La Mejor Concinera del Mundo

I really can't say enough good things about my host mom, Juana. She is kind yet strong, humble yet spirited, stern yet silly. I have been lucky to live with such a wonderful woman. Juana is a madre of many talents, and, in addition to all her incredible character traits, she is the best cook on EARTH! On our only weekend that we actually stayed in Madrid, Rebecca and I decided to attempt to learn from the master. We set aside and entire morning for "cooking with Juana". I felt like a guest of a culinary sensation on a segment from the spanish cooking channel. She doesn't use any measurements, and relies on years of practice, an impeccable sense of taste, and a sixth sense for just the right ingredients. As a remedial cook at best, I could definitely learn a thing or two from Juana!

First Juana taught us to make Tortilla Española, which is nothing like a tortilla and more like a potato keish. Here is la receta that we came up with by watching and listening to her because she doesn't have anything written down (please excuse the spanglish):

Ingredientes: huevos, patatas, cebolla, aceite, sal

-pone el aceite el un sarten (about half full)

-wait until the oil is hot, then add patatas (cut in small chips) y cebolla (diced)

-pone la sal arriba

-cover with slotted top and let fry for a few minutes

-mix occasionally to spread sabor

-la mesclas esta lista cuando las patatas tienen un poco de color

-cuando esta lista drain the oil

-coge un otro sarten y pone las patatas until they break easily (leave a little oil to cook the eggs in)

-beat the eggs in a separate bowl (at this point Juana took the spoon from my hand and showed me the difference between "beating" and "mixing", never have eggs been beaten with such force!)

-pone los huevos in the second sarten with the potatoes

-let fry for a few minutes on a not too hot flame

-to flip get a plato that is un poco mas grande del sarten 

-flip the tortilla onto the plate and slide back into the pan to fry the other side

-fin!

Juana also taught us how to make the most delectable dessert, Torrijas. These are normally only served during la semana santa (holy week), but Juana loved us a lot and made them about twice a month :) They are basically fried french toast (sensing a theme of frying all foods yet?) covered in cinnamon and sugar  

and are absolutely delicious!

Just to top off my admiration for this lovely lady, she decided to come to church with us. Our whole study abroad group was doing a little farewell musical number for the ward, and Rebecca and I decided to invite Juana. She is very Catholic, so we weren't banking on her coming. But we tried anyways. And she came! She made sure she had the right bus times and routes to get to sacrament meeting on time and was so nervous that she repeatedly asked me if there were any special customs or rules. She showed up during sunday school and was that an entrance if I have ever seen one. She glided in with her brand new yellow and black jacket, plaid skirt, tights, and black lace-up heels-definitely the classiest woman in the room. She sat patiently through the meetings, and I tried to explain what was going on as best I could. She just kept saying how different it was from her church (she is devoutly Catholic) and she thought that we spiked the sacrament :) During the musical number-we sang "God be with You 'Til We Meet Again" in spanish- I looked down at Juana, and, upon seeing the tears in her eyes, couldn't help but tear up a little myself. At the end of the meeting she made the rounds and introduced her way around the chapel. She even found an old man that she recognized from the grocery store and chatted with him for quite a while; I am hoping for a little love connection. Rebecca and I performed a little private concert in another room of a piece that we had prepared just for her, and, as she exited the building with one of us on each arm, I think she truly felt like a queen. Mission accomplished! We ended the whole experience in "Juana fashion" with her running, in her heels, after the number 6 bus to make it wait for us. Perfect end to a perfect day with a perfect madre Española.

We Love Juana!

Te Amo,

Brooke

Toledo

My experience in Spain has been nearly perfect thus far, and, as it comes to a close, I have only one regret....my blog is so not up to date! It is, however, fun to look back through my pictures and recap my adventures as I slowly but surely recount the time here. I apologize if the written descriptions get slightly neglected in these next few, but, lets be honest, you all really read for the pictures anyways :) Next on my list is to update: Toledo....

Toledo, the city on the hill, is just a short ride outside of Madrid. Known for its swords, Greco painting, and Cathedral (como todos los ciudades aqui), Toledo harmonizes three of the most distinct cultures in the world. It is a perfect conglomeration of Christian, Moorish, and Jewish culture which can be seen in the architecture, structure, and general atmosphere of the city. It is one of the few cities in the world where these three cultures were actually able to coexist peacefully for a time (albeit a very short time) and thus exhibits a ambiance entirely its own. 

Lexi and Jenny ...my running buddies :)

"El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz" (El Greco)

Catedral 

Te Amo

Brooke

Andalucia

Once again I am a couple weeks behind, pero es la vida! A few weeks ago we traveled down south to the region called Andalusia. I say this every time we travel to a new place, but... I really think this has been my favorite trip thus far. We visited some of the most well known landmarks of Spain, and enjoyed the warm weather and sunny cities. Boy, was I glad to see the sun! It amazes me how, within the same country and only a couple hours of driving, we can feel like we are in a totally different place. I love discovering the unique nuances, auras, and customs of the different regions. During this particular excursion we stopped in Consuegra, Cordoba, Sevilla, y Granada.

