More Pics 2

This is the restaurant by my school that has the fancy tapas I mentioned in an earlier post. The plates of Tapas are set out on the bar and you just take whatever you want. They constantly replace items and add new stuff. When you're done, the waiter adds up your toothpicks and that's how they know what to charge you.

More Pics

After looking through all my pictures I realized I didn't post many of the pictures I took so here are some of them. The first pics are of the apartment bedroom, shower and kitchen where I lived.

Memories

I just re-read my blog from my time in Valencia. It brought back a lot of good memories. In reading my blog I noticed I didn't include many thoughts I had. For instance, I though I had posted how nice it would be to live in Valencia, Barcelona or any of the southern coastal towns for a year or so. What a life changing experience that would be. We are so caught-up in bills, obligations, work etc.... that the thought of leaving it all frightens most of us. Still, I love the people there and the life seems a little easier. Maybe I'm nieve

Recipe: Paella di Mariscos (Spain, Valencia) Paella with Seafood # 1

Recipe: Paella di Mariscos (Spain, Valencia) Paella with Seafood # 1

I wanted to post at least one authentic paella recipie. I like this one as a seafood version. But Paella doesn't have to be this complicated for Americans to prepare. We already have "yellow rice" in the stores if you don't want to make it from scratch with the dry saffron. Then just get a paella pan, a variety of seafood or your choice and prepare on a stove or outdoor grill or propane burner. One of the nice things to do during the last few minutes for presentation is to add the strips or roasted red pepper and baby peas in adecrotive fashion. If you add mussles, clams or lobster chunks it's nice to leave them in the shell, the presentation is more dramatic and special.

Paella Valencia contains large beans, green beans and typically chicken or pork. At least that's what I saw on the street.

More pictures

These pictures are from the area right near my school. The picture which shows a roundabout with a tower is Plaza de la Reina. The picture with two people walking toward me is taken in front of Hotel Excelsior, the last hotel I stayed at before returning to the U.S. The last picture is just a typical, narrow side street between beautiful buildings. Look at the granite on the corner of the building on the left. It's easy to forget as your walking around, that the buildings surrounding you are, in many cases, several hundred, if not a thousand years old.

More Stuff

In the last post there is a picture of a large woman standing in front of a grill. This on the promenade between the hotels and the beach where all the little stands are. She is cooking corn on the grill. Actually, she is cooking corn on the coals. She removes the corn from the husks and places them right in the coals. Once the corn had taken on some color she removes it and puts it back in the husk to sell it. I think a piece was .50 euro.

Above, you will see my instructor named Pedro. He was very good and patient and he had a unique ability of really involving everyone with each other in class discussions. The next picture is the Paella Negro which I wrote about in a previous blog. This is the squid ink paella. It was very good and didn't taste fishy at all. It just looks a little different because its black. If you had your eyes closed you wouldn't know the difference, except I don't believe this style paella has any saffron.

Hotel Las Arenas

I went to the beach where the big Hogueras de San Juan (Bonfires of St. John) took place. This celebration, or festival dates back to pre-Christian times and marks the arrival of summer solstice, the longest day of the year. This celebration takes place from June 20-June 29. It is celebrated in many costal towns including Alicante (the biggest celebration) Velencia and Barcelona. Jumping in the sea at midnight is supposed to wash away the evil spirits and gain fortune and eternal beauty. Well here are pics of the hotel room and the beach

My Cave

Here are a couple pictures of my study table in my room and my tiny window. This is a typical study night. My computer, a little wine, cheese and Serrano and my class notes. I try to type my class notes in the afternoon or evening but I'm behind. I should have started from day one, but I didn't think about it until week two, so I'm trying to catch up.

Comidas en Espana

Spaniards, at least in Valencia eat FIVE meals a day! Here's how it goes:

Desayuno: usually between 7-8 AM it consists of something very light, such as expresso or cortado (expresso with just a little steamed milk in a cup just a little larger than an expresso cup. The may also have a biscuit (not like our southern biscuits but more like a mildy sweetened cookie) or a piece or a fruit. They DON'T EAT eggs, omelets, ham, bacon, sausage, cereal with milk, french toast or pancakes.

El Amuerzo: usually around 10-11 and it might consist of another piece of fruit, more coffee, maybe a glass of juice or horchata.

La Comida: Usually between 2-3 PM. In travel books they may call lunch "Amuerzo" but people who are born and raised here call the mid-day meal La Comida. This is the big meal of the day. This is when the Valencians eat Paella, meats, heavy soups etc. Remember many businesses close between 2-4 PM so this is a good time for a big meal and a little rest before returning to work. When they return to work at 4 they might work until 7:30-8:00PM.

