Un viaje al supermercado

Today I spent a long time stocking up on some groceries.  First thing that I noticed?  The fruit and veggies are so much cheaper here in Madrid!  Check out my photos below.  Included are the flyer, photos of the store, and my receipt.  

As you look through the photos, note that all periods/decimal points are commas.  For example, in the ad below, it says that the peaches cost 0,89 cents/kg.  Pretty crazy, eh?  

I was most excited about the price of avocados - one avocado cost me 55 euro cents, which is only about 70 cents in USD! Not too bad :)

Lunes de lenguaje!

One of the main reasons I decided to live in Madrid this summer was to improve my Spanish - sure, I know "text book" Spanish, but I would love to sound more native and use phrases that Spaniards use in every day conversation. Luckily, the couple I'm living with and all of the friends that I've made here have been really helpful in teaching me some new phrases and vocabulary!

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Frases:
quedar = to meet up 
Quedamos en la estatua en la plaza. 
-->  "We'll meet up at the statue in the plaza."


flipar = to flip out/go crazy/freak out
Estoy flipando porque acabo de ver a un actor famoso! 
-->  "I'm freaking out because I just saw a famous actor!"

"Es una locura." = that's/it's crazy!
La educacion cuesta muchisimo en EEUU. Es una locura! 
--> "Education costs a lot in the US. It's crazy!"

"No cuentes conmigo." = Don't count on me!
--Quieres ir al cine con nosotros?  -Ay, no se. No cuentes conmigo. 
--> "Do you want to go to the movies with us? -- Ay, I don't know. Don't count on me."

"amar con locura." = To love something A LOT! (literally "with craziness," like obsessively)
Juley, el gato, ama el raton con locura. Lo ama muchisimo. 
--> "Juley, the cat, loves the rat A LOT.  She loves it so much."

 "Me meto contigo." = I'm messing with you.
Tu eres muy feo. Ay! Me meto contigo ;)  
--> "You are very ugly. Oh I'm just messing with you!!

Vocabulario:
la cuna = the wedge (of cheese, women's high heels, doorstop, etc.)
Le pedi una cuna de queso manchego.  
--> "I ordered a wedge of Manchego cheese."

el pomo = the doorknob
Cada puerta tiene pomo.
--> "Each door has a doorknob."


la banderilla = a sort of tapa, on a toothpick (like a mini shish kebab)
Mi tapa favorita es una banderilla de cebollas, aceitunas, pimientos y atun. 
--> "My favorite tapa is a banderilla of onions, green olives, peppers, and tuna."

la chuleta = the cheatsheet
Ay no recuerdo mucho de este barrio. Necesito escribir una chuleta. 
--> [On a walking tour] "Ay, I don't remember much about this neighborhood.  I need a cheatsheet."

castizo = old, untainted, antique, genuine (mainly culture-based)
Este barrio es lo mas castizo de Madrid - mira las calles de guijarros y la iglesia bonita. 
--> "This neighborhood is the oldest/most genuine in Madrid - look at the cobblestone streets and the pretty church."

el chulapo/la chulapa = the traditional garb of Madrid
Durante las celebraciones, muchos madrilenos llevan los chulapos y las chulapas. 
--> "During the celebrations, many people from Madrid where chulapas."

photo credit: http://www.travelnauta.com/san-isidro-en-madrid-feria-romeria-y-chotis/

Hasta luego!! 

Un horario diferente

A lot of other countries have different eating schedules.  Some are the same as the US - others, like Spain, are very different.  

Here is what I've experienced so far: 

1) because I'm on summer vacation and have nothing to wake up early for, I usually sleep until 10.  I cook breakfast in my apartment sometime between 10:30 and noon.  Then I head out and walk around/explore Madrid.

2) between 3-5, I eat lunch.  Sometimes I'll buy something at a store or go to a restaurant, but sometimes I cook in the apartment.

