NYR #34: Touch the grass at Santiago Bernabeu

This one didn't technically get done, nor did I even take advantage of the fact that I was in Madrid to go watch a Real Madrid game (and watch the most attractive man on earth tend the goal...ahem. Iker Casillas, I'm talking to you).

HOWEVER. Due to the fact that NYU in Madrid's campus is less than a 5 minute walk away from Real Madrid's stadium, I got to see it pretty much every day. (sometimes more than once a day because I'm special like that).

Going to a Real Madrid game would have been somewhat like going to a Yankee's baseball game: paying for overpriced tickets to watch a bunch of overpaid dudes with overinflated egos make a mockery of a sport they once dominated (Except for you, Casillas. You would never do that to me). HOWEVER, Real Madrid is the winningest team of the 20th century, according to FIFA, so I guess that counts for something.

But, apparently I'm now a Barça fan. After years of never paying attention to soccer, and then just two times rooting for the Spanish national team, today I scoured the internet to find updates on the Barça-Osasuna game. Who knew?

The little Real Madrid football that I have sitting on my desk is staring at me sadly, while these traitorous words deflate its little self. 

92 and home

Well, I'm currently back in Kansas on my way to Austin, and the heat here is making me seriously question why I ever decided that it was a good idea to come back.

My goal to complete ALL 100 things on the list did not come to fruition, or rather, there remain several things on the list that I actually wanted to do, but in the end did not have time for, and there are still others that I never did, either because they were complicated, or I preferred doing something else instead, so I substituted.

Seeing Katy Perry LIVE for free was so much better than paying 100€
to see a concert in the Sports Arena 

In all, I completed 92 of the 100 things I hoped to do during my year in Madrid, and I'm sure that I can think of 8 things that I did that weren't on the list but probably should be (discovering the delights of sweet vermouth from the tap is one, spending an ungodly amount of time in the National Library is another--although I probably wouldn't recommend that one to anyone else). But I'm a bit disappointed in myself that I didn't actually complete my list before I left, even though the whole point of that resolution was simply to get myself out and about in Madrid, and thus, the AIM of the resolution has been accomplished, even if I never completed it in and of itself.

Me. Chillin. Oot and aboot in Madrid. 

And that got me thinking...the whole point of a New Year's Resolution is to complete it before the end of the year, right? And technically, the year 2011 doesn't end until December 31st. Soooo, if I can get myself back to Madrid before the year ends, I will have the opportunity to finish up my list. I think that this is a good plan.

Of course, I currently have no means to get myself back to Madrid before the year ends, but that's ok. I'll figure it out. Cibeles up there is calling my name. 

NYR #8: Wander through the Cecilio Rodriguez Gardens

I've run past these gardens just about every time I've been in the Retiro. They're very close to the estanque where I rowed, but for some reason, I never took the time to actually enter them until the day before I left. They've also got a somewhat finicky schedule and can be a bit difficult to see because of it. 

Merce from rowing came along and took pictures. She's a photographer, and she kept encouraging me to chase the peacocks. They're really pretty, but their screeches sound like cats. It's actually kind of disturbing.

I felt a little bad chasing the peacocks, but they're really pretty and I wanted to get a picture with them. I'm also glad that I was able to come see these gardens before I left Madrid. They're quite pretty, and I wouldn't mind going back, just to spend a bit more time in them. With the peacocks. Because peacocks are cool. 

NYR #48: Ride the Tren de la Fresa

Literally: Strawberry Train. Laura first described it to me as something for kids at the train museum, so I had a picture in my head of one of those mini-trains that they have at amusement parks, or a little train car in miniature that kids can explore. I don't really know.

Needless to say, it's not like that at all, but rather is a really old-school train car (think wooden benches for seats) that makes the trip from Madrid to Aranjuez (the path of the very first train line in Spain) ONLY DURING STRAWBERRY SEASON!!!!

