The end of an amazing year in France!

Last I left off, we picked up my friend Caroline in the pouring rain and were headed back off to Le Pompidou. Since I had to make up 15 hours from the 3 day essential oils training, I had to work a fair bit every day. At first, it was unbelievably freezing cold and raining a lot. Because we were in the mountains and the house was on top of a mountain, the wind whipped right through the house.  However, this has been a particularly bad spring, with lots of rain and cold all over Europe. Anyway, because of the weather, we stayed indoors most of the time, helping with bottling the essential oils mixes. One day we also spackled a room. The walls of the room had a lot of cut outs in the wall; Caroline told me she thought it looked like work someone did right before doing some stone work. We had to fill in all the cut outs with spackle and cement. At first I thought it was fun, and Caroline was really good at it, but it grew a bit boring for me after a while. However, we got it all done in a day. And later on in the week we got to paint it! By the end of the week, three rooms were spackled and painted.

When it began to get nice, we went out into the garden. There is always a lot of weeding that needs to be done at organic farms because they don’t use any chemicals to fight off weeds. So I did a ton of weeding. We also did a bit of planting, but not as much as the last farm I was at. In terms of work on the farm, I think that’s pretty much it: fixing the rooms, bottling (a lot of bottling), and weeding (a lot of weeding).

We also went swimming one hot day after work. Near their home there is a small river with a waterfall and they dropped me and Caroline off to go for a swim. It was so beautiful, and apparently when it gets very hot in the summer many people go there for a swim. It was so freezing from all the rain that it was pretty hard getting in.

Caroline and I also went for walks after work, and one day we walked to a local goat farm. It is run by a widow and her son, and we happened to catch the woman while she was milking the goats! She let us walk around and pet the goats, the sheep, and her dog. The goats seemed really excited to see new people. It was a riot! And I got to watch her milk the goats. I’ve never seen that. The goats come up, udders all swollen, and know that when they go up, the put their heads down to eat and a wooden latch slides down and keeps them locked in. Then, while they’re happily eating, she put this suction thing on their udders (she doesn’t milk them by hand) and it draws the milk. Then she unlatches them and herds them out and the next group gets to come in.

On Saturday, we went hiking with the two sons and the wife (her name is Hilde) of the farm. I didn’t realize it was be such an intense hike! The trail follows a really pretty brook, though some of the trail had collapsed in some parts and so we had to do some climbing, jumping, and balancing. I was so impressed that Hilde, who’s fifty, did everything with us! It was steep and her sons were moving fast, and sometimes we had to walk over thin, wobbly logs to traverse the stream.

Along the trail, there are also ruins of old stone homes that used to be there. What’s really cool in these rural places all over France is that the homes are all made from stones from the region, so they last forever and you could actually identify where in France you are just by looking at the stones (assuming you know the regional stones of France, of course). At one point we passed an old chestnut roasting house. Apparently, the bottom half of the house was used for a fire and the top half they put in chestnuts, which are all over the forest. They roasted the chestnuts and then used them for bread.

At the end of our hike, we stopped at a source, which is a natural spring where you can drink the water fresh from the mountain. Here, we happened to see a friend of Hilde’s who’s over eighty years old and still going strong. He grew up in the region and used to be a lawyer in Montpellier and now is in retirement, though he still farms! He also knows everything about the area and loves to talk about it. We walked back with him to his home (which, by the way, is up hill and it was now very hot, and in typical old man fashion, he was wearing long sleeved button down shirt and khaki pants- amazing!) where he showed us three kittens his cat just had about a week prior.

Afterwards, we passed by the goat farmer’s home where she makes and sells the goat cheese.  The goat’s cheese is so fresh, and we were able to by some of the freshest batch, and she told us we probably watched her get the milk that was used for this batch! You can have really fresh goat’s cheese, which is similar to the most amazing cream cheese you’ll ever have. You can also have it very old: Caroline and I got to try goat’s cheese that was 6 months old! It was very strong and yummy as well! The woman explained to us the process of goat’s cheese making, but I don’t remember it too well. All I can say is that you can’t get anything nearly as delicious if you try to pasteurize the milk, which is why we don’t have these amazing cheese in the US- non-pasteurized milk products are illegal, and apparently if you try to sell them the government will come down on you with a S.W.A.T. team and put you to jail like you were selling hardcore drugs (makes sense to do that, doesn’t it?).

Anyway, on Sunday, Caroline and I went for a short hike on our own. We walked through a meadow on the top of the mountain, and then descended down the mountain through the forest. We stopped at a source that was next to a house that is in ruins, but there is clearly someone who comes by from time to time because there is fresh grass that is matted down from someone walking and there are some construction stuff there as well. We walked all around the house and explored it (it was really big). There was also a nice vista with a stone bench that I’m guessing that person made (there was a symbol on the bench that could also be found on the house). We then walked along a small path through the rest of the forest and to the house to have a snack. We helped a bit with finishing one of the rooms, and while we were doing that, it began to hail! I’ve never seen really big balls of hail like that! Apparently the plants weren’t damaged, so that was good. After it hailed, it poured. Good thing we weren’t on a really long hike!

On Tuesday we woke up ridiculously early (6am!) and headed to the market in a town one hour away called Saint-Jean-du-Gard. We helped to set up, and then Caroline and I got to walk around. The market is really big, with all sorts of stalls, with lots of food, handmade products, second hand products, and products from around the world. It was a lovely morning and there were many tourists- I was surprised how many people there were for a Tuesday, and apparently in the summer there are even more people.

Around 1pm I left Caroline (she was staying two more weeks in Le Pompidou) and went to Montpellier. I was staying again with the same Couchsurfer I stayed with last time. Iarrived in the late afternoon, so we mostly just hung out and had dinner, and the next day we drove about 45 minutes outside of Montpellier to the River Herault where you can go swimming and jump off high rocks. It was a beautiful day and so fun! I didn’t think I would actually jump off the rocks (I’m such a chicken!) but I did it. And there were some people jumping off a bridge there, about 30 feet high!

I headed back to Le Havre on Thursday. I took the high speed TGV train to Paris (only 3 hours to pretty much go all the way from the bottom to the top of France! That’s about 450 miles!) and then the regular train to Le Havre (another two hours). The weather’s been pretty nice, so I got to go to the beach the other day. Just been mostly relaxing, saying goodbyes, and trying to pack (emphasis on the trying). Moving out Tuesday morning, and then my flight is early Wednesday! Yikes! I’m excited to come back, but so sad to leave!

I’ve uploaded loads of pictures, here they are:

Dordogne, Part II: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150803572996319.393934.544216318&type=3&l=3e8834324b

Second Farm Part I :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150817108816319.395409.544216318&type=3&l=9a0cfe9f80

Second Farm Part II:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150819387181319.395618.544216318&type=3&l=5da97bc8d6

Farm #2!

