Beaches, Biriyani, and Benidorm

It’s been crazy these past couple days, squeezing in the last few things on our to-do lists before we leave our beautiful city of Alicante.  Sunday was very relaxing, sleeping in until 10, going for a hike up to Santa Barbara castle for the last time, and getting coffee with the girls.  Monday I had planned on taking my host family out for Indian food.  They had never had it before, so as soon as we got to the restaurant they gave me free reign to decide what we were going to order.  I ordered chicken curry, a classic, tikka masala with fish, and biriyani, a type of flavored aromatic rice.  We also ordered samosas, a fried empanada with chicken and vegetables, as an appetizer.  Those were my family’s favorite.  For dessert we ordered a classic: mango lassi.  Just tasting the blend of yogurt, mango, and the subtle hint of rose water reminded me of home.  Just as we were about to leave, one of my favorite Bollywood songs came on inside the restaurant, and the outing felt complete.  I was so glad I was able to share my culture with my host family.  

My host family and I at the Indian restaurant

Later that afternoon we decided to go the San Juan beach for the last time.  After a couple hours of chatting and sunbathing, we returned to Alicante.  That night, after a scrumptious meal of steak and French fries (those things are pretty huge in Spain surprisingly) I went out to Havana to their salsa dancing class.  Looking at all the new tourists at the free classes, I couldn’t help but think back to 5 weeks ago when that was us.

A day at San Juan

Tuesday was a big day for us, as we had planned to go to a different beach for a picnic during the day, and to Benidorm at night.  Benidorm is probably the Las Vegas of Spain.  It’s a little hard to explain, so maybe I’ll just show you.  

 The beach was a good time, with our home-packed bready sandwiches (bocadillos) to picnic with.  Although the sand was more rocky than sandy, it was a beautiful breezy day.  When we got back from the beach we got the chance to shower and rest a bit, as we knew that night was going to be a long one.  Benidorm is about an hour away by tram, and instead of paying for a hotel, we decided to stay out to 6am (in regular Spanish fashion) and return home on the 6:30 tram.  This, as you will see, proved to be a little difficult.  Upon our arrival at Benidorm, we were virtually starving.  We headed down toward the beach until we found a café that served eggs…for some reason that’s what Ashley was craving at the time.  And oddly enough in Spain, they serve eggs all the time, and with French fries no less.  After chowing down for a while, we started walking toward the beach.  We got directions to where all the cool places were from a friendly hotel receptionist and proceeded to wander.  It’s what we do best.  Once we hit the club scene, the night took-off.  We danced and had a blast until the wee hours of the morning.  Then when it finally hit us that we were exhausted and hungry, we defaulted to burger king to get some grub.  It was still only 5am, but we decided to head back to the tram station.  We played almost an hour’s worth of “Never Have I Ever” while waiting for the tram, making some new British friends along the way.  Apparently our American accents are just as fascinating, if not more fascinating, as theirs are to us.  They made us say a couple of English phrases on the tram while they attempted to copy our accents, but suddenly we realized…they were REALLY FREAKING LOUD.  It was 6:30am and most of the people on the tram were going to work.  They were warned a couple times to be quiet, to no avail.  I must say, I have not met many people that were more obnoxious and belligerent than that.  Luckily they got off the tram about half way home.  Stumbling from the tram station tired, slightly hungry, and annoyed, I crashed as soon as I hit my bed.  There will definitely be a long siesta in my future before our final dinner and wine tasting tomorrow.  Can’t wait to be home, but I’m so glad I’m getting to do everything one last time before I leave.   Keep calm and live it up!

Benidorm skyline

The crew 

Clubbin'!

Alicantinos in Madrid

Following the train accident on Wednesday night, I was left a little shaken to say the least.  Not only was it the worst train accident Spain has seen in 40 years, but I was set to travel on the AVE the next day to Madrid.  While it was a terrible event, I was assured by many a Spaniard that the Spanish railway system is extremely safe, and that due to human error, the accident on Wednesday occurred.  It had nothing to do with the train itself.  Feeling a little bit better Thursday seemed to fly by.  It was our last day of class so we decided to celebrate by going out for crepes and gofres (waffles) as a class.  After that I proceeded to pack and plan our mini-vacation with the rest of the group going.  The next morning at 6am, we were Madrid bound.  The AVE ride went very smoothly, especially since the in-ride (in-flight, but in a train?) movie was Pitch Perfect.  In Spanish.   But hey, it was a learning experience. 

Sleeping on the AVE

.  Upon arrival we wandered around Atocha, the train station in Madrid, for a while, and suddenly we came upon some epically creepy baby head statues.  

