I'm in the process of moving all of my crap across town, literally, and I've walked back and forth between my two apartments more times than I would have liked.
Since it's the weekend and the weather has been quite nice, there are lots of familiar faces out and about for me to run into. Today put a big smile on my face and even made me laugh out loud.
On my first trip to the other side of Canet, I ran into a few of my 6th grade boys on their way to play some soccer in the plaza near my house. It was sunny, but the wind was picking up and the weather report today said "chance of rain". I could feel the eminent rain drops in the air.
I kept trekking, ran into the P.E. teacher and his new wife (whose wedding I actually went to), then finally made it to my new abode. After being inside the house for about 10 minutes, I heard a little thunder which was quickly followed by buckets of summer rain. Luckily, I was smart enough to bring along an umbrella. I just wasn't smart enough to wear shoes today. My new street, by the way, is called Torrent dels Lledoners-- yes, as in a torrent of water rushing down my street (dels Lledoners is not important for the purpose of this story).
I waited for the rain to dissipate for a while until I decided it was time to head back. As soon as I walked out the front door, I knew I would end up wet. I walked along the river on the narrow, high sidewalk, until it ended. I had to cross the river. There was no way around it. I just rolled up my jeans and walked through the calf-deep rushing water. Upside, its not cold today, and the water was tepid. Downside , I had to sqwish and sqwash in my wet flip-flops the whole way home.
Not many people were out at this point. Lazy sunday afternoon+rain= people stay inside. I came upon a family walking to their car. Two young boys, about 6 and 8 years old, trailed behind their parents in summer clothing and leather spanish sandals. The street we were walking on was at a slope, and water rushed towards all of our feet. Ignoring their mothers' wishes, the boys walked through the deepest part of the street and got as wet as they could. When they came to the stairs they had to go up, the boys screamed " Una cascada a l'escalas!!" (a waterfall on the stairs). They were right. As the parents got more angry, the kids had more fun. "Es com una dutxa per als peus!" (it's like a shower for your feet) They were sooo happy and so goddamn cute that I just started laughing out loud.
Then when I got back around the plaza, I saw the same few boys I had seen earlier...still playing soccer. Only difference-- they were completely drenched. It looked like they had just gotten out of the shower, but the smiles on their faces said it all. I stopped and talked to them for a while, but not wanting to distract them from their important match, I was soon on my way.
These afternoon hours are the best, and they're usually what I missed during the week when I was either at work or at home giving lessons. Now I will dedicate this time to strolling around and people watching.
Happiness.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Girona and Figueres
It was rather disappointing to be greeting by very gray weather on our return to Catalunya. But there was no way I was going to let that get in the way of our plans!
Girona is a gorgeous city, rain or shine, and I had been looking forward to going to the Dali Museum-Theater in Figueres for a while, so go we did.
This was at my favorite crêpe/salad place: Creperie Bretonne Annaíck.
Of course, I got my food last. Why does this consistently happen to me??
If you go to Girona you have to kiss the lioness' bottom. By kissing it you make a promise to return...and I've definitely come back "moltes vegades" since my kiss in October.
Dali-ness!!
The two paintings above were part of a series. The paintings themselves are of one thing right-side up, and then the upside-down image reflected on the bottle is something completely different. (find don quixote on the first bottle, a naked woman on the second)
A few of the art pieces are coin-operated and move in weird ways, or light up, or both. The two above pictures are pre-coin, and post-coin.
A Velazquez sculpture with Las Meninas painted on his forehead, among other things.
Girona is a gorgeous city, rain or shine, and I had been looking forward to going to the Dali Museum-Theater in Figueres for a while, so go we did.
Top Ten: (okay maybe there's more...)
This was at my favorite crêpe/salad place: Creperie Bretonne Annaíck.
Of course, I got my food last. Why does this consistently happen to me??
If you go to Girona you have to kiss the lioness' bottom. By kissing it you make a promise to return...and I've definitely come back "moltes vegades" since my kiss in October.
