, or changing our minds. But I kept hearing people talking about "Buddah." By Plaza de Armas mall/bus station. Sounded pretty cool, everyone seemed to have fun there. If you are a guy, do not try getting in if you are wearing jeans and sneakers. You've got to step it up a little. And girls, put on a cute dress or a nice top and heels and you'll be fine.
Tea.
-Douchka. Don't ever go anywhere else. Order the Boolywood
tea. Eat the sugar cubes plain. Enjoy the little pastry goody that they serve with it. Stay for hours. Go back day after day. Love.-Also, order "te con leche" at a bar. You might get tea with a little pitcher of steamed milk to pour in as you wish. OR you might get a glass of steamed milk with a tea bag in it. Either way, its good.
Sweets
CHURROS
-Go to the place on Calle Cano y Cueto. We walked by this every day on our way to the university. And every once in a while got a package of churros. Actually we only did this twice. But they are the best churros ever. Its a tiny little place, and all they do is sell churros and chips. It's sandwiched in between two big restaurants and is easy to miss behind all the umbrellas and tables. But find it. Get the little churros, not the big ones. Otherwise, churros just about anywhere are pretty good. Sprinkle some sugar on them and enjoy.
PASTRIES
-Calle Santa Maria la Blanca has the best pastry shop ever. Its really close to the churro place. Get them both in one day if you're feeling the need for sweets. It's called like Doncella's or something, from what I can read off of the photo I took of one of the sweets we got there. Its usually crowded with people getting their bread for the week. But squeeze in and get a pastry. You'll be glad you did.
CONVE
NT GOODIES-Convento de Madre de Dios. Get the magdalenas. Get 5 bags of them. Eat them all in one sitting. Preferably with a cup of coffee or tea. These things are so good, you just can't miss them. They are sweet muffin/cupcake things that are so plain and simple yet so amazingly delicious. They come in a bag of 10 or 12 for 4 euros, and if you're lucky you'll get them when they are warm. Pretty much all the convents sell magdalenas. But I tried three different ones, and this is just the best. Also good are the "bocaditos de almendras" and the something-"arabes." But I guarantee you won't try anything you don't like.
ICE CREAM
-Rayas. They have a million flavors. And they are all amazing.
-There is also a place in the Feria market that is "organic" and is possibly the best ice cream in the world. So fresh and flavorful and just amazing.STREET GOODIES
-Go to any little stall on the street (they are all painted green and sell magazines, newspapers, souvenirs, goodies...) and get a 1 euro bag of gummies. Avoid the banana-flavored ones.
-Also go to a street vendor and try some roasted chestnuts. You have to peel them apart to eat them, but they are so good. They are giant, so don't get too many!
Oh what I would do for some Spanish food right now. I know I'm leaving out a lot. But this is the best of the best from my experience. So enjoy! I will add more to this as I think of things!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Madrid. x2
A little tardy, but here's my last Spanish experience blog! Or is it...??
When I first arrived in Spain what seems like years ago, I started my trip with three (jet-lag-filled) days in Madrid. So it only seems fitting that I also ended my stay in Spain with a couple of days in the same city. After leaving my Spanish family and my friends and Sevilla, I left some more friends behind in Barcelona and hopped on a bus to Madrid by myself.
The eight-hour bus ride left plenty of time for reminiscing and tears. I think everyone was sleeping though so maybe no one saw me crying...Anyway, the bus ride was actually not nearly as miserable as I had expected it to be. Why are airplanes so miserable? If they can make a little bus comfy, a ginormous airplane should be easy. Whatever, after a few stops, lots of music-listening and even a movie, I arrived in Madrid at about 4pm. Then I had to get to my hostel. Because I had two giant suitcases, one of them with a broken handle, I had decided I would take a taxi. I had looked it up online and my hostel was only like 5 miles from the bus station. So I figured it wouldn't cost very much. I was very wrong.
I walked out of the bus station and to the first taxi I saw. They were lined up, so I could have picked any of them. But of course I had to pick this one. After having to work for a bit to get my suitcases to fit in the trunk (I'm pretty sure I could have done it quicker if he would have let me. He seemed incapable of even this small feat. I should have taken my hint then...), I hopped in the back and told him where I was going. He typed it in his GPS and we headed in that direction. Then the small talk started. Some taxi drivers are quiet and just get you where you're going with little more than "hola." This one wanted me to party with him. After asking me if I liked Spanish men (how do you respond to that?!), then asking if I liked good guys or bad boys, then trying to get me to sit in the front sit next to him, he still wouldn't stop talking. Saying I was missing out on a chance for an international exchange. An exchange of what, sir?
Anyway, we got to the hostel finally, and the meter had ran up to 25 euros (outrageous. Although not as bad as the 90 euros the guy in Paris tried to get out of me one time...). I gave him 40 because I didn't have any change. He tried to keep it. "Ohhh thanks for the tip!" I said, no, you owe me change. "Well, I had to work really hard with your bags, and this is normal here." Uhhhh, I've been in Spain for four months. I know what is normal. Tipping is not. So he opens his wallet and shows me he has no small change. So he gives me a 10, hops in the taxi and drives away. Whatever, he only got 5 euros extra. But that was still way too much. If I had not been so angry and disoriented, I would have just given him the 20 and told him that's all I had. ¡Qué cabrón!
Well, by that point I was in a pretty foul mood. And I still had to find my hostel. He had taken me to the street, a very small street, but I still didn't know where the place actually was. I walked back and forth a bit before asking some construction guy if he knew where the hostel was. He didn't, but fortunately some Aussie who works in the same building as the hostel overheard and showed me the way. And also fortunately, the building had an elevator. I found my way in and the lovely girl working there checked me in, showed me around, gave me a towel without charging me the normal 1 euro and I sat in my room. Still fuming at the idiot taxi driver. And hungry. I tried to take a nap. But couldn't sleep. I didn't really want to leave the room since it was raining and I was grumpy. But I needed some food. I wanted a doner kebap. I don't know where its from, the middle east somewhere (Turkey, according to Google), but they are all over in Spain. And all of Europe I think. Its kind of like a gyro or something. So good. I hadn't had one the whole time I'd been in Spain. Lie, I had one when I first got to Madrid (see post about not wanting to eat in restaurants alone...that hasn't changed). Anyway, I was craving one so headed out to find one. I figured there would be a million and I'd run into one right away.