When I last left you all off, I was still in the Dordogne region of France.
I caught the train from Sarlat to Brive-la-Gaillard, a small city in the Dordogne area, to catch a ride share to Montpellier. Montpellier is slightly more south and east from the Dordogne area, taking about 6 hours or so to get there. On the road, we stopped at Millau for lunch and to see the tallest bridge in the world (according to Wikipedia, it has "one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure"). Millau also has a strong air current and high cliff above the small city that sits in the valley, making it a popular spot for para-sailing and para-gliding. The driver wanted to take the cheaper (and slightly longer) route to Montpellier, putting us through beautiful national parks and towns.

When I arrived at Montpellier, I couchsurfed with someone who is studying to get his masters in viticulture (wine making), which was quite cool. I arrived late in the afternoon and was leaving the next morning, so I went out for a few hours to see as much of Montpellier as possible. I really like the city, it is quite cute and charming and not extremely large. There are nice wide boulevards and parks and the buildings are all very neat and pretty. Plus, the weather was nice, which helps! There is a beach nearby (you can simply take the tram) but I didn't have enough time, unfortunately. I returned to my couchsurfers home to make sushi for dinner (my first time making sushi myself!). I had to run to the supermarket to buy some food for it, and you know what I did? I bought zucchini instead of cucumber! I obviously don't buy many vegetables! What's even funnier, he told me I'm not the first couchsurfer to do this! Woops...

The next day I had to catch an early train to a nearby smaller city called Nimes and then a 1 hours and 30 minute bus to a small town called St Jean du Gard where the husband of the next farm would be. From there, we headed the one hour to his home in the mountains, in the village Le Pompidu. The village is in the Lozere region and is amidst the Massif Central mountains. Honestly, I thought things couldn't get more beautiful after being in the Dordogne region, but here it is just a fabulous, but in a slightly different way. As the road twists and turns up, down, and around the mountains, you catch glimpses of beautiful vistas over the valley, waterfalls, and endless green trees.

When I arrive at the "farm" I'm floored. It is absolutely massive. It is so massive, in fact, they don't even use half of it. The family is a husband and wife from Belgium who moved here with their 3 sons about 12 years ago. The 3 sons are now in school studying engineering, medicine, and law (they were all home schooled by the mother- she must have done something right!). The history of the home is quite interesting: it used to be a summer camp that was then abandoned and subsequently taken over by squatters, who destroyed most of the interior (you can still see some graffiti in the old parts of the home). The first floor of the house is split in two, with one side being a massive room for cooking and giving lectures, and the other side being the laboratory where they mix essential oils (more on this in just a minute). The second floor is their floor (which I haven't seen). The third floor is for guests and WWOOFers and includes many bedrooms, showers, bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a communal computer, and a deck that over looks the valley and has the most unbelievable view. When I arrived there were two other WWOOFers and 3 guests to come. The guests were coming for an aromatic/essential oils beginners training for 3 days...

So the family I am staying with mixes essential oils. Essential oils are essentially oils that come from plants and can be used topically or internally for medical purposes. They have a garden for the food they need as well as some aromatic plants that they themselves distill (using the same process you use to make alcohol) to extract the essential oils. They also order essential oils from around the world in bulk and then sell them for small orders or mix them with other oils to make their own "synergies." They have been doing this for 30 years and have written books on it.
As I mentioned, there was to be a 3 day training. When I arrived, I was basically told there was going to be a training, and if I wanted to participate I could, but I would have to make up the 15 hours I would be missing by working extra time the next week. I sort of tried to get out of it, not because I didn't want to do the training, but because I was worried about making up the hours (they expected you to work 5 hours per day; 3 hours in the mornings in the garden and 2 hours in the lab in the afternoons). However, they sort of pointed out to me that if I did that I would be all by myself all day and it would be boring for me. So I took the training.

The training was really interesting and amazing (and all in French!). I never even really know that you could take a drop or two of an essential oil in, say, a yogurt as a treatment for a certain ailment or problem. There are essential oils for everything: headaches, depression, severe menstrual cramps, anxiety, sunburn, infection, and much more. Most people know that medicines come from plants, but are usually chemically manipulated to simply bring out certain aspects, so that when you ingest a pill there is nothing natural about it. We're aware of the effects: Prozac found in NYC drinking water and evidence of fish being lacking the ability to reproduce from birth control in water ways (here's a NY Times blog article I just found quickly on the subject, http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/there-are-drugs-in-drinking-)water-now-what/). Our bodies aren't built to process the chemically produced medicines we're putting into our bodies, so eventually it comes out in our urine. The same effect isn't seen with essentials oils, since they break down naturally.

Anyway, the point is, I learned a lot from this training. I learned about different types of lavender, helped to pick lavender in the garden, then watched as it was distilled before my eyes into an essential oil. I got to see a large-scale distillery where a local association allows members to distill their products. I also got to mix my own synergies, or mixes of essential oils, in this case to make massage oils. The crowd was quite interesting and different (there were about 20 people in total), with many different interests in the area of essential oils and organic products. Overall, I'm glad I took it- it has given me a lot to think about!

That Friday, I caught a ride with one of the attendees to Marseille. Here I was supposed to meet my friend Jessica. I arrived at the hotel where I was supposed to meet her, only to be told she had canceled the reservation and that her flight was canceled! Panicking, I called her. Apparently, she had been trying to reach me all day but must have had the wrong number! Anyway, I called one of the girls I met at the training and asked if she happened to have a friend in Marseille whom I could crash with. What luck, she did! I was able to crash with her 2 friends in their apartment that night, but I was so exhausted from the travel and stress, I fell asleep pretty early.

The next day, I left the apartment and headed to the beach. I went to the furthest beach on the strip of beaches in hopes that it would be less touristy, and consequently less dangerous. Luckily, I was right and the beach was a family beach, so I could leave my stuff on on the beach and go for a swim! Soon I needed to meet Jessica (she caught a new flight to come meet me). We wandered all around Marseille that afternoon and evening, having a picnic in a park, walking to the church on a hill overlooking the city (so awesome), and seeing the Old Port and Panier districts. Panier was very cute, with adorable tea shops and art galleries and the church on the hill was amazing. We had an amazing dinner in an Italian restaurant and then decided to tuck in early and head to Aix-en-Provence the next day after heading to a museum.

The next morning we headed to a museum called La Vieille Charité, meaning "Old charity" because of its former use as an almshouse in the 17th century. The museum is actually two museums, Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology and Museum of Art of Africa, Oceania and Amerindia, as well as a temporary exhibit on the main floor. Jessica and I decided to skip the two museums to catch the temporary exhibit, which was supposed to be quite good. It featured the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000). The work was incredible. Hundertwasser's works are powerful, modern, and full of life and color. He rejected societal values and felt that man needed to get back to his roots in the earth (which I find ironic, as I'm out here to work on an organic farm). I really enjoyed the exhibit, as it gave great examples and explanations of how his work changed over time and also gave really thoughtful quotes. Definitely worth the visit!