Dali-ness!!
The two paintings above were part of a series. The paintings themselves are of one thing right-side up, and then the upside-down image reflected on the bottle is something completely different. (find don quixote on the first bottle, a naked woman on the second)
A few of the art pieces are coin-operated and move in weird ways, or light up, or both. The two above pictures are pre-coin, and post-coin.
A Velazquez sculpture with Las Meninas painted on his forehead, among other things.
Next up, Madrid!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sevilla, Continuación...
We spent the most days out of our two week trip in Sevilla. Since it was Semana Santa, I knew that there would be a lot to see and that it would be harder to see everything, too. Easter is a really big deal in Andalucia, and people come from all around to see all of the processions of the incredibly ornate Virgins and of Jesus. Most of them are covered in gold and I'm sure some of them are more than 150 years old. Most of the important processions begin on Thursday night and run until Friday morning. (But there are processions every day of Semana Santa) Some of the routes last about 8 hours, and after seeing how they maneuver the floats through the itsy bitsy winding roads, I understand why. Tons of money, time, and hard work goes into the realization of this festival.
Besides that, we visited all of the amazing gardens in town, all of which are very lush and smell, like the rest of the city, AAAaammmmaaaazzzzinnng! There are orange trees planted all over because they have foliage year-round so that when the temperature rises to 100 in the summer, you can take cover under a yummy smelling tree.
One of my favorite places was the Alcazar, an old Moorish fortress/palace. I absolutely fell in love with the interior fountains, tiles, wood carvings, huge gardens....okay, well everything. We strolled around the entire grounds for about 5 hours, then it was time to eat.
Which leads me to favorite place number two: a tapas bar called Las Columnas. It took me forever to figure out where it was, even with a map (small streets that turn in every which way, and that change names every two blocks= dizzy and lost, not to mention hungry and hot) BUT it was well worth it. This place is always crazy crowded, and at lunchtime during semana santa it's insane so you gotta just get those elbows out, make a dive for the bar and yell your order as loud as you can in your best Andalusian accent. I had just as much fun ordering everything as I did eating it all. My parents had no idea what to get so I just ordered a whole bunch of stuff that my friend Maria, a Sevilla native, had recommended. First on the menu, Beer! Then some delicious "pringas", small sandwiches with shredded beef in a tomato sauce, fried eggplant with honey-sooo good!-, fried calamari, fried bacalao, patatas bravas, more beer, and round two of everything all over again. (ps sevilla has a reputation of frying lots of food, especially seafood)
This place has mostly standing room only but, luckily by the time we had gotten our first tapas, we spotted a small table in the corner open up so we hauled ass and sat down to watch the madness inside this place. When I went back to the counter for round two, the guy was staring at me like I did something wrong, but I just went ahead and ordered. When he got back with the food, he broke a smile and said "tienes unos ojos preciosos". It was so weird because he had been looking at me like he wanted to kill me! Maybe he was trying to look seductive?? All of the men that worked in this place were such characters! They were cracking jokes, dancing, singing, yelling out orders to the kitchen, filling up glasses of beer; it was like watching a play they had rehearsed all their lives, and they fit the roles perfectly. Even if the food wasn't amazing, which it was, I would have come just for the atmosphere.
Since we had rented a car for our whole stay, we spent one of the days in the town of Carmona, about 15 miles outside of Sevilla. (I posted some of the pictures in my last entry) The city has a higher elevation than the surrounding area, so it has amazing views of just about everything. It was nice to get away from the crowded streets of Sevilla for a day, and for a second I felt like I was back in Canet; small town of 15,000 where just about everyone knows each other and says hello and goodbye as they pass. I love it.
This same night, we went to go see a flamenco show at La Carboneria back in Sevilla. It's a really cool bar that has free flamenco shows almost every night, and its half-hidden on another one of the small winding streets. All I got in terms of directions from my friend was the name of the place-which isn't posted outside- and the helpful fact that at the entrance I would see a big, red, wooden door. Somehow this place was easier for me to find than Las Columnas, where we had eaten. Go figure.