But I didn't. So I wandered into Corte Inglés, Spain's version of.......every imaginable ginormous store rolled into one. Like WalMart, Macy's, Target, Safeway, Best Buy, Sephora....and more, all in one store. Or usually multiple stores covering multiple city blocks. I figured I could just get something to eat there. But I walked in and there were so many people I almost threw up. Guess that's what happens when its only a few days before Christmas plus everyone just got off work. I ran out as fast as I could and took a deep breath and then walked back to the hostel hungrier and grumpier than I was before. I sat in my room for a while with my dead computer because I had left my cord behind in Barcelona. And then I got too hungry to wait any more. I had decided I'd ask the receptionist girl where a kebab place was. But she wasn't there. So I wandered out on my own again. Went a different direction and found one right away. Then I brought it back to the hostel and scarfed it down. So. good.
mmmmmmmm
When I got there earlier, the girl told me the hostel puts on a free walking tour every morning. Ideally, my plan was to spend Tuesday afternoon sightseeing in Madrid (Guernica, final souvenir shopping, etc.) and Wednesday going to the nearby town of Toledo.
Toledo :(
But I had already shot that idea by staying grumpily in my room. And because the Reina Sofia was closed on Tuesdays, I decided, so sadly, that I'd have to scratch Toledo. You just can't go to Madrid without seeing the Guernica, so I'd have to stay in Madrid on Wednesday to go to the Reina Sofia. So I got up Wednesday morning ready to go on the tour. There was one other guy in the hostel waiting for the tour. Spanish-speaking even. So we went to the meeting point and they gave us English tour tickets. He said he wanted the Spanish tour and I thought, it's my last day in Spain-I should do the Spanish one too. So we headed to the Spanish tour which was full of native-Spanish speakers, obviously. We all went around saying where we were from: Argentina (like my hostel buddy, Emanuel), Spain, Colombia.....the US. Whaaaat? They all thought I was kind of weird. But whatever, I held my own in the Spanish realm.
The tour was nothing too special. We just went around and saw some of the main sights-the Royal apartments, some plazas, random little places. I did just fine understanding the super-fast-speaking and strongly-accented tour guide, David. But Emanuel for some reason was more difficult to understand. I worried a little, thinking my 4 months of Spanish practice was for naught. But everyone tells me the Argentina accent is just really difficult to understand so I don't feel so bad now. Anyway, after the tour, Emanuel mentioned he was going to the Reina Sofia later with his friend, also from Argenina, would I like to come? Why not? So we sat around in the hostel for a bit waiting for his friend to show up. When he did, we headed to the museum, where we met another friend of Emanuel's, who is from Madrid but who studies with him in Berlin. Confused? It's okay.
We wandered around in the museum, saw the Guernica (incredible), skipped the other two floors, and headed to get something to eat. We walked around trying to find a good tapas place, but we all were too cheap so we ended up at Spain's version of Burger King or something-"100 Montaditos" (100 snacks). They have a menu of literally 100 little "bocadillos" or sandwhiches, each for 1 euro. You can get everything from a regular cheese sandwhich to a chocolate one, or a hamburger version. Or more gourmet ones. They are small, but filling nonetheless. We each ordered a couple of bocadillos and a drink. Then when those were gone, the guys wanted more. So they ordered more and more drinks for everyone. I think we repeated this about 6 times. Each time with a "jarra" of tinto de verano. A ginormous beer stein. Not that tinto has much in it. It is half soda, maybe more than half, but after 5 or 6, you feel it a little. We played a game with pennies, which was really fun if I can remember how to play it. And we just sat around and talked in Spanish and hung out. Sadly, I think I spoke more Spanish in that one night than I did in an average week in Sevilla. But that's okay.
Picasso's masterpiece Guernica, portraying the horrors of war.
100 Montaditos. I think we ate almost 100.
After our last round of bocadillos/tintos/penny-game, we headed back to our respective hostels/homes/whatevers. But not before first passing a club where they told us we could have a free shot if we came in. They expected us to stay and buy more drinks, but we got our free shot and left. Not that I needed that at all. If I was only tipsy before, that might have done me in. I did make it back to the hostel without falling over. In fact, it didn't even really hit me until we got back to the hostel. My mom can attest for this as she chatted with me online at that point. Also, my new hostel roommates can probably attest to this as I'm sure I woke the poor guys up with my not-so-quiet getting-into-bed.
Anyway, after the dumb beginning of my trip to Madrid, it ended wonderfully. Emanuel was so much fun as were his friends. Some of my all-time favorite memories in Spain consist of just hanging out in bars with friends. So this definitely goes on the list. I got up in the morning, got my stuff together, got another taxi (it was quite a tough decision-take my giant suitcases on the metro and switch trains and go up and down multiple escalators, or catch another taxi who will invariably rip me off? Honestly, I really went back and forth on this in attempt to boycott all taxis. I gave in though), and headed to the airport. This taxi driver was fantastic and I even tipped him voluntarily. And still paid less than I did to the first idiot. When I got to the airport, I ran into a girl from the Liberal Arts program in Sevilla (small world!), had a bunch of issues with my tickets (but whatever, it all worked out in the end), did NOT have to pay a million dollars to check my bags-nothing except for the extra bag fee which I was fully willing to pay, and waited for my plane. 21 hours, three flights, customs, lots of airplane and airport food and a couple pay-phone calls later (forgot to bring the US plug with me for my phone charger, whoops!), I made it home.
It was a great way to end my trip. The progression of leaving people and places, to finally be back where I started in Spain worked out quite well. I was still super sad, but I guarantee I would have been way more emotional if I had had to leave everyone and everything all at once and headed straight from Sevilla to the US on the 17th when classes were done. I got to take my time and say goodbye to (almost) everyone, leave a few things at a time, have more fun adventures, and then leave the country I have grown to love!
I started writing about how much I love Sevilla, but I realized this post is already too long. Soooo, you'll have to wait to read more about that :)
When I first arrived in Spain what seems like years ago, I started my trip with three (jet-lag-filled) days in Madrid. So it only seems fitting that I also ended my stay in Spain with a couple of days in the same city. After leaving my Spanish family and my friends and Sevilla, I left some more friends behind in Barcelona and hopped on a bus to Madrid by myself.
The eight-hour bus ride left plenty of time for reminiscing and tears. I think everyone was sleeping though so maybe no one saw me crying...Anyway, the bus ride was actually not nearly as miserable as I had expected it to be. Why are airplanes so miserable? If they can make a little bus comfy, a ginormous airplane should be easy. Whatever, after a few stops, lots of music-listening and even a movie, I arrived in Madrid at about 4pm. Then I had to get to my hostel. Because I had two giant suitcases, one of them with a broken handle, I had decided I would take a taxi. I had looked it up online and my hostel was only like 5 miles from the bus station. So I figured it wouldn't cost very much. I was very wrong.
I walked out of the bus station and to the first taxi I saw. They were lined up, so I could have picked any of them. But of course I had to pick this one. After having to work for a bit to get my suitcases to fit in the trunk (I'm pretty sure I could have done it quicker if he would have let me. He seemed incapable of even this small feat. I should have taken my hint then...), I hopped in the back and told him where I was going. He typed it in his GPS and we headed in that direction. Then the small talk started. Some taxi drivers are quiet and just get you where you're going with little more than "hola." This one wanted me to party with him. After asking me if I liked Spanish men (how do you respond to that?!), then asking if I liked good guys or bad boys, then trying to get me to sit in the front sit next to him, he still wouldn't stop talking. Saying I was missing out on a chance for an international exchange. An exchange of what, sir?