Afterwards, it began to rain. We walked to the train station and headed to Aix-en-Provence, a beautiful nearby town. Unfortunately, it really began to pour. By the time we got there, we had to borrow umbrellas from the hotel that Jessica was staying at, and we ventured into town. We did a little bit of restaurant and bar hopping as we tried to stay out of the rain, and I found I really loved Aix. It is smaller and a lot cleaner than Marseille and, despite it being a Sunday, there were a good number of people out and about. This brought the color back into our cheeks, just before I had to leave to catch a ride back to Le Pompidu.

My friend Caroline has been on a bike tour with two friends for the last two weeks and was to finish in Le Pompidu and WWOOF with me for my last week. She was pretty close to Pompidu when I was getting my ride share back from Marseille. As I mentioned, it was torrential raining. Luckily for her, my rideshare was able to pick her up and she came back with me to the farm!

Now I should go, I've been holding up the internet for too long writing this! That as on Monday and now it is Friday. I will update again this weekend and tell you about the work I've done this week and well as the fun I'll hopefully have this weekend! :) I can't post pictures here unfortunately! They'll have to wait until I'm back in Le Havre on Thursday or so.

Dordogne, Part II

Hello again from the lovely Dordogne region! I can't believe my stay here is almost finished, but at the same time, I've really taken advantage of all the cool stuff to see. Even though it's only been three days since I've update, I fear this may be a long one and I won't get to finish it in one sitting!

So, on Thursday, in the morning Fabienne and I tackled some weeding. This isn't your usual stoop down and pick out a few little leaves weeding. This was grab a big hoe and pull up giant bushes of weeds, while trying to avoid the good plants. Luckily it was the morning and until 11am the sun hadn't fully crept over the trees and cast herself full force on us. Once 11am came, however, I was a goner. It was some real tough work! However, I kind of like weeding in a way. There's this great crunching sound when you've split the roots of a big one and are ripping it from the ground. Makes you fell all manly and powerful.

That afternoon I went sightseeing. First, I went to the beautiful town of Beynac. Beynac is built into the cliffs along the Dordogne river. It is extraordinarily picturesque and is the cite of many a medieval film. We stopped first at the bottom, near the river, and I put my feet in. I figured, I've swum in the Atlantic as early as May and as late as October, it can't be that bad. Oh, it was. And because it's pretty much rained all of the month of April up until just this week, the river is swollen and moving fast. So I couldn't go all the way in, had to settle with just my feet.

After we headed up the town. Like I said, the town is built into the side of a cliff, so walking up was obviously a big mistake. It was steep and the weather was hot. Despite this, the town is gorgeous. The homes are made of the creamy colored stones that you find throughout the region and you can also see roofs made of hard stone. Apparently this is very rare, very old, and very costly. When we got to the top, we decided not to go into the 12th century castle but to go to see another. I later learned this was a mistake. Apparently it's gorgeous inside the castle- bummer.

After walking through the whole town, we headed to see another castle called Castelnaud. This one to me seemed a bit more traditional, something we Americans imagine a castle to be. This castle is from a bit later, the 13th century. It is built up on a big hill, so the views from the town and castle are amazing.

We then headed over to Sarlat. Sarlat is a gorgeous town that is quite popular among tourists. It has narrow, winding medieval streets, interesting squares with cute restaurants, and lots of old buildings. The town is great for just wandering around and seeing all the different streets and alleys. While walking back to the car, I listened in on an English tour group. We were standing behind the main church, and there were these stone sarcophagus looking things in the ground. Apparently they are the burial site from the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries. That's pretty darn old.

On the ride back to Paunat (where I'm staying) we passed amazing homes that are literally built into the side of the cliffs and are made of stone so that they the people in there are literally living in the rock. The region is also where many cave people live (it's where you can find the worlds oldest cave paintins, at Lascaux). You can see these great holes high up in the cliffs. Apparently today they know that the cavemen had built wooden stairwells to access and live in these caves and they had used the echo from the caves and the cliffs to communicate long distances. Very cool.

The next day, Friday, I worked all day. It was the longest day I'd worked so far, and by the end I could feel it. At one point, however, Fabienne and I took a break to go swimming in the brook that runs along the side of the plot of land she has. The water is fresh and clean- Fabienne drinks from it regularly while working. I had a very romantic image of farming before I cam here, and this lives up to it!

That night, we saw a very hilarious French film called Radio Stars. The film was show in a near by town called le Buisson in a one room theater. I don't think I've ever been in a theater that small- amazing! the film was about morning radio hosts who need to travel around France to bring up the ratings. I was worried that I wouldn't understand it all- comedy can be quick talking and difficult. But it was great! Definitely would recommend it if you can catch it with English subtitles on Netflix or something!

Apparently I don't work on the weekends, which is great. Yesterday, Saturday, in the afternoon I took the bike and went to whats called the "Gouffre de Proumeyssac." It was basically a giant underground hole that has a ton of beautiful stalagmites and stalactites made of calcium. I didn't really think it would be that cool, but in fact it was awesome! After walking down towards the giant cavern, you stand on a platform and look out into the darkness. Then, the guide puts on music and they have a really cool light show that illuminates all the different aspects of the cavern. You get to see this show a second time when you're down on the cavern floor on the opposite side, giving you a second look. The guide then walks you through the cavern and explains the history of the cavern (such as how the formations are made over time, how the cavern came to be, how it was found, etc.) and shows you how the water that still falls from the cavern ceiling is allowed to fall on objects and subsequently petrifies them, making them into porcelain. You also get to walk into a narrow bit of the tour and see some rare triangular crystal formations. Overall, a really beautiful and unexpected success!

I then biked over to the medieval village of Limeuil. At the tourist office, they have a self-guided tour that you can take. Limeuil sits at the meeting point of the Dordogne River and the Vézère River. On the tour, I walked past the old gates of the city, the old jail house, the former whore house (always a winner), the church, and the former ramparts of the city (the castle that had stood there once has since been destroyed).

Today I waited around quite a while because in the morning Fabienne asked me if I wanted to see a castle and some really old houses. I thought we'd go right after lunch, but in fact we didn't go until around 4:30pm. Nevertheless, first we went to the chateau de Puymartin. It is a castle originally from around 1270, though it was destroyed during the 100 Years War and then rebuilt around 1450. The castle is privately owned by a descendant from the owners of 1450. Because it is still owned by the original owners, you only get to see a portion of the castle.

The visit is quite nice, despite being short, and you get a guide included with it. The rooms are furnished with many beautiful pieces from different centuries, and the guide was super knowledgeable about when and where all the pieces were from. There is one special room that normally visitors do not get to see, but since we were a small group we got to see it. It was a room meant for meditation and has rare and very old black and white paintings of Greek mythology. We also went to the top of the tower where supposedly the ghost of the white lady is. Apparently, Thérèse de Saint-Clair was locked up in the tower because her husband was extremely jealous. He left her there until she died and then buried her body in the walls. Supposedly people have been claiming to see her ghost for centuries.

