El Escorial

My friend L came to visit right after my brother vacated the guest premises (which is actually just a comfy mattress on my living room floor). We had big plans, but unfortunately L got sick and spent most of her Spanish holiday in bed. Before she succumbed, though, we visited El Escorial, a place I´ve been meaning to return to since my first visit in 2018.

El Escorial is a palace / monastery / basilica / hunting complex built by Phillip II in the late 1500s. This was during Spain´s Golden Age, and Phillip II was a very devout man who plowed a lot of those stolen riches from the American into this building. It is the largest Renaissance building in the world. (According to the English Wikipedia page, but not the Spanish one, so who knows what the truth is. In any case, it´s big). A friend who recently visited said they did the full tour and then visited the gardens and he tracked his walk at 5km (3 miles).

There was so much to look at, but after the library and basilica and the crypt (where all the Spanish royalty are buried), I started flagging during the second half, where all the living and entertaining rooms were. I have resolved to go back some time and simply sprint through the first half, so I´m fresh to enjoy the second half. We revived ourselves with coffee and cake, then headed home.

A stunning library, featuring gold books, achieved by gilding all the books pages and turning them wrong side around. // Hay una biblioteca impresionante que cubre de oro las tripas de los libros, razón por la cual están colocados del revés, para que se vean sus páginas bañadas en oro.

Its really, really big. // Es muy, muy grande.

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Mi amiga L me visitó inmediatamente después de que mi hermano fuera de mi habitación de invitados (que en realidad es un colchón en el suelo de mi sala). Tuvimos grandes planes, pero desafortunadamente, L se puso malo y pasó casi todo el viaje en encamado. Aunque, antes de esto, visitamos El Escorial, un lugar que visité por última vez en 2018.

Oficialmente, se llama El Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial; es un palacio, monasterio y casa de caza que fue construido por Felipe II a finales del siglo XVI. Esos años fueron parte del Siglo de Oro de España, y Felipe II fue un hombre piadoso que usaba una parte de los tesoros que robó del Nuevo Mundo para construir este palacio. La página web de Wikipedia en inglés dice que es el edificio renacentista más grande del mundo, pero la página web en español no dice nada, entonces no sé qué es la verdad. De todos modos, es muy extensa. Un amigo que lo visitó recientemente me dijo que su guía de los edificios y jardines juntos se midió a 5km.

Había muchísimo que ver, pero después de la biblioteca, la basílica y la cripta, estaba cansada y no prestaba mucha atención a los detalles de la segunda parte del palacio. Decidí volver e ir más deprisa durante la primera parte para poder disfrutar más de la segunda parte. Después, recargamos las pilas con café y pasteles y volvimos a casa.

Calçots

There are only a handful of Spanish dishes that I can appreciate, because most involve pork (aka jamón), fish, or at the very least meat broths. That´s why I usually content myself with enjoying Spanish ingredients, like olives, fresh-squeezed orange juice, or the massive and sweet red peppers. So when my friend T. suggested a meal of a local onions, I was very excited.

These onions, named calçots, are a Catalan specialty eaten in the spring. (By the way, Catalan in the language spoken in Barcelona, which is different enough to Spanish that I cannot understand it. It also uses the letter "ç" which finally explains why that letter is on my Spanish keyboard, even though Castillian, the Spanish that I speak, does not use it.) It´s quite an event to eat them, starting with the fact that we had to request the number of calçots that we wanted when making our reservation, and our lunch reservation was limited to a strict two hours so the next shift could eat. (Usually, once you book a table, it´s yours for the entire mealtime, which can be 2-4 hours.)

The actual eating is also a bit of a process. The calçots are grilled until they are black and charred. To eat, you peel off the outer burnt layer, revealing a smoky soft onion. After donning you plastic bib, you dip it into the romesco sauce sauce, which is made of roasted red peppers, tomato, almonds, garlic, and oil. Then you lower it into your mouth, because you´re not supposed to eat it with silverware.

They were delicious and definitely the highlight of the meal. We had very simple main dishes - my friends shared a sausage and a few slices of potato, and I had white bread topped with tomato paste and slices of manchego cheese. I hope I can make eating these a regular springtime tradition.

Eating lunch with friends can be an all-day affair here. After the three-course lunch, we went to a café for coffee. My friend T then needed to go, so A and I went to a third location for Aperol Spritzes, which are the taste of warm weather for me.

Adventures with my brother

My brother recently had to travel to Morocco for business and added a few days to his trip to hop over to Spain. It is a real treat when friends and family come to visit - not just because I enjoy spending time with them, but because having them see my life here and forming memories of US friends in Spain helps these two parts of my life feel more connected.