Anyway, we got to the hostel finally, and the meter had ran up to 25 euros (outrageous. Although not as bad as the 90 euros the guy in Paris tried to get out of me one time...). I gave him 40 because I didn't have any change. He tried to keep it. "Ohhh thanks for the tip!" I said, no, you owe me change. "Well, I had to work really hard with your bags, and this is normal here." Uhhhh, I've been in Spain for four months. I know what is normal. Tipping is not. So he opens his wallet and shows me he has no small change. So he gives me a 10, hops in the taxi and drives away. Whatever, he only got 5 euros extra. But that was still way too much. If I had not been so angry and disoriented, I would have just given him the 20 and told him that's all I had. ¡Qué cabrón!
Well, by that point I was in a pretty foul mood. And I still had to find my hostel. He had taken me to the street, a very small street, but I still didn't know where the place actually was. I walked back and forth a bit before asking some construction guy if he knew where the hostel was. He didn't, but fortunately some Aussie who works in the same building as the hostel overheard and showed me the way. And also fortunately, the building had an elevator. I found my way in and the lovely girl working there checked me in, showed me around, gave me a towel without charging me the normal 1 euro and I sat in my room. Still fuming at the idiot taxi driver. And hungry. I tried to take a nap. But couldn't sleep. I didn't really want to leave the room since it was raining and I was grumpy. But I needed some food. I wanted a doner kebap. I don't know where its from, the middle east somewhere (Turkey, according to Google), but they are all over in Spain. And all of Europe I think. Its kind of like a gyro or something. So good. I hadn't had one the whole time I'd been in Spain. Lie, I had one when I first got to Madrid (see post about not wanting to eat in restaurants alone...that hasn't changed). Anyway, I was craving one so headed out to find one. I figured there would be a million and I'd run into one right away.
But I didn't. So I wandered into Corte Inglés, Spain's version of.......every imaginable ginormous store rolled into one. Like WalMart, Macy's, Target, Safeway, Best Buy, Sephora....and more, all in one store. Or usually multiple stores covering multiple city blocks. I figured I could just get something to eat there. But I walked in and there were so many people I almost threw up. Guess that's what happens when its only a few days before Christmas plus everyone just got off work. I ran out as fast as I could and took a deep breath and then walked back to the hostel hungrier and grumpier than I was before. I sat in my room for a while with my dead computer because I had left my cord behind in Barcelona. And then I got too hungry to wait any more. I had decided I'd ask the receptionist girl where a kebab place was. But she wasn't there. So I wandered out on my own again. Went a different direction and found one right away. Then I brought it back to the hostel and scarfed it down. So. good.
mmmmmmmmWhen I got there earlier, the girl told me the hostel puts on a free walking tour every morning. Ideally, my plan was to spend Tuesday afternoon sightseeing in Madrid (Guernica, final souvenir shopping, etc.) and Wednesday going to the nearby town of Toledo.
Toledo :(But I had already shot that idea by staying grumpily in my room. And because the Reina Sofia was closed on Tuesdays, I decided, so sadly, that I'd have to scratch Toledo. You just can't go to Madrid without seeing the Guernica, so I'd have to stay in Madrid on Wednesday to go to the Reina Sofia. So I got up Wednesday morning ready to go on the tour. There was one other guy in the hostel waiting for the tour. Spanish-speaking even. So we went to the meeting point and they gave us English tour tickets. He said he wanted the Spanish tour and I thought, it's my last day in Spain-I should do the Spanish one too. So we headed to the Spanish tour which was full of native-Spanish speakers, obviously. We all went around saying where we were from: Argentina (like my hostel buddy, Emanuel), Spain, Colombia.....the US. Whaaaat? They all thought I was kind of weird. But whatever, I held my own in the Spanish realm.
The tour was nothing too special. We just went around and saw some of the main sights-the Royal apartments, some plazas, random little places. I did just fine understanding the super-fast-speaking and strongly-accented tour guide, David. But Emanuel for some reason was more difficult to understand. I worried a little, thinking my 4 months of Spanish practice was for naught. But everyone tells me the Argentina accent is just really difficult to understand so I don't feel so bad now. Anyway, after the tour, Emanuel mentioned he was going to the Reina Sofia later with his friend, also from Argenina, would I like to come? Why not? So we sat around in the hostel for a bit waiting for his friend to show up. When he did, we headed to the museum, where we met another friend of Emanuel's, who is from Madrid but who studies with him in Berlin. Confused? It's okay.
We wandered around in the museum, saw the Guernica (incredible), skipped the other two floors, and headed to get something to eat. We walked around trying to find a good tapas place, but we all were too cheap so we ended up at Spain's version of Burger King or something-"100 Montaditos" (100 snacks). They have a menu of literally 100 little "bocadillos" or sandwhiches, each for 1 euro. You can get everything from a regular cheese sandwhich to a chocolate one, or a hamburger version. Or more gourmet ones. They are small, but filling nonetheless. We each ordered a couple of bocadillos and a drink. Then when those were gone, the guys wanted more. So they ordered more and more drinks for everyone. I think we repeated this about 6 times. Each time with a "jarra" of tinto de verano. A ginormous beer stein. Not that tinto has much in it. It is half soda, maybe more than half, but after 5 or 6, you feel it a little. We played a game with pennies, which was really fun if I can remember how to play it. And we just sat around and talked in Spanish and hung out. Sadly, I think I spoke more Spanish in that one night than I did in an average week in Sevilla. But that's okay.
Picasso's masterpiece Guernica, portraying the horrors of war.100 Montaditos. I think we ate almost 100.After our last round of bocadillos/tintos/penny-game, we headed back to our respective hostels/homes/whatevers. But not before first passing a club where they told us we could have a free shot if we came in. They expected us to stay and buy more drinks, but we got our free shot and left. Not that I needed that at all. If I was only tipsy before, that might have done me in. I did make it back to the hostel without falling over. In fact, it didn't even really hit me until we got back to the hostel. My mom can attest for this as she chatted with me online at that point. Also, my new hostel roommates can probably attest to this as I'm sure I woke the poor guys up with my not-so-quiet getting-into-bed.