3) now here is the craziest part: dinner.  It's very typical to go out for a drink and/or "tapas" (light snacks) between 7-10 with friends.  Then, at some point after that, you may find yourself eating a real dinner.  This may be grabbing a slice of pizza para llevar ("to go"), sitting down at a cafe or restaurant, or cooking in your apartment.  You can call it a night after that, or if you really want to have some fun...then you can go out to different clubs or hang out in the plazas until 3-4am.  Last night I tried going to bed at 2am, and I heard people outside on the streets and plazas until 4ish!!  Do Spaniards ever sleep?

Anyways, it's been crazy adjusting to the new eating schedule, but I'm shocked to see that less than a week after arriving, I don't even think about lunch until 3/4ish and dinner till 10ish.  Dios mio!

Having a delicious cup of coffee helps to combat the vicious jet lag early on!  This is Toma Cafe in the hip neighborhood of Malasana.

Las plazas de Madrid

As we've talked about in class, plazas are very popular in most other countries.  Yes, there are a few in the US in big cities such as New York City or Boston, but plazas are essentially everywhere in Spain.  I have been to maybe 1-2 dozen so far, and I know there are dozens more to visit!  Some plazas are really big, and some are a lot smaller.  Sometimes there are shows or street performances in the plazas.  On the weekends there may be markets, too (see the photo of the Plaza del Dos de mayo below!).

Check out some of the plazas below.  While you look at the photos, notice what people are doing in the plazas.

A small plaza within el Parque del Buen Retiro

The main plaza in Madrid - Puerta del Sol

(human statues!)

La Plaza del Dos de mayo

Dosde Market (el mercado del diseno) in Plaza del Dos de mayo where the Spaniards sell handmade crafts/jewelry

Plaza de Oriente - right in front of the Palacio Real

Plaza Mayor - the other main plaza in Madrid

Plaza de Santa Ana - the smaller plaza two blocks from my apartment

So what did you notice the people doing?  I saw people: hanging out and chatting with friends, walking dogs, eating at cafes, talking on the phone, eating ice cream or other snacks, riding bikes, walking around, and more!  

I'm sure I will upload more photos of plazas as I encounter more and more each day :)

Unas fotos de hoy - 26/6/14

Plaza de Oriente (outside of the royal palace)

Juley - the cat in my apartment :)

Plaza Mayor - one of the main plazas in Madrid

Now for some tapas (little snacks)!! Yum.

These are all from inside the Mercado de San Miguel. There are tons of different stands/restaurants where you grab some tapas or drinks.

Calamari, octopus, something else from the ocean...

My tapa with codfish. Que rico!

Lots of queso.

Una banderia = pearl onion, sweet pepper, green olive, red pepper, baked tuna. SO GOOD.

The new King Felipe and Queen Letizia - they were actually just coronated last week when Juan Carlos stepped down!

A glimpse at the Palacio Real (royal palace)

Churros con chocolate en Madrid

What are churros? Well, the short version is churros = heaven.  There are lots of different variations, but in Spain they mostly appears as above, or porras which are a little thicker.  Sometimes they come in rings.  Either way, they are heaven on earth.  They're essentially fried dough that you dip into thick, hot chocolate.  This is not quite "hot chocolate" as we know it in the states, but rather a thick, dark chocolate - almost like more of a pudding.  

The exact origin of churros is disputed, but some say it came from the Spanish nomads who wanted an easy dessert to create over fire (see: Huffington Post's history of churros).  It then migrated to Central and Latin American (like many things...uh, the Spanish language for one!) where it took on even more variations.

The undisputed churros spot in Madrid is San Gines, which is where I went.  This place as been around for quite some time (think 100+ years) and I could see why.  Check out their simple site here: Chocolateria San Gines . The decor was very neat, and it was pretty quick service.  The only downfall were the billions of tourists who were taking photos while eating churros (oh wait - I was one of them).

I wasn't able to finish all 6 of the churros.  I think I got through only 2.5 :/

Of course los madrilenos debate who actually serves the best churros - my friend, Emilia, shook her head when I told her about San Gines!  Here's a list of some other options: Other places to find churros\

Anyways, I bet they're all pretty equally heavenly.  Check out some more photos of San Gines below!

The lower level of San Gines