Christmastime is here...

I know you must all be wondering, "what does Christmas look like in Spain?" Well, the lights are not as spectacular as Rockefeller, but there are decorations galore! I decided to dedicate this post to the Christmas ambience in Madrid.

It's beginning to get cold. Though we are on the same latitudinal line as New York, we are not experiencing the same degree of coldness (thank you Mediterranean Sea!) It's in the 40s and 50s here; it probably won't snow until Jan. or Feb. People are bundled in their coats and boots. It's not surprising to see many women in real furs (la de da!) but these are for the older generation.

On your way from our apartment to the metro, there are Christmas lights adorning the streets. Here's a picture of the lights near our piso.



We headed downtown to Gran Via to see more lights. Gran Via is a major street filled with theaters for local performances; it's the 42nd Street of Madrid. In any case, they have several different street lights along with interesting blue chandeliers that decorated the area.





Every street seems to have their own unique Christmas lights. Here are a few we noticed while downtown.





Unfortunately, this isn't a city where you can easily get hot drinks to go. I miss my Manhattan days where I could grab a cup of coffee and leisurely sip it while walking in the New York cold. In fact, it's difficult to find many places where you can get food items "to go." In this time of the year, many street markets pop up in the squares selling goods and churros. Churros and chocolate are a popular treat here, especially in the winter. It's fried dough dipped in chocolate. We stopped by a churro stand and noticed that an ice-skating rink had been set up in the square!



A and I decided that it was safest for the other skaters if we didn't participate, but it was a lovely evening exploring the Spanish decorations!

Sushi and Segovia

There was a puente today, so we had an extended weekend! It was quite lovely; some relaxation balanced with some quality-time with friends. On Friday, there was a Ttmadrid sushi party. A and I have had a hankering for sushi for quite a while and although there are sushi restaurants in Madrid, they are expensive. I miss my sushi place on St. Marks in NYC which had sushi for half-price after 4pm. We decided the party would be an excellent opportunity to see our old teachers and eat our weight in sushi.

There was a catch--we had to make the sushi. The teachers set up tables and ingredients for us to use and instructed us as we made our Japanese delicacies. It was like being in the TEFL school all over again, except there was a food incentive. Here's a picture of A making a sushi roll with our British friends.



After several rounds of people took turns making rolls, we had enough sushi. Some had tuna, salmon and even eel. We left the party filled with content in our consumption of our Japanese cuisine!

Today, a few friends came with us to Segovia, a city about an hour outside of Madrid. During a class, I asked my students to tell me about countries I should go to or must go to (trying to have them practice modal verbs). One of my students said, "You MUST go to Segovia." I had never heard of Segovia and had no idea what was so popular about it. One of my American friends who has been to Spain several times explained to me that they make a great roast pig. The pig is so tender that they cut the pig with a plate! We tried to find this in Segovia, but we were unsuccessful.

Here's a link to a youtube video of the suckling pig being cut with a plate.

Though we didn't actually get to view this event, we did get to try sucking pig at a restaurant.



The meat was quite tender; it melted in your mouth. It was a lovely lunch with good food, wine and friends. We proceeded to view other points of interest in Segovia. One major attraction was the ancient Roman aqueduct that was built around the 2nd century AD.



It was surreal to see this ancient aqueduct amidst the bustling city.



We proceeded to Alcazar Castle, which was a residence for many kings of Castile. I felt it looked like a fairy-tale princess castle.



This castle dates back to the 11th century! It was originally an Arab fort, but over time became a castle to Christian royalty in the province.





Here is the throne room, of course.







Those are the highlights from our trip to Segovia! Now we must get some rest and finish this half-week of work. Poor us;).

Happy Turkey Day!

For most Americans, November 26th was Thanksgiving day. For the two ex-patriates in Madrid, it was...Thursday. We arrived home after a full day of work, ready to relax from the week. I looked over at A and asked,
"Are you going to Skype your parents, now?" A stared at me quizzically.
"Why do I need to Skype my parents?"
"Because it's Thanksgiving and they want to talk to you!"
We proceeded to spend a few hours in front of our computers, talking to loved ones and watching them run around as they prepared the holiday feast. We told them about our work and how our students were interested in learning more about Thanksgiving. Then, came the inevitable question:
"How are you spending Thanksgiving in Madrid?"
We hadn't really thought it through. I mean, we did plan a Thanksgiving dinner, which was to take place on Saturday, since everyone was working on Thurs. and Fri. However, how were we going to spend the actual Thanksgiving day? Surely we could have some turkey and whip up some mashed potatoes. We looked in our fridge and realized that we had so much food that was specifically for Saturday that we had neglected to think about what we would eat before then! We proceeded to head out the door and celebrate Thanksgiving over a couple of kebabs at an Indian-owned Doner Kebab restaurant.