Anyway, after the dumb beginning of my trip to Madrid, it ended wonderfully. Emanuel was so much fun as were his friends. Some of my all-time favorite memories in Spain consist of just hanging out in bars with friends. So this definitely goes on the list. I got up in the morning, got my stuff together, got another taxi (it was quite a tough decision-take my giant suitcases on the metro and switch trains and go up and down multiple escalators, or catch another taxi who will invariably rip me off? Honestly, I really went back and forth on this in attempt to boycott all taxis. I gave in though), and headed to the airport. This taxi driver was fantastic and I even tipped him voluntarily. And still paid less than I did to the first idiot. When I got to the airport, I ran into a girl from the Liberal Arts program in Sevilla (small world!), had a bunch of issues with my tickets (but whatever, it all worked out in the end), did NOT have to pay a million dollars to check my bags-nothing except for the extra bag fee which I was fully willing to pay, and waited for my plane. 21 hours, three flights, customs, lots of airplane and airport food and a couple pay-phone calls later (forgot to bring the US plug with me for my phone charger, whoops!), I made it home.
It was a great way to end my trip. The progression of leaving people and places, to finally be back where I started in Spain worked out quite well. I was still super sad, but I guarantee I would have been way more emotional if I had had to leave everyone and everything all at once and headed straight from Sevilla to the US on the 17th when classes were done. I got to take my time and say goodbye to (almost) everyone, leave a few things at a time, have more fun adventures, and then leave the country I have grown to love!
I started writing about how much I love Sevilla, but I realized this post is already too long. Soooo, you'll have to wait to read more about that :)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Danke/Gracias/Thank you, Suiza.
Switzerland. The land of: hot wine, Christmas, $15 drinks, snow, COLD, $30 cab rides, tall people, cheese, amazing bread, beautiful landscapes, cute Christmas markets, government-sponsored heroin, good music, adorable buildings (hello, Swiss chalet!), sweet people, blond hair, Santa Claus, plum pie, delicious food, drunk Swiss men at clubs...well, that pretty much sums up my trip!!
My lovely friend Isabelle was gracious enough to host me this weekend and be my tour guide. When I got there, she had the whole weekend planned out and everything sounded fantastic! I arrived in the afternoon and she picked me up from the airport. After finding each other (apparently I went out the wrong door as we were separated by a glass wall...), we went to her cute apartment and settled in a bit. Then we went out to the "farm" where her horse, Sasha, is kept. Sasha is a beautiful big horse and he is about 20 years old. It was cooooolllld and snowy when we got there, so we took a quick walk with Sasha and went back when our feet were frozen. It was a beautiful introduction to Switzerland, a beautiful snowy countryside with adorable Swiss kids sledding, an amazing view of the city below all lit up...quite amazing!
After a nice walk with Sasha, we headed back to Isa's apartment where we had dinner. She made chicken and veggies, which was quite delicious. Then we got ready and headed out for a night on the town. We met a couple of her girlfriends at a club that has a 25+ party the first Friday of every month. You have to have ID showing you are 25 or over. Pretty funny, and lots of fun! We waited in line for a while to get a stamp to get in. It was cold. Like bitterly cold. And snowing. And we were waiting outside. But we were bundled up pretty well and they brought out a cup of hot wine for everyone, which was very nice! I had had "vino caliente" here in Sevilla a week or two before and loved it, so was excited that this is a common Swiss drink :) After getting our stamp, we headed to a different bar to get a drink or two before returning to the club. This is where the $15 drinks came in. Needless to say I only had one. Granted, it was an amazingly delicious Caiprinha (Brazilian? drink. so good.), but an expensive one. After a couple drinks (or one in my case), we headed back to the club. We checked our coats, got a shot of...something fruity...and headed to the dance floor. There were a lot of people. Drunk people. But mostly just really fun and friendly and TALL people. I loved it. The girls were telling me about some of the regulars at this 25+ party (which they are also regulars at). Including the twins guys who are probably about 6'7" and stay together the whole time. Of course there were some short and regular-height people too. But so many tall people, I was in heaven. After a couple of fights, a couple drunk Swiss guys and a few hours, I told Isa I was too tired to stay any longer. At this point I had been awake for 24 hours. I was dead on my tired, cold feet. So we headed back home (stopping first for veggie burgers!) and I passed out pretty much immediately.
The next day, after getting up nice and late, we got ready and headed to Lucern. Isa has a friend in Lucern who owns a couple hotels and manages a restaurant. So we had a pretty great weekend. Lucern is just beautiful. When you picture Switzerland in your mind, Lucern is what you see, minus the green rolling hills and meadows you can frolic through. Or maybe that's only what I see in my mind...
Anyway, Lucern is fantastic. You can see the Swiss Alps on a clear day, as well as Lake Lucern. Even seeing both at the same time often. Its quite picturesque. We found a parking spot and did a little shopping in the Christmas-y streets of the cute town. Now, I should mention that it gets dark very early there. Like at 5. And stores close at about 4pm. Quite a different lifestyle from Spain. Anyway, we did a little shopping, picking up all kinds of cute things, until the stores closed, then went for some coffee (or tea in my case) and cake. We found a cute little cafe and I got some plum cake and tea. Delicious. I didn't eat a single thing in Switzerland that I didn't absolutely love. After the goodies, we headed to the hotel where we got settled in and watched a German music television show. I had no idea what they were saying or singing about, but the music was all good! After a little rest, we went to dinner.
Phillip's restaurant is amazing. It's so cozy inside, with wood-paneled walls and long buffet-style tables. Dim lighting and a big fireplace. Just beautiful. Then you eat the food. I never wanted to leave. This restaurant is a fixed-menu, four-course dinner style restaurant. On the menu for this night was: first, a delicious green salad with yummy veggies and a vinaigrette dressing. Next up was some risotto with shrimp. Big, delicious shrimp and creamy delicious risotto. So. good. We took a break at this point and drank some wine. Some delicious Italian wine. (After finishing our glass of champagne earlier). While we were resting our stomachs for the next course, we were being entertained watching the Lucern soccer team down below. We were seated in the balcony area, overlooking the kitchen and other main dining area of the restaurant. The soccer team was taking up three or four giant tables and laughing and singing and having a grand ole time. Again, no idea what they were saying, but I could tell they were having fun. While chatting with Phillip, we found out that the team was going to be getting a visit from Santa Claus later on. December 6th is Santa Claus Day in Switzerland. So the country was gearing up for that day. We saw all kinds of Santa Clauses on the streets. But then one walked into the restaurant. He was not alone.
