Went for a wander...Retiro!

What better way to finish off a lazy Sunday than a visit to Retiro with Meg (Hey Meg, I just mentioned you again, hope you appreciate it, now....Shutup Meg). We treated ourselves to a Starbucks - Skinny Vanilla Latte, of course - and braced ourselves for the wind, it was not a very nice day! Not letting our dreadlocked hair deter us we carried on like the little troopers we are and decided to FINALLY go see Retiro park, and this is what we saw along the way.....

So there's a little peak at Retiro, unfortunately, most of my photos look a bit grey and gloomy because of the weather but I'll try and update them when it's a bit sunnier! It kind of reminds me of Hyde Park a bit, everyone goes round on rollerskates and there's little sandy paths to follow. As you can see there's statues everywhere, can't really see the correlation between this horse and what looked like an Egyptian mausoleum but oh well! 

Donjuan x

Mercado de San Miguel

As some of you know, as soon as I arrived in Sol I fell in love. I knew straight away that this was where I wanted to spend my year in Madrid and I have to say one of the main attractions was definitely the Mercado de San Miguel. 

Mercado de San Miguel is the last Iron market left standing in Madrid, it's named after a church which previously stood in the same spot. Now, I've seen an indoor market in Spain before and, compared to the only other indoor market I've seen (Birmingham...grimace), they're pretty cool. You're surrounded by mountains of colourful fresh fruit and vegetables and impressive arrays of fish and meat. However, Mercado de San Miguel is certainly more unique for not only is it host to a fresh fish stall rivaling all others....we're talking full octopuses on display, but it has what I believe is the perfect combination of necessities under just one roof! 

For the early riser, there is a juice bar with a wonderful display of exotic fruits which the barista will transform into a refreshing smoothie for you, or, if you return later at night, he might even add a little something extra...

For the seafood lover there is the aforementioned fish counter at which you can buy fresh seafood as well as a little taster, I definitely aim to make trying their fried seafood cones a top priority!

There's also a bar devoted entirely to oysters...might save those until I'm feeling a little more adventurous.

For the not so adventurous, or those who don't appreciate foods with the consistency of a bogey (so I've heard), there is numerous other options such as sushi, croquettes, nuts, olives, cheese and bread.

And finally, if you're strolling past after dinner one night why not step inside to one of the many bars serving wine, beer and, my favourite, cocktails! 

If you have any room left after your meal they have a glorious selection of mini desserts, they look outstanding (another one to add to the priorities list!) I can't wait to take my Dad there I'm sure it will appeal to his sweet tooth! This one's not so mini, but glorious nonetheless...

Mercado de San Miguel is truly unique, has a lively, relaxed atmosphere and I think it is the kind of place I will never get tired of taking people to when they visit me...as long as they pick up the cheque!

Donjuan x

La Latina

Being a lazy student, it has taken me three weeks to actually take a trip down to La Latina, an area literally a seconds walk from my flat! In England I can happily waste a day pottering about the house but as I'm now living in Madrid, home to some of the most beautiful streets ever and, more importantly, regular host to the sunshine, it seems a shame to waste the days sitting inside. Me and Megan were starting to get a bit of cabin fever so we decided we'd venture down to La Latina for a little wander and a cheeky cerveza!

Being that it was only 6pm and the evening doesn't really begin until about 10 here we were expecting it to be pretty quiet but La Latina was packed! Friends were relaxing round the square or sitting enjoying the cool evening air with a drink, 

as ever it was a totally laidback relaxed atmosphere. People had even brought speakers down and were listening to Spanish music. Others were sitting on the steps having brought their own alcohol, again, I wish this happened in England!

We strolled around looking for a table, which was unsurprisingly a near impossible task! We settled at a small bar on the corner only to be pounced upon by two Spanish men. Having realised we were English one of them began to pull his ears out saying 'Principe Carlos' whilst the other continued to stare. Realising we weren't going to be able to have a quiet drink here and, on my part anyway, feeling rather offended (I may have mistaken his impression of Prince Charles for an insult to my lovely little ears) we decided to leave before the waiter even had a chance to serve us, much to their dismay. 

In our haste to escape we walked in the wrong direction and realised we were leaving La Latina but, too embarassed/scared to have to walk past our Spanish admirers again, we continued towards Tirso de Molina. I thought the buildings were so lovely!