The hosts dress up in period (mid-19th century, maybe??) dress and pass out small cartons of deliciously fresh Aranjuez strawberries, while reciting Spanish poetry. The poem they recited while we were on the train was calles, "La chata en los toros", and is about Isabel de Borbón, the daughter of Queen Isabel II. She was really popular in Madrid because she was kind of a party girl and really loved going to bullfights, and this poem is all about her and her ladies-in-waiting getting ready.

Sadly, the views out of the train weren't particularly spectacular, but it was a lot of fun to do once, and the train is super-pretty and old. I rode the train with Max and Ashley when they were here, and we had LOADS of fun. Perhaps a bit too much fun, because on the way back, I conked out on Max's shoulder for the entire trip.

NYR #25: See the bonsais in the Royal Botanical Gardens

Right next to the Prado are the Jardines Reales Botánicos. That's right: Royal Botanical Gardens. And we all know what that means...

FLOWERS!!!

This week has really been the start of just absolutely beautiful perfect Spanish weather. 80º and sunny every single day, and Saturday was no exception. Friend Veronica came to visit, and since it was so pretty (and since she's been locked up in a library in Krakow all winter, and it still isn't particularly sunny there), I decided that the perfect thing to do would be to enjoy the Spanish sunshine.

With flowers.

First, there were the camellias. Lots and lots of lovely pink camellias. 

Some were even salmon-colored and all were absolutely beautiful.

They've convinced me that they should be my new favorite flower.

Then, we might have gone tip-toeing through some tulips.

And of course, we couldn't actually cross this one off the list until we saw the bonsais. 

I didn't really realize that bonsai just meant 'miniature tree' before coming to these gardens. For some reason, I thought that they were the crazy bamboo trees that people have cut and shaped into awesome sculptures. But I was wrong.

There are maybe 20 different bonsai trees in an exhibition. They're pretty cute and very unique.

But I think I preferred all the flowers.

NYR #35: Enjoy the awesome jazz concerts at Café Central

Madrid is a city of cafes. Madrileñans love their coffee and their beer, and they partake of these two beverages at a bar/cafe. Cafe Central is one of those awesome stereotypical Madrileñan cafes, but from 10-midnight every night, it transforms into a wonderful music venue, and 10-15€ gets you a seat to some top quality jazz performances.

Yesterday, because I'd been having kind of a rough week, a friend suggested that we go listen to the jazz at Cafe Central and cross another item off my list. And this band (a trio of a double-bass, piano and drums) was fantastic. They started off with an instrumental piece, and then introduced the female singer who would accompany them for the rest of the set.

And although I generally think of jazz as a purely American phenomenon, this group played several Spanish songs--from Mexico and the Caribbean--and they were delightful.

After about 5 songs, the leader of the group (seen below resting on his bass), told the audience: we're going to take a 10 or 15 minute break, so we'll be back in about half an hour. It's the Spanish thing to do.

I was starving, so we ducked out at this moment, but I will so very willingly go back, because the atmosphere is tons of fun and the music was so very amazing.

NYR #30: Pisar Km. 0

So, when I was first examining this list, I figured that there was one thing I definitely didn't want to do. I even told my intercambio (very adamantly, I might add), that there was no way I would "pisar km. 0". She was very confused.

"Really?" she said, "It's right in Sol (the center), and a lot of people take pictures near it. It's actually kind of a big deal because that's where all the radial highways in Spain begin...Why don't you want to step on it?

Wait, what? Step on it??? I was thinking pisar was a cognate! Stepping on a stone plaque landmark is so much better than the alternative.

At this point, my intercambio was thinking I was crazy. I was thinking it was just par for the course.

NYR: 2011

Happy New Year!!!

We take New Year's Resolutions pretty seriously here in DNortonLand.

Well, we didn't until 2010, but then, things got real: I actually completed a resolution and I'm not about to back down now. As you may have read here, 2010's Great Letter Project was a rousing success (by New Year's Resolution standards, which means that it lasted through December). So I decided to try to make the 2011 NYR even more awesome. And by awesome, I mean legendary.