I'm sure you're imaging he came in with some elves. Or perhaps Rudolph. Maybe even Mrs. Claus or Frosty the Snowman? No...I'll let David Sedaris explain. You see, Santa Claus came with what Mr. Sedaris refers to as "6 to 8 black men." Now, his story is set in the Holland. But I imagine its pretty much the same in Switzerland. In America, if a child is naughty and not nice, Santa gives him a lump of coal instead of toys. In Holland and apparently Switzerland, Santa's "helpers" beat the children with "switches." Imagine a broom made out of hay or something. Sounds terrifying. Apparently it is, as Isabelle confirmed that she was scared as a child by this story. In and of itself, this is a pretty funny thing to watch. Imagine Santa giving joke gifts to members of the soccer team while making fun of them in German, while at the same time a slide show of embarrassing photos is being shown on the wall. The "helpers" are standing behind Santa, and when the other members of the soccer team get too rowdy, then walk over and smack them with the switch, or beat on the table, knocking over glasses. Add to this a glass of champagne and a half of a bottle of wine and you've got yourself a pretty entertaining night. But add to that the David Sedaris story that you've read a million times....and I could not stop laughing. It was soooo funny! Every once in a while Santa or one of the soccer players would look up and ask us girls a question (we were pretty much the only other people left in the restaurant at this point). I had no idea what they were saying, but Isa always responded for us. After the third course of chicken with yummy veggies, and dessert of apple tart-pie-pastry-thing, it was time to go.
Time to go get another drink. The plan was to go get a couple more drinks, maybe go do some more dancing. But after going to the first place and getting a drink, we were both already exhausted. So we headed back to the hotel to sleep. Such a fun night! On Sunday morning, we woke up late again, Phillip brought breakfast to the room for us, we got ready and headed back to Basel (its about an hour away). When we got back, the weather was pretty bad. Lots of rain and cold. Mostly rain. So we didn't really do much on Sunday. We both had some homework to work on, so we did that for a bit, had some pasta for dinner, watched Mama Mia, drank some tea from Isa's new teapot that she got in Lucern, and headed to bed.
Monday, Isa had to work in the morning. But I did not, so I slept in again. I got up late and tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to call the airline to tell them that I had bought way too much stuff and needed to check a bag on my way back. When that didn't work, I did a little more school reading and then Isa came home. We then headed to see the horse again, so cute :) But because it was rainy, she just gave him a good brushing and then we went back home. And next up was the Christmas market!
I have complained plenty already about how Sevilla just doesn't really seem very Christmas-y. Well, I got my fill of Christmas Spirit in Switzerland. Actually, I don't think that's possible, but I got a lot of Christmas Spirit anyway. Besides every street being decked in beautiful Christmas lights, Santa Clauses walking all over handing out mandarins or just looking cute, snow everywhere (not that this was done specifically for Christmas...or was it???), Christmas goodies in the cafes, etc-but then there's the Christmas Markets on top of that. These markets are just lovely. Stall after stall all decked out in Christmas lights and ornaments, selling Swiss Christmas goodies (which Isabelle convinced almost every shop-keeper to let me have a taste of), cute handmade ornaments or toys, beautiful scarves and knitted things, random creative works...hot wine...so much fun. We started out by having a hot wine and then wandered through the stalls. After a while, and after buying almost everything I saw or tried, we were ready for dinner. Time for some super traditional Swiss food: raclette. Cheesy goodness. This is a dish of a few boiled potatoes served over an entire plate of raclette cheese, with a pickle and a few pearl onions thrown in. It is amazing. Sooo cheesy. And delicious. And filling. We walked away with very full stomachs, on to another part of the Christmas market.
At this point, we ran into a stall selling some nice scarves. The couple selling the scarves and hand-knitted purses, kids sweaters, etc., definitely did not look Swiss. Or German. Or French. Isabelle started talking to them in Swiss-German, but they weren't quite understanding. She asked if English was better. No. They said Spanish. Well, fancy that! It was nice to be able to translate for Isabelle for a change :) We told them we'd be back later to get the scarf, then headed to the other stalls. So much cute, Christmas-y stuff. But it was cold and rainy and I had already spent waaaay too much money. So we headed back for the scarf from the cute Venezuelan couple. I sneakily took a video of our conversation, as I have to make a video for my psychology class, about my learning of Spanish on this study-abroad trip. Anyway, after a mix of Spanish, German and English, we got the scarf that Isa wanted and headed back home. We watched another movie (Men Who Stare at Goats-pretty great!), and headed to bed. Then I had to leave the next morning :(
So here I am, back in Sevilla again. After the most turbulent plane ride I've ever been on. If I hadn't had my seat belt on, I literally would have been thrown out of my seat by the turbulence (maybe thrown is an exaggeration-lifted a few inches in the air?). Not fun. Then we landed, I hopped on a bus, got off, and couldn't figure out where to go. So I took a taxi home. But all that aside, I made it back safely. 4 days was definitely not enough in Switzerland. I will have to go back someday :) And 4 months is definitely not enough in Spain. I only have 2 weeks left in Sevilla, 3 weeks total left in Spain. I love my family and friends and am so excited to get back and see everyone. But I'm not going to lie, if I could afford it, I'd come back for another semester after going home for Christmas. But if I've learned anything in my 26 years, its that God has waaaay different plans for my life than the plans I make for myself. So I look forward to what He has in store for me when I return, even though I am getting a bit sad about leaving!
I promise I will add photos later. For now, you'll have to look at them here.
My lovely friend Isabelle was gracious enough to host me this weekend and be my tour guide. When I got there, she had the whole weekend planned out and everything sounded fantastic! I arrived in the afternoon and she picked me up from the airport. After finding each other (apparently I went out the wrong door as we were separated by a glass wall...), we went to her cute apartment and settled in a bit. Then we went out to the "farm" where her horse, Sasha, is kept. Sasha is a beautiful big horse and he is about 20 years old. It was cooooolllld and snowy when we got there, so we took a quick walk with Sasha and went back when our feet were frozen. It was a beautiful introduction to Switzerland, a beautiful snowy countryside with adorable Swiss kids sledding, an amazing view of the city below all lit up...quite amazing!
After a nice walk with Sasha, we headed back to Isa's apartment where we had dinner. She made chicken and veggies, which was quite delicious. Then we got ready and headed out for a night on the town. We met a couple of her girlfriends at a club that has a 25+ party the first Friday of every month. You have to have ID showing you are 25 or over. Pretty funny, and lots of fun! We waited in line for a while to get a stamp to get in. It was cold. Like bitterly cold. And snowing. And we were waiting outside. But we were bundled up pretty well and they brought out a cup of hot wine for everyone, which was very nice! I had had "vino caliente" here in Sevilla a week or two before and loved it, so was excited that this is a common Swiss drink :) After getting our stamp, we headed to a different bar to get a drink or two before returning to the club. This is where the $15 drinks came in. Needless to say I only had one. Granted, it was an amazingly delicious Caiprinha (Brazilian? drink. so good.), but an expensive one. After a couple drinks (or one in my case), we headed back to the club. We checked our coats, got a shot of...something fruity...and headed to the dance floor. There were a lot of people. Drunk people. But mostly just really fun and friendly and TALL people. I loved it. The girls were telling me about some of the regulars at this 25+ party (which they are also regulars at). Including the twins guys who are probably about 6'7" and stay together the whole time. Of course there were some short and regular-height people too. But so many tall people, I was in heaven. After a couple of fights, a couple drunk Swiss guys and a few hours, I told Isa I was too tired to stay any longer. At this point I had been awake for 24 hours. I was dead on my tired, cold feet. So we headed back home (stopping first for veggie burgers!) and I passed out pretty much immediately.
