I Don't Speak Portuguese

This past weekend 2 friends and I went on a trip offered by Cursos Internacionales in the University to Lisbon, Portugal (Lisboa in Spanish). It was a lot cheaper than if we had gone on our own, and we had a guide so we figured it would be good. Unfortunately it was a group of 50 people, which doesn't make anything easy, but I'm still glad I went.

It took us around 6 hours to get to Lisbon, and once we got there we had some free time and then we went as a group to see El Castillo de San Jorge, the Cathedral, and the Plaza del Comercio. The Cathedral was really pretty, but I've come to the conclusion that once you've seen a Cathedral in Europe you've seen them all. The Castle was at the top of a mountain (that was a fun walk) and there were some gorgeous views from the top. There wasn't much of a castle left, just some ruins, but it was really cool to see. When we visted the Plaza del Comercio and the Cathedral we learned that most of Lisbon was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and therefore most of the architecture is from the 1800s. No wonder it doesn't look quite as old as everything in Spain...

Views from the Castle Ruins

That night we went on a crazy adventure to find a restaurant that our program director had suggested. But after searching for a while and asking a lot of people for directions (p.s. this is hard when you don't speak portuguese), we decided it didn't exist. Luckily a nice guy that worked in some store recommended a different restaurant for us and it was delicious. We had grilled shrimp and a kebab (sp?) of grilled peppers, onions, and pork wrapped in bacon...yeahhh. We also had bacalao (cod) with potatoes because that's what Lisbon is known for.

Yummm pork wrapped in bacon...

The next day we went to the Monasterio de Los Jeronimos, Torre de Belem (used to make sure that boats paid the entrance tax on the river), and the Monumento a los Navegantes (built to honor the explorers who "discovered" India- Vasco de Gama- and other places). After all of this we took a break for lunch and then saw La Boca do Inferno (where the waves crash onto a really rocky cliff) and then on to the beach at Cascais.

Monasterio de los Jeronimos

Monumento a los Navegantes

Torre de Belem

Boca de Inferno

The beach in Cascais

After we got back from all of this we successfully navegated the subway and the boat taxis to get to a restaurant across the river for dinner. We had to walk down a pitch black street with creepy buildings on one side and the river on the other to get to it, but it was really pretty once we got there! Except for the gross cats that wandered around all the tables waiting for good...yuck.

On Sunday on our way back to Salamanca we stopped in Obidos, a cute little medieval town closed in by a fortress wall, and then to the Monasterio de Batalha. The monastery was huge and really really pretty. We also got to see the Monument to Unknown Soldiers and watched the changing of the guards there. Part of the Monastery is the "unfinished chapels" which is where the building of the Monastery was stopped because the King changed and the new King wanted to build something that people would remember as his doing, not the other King's. Oh politics.

Obidos

Monasterio de Batalha

I wasn't super impressed with the city parts of Lisbon, but all of the areas on the outskirts were gorgeous and I really enjoyed all the monuments and things that we got to see. Maybe I would have liked the city more if we hadn't been with a huge group.

Yes, they sell beer in vending machines. Odd.

P.S. there are a lot more pictures on facebook!

Zamora

Today our classes were canceled for a national holiday so we decided to take advantage of the day and my friend Sabra and I took a bus 45 minutes north to Zamora. It's a city that has a lot of historical things to see and I think is often overlooked by tourists unfortunately. It's about the same size as Salamanca, maybe a little smaller and was easy to navigate (thankfully because Sabra and I are the most directionally challenged people in existence). We started off in the Plaza Mayor which was not nearly as amazing as Salamanca's. We were then planning to go to the Semana Santa museum in order to figure out what the KKK looking guys are supposed to be, but little did we know it was closed on Monday's. Next we headed towards the River Duero (one of the most important river's in Spain; it starts in Portugal). It wasn't flowing quite as strongly as I had expected, but the bridge and the view from the bridge were very pretty.

church in the Plaza Mayor

Bridge Over the Duero

Next we headed up to a small church (one of many) and then towards the city walls (murallas), la Catedral, and the Castle, all of which were very impressive. The Castle was surrounded by a really nice little park (which was convenient because had an hour to kill before it was open for visits) and we sat and had lunch there. The Cathedral was also really pretty, but similar to most of the other cathedrals I've seen in spain so far.