Consuegra

At this point they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that are on that plain.

"Fortune," said Don Quixote to his squire, as soon as he had seen them, "is arranging matters for us better than we could have hoped. Look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants rise up, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes. For this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth."

yes, this is the site that inspired the infamous windmill scene in Don Quixote!

sometimes we pretend we are a girl band :)

Cordoba

the famous arches of la Mesquita

Rebecca, Sarah, Alyssa

Reales Alcazares

Sevilla

I LOVE THIS CITY!

this is normal :)

largest gothic cathedral in the world!

climbing the tower of the largest gothic cathedral in the world

Christopher Columbus' tomb inside the largest gothic cathedral in the world

palace adjacent to the largest gothic cathedral in the world 

just having some gelato next to the largest gothic cathedral in the world

Sevilla is a city of colors

and oranges :)

view from our hotel

pretty friends

Granada

yes, this is the home of the famous Alhambra!!
A little history: The Alhambra was a self-sufficient fortress/ palace that housed the Muslim monarchy in the 13th and 14th century and could function autonomously from the rest of the city. It's architecture exhibits the perfect culmination of Andalusian art with lots of colorful tiling, intricate arches, and delicate water features. The expansive grounds provide an excellent photographic layout for aspiring photographers such as myself, and I may have gone a little camera happy :)

once again...meet the band :)

Te Amo,

Brooke

La Ciudad de la Luz

cheap inter-european travel + a free weekend = trip to Paris :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

On a thursday after Spanish class Rebecca, Emily, Sara, Alyssa, Erin, Carly, and I boarded the metro toward the airport and embarked on a grand adventure. Our destination: the city of the lights. The weekend turned out to be a whirlwind of excitement, but we learned a few things along the way. Here are a few of the do's and don'ts of traveling in Paris:

DO book your flight through easyjet...less than $100 round trip!

DON'T attempt to fit 6 girls into a 2 person hotel room. 1. the rooms aren't big enough. 2. the front desk takes your key every time you enter and exit the hotel, thus checking how many people are actually staying in the room. We ended up searching the streets late thursday night for another hotel with vacancy. Only two of us were able to stay in the original pint-sized room, while the other four bunked down the street in what we deemed as a little more than slightly sketchy hotel.

DO replace every meal with a nutella and banana crepe. self explanatory.

DON'T try to walk everywhere. Although it is an excellent strategy for burning off some of those crepes, you can definitely save some time if you invest in a book of metro tickets. The first day we pretty much just pinpointed the big sites (which are hard to miss) and walked in those general directions. Although this was a fun way to explore the city, we could have saved some time by figuring out the metros a little earlier.

DO see all the major sites :)

The Louvre

 Shout out to Nike

 Lady Madonna- Leonardo Da Vinci

 Mona Lisa Smile

 Venus De Milo 

 Sphinx

Eiffel Tower

 Arch De Triumph

 Notre Dame

 Moulin Rouge

DON'T skip the ferris wheel or carousel. These may seem juvenile, but you are never too old for a little magic :) The view from the top of the ferris wheel was truly spectacular; we discovered why Paris earned the title "city of lights".

DON'T get to the dance clubs until 1 am, DO stay until they close at 5 am, DON'T make the bouncers angry (they are large and scary and we watched them throw a guy against the wall and beat him to a pulp), DO make new friends from the Paris business school, DON'T sleep in too late and miss your check out time the next day!

Rebecca. Sara, and I made the front page of "Le Players" club ad :) 

DO encourage the performers in the metro. They can be quite entertaining. Ejemplo: Here is Emily holding a board for a circus performer who pretended to break it with his head. Maybe you had to be there, but we got quite the laugh from it.

DON'T stand too close to the doors on the metro. They randomly swing open while the train is moving at very high speeds. Never have I been so thankful for the cleanliness and safety of Spain's public transportation.

DO make friends with the captains of Scotland's rugby team. There were thousands of Scots in Paris for the weekend's rugby match and we happened to run in to the captains of the team who happened to want a picture in front of the Eiffel tower with the cute American girls :)

DON'T follow all the latest fashion trends...

man on a pink vespa with a plaid kilt and thigh highs anyone?

DON'T respond to French people in Spanish. After only speaking Spanish to people outside our group for over a month, it just comes naturally to respond to other people in Spanish. French people, however, could not seem to get over the fact that 6 very American looking girls were speaking Spanish...we got many a confused and bewildered look.

DO savor every moment of a magical weekend in Paris with some of the most amazing girls i know!

Te Amo,

Brooke