The next day, after getting up nice and late, we got ready and headed to Lucern. Isa has a friend in Lucern who owns a couple hotels and manages a restaurant. So we had a pretty great weekend. Lucern is just beautiful. When you picture Switzerland in your mind, Lucern is what you see, minus the green rolling hills and meadows you can frolic through. Or maybe that's only what I see in my mind...
Anyway, Lucern is fantastic. You can see the Swiss Alps on a clear day, as well as Lake Lucern. Even seeing both at the same time often. Its quite picturesque. We found a parking spot and did a little shopping in the Christmas-y streets of the cute town. Now, I should mention that it gets dark very early there. Like at 5. And stores close at about 4pm. Quite a different lifestyle from Spain. Anyway, we did a little shopping, picking up all kinds of cute things, until the stores closed, then went for some coffee (or tea in my case) and cake. We found a cute little cafe and I got some plum cake and tea. Delicious. I didn't eat a single thing in Switzerland that I didn't absolutely love. After the goodies, we headed to the hotel where we got settled in and watched a German music television show. I had no idea what they were saying or singing about, but the music was all good! After a little rest, we went to dinner.
Phillip's restaurant is amazing. It's so cozy inside, with wood-paneled walls and long buffet-style tables. Dim lighting and a big fireplace. Just beautiful. Then you eat the food. I never wanted to leave. This restaurant is a fixed-menu, four-course dinner style restaurant. On the menu for this night was: first, a delicious green salad with yummy veggies and a vinaigrette dressing. Next up was some risotto with shrimp. Big, delicious shrimp and creamy delicious risotto. So. good. We took a break at this point and drank some wine. Some delicious Italian wine. (After finishing our glass of champagne earlier). While we were resting our stomachs for the next course, we were being entertained watching the Lucern soccer team down below. We were seated in the balcony area, overlooking the kitchen and other main dining area of the restaurant. The soccer team was taking up three or four giant tables and laughing and singing and having a grand ole time. Again, no idea what they were saying, but I could tell they were having fun. While chatting with Phillip, we found out that the team was going to be getting a visit from Santa Claus later on. December 6th is Santa Claus Day in Switzerland. So the country was gearing up for that day. We saw all kinds of Santa Clauses on the streets. But then one walked into the restaurant. He was not alone.
I'm sure you're imaging he came in with some elves. Or perhaps Rudolph. Maybe even Mrs. Claus or Frosty the Snowman? No...I'll let David Sedaris explain. You see, Santa Claus came with what Mr. Sedaris refers to as "6 to 8 black men." Now, his story is set in the Holland. But I imagine its pretty much the same in Switzerland. In America, if a child is naughty and not nice, Santa gives him a lump of coal instead of toys. In Holland and apparently Switzerland, Santa's "helpers" beat the children with "switches." Imagine a broom made out of hay or something. Sounds terrifying. Apparently it is, as Isabelle confirmed that she was scared as a child by this story. In and of itself, this is a pretty funny thing to watch. Imagine Santa giving joke gifts to members of the soccer team while making fun of them in German, while at the same time a slide show of embarrassing photos is being shown on the wall. The "helpers" are standing behind Santa, and when the other members of the soccer team get too rowdy, then walk over and smack them with the switch, or beat on the table, knocking over glasses. Add to this a glass of champagne and a half of a bottle of wine and you've got yourself a pretty entertaining night. But add to that the David Sedaris story that you've read a million times....and I could not stop laughing. It was soooo funny! Every once in a while Santa or one of the soccer players would look up and ask us girls a question (we were pretty much the only other people left in the restaurant at this point). I had no idea what they were saying, but Isa always responded for us. After the third course of chicken with yummy veggies, and dessert of apple tart-pie-pastry-thing, it was time to go.
Time to go get another drink. The plan was to go get a couple more drinks, maybe go do some more dancing. But after going to the first place and getting a drink, we were both already exhausted. So we headed back to the hotel to sleep. Such a fun night! On Sunday morning, we woke up late again, Phillip brought breakfast to the room for us, we got ready and headed back to Basel (its about an hour away). When we got back, the weather was pretty bad. Lots of rain and cold. Mostly rain. So we didn't really do much on Sunday. We both had some homework to work on, so we did that for a bit, had some pasta for dinner, watched Mama Mia, drank some tea from Isa's new teapot that she got in Lucern, and headed to bed.
Monday, Isa had to work in the morning. But I did not, so I slept in again. I got up late and tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to call the airline to tell them that I had bought way too much stuff and needed to check a bag on my way back. When that didn't work, I did a little more school reading and then Isa came home. We then headed to see the horse again, so cute :) But because it was rainy, she just gave him a good brushing and then we went back home. And next up was the Christmas market!
I have complained plenty already about how Sevilla just doesn't really seem very Christmas-y. Well, I got my fill of Christmas Spirit in Switzerland. Actually, I don't think that's possible, but I got a lot of Christmas Spirit anyway. Besides every street being decked in beautiful Christmas lights, Santa Clauses walking all over handing out mandarins or just looking cute, snow everywhere (not that this was done specifically for Christmas...or was it???), Christmas goodies in the cafes, etc-but then there's the Christmas Markets on top of that. These markets are just lovely. Stall after stall all decked out in Christmas lights and ornaments, selling Swiss Christmas goodies (which Isabelle convinced almost every shop-keeper to let me have a taste of), cute handmade ornaments or toys, beautiful scarves and knitted things, random creative works...hot wine...so much fun. We started out by having a hot wine and then wandered through the stalls. After a while, and after buying almost everything I saw or tried, we were ready for dinner. Time for some super traditional Swiss food: raclette. Cheesy goodness. This is a dish of a few boiled potatoes served over an entire plate of raclette cheese, with a pickle and a few pearl onions thrown in. It is amazing. Sooo cheesy. And delicious. And filling. We walked away with very full stomachs, on to another part of the Christmas market.
