Alcalá Weeks 5 & 6

Peekaboo Florence!

Prepare for a longgg post, since I'm covering two weeks plus a trip to Florence, Italy!

• A quick shout out to 2 tv shows that I watch weekly- Lost (Perdidos) and El Internado. The second is an extremely complicated soap opera with many characters and subplots. Most of the time I don't know what's going on (I think last week some evil organization was stealing homeless people off the street in order to test biological weapons on them??) but anyhow they're what I look forward to Mondays and Tuesdays so they deserved a mention.

I think mostly I like El Internado because of their adorable blue uniforms

• The weekend of February 12th was Carnavale, which is like a cross between Mardi Gras/Halloween. On Saturday I went into Madrid to watch a movie (Valentine's Day dubbed into Spanish) and a big parade in honor of the holiday. The floats and costumes were ELABORATE and the streets were packed! The next day there was a small parade in Alcalá for adorable children in their precious costumes. It was so so so cute. Almost all of my roommates went home for the weekend so overall it was a bit boring.

I understood almost the entire movie! Granted the plot was pretty cut and dry. PS Ashton Kutcher sounds sexy in Spanish

Hopefully this video works, it is of the pirate ship float in the parade

• February 17th was Ash Wednesday! I attended mass that was presided over by the Bishop Juan Antonio. I recognized all the readings thanks to many years of mandatory church attendance for school and, interesting to note, they sprinkled ash onto my head instead of drawing a cross on my forehead.

• The following weekend I traveled to Florence Italy! I was only a little sad that I missed more Carnavale activities (I guess it's two weekends long?) because the costumes of my roommates were really cool and there was a huge competition hosted by the dorms.

I'm not in this photo, I just thought it was cute some of my Spanish friends went as the Duff girls from the Simpsons

• I flew into Bologna and hung out there for a few hours but must admit I was not impressed with the city. Florence (or Firenze as they say in Italy) was much more impressive, I took a train into the bustling center of the city and met my friends German and David, who I met at Wisconsin last semester but who attend law school in Florence (also, they are from Spain).

• On Friday I did a lot of solo exploring which was interesting since I speak about 10 words of Italian (including "non parlo italiano" and "grazie!"). However Florence is very touristy in the summer and has a lot of study abroad students during the school year so many people spoke some English, which was helpful. Or not so helpful, in the case of street vendors trying to sell me things (I guess I look American cause they spoke English to me without me even opening my mouth). The kiosks here are full of leather goods like belts (I bought 2), wallets and purses plus scarves and the typical touristy stuff.

Oops! Guess this guy knew I was photographing him

• My first stop was El Duomo, the cathedral of Florence. The outside is decorated with green and pink geometrical designs plus about a million statues, it is very impressive. I decided to view the city from El Campanile (bell tower) and subsequently walked up 414 narrow, twisty, cement steps. I was short of breath by the end but it was worth the trek! The rain had JUST stopped so there was this warm misty breeze that hit my face as I took in an incredible panoramic view of Florence. The entire city is the color of rust backed by the green countryside surrounding it. My photos cannot do it justice but here they are anyhow:

The cathedral.

The bell tower next door

View from the bell tower. The Duomo is 6 meters taller but the Campanile is cheaper! You can sort of see the people standing atop the cathedral.

More views of Florence

• Downtown Florence is very compact and easily walkable, so it was a quick stroll over to Piazza della Signoria. There is a huge government building there with a bunch of statues sitting out front. Flanking the entrance are statues of Hercules and a replica of Michelangelo's David. Looking to the right, there is a small gallery of statues, most of which are pretty violent. Most are life sized and my favorite was the one of Perseus holding the head of Medusa. It was created in 1554 as a warning to Cosimo I's enemies.

David on the left, Hercules with Cacus by the hair on the right

Perseus says beware!