Though our Thursday did not have the traditional holiday trimmings, we were able to celebrate in style on Saturday! Our apartment filled with wonderful Americans, Brits and Spaniards, many who had never had a Thanksgiving before! For 48 hours before the feast, A and I were cooking, marinating, stirring and baking all the foods necessary for the event. About an hour into the preparations, I realized I should have delegated some of the dishes to the group! Nonetheless, we were able to make enough food and still have leftovers!



There was fillets of herb-roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, spinach and artichoke dip and sweet potato casserole. The recipes came from the food network and were quite good! My biggest challenge was that when I wrote down the recipes, I had to first convert the measurements to metrics and then I had to translate the ingredients into Spanish. It took more time to alter all the foods to paper than it did to actually cook it.



Here's our lovely dessert table with pumpkin pie, pecan pie (made by an authentic Southerner!), apple crumble and chocolate cookies! Everything was delicious! For the Americans, they said it felt just like home! For the Brits and Spaniards, they really enjoyed all the homemade food!

It was a successful Thanksgiving in Madrid! I'm now ready to sleep off my Sunday and munch on all the leftovers in my fridge. We miss you and wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Broke into the new apartment...

Another busy weekend ahead of me...cleaning, cooking and prepping for lessons. Several of our business classes finish this upcoming week, so it is imperative that we look for more teaching opportunities. I have been fortunate to find many students who need tutoring for the TOEFL exam. I have finally adjusted to my work week and now I have to restructure my courses again in order to prioritize these new students.

Several of my family members have urged me to post pictures of our new apartment. Since this is a rather slow weekend, I decided this would be a good time to show you the new place! We moved from Sol to a quieter neighborhood a bit north. We're right by the metro, the grocery store and our bank (very convenient).

Here's a picture of the front door.



When you walk in, the kitchen is the first thing you see. Here are two pictures of the kitchen.





I'm very excited about the kitchen not only because we have four burners instead of one. We also have an OVEN! When we perused around for apartments, we discovered that most apartments are not equipped with ovens.



This is our bedroom. We apologize for the horrid bedspread, but it is a conglomerate of items we were able to find when we moved in. The former owners took their quilts so we bought these zebra blankets in desperation for warmth. In any case, they suit for the time being.



When you walk down the hall, you come to the living room, where Anthony has set up his work desk. It's more for his drawings than for constructing lesson plans...



That little table is my desk next to our windows. The large window/door leads to our balcony!



Here's a better picture of our balcony! We haven't sat outside much since it's now getting cold. Sometimes, I like to sit inside and stare at the view.



Here's our couch and tv. It's quite a lot of space, so it will be wonderful for our Thanksgiving feast next weekend!

That's all for now!

Livin' it up in Lisboa!

So many updates in order! Last weekend, we moved to our new apartment near Avenida de America. It's much more of a neighborhood than Sol, which is pretty touristy. We're near the metro and supermarkets and kepab houses;). Plus, the place is a lot bigger than the closet we were previously residing in. I will try to post up pictures of the new place soon.

This weekend, we went to Lisbon, Portugal. It's a funny story. A couple of months ago, I was searching for a place to take the GRE Subject test in Literature. I was sure I could take it in Madrid, since they proctor the General test here. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it. I skyped my mom and told her my dilemma and she suggested that I look to see if there are any other countries where the test is available. Sure enough, I could take the test in Lisbon. "Why don't you just make a weekend trip out of it?" she said. When I shot the idea past A, he was adamant that I take the test there.

So, we took a quick flight on over to Lisbon Friday morning. I was a little nervous about traveling to a country where I didn't know the language; even going to India is not that bad because I have dad there to translate. All my fears were eliminated when I learned that the Portuguese understand and speak both Spanish and English. It's very easy to get around the place and simply ask for things in English. Thank God.