Fed up of searching and ready for our cerveza we chose the nearest free table in a small square filled with market stalls host to impressive displays of flowers and also this lovely yellow building...

I wish I lived there!

Unfortunately for us, having escaped the awkward situation at the first bar we had walked right into another one with our chirpy waiter who claimed he couldn't believe we were from England and insisted we must be from heaven, I guess some things never change!

Lessons learned: get to La Latina early on a Saturday evening and know you can never enjoy a drink in peace if you're an English girl in Spain!

Donjuan x

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

It´s safe to say I didn't expect much in the way of organisation when I decided to go to university in Spain, in fact, if my experiences with Birmingham´s Spanish department were anything to go by, I knew any chance of getting things done on time was pretty much doomed from the start. However, I never in a million years expected to come across any thing, person or institution which could make me, Amy Donegan, (the girl who only realized she needed a student card three months after being enrolled at the University of  Birmingham) feel organized!

On the 24th of September all the philology students were gathered for a welcome session in which we were supposed to find out more about our modules. Bearing in mind our course started the following day I was growing increasingly nervous about the fact I hadn't even looked at what was on offer. We were told that we were allowed to take pretty much anything we wanted, first year modules included. This was great for anyone who goes to a normal university but, unfortunately for me, I chose Birmingham, land of the least helpful Erasmus department EVER! We were told we weren't allowed to do any first year modules and given that five out of the eight second year options were medieval literature I was forced to turn to third and fourth year choices.

What came next is what one can only call a complete shambles! I turned up to university bright and early the next day, having dragged myself out of bed at 7 for my first lecture at 8.30. I fell victim to the completely illogical placement of buildings and rooms in the philology faculty. The buildings, which incidentally do not give any indication of their letter, are arranged in a circle in the order A, D, B, E. C doesn't seem to even exist. When I finally located building B I had to ask at three different information desks before someone could point me to the correct room. The result was a very flustered Amy rushing into class five minutes late to be greeted by the grouchiest old lady ever. I positioned myself at the back of the class and sat trying to understand a word of what she was saying, but before I knew it people were packing their bags and leaving. I was absolutely furious to have got up so early raced around the building only to be told the lecture was over after five minutes and worst of all I had no clue why! I returned home, defeated, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Refusing to return to the class of the old witch lady I opted for different modules on day two. Accompanied by some friends from my course we decided to tackle a linguistics class. In hindsight, I should have known this was a bad idea from the start given that I barely managed to get a 42 in Linguistics at Birmingham, Aengus hates me. We had just settled into our seats and been handed the module program when the lecturer, an old, grumpy looking man, approached our desk before shouting to the class ´THIS MODULE IS FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS ONLY...UNLESS YOUR WRITTEN AND SPOKEN SPANISH IS PERFECT GET OUT OF MY CLASS NOW, I WILL NOT TELL YOU AGAIN´. We exchanged a confused look, this was majorly awkward, fortunately we were on the front row, but our attempt to sneak out unnoticed was ruined when he, ever so kindly, added ´Well, if you´re leaving give me my handout back´.

Reduced to a quivering mess by the wicked witch and old mr scrooge I returned home to ponder my options. The only other lecture I had attended seemed a lot better yet I was advised by the lecturer that the exam would be extremely difficult for Erasmus students. I emailed Birmingham to clarify why we weren't allowed to take first year modules when every other student was and, as usual, received no reply. Cue several more days of turning up to lectures that were either impossible to understand or which we were rudely denied entry to! After three more (increasingly angry) emails I still had no response from Birmingham and resigned myself to the fact it was a hopeless cause.

The only thing left to do was to head to Tapas 44 for a jug of Sangria with the only person who can feel my pain right now....

...it's just a shame she won't see this post for a while; to add to her list of worries her internet isn't working! Anyway, rant over and thank the lord for Teesha because I definitely couldn't handle this stress alone!

Donjuan x

Spanish Cooking!

So we figured since we can't afford to go for tapas every night (boohoo) we would attempt to make our own at home! Here's the recipe for our first dish!