• Speaking of Cosimo I, he was the original Medici, a powerful family that ruled over Florence and were patrons of the arts. They also produced 4 Popes! I know this family probably assassinated a ton of people but they're basically gave birth to the Italian Renaissance (according to Wikipedia). German pointed out this elevated indoor walkway that runs from the Uffizi art gallery to the Pitti Palace- constructed by the Medicis so they wouldn't have to mingle with the commoners whenever they wanted to change venues. It passes right over the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence- the Nazis destroyed all the other ones in a last ditch war effort. It used to be lined with meat vendors but has since converted into a spectacle of expensive jewelry stores.

On the Ponche Vecchio

Same bridge from afar. Can you see the walkway with the little shops underneath??

• Saturday I spent at the Uffizi Gallery. It was originally built as an office building for the magistrates of Cosimo I ('uffizi' means office) but now houses the impressive multi-century art collection of the Medicis, bequeathed to the Florentines by the last of their clan, Anna Maria Luisa. The paintings were arranged chronologically and it was interesting to see how art styles were ever changing, particularly perspective-wise, as early painters had no sense of spatial depth! Almost 100% of the artwork featured the Virgin Mary, baby Jesus, a saint, or some combination of the three. The most famous piece is The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, featuring the serene looking goddess on a seashell being blown to Cyprus by the wind gods. Primavera, by the same painter, is also famous because it celebrates the pagan festival of spring instead of some religious figure. The Holy Family, by Leonardo DaVinci, is an art-world landmark because it features baby Jesus NOT on Mary's lap, and the Virgin is in an unusual twisted pose. Finally, Sleeping Venus by Giorgione has been called "the most beautiful nude ever painted" but was scandalous because the her seductive pose. Sorry if this paragraph was boring, I read 2 guidebooks about the Uffizi and seeing artwork gets me really excited!!

The Birth of Venus

The Holy Family

• Some of German and David's friends invited them over for dinner Saturday night and that meal was the highlight of the past 6 months. Delicious homemade meatballs over couscous, homemade bread AND homemade cheesecake that I ate with mango jam. I'm full just thinking about it. Other food I've eaten here includes: artichoke pizza, gnocchi with spicy tomato sauce, pesto, these yummy italian cookies at German's house, more pizza and about a million gelatos. Words cannot accurately describe how delicious gelato is, I am obsessed.

Mmm artichoke pizza. Plus wine.

If I could transport gelato to Spain, my life would be perfect right now.

• Sunday I went with German and David to Piazza Michelangelo for another stunning view of Florence. This time we were across the River Arno and saw the city through some light rain. Despite having a terrible cold and getting lost on the bus several times, Florence was absolutely fabulous and I would highly recommend it everyone. Thank you German and David!!!

View from Piazza Michelangelo. The smiling increases as you look left to right :)

I touched the warthog's nose, so legend has it I must return to Florence

Alcalá Week 4

Jean and me in Toledo

• First and foremost I should probably mention the bar here on campus called Nivola, because it is a very popular hangout for all the students and features calimocho- a mix of wine, Coke and a splash of blueberry syrup. Spanish students, including my roommates, finished exams on Wednesday, February 3 and coincidentally Wednesday is the big going out night here at CRUSA dorms. I got to hang out and dance with my roommates all night and met some of their friends too, it was a lot of fun. I also have three other American students living with me in the dorm, and I have met and hung out with all of their roommates- it is proving to be a good method to get to know Spaniards.

Miriam, Ines, Sandra, me and Sara! Out of their pajamas and dressed to impress

• My criminology class at La escuela de derecho (law school) of the Universidad de Alcalá was supposed to start Wednesday, but my professor did not show up two days in a row. Luckily the Spanish students were also waiting outside the room so it was not like I did not know what was going on because I was American. It was that no one knew what was going on.
  