Here's a picture of a building outside of our hostel window. Many of the buildings had colored tile on the outside. It seemed odd to me, like a kitchen that was inside-out; however, they were unique and quite beautiful. Even the sidewalk had some decor. They were small cobblestones with different designs. Here's a picture of what I'm taking about:



After we settled into our hostel, we decided to go get lunch. Many of A's students recommended that we try Baccalau. This is a codfish dish with vegetables. We stopped in the nearest place to try this specialty. Here's a picture of our wonderful meal.



It was delicious! The fish melts in your mouth. The onions and cilantro complimented the dish very well. As you can see in the picture, the dish was served in a sea of buttersauce, which stayed in our stomachs all day. We proceeded to explore the center of the city and take lots of pictures.



This is a picture we took on our walk towards the center. There are a lot of hills in the city and a large castle/fortress top of this one. I couldn't help but think of Monty Python when I saw it. This is the Castle of Saint George. We didn't have time to go up and tour it, but it is an awesome sight amidst the city!

We went to the bay and saw this statue across the water. It's a replicate of the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro.



The next day, I went to take my test in Lisbon. There were 6 young men there who were taking the GRE Subject test in Math, Chemistry...basically, in important fields. The test proctor assumed we all spoke Portuguese, but I had to request to hear the directions in English. Fortunately, the test was all in English!

After the test, I met up with A and we headed over to the Lisbon Aquarium. We had noticed several ads for the aquarium and in our tourist maps, it stated this was one of the world's largest aquariums. That sealed it. We were going.



The aquarium had this huge tank filled with sharks, fish, and this really big thing called the Sun Fish. When you are on the bottom floor of the tank, you can look into the whole seascape. It seemed 3D. My photo doesn't do the aquarium justice, but I think it's a must-see when you're in Lisbon!



After the aquarium, we strolled around the area and saw the Vasco de Gama bridge. It's pretty famous for its unique shape.



I was really impressed with the architecture in Lisbon. There were a lot of creative edifices. Check out these apartment buildings. Don't they look like fish?



Well, that was our fabulous trip to Lisbon. Once I actually clean the apartment, I will post up pictures! I leave you with this wonderful warning picture from the Lisbon metro. Be careful of the doors or you will get cut in half.

Toledo: The Post of Pictures

Not much happened this week. We've both been busy teaching and such. Fortunately, we're feeling more comfortable with our classes and students!

Last weekend, we were able to venture outside of Madrid and take a day trip to Toledo (no Ohio). We took the glorious Renfe train. It is one of Spain's nice trains that takes you to Toledo in a half an hour. The Renfe also is a commuter train in the city. A and I use this train frequently to commute to our jobs north of town. Here's a picture of the lovely train.



As we departed from Madrid, I took some shots of the scenery. As expected, there were a lot of farms, but very little grass. It surprises me that anything grows out here. If there's one thing I'm missing from the US, it's the trees changing colors and seeing grass!



Toledo is the capital of La Mancha. It's an old city that seems to be built upon a hill. When you're meandering through the downtown streets you can get easily winded from the uphill climb. It is the birthplace of El Greco and Garciliaso de la Vega. The city was prominent during the Spanish Empire and promoted a co-existence of Muslims, Christians and Jews.


Toledo is also famous for their metal work and sword-making. Here's a picture of some armor. The designs on the armor are very intricate.



While we walked through the city, we were able to tour an old synagogue. It was beautiful and it had a lot of Muslim influences in the architecture. The museum had a wealth of information about Judaism as a religion and culture. I would have loved to learn about it, but everything was in Spanish.









One sign that I was able to read was great. Check out this sign at the synagogue. My favorite part is the last thing you are not allowed to do inside.



After the synagogue, we checked out the monastery of San Juan de los Reyes. There was a beautiful courtyard with orange trees and a well. The inside of the church was amazing.









This picture above is from the ceiling. It's pretty neat to see a mixture of symbols and designs that are Jewish and Muslim.



Finally, here's a picture of Puerta del Sol. It looks like a castle doesn't it?



So that is our latest adventure here in Spain. We are now preparing to move into a bigger apartment. After that, we have a weekend trip to Portugal, where I need to take another test and figure out why I can't understand Portuguese.