twice as long for a third the price

so yesterday i walked around and around (there's something new...) looking for the entrance to the alcazar (the palace). there were lots of roads blocked off, police standing all around. and still it took me nearly an hour to figure out that i wasn't going to be able to get in. i happened to overhear someone say that el presidente was at the alcazar, hence the security. oh well. i didn't really want to see it anyway.

so i went back and had a little siesta then decided to take my tired legs and feet out to a nice dinner. a close dinner. in the plaza right near my hostel i plunked myself down without checking out the menu or prices and ordered some sangria. well, the man brought me a mini jug of sangria. and a wee plate of potatoes in oil. i had definitely mentioned that i wanted to see the menu, but he seemed to forget and in spain sitting around for hours on end with nothing but a drink is not uncommon.

when i finally got a menu i noticed that the restaurant was a little pricier than i normally do. but i was already seated and settled in, so i ordered tagliatelle carbonara. disappointingly but not surprisingly it wasn't actual carbonara, it was alfredo with bits of bacon. (and that my friends is *not* carbonara, carbonara must involve egg yolks). still taste good, though.

this morning i woke early and headed down to the bus station. i opted to take the bus instead of the train, even though it would take me twice as long to get to madrid, because it was a third of the price. and i certainly got what i paid for. by the time i got here i was dying to get out of that seat. i made my way on the metro to my hostel (this time my window overlooks the actual outdoors, but still no view).

i'm now about to head to the supermarket to load up on some cheap eats. my last real day in spain is tomorrow and i intend to head to toledo to explore.

ole! vayamos!

so i woke up this morning, the sun shining brightly through my window, the smell of bread baking and hot coffee...

oh wait- no i didn't. there was the smell of laundry detergent wafting into my cell and suffocating me - that was what woke me. i managed to salvage my day yesterday after i was settled in a bit and more familiar with my surroundings. i bought a souvenir for myself and i purchased tickets to a flamenco show.

i chose the venue (there are many) based on it's proximity to my hostel - to minimize the chances of me getting lost *yet again*. my show was at 8 o'clock, and i was told to arrive a half an hour early. so i found a cafe that was actually serving food at 6:45 pm (not an easy task in spain) and ordered a tortilla espagnola knowing full well that there was no chance i'd last through the 2 hour show without having dinner first.

i was seated in the front row and my ticket included a drink (vino blanco, if you're curious). it was a small theater with a small stage and walls covered with paintings and photos of flamenco and bull fighting. after everyone's drinks were served the show began. the guitarist and a couple of singers took the stage. they played and sang a bit before a dancer in a full skirt came down the stairway onto the stage. and it began.

i was enthralled. it was an amazing show, the footwork, the costumes, the music, the castanets. i was so wound up after the show, that i could barely keep the smile off my face or the beat out of my head.

back at my hostel i opted to head up to the patio for some air and to see if there was anyone around. (there wasn't). i tried out a couple of flamenco moves and wrote in my journal. i went to bed feeling much better about sevilla.

today i'm on my way to visit sevilla's cathedral, which is the 3rd largest in the world, and the alcazar, which is the palace, where apparently spanish royals still live, when they're in town. hopefully tomorrow i'll be on my way back to madrid for the night, then spend saturday in toledo before heading home.

so NOT impressed with sevilla

sure, it seems a bit early to be making rash judgements like that, but so far, i am so *not* impressed with sevilla.

my last night in granada was good. no band in the plaza, but i had a nice dinner out and a little stroll around. it didn't rain, i didn't get lost, i finished my book. life was good. i woke up in plenty of time this morning to walk to the train station (it was less than 30 minutes). i was able to get my ticket and get on the train. had a mini siesta on the train (accidentally). and after just 3 short hours i was in sevilla.

sevilla, being a large city, has a very large train station. and when i did eventually get to the exit, it took me another 15 minutes to find where the buses were (after talking to TWO information people). the bus showed up another 15 minutes later. as near as i could get to where i wanted to be i got off the bus and began to walk. and walk. and walk. you know how this goes...