December was kind of a rough month in Madrid. Not going home for the holidays made me realize that I haven't really built a strong community in Spain. Whatever love I once had for Madrid is evaporating in the stress of PhD applications and a Master's thesis. I want to fall in love with this city again, and I'm using New Year's Resolutions as a way to achieve that. This particular NYR has 3 parts.

Part 1:

Row at the Retiro 3 times a week.  I'm living much closer to the Retiro than I was, so I don't have laziness as an excuse, and I joined the club way back in September. Also, I love rowing: it's a great way to meet people, like the cute guy who is always biking. We're just a few months away from a real, audible connection.

(This is where the Pioneer Woman would say, "Name that movie!" but in this case, it would be "Name that internet sensation!")

Part 2 is a little more complicated. A friend found a list on the internet: 100 things to do in Madrid before you die.

For those who can't (or refuse to) read Spanish, I'll be posting an English translation of the list in a separate post. Some of the items are a little ridiculous, like build a snowman in the Retiro, or throw a snowball at a stranger. It can get cold in Madrid, but it rarely snows, so chances are, I will substitute these two items with others that I find more doable.

The 2011 NYR is to complete this list by the time I leave in July. I've already completed about 30 of them. That leaves 70 to complete in approximately 24 weeks. I think I can handle that.

And Part 3:

I'm now living 15 minutes walking distance from this church. I plan to go there every Sunday that I spend in Madrid. (Note: This does not mean every single Sunday. It could be that I travel somewhere one weekend and can't make it to church. that's cool. but if I am in Madrid, I'll be there at 11:30AM for services.)

We'll see how these go!

On the Flight from Munich to Athens:

Not in the mood to do real work on the PhD apps, nor do I want to read Meditaciones del Quijote, my Spanish philosophy book that I’m trying to bang out over break. Not really in the mood for philosophy.

Glance at the cover of the Lufthansa magazine sitting in the pocket of the chair in front of me. And I have to laugh. It’s so German! There’s really no other word for it. The three main headlines read as follows:

“German author Julia Franck describes a magical journey”

“A Collection of enduring travel memories”

“[Philosopher] Alain de Boton on the art of travel”

I said that I wasn’t in the mood for philosophy. HA! Only a German airline magazine would devote an entire edition to philosophizing about travel. This intrigued me. In the states, airline magazines are fluff pieces: straight-up company propaganda, maybe with an interview of some celebrity to actually attract a passenger to read it, but they are very definitely not highbrow literature. Nor do they generally deal in philosophy.

However, the philosophy of travel is fascinating. Why do people travel? What do they expect to gain? Questions like this are ones that Alain de Boton, author of The Art of Travel, answers, while at the same time proposing new manners on approaching travel, especially for the travel industry. My favorite quote is as follows:

“[The biggest obstacle we face is] overcoming fantasies about travel, trying to be imaginative and breaking away from clichés. Travel is full of them: the sunny beaches of x, the beautiful mountains of y. It’s always suggested that certain destinations are good and that others do not even qualify as destinations. It’s very normal, for example, to go to New York; it’s not very normal to go to Kansas. But maybe Kansas is actually better for you. Perhaps it suits you more.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Also, now I want to read his book. Drat!

Krakow! Part III

St. Mary's Cathedral is right on the main square, and it just so happens that the main square is host to Krakow's glorious Christmas Market. And it just so happens that Krakow's Christmas Market blows the Hyde Park Christmas Market right out of the water in terms of festive, traditional, arctic holiday cheer, as in: it was snowing, and there weren't any haunted houses.

It was like being in a Hallmark Christmas movie!

Unfortunately some of my pictures are a little blurry, but that big barrel is actually a little stand selling hot mulled wine. I tried some in London and didn't particularly like it, but after a cup of the stuff in Krakow, I'm a huge fan. At first, I really couldn't understand why anyone would heat up wine. And Krakow taught me why: Because it is freakin' freezing!