It all started with a baby head..

Of course, we had to get a picture.  We asked a gentlemen sitting on a bench to take it for us.  It just so happened that he was a police officer that worked for Atocha.  I asked him where and how to take the metro to Puerta del Sol. Instead of rapidly giving directions, he proceeded to give us a tour of Atocha! We saw the tropical garden inside the older part of the station (yes, a garden!) and the security office where he had pictures and autographs of famous futbol players.  After that he led us to the metro station where he showed us how to board and buy our tickets.  It was probably the easiest traveling I’ve ever done, and it was all thanks to our amigo, Luis!  

Luis, our own personal tour guide, and the tropical garden

We rode the metro to Puerta del Sol, where our hostel was only 150 meters away.  Our hostel was very nice, and the staff was super helpful.  Our rooms were arranged close together, breakfast was included, and we got free towels! (a lot of times towels are available to rent).  We got settled in for a while and then decided to go on a free walking tour of the city.  We met at a bear stature in the plaza (the bear is a symbol for Madrid) and proceed to walk through historic Madrid and see the Palacio Real, the cathedral, Plaza Mayor, and the Museum district.  

Bear statue

Palacio Real

Cathedral

Courtyard of Palacio Real

Plaza Mayor

We then branched off to go see el Parque Retiro, kind of like the Central Park of Madrid.  It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! After that we went to the modern art museum Reina Sofia.  The main exhibit we wanted to see was one of Salvador Dalí.  With 11 rooms of artwork ranging, from his early works to present.  While some of his earlier stuff was very tame, once he hit the surrealist period his artwork became darker and more complex.  My favorite period was during the Spanish Civil War.  His political commentary through his art was simply astounding.  After the Dalí exhibit we went to the second floor to see the infamous “La Guernica” by Pablo Picasso.  It was a lot bigger than I would have thought and I’m so glad we were able to see it.  After Reina Sofia we headed towards El Prado, a classic art museum.  However, during the “free entrance” hours, the line went down the street.  So we proceed to take pictures of the outside of Prado and headed back to the hostel.  

Prado

Parque Retiro

Gardens at Retiro

The lake in Retiro

The Crystal Palace

Reina Sofia

"I touched Prado!"

Our feet were aching, we were dripping in sweat, and our eyes were heavy, but one of the main things we wanted to do was go on a flamenco pub crawl.  The group met at 8:15, and for 26 euros we got a tapas dinner, tickets to a flamenco show, and a pub crawl deal (4 bars with free shots, discounted drinks, and free entrance to a discoteca).  First we headed to a local tapas place where we had wine and at least 8 different kinds of tapas! After dinner we headed to the flamenco show, which in my opinion, was an AMAZING cultural experience.  I loved every second of it, both the singing and the dancing.Following the show we were feeling a little sleepy, but we all were too excited to skip out on the pub crawl in Madrid.  Each bar was better than the last, and we all had a blast dancing and getting to know other people in our group from all around the world!  After the fourth bar/discoteca, we were pooped.  We decided to head back to the hostel.  At this point it was around 4am, and after 4 bars, none of us (except Alex) were in the condition to navigate.  Luckily we found our way to La Puerta del Sol, and then miraculously to our hostel. 

     

Lookin' good Keel (guess who helped pick out that outfit)

At the flamenco show

Opening performance

Night on the town

Palace at night

Attempt at navigation

We crashed but awoke on time, around 9:30, to make it to free breakfast.  The most surprising thing we found that morning was the fact that is was overcast and raining in Madrid.  And upon leaving the hostel we were shocked to find ourselves COLD in Spain.  Well, the rain in Spain falls mainly in Madrid I guess.  Had we taken a picture of ourselves that morning, we would have resembled something out of a zombie movie.  Luckily there’s a Starbucks every 100 ft in Madrid, and after a Café Americano I was feeling a LOT better.  We walked along Madrid’s famous Gran Via, the shopping and entertainment district, for a while and found La Plaza de España.  We then went back to the area around our hostel to try Madrid’s famous churros and chocolate! The chocolate is like a richer hot chocolate used primarily for dipping.  While the churros were amazing, I almost prefer the larger churros in Alicante more, but maybe that’s just me.  We then went for lunch and proceed to shop for souvenirs.  With a couple hours to kill we needed a game plan: “Let’s just walk until we find something free”.  Good plan, in my opinion.  We did end up finding a local park/garden, which was absolutely gorgeous.  We sat for an hour or so and then headed back to the hostel to pick up our luggage.  After riding the metro to Atocha, we proceeded to wander around asking people where we could catch our AVE.  Our resourcefulness proved successful and in an hour or so we were Alicante bound.  All of us fell asleep at some point on our 2 hr ride home, and eventually fell asleep for real that night.  It was definitely a fantastic trip! I love Madrid and would for sure go back if I had the opportunity!  Until that opportunity arrives, I’ll keep calm and go mad for Madrid J.