it is now over 2 hours later and i've only just found my hostel and the internet place. my room has a window that overlooks the lovely... laundry room. there is a rooftop terrace... in the middle of a block of buildings. *sigh*

so now what i really need to do is change out of my cranky-pants and get something to eat. hasta luego.

there's a band outside my balcony!

so yesterday after i left here (the internet place, that is) the sky was very gray and dark. there was some thunder rumbling. i made a quick phone call to my hostel in sevilla and just as i was finishing the sky opened up and it began to pour. i rushed to the nearest shop and stood under the awning, thinking it would be over soon. (we had a rain shower in madrid, it only lasted from the time i entered the metro to the time i left it). well, i stood there for almost 40 minutes. and it was really pouring, and there was lightening, and HAIL.

after it stopped i walked around some more, *carefully* - flip flops are slippery on stone sidewalks. poked in some shops and had an early dinner (by spanish standards, it was about 6:30pm). after my early train i decided i would have a relaxing evening in.

so i stretched out and read and wrote and as i was people watching out my balcony i noticed a gaggle of teens carrying instruments. they set up in the plaza right below my balcony and proceeded to play for nearly 2 hours. it was fabulous - sort of marching band/pep band style tunes, and some singing (you know how those spanish are, can't help themselves). so i got some major people watching in as well as live entertainment. until the policia shut them down.

today i visited the alhambra, a moorish palace/fort atop a large hill here in granada. it was magnificently beautiful, filled with gorgeous tile work and carvings in stone, wood, and plaster. i took so many pictures, as i couldn't possibly describe it well enough. there was also a great view of all of granada.

i had lunch at a "french" cafe (not like it didn't serve the normal spanish things, but it also had french style foods). very good, and a welcome break. the jury is still out on spanish food, i have some likes, but as a whole it's not that appealing (and that's saying something, for me to say that). well, my time is about to run out here, tomorrow i'll be on my way to sevilla!

a train like a plane

so today i woke up very early. so early, in fact, that i missed the free breakfast again! i had to settle for a machine coffee which i drank on my walk to the metro. yesterday i managed to buy my ticket - using spanish only. carlynne, who missed her second train for the day, went back with me so i could get a ticket (no sense in waking up early only to find that the train is full). it was a bit like the deli, you take a number and wait for your number to be called. just as my number was called and i was approaching the counter and a woman rushed in front of me. she tried speaking english to the teller, and the teller just said "no english". so the woman left and i stepped up, took a deep breath and said: granada manana. she started typing away. then i said: ocho. she asked: a las ocho? si. and it was done.

so this morning bright and early, i was up and ready. we arrived at the train station in plenty of time, i went down to my platform and waited. only a couple of minutes late the train rolled up. there was barely anyone on it, and not that many more people got on. i was lucky enough to be standing on the platform directly in front of the car i was assigned to. the seats were very spacious, i didn't have to share my 2 seat section with anyone. as we pulled away from the station a man came around and was handing everyone a little box. like a welcome gift.

i opened it up and inside there were some little headphones. eventually on the tv screens place throughout the car a movie began to play. so i plugged my headphones in and got ready for some entertainment. of course i should have known it would be in spanish, dubbed, it was an english movie though. (not sure what - a grisham one with robert downey jr. and kenneth brannaugh.) instead i opted to listen to some music - there were like 3 music stations - and "rest my eyes".

after a few hours i went to the food car to get something to eat. i picked a ham and cheese sandwich, which seemed like a safe bet. there was something ooky about the cheese, though, so i ended up pulling out the filling and just eating the bread. another movie came on, this one was something with john travolta - not something i recognized - and i didn't even bother to check if it was in english.

arriving in granada i was feeling sufficiently brilliant enough to walk to the area i was headed, instead of taking the bus. simply follow one large road and then turn onto another large road. easy-peasy. well, not so easy-peasy. somehow i got waaaaay lost and ended up off the map from my guidebook. luckily i found a large map in one of the plazas and was able to find my way eventually.