At this point, we ran into a stall selling some nice scarves. The couple selling the scarves and hand-knitted purses, kids sweaters, etc., definitely did not look Swiss. Or German. Or French. Isabelle started talking to them in Swiss-German, but they weren't quite understanding. She asked if English was better. No. They said Spanish. Well, fancy that! It was nice to be able to translate for Isabelle for a change :) We told them we'd be back later to get the scarf, then headed to the other stalls. So much cute, Christmas-y stuff. But it was cold and rainy and I had already spent waaaay too much money. So we headed back for the scarf from the cute Venezuelan couple. I sneakily took a video of our conversation, as I have to make a video for my psychology class, about my learning of Spanish on this study-abroad trip. Anyway, after a mix of Spanish, German and English, we got the scarf that Isa wanted and headed back home. We watched another movie (Men Who Stare at Goats-pretty great!), and headed to bed. Then I had to leave the next morning :(
So here I am, back in Sevilla again. After the most turbulent plane ride I've ever been on. If I hadn't had my seat belt on, I literally would have been thrown out of my seat by the turbulence (maybe thrown is an exaggeration-lifted a few inches in the air?). Not fun. Then we landed, I hopped on a bus, got off, and couldn't figure out where to go. So I took a taxi home. But all that aside, I made it back safely. 4 days was definitely not enough in Switzerland. I will have to go back someday :) And 4 months is definitely not enough in Spain. I only have 2 weeks left in Sevilla, 3 weeks total left in Spain. I love my family and friends and am so excited to get back and see everyone. But I'm not going to lie, if I could afford it, I'd come back for another semester after going home for Christmas. But if I've learned anything in my 26 years, its that God has waaaay different plans for my life than the plans I make for myself. So I look forward to what He has in store for me when I return, even though I am getting a bit sad about leaving!
I promise I will add photos later. For now, you'll have to look at them here.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thankful
It was really weird being here on Thanksgiving. Mostly because it wasn't actually as weird as I feel like it should have been. As I've mentioned before, I feel like I'm in a time warp or something. It just doesn't seem like the holiday season since I'm away from everything I'm used to. There are Christmas lights up on the streets (although I have yet to see them actually lit up) and some decorations in stores. The weather is colder. I've listened to some Christmas music on my iPod (I love you, Josh Groban.). But I just can't get that holiday feeling.
So I knew it was Thanksgiving, but I didn't feel like it was Thanksgiving. Although turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie did sound delicious, it wasn't like I was absolutely needing it. Since they don't celebrate the holiday here, we of course had school and teaching and every thing else, so they day was just like any other normal day.
After getting home from my last class, I got to skype with the whole family. Mom, dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, niece, grandma, John. Lovely! Got to catch up with the fam, see Sierra sing her ABC's, get lots of love from everyone. Again, if I had felt more Thanksgiving-y that probably would have made me more emotional. But it was just nice to talk to everyone all at the same time!
CIEE had organized a big Thanksgiving dinner for us at a big hotel in town. (p.s. just this very second a Christmas song came on my iPod. Again, I love you, Josh Groban.). The event was "invitation only" and you had to have your invitation to get in. Of course everyone from CIEE was invited. But it was a big deal. One day last week our director, Caro, asked me if I was going to wear a dress to the dinner. I thought that was an odd thing and said, uhhh I don't know! She acted all surprised and said, well isn't it an important holiday? I guess....I've never dressed up for Thanksgiving before, but anyone that knows me well knows that I will take any opportunity to dress up. So I told the girls that apparently we were supposed to dress up for this thing! I had bought a little black dress in Lisbon that I hadn't yet had an opportunity to wear, so I decided this would be the perfect time. I worried that maybe that dress was too fancy, but after hearing other CIEE'ers and staff talk about it, I figured it would be just perfect.
Good thing Caro had said something, because it was quite fancy. Suits and ties and pretty dresses. And the random pair of jeans worn by those who hadn't been told that this was a formal thing. Anyway, we all got dressed up (Sarah, Sofie and I) and headed to the hotel. When we got there, there were a LOT of people. Our professors (minus Joaquin :( apparently the University professors weren't invited!) and even the teachers from our school where the 6 of us teach classes were there. All dressed up in their Sunday best! After saying hi to our teachers, we wandered in and took off our coats. Then we found the beer....and the hors d’oeuvres. They weren't really that great, but they were fancy. So we enjoyed it. Then all of a sudden the mob of people started flooding out of the mingle-room. Time for dinner apparently. So we found seats (by our friend Pari, an 18-year-old Canadian gap-year student who we met in Granada) and waited for the deliciousness.
fancy hors d'ouevres
On our way to find a table, we ran into our psychology professor, Frank. I will have to make a post later on all my professors. I love them all. Anyway, Frank is great. He is so funny and fun and smart. I think he'd had a couple of drinks already....he was so excited to see us and kept saying "GUAPAS!!!!!" after giving us besitos (since that may not make any sense, I'll translate. He kept calling us "beautiful" after the traditional cheek-kiss greeting.). After that, we found our table and sat down. Things started off really well. They came by and poured us a glass of wine. And our little waiter guy was adorable and smiley. Then it was time to go get food. Or so we assumed after seeing people flooding out of our area again (how did they know?!?!?!). We went to a buffet line for salad. I'm serious. An entire buffet line of salad. Green salad with garbanzo beans, pickled beets, carrots, corn, other random toppings. And some pasta salad. I got a little pasta salad but not much else. I wanted to save room for the good stuff.
lovely centerpieces.
pasta salad. and a raisin.
I should have got some salad...After eating our salad, and finishing off our glass of wine, we sat around chatting. And waiting for more wine. Which never came. One glass, people?! I needed more than that to get through the rest of the meal. (I may look like an alcoholic...I swear I'm not. Although I have drank more alcohol here in 3 months than I have I think in my entire life). We ate our bread, talked with Pari's 18-year-old guy friends in her gap year program. ("I never would have guessed you were 26! You don't look it!!!" Uhhhhh thanks? Is 26 really supposed to look that old?!?!!?!) Then came the real food. It look okay enough. A giant turkey leg, some mashed potatoes and some veggies (carrots, peas and cauliflower). So there was no stuffing or gravy. That's okay, turkey and mashed potatoes are a good start!
No more wine?! :(
But then I took a bite. Now, it wasn't terrible. I mean, I ate almost all of it. :D But it just wasn't quite right. The turkey was super dry. I'm positive that the mashed potatoes were instant ones. The veggies were like frozen veggies soaked in garlic. But I wanted some turkey and mashed potatoes, gosh darnit, so I ate them. I thought maybe they'd come around with some real Thanksgiving food and be like, "jajajaja (that's how they laugh in Spanish) juuuuuust kidding! Here's the real stuff!" Instead, they brought dessert. And no more wine.
yum...?
Sofie's not too excited about this food...
The one good part of the meal: bread. Note the thumb's up!
Now, I've developed quite a sweet tooth here. So I was excited for dessert. And it was an apple tart-type thing. Which made me even more excited since I love fruity desserts. It was a lovely apply tart on some sort of bright green sauce. Interesting. I took a timid bite. It tasted like what I could only describe as sawdust. There were in fact some shavings of some sort on it that closely resembled sawdust. One of the guys at our table later mentioned that he thought it tasted like pencil shavings, which is definitely more correct. Buuut I still ate it. (What is wrong with me?!?!). Our lovely Frank came over to our table after dessert and asked us how things were. We just said there wasn't enough wine. Apparently that's because all the professors got it. He said, "I got two bottles!!!!! I mean, our table did..." haaaahhahahah suuuure Frank. He told us to come over to his table if we wanted more. But we mostly were ready to leave. So we said goodbye to everyone and headed home.
