Regreso a los Estados Unidos

El jueves regresé a Colorado.  Me levanté a las  siete de la mañana y salí a las nueve.  Fui en taxi con Laura al aeropuerto.  Fue interesante porque el chofer del taxi nos dijo que a él le gusta mucho la música country.  Por eso, escuchamos música country y hablamos de los EEUU.  Fue una buena manera de terminar mi viaje a España.  Estoy muy alegre decir que después de casi 20 horas de viaje llegué a mi casa y tuve la suerte de dormir en mi propia cama.  El viernes por la mañana me levanté con ambos tristeza y alegría.  Es muy triste no estar en España porque aprendí mucho durante mi tiempo allí y disfruté de la ciudad y mi vida allí.  Al mismo tiempo es muy emocionante estar en mi casa y ver a mi esposo después de tanto tiempo.

Quisiera decir gracias otra vez al comité del Examen Nacional de Español por escogerme y por darme esta buenísima oportunidad.  Fue una experiencia fenomenal y nunca la olvidaré.  Ahora España es parte de mi vida y de mi memoria.  Estoy muy emocionante tener tantas fotos y experiencias para compartir con mis estudiantes este año.  Esta experiencia ha cambiado mi vida en que me ha permitido experimentar una nueva cultura y otra manera de vivir.  Hay muchas cosas que voy a echar de menos y otras que no voy a extrañar por nada.

Some of the things I will miss about Spain include the following:

1)      The method of traveling—though it probably took much longer to get to some of the places we went, I enjoyed walking several miles every day and even enjoyed sitting/standing on the metro.

2)      The architecture—Spain is home to some of the most beautiful buildings in the world and I truly enjoyed getting to admire them on a daily basis.

3)      The terraces—I absolutely loved getting to sit outside on the terrace of any restaurant or café.  I wish more restaurants here in the US would offer outdoor seating.

4)      The method of payment—One of the best things about Spain was that everything was included.  Whether we were at a store or a restaurant the tax was always included in the price on the price tag.  At a restaurant the tip was also included.  This saved so much time and hassle and made it much easier to eat out in a big group.

5)      The palmeras and café con leche—One of my favorite morning snacks was the palmeras, a heart-shaped hard cookie that was perfect for dipping in coffee.  I will also really miss the coffee in Spain, which was always a shot of espresso (served either with or without milk and either hot or cold).

Some of the things I will not miss:

1)      The heat/the amount of sweating we did every day—Though Colorado can be hot during the summer as well, Madrid had many days that reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  When you are walking around as much and as often as we were that makes for some very sweaty days.

2)      The lack of public drinking fountains/restrooms—In order to use a restaurant anywhere in Madrid we usually had to go into a store/café and buy something.  Even then the restrooms typically did not have toilet paper or paper towels and some didn’t even have soap.  As far as water was concerned, the only water readily available was bottled water, which typically was priced well above what it should have been.

3)      The portion sizes/not being able to serve myself—The food in Madrid was generally really good, but we typically received such large portions that I could almost never finish it all and a lot of the food went to waste. 

4)      Having to be aggressive to get what you want—A couple of times while I was out I had a hard time getting service (at a restaurant, the airport, etc.) because other people came and cut in front of me and demanded that their needs be met first.  I am used to waiting patiently to get what I want.  When in Spain it seems best to speak up and be assertive—otherwise you may never get waited on.

While I’m sure there are many other things I could put on both of the above lists, I think I will end my thoughts here and suffice it to say that I had a completely wonderful and enjoyable summer.  I am happy to be home but also sad to leave.  I will never forget Spain or the wonderful people I met there and I hope that one day I will be able to return again.

Buying fans at El Rastro--the Sunday market in Madrid.

Statues of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza in the Plaza de España in Madrd.

A monument to Cristopher Columbus

The last beautiful sunset from the window of my dorm room the night before I left Spain.

Una Semana en Madrid

On Monday I took the Teleferico across a section of Madrid and got to see a great view of the city.  It was extremely hot in the car, but fortunately I had my fan with me!

 This is a view out the window of the Teleferico car.  In the distance you can see the Royal Palace of Madrid and the cathedral right next to it.

 As I enjoyed my return trip on the Teleferico I looked down and noticed a rose garden.  I investigated further and wound up walking around in the Rosaleda de Madrid.  The color of this rose reminded me of my mother-in-law and I just had to post this picture for her.

 After leaving the rose garden I continued walking through the park and ended up here, at the Temple of Debod.  I didn't actually go in, but it made for a good picture with the sun in the background.

 On Tuesday we went down to a part of Madrid known as La Playa.  In this picture we are inside of a very modern and decorative bridge that draws your attention from far away.

 This is another view of La Playa, located just down the hill from the bridge.  There are several of these water fountains and it is a lot of fun to watch the people, children and adults alike, run through the water and enjoy the sun!

