My first trip outside of Spain- Lisbon, Portugal

When planning our first trip outside of Spain many people asked me why Portugal? Well, why not? Have you ever seen pictures of Portugal? It is absolutely beautiful and the capitol, Lisbon, is the perfect city to do a weekend trip because it is only a 55 minute plane flight! Not having classes on Friday also makes it easy to leave Thursday night and have a great 3-4 day weekend trip somewhere. Flying into Lisbon you get a great view of the April 25 bridge connecting Lisbon to the municipality of Almada. The bridge is extremely identical to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and was actually built by the same company, the American Bridge Company. It is the 20th largest suspension bridge in the entire world! 

Upon arriving into the city of Lisbon it was already a dramatic difference in temperature compared to Madrid. No jacket needed in this sunny city. Not only was this going to be my first time in Portugal but it was my first time staying in a hostel and oh what an experience that was. Because my mom is very particular about the hotel rooms she has stayed in I have always been lucky to stay in very amazingly clean and beautiful hotel rooms. I understand that I paid 12 euro a night so clearly I was not expecting anything special, but I think the bruises on my body from the springs on what they called a mattress explain my satisfaction with my first hostel experience. However, I cannot complain too much because the picture to the right was our view from our hostel room. Not too shabby eh?








Lisbon is an extremely old city which can be shown by their cobblestone roads. Ladies leave the stiletto heels behind whenever making a trip here. There are NO paved roads in ALL of Lisbon and I learned this the hard way unfortunately.

Our first night out in Lisbon we went to a great Portuguese restaurant located only a few short blocks from our hostel. When ordering out in Lisbon make sure you try their cod fish because this is what they are known for. (which by the way I don't know how you can really make cod much better. It's cod for goodness sake! It can really only be as good as the sauce and spices it's cooked in.) The night life in Lisbon was surprisingly very different than the clubbing scene back in Madrid. Instead the portuguese LOVE to drink outside in the streets and not just with a few friends either. The streets of Barrio Alto beginning around midnight will become PACKED with people. It will take a taxi about 10 minutes just to go 3 blocks. 

The following day was an amazing sight seeing experience of the entire city of Lisbon. As a group we decided to take the "hop on hop off" bus tour of Lisbon. I highly recommend this for anyone but especially those who do not have a lot of time to see the city. It was only 15 euro and the bus took us to every tourist spot, monument and sight that needed to be seen! The picture to the left is one of me and my friend in front of the Estrela Basilica in Lisbon. This was my first open top bus tour and it was a great first experience. We were able to see everything and hop off the bus if we wanted to stay longer in one area and hop back on when we were done sight seeing! Definitely recommend this! 

Some of the sights we saw along our tour included the Belem tower, the Discoveries Monument, Estrela Basilica, Lisbon's bull fighting stadium and the national church of Santa Engracia. Our first stop was to the Belem Tower, one of Lisbon's oldest and most well known monuments. The tower was built in the early 16th century as a fortress in order to protect the entrance to Lisbon's harbor. It was commissioned by King John II as part of a defense system and and ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It has some of the most amazing architecture I have ever seen. 

 

The next site we went to was the Discoveries Monument located across from the Belem Tower and also along the water. This monument shown to the right was inaugurated in 1960 during the celebration of the 500 year anniversary of Henry the Navigator. Not only does it include Henry the Navigator at the front tip of the monument but it includes various other Portuguese heroes.

Portugal's bull fighting stadium is seen to the left. Bull fighting season in Spain does not start until the end of March into early April and runs until about September. Although I'm a little hesitant on seeing a bull fight I will definitely be seeing one before I leave Spain. (And don't worry I will blog all about it!)

Lisbon's Royal Palace

Last but not least before leaving Portugal you must try un pastel de nata, Lisbon's most famous secret recipe! This small flaky custard dessert is a portuguese delicacy. The original recipe for pastel de natas was invented by two catholic sisters in a convent and has since then been heavily guarded. (Only one dessert shop in Portugal has the true recipe for this fine dessert) The original name for the dessert was "pastel de belem" but many pasterlerias have tried to copy the dessert and since then its popularity spread all through Portugal. They are sold in any pasteleria in Portugal however, the only place to carry the true guarded recipe is the Pasteis de Belem which are still said to be the best.