Outside of the Castle
Some of the Castle Ruins
Me with one of the awkward modern statues they put inside the castle (is that supposed to be someone drowning in the moat?)

Cathedral

After all of the site seeing we took our time wandering back to the bus station (and of course got ice cream on the way). It was a really nice day, and affordable! We did it all for under 12 euros. Nice. More to come this weekend, we're going to Portugal!

Los Gordos

Last night we went to the movie theater to see "Gordos". If you can speak/understand spanish I would highly recommend it. On the surface it is about a group of fat people in therapy but really it talks about all of their messed up lives and all the fattening things we have within us (whether it's food or desire or lust or whatever). Anyway, check it out. I liked it a lot. Warning: spanish films show whatever they want, be prepared for fat people nudity!

Oh and we totally ate candy and popcorn while we watched the fat people movie...

Galicia: Tui, Portanova, Santiago de Compestela

This weekend I had a trip through my program to Galicia, which is in the north-west corner of Spain. It's really beautiful, but because of it's location unfortunately it is prone to rain...a lot of rain...all year round. It pretty much looks like Ireland, and because of the strong celtic influence in the area it might as well just be Ireland. It's also bordered by the Atlantic ocean, which means lots of pretty coastline and beaches. Too bad it's cold and rainy most of the time.

Our first stop in our 6 hour journey was in Tui, a small town on a river with nothing too exciting except for some pretty views. We ate lunch by the river and then got back on the bus to go to Portanova. On the way to Portanova we stopped and saw ancient celtic ruins...basically the stone foundations of houses in the forest on top of a mountain. It was pretty amazing that were still so well maintained...and they were everywhere!

View at Tui

Me among the Celtic ruins

Portanova is a small fishing town right on the beach and our hotel was right on the water, it was really nice. In the morning we had an appointment on the fish equivalent of a booze cruise. Explanation: Us, a group of a lot of old people, and plates and plates of fresh shrimp and muscles just pulled out of the water. Yummmmmmy.

Beach near PortanovaEnjoying the muscles on the boat

After we were full of fish we got back on the bus to go to Santiago de Compestela. This is the capital of Galicia and is the site of the famous Cathedral de Santiago. This Cathedral is apparently where the remains of St. James the Apostle are. Because of this it is the end of a pilgramage route that starts in the south of France and cuts all the way across northern spain stopping in specific churches and hostels along the way. Not everyone does it for religious reasons, some just do it to say the walked the full 780km. And hey, people have been doing it for over 1000 years so thats pretty cool. We took a tour of the church and got to see a bunch of people finishing up their journey. Oh and you know those things the priests swing around in church with the inscense? Well they have a gigantic one hanging from the ceiling that they pull with a rope and it swings all the way across the church (for both religious reasons and to combat the stench of the smelly pilgrams who've been walking for 780km).

Catedral de Santiago

I loved Galicia and thought it was really beautiful, but it rained far too much and I was soaked for a good portion of the weekend. I don't know how anyone lives there.

Los Gallos en Salamanca

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, nothing too exciting has been going on. But this past weekend my parents came to visit, yay! They were here from Thursday-Monday and it was really fun. Thursday afternoon we just wandered around Salamanca a bit and ate ice cream of course (because that's what you do in Salamanca). Friday was spent doing all the normal touristy things there are to do in Salamanca. We visited the historic center of the University of Salamanca, the Cathedral, the Cave of Salamanca (thought to be the site of devil worshipping at one point), and the Roman bridge. My senora, Marisol, also invited us all over for lunch and afterwards we went to a bar for tapas and a drink.Me and Marisol

Me and dad at the Bridge
Me and Mom at the University

Saturday we planned to go to Alberca, a small pueblo about an hour outside of Salamanca. Marisol had told us that Alberca was very touristy and that we should check out Candelario as well if we got a chance. She has a country house in Candelario and she told us she would meet us for coffee if we came by. Alberca was cool, but VERY touristy. Every store was a tourist shop, so we decided to visit Candelario. Unfotunately the road between Alberca and Candelario is hairpin turns on a steep mountain for an hour and a half, needless to say we weren't feeling so great by the time we got there. Marisol met us for coffee and she and her boyfriend, Jose Angel, were our guides for the afternoon. We got to see a house from the 1700s that Jose Angel had bought and was working on gutting the inside and remodeling to as a rental house. Later we got to see their country house and even got to have a drink in the Plaza Mayor (note: the town only has 100 inhabitants, they were all at the one bar in the "Plaza Mayor"). It was definitely the most fun and interesting day of the trip.

