It is FINALLY that time we have been waiting for all winter... SEMANA SANTA (Holy Week). Madrileños have been fleeing the city (we went to a bar last night and no one was there...) and heading to their towns or to more exotic locations. One of the teachers I give a private class to is taking a ladies trip to Austria with her daughter, sisters, and mother. Another is heading to her family's beach-house near Valencia. And have no fear, the foreigners are all hitting the road, too!
I am off tomorrow morning to Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands. Check it out on a map, it's basically Africa, but is a Spanish province/community. We will be in the south of the island where they say it is sunny all year with temperatures in the low- to mid-70s almost year-round. We can't wait! Rachel and I are planning on only eating fruit and doing some exploration around the beach-going... I'll tell you all about it when we get back after Easter!
If it's really like this, I think I can handle it! CUTE and has the beach. I'll be thinking of you all!
WEDNESDAY IT SNOWED IN COLLADO VILLALBA WHERE I WORK! A slushy snow, but a snow that gathered on the ground and made the streets in town white and pretty! This means I stayed in that afternoon and rested my REALLY sore muscles and on-coming tendonitis (It's a recurring thing, so I almost know how to take care of it by now).
This winter really did get me down, and I apologize that I have taken that and my inability to get my computer to work out on my blog. I finally backed up all my photos, music, and documents and was able to upload pictures from the trips I've taken since the new year. It was cold around here, I wasn't exercising, and we all know what happens to my mind when I am inactive physically (it probably happens more to you than you realize too, it's psychologically proven, so get out there and get moving!)... Apologies, here is a brief update of what I've been up to in travel:
Ávila:
Spent a lovely Saturday in Ávila, just a bit outside of Madrid, with some crazy Canadians back in January. The town is known for its medieval wall...
[Imagine a picture here I just can't get to upload - google it or something]
...and egg yolk treats called yemas.
[Same picture story here]
The other ladies enjoyed the typical HUGE SLAB OF STEAK, which I replaced with salmon (We're talking about a place that's almost as inland as it gets. No, wait, that would be Madrid, but this is an even smaller town and only slightly closer to the Atlantic) and a potato dish.
It was a beautiful afternoon and I'm happy to check off the trip that I told people I was going to take since November.
Ciudad Real:
For Carnaval we headed south to Ciudad Real, a nothing-town where Marie lives, to see what they might have to offer. I had missed three days of school the week before with the flu and was just coming off of a fever, but we did manage to dress up at the 3 Mosqueteras (or something like that - face masks and swords?) and head to a neighboring town with thousands of crazy Spaniards dressed up in every kind of costume. I would say they finally made up for their lack of spirit on Halloween and next year I hope to be in Cadiz for it (much more famous, crazy, and amazing).
Córdoba:
Returning to Córdoba was no hardship; I loved it four years ago when we went as a class and having an opportunity to go back with Kate, Pablo - a guy she works with - and Pablo's girlfriend to stay in Pablo's mom's house was not to be missed. She took marvelous care of us the entire weekend, giving us bed space, TOO MUCH food, and showing us around the city. Here's a smattering of pictures from that adventure. Best part? The HUGE tortilla de patatas you see here.
[You would see here if my computer weren't also taking part in the general strike that the rest of the country is doing tomorrow, March 29]
I would call this a spot of both good and bad luck. I can't type much, but I've been getting complaints about not posting enough (which is funny because no one ever comments on any post, so I really didn't think anyone was reading this.), so here goes a recent update to explain why I can't really respond to your emails these days. Typing is a biiiit difficult with 7 fingers (I just learned last month I don't type with my pinkies).
On Wednesday I got home from school, went for a run and got home ready to make a quick lunch, take a shower, and head to an appointment with a vascular surgeon about 45 minutes away by two forms of public transportation. I was making a new dish, tomato puree with a fried egg cooked in it, and I was using tomato from a can. I am stupid and was scraping out the tomato with a knife and thought, "hey, my finger could do this too!" and I sliced along the middle knuckle of the right index finger. Blood all over my bathroom, iodine from one roommate, gauze from the other, and went to the hospital a half hour early (without washing my hair, though this was two days ago and I still haven't washed it...) to go the emergency room, Urgencias. They took one look at it and sent me into a room with a table and big light, brought the doctor in, he directed the nurses, and I ended up getting some local anesthetic and two little stitches with some BIG blue thread. Finished up there, with some other funny stories, but typing isn't easy, went upstairs a half hour late for my normal appointment where he told me I have to go to a rheumatologist, so I went upstairs and signed up for an appointment with that guy.
Finger still can't move without me feeling it tear open, end of it still feels asleep, and today I get to take the bandaid off to see what's underneath!
I also just read The Hunger Games (weird book, TERRIBLY written, but interesting story) and had very weird dreams last night about being in the Games but ours was set in a big diving well with offshoots, and I was underwater for really long periods of time. I blame loss-of-blood for how strange the dreams are.
