November felt like a giant game of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Every weekend we were off in a different part of Spain or Europe, and now we have so little time remaining we can almost count the days left on two hands!
Amidst the final papers for Art, the theatrical events we attended for Theater, and our obsession with finding places that sell Palomitas for under 0,30 euros, we had too much fun. The first weekend of November was exhausting. My cousin invited a few of us to his concert in the Sala Caracol and we made posters to cheer him on in a Battle-of-the-Bands competition. The next morning we boarded a bus to Toledo to see the original capital city of Spain, complete with the union of the three major cultures of the country over time: Arab, Jewish, and Christian. Going with our Art and Cinema professors, we were given a short tour of the town, including a preserved mezquita, the cathedral, and a converted synagogue. We also finally saw the Tajo river we read about in Poetry as well! After eating our fill of mazapán we wandered around the city a little bit. The stores catered to tourism, but specialized in impressive swords, demasking, and chocolate con churros. While it was a very, very windy day, we enjoyed our visit immensely.
The following weekend was a cheap one for traveling and a lot of us used the occasion to fly abroad. My friends and I chose London for a change of pace, and we loved the city! While it took us a short bit to get accustomed to the accent, it was nice to hear everyone speaking our language once again. We took a tour of the major sights in the city, from Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tower of London and even Platform 9 3/4. I can't say I was a huge fan of pub food, but we are spoiled here in Spain with some of the best cuisines in the world.
I found it particularly amusing to watch how Londoners run their day in comparison to Madrileños. In Madrid everything is open until very late, and the night doesn't end until the Metro closes at about 2 AM. Yet in London your dinner starts much, much earlier than our usual 9-10 PM here, and if you plan on going out with friends you're home by the latest at midnight we were told. Unfortunately we didn't realize this, and when we would order dinner, often we were the last ones in the restaurant while the staff would be cleaning up.
Weekend three in November consisted of a journey to the south of Spain to Granada, the last Moorish stronghold that lasted in the country. To say we walked around is an understatement, and our legs were so tired after touring the city the first day we could barely walk the next. We had an amazing visit to La Alhambra, the palace of the sultans later converted for Carlos V. The gardens of the Nazaries, the last royal dynasty before 1492, was jaw-droppingly-beautiful. Small labyrinths of hedges, fountains and impressive uses of water, climbing ivy and combinations of flowers all left you breathless. The palaces and castle itself were equally impressive, with views of the city, Sacramonte, usage of stucco, and gorgeous columns everywhere. Our tour guide, José Antonio (whose name should be read as though shouting), was hilarious in telling us stories and secrets about the royal families and the construction of the grounds.
Our second tour guide gave us a view of the Cathedral and mausoleum of the Catholic kings, Ferdinand and Isabella. Walking around the buildings was extremely amusing as we encountered gypsies offering to read our hands everywhere. We took a nighttime stroll to the top of a hill to view the Alhambra at night, and passed through some calles filled with teterías. These places were so colorful and aromatic we lingered around there the next day and eagerly bought our kebab lunches there too. Granada is known for its mountain of tapas you receive when ordering, and we helped ourselves to some very, very tasty montaditos when out.
Finally, our last weekend concluded in Paris! This was a trip I'd been dying to take, and the four of us that went loved the experience. We hit up the famous parts once again, including Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Louvre, the Arc d'Triomphe, walking down Champs-Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d'Orsay, Sacre Couer, seeing the Moulin Rouge, and visiting Versailles! Luckily I have a friend who is currently studying abroad in Paris, and she gave us a small tour of the Latin Quarter as well. We ate very, very well (who can say no to a Banana-Nutella crépe?) and ended each night watching a famous movie about France or Paris. I have to admit I felt very uncomfortable in some situations in which we couldn't speak French, but for the most part people were very kind in helping us out along our way. We made up for the windy, rainy weather by stuffing ourselves with delicious bread and cheese, and filling ourselves up at breakfast before our kind bed-and-breakfast host gave us good ideas on what routes to take to see the city.
Of the four cities we visited I think London was perhaps my favorite. I think this may have stemmed from the ease we felt speaking the language, which certainly knocked down Paris by a few points in my book, but also because the Brits were very, very friendly to us. We came back from each city appreciating Madrid in new ways, but particularly praising our metro here for being the cleanest and most efficient. We also love our city for staying up later than its European counterparts at 6 PM. Furthermore, who can deny that sitting in the front section at the Bernabeu Stadium to watch Real Madrid is a bad time? We cheered on Ronaldo's entrance into the field wildly.
Though I must admit, I'm a Barcelona fan first.
And now it's crunch time for finals!
Ciao,
Natalia
Natalie,
Is the Colgate Madrid Study Group still centered around the Instituto Internacional? I was on the Study Group in 1988 and, funny, I also lived on palomitas!
Thanks,
John Wontrobski '89
Posted by: John Wontrobski | January 02, 2010 at 11:54 PM