Spanish Tortilla

(Serves 6-8 people)

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes

1/2 an onion

7 eggs

Oil

Seasoning

Method:

Peel and chop the potatoes and onion into thin slices

Meanwhile, heat a generous amount of oil in a pan until sizzling

Add the potatoes and onion to the pan and fry until softened

Whilst waiting for the vegetables, beat the eggs in a large bowl and season to taste

Remove the frying pan from the heat and drain the excess oil from the potatoes and onions

Once drained, stir into the egg mixture

Return the frying pan to the hob and add the mixture

Ensure the omelette is thoroughly cooked on one side before attempting to flip it over

Continue to cook on the other side 

Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

1. The potato to egg ratio can be altered to suit your preferences
2. Extra ingredients, such as cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms etc can be added for extra taste
3. The larger omelettes are much harder to flip so make sure you're prepared! We flipped ours onto a plate before sliding it back into the pan
4. Spanish Tortilla is meant to be quite thick, not flat as a pancake so make sure you don't spread the ingredients too thin in the pan

If you try our recipe let me know how it turns out!

Donjuan x

El Tigre

Just a little post slash recommendation for anyone planning on ever visiting Madrid! 

After spending two grueling weeks revising Spanish conjugations and endless grammar exercises we decided we needed to celebrate the end of our language course. As you can see I was devastated when we finished...

L to R: Caroline, Marlies, Geertje, Holly, Me and Justyna

Anyway, Geertje and Marlies, two of my lovely classmates, suggested we for tapas at a bar called El Tigre, just off Gran Via. 

The bar itself has a traditional Spanish feel to it, the mounted deer heads are truly complemented by the scattering of prosthetic pig/lamb limbs. It was quirky to say the least! It had a lovely homely feel though with groups huddled round tables as if sitting down for a family meal. Despite being a group of about 15 the wait staff ushered us into the already overcrowded bar, we couldn't help comparing it to England where health and safety would never allow for so many people in one small place, blocking all those fire exits! 

Eventually we found a bigger space and settled around two big barrels fashioned into tables (amazing). The waiters were a spectacle they manage to navigate their way through the masses holding trays stacked three tiers high with just one arm! 

For every drink, or should I say bucket, of drink you buy you get a new tapas dish, and as there was so many of us it's fair to say we got what can only be described as a feast!

It was amazing, but definitely carb city, prepare to be unable to move for a while after! The atmosphere was indescribable it was so lively and the waiters do an excellent job and at only 6 euros per person you can't really go wrong! 

Photos courtesy of Geertje!

Donjuan x

Botellón!

Ok, so I know I have posted in a while but as you can appreciate I've been wildly busy! I'm probably going to make up for it by clogging up everyone's newsfeed/timeline with several posts today...sorrrryyyyy.

Anyone who took Spanish in school is almost undoubtedly aware of Botellón. Calling it a tradition may be somewhat far fetched but if you could see what I witnessed then you'd most likely agree! My first experience of Botellón was when I revisited my GCSE exchange partner in sixth form, a group of us gathered in one flat and concocted some sugar-filled fluorescent pink substance then settled in an almost derelict building and proceeded to get drunk before we went out. There was about ten of us and we were joined by a few other random groups. I have to admit I didn't really see what all the fuss was about! So I have to admit when I was invited to join the Botellón here in Madrid I wasn't particularly excited but I decided I'd go along anyway.

I met up with Megan, one of my new flatmates, and we proceeded towards Plaza de España to join a vast crowd of people. We weren't entirely sure if this was the group we were meant to be with but we went along with it anyway. We sat down next to the fountain with our cheap wine and a few beers and I couldn't help feeling I had suddenly turned 14 again, it was definitely reminiscent of those nights every teenager spends drinking WKD and Smirnoff Ice in the park (so cool).

Little Chinese ladies were walking round with plastic bags full of beers selling them for a euro to anyone who was buying. While this confused me at first it did at least explain why one had said hello to me as I walking through the park the previous night.

After a short while someone shouted to the crowd and everyone began to move through the plaza towards another park where we met even more people! We settled ourselves on a grassy verge and joined a group of people playing Wonderwall by Oasis. There was people from all over Europe and while we tried to use our Spanish most people soon reverted to English.

After a good night socialising I made my way back to my apartment for my nightly Skype and to my surprise (bearing in mind this was 2 oclock) found HUNDREDS of people only just arriving. Whilst Botellón would never be so pleasant in England's cold setting I have to say it is definitely an experience not to be missed and I love the fact its just accepted into Spanish culture, the police just let them get on with it and everyone just has a good time!

Donjuan x