The Christmas market also had the following stands:

We passed by the Christmas market every single day, and on the last day, I bought me some slippers. They're so warm and comfortable...It's like walking on pillows!

Krakow! Part II

Coffee Heaven--home of the delicious snickerdoodle drink--is located right by the entrance gate to the old city of Krakow. 

It's a pretty cool building, with an awesome gate. There was a really awesome accordion player playing some super-lively music under the arch. I'm not sure how he was able to bear the cold, but his music was really good.

We then wandered through the Krakow main square and into this beautiful church: Saint Mary's. It's a really pretty baroque styleon the inside, with a gorgeous navy/royal blue ceiling with golden stars painted on. Looks like the starry sky and reminded me a lot of some of the Islamic ceiling decoration that I've seen in Andalusia, mainly in the ceiling=sky part.

I didn't take any pictures of the inside, since we didn't really come in through the visitors entrance. It was kind of nice not taking a picture inside of a cathedral. Made me focus more on enjoying the building itself.

It is really nice that Krakow has so many churches/ cathedrals. Since it was so cold out, stopping in at a few on the wanderings really helped me stay a little warm.

Krakow! Part I

Got into Krakow Friday morning at about 9:30.  It was cold and snowing and really grey--Absolutely perfect Winter Wonderland weather! 

Hung out at the house while Vica studied for a test and I worked on a paper and then we went to lunch...delicious pierogi:

 From this cute little shop!

There are approximately 5 tables for 4 people in this joint. If someone is sitting at a table, you just up and join them. It's adorable.

After, Vica took me to a little coffeeshop to do some work while she went to take her test. Unfortunately, the coffeeshop did not have a chai tea latte. However, they did have a chai coffee, which I ordered sans coffee, thinking that it would be somewhat like a chai tea latte. Instead, I'm fairly positive that it was simply chai-flavored hot milk.

It was like drinking a snickerdoodle!

London III

Christmas Market was actually kind of creepy. I already mentioned the strange mixture of State Fair, Renaissance Fair and Santa's workshop that it was, complete with lots of crazy amusement park rides.

BUT...I forgot to mention the Halloween Haunted House aspect.

That's right. Because clearly the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Christmas is a giant skeleton in a bright red robe playing a violin. It was creepy. Christmas shouldn't be creepy (ok, well, maybe if you're Tim Burton, but I'm not him, so Christmas isn't creepy).

And then, of course, there was this.

HeHeHe

Ok, now that's just funny. Ain't nothing creepy about penguins.

London I

I was in London for Thanksgiving. It was awesome. Actually, it was more like I was in London for Black Friday, but same dif.

I got there Thursday night, and after a little bit of a hassle with the express train (note: an express train to Victoria Station does NOT stop at Clapham Junction), joined up with K, M and friends for a delightful dinner at The Stonehouse Restaurant (I think it was more of a gastropub).

Friday, we wandered around the city, which is my favorite thing to do in Europe. And we wandered into a lot of dessert shops, which is my favorite thing to do in life.

First up, Notting Hill, and The Hummingbird Bakery. They had whoopie pies (both chocolate AND pumpkin!)! And they had a delicious red velvet cupcake (unfortunately not as delicious as Bent Spoon, but still delicious). This was at 11 AM. Who says you shouldn't eat dessert for breakfast?

Next, we headed on over to the delightful Christmas Market in Hyde Park. It reminded me of a mixture between a State Fair, a Renaissance Fair, and Santa's playground in the mall. It had all of these cute little wooden huts all decked out with garland and holly, selling spiced cider, mulled wine, hot chocolate, fudge, candy, and bratwurst. There was a lot of bratwurst. I guess Christmas Markets were imported from Germany.

At the Christmas Market, we ducked into a little restaurant that was selling Roast Turkey with all the Trimmings in an attempt to make up for the delicious T-day meal that we had missed the day before. It failed kind of miserably, but at least it gave us a chance to sit down someplace warm and chat for a while before going back out in the cold!