 On Wednesday Sarah and I took the afternoon to go down to the Royal Botanical Garden.  As we were walking to the garden we walked past a set and got to watch as they filmed what we can only assume was a commercial.  We don't know what the commercial was for, but we had fun watching and can only hope that we might actually get to see the commercial air some day.

 After our walk in the gardens we went to a restaurant called 100 Montaditos.  While we were there this clock tower struck 8 o'clock and these six figures (including the dog) came out of it and performed a little bit of a show.

On Thursday night Ana, Laura, and I (along with a few others) took a guided tour with Leonor around Retiro Park.  

 We learned a lot about the history of the park from Leonor and enjoyed people watching and strolling around at a time when there weren't quite so many people present.

 On Friday night Ana, Sarah and I did a wine and tapas tour and flamenco show with a tour group out of Madrid.  The flamenco show took place at a small place call Las Tablas and was absolutely phenomenal.  Unfortunately this picture does the show no justice, but it was an amazing show with four very talented entertainers.

 Today I went with a group of about 25 people to a wine cellar to learn about the wine making process.  The bodega was called El Hilo de Ariadna.

 Down in the labyrinth of the bodega we came upon this minotaur.  Thankfully we escaped with our lives!

 This is a picture from the outside of the bodega.  The family who started the bodega is named Yllera.

After visiting the wine cellars we traveled into the town of Valladolid to have lunch and explore for a bit.  This is a beautiful fountain right near where we got dropped off for the afternoon.

 After lunch we walked around a bit and found this gorgeous park and rose garden right next to a river.  Valladolid is a gorgeous town and I truly enjoyed our time there.

Tomorrow we will visit the traditional Sunday market in Madrid, El Rastro.  After that I have two more days of classes and then I will be heading back to the States on Thursday!  How quickly time flies here in Madrid!

Fotos del Chinchón

"Ajo Blanco con melón" = Cold soup (milk with garlic and who knows what else in it) served with a side of melon

A bull fighting ring right in the center of the Plaza Mayor

View of the city from the clock tower

Ruins of an old castle from a hill

El Palacio Real y El Escorial

El viernes por la tarde fuimos al Palacio Real de Madrid.  Desafortunadamente, se prohíbe sacar fotos allí adentro excepto en la escalera principal. Vimos allí muchas salas elegantes, algunas con paredes de mármol y otras con paredes bordados.  También vimos la sala en que el Rey Juan Carlos firmó el documento oficial para renunciar al trono hace un mes.  Una de las cosas más increíbles que vimos fue la mesa en el comedor.  Es tan grande y larga que había más o menos sesenta sillas alrededor de ella.  Fue increíble ver un lugar tan opulento y me gustó mucho la experiencia.

Después de ir al palacio fuimos a un parque que se llama Casa de Campo.  Es el parque más grande de Madrid.  Finalmente fuimos a Puerta del Sol, una de las plazas en el centro de Madrid.  Allí vimos una manifestación, dos grupos de mariachis y unos chicos bailando breakdance.

El sábado fuimos a un monasterio que se llama El Escorial.  Allí vimos muchas cosas, pero la cosa más interesante fue el panteón en que están enterrados muchos de los reyes y las reinas de España y sus hijos.  También vimos muchas obras de arte, algunas herramientas que se usaron para construir el monasterio, unos libros muy viejos y grandes y una basílica gigante, entre otras cosas.  Después de hacer el tour del monasterio caminábamos por los jardines y sacamos muchas fotos allí de la vista de la ciudad.  Finalmente almorzamos en un restaurante pequeño.  ¡Era un día fantástico!

Hoy fuimos a un pueblo pequeño que se llama Chinchón.  Es una ciudad muy hermosa que tiene una plaza mayor, un castillo y una torre del reloj, entre otras cosas.  Voy a explicarlo más con las fotos, pero lo importante es que si pudiera, viviría en Chinchón en vez de vivir en Madrid porque me gusta mucho la gente allí, la vista del campo y la tranquilidad del pueblo.

Fotos

Lake at Parque del Retiro in Madrid

Crystal Palace at Parque del Retiro

Restaurant "El Brillante"--Supposedly has the best calamari sandwiches in all of Madrid!

Burgos

In Burgos--a line of trees that are completely connected.

My room at the dorm in Pamplona.  I was thankful to be on the fifth floor away from most of the noise!

I took this picture at about 7 a.m. before the running of the bulls actually began.

Here's the after picture!

In Biarritz, France.

In San Sebastian, Spain on our way to Biarritz.

One of the bulls they brought into the arena after the running.

Ice cream is called Glaces in France.  I didn't actually get any, but I was told that the nutella flavored kind was really good.

It turned out to be a beautiful day for swimming and lying out on the beach.  Unfortunately the water was a little dirty, but we went in anyways and had a great time.

One of the outdoor concerts in Pamplona