Afterwards, nearby we went to "Les Cabanes du Breuil." These are old stone huts from before the mid-15th century, though they don't know exactly when they were built. The stone homes are similar to the stone rooms I was telling you about, except they are completely made of stone. They placed the stones just right so that they didn't need any kind of cement, which I thought was pretty cool...

Anyway, headed to Montpellier really early tomorrow, so I don't have time to post pictures. Will try and do soon!

WWOOFing Part I: Dordogne

I am currently writing you from the lovely Paunat, France in the lovely Dordogne region. The Dordogne is known as the "Region of 1001 Castles" because there are just soooo many. It is also the sight of "The valley of man3 because Lascaux (the oldest cave paintings in the world) are found here. Apparently it is the second most visited area next to Paris. Nearing the end of my journey to get here, I was lucky enough to pass the Chateau Beynac, which sits on a cliff sitting over a medieval town and apparently is the sight of many a medieval movie. When I arrived at Paunat, I was floored. In Paunat there is an impressive church from the 12th century and, as most towns and villages are in the Dordogne, all the homes are made of cream colored stone. I couldn't believe it when I arrived that this was what I was going to call home for a week. WWOOF stands for World Wide Organization of Organic Farmers and is a network that connects people to organic farmers around the world. The intention is to help spread awareness of organic farms and local produce. Travelers have the opportunity to stay with an organic farming family for free (includes your room and food)in exchange for work they do on the farm. It is a great way to experience a totally different way of life, learn a new language, or see a portion of the country you wouldn't normally get the opportunity to. I know you're all thinking, There is NO way Kristen is going to work on a farm. I was a little worried to, so I held onto my apartment in Le Havre just in case things went sour. WWOOFing here at this particular farm is a lot different than I thought it would be... For starters, I thought I would be living on a farm, very isolated and remote. However, the people I am staying with have a home in a village. The home is modern and filled with all the paintings that the woman here had done before hand. Her name is Fabienne and she is quite an interesting woman. Until 2008, Fabienne lived in Bordeaux as a painter, and from the works she has in her home, she was a great one. She has a son from a previous marriage, but since the village is pretty remote, he boards at his high school and only comes home for holidays and weekends. I am staying in his room, and when he is home he will stay on a fold out couch, which I feel bad about, but he doesn't seem to mind. Anyway, in 2008 Fabienne started growing organic herbal plants. A lot of the plants are used for tea, but there are also spices for food. The plot of land she farms on is about a mile and a half away from the home. It has been raining in all of Europe for the last month, so it's been a rough going for farmers. I was sort of preparing myself to be taken advantage of, but in fact I feel like it's the opposite. I feel like they haven't given me nearly enough work to justify eating their food and staying in their home! I arrived on Monday around 5pm and Fabinne had taken the day off, so we just sat in front of the house, admiring the beautiful church before us. They decided at the end of the night to play Scrabble, which obviously just isn't even remotely fair, since it was in French. The next day, I woke up early and went walking. I hiked all around and found some nice trails and got up on a hill to overlook a river and beautiful white cliffs. I returned for lunch, and then Fabienne and I headed to her farm. We planted some sage and another plant that I forgot the name of. I got to use a hoe for the first time, and we had a good laugh about it because I was pretty bad at it. But there wasn't really a lot to do, so we finished just after two hours of work. She showed me the town where she was born, which is also where she keeps her supplies and dries out her produce for teas and such. It's another adorable town! At the end of the day, we needed to pick up her partner, Julien. He's a strapping young guy who works on vegetables, though he just started working with her this year, so there aren't any really yet. Julien was at a plant fair in Cadouin, a near by town. The town is another beautiful one, and there is also a nice church. We hung out with other farmers, and I tuned out and day dreamed as they talked about the weather and markets and customers. We headed back, and I was exhausted. Today I was supposed to work in the morning, but it had rained all night, so Fabienne said we couldn't work that morning. I borrowed a bike from them and biked to a near by town called St. Alvère that has ruins of an old castle. The town was very quiet and sleepy- even the tourist information office was closed! I should also mention, biking here is terrifying. There is just so much uphill biking it's crazy, then suddenly your speeding downhill, which terrifies me after my little biking accident on Block Island. Their bike is also really old fashioned and has the gear shifters down by your knees on the body of the bike and no kickstand. After lunch, I figured I'd work, but they had someone come to renew their organic product certification. Apparently they had changed the lands they were using, which required a lot of paperwork to be filled out and visiting the areas. So after resting and reading for a bit, I set out on food to find some walking trails in the forest. The trails were unbelievably beautiful with little waterfalls and everything. Fabienne happened to pass me on the side of the road. She was ready for me to work. We planted some cammomile, then met up with Julien and helped him to plant squash. I really like planting, believe it or not. I get to sit in the dirt and put these cute little plants in the holes that Fabienne made and I use my hands to push the dirt back. Because of the rain, the dirt is soft and cool. And since I'm only working about 2 hours per day, it's not really a strain at all. This is obviously not the "real" farmers life I imagined. It's better! For pictures check out: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150747108476319.390589.544216318&type=3&l=883dc60ef5

Spain Part 4: From Barcelona to Madrid and Segovia!