Yes, those are clouds..

Our hostel

My savior..with the wrong name

Gran Via

Churros!!

Random garden...absolutely gorgeous!!

Chocolate is a girl’s best friend

Yes, the day had finally arrived.  No, not the day that I’d return to my beloved Wisconsin.  The day we got to visit the Valor chocolate factory in Villajoyosa.  After a brief walking tour, and stops for fro yo, we entered into the chocolate factory/museum.  While there were no photos allowed inside, I can assure you the mere smell of the chocolate in the air left many “oohs” and “aaahs” and a couple smiles in its wake.   At the end of the tour we got to sample some of the numerous kinds of chocolate.  I had chocolate puro (dark chocolate), chocolate con maiz (corn), and chocolate con almendras (almonds).  After fighting my way through a massive amount of people in the chocolate shop, I walked away with a couple chocolate bars and only minimal perturbation.

Valor Chocolate Factory

Aaaaand this is what chocolate does to me

After the chocolate factory, we tiredly stumbled home.  We decided to enjoy a chill night on the town, of course watching a beer pong tournament or two along the way.  Alex and I perfected our “chupitos gratis” skills (ability to get free shots just by wandering aimlessly around the barrio) and Ashley got 5^th place in beer pong.  All in all it was a pretty productive evening in Alicante.  Today we decided that while we were all pretty pumped for Madrid, we were sadly not going to Grenada.  I’ve however seen it in a positive light: 1) I get some unexpected extra time in Alicante with my friends and host family 2) I now have an excuse to return to Spain in the near future.  Instead our final week will be filled with beach time, last minute souvenir shopping, and good-bye’s L.  Later on today we went to Campello to check out a local fish auction.  We sight-saw for a while, looking around the area known as the Queen’s Bath.  The fish auction itself was pretty interesting, yet challenging to understand.  Imagine a regular auction in the U.S., with an auctioneer talking at the speed of light, but in a foreign language.  

Living on the edge

Fish tend to smell..

Catch of the Day

After the fish auction we headed home for dinner, which for me, ironically, was fish!  It was pescadillo, battered and fried.   Yum!  Tonight has been a pretty chill night in for me, doing homework and blogging (obviously).  Tomorrow is our last day of class, proof that these last four weeks have just flown by.  I can’t believe we’ll be leaving in 10 days.  It’s a bittersweet thought, but there’s still so much ahead: Madrid, beach, wine-tasting, farewell dinner, one last hurrah…but before I know it, I know it’ll all be over.  But enough with the sad thoughts!  Keep calm and got chocolate?

We didn’t start the fire…but we sure love putting it out

It’s been a pretty chill week here in Alicante for the most part, but this weekend, there have been shenanigans galore! First of all, I had my first experience with authentic gelato.  Walking the streets late at night with a bowl full of dark chocolate, orange, and cayenne pepper gelato, couldn’t have made me feel more European.   What was perfect about this weekend was the fact that I had it completely free.  I was able to finish up my interviews for my paper, as well as relax.  The double eye infection still has yet to subside, but now I have a cold on top of everything.  While I wanted to go out, it just simply wasn’t going to happen this weekend.  However we did make it out to see the Gay Pride parade Saturday night!  Even though the parade was 5 floats long, it was definitely a cultural moment.  Spain legalized gay marriage in 2005.  Being a predominantly Catholic country, this was huge!  I’m not about to get political, but take that fact for a second, and look at the U.S.  Interesting, no?  Anyway, off my mini-soap box. 

Yesterday, being Sunday, everything was closed.  This however did in no way indicate that were no “goings-on” in Alicante.  No, no, no.  Because last night was the final night of the festival de Las Horgueras in San Vicente!  It was awesome! What is this festival you ask…well, here let me show you!