His trip was poorly timed, in that the weather was pretty awful. They were predicting strong winds and "mud rains", which are when storms brings lots of dust from the Sahara and dump it on us. So we cancelled out plans to hike in the nearby mountains and stayed closer to home, where we could time outings to breaks in the bad weather. He never saw the sun while he was here, but he lives in the Pacific Northwest, so that´s normal for him.

We hiked in a huge park west of the city, and bicycled another day. But most of the time we spent on projects, as that is my family´s idea of a good time. He helped set up an infrared reader for my heat pump, so I can automate it to turn on before I wake up. Spaniards do not run the heat during the night or while they are out of the house, and I was always cold while I waited the few hours in the morning for the chill to leave the brick and stone walls of my apartment. This was a piece of cake for my brother, who has automated his house so much that in the morning, the house turns on the lights and makes a cup of tea for him when he awakes.

I also decided to replace my oven. It has been the bane of my existence. On one hand, I know I am lucky to have any oven at all in a small Spanish apartment. On the other, it is tiny and lacks both thermostat and fan. Although I monitor it obsessively when baking, I have burnt many cakes in the last few years. I knew it would be hard to convince my landlady that the oven was faulty, so I just replaced it without her knowledge. I´m not sure she´ll notice, but if she does, who can complain about a slightly larger, better functioning appliance being left in the apartment?

My brother carried it through the city to the metro and then to my house.
No trip to the gym needed for him.

We discover that the oven is actually a toaster oven built into the wall.
As you can see, there is very little space available.

S had to modify the built-in cabinet a bit. The oven definitely burns fewer things now, but I still need to think of slightly more complicated things to bake so I can  really test it.

Lo siento, hoy no hay una entrada en español.

Languages // Idiomas

I´m still doing my language exchanges, many of which include coffee and a nice view. // Continúo con mis intercambios de idiomas, muchos de los cuales incluyen café y una bonita vista.

In January, I took my certification exam for B2 Spanish. As a reminder,Europe has six standard language levels, and this is the fourth one (read more here). It was an official examination of the Madrid Community language schools and it lasted more than four hours. The exam had a lot of parts: reading, listening, writing, talking, and interpreting written texts. I got my grades at the end of January, and I passed it with flying colors. Honestly, I was quite surprised, because I thought I would pass, but not with such good grades. Unfortunately, more than half of my class failed it, because it's a really rigorous exam.

Now that I have this level, I'm going to take a little break. Level B2 is good enough to study at the university or to do a lot of professional jobs. I still can't get involved in philosophical debates, and I still sound like a bit of an idiot when I talk, but I really understand life, and language, on a day-to-day basis, Plus, I can read books and newspaper articles and talk to old people at the bus stops.

Because of all of this free time, I've started studying French. I underestimated how difficult it would be to begin a new language at age 50. I'm taking some classes online with an asynchronous program, and a few private lessons with a teacher in Cameroon. I hope that after a few more months I can tell you my name, my age, and my favorite color. Right now I can only count to 20, so I'm 20 years old. :)

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En enero, hice mi prueba de certificación para el nivel B2 en español. Fue una prueba oficial de las escuelas de la Comunidad de Madrid (Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas) y duró más de cuatro horas. Tiene muchas partes: de leer, de escuchar, de escribir, de hablar y de mediación de textos escritos. Recibí mis notas al final de enero, y lo aprobé con notas muy buenas. De hecho, me sorprendió, porque esperaba aprobarlo, pero no con tanta facilidad. Lamentablemente, más de la mitad de mi clase la suspendió, porque fue un examen muy riguroso.

Creo que demostrando este nivel, puedo hacer una pausa. El nivel B2 es suficiente para estudiar en la universidad, o para llevar a cabo diferentes oficios o profesiones. Todavía no puedo discutir sobre la filosofía, y sigo sonando como una idiota, pero me desenvuelo muy bien el día a día, puedo leer libros y artículos de periódicos, y hablar con los mayores en las paradas de autobuses.

Dado que tengo tanto tiempo libre, he empezado a estudiar francés. Subestimé lo difícil que sería empezar con un nuevo idioma cuando tienes cincuenta años. Tomo algunas clases online con un programa asíncrono y algunas clases privadas online con un profesor de Camerún. Espero que después de algunos meses más pueda decir mi nombre, mi edad y mi color favorito. Ahora mismo, solo puedo contar hasta 20, entonces, así que tengo solo veinte años : )

Springtime // Primavera

Enjoying the scent of an almond tree. // Estoy disfrutando de un almendro.

It's almost spring. It's still cold at night, but I don't always need a coat. It rained a lot here during January and February. In fact, it was too much, because there were floods throughout the country and a lot of people were desperately missing the sun. I read that if we don't receive a single drop of rain more, we still wouldn't have a drought this year because all of the reservoirs are full. On the other hand, winter showers bring spring flowers, if I may mangle an expression.