When I left off, my mom and Martha were packing and on their way back to NY! Kristen and I stayed in Barcelona one more night before heading over to Madrid. We stayed in an adorable hotel called the Hotel Girona that had an old fashioned elevator (the kind that you have to slide the gate open), pink walls, and old furniture and paintings. We had a cute little room with two twin beds. The room had a TV (with CNN International!) and a SHOWER! Yes, that’s right, a shower right in the room. Too funny. There was also a really nice shower down the hall. The hotel made me feel like I was in a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. The only complaint I have is that the walls in the hotel are thin and there is a window above your door so when anyone else gets up early in the morning, it will wake you up. But it was cute and cheap and I’m young so I can’t complain too much. Kristen and I were pretty tuckered out from all the travelling with mom & Martha, so we had a little siesta. After us sleeping beauties awoke, Kristen had an appointment at Barcelona University because she is interested in studying cognitive linguistics there. I went along with her to check out the campus while she had an interview. The campus is absolutely gorgeous. The university was established in 1450, making it twice the age of the United States. Amazing! The university is similar in respect and history to the Sorbonne in Paris, but the Sorbonne is not so easy to visit and Barcelona University (UB) is completely open to the public. The university technically has several campuses around Barcelona, but I believe we visited the original site of the university, and thus it is quite old and beautiful. The campus had beautiful trees, ponds, and plants for me to wander around in. When I was tired of the plants I went into the buildings. The halls are stone and have beautiful wooden doors, and in the hall where the president and other administrators have their offices there is beautiful art and architecture. The library reminded me of the library in Beauty and the Beast, with old books in wooden cases. After her interview, I showed Kristen the library. I think she could get comfortable studying in the leather chairs in this library! The next day we took the seven hour bus to Madrid. Arriving in the evening, I met up with my friend Matt who is teaching English in Madrid (just like I’m doing in Le Havre). We went out to dinner at restaurant called Casa Mingo. The atmosphere is stereotypical Spanish and I could tell a lot of tourists go there. The food to get is the chicken roast, chorizo, and cider. Delicious! The food was also reasonably priced and comes in a large quantity. The next day (International Women’s Day!) I met up with Kristen after Matt headed to work. We met at the Plaza del Sol and popped into a bakery called La Mallorquina. It is one of the oldest bakeries in Spain! I had a napolitana, which was an amazing pastry with cream in it. Before leaving, Kristen demanded I try a yemas. A yemas is actually a candied egg yolk. When you look at it, it’s pretty firm and yellow and you can see its sugared coating. They are super dense and delicious. They look small, but don’t be deceived by this traditional Spanish pastry: it’s very heavy, so only eat one! Afterwards, we met Matt and ate nearby at La Finca de Susana. It was a restaurant that had been recommended to Aunt Martha by a co-worker who lives in Madrid. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find it with Aunt Martha, but I was still determined to find it and try it. It is known for being absolutely beautiful and classy but also really reasonably priced and it lived up to its expectation. I had a creamy tomato soup for a starter and shrimp, mussels, and cod with potatoes for the main dish. So, so, so delicious!!! Afterwards, Kristen, Matt, and I wandered through the Malasaña area to look at really cute shops and boutiques. Kristen knew some specific shops to look at and from there we wandered around. The shops ranged from reasonable second-hand shops to extraordinarily priced boutiques. They had some really interesting things and beautiful clothes. In the same area at the Plaza Dos de Mayo, Kristen and I then went to get our hair cut at a very well known hair dresser, called Corto y Cambio. It’s the same hairdresser where Penelope Cruz apparently got a hair cut! At night, we met Kristen’s friend Jessica at a bar called Richelieu. Kristen’s friend Jessica is teaching English in Madrid as well and it was great to meet her. Jessica is absolutely hilarious, and I loved that she pronounced Richelieu (a French cardinal that was very powerful, pronounced “rish-lee-oo”) as “Richie Lou.” The bar was really classy, with a lot of older men in suits sitting at the bar and well dressed women sitting on the leather couches. The drinks are a little expensive by Spanish standards, but they come with endless tapas. They kept bringing out more and more peanuts, sliced sausage, chips, and pinxtos (tapas on small slices of toasted baguette bread). Every time we finished one plate, a new one came along. Finally Jessica burst out, “WE NEED TO STOP EATING!” We looked around. None of the other Spaniards were touching their plates, which were all mostly full. A hilarious culture difference I find between western Europeans and Americans is that western Europeans see food as a decoration, meant as a courtesy and politeness to the guest, but in the US we are raised to eat all the food in front of us, it would be rude not to. Thus, without realizing it, we were going through plates of tapas, thinking that was polite and what we should do, and the server kept bringing us more, because he thought that was polite. The next day (Friday) I went to Segovia. Segovia is a beautiful medieval town with a castle that is rumored to be what the Disney castle was based off of. After arriving by bus, I headed to the tourist information office and was floored by the sight of a massive Roman aqueduct. My first thought was, this is the aqueduct I have seen in all my history textbooks in high school, I’m sure. Its unbelievably huge, I can’t even fully describe it. It cuts the main square and makes the bold statement that the Romans wanted it to make: permanent power and strength. Despite thousands of years passing by, the aqueduct still stands tall and strong. I walked up the stairs on the side to reach the top and look out over the aqueduct and into the distance to see beautiful snowcapped mountains. This was my favorite moment in Segovia I think. I then proceeded to walk through the city. Unfortunately it was very cold that day. I paid to go into the cathedral, but it was even more cold and, after seeing the one in Toledo, a bit lackluster. Continuing through the town, is walked through the Jewish quarter, which was essentially wiped out during the inquisition and is more nominal (in my opinion) than anything. There was a church that had once been the site of a Jewish temple, but that was all. This part of Spanish history is very depressing and upsetting. When I made it to the castle, I was a little disappointed. There is a lot of hype about the castle at Segovia, so I had a really high expectation for it. But in the end, all I could think was, Cinderella’s is better. Inside there isn’t a great deal to see. There are some nice views of the brown countryside from the windows in the castle, and some armor and art in the exhibits. There was some kind of military history museum inside as well, but it was mostly all in Spanish and, to me, very boring. The best part is going up the tower. The tower is a stereotypical Rapunzel tower that makes you feel like prince charming might just be below, or perhaps knights and their army are rushing towards you at top speed in attack. From here you have a breathtaking view off the city at the foot of the beautiful mountains. I then headed out of the castle and walked on a footpath that follows beneath the walls of the city. Yes, they still have the old fortified walls! Crazy! It was nice to do a little hiking outside of the city- in many ways, all of this city seeing, I was starting to miss the earth! I then had lunch at a restaurant called Le Tunnel that was not so good, but I had a beer at the bar while waiting, and for only €1.30 I had a small beer and a slice of Spanish tortilla. Finally returning to Madrid, I met Kristen and Jessica at Jessica’s apartment. It turns out that Jessica has an amazing apartment with a balcony! We sat and had wine in the warm sun with a beautiful view of the city. In the evening, we met up with Katie, a friend of Kristen and Jessica, and had drinks at a work collective that she interns at called The Hub. The Hub is a really cool concept that started in the US (surprisingly), where they collaborate on new ideas and help (mostly young) entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. I was speaking with one guy who wants to start a social network that is around books. It was interesting to see, and I really liked the concept. My last and final day in Spain was sad. Kristen, Matt, and I wandered around the Chueca area of Madrid. The area is famous because it was the spot where a lot of gay culture in Spain takes seed, and is apparently the largest gay community in Spain. We stopped in the Mercado San Anton which was similar to the Mercado San Miguel. This seemed a bit more upscale, as it was indoors, though on the roof there is a bar with couches and chairs, so we stopped to have a drink and enjoy the sun. After, we ate at a trendy restaurant called Ojala. In the basement, there is sand and at night it is open and you can enjoy your drinks in a beach-like setting. During the day, however, the basement isn’t open, though the upstairs is also quite cool, with neon pink and yellow lights and yummy food, such as guacamole and a yummy wrap. In the evening we ate at a new restaurant called Mérimée, which has the slogan, “Fancy Food & Cocktail Club.” Funny slogan! The food was quite fancy, and yummy, and the atmosphere was definitely on the fancy side as well. We then wandered through the Malasaña area, checking out all the fun bars they have there. Because it was a Saturday, a lot of them were so packed you couldn’t really have a drink or anything. But what was great about them is they were all so different. There were bars with old toy memorabilia on the walls, a books and wine bar, and a bar with all repurposed materials that were made into new furniture. The next day, I returned to France, completely exhausted from this epic two week adventure. It has actually been about two months since this all went down. Since then I have visited many other places, but this Spain trip was by far the most exciting and action-packed, so I wanted to take the time to write about it fully. I will update soon about some of the other things I have done and the places I have visited, but this Spain trip was one of the highlights of my year. I hope you enjoyed and I didn’t drag it out too much!!! Also, I’m sorry I have not posted more regularly. I have started working on a friend’s blog, Sensible Reason, where I help write and edit posts. Please feel free to check it out at www.SensibleReason.com. It is an anything blog, though it is mostly about music and the arts. Hope you enjoy! Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150642002461319.385145.544216318&type=3&l=cd888f55cb http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150673065396319.387683.544216318&type=3&l=90f66323ad

Spring Break Part III: Barcelona!

