Thanksgiving in Madrid...

On my way to my friend's house to cook the pavo in a bigger oven...

One of the downsides to study abroad is not being with your family on certain holidays. However, one good side is being able to share holiday traditions with others. Although I missed by family, I experienced quite a unique Thanksgiving that I will never forget. With the help of some ingredients my mom brought to Madrid from the US (as well as years of experience cooking for 30 people), my roommates and I cooked a full on thanksgiving dinner (Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all) and invited our curious Spanish friends over to take part in the uniquely American Pilgrim/Indian tradition. There were many funny moments (traveling with a 12lb turkey on the metro), fitting 30 people into our tiny apartment, trying to explain stuffing in spanish... but all in all it was a great celebration of being thankful. Enjoy the pictures...

How did this all come together... I will never know...

Roomies

It is in those daily happenings that make life so spectacular

Xiomara, Irene, Patty and Me. Friday night dance crew. They teach me how to move :)

Sitting here with the realization that my days in Madrid are numbered, only 10 in fact, and I am dumbfounded at how fast the time has flown. Just yesterday I was pulling weeds and moving rocks in view of the Slane Castle in Ireland with only a hint of what my life in Madrid would be life. Now, everything is coming to a close. Last papers, projects, tests are in route, not to mention the last bucket list of things I want to do and experience before the semester wraps up (eat at the local restaurant, walk through Park retiro again, enjoy many tapas, Christmas bike tour through the streets of Madrid, see a snowy mountain town near Madrid, see live music at a Jazz bar, eat the delicious croissants from the local Ecuadorian bakery, and the list goes on). I have been blessed with many travels this semester, but I must admit that a lot of my favorite memories are the everyday events that go on. Tapas with friends, making a spanish dinner, walking through the streets of Madrid, speaking in spanish, watching a futbol game, grabbing lunch after church with friends.... Before I get more nostalgic and reminiscent, I want to keep updating you on the daily life adventures that have occurred here in Madrid...

Fashion Museum

Kira and Me about to go enjoy some delicious tea

When life hands you lemons... make lemon mirengue. Part II

Belfast is one of my favorite cities. Beautiful countrysides,  people and memories. A friend of mine (the same one I went farming with over the summer) is currently living and volunteering in Belfast. After my sunny adventure, I came to visit her for 5 days. I got to see and take part in her job in Belfast (playing laser tag in the forest with some high schoolers). We toured up the northern coast, walked the Carrik-A-Rede Rope bridge, climbed giants causeway and heard the tales of the north from our quick witted Scottish bus driver. For some reason I keep coming back to Ireland, one can't visit this island without it creating a special place in your heart for the fresh green scenery and the warm hearted people. Although the weather was contrary to that in the canary islands, the people and experiences made it that much more fuller. Here are the pictures from the trip... enjoy:)

when life hands you lemons. make lemon meringue. Part 1.

*Pre posting note: learning spanish has made me lazy with English. So bare with me with the many grammar/spelling errors that fill (and have filled up) my blog. 

This blog begins with a story... At the end of October we had a week off of school. As all my friends from my program were making their exciting plans to travel around Italy, I was at a loss of what to do. Being that I am traveling to Itlay  later (with some amazing people from the CO). I knew that I was going to travel this week long trip SOLO. I've always been curious as how a trip solo would go... so I took the opportunity. I scoured the internet for an inexpensive flight from madrid and was drawn into a town called fuertaventura. After a bit of research I booked a ticket to none other than an island in the canary islands...

These islands are located off the coast of Africa.!!!  The temperate weather, unique location and lure of an adventure waiting to happen I booked a flight. I spent three days amongst the beaches and other northern travelers (this is a hot spot for when northern Europeans want to escape the cold). It seriously was a bunch of Nordic families and me. :) I would read next to a Swedish person, a Norwegian family, some Irish travelers and the English. Sitting by the pool was a cultural experience. 

Real Madrid

GGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!
GGGGGGGGOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!