The early part of March is the season for blooming cherry and almond trees. The almond trees have a strong, sweet scent which I enjoy. I know that almond trees can be ornamental or actually produce fruits, so in the fall I'm hoping to go visit them and see if they actually have nuts. I love the idea of being able to collect almonds in the parks, just like I do with olives. 

I am part of a hiking group, and almost every month there's been an opportunity to take a walk with them. The last one was really lovely; with all the rain there were tons of mountain streams. Fortunately we had a really tall person who could help all the short legged people cross them. The hiking schedule this group uses is delightful. First, we have a coffee and then we take the commuter train to the mountains. After a few hours of hiking, we have a picnic in the forest. and then before we return, we drink a beer together. It's very civilized hiking. 

 

My "winter garden" on the terrace. // Mi terraza con mi «jardín de invierno».

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Es casi primavera. Todavía hace frío por las noches, sin embargo aún no necesito un abrigo. Además, en España llovió frecuentemente durante enero y febrero. Francamente, fue demasiada, hubo muchas inundaciones en el país y mucha gente se quejó de la falta de sol. He leído que, si no recibiéramos ninguna gota más durante el año, no tendríamos sequía porque los embalses están llenos. Por otro lado, cuando hay lluvia, hay flores silvestres y árboles florecientes. 

La primera parte de marzo es tiempo de cerezos y almendros. Los almendros tienen un olor dulce y penetrante. Sé que los almendros pueden ser árboles ornamentales o dar almendras. En otoño, tengo pensado comprobar si ya tienen estos frutos secos. Me encanta la idea de recoger almendras en los parques como se hace con las aceitunas.

Soy parte de un grupo de senderismo, y casi cada mes hay una oportunidad de dar un paseo con ellos. La última fue muy bonita; con la lluvia había muchos arroyos de montaña. Afortunadamente, hubo una persona alta que pudo ayudar a los paticortos a cruzar los arroyos. El horario de senderismo de este grupo me gusta muchísimo. Primero, tomamos un café y vamos juntos en tren de Cercanías a las montañas. Después de algunas horas de senderismo, comemos un pícnic en el bosque. Antes de regresar, tomamos una cerveza juntos. Es una caminata civilizada.

Eindhoven

I recently returned from a trip to Eindhoven, Netherlands, where I was visitng my old university friend A. We only manage to see each other once every three or four years, but always have a good time when we get together. He moved from the US to NL a couple of years ago, which gave me the perfect excuse to enjoy some cold weather and non-Spanish cuisine.

We had exceptionally non-rainy weather on the weekend I was there, which mean we could bike to Belgium for beer and cake. It sounds really impressive to say you´ve bike to a new country, but really it was only 20 km (12 miles) each way, so not that long of a trip. In any case, the beer and cake was outstanding, and I would have biked twice as far for it.

On my final day, I was reminded of the more typical February weather. I was the only one bothering with an umbrella in the light drizzle. Spain has clearly made me weak.

A helped me buy a weekend train pass which meant we could traverse the country. Lunch in Utrecht, the windmill museum in Zaanse Schans, and fancy gold-leaf strewn cakes in Amsterdam. We also attended a fun video mapping / music show that A had located as a 50th birthday gift to me. 

I love, love, loved all the vegetarian options. This was all purchased at the train station convenience store, which had a large selection of sandwiches for me (I opted for the egg and fake bacon) and lots of  types of beer, including non-alcoholic versions. Sadly, there was no vegetarian sushi. It was a nice picnic on the train.

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Lo siento, hoy no hay entrada español.

Part two of the US trip, on the other coast

The second part of my US trip was a delayed Christmas celebration with my family. We decided the main meal would be collaborative and span the continents. It was: 

Moroccan appetizer platter (Africa) 

Japanese okinomoyaki, a pancake/ cabbage/ noodle dish (Asia)

Australian roasted vegetable Salad (Oceania)

Take-out roasted chicken (North America) 

Brazilian rice and vegetables (South America) 

Ice water (Antarctica) 

Russian honey cake (Europe)

It was all delicious, but the standout dish was the ten-layer honey cake my sister-in-law made. It required her to "burn" the honey, incorporate that into ten cake layers, and then stack them with a dulce de leche whipped cream frosting. Incredible. And not something I'll be recreating soon, as it made about 20 servings and took five hours to prepare. 

I really, really miss pets, as evidenced by big grin here. I do hope to get a cat someday soon, but only after I feel more sure about where I´m living for the next five years.

I spend all my time in the Pacific northwest remarking on how pretty it is. I also miss green, verdant landscapes.

The flip side of the wonderful time with friends and family is what's happening to immigrants and their allies in my country, especially in Minneapolis. It was surreal to be there and know what was happening within the same borders. These signs were a stark reminder that it has been happening in Portland and other cities too.

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Lo siento, hoy no hay una entranda en español.