We did just about every touristy thing my parents wanted to do during our stay. Since I had successfully made an effort at getting them on the Spanish schedule of life, stayed out every night until 2 or 3 am, took full advantage of every day we had, and in the end we even had time to just wander and purposely get lost. It was absolutely amazing, and I want to go back....I just don't know if ill be able to handle 100 degree weather. I don't even know what that feels like! I suppose thats why they're famous for their abanicos...
Love, Love, Love.
Besides that, we visited all of the amazing gardens in town, all of which are very lush and smell, like the rest of the city, AAAaammmmaaaazzzzinnng! There are orange trees planted all over because they have foliage year-round so that when the temperature rises to 100 in the summer, you can take cover under a yummy smelling tree.
One of my favorite places was the Alcazar, an old Moorish fortress/palace. I absolutely fell in love with the interior fountains, tiles, wood carvings, huge gardens....okay, well everything. We strolled around the entire grounds for about 5 hours, then it was time to eat.
Which leads me to favorite place number two: a tapas bar called Las Columnas. It took me forever to figure out where it was, even with a map (small streets that turn in every which way, and that change names every two blocks= dizzy and lost, not to mention hungry and hot) BUT it was well worth it. This place is always crazy crowded, and at lunchtime during semana santa it's insane so you gotta just get those elbows out, make a dive for the bar and yell your order as loud as you can in your best Andalusian accent. I had just as much fun ordering everything as I did eating it all. My parents had no idea what to get so I just ordered a whole bunch of stuff that my friend Maria, a Sevilla native, had recommended. First on the menu, Beer! Then some delicious "pringas", small sandwiches with shredded beef in a tomato sauce, fried eggplant with honey-sooo good!-, fried calamari, fried bacalao, patatas bravas, more beer, and round two of everything all over again. (ps sevilla has a reputation of frying lots of food, especially seafood)
This place has mostly standing room only but, luckily by the time we had gotten our first tapas, we spotted a small table in the corner open up so we hauled ass and sat down to watch the madness inside this place. When I went back to the counter for round two, the guy was staring at me like I did something wrong, but I just went ahead and ordered. When he got back with the food, he broke a smile and said "tienes unos ojos preciosos". It was so weird because he had been looking at me like he wanted to kill me! Maybe he was trying to look seductive?? All of the men that worked in this place were such characters! They were cracking jokes, dancing, singing, yelling out orders to the kitchen, filling up glasses of beer; it was like watching a play they had rehearsed all their lives, and they fit the roles perfectly. Even if the food wasn't amazing, which it was, I would have come just for the atmosphere.
Since we had rented a car for our whole stay, we spent one of the days in the town of Carmona, about 15 miles outside of Sevilla. (I posted some of the pictures in my last entry) The city has a higher elevation than the surrounding area, so it has amazing views of just about everything. It was nice to get away from the crowded streets of Sevilla for a day, and for a second I felt like I was back in Canet; small town of 15,000 where just about everyone knows each other and says hello and goodbye as they pass. I love it.
This same night, we went to go see a flamenco show at La Carboneria back in Sevilla. It's a really cool bar that has free flamenco shows almost every night, and its half-hidden on another one of the small winding streets. All I got in terms of directions from my friend was the name of the place-which isn't posted outside- and the helpful fact that at the entrance I would see a big, red, wooden door. Somehow this place was easier for me to find than Las Columnas, where we had eaten. Go figure.
We did just about every touristy thing my parents wanted to do during our stay. Since I had successfully made an effort at getting them on the Spanish schedule of life, stayed out every night until 2 or 3 am, took full advantage of every day we had, and in the end we even had time to just wander and purposely get lost. It was absolutely amazing, and I want to go back....I just don't know if ill be able to handle 100 degree weather. I don't even know what that feels like! I suppose thats why they're famous for their abanicos...
Love, Love, Love.
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