On day 7 (Saturday) we had a flight from the tiny little Grenada airport to Barcelona. The flight was only about an hour, but there really doesn't seem to be any other way to go between the two cities.

This time, we didn't stay at a hotel, but in a private apartment. I really liked the freedom of this. Obvious draw backs are that you only get one set of towels for your stay, so no fresh towles every day. But it had a cute little balcony and two twin beds and a futon, so it fit all of us comfortably. The freedom was really great as well. We had a full kitchen! And next door was a cheap little grocery store, so we kind of went to town on the food. Kristen's a great cook as well, and I enjoy cooking with her, so we did a TON of cooking, as you'll see.

Mom had bought a beautiful tapas recipe book in Grenada, and the first thing we did in Barcelona was take advantage of it. The first things we made in Barcelona (because there is a lot more cooking to be done) were: york ham and Manchego cheese (cheese from the La Mancha region) tortilla; stuffed red peppers with crab meat and cream cheese; a dish of garbanzo beans, chorizo, onion, and bell pepper (which I loved to call a salad, and Kristen continually pointed out that it is not, in fact, a salad); and sauteed zucchini.

To curb our wino appetite, we drank cava on the side. Cava is a sparkling wine from the Catalonia region, which is the region where Barcelona is found. Even the most expensive cava is cheaper than the cheapest champagne it seemed. And it was delicious! I'm starting to question why I chose to study French and not Spanish...

It was already night time, so we figured we would go out for a bit to see the town. We walked down a large boulevard just at the corner of our street, called Las Ramblas. In the distance ahead of us, hovering in the sky above the city, we could always see this lighted church that looked kind of like a castle; I couldn't take my eyes off it. We stopped in a cool lounge for another glass of cava, though after getting our order, we watched the bar tender making another drink that was sangria made with cava and fresh fruits. Definitely should have gotten that!

The next day (day 8 of our trip), we slept “in” (9am). For breakfast we had strawberries, left over tortilla, oranges, and coffee. Since it was the first Sunday of the month, many museums were free. We went to the beautiful Catalan museum (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) which was located in the National Palace, which was built for the 1929 World's Fair. The museum covered art throughout history from the Catalunyan region. In it there was a gorgeous exhibit on Romanesque church frescos. These frescos had been isolated in the Pyrenees which caused them to be cut off from the Spanish style and take more from the south and central French style and they were similar to a style used in manuscripts. All of the art was found in old churches and what makes the exhibit unique is how they try to recreate the outline of the churches so that when you look at the frescos you can try and envision how they were meant to look.

There was also a great Gothic and Renaissance art collection. There were beautiful altar pieces and artwork from these time periods. We were all astounded by the attention to detail in the pieces. There were some paintings where the fabric on the clothing looked so real, you could almost touch it.

The view from the museum was also great. It’s up on a hill overlooking the city. It’s also located near the metro stop Espayna where there is the city’s bull ring.

We then hopped back on the metro and headed to the gothic quarter. There was a cool little market selling organic and locally produced products. Some of the things they sold were marmalades, jams, artisanal chocolates, organic cava, bees wax, and honey. The market was located in a pretty little square under the Basilica del Pi.

Then, we went for Basque tapas at a place called Irati that was delicious! I ate crab and mayo on bread with shredded hardboiled egg whites, red sweet bell pepper stuffed with cod and breaded and fried and served on toast, and shrimp wrapped in melted cheese and ham and breaded and deep fried and served on toast. For drinks we had Txocoli, a sparkling wine from the Basque region.

Afterwards, we headed back to the apartment to rest up. Kristen and I used left over crab and creamcheese with mixed pepper mixed in from the night before and, inspired by the tapa I had, we boiled eggs and sliced and chopped them and pan fried some bread and served the crab on the bread with the egg on top. So delicious and very, very easy!

We tried to go to the Picasson Museum but since it was free the line was massive so we couldn’t go in. So instead we headed to the marina around sunset. There was another street market where we got to try really yummy handmade candies (kind of like the Haribo candies, but much, much nicer). It was jelly-like on the inside.

We then walked down to the beach. I put my toes in the Mediterranean Sea for the second time!

We then walked to the gothic quarter. There is a cool little bridge in this quarter on the Carrer del Bisbe Irurita. The buildings also have gargoyles coming off of them and the streets are winding, so you really do get the feeling the area came from medieval times, which is when many of the buildings were built.

Randomly, we stumbled on two male opera singers who were just unbelievable. There was a whole crowd around them, filling the tiny narrow streets surrounding the small square they were singing in. With the stone buildings and gargoyles hanging above them, it was quite an unbelievable sight.

We then continued to wander through the gothic quarter and headed back towards the apartment. On the walk back, we passed the Basilica del Pi, where we had seen the food market earlier. There was a line outside the church, so we asked a young Spanish guy at the front what was going on. Apparently there was going to be a concert in twenty minutes. The musician Xavier Coll was to be performing on several different classical Spanish guitars. I convinced everyone to go, even though there seemed to be some uncertainty. Well, it was absolutely amazing!!! It was in a small gothic chapel in the church, so it was a very intimate setting and also very cool, with stone walls and high vaulted arches. Coll is apparently a very famous classical guitarist. He played on four different guitars from four different time periods: Vihuela (Renaissance), Guitarra barroca (Baroque), Guitarra romantica, and Guitarra modernia. The whole thing was so wonderful and spur of the moment. We were all so glad we decided to do it! How lucky!

The ninth day of our trip, Monday, was a more relaxed day. Just to make you jealous, I’ll tell you what we had for breakfast: fruit, scrambled eggs with brie and ham, and toasted baguette with salmon and cream cheese. We then headed to the Sagrada Familia (“Sacred/Holy Family”). This basilica is the master work of Antoni Gaudi, the great artist and architect of Barcelona. You can see many apartments and parks done by Gaudi, but the Sagrada Familia is his most ambitious work.