Katy Perry + Being Mooned by a Random Spanish Dude

Last night was the EMA's (The European Music Awards, for those who pay absolutely no attention to either the pop culture scene or the outside-of-the-USA scene).

The EMA's were in Madrid. Ergo, there was a ginormous outdoor concert (FREE!) at the Puerta de Alcalá.

This is it on a normal day.

This requires quadrupling the security forces in the streets, shutting down several major thoroughfares, and all around transforming a beautifully classical space in Madrid into a modern concert venue for 1 million+ people.

Being a concert in Spain, it didn't get started until about an hour or so after we all thought it would, but that was ok! It gave me time to actually get there!

Once I got there, I still had to wait for a good long while before the concert started and the crowd was getting pretty restless. So when the concert emcee came on and promised the crowd that the band would be on soon, things started to look a little promising.

Of course, my failure at Spanish colloquialisms means that I missed the part where the emcee said that if the musical group 30 Seconds from Mars wasn't on ready by the time he finished his bit, he would pants himself.

They weren't ready.

And he stuck to his word.

And that is how a crowd of a million+ people got scarred for life at the EMAs.

(I do not have a picture of this. In fact, I barely have a mental image because I shut my eyes as soon as I figured out what was going on.)

In other news, after 30 Seconds from Mars played, it was KATY PERRY TIME!!!!!

That little white speck in the lower left corner...THAT'S HER!

She puts on quite a show, but I'm not gonna lie, I kind of thought she looked like Cher in her getup: a sparkly nude/red unitard with super high red heels and a spony.

You can kind of see the getup here. A little. I think.

She sang: "Hot and Cold", a remix of "I Kissed a Girl", "Firework", Teenage Dream", "Peacock" and ended with "California Gurls". The crowd wasn't a huge fan of the "I kissed a girl" remix, since it started off kind of slow and unrecognizable, and "Firework" also started off a little iffy, since it's a new song. I don't think that anyone here was really familiar with the words yet, since it probably hasn't had much playing time. But we all recognized how great of a song it was at the end, when they literally shot fireworks from the stage.

FIYAAAAH!!!!!

And ending with California Gurls was perhaps one of the best decisions ever made in the history of the world.

There definitely is something to this "living in a major international city" thing, isn't there?

Seville & Córdoba (Part II)

After Córdoba we headed down to Sevilla (which took up pretty much the rest of the day). Our hotel was a pretty sweet place, and we went out to tapas/dinner in a place kind of near the old Jewish neighborhood. Towns in Andalucia almost always have an old Jewish neighborhood (like from back before the Jews were kicked out of Spain in 1492), and it's always a pretty well-preserved example of medieval Spanish architecture. But that's beside the point...

The point is that for dinner I got a goat cheese and raspberry crepe, and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten in my entire life.

It was actually a lot simpler than I had anticipated. Goat cheese. Crepe. and Raspberry sauce. I dunno...for some reason I was expecting real raspberries, not sauced ones. But it was still delicious.

The next day, we hit up the Reales Alcázares (Royal Castle-Fortress-Thingy), which were originally built by a Muslim king, but when the Christians conquered Seville, Pedro el Cruel decided to do some remodeling.

(BTW: Pedro el Cruel was probably no more evil than your average run-of-the-mill conqueror, it's just that this is the moniker that stuck).

Castles in Spain are awesome in that they have the cool little wall decoration/archer turret-things which are definitely my favorite part of castle architecture.  No matter how many arches and spires a castle has, I will always get the biggest kick out of the top of the walls.

And Pedro el Cruel really know how to get someone to spiff up a castle. The reason to visit this one is that it is one of the best examples of Mudejar architecture in Andalucia.

Mudejar architecture is the Islamic style of architecture, but built for Christian purposes. So you see a whole bunch of Islamic details, like Arabic writing or awesome capitals, or even this cool starry-golden ceiling.

And of course, castles are never complete without gardens, and gardens are never complete without mazes. (And PEACOCKS!)

Molly and Catalina are lost in Wonderland

Pretty Peacock