Segovia y Otras Experiencias

A lot has happened in Madrid this week. We've finished our Midterms, stumbled upon great cultural experiences, and been treated by the Fundacion to great sights and sounds. Before my hectic month of March, which includes a crazy amount of traveling and projects due for class, begins, I thought I'd write a bit of an update...

On Wednesday, Carnaval was coming to a close. The Carnaval parade I mentioned last Saturday had been a lot of fun, and a little crazy. People had been wearing costumes all week, and randomly participating in traditions that I didn't quite understand. For instance, the transition to Lent is greeted here not only with the normal Ash Wednesday services, but also with an event called "El Entierro de Las Sardinas." That's right, The Burial Of the Sardines. Apparently, Madrilenos all dress up in mourning clothes and carry a large fish on a platter through the streets, before burying it to represent the end of the festivities. I wanted to make an effort to see this, so I headed to Plaza Mayor, where I had heard it might happen. One wild goose-chase later, I still hadn't seen the Burial of the Sardines. I'm still not really sure where it took place.

I had, on the other hand, run into the biggest crowd of Liverpool fans I've ever seen. It turns out that Wednesday evening also happened to be the Liverpool v. Real Madrid football match for some championship. It was a huge event. Plaza Mayor was entirely packed with Liverpool fans, drunk, singing, playing soccer on top of all the trash, and cheering in preparation for the game. It was ridiculous. After we had observed for a while, my friend Claire and I continued exploring, and ended up sightseeing around Plaza de Espana, with its Don Quixote statue. No Sardines, but still a great time. We even tried roasted chesnuts from a street vendor, just to embrace the city a bit more.

Thursday evening, the Fundacion took us to a theater show called "La Gran Via... Esquina a Chueca." In all Spanish, it was hard to follow, but the general spectacle and the music were very entertaining and humorous. From what I gathered, the plot was an adaptation of an older play. In this version, the government of Madrid is rumored to be planning developing over Gran Via, Madrid's main street. The citizens of Madrid dress up as the various surrounding street names and protest, and end up saving La Gran Via. It had a huge cast, crazy costumes, and seemed to epitomize the lively nature of Spanish music and dance. Not to mention how willing Spaniards seem to be when they need to take to the streets in protest for any cause. It seems as though nearly every week one of my friends or I run into one protest or another. We've seen "manifestaciones" about labor unions, football matches, separatist autonomies, ETA, the war in Israel, communism, etc. In some ways, Spain is a very politically active country, in spite of its stereotype of apathy. A huge corruption scandal is currently uprooting members of the PP, Spain's opposition party, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a protest or too surrounding these headlines as well.

After a fun night of theater-going, we had to wake up Friday morning bright and early for a day trip to Segovia. We started out with a tour of the Royal Palace there, built by Spain's first Bourbon king. It's much more similar to Versailles than the stark Escorial, the last royal palace I went to. We also saw Segovia's famous aqueducts, which are beautiful and impressive, and date back to the Roman era of Spanish history. Then, we had some free time to sight-see around Segovia's Plaza Mayor, with its beautiful Cathedral. A smaller town, it reminded me of Toledo with its winding, narrow streets. (I'll have pictures up on Picasa soon....) It also had a spectacular view of the mountains. Toward the end of the day, we were really able to appreciate this from the top of the tallest tower of Alcazar, a fortress/castle that is old enough to have Muslim and Christian influences. It was very popular as a place of residence for Castile-Leon's royals. Segovia was a relaxing trip, and I liked the city very much. We had a chance to soak up some of the beautiful springtime sun for part of the afternoon, and try Ponche de Segovia, the city's most famous pastry. Que rico...

After getting home Saturday night, we headed out for a relaxed evening at Txoko, a new favorite bar near my house. The free tapas (appetizers that come with your drink) were delicious, and the staff was friendly, explaining various Spanish customs to us in both Spanish and English. The owners come from the Basque Country, one of Spain's northern autonomous regions with its own language, customs, and sense of nationalism. We talked with them about their culture, and realized we were benefitting from at least one element of it: Basques are famous for their delicious cooking. It was a fun night.

That brings us up to date on some of the fun little moments that remind me how different and exciting this country its. The weekends haven't had the best weather lately, so although we were planning on taking a rowboat out on the lake at Retiro, it seems like a cafeteria with a good book and some homework will be a better option for today. Especially now that I know the other Wesleyan kids better and the weather has allowed us to really take advantage of the city, the more I explore and see of Madrid, the more I love my life here. Next weekend I'm headed to Portugal, followed up quickly by a week in Andalucia. I'm sure I'll have even more to write about those amazing things, but until then, que lo paseis buen dia!