Gaudi began working on the Sagrada Familia in 1883. Gaudi died in 1926 and less than a quarter of the basilica was actually completed. After his death, there was some dispute about whether or not to complete the basilica at all or to leave it as is. Finally, after the Spanish Civil War, building began to recommence. The pretty expensive fees you pay to enter are “donations” to the construction and completion of the cathedral. The cathedral is built through private donations only and it is believed to be completed in 2026, the centennial of Gaudi’s death. We took a tour that was very interesting, and the guide explained to us that while it may seem that the progress has thus far been very slow and therefore it is not possible to complete the basilica by 2026, in fact thanks to findings of Gaudi’s drawings and new technologies, they are able to build at a much faster rate than Gaudi was able to build it.

Gaudi had a very unique and interesting style of art. The Sagrada Familia was both gothic and Art Nouveau. The outside of the building is quite cool. The oldest part of the basilica is my favorite- it looks as if the structure is made of wax and is melting in the sun. Inside, the massive columns spread out above you, like giant trees. In fact, Gaudi was greatly influence by nature and the columns are meant to look like trees and give the impression that one is inside a great forest.

There are many interesting and great details about the basilica, and if you do go, I greatly suggest getting an audio guide or taking the tour. There is a video in the crypt/basement of the church, where you will also find an exhibit on Gaudi’s method and the science behind his architecture. If you don’t have a tour, I would suggest going straight to the movie and watching it first. It gives a lot on the history of the basilica and Gaudi’s methods.

We also did the climb up to the top of the basilica. It is also extra, but well worth it. Up there, you have an amazing view of Barcelona and an up close look at the top of the basilica. You can also see just how high the builders go to continue the construction of this massive piece of architecture.

After, we headed to the apartment for lunch. We made some shrimp and had leftovers. I don’t think I’ve talked about shrimp yet. Apparently we Americans eat our shrimp very differently from the rest of the world. We like our shrimp without the shell, the head, the legs, and the intestines. If you’re having a meal that has a need for small shrimps (such as the Basque tapas I had had earlier in the week), they will already be all cleaned up. But, for the most part, when you buy shrimp, they have the whole thing, and if you get a seafood platter, it will also generally include the works. It’s quite messy business, and I have friends here who tell me “sucking out the brains from the head is the best part!” It makes eating shrimp quite a bit of work, but it’s still just as yummy! Besides shrimp, we also had the chickpeas and chorizo “salad,” stuffed red peppers (still more!), hand cut potato chips with an aioli sauce that Aunt Martha bought at the market. Oh, and we topped off 2 bottles of wine!

Feeling happy, we decided to walk towards the water by going down side streets instead of Las Ramblas. There was a cool market similar to the Mercado San Miguel in Madrid, except a little more “grungy” and less high class. There were some cool and yummy things there, like fruit drinks, gelato (I had a gelato with cookie and Kinder egg!), and cool candies. There was also a meat stand with very strange/different kinds of meat: bull balls, penis, and tongue!

We continued down the side streets, passing the statue of Columbus, heading towards the marina for sunset. We then headed back up to the apartment to have more wine and to pack. So sad to leave Mom and Aunt Martha! There is still one more part of my trip in Spain to come! Kristen and I spend two more days in Barcelona and then head off to Madrid, where I do a day trip to Segovia.

Photos of Part 3: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150631869626319.383812.544216318&type=3&l=de4c94d003

Spain Trip, Part 2: Madrid and Grenada

When I left you guys off, we were on day 4 in Toldedo. I’m sorry it’s take so long for the update! I’ve been having problems with my computer. Part 3 will be up soon, I’ve already gotten a jump on it.

The next day, Thursday, we were back in Madrid. First, we headed to the Templo Debod. This old Egyptian temple was given to Spain in 1968 after Spain had helped to salvage many Egyptian artifacts that were to be lost as a result of the creation of the dam Aswan. It’s a really cool feature of Madrid. You can go inside and see old hieroglyphs (though all the information was in Spanish). If you go around the back of the temple, there is a beautiful view of the west side of Madrid and if you look to the left you can see the cathedral and palace.

We then headed over to the Malasaña area of Madrid to look at cool boutiques, such as Kristen’s favorite, Biscuit. We had lunch at a restaurant right nearby called La Musa. This was our favorite restaurant of the trip by far. For a starter our choices were either a delicious salad or lasagna. For the main course Aunt Martha ordered the spinach and fish with a creamy pea sauce. Mom & I ordered the curry on skewers with vegetables. Aunt Martha and I looked at each other’s plates and immediately wanted the others’! So we ended up sharing. Both options were excellent! Then, for dessert we all split three things: fried banana with chocolate drizzle, tiramisu, and arroz con leche (Spanish rice pudding). Soooooooooo good! And the atmosphere of the restaurant was excellent as well. Would highly recommend.

Afterwards, we walked around for a few more hours, went back to the hotel to rest, and then at night we went out for tapas and drinks. We passed a giant protest in the Plaza del Sol, thought I’m not too sure what the protest was about. Then we headed to Calle Baja and Alta and one of the streets (I think Alta?) was pretty dead with no bars, but the other had tapas bar after tapas bar. The best one we went to (can’t remember the name) was delicious. We had a bunch of tapas there, but one that sticks out in my mind is the goat cheese with grilled veggies on a slice of toasted bread. After, we had more tapas at a bar where there were pictures of bull fighters all over the walls. Our server was very sweet- he was from Latin America and had moved to Madrid many years ago and was not engaged to an American girl and was going to move to Texas with her! So sweet.

On the walk back we stopped at Malaspiña for a final drink before heading back to the hotel to meet with Kristen!

The next morning we took a bus to Granada. The ride was about 5 hours or so, but it really went by quickly. We stayed at the hotel Alixares right near the Alhambra (will talk more about that later, but what you need to know now is that it is a beautiful palace that had been built by the Muslims when the had conquered Spain). The hotel was super comfortable with a delicious buffet breakfast.

After settling into the hotel, we walked down the foot path past the Alhambra towards town. We walked a bit through the beautiful town and walked up the hill to try and get to the vista, Mirador San Nicolas. It was a bit of a hike up a steep hill, but the view was totally worth it. Because it is the end of winter, the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance behind the Alhambra were snowcapped. We got there before sunset, so we were able to get both photos of the Alhambra during the day and light up at night. We went to a nearby terrace café with a view of the Alhambra for some drinks and patatas bravas (yummy French fries with a spicy tomato sauce).

We then headed off to the Plaza Nueva for some more drinks and tapas. At one amazing tapas bar (if you ever go, you’ll recognize it because there are actually two of them across the street from each other) we had ship in a garlic sauce and tortilla with ham and lima beans. We finished off at the end of the plaza in a really gorgeous restaurant for dessert. Here we had a nuts and raspberry “cake.” This wasn’t a regular cake (it did not have dough or anything). Instead, the nuts were used as“dough” with yummy raspberry on top. It had a very unique texture and flavor and was delicious!