El Tigre! My favorite bar in Madrid thus far

El tigre is basically a hole in the wall bar that is extremely small and ALWAYS packed. But aren't those always the BEST types of places to go? On any weekend night it is so incredibly packed you will be standing and touching at least four other people. If you even make it inside the bar you will have to push past dozens and dozens of people in order to make it anywhere. Why make such the hassle for such a small and cramped place? It has the best drinks and tapas drinks you will find anywhere in Madrid except Cien Bocadillas on a Wednesday night where everything is 1 euro! Order 1 HUGE mohito at el tigre for 5 euros and get a plate of tapas free with your drink! It is one of the best deals in all of Madrid. The tapas are actually a full plate too ranging from croquetas (my new favorite food), potatoes with hot sauce, breads and cheeses and more! It is more of a local bar where americans will go but it is definitely a well hidden secret of Madrid! My taxi driver didn't even know where it was or the street it was on when we asked him to drop us off there! I thought taxi drivers were supposed to know where everything was!

While in Madrid...Eat chocolate con churros...CHECK

Chocolate con churros is one of Spain's most typical desserts and as a tourist it is a MUST have before leaving! However, a spanish churro is much different than the ones served in the United States at various theme parks and fairs. Instead of tall sticks doused in sugar they are typically round fried pieces of dough with just some powdered sugar sprinkled on top. The chocolate in Europe is much more rich than the chocolate in the U.S. as well. However, when combining the fried dough with melted chocolate it is a craving you won't be able to resist while in Spain!

While in Madrid....See a Flamenco show... CHECK!

Flamenco is an exotic dance considered to be a very large part of the culture in Spain. One cannot visit any part of Spain without seeing this amazing colorful and vibrant form of dance. It is usually accompanied by a guitarist and clapping. Girls will usually wear the traditional dress that is very dramatic in its coloring and very large at the bottom. On Wednesday I was able to see my first Flamenco Show in el teatro Munoz seca with our IES program. Having never seen a flamenco show and only hearing about them in my spanish classes I thought we were going to a restaurant to watch one couple dance flamenco. Instead I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived to a two story theatre for an hour and a half showing of flamenco! The show we saw below was called Ballet Flamenco de Madrid.

The show consisted of various performances by multiple dancers. The show opened with smoke filling the entire stage and theatre and one flamenco dancer appearing in the middle of the stage. Two men accompanied her for an amazing opening performance of clapping and very aggressive but beautiful movements. The energy in the room increased dramatically when the stage was filled with more and more flamenco dancers dancing and clapping completely in synch! The castanet is the instrument in which the dancers use to clap. It is very difficult to learn yet very amazing to watch and hear.



The picture to the right are the instruments in which the flamenco dancers use when performing. They are generally made out of shells of ivory or hollow hardwood and held in the palm of the hand of the performers. They are a very difficult instrument to learn however when performed in flamenco it is one of the most exotic and interesting instruments you will ever hear and see performed.







The dance to the left was my favorite performance of the night. All of the performers were dressed in very vibrant colors illuminating the stage. The performances with multiple dancers are the most amazing because everyone is so in synch with each other it is an amazing thing to watch. The show was an hour and a half of amazing flamenco dancing in an amazing theatre right in the center of Madrid.

My trip to the spanish doctor's office

Due to the fact that I'm in a foreign country I delayed going to the doctor for as long as possible. However, once I could no longer control my constant coughing I finally had to make an appointment. And what an experience it was. I was extremely nervous about getting to the doctor because this was going to be my first time walking around the city of Madrid alone as well as taking the metro alone. However, the metro of Madrid is 1,000 times easier than the subways of NYC not to mention much cleaner. I didn't get lost on the metro but once I got off the metro even though I had a clear drawn out map in front of me I still got lost. Shocking I know. After walking around aimlessly and knowing I was somewhat close to my destination I hailed a cab not wanting to be late for my appointment. When I told the cab driver my destination he probably wanted to kick me out right then and there. "Esta aqui" as he pointed 2 blocks over. I was literally right next to the street. Even taking a cab ride did not help me though because I told him the wrong number address so when I got off I was about 10 numbers off. You would think I could just walk down the street and find it but that was not the case. I walked up and back down the street multiple times before asking a passerby "donde esta el numero uno!" And then he pointed to the building right behind us. This building had no signs of a doctors office and looked like an extremely nice apartment complex or museum! Still not thinking I was in the right place I walked up to the first floor and finally a sign for the doctors office!