• Friday February 5 was a class trip to Toledo. We took a bus and I got to see the Spanish highway system- turns out it is ugly. Toledo, however, could not have been more beautiful. Its windy streets run between ancient looking buildings nestled into the hillside. We looked inside La Iglesia San Juan, which had 2 parts- a big lofty cathedral and a square of elaborate statues surrounding a courtyard of orange trees. To give you a better idea:

The entire square had statues just like this

The big cathedral

• Toledo is famous for its sword making, I believe the Lord of the Rings swords were made here. Even if that's not true, all the tourist stores were full of knives ranging from letter openers to full blown swords that could probably kill a person.

• Surprise! Toledo also had a trademark dessert (I think I could get used to this), which I both tasted and photographed:

Marzipan

• A river surrounds 3/4 of Toledo- this city used to be the capital of the Kingdom of Castile until its growth was contained by the river and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel united their kingdoms by moving the capital of Spain to Madrid.
  

Hola!

• Saturday there was a party hosted by Javi, one of my American friend's roommates. Interestingly, all the Spaniards really like to play beer pong and quarters (the great American past times) so it is pretty easy to fit in.

• Finally, SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! I went with a group of friends to an Irish pub in Madrid to watch the game, which did not start until 1am here. We ordered a full table of chicken wings and nachos and got to watch on a big projector screen. Let me tell you if there's one thing I miss about America, it is chicken wings (also, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups)- they were delicious. Unfortunately we were watching a broadcast out of the UK, so all the announcers had British accents and there were no commercials :( That does not cheapen the experience, however, since the game was great. All sorts of people were there to watch; a man from New Orleans sitting behind us was explaining the sport of football to his French friend and we got to help a little!
  

Delicious.

Please note that I wore my Jared Allen shirt to the game and indeed have been wearing my AP jersey to bed every night since the Vikings lost. I cheered for the Saints anyhow, NFC loyalty?

Alcalá Week 3

Jackie wanted to see a photo of the storks, so here they are! I actually climbed to the top of one of the towers of the school for this shot.

Yes I know this post is 3 weeks late, but it will only cover the dates between January 26 and February 1. I promise tomorrow I will do the subsequent week and then the one after that...

• On Friday the 29th I traveled to Segovia with some American friends, a city about 30 minutes north of Madrid by "AVE" a high speed train. The train station was about a 35 minute walk from the actual city, and on the journey in we stopped to feed a horse that was hanging out on the roadside. He rejected all of the food we offered.

Our trip to Segovia, as dictated by Rick Steves

• My absolute favorite part of Segovia was an ancient Roman aqueduct- we started at the beginning where it was only about waist high, but the further along we traveled, the bigger it got until finally we got to the old city walls where it was 3 stories high! It was much more impressive and magnificent than any of us could have ever imagined, and we spent at least 2 hours photographing it from every angle possible. Here is only a sampling of our group's many many photos:

It starts out small...

Then gets larger...

Omg!!

• It would be remiss not to mention ponche, the city's trademark dessert. It is a sort of layered cake with burnt sugar, sponge cake, pudding and cinnamon wrapped in a sort of uncooked dough. Very rich and very delicious.
  

I'm pretty excited to eat this ponche

• That night I went to the Mexican restaurant Burrito, which featured a live mariachi band! I am obsessed with their guacamole.

• Saturday I ventured into Madrid to check out Kapitol, a famous 7 story nightclub. Every floor featured different types of music but the 7th floor was this serene lounge with white couches and fountains of trickling water. When the club kicked us out at 6am we headed across the street to a diner filled with all the club goers. I had coffee, orange juice and a tapa- the perfect end to a fun night!

• Finally, I spent Sunday trying to explain Groundhog's Day to my Spanish roommates, which when I thought about it is a pretty weird holiday. First, they didn't know what a groundhog IS, so my description was something like "well, a beaver-like animal comes out of his home, and if he sees his shadow we have 6 more weeks of winter. But if he doesn't see his shadow, spring will come early." This holiday plus the fact that I eat peanut butter straight out of the jar all the time probably has my roommates thinking that Americans are crazy.