nearly two hours after leaving the train station i finally settled into my room - my *fourth* choice hostel. but it's in a great location, i have my own sink and a balcony that looks out onto the plaza below (though i suppose that means it could be very loud, oh well). i'm off to find some food. hasta manana.

the lovely siesta time

so i'm just up from my siesta, a spanish tradition that i've really taken to. :) and making plans for the evening, possibly seeing some flamenco dancing/music (though the *best* is supposed to be in sevilla, so perhaps i'll go there as well).

yesterday i went out to get myself some food at a little cafe i found near the hostel. i got a coffee (which wasn't the best idea, as i was a bit dehydrated still from all the flying) and a pizza (which was mediocre at best). after sitting in the sun for a while and people watching i walked down to plaza mayor. it's basically a square, surrounded by buildings and shops and filled with cafe tables. really lovely, but i was starting to fade, so i bought a couple of bottles of water and went back to the hostel for a little nap.

i napped for a marvelously long time. it was fabulous, especially since i hadn't actually been able to lie down for 24 hours! i woke at about 8pm and decided i was going to go for a walk to find something to eat. i managed to find my way to a shop and back to the hostel with only a small detour down the wrong road (madrid is a bit like boston, in that the streets don't neccesarily have any logic to their layout).

when i got back two girls i had met earlier carlynne and alydta were about to go off to meet a friend of alydta's. so i ate my little cheese and spinach pastry and we set off to sol, which is the center of madrid (also kilometre 0 for many spanish highways). we met up with alydta's friend eric, who happened to know the city pretty well, so he took us all to a restaurant he liked. i had the tortilla espagnola - a spanish omlette, but so much better than in the states. instead of just some hunks of potato mixed into an omlette, there was little tiny bits of potato all through the egg. it was delicious. we washed it down with some sangria and some free entertainment from the table near us. (spaniards seem to break into song just about everywhere)

this morning i slept a little late, missed the free breakfast at the hostel, then went down to el rastro (the flea market) with carlynne and alydta. a bit of shopping, a coffee and a snack, then we headed towards museo del prado. (many museums are free on sunday ). we poked around there for a while, saw some goya, some valasquez, etc. carlynne went to catch a train to barcelona and alydta and i went to get some food and back to the hostel for siesta.

so refreshing, and a timetable very much to my liking. lunch between 1 and 3. a nap. dinner around 10-11. sleep late. repeat.

packed like sardines

so my trip started off well enough. i was sent to a short line for check in, since i was only taking carry-on baggage. i sat, had a sandwich and some laughs with my family. i made it through the security checkpoints with the expected amount of hassle. but once i got beyond that i saw the mass of people standing by my gate. well not just my gate, but 4 gates all mashed together with not enough seats. but whatever, i stood. the announcement came on at the time we were supposed to board that our plane had just landed, and so it would be a few minutes more until we could get on. and then we got on...

the rows were 2-4-2 and i found that seat 'E' (which sounded good- like a window) was actually one of the inner middle section seats. and our flight was PACKED. not an empty seat in the house. and as someone who has been on a number of trans-atlantic flights, i can say with some authority that that *rarely* happens. in fact, never in my experience. but the food was okay. i got to watch a french movie called le demon de midi and madagascar. i also managed to doze (not actually sleep) for nearly 2 hours.

we arrived only about 10 minutes late in paris, at about 6:35, where i was to transfer to a 7:15 flight to madrid. so i quickly made my way towards the terminal transfer bus (that sounds morbid, but i think you know what i mean...). i waited a couple of minutes there, as there were many people trying to transfer. when we finally reached the proper terminal (which conveniently was the last stop before coming full circle) we all rushed upstairs to find a security checkpoint. a giant mob was formed in front of 4 booths to check passports and boarding passes. i somehow got in the wrong line, and ended up waiting nearly 20 minutes to get through.