The next day we visited the Alhambra. Here is some quick info on the Alhambra, thanks to Wikipedia. The Alhambra, “is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada,Andalusia, Spain. It was constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in al-Andalus… After the Reconquista (reconquest) by the Reyes Católicos ("Catholic Monarchs") in 1492, some portions were used by the Christian rulers. The Palace of Charles V, built by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527, was inserted in the Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was "discovered" in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the inspiration for many songs and stories.”

The actual visit includes a ton of stuff and can easily take the entire time you have there (you MUST reserve a time slot in advance online). I think our time slot was something to the tune of 9am to 1pm. And then you also get a time slot to visit the palace, which is the highlight of the trip. Our time slot was 10am. You need to arrive to the Alhambra gates at least half an hour before your palace time slot so you have enough time to walk to the palace and everything. I would also DEFINITELY recommend the audio guide, since there is pretty much no information on the entire visit. The audio was great too- I really liked how they used the American writer Washington Irving’s “character” to guide you through. Irving had lived in the Alhambra and wrote Tales of the Alhambra, and the audio guide used quotes from his book as well as other quotes, music, description, and facts to give you a great sense of how awe inspiring this palace really is. The Alhambra palace is also interesting because, when it was taken over by Queen Ferdinand and Isabella, it was where it is believe that Columbus was sent to discover the Americas. We pretty much took the entire hour and a half you get in the palace. Afterwards, we saw the gardens, fortified wall, and palace that was used for when the king and his family wanted to have a little vacation from their regal roles.

We rested for a while and then headed out to lunch. We took a little shuttle bus down to the Christopher Columbus statue in the town. For lunch we had a salad with hard boiled eggs, corn, white asparagus (apparently very popular in Spain), heart of palm and more. Then we split a lima beans and ham tortilla, croquettes (round, small, fried rolls containing potato and vegetables), and slicked and fried eggplant (called aubergine in the UK!).

After, we headed off to the cathedral of the city. The cathedral was built over the main mosque of the city to show that the Reconquista was done in honor of God and Christianity and not for the personal glory of the king and queen. The cathedral took 180 years to build! It is absolutely massive. While we were in the cathedral, there was a study abroad group being led by their teacher on a tour. Most of them weren’t even paying attention to the guide and were just off to the side. Meanwhile, we tried to stand off to the side of them, snooping in on the information. I learned that the two giant organs that are there are done in the Spanish style and that you can tell because the organ pipes stick straight out. I also learned that it was built as a Renaissance style church, but there are gothic arches. Either way, it’s so embarrassing to me when you see American study abroad program. Usually they couldn’t give less of a damn about the culture or language of the city they’re in and they have no shame in being completely ignorant about their country of study.

Next, we headed to another part of the church, but there is a separate entrance way and entrance fee. It is the tomb of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. When Ferdinand ordered the making of this cathedral, it was intended to be the resting place of the bodies of all the subsequent kings of Spain. However, after his son Philip I and his wife Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad) were buried there, the official burial place of all subsequent kings and queens became just outside of Madrid (And it still is! You can go there to see it, though I didn’t have enough time). Anyway, you can see this burial site of Ferdinand, Isabella, Philip I and Juana. There are the death statues (that’s not the correct term for them, I’m sure, but they’re huge marble carvings of the king and queen laying to rest peacefully). What is interesting about this is they say that the reason Isabella’s head lies deeper into the pillow (which you can actually see) is because she was the real brains of the royal couple. Beneath, you can actually walk down and see the coffins of Ferdinand, Isabella, Philip, Juana, and I think their child who must have died at a young age or even birth. Pretty strange actually seeing a 500+ year old coffin and knowing that famous kings and queens are lying in there.

The reason why Juana is called la Loca, FYI, is because apparently after her husband Philip I (known as “the beautiful” because of his fair skin and light hair)she was so in love with him and mourned for him so much that she had his casket carried around behind her until her death. Slightly romantic, slightly creepy. Her son found this more on the side of creepy and had her banished to a nunnery, which is pretty sad.

Besides this morbid stuff, there are also cool artifacts. There is the scepter of Isabella and the crown and sword of Ferdinand. You can also see Isabella’s bible and the case for it. And there are lots of nice paintings.

After leaving this, we stumbled on an art school (I think that’s what it was) that had its doors open and you can go in and see the only remains of the mosque that the cathedral was built over/the only remains of any ancient mosque built by the Muslim conquerors. We were so glad we stumbled on that- it was so cool, and Kristen had been to Granada 3 other times and had never seen that! Plus, they have a really nice, free art gallery by some artist named Vivaldi (I only remember his name because it’s the same as the music composer). Definitely a fun, cool find!


We then headed over to the Arabic quarter. This “quarter” is really just a street full of shops and tea/hooka houses. They all have this really cool feel that you’ve been transported to the middle east. Our first stop was a tea house. We tried some delicious middle eastern/north African tea some baklava. Baklava is a pastry known to be from North Africa and (according to Wikipedia) is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
We also ordered a hooka for the novelty of it. Afterwards, we walked along the shops, which had a lot of trinkets and cool hippie clothing. I got a pair of cool balloon pants (I don’t actually think they’re called that, but they are basically huge, wide pants that are cinched at each ankle).

We also find a ceramics store just a little off this street. Ceramics are big in Spain. Each area/ region has their own style. Kristen loves Spanish pottery, especially the style from Granada. The style is usually hand painted blue and white lines on white pottery, usually around a bird or a pomegranate (Pomegranate is actually what Granada means in Spanish and it is the symbol of Granada and can be seen all around the city).

We then rushed to the hotel, ate a snack, got dressed, and we were off to the races! Or really, a flamenco show. The show provided a shuttle that picked us up right from the hotel and a walking tour of the area the show is in, though we were so beat, we opted to go straight to the place where the show is to have a drink. The place was called Los Tarantos and it’s built into the rock wall of the hill. Flamenco, according to Kristen, was brought to Spain by the gypsies who migrated all the way from India (there are different types of gypsies, so not all gypsies are of the same culture and origin in different countries). Therefore, flamenco has a lot of hand motions that look similar to motions made in Indian dance. Also, the tones are in a different style from the traditional western style and are identifiable with Indian music. There is also a heavy presence of the beat and sort of syncopation that was not really seen in western music until the modern era. Anyway, we got to the show early and had a chance to chat with the public relations manager of the show. He was very sweet and had actually once lived in California. We talked with him and he offered us our first round of drinks on him!

Afterwards, we went inside to see the show. The place where the show is, is very tiny and has a cool intimate atmosphere. You also get a free drink. If you decide to go, get the strong liquor or beer- the wine they use for the sangria is super cheap and no bueno. The show was fantastic and they tried to get someone from the audience to come up on stage and give it a whirl. One person who went up seems to have actually studied it or something and was quite good (show off!). After the amazing show, we headed to the hotel to rest. Up next: Barcelona!!!

For photos, check out: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150591342716319.378084.544216318&type=3&l=05e391bbbb