In the Plaza Mayor in Alberca

Mom with the town pig in Alberca

Food in Alberca (this picture is just for Joe)

Sunday we visited Toledo on the way back to Madrid. Toledo is a historic city and it was cool to see the big cathedral, the castle, and all the old buildings, but again it was very commercialized and touristy. After Toledo we made it back to Madrid (only after fighting Rodrigo, our not recently updated GPS) to our hotel. The hotel was unfortunately in the middle of nowhere, so we weren't able to walk up to the Plaza Mayor or anything like that, but we were exhausted anyway so it was probably for the best. Instead we all passed out in our family bed (just 2 twin beds pushed together...interesting.)

It was a really fun weekend, and this weekend I'm off to Galicia, updates to come.

Always something interesting in Salamanca: Los Novatos

In Spain there's a tradition called Los Novatos at the beginning of each academic year in the universities. Basically, if you live in a dorm they just tell you what you have to do and you do it. It could be anything, like dressing in pajamas or crazy outfits, or whatever and running around the city singing songs. Last night we were walking around the city and the streets were covered in fake used pads, gross.

Anyway they are pretty entertaining to watch and I think it's hilarious because I'm pretty sure that would be considered hazing in the US. I wish we weren't such babies in the states! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Los Novatos, but you can use your imagination.

In other news, Princess Letizia was here yesterday and I had no idea. But she'll be back with the Prince on the 29th, so I'll be sure to find her then.

Adios for now!

Ole! The Bull Fights in Salamanca

Saturday began the annual 2 week bull fighting season in Salamanca. Yesterday we all decided to go to the bull fight even though we weren't quite sure we were going to like it (because yes, they kill the bulls). It was definitely an interesting experience.

The bull ring is just like a baseball stadium. There's music and people selling drinks up and down the aisles, BUT unlike in the states you can bring as much food into the stadium as you want. Which is good, because it's tradition that everyone eats a sandwich after the 3rd bull. My senora was kind enough to pack me one so I wouldn't look like a loser.

So here's how the bull fights go: There are 3 bull fighters and they go through the order twice so that each gets to fight 2 bulls. Each torero (bullfighter) has a team, which seems kind of unfair because the other teammates do a lot of stuff to injure and tire-out the bull before the torero goes in for the kill. First the bull runs out and the teammate guys have bright pink capes that they taunt the bull with to make it run around a lot. Then a guy on a horse comes out with a spear and spears the bull in the back (this part is the worst because the bull then charges the horse and sometimes knocks the horse over and hurts it. To make things worse the horse is completely blindfolded). Then the teammate guys come out with this pointy stake things that are colorful and run towards the bull and stab the stakes into it before the bull get's them, then they run away. Then out comes the torero. At this point the bull is already pretty hurt and now the torero just taunts him with a red cape and sometimes grazes him with a sword. After a little while the torero gets a new sword meant to finish the bull off. He points the sword at him and then if he hits him in just the right place the bull dies instantly. If he messes up he has to take the first sword out and try again.

So overall it was pretty gruesome. Oh yeah, and if a bull breaks a foot during the fight they replace it because it isn't fun to watch a bull that can't run fast. So yesterday 8 bulls died instead of 6 because 2 were injured.

My favorite bullfighter was Eduardo Gallo (for obvious reasons! haha) and he is in the video above. I missed him fully killing the bull though because my camera died. Ugh.

Best part of the booklet they give you when you enter the bull ring: they show you a picture of the bulls all happy on a farm before they bring them here to get killed. Lovely.

Entrance into the bull ring
Announcing the bull that's entering the ring

When one of the horses fell down. It was really sad. Note the man's giant spear hahaDragging the dead bull out of the ring