Apple tart with a side of pencil shavings.
I am very grateful for CIEE putting this together for us. It was a wonderful thought and I'm sure took a lot of work to put together. And it really was fun. We got to mingle and talk and see everyone all dressed fancy. And I have so many other things to be Thankful for that I couldn't really complain. Here are some of those things: my amazing family, my health, the health of my loved ones (especially grateful for how well momma is doing!), my wonderful friends at home and here in Spain, the opportunities God has given me, including being here in Spain; the random scholarship that showed up in my PSU account; my living situation when I get back; the experiences God has blessed me with, both here and at home; the resources I have been given to be able to do things like study abroad; the love, peace, hope and joy that I have in Christ...so many more. But those are on the top of the list. The list that continues to grow day by day and year by year. Of course not everything is perfect, just like not all meals are perfect. But there's always the churros con chocolate to look forward to in the future :) Thank you Jesus for all you have blessed me with! I am beyond grateful!
So I knew it was Thanksgiving, but I didn't feel like it was Thanksgiving. Although turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie did sound delicious, it wasn't like I was absolutely needing it. Since they don't celebrate the holiday here, we of course had school and teaching and every thing else, so they day was just like any other normal day.
After getting home from my last class, I got to skype with the whole family. Mom, dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, niece, grandma, John. Lovely! Got to catch up with the fam, see Sierra sing her ABC's, get lots of love from everyone. Again, if I had felt more Thanksgiving-y that probably would have made me more emotional. But it was just nice to talk to everyone all at the same time!
CIEE had organized a big Thanksgiving dinner for us at a big hotel in town. (p.s. just this very second a Christmas song came on my iPod. Again, I love you, Josh Groban.). The event was "invitation only" and you had to have your invitation to get in. Of course everyone from CIEE was invited. But it was a big deal. One day last week our director, Caro, asked me if I was going to wear a dress to the dinner. I thought that was an odd thing and said, uhhh I don't know! She acted all surprised and said, well isn't it an important holiday? I guess....I've never dressed up for Thanksgiving before, but anyone that knows me well knows that I will take any opportunity to dress up. So I told the girls that apparently we were supposed to dress up for this thing! I had bought a little black dress in Lisbon that I hadn't yet had an opportunity to wear, so I decided this would be the perfect time. I worried that maybe that dress was too fancy, but after hearing other CIEE'ers and staff talk about it, I figured it would be just perfect.
Good thing Caro had said something, because it was quite fancy. Suits and ties and pretty dresses. And the random pair of jeans worn by those who hadn't been told that this was a formal thing. Anyway, we all got dressed up (Sarah, Sofie and I) and headed to the hotel. When we got there, there were a LOT of people. Our professors (minus Joaquin :( apparently the University professors weren't invited!) and even the teachers from our school where the 6 of us teach classes were there. All dressed up in their Sunday best! After saying hi to our teachers, we wandered in and took off our coats. Then we found the beer....and the hors d’oeuvres. They weren't really that great, but they were fancy. So we enjoyed it. Then all of a sudden the mob of people started flooding out of the mingle-room. Time for dinner apparently. So we found seats (by our friend Pari, an 18-year-old Canadian gap-year student who we met in Granada) and waited for the deliciousness.
fancy hors d'ouevres
On our way to find a table, we ran into our psychology professor, Frank. I will have to make a post later on all my professors. I love them all. Anyway, Frank is great. He is so funny and fun and smart. I think he'd had a couple of drinks already....he was so excited to see us and kept saying "GUAPAS!!!!!" after giving us besitos (since that may not make any sense, I'll translate. He kept calling us "beautiful" after the traditional cheek-kiss greeting.). After that, we found our table and sat down. Things started off really well. They came by and poured us a glass of wine. And our little waiter guy was adorable and smiley. Then it was time to go get food. Or so we assumed after seeing people flooding out of our area again (how did they know?!?!?!). We went to a buffet line for salad. I'm serious. An entire buffet line of salad. Green salad with garbanzo beans, pickled beets, carrots, corn, other random toppings. And some pasta salad. I got a little pasta salad but not much else. I wanted to save room for the good stuff.
lovely centerpieces.
pasta salad. and a raisin.I should have got some salad...After eating our salad, and finishing off our glass of wine, we sat around chatting. And waiting for more wine. Which never came. One glass, people?! I needed more than that to get through the rest of the meal. (I may look like an alcoholic...I swear I'm not. Although I have drank more alcohol here in 3 months than I have I think in my entire life). We ate our bread, talked with Pari's 18-year-old guy friends in her gap year program. ("I never would have guessed you were 26! You don't look it!!!" Uhhhhh thanks? Is 26 really supposed to look that old?!?!!?!) Then came the real food. It look okay enough. A giant turkey leg, some mashed potatoes and some veggies (carrots, peas and cauliflower). So there was no stuffing or gravy. That's okay, turkey and mashed potatoes are a good start!
No more wine?! :(But then I took a bite. Now, it wasn't terrible. I mean, I ate almost all of it. :D But it just wasn't quite right. The turkey was super dry. I'm positive that the mashed potatoes were instant ones. The veggies were like frozen veggies soaked in garlic. But I wanted some turkey and mashed potatoes, gosh darnit, so I ate them. I thought maybe they'd come around with some real Thanksgiving food and be like, "jajajaja (that's how they laugh in Spanish) juuuuuust kidding! Here's the real stuff!" Instead, they brought dessert. And no more wine.
yum...?
Sofie's not too excited about this food...
The one good part of the meal: bread. Note the thumb's up!
Apple tart with a side of pencil shavings.I am very grateful for CIEE putting this together for us. It was a wonderful thought and I'm sure took a lot of work to put together. And it really was fun. We got to mingle and talk and see everyone all dressed fancy. And I have so many other things to be Thankful for that I couldn't really complain. Here are some of those things: my amazing family, my health, the health of my loved ones (especially grateful for how well momma is doing!), my wonderful friends at home and here in Spain, the opportunities God has given me, including being here in Spain; the random scholarship that showed up in my PSU account; my living situation when I get back; the experiences God has blessed me with, both here and at home; the resources I have been given to be able to do things like study abroad; the love, peace, hope and joy that I have in Christ...so many more. But those are on the top of the list. The list that continues to grow day by day and year by year. Of course not everything is perfect, just like not all meals are perfect. But there's always the churros con chocolate to look forward to in the future :) Thank you Jesus for all you have blessed me with! I am beyond grateful!
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