What would a trip to Europe be without going to a fútbol game? One day after class, I ran into some friends who were purchasing tickets to a Real Madrid game. In all honesty: I know little, maybe nothing (at least before this game) about soccer. Regardless, I eagerly joined in on the ticket purchasing festivities.  No matter the depth of knowledge for the game, experiencing a game like the one I went to will turn anyone into a fan. The game we randomly singed up for was against none other than against their rivals... Milan. These two have been competing for years to be the best and most well known teams of Europe. Quite the experience.

My friends, Hannah, Kathleen, and I went to the stadium early to check out the pre-game festivities. The media loves to portray such games as near riot status... but all we found were regular fans simply gun-hoe for their teams. Songs cheering on each team washed down the streets. Italian and spanish words were flying in every direction. Real Madrid scored twice in the first two minuets creating a surreal vibrant atmosphere.    During the game we were constantly standing up, sitting down, shouting, laughing and trying to learn the spanish cheers. Amazing. 

Pre game streaker

Fish in Salsa Verde

DELISH.

Spain Dish #2: Fish in Salsa Verde

I was initially drawn to this dish because there aren't that many ingredients, at least ones hard to find. Wine is ridiculously cheap around here and now I know why. Spaniards love their wine but they also love to cook with it. With wine almost as cheap as bottled water, why not?

The best part of this experience was talking to the fish man at the supermarket. I had no idea what cod was in Spanish, so I just pointed to a white fish and he smiled at me. He looked at my blond hair as if he understood and acted the rest of the fish related questions
out (my fish/supermarket vocabulary isn't quite up to par).I really enjoyed this recipe, although I am not sure why it is called salsa verde?!. If you try it out let me know!

FISH IN SALSA VERDE.

Basic ingredients 3 kg hake or cod 5 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion 1 leek 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped fresh parsley 4 or 5 potatoes thinly sliced 100 ml water salt flour 150 ml white wine

Steps: 1. Chop the onion and leek. 2. Heat the olive oil in a strong earthenware casserole dish - add the onion and leek and fry on a low heat until they are a golden brown color (about 10 mins). 3. Add the garlic, parsley, sliced potatoes and a couple of pinches of salt - cover with the water and simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked (this takes about 20 mins depending on thickness of potato slices) 4. After covering the fish pieces in flour add them to the casserole dish 5. Pour the white wine over the fish and cook for about 10 mins over a low heat until the fish is done

http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/Recipies/fish-salsa-verde.htm

Besos.

South of Spain

Was fortunate enough to go on a trip through the South of Spain. Two ladies from my program and I set off to three major cities: Granada, Cordoba, and Seville.We toured away from the Gothic style of architecture that has been in all of the cities we have visited so far and stepped into something like Aladdin. Saw the '8th' wonder of the world, The Alhumbra, in Granada. A palace/fortress built in the 14th century by the Moorish rulers. It was Africa's last stronghold before Spain regained control of the country. A small walled in city that overlooked all of Granada... AMAZING. Next, we wandered the windy streets of Cordoba before entering the Mezquita: a mosque built on top of a chapel with a new Roman church built inside of the temple. Confused? I still kind of am. But lets just say it is a ongoing war, with a sad history, of whose property the Moorish mosque/Christian church mixture is. Meanwhile, it makes for one great place to visit. Lastly, we enjoyed 'Spain Day' holiday in Seville, the flamenco/tapa capitol of Spain (although we didn't see Flamenco.. we enjoyed some tapas!). The weekend was history packed but we managed to get in time in each place to get a good feel for it.


**Note: this is a picture packed blog. I had a hard time narrowing down what to share with you all. We saw so many things, I hope the pictures can give a better glimpse into my experiences. So come and go as you please. :)

Granada

Granada was beautiful. The river added a low key atmosphere to the city

Random fruits on the side of the road... we had to try them. One word: interesting

Kathleen, Hannah and I