  

We hopped on a bus to San Vicente and wandered around the city until we found our friend Lorena. Lorena lives in San Vicente and was able to show us around the small village.  After dropping our stuff off at her place (as we didn’t want it to get wet) we headed to town hall to watch “la cremá” of the first horguera at midnight.  The event started off with a presentation of “la belleza”, kind of like a “mistress of ceremonies” of sorts.  Then the night erupted in fireworks and firecrackers, and the horguera was set ablaze.  One of the highlights for those who watch the burning, is getting sprayed by the firefighters appointed to put the flames out.  After numerous shouts of “Agua, agua”, we got what we were asking for.  The fire burnt the horguera to the ground, making the sprinkling of water quite refreshing.  I only got sprayed a little bit, but there were some that had it worse than others.

Rosie and Statue of Liberty Horguera

Fireworks!

Putting out the blaze

After the horguera was burnt, we decided to head back home.  We found bus stop 24N, the night bus that was supposed to take us back during days of fiesta.  However, little did we know the night bus didn’t run on Sundays.  After an hour of waiting, we finally realized our beloved night bus was never coming.  So what were 6 stranded Wisconsinites to do? Call a taxi, that’s what.  First, we needed to accomplish two things: 1) we need to find a number for a cab company.  San Vicente, like Green Bay, isn’t a place where you can simply hail a cab. 2) We needed to be near a solid address to give to the cab driver.  Bus stop number 24N didn’t qualify.   After thankfully receiving a number for a cab company from one of the locals, we proceeded to walk down a main street until we saw a street number.  We called for two cabs (as the cabs only can fit four) and waited.  Five minutes later cab #1 arrived and we were homeward bound.  By 2:30 I was in bed, still with a double eye infection and a cold, worried I wouldn’t make it to class the next day.  However, interestingly enough, I felt better this morning.  Even though my left eye looked a tad worse due to the fact that I was sprayed with water in that eye, I felt slightly better than poop.  In addition to all the San Vicente activity yesterday also happened to be the day of my patron saint Santa Julia.  Apparently it’s kind of like a half-birthday, where you say “congratulations” but that’s the extent of the celebrating.  Still, it was kind of cool being congratulated for a day I had no idea about.  <3 Cultural moments.  Can’t wait to go to a chocolate factory tomorrow and a fish auction (ew, smelly) on Wednesday. Then we’re Madrid bound on Friday morning!  It’s going to be a jam-packed week, and all I can hope for is that I’m healthy enough to enjoy it!  Keep calm and burn baby burn!

The Eyes Have It

Reason number 114 that Spain is amazing: They sell waffles on the street like we sell brats during a Packer game.  And these aren’t just any waffles, they’re GOFRES!! They serve these warm Belgian-like waffles with warm melted chocolate (pretty sure it’s nutella) and whipped cream…sometimes even ice cream!! So after class Tuesday, the Scooby gang and I decided it was imperative that we try these Spanish delicacies.  I must say, these gofres lived up to the hype.  If I could have a gofre for breakfast every day, I would have everything I need in life: sugar, fat, and pure happiness. 

Rosie and I and our new BFF

The best waffle I've ever had

So I should never be a travel agent...ever.  I’m planning a trip to Madrid next weekend, and have NO IDEA what I’m doing.  After three hours of researching hostels and train tickets, you could say I was a tad overwhelmed.  But hopefully I’ll be able to figure it out, and hey, if I can arrange a trip to another part of a foreign country, that’d be a story to tell.  However, I got a little side-tracked…

Upon my return from Barcelona I had been noticing a slight case of bloodshot eyes.  Thinking it was probably just from staying out too late and lack of sleep, I thought nothing of it…what a mistake that was.  Yesterday we visited the MARQ museum, a museum of archeology in Alicante.  It had several rooms, each categorized by the era in which the artifacts came from.  Definitely a must see for the avid history buff, and worth checking out for students like us as well.  After that, I started to notice nasty pus coming out of my eye (I know, I apologize…probably too much info).  Again, I brushed it off, and proceeded to go out with some friends for “Ladies Night” at a local bar.  After numerous free drinks, I noticed the other eye was bloodshot too.  Great.  Winning.  After a tough night sleeping, I awoke to find both eyes looking extremely red and a little swollen.  I knew then I needed to do something.  The only problem? Today was the day our professor agreed to let us have “class” on the beach.  And swimming and sunbathing was the LAST thing I wanted to do.  But I sucked it up and went…hell it’s CLASS ON THE BEACH!! After an hour of sitting on the beach however, I was more than ready to head out.  I stopped by the pharmacy on my way home to pick up some eye drops which will hopefully help.  We’ll see, but all I know is, this is the last time my head is going underwater in the Mediterranean.  Apparently eye infections are common here for tourists who aren’t used to all the salt water and sand on the beach.  Fingers crossed for my eyes!  But as they heal up I’ll be sure to keep calm and my eyes wide shut.