Corpus Christi afternoon in Toledo

In the beginning of June we organized a quite spontaneous trip to Toledo. As it was Corpus Christi, the whole city was decorated for processions and there was also a contest of the inner gardens (patios) that are usually not open for the public, but that week they were, so we could visit them. We were quite a big group of people in the end (over 20) moving quite slowly, so we didn't get to see all the gardens, we saw around 12-15. They were very interesting and all quite different.

After the visit we had a guided tour about the legends of Toledo, which was really cool. The guide was very interesting and entertaining, which helped a lot to focus, because we were already quite dead from all the walking before (not to mention it was a very hot day). :P

Here are some pictures of the trip:

Some very green gardens 

And a very artistic one with a blue horse :))

Decorations

A part of our group in the first garden we entered

My favorite garden: the flowers are recycled: made of the paper bags of bread

One of the decorated streets: with flowers and shades against the heat  

Our cool guide explaining the (legendary) history of the expression "menuda noche toledana" to our half-dead group :))

With our friend Charo, who participates in every single activity we organize :))

Barcelona

My brother turned 18 this year and as a present from our parents he received a trip to Barcelona. As a nice addition I got to go with him, so last Thursday I took off. With a lucky coincidence Filiz had her flight to Germany on the same day, so we got to go to the airport together, which was pretty cool. :)

I've been to Barcelona before, but it was 6 years ago, so I didn't remember the city much. Though I had some places in mind that I couldn't visit the last time, so now they were on the top of the list.
Also since my brother is a huge Barca fan, we had to go to Camp Nou and take a tour there, get him a T-shirt and of course we had to watch the Champion's League final on Saturday. :) In the beginning I had my doubts on how I will handle these (since I like football but not that much), but in the end I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Also in return I dragged him to Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell and other sights to see, so we both had our fair share of fun.

Here is our trip in pictures:

Inside Camp Nou - the picture doesn't show it that much, but the stadium is very impressive, it's enormous

There is even a museum inside with the history of Barca - these are some of the trophies they won

Sagrada Familia - always under construction

The amazing arches and colors inside

View from the high above - in the 75m high tower of Sagrada Familia

The obligatory "beach and palm tree" photo

Delicious paella

Parc Güell

Arc de triomf

Huge fountain in Parc de Ciutadella

Segovia and the cable car in Madrid

Last weekend I finally got to visit Segovia. It has been on my list for a while, so when my best friend decided to visit me again, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go. :)

The first (and only) shock we had was when we arrived to the train station: it's literally in the middle of nowhere. :) Of course there are buses that took us from there to the center in 15 mins, but I found it very funny that next to the train tracks there are cows peacefully enjoying the day.

The view when getting out from the station: place for taxis, some cars and then fields everywhere with cows

Train tracks to infinity and beyond :)

Me contemplating the questions of life and the future with my coffee while staring at the infinite tracks :)

The town itself however is beautiful: it's quite small, so we could walk around the historical centre in a few hours and it's on a hill (a bit like Toledo), so there are quite some nice places to enjoy the amazing view. We didn't enter the cathedral or any museums as the weather was too nice to be inside (and we were on low budget), but we went to see the Alcázar. It looked very different from the ones I have seen in the South so far: this was more like an enchanted castle (or fort) and in the inside it definitely looks more Roman, with some Arabic influence and knights. :)

The famous Roman aqueduct and the statue of Romulus and Remus

The amazing view from the top of the aqueduct

Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral

Poppies :)

The Alcázar that looks more like a Disney castle :)

Inside the Alcázar: a nice mixture of Roman and Arabic influences 

Our reward from the tower after climbing almost 200 stairs

My favorite statue on the way to the station: a shepherd with a dog and sheep :)

On Sunday we originally planned to go the El Escorial, but we were too tired, so in the end we ended up in Madrid and went to Casa de Campo with the cable car. 

On the way

A very tourist-y thing they do at the cable car: they take some photos that you can buy at the other end when you arrive. Since we've never bought any kind of stuff like this before, now it was time. :)

By accident we found a very nice rose garden nearby the station (at the Parque Oeste side), where they have a competition of new roses every May, so there is a huge selection of all kinds of roses from all over the world. I checked and it is so popular, that rose-enthusiasts can already sign up for the competition of 2017.

Flavors of Spain

I guess I'm not telling anything new if I say that Spanish love to eat. And this is also visible in their cuisine, every food I tried here in the last 8 months was delicious. What I like a lot about the food here is that most of them are quite simple and the idea of inventing them came from the fact that they had leftovers at home, so practically some delicious dishes were invented for practical reasons. :) 

What I also like is that each region has their own specific dishes, so there is much more in Spain than paella (which btw comes from Valencia where I haven't been yet, so I can't tell how the "original" version tastes). Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to try all these dishes as I usually travel on a low budget, but here are a few things I have tried:

In the Northern Part in Galicia and in Castilla y León I had the impression that they eat more meat and potatoes (at least in Santiago that's what we mostly got to eat). In Galicia I tried also a special kind of pepper which is small and green and is quite tricky: some of them have a nice sweet taste and some is hot as hell, so you never really know what you're going to get (needless to say the first one I took was a hot one :P). 

I also tried some ribs there and some stew when I was in Valladolid which were all very delicious, even thought I'm not a big fan of red meat. One of the typical dishes in Castilla y León is the "lechazo" which is the meat of the lamb left in milk for a while and then prepared. I haven't tried it as it is quite out of budget for a volunteer and I also don't really eat lamb, but I still hope that just for my curiosity I get to try it another time I go there. :)

In the South I found that they eat a lot of fried fish and seafood (which are very delicious) and also dishes like gazpacho and salmorejo come from that region. 

Chipirones: super delicious fried squids. :)

From gazpacho there are even more variations, the base is always tomato and pepper, but in the traditional version they add cucumber as well, while in the Andalusian version they add bread instead. 

Salmorejo is something very similar, it's a thick tomato soup with bread and garlic, usually served with some boiled eggs and serrano jam, however I tried it also with potato tortilla. It originally comes from Córdoba, so when we were there I was eating this almost all the time and it quickly became one of my favorite dishes here. :)

The recipe of the original salmorejo on the wall in a small street named after it.

In Córdoba they also make a lot of dishes from fried eggplants, my favorite was with honey. First it sounded weird, but when I tried it I realized that it's a great combination (and you don't need desserts afterwards). :)

Of course here around Illescas and Madrid there are also a lot of great food. :) Thanks to the intercultural chat participants I tried a lot of dishes and thanks to my friend Sandra, I also got to try some home made goodies.

Cocido madrileno made by Sandra's mom: a very rich soup made of chickpeas, vegetables and meat. Once you eat it all, you don't need any second course. :)

Home-made potato tortilla with some hummus and salad

Torrijas: my favorite sweet :)) It's bread dipped in milk with sugar and cinnamon, and then fried in eggs. Super delicious and typical at Easter.

Migas: it's eaten mostly at Christmas, prepared from leftovers: bread, peppers, garlic (this is without meat but some people make it with that as well). The bread is toasted and fried together with the rest of the ingredients.

Natillas: pudding made of eggs with some biscuits

Puches: a pudding-like sweet made with toasted bread pieces inside and spices like cinnamon and anise.

Tapas of various types of ham, some tuna and bread with morcilla (blood sausage).