May 26-28: Food, Fashion, and Other Fun Things

Dinner Monday night: paella, bread, and tortilla (read: Spaniards love their carbs, but for good reason…)  A group of 6 other students and I got the chance to learn how to make these at our cooking class that night!  Though the paella was extremely elaborate, our instructor Javi made it seem so easy.  Homemade fish stock, clams, mussels, shrimp, chicken, pork, veggies all in one delicious paellera!  Maybe I’ll be able to pull this off when I get back home. 

Beautiful paella from the cooking class

Tuesday afternoon, I finally paid a much-anticipated visit to the Museo del Traje, the fashion museum of Madrid.  Unfortuately, I had a little difficulty finding it…Spanish streets are not well-labeled (if labeled at all!).  After walking back and forth for about 15 minutes I went into the botanic gardens that were nearby to rest for a bit, and find someone who could help me!  Luckily I did, and was able to find my way!

The main exhibit detailed Spanish fashion through the ages, starting from around the 13^th or 14^th century.  The lighting in the exhibit was very dim because it supposedly helps the clothing last longer.  There was also an interactive section that explained the origins of different types of fabric, how clothing is made, and how world events can dictate new trends…very interesting! 

After the museum closed, I took the Metro back home and did some more exploring!  I went into a grocery store because…why not?  It was actually very entertaining to discover all of the differences between American and Spanish grocery stores.  Here, the milk on store shelves is not refrigerated (don’t worry, it’s safe!  They use ultra-high temperature pasteurization that allows them to box milk and store it at room temperature!)  Some other interesting things I found were sweetened condensed milk in a tube, flour tortillas (which were called “rolls” because in Spain the word “tortilla” refers to an omelette), and yogurt sold in glass jars!  Since everyone here uses olive oil, there was a very small selection of butter, and they only sold the half-pound European-style kind (no big surprise…European butter does belong in Europe after all). 

Tortillas=rolls?

All of the non-refrigerated milk

Sweetened condensed milk in a tube...don't confuse it with toothpaste! 

Wednesday was a day of shortened classes, so most of the group went to see the Temple of Debod.  While it seems very strange that an Egyptian temple would reside in Madrid, there is a great heartwarming (maybe?) story behind it.  In the late 1960’s, the construction of a dam in Egypt threatened the safety of a bunch of monuments and temples.  The Egyptian government sent out a call for help to other countries to help with preservation efforts.  As a sign of thanks to Spain, they sent over sent over this small but stunning temple. 

            Later on, it was off to the Prado Museum to see lots of art with the class.  We focused on Velazquez and Goya, and it really is amazing how large this museum is.  We had 2 hours to explore, and still only were able to see part of their collections.  After the museum, it was time for dinner and prepare for the day trip to Segovia!

Seville!

Day 3 in Andalucia…finally a full day in one city!  Thanks to Christy and all of her awesome recommendations, I was fully prepared to play tour guide and take my friends around to some of the cool places Seville has to offer.  We began right away with the Alcazar of Seville, a grand royal palace with amazing gardens.  It reminded me a lot of the Alhambra with its beautiful carved walls and ceilings and colorful arrangements of tiles.  One of the most impressive things is just how detailed and intricate these designs are.  Every inch is covered with some sort of carving or colorful tile, and there are even peacocks roaming around!  I got to see a cute little peacock family!

Mama and baby peacock

After exploring the Alcazar for over 2 hours (and still not having seen the entire place!), we decided it was time for lunch.  We walked down one of the cute streets off of the square near the cathedral and found a restaurant with a good menu del día.  We all got to pick an appetizer, entrée, and dessert!  I got huevos con pisto (fried eggs with ratatouille), pollo andalusa (marinated chicken with really good rice), and flan.

A display set up for the Festival of Maria, la Macarena

Cool display on the ground made of colored pebbles

We hopped in and out of a few stores then went back to the hostel to rest before heading out for the afternoon.  One interesting tradition in Spain is that a lot of convents have their nuns make sweets to sell to raise money.  Since Seville has such a strong Catholic history, there were a lot of different convents to choose from!  The one we visited was cloistered, so the nuns are not allowed to have face-to-face contact with the outside world.  In the convent, there was a list on the wall with the candies and prices.  To make a purchase, you press a button to speak to the nun and place your order, then place your payment in the lazy susan.  The nun turns it around to take the money, then returns it to you with the treats you ordered!  This particular convent makes yemas…a type of candy made of only egg yolks and sugar.  On the inside of a layer of sugar is a soft center of sweet egg yolk custard.  It was such a cool experience, like I stepped back in time! 

The church associated with the convent...so colorful!

Happily holding my box of yemas in front of the lazy susan

Who would guess that you can buy homemade candy here?

We continued our journey through the city at the Plaza de España, a huge park with a beautiful plaza.  Once we tired of frolicking about, we went to dinner.  On our way back from dinner, we noticed hordes of people heading towards the cathedral.  It turns out that that week was the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the coronation of La Macarena, one of the most revered statues of the Virgin Mary in Seville.  There was a procession happening on our way back…we had to stop and watch since the streets were completely saturated with people.  We couldn’t get through the crowds if we tried!  It was so cool to experience this unique part of the culture of Seville, and I can only imagine what Holy Week must be like there!

Plaza de España

Posing in front of the Granada mosaic

            On Sunday, we went to the cathedral of Seville for Mass, and we got to see the Macarena again there.  Apparently, the procession arrived there around 3 am that morning!  After Mass, we had a quick tapas lunch and headed to the train station to get back to Madrid.  After such an action-packed weekend, I was very ready to get back to my normal routine and a bedroom I didn’t have to share with 11 other girls!

Procession of La Macarena

The cathedral

After Mass at the cathedral