Let me describe the image for you of my doctor's office: Fireplace, wooden shelves with very old books on them, wooden floors, nice paintings hung all around the wall, and to top it off a large wooden desk in which my doctor sat behind. This was definitely the nicest doctor's office I had ever been in! Although the procedure went the same (taking my blood pressure and heart rate etc.) I was a little skeptical. He was not inclined to give me antibiotics until I told him I really thought I needed them. After begging for antibiotics I was also prescribed cough syrup. (something that would never happen in the U.S.) Although it was a little different of an experience it was still basically the same.

The pharmacy here: The U.S. needs to take a note on how the Madrid pharmacy's work. When you drop off a doctor's prescription in the pharmacy's here you get that prescription right then and there! No waiting, no coming back and making another trip! It was fantastic!

SEGOVIA! One of the most beautiful places I've ever traveled!

Yesterday we traveled to the city of Segovia located about an hour North of Madrid. After a short bus ride with our IES program we were dropped off in front of Segovia's famous aqueduct built in the second century. It is one of Spain's most prized and best preserved ancient monuments. When you hear of Segovia this is one of the first things that comes to mind. The aqueduct is built out of granite blocks of brick and stretches to about 2,950 feet! It was great being able to visit it with friends and a free tour guide loading us with information! 

After visiting the aqueduct we walked through the city which was constructed of very old and beautifully architected buildings. The streets were very narrow but everything about the city was amazingly beautiful. Our second stop was the Cathedral of Segovia, the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen in my life! It is a Roman Catholic religious cathedral located in the center of the city and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The cathedral was built in the 16th century by Juan Gil Hontanon a famous architect of Segovia who deals with Gothic type style buildings. 

The palace of Alcazar was next on our list of places to visit in Segovia. Alcazar (located below) is one of the most distinctive palaces in all of Spain. Alcazar was originally built in the 12th century and served as a royal palace for kings and royal ceremonies and is surrounded by an extremely large and deep moat. Each room had the most beautifully architected ceiling I have ever seen in my life. The view from inside the palace looked out over all of Segovia because it is located on the largest hill in the city. You are able to see everything from inside of the palace. There was a special room for where the royal ceremonies took place as well as several rooms dedicated solely to artillery gear that the knights used to wear. It was one of the most interesting rooms of all. 

       
              (Moat of Alcazar)                                           (Artillery room)

After touring the Alcazar castle we had to climb down the extremely high hill that the palace is located on. The steps were extremely steep and it took us a while to get down them. We then visited the church of Vera Cruz. The church of Vera Cruz was used for the Knights Templar, a medieval secret society. It is a 12 sided structure with a tower also overlooking the city. The church was built in the 13th century. 

After a long tiring day of walking around Segovia an sightseeing we ate a 7 course meal at a restaurant about a half hour away. The lunch included roasted red peppers, una tortilla, croquetas, bread with tomato paste spread, salad with tuna, chicken as the main course, and ponche. (a spanish dessert) A great finish to an amazing day!

The customs of Spain

One of the customs of Spain I have grown to love is the siesta, a scheduled nap built into your day between the hours of 2 and 5. The siesta should normally last about 2 hours however, Becca and I have been extending our naps because of all of the activities we have been doing.

Another custom of Spain I have grown to not love as much is the hours of the day in which lunch and dinner are served. For an American waking up at 8 and eating breakfast is normal however, waiting until 2 or 3pm to eat lunch is an extremely long gap. You don't want to snack too much either because mine and Becca's senora makes extremely large lunches and it is considered rude to not finish your plate. (They will think you don't like their food) It therefore makes it extremely hard to adjust to the meal time differences. Spaniards do not eat dinner here until about 10pm which is another extremely long gap between lunch and dinner. For an American, 6 or 7 is usually dinnertime therefore also making it very hard to adjust to the new dinner time here. The first day we came home from class me and Becca said "we were starving" which for us is obviously an exaggeration but our senora thought we were so hungry she made Becca and I EXTRA food that we could barely finish. We have not said we were starving again!

Another thing we have been trying to get used to is the lateness of everything. No one seems to go out early here, it is not until at least 1pm that the clubs begin to fill up and even then they are not full until around 3pm. Because of this club promoters will offer free entrance until about 1:30pm which sounds crazy because in the U.S. the club would be completely packed by this time however, in Spain it is a totally different story. Unlike the U.S. the clubs do not close until 6am and many people will stay out until this time because it is also when the metro opens back up as well. Ironically, the metro closes at 1:30pm causing you to have to take a taxi home or wait until 6am to catch the metro again.

These are only a few of the customs I have begun to get used as I'm sure there are many more to come!