Hola! Que tal? (still about the extent of my Spanish language knowledge—bring on the classes!)
This week started off rainy. As mentioned in the last blog, Lucy and I decided to go on the “Sandemans” tour of Madrid, (big tour company throughout Europe that offers walking tours for FREE!), and of course the day we went was the only rainy day of the week! So be it.
It was very informational, and my head was able to wrap itself around Madrid a little better. Our tour guide was from Severna Park! Small world.
A few Madrid facts:
KATE and SAM, true lovers of Tapas. Tapas were established by a Spanish king, who went from Madrid and visited a smaller Spanish city, (I want to say Valencia?). When he arrived in the city, he headed straight to a bar where he was served ale with a slice of cured ham on top of the cup. The ham was to prevent any bugs from flying into his drink, (I guess flies were swarming the place). Instead of leaving the ham to its proper use, the king ate it, exclaiming what a good idea it was to serve a snack with a drink! And so became the tapas.
If you’ve seen the flag of Madrid, you’ve seen the bear climbing up the tree, the madrono tree where one finds madrono berries, a small red berry resembling the strawberry. Legend says, bears knew the season when the madrono berries would ripen—a ripened madrono berry can cause intoxication. Only the female bears were strong and able enough to climb the madrono tree, and so they would, in fact, climb up, become drunk off berries, and then climb back down to the pleasures of the male bears. And so “college partying” was established.
Lastly, my favorite: the site of religious unity. Forgive my historical inaccuracies, I’m going to do the best I can! It was after some Spanish war that the Muslims had won. Their intention was to unite the peoples of Madrid, regardless of religion, so they broke down their walls in the city that separated Christians from Jews from Muslims. Part of the walls still stand today, and directly behind the walls is a large, beautiful cathedral, (forget the name, we’ll have to go when you visit, Mom). In front of the walls is a fountain shaped into the Star of David. Thus, the differing religions lived in harmony for a little while during this time and the structures, (which I have pictured below), remain unscathed. Really nice! Co-exist!
At the end of the tour, one had the opportunity to purchase both a pub crawl tour ticket, and a tapas tour ticket from the same company. I bought both because they sound amazing and everything I could want from a tour.
The rest of the week has moved really fast. Met a new girl named Rachel. She is an American from Indianapolis. Really sweet, and so motivated to see everything! Already booked three trips to take with her: Barcelona, the Canary Isles, and Dublin for….ST. PADDY’S DAY! AHHH. This weekend I will be traveling to Seville, which is famous for its Flamenco dancing, (oh la la), and then hopefully next weekend I will be visiting Joe M. from SMCM! He lives on the coast near Portugal—the area is called Galacia. So traveling is under way!
Lessons have been successful this week. Working on tenses with Alicia, and written forms, (articles, letters, reviews, advertisements, etc.), with Maria. Bought the book Speak on my kindle to read with both of them. I think the content is a little mature, but it was on Alicia’s (12 yrs.) reading list! And all the girls watch Sex in the City, so, I don’t think I will worry too much about censoring them.
Still eating a lot, but running a lot, too! See the pictures below of the park I’ve been running in—it’s like a kid’s dream park.
Will blog about Seville after the weekend is done! Hope everyone is well, and please have a nice weekend, too. I’m thinking about ALL of you a lot. And missing you. And loving you from afar!
Adios, Amigos!
Mary
Me--in the oldest part of Madrid. Beheadings took place here!
The Cathedral I was telling you about.
The largest palace in Europe! Right smack dab in the middle of the city.
The park near my house :)
Another pic of it.
Lucy at the old town square!
The religious harmony image!
Spongebob and Patrick.
Hi! I'm a friend of your sister's and she told me about your blog. Sevilla is one of my favorite cities in the world. If you're still in Spain during Holy Week, it's really worth a return trip to Sevilla. The processions there are unlike anything else that I have ever seen. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary! It seems like you're having so much fun! I hope you had a lovely time in Seville...hopefully we'll talk to you soon - also, I think Speak is a good option. Have you thought about Hunger Games with them?
ReplyDeleteKate (and Tucker)
Hey Mary! Sounds like you're having a lot of fun. :) It's so awesome that you get to go see Flamenco dancing this weekend - that should definitely be a great time! I hope you enjoy your classes when they start, you definitely need to know more Spanish, haha
ReplyDeleteAnnie