thinking i was nearly there, i imagined myself just making my flight - being that last person to race onto the plane, no waiting. but as i made my way towards my gate i began passing what seemed to be a mile long line for another security check. i got about halfway up the line before i realized i was supposed to be in it. (i sneakily started chatting to two girls who were also running far too late and then stood behind them). i kept checking my watch, and checking and checking. and then it kind of hit me, i was definitely *not* making my flight.

after 45 minutes in that second security check i was in - FINALLY. i made my way to my gate, which was no longer actually my gate, and asked where i needed to go. the woman directed me to the transfer desk where there was - surprise! - a long line of people who had missed their transfers. i was eventually put on a flight scheduled to leave at 9:40. c'est la vie. or whatever you say in spanish (esta vida or something....)

on that flight i finally had some space and was finally able to get a little shut-eye, but not much. an hour and a half later i was in madrid. where there seemed to be no security whatsoever. i exited the plane and made my way towards the exit. no one wanted to see my landing card. no one wanted to check my baggage. in fact no one seemed to be checking anyones baggage. i got some cash and made my way to the metro. there a man was waving everyone through... gratis, gratis...

and finally i'm here. at my hostel. i've taken a shower. i've changed my clothes. and i'm starving!

entiende? (my spanish speaking skills)

i'm making the final preparations for my trip to spain. picking up the miscellaneous travel sized items i need. deciding what to wear, what to pack, and what to leave behind. checking permitted and prohibited items for carry-on luggage at the tsa website (i'm a carry-on only kind of girl). and reviewing all the spanish words and phrases i've learned over the past 2 months of study.

naturally, it is also the week that my continuing ed french class begins. i have to say, that despite having studied far more french in my life than any other language, i have still managed to displace parts of my french vocabulary with my new spanish vocabulary. i find myself forming questions improperly. leaving out personal pronouns. oy. and as excited as i am to brush up on my french, i had to resist starting my assignments for the next class immediately.

i have one more lesson in my spanish cd course. once that's done, i'll have 9 days to try it out on actual spanish people (and maybe even some non-spanish people who are willing to listen). after that, who knows if or when i'll use it again...

next time i post, i will be in spain. bon voyage, uh, buen viaje, i mean!

things start looking up

so i had received a message at work that i was going to get a new flatmate called jillian. though no one could seem to tell me when she might arrive.

on the friday after natasha left i had a particularly bad ride to work. the wind was blowing so hard across the rice paddies that i had to get off my bike and walk in order to make any forward progress. by the time i reached work i was in quite a mood, as you might imagine, and it wasn't a good mood for teaching english. i simply got through my classes with as little effort as possible then headed home.

on the ride home i ran into grant, a canadian teacher from a different school i had met out a few times. we stopped and chatted for a while, which lifted my spirits remarkably. there's something about running into someone i know on the streets that makes me so happy. it makes me feel that i have a place, that i know people, that i'm not alone. i made one more stop, at the liquor store for some vodka, before arriving at my apartment.

most homes and apartments in japan have a small area just inside the front door where your shoes are to be removed. my apartment was no different. that night when i opened the door i noticed a new pair of sneakers next to my flip-flops. it seemed that jillian had arrived.

we chatted as i began to make my dinner (a packaged version of an omelet, served with a kind of gravy, that i had bought ready-made from the supermarket the day before). she had taken training with dave from my school, but had been staying in himeji until now. my guess from her accent was irish (i was wrong, she's scottish, but now, over a year later, i can tell the difference between english, irish, scottish, australian, and kiwi accents - not bad, eh?). i tried to give her the rundown on life in marugame, but myself only having been a resident for less than a month, it was general at best.

the next we talked more, about everything, finding that we had much in common and were both quite easily amused. the green mile came on tv - *in english* - which was very exciting. using some christmas colored origami paper left behind by previous tenants we started making paper chains and plans. in my journal that night i wrote:

i think things will be looking up here...