La Merienda: This meal is between 6:00-6:30 and is mostly designed for children when they get out of school. Even small, elementary children have school until 4:30-5:00PM. This meal would consist of a little sandwhich (bocadillo) some milk or fruit, crackers etc.

La Cena: this is the last meal of the day and is taken between 9:30-10:30 PM. Again, nothing heavy. This is the time to eat tapas and light salads. The natives never eat Paella, steak, or heavy soups at this hour.

So that the rundown. Let me know what you think.

Paella

I know this may be boring, still, I thought I'd let you guys know the variety of paellas here in Valencia. These are from a paella restaurant called Marisco thus the name is incorporated into may of the recipe names. I've been to other restaurants with similar menus so I felt this was fairly representative. I'll try to supply more pics of the prepared dishes late.

Fideua De Marisco - this paella is made with thin pasta rather than rice. I've never tried it but I've seen it. It contains mussels, prawns, squid, sweet red bell pepper, artichoke heart and green peas

Paella de Arroz Negro - Black rice Paella made with squid ink that causes the rice to appear black. It contains squid, mussels, prawns, squid ink, artichoke hearts and peas

Paella Valencia - This is the actual paella most people HERE think of as being the local recipe. I had a small dish of this from a vendor in the street but I don't think of this when I think of paella. It contains chicken, green beans, carob beans and sweet red or green bell peppers

Paella De Marisco Pelado - peeled seafood including squid, prawns, mussels, sweet peppers and green peas

Paella Mixta - chicken, spare ribs, prawns, mussels, sweet pepper and green peas

Paella De Marisco - scampi, squid, prawns, mussels, green peas, red bell pepper

As you can see there is a sorta typical combination of ingredients. Interestingly I never see onion listed as an ingredient. The first time I remember eating anything like this is when my grandmother (Abuela Argelia) would make what we called yellow rice ad chicken (arroz con pollo). She would combine the rice and chicken in a baking pan and cook it in the oven. When it was almost done she would add roasted red pepper and green peas on top and then pop it back in the oven to finish. I guess it was basically a chicken paella.

Instructor Yolanda

This is the first picture I took of instructor Yolanda and I thought it was fully because it looks like she's nude. Actually she has a dress or shirt that is strapless and the way I took the picture made it look funny (to me). So I took another one a few days later.

instructors

These are pictures of my instructors. The one sitting is Yolanda the one standing is Sylvia. Sylvia mostly teaches vocabulary and Yolanda teaches grammar (the tough stuff). There is also a photo of me and the other student in my class named Karin from Sweden.

During one class the instructor asked where we would like to vacation. I think I said the Keys or the Caribbean. The other student, Karin says she wants to visit, Iran, Lebanon and Korea! So I mention that two American reporters were just sentenced to 12 years in prison in a closed trial that lasted 15 minutes. Karin's response was "what about Guantanamo?". I mentioned the folks in GITMO may have had something to do with the deaths of 3,000 Americans and the two reporters just happened to be in North Korea.

I'm not positive about what Karin does for work but I think she said she's a librarian in Sweden. The instructor is asking about various different things as a lesson and we answer and its an interaction type thing. So she asking about things and whether they are very important, important, or not important at all. and of course there are varying degrees, in fact the instructor drew a scale on the board with very important on one end, important in the middle and not important at the other end. The instructor, Sylvia, ask what we think of money (amongst other things). So I say money is very important because it allows us to live a nice comfortable life and allows us to help others and having money is better than not having money. So Miss Swiss says "oh, money isn't very important". Either she and her family are rich and don't have to worry about money or she is unrealistic about how the world works. Money isn't the most important thing and the attainment of money and wealth shouldn't consume a person, however, as I said, when you have money you can live comfortably and you can help others less fortunate.

Dinner

Walking along "restaurant row" I saw so many dishes with fish and prawns, langostino, mussels, octopus on and on... I hadn't eaten a thing all day and now it was 9:45 PM. I found a little bar with a TV and people watching a soccer match between Spain & Uruguay. I actually starting think soccer wasn't a half bad sport, it certainly takes tremendous athletic skill.

Entonces, after 2 glasses of Tinto I walked a few doors down to a restaurant called La Marcelina. It was more of an upscale restaurant even though I was wearing shorts a t-shirt and flip flops they served me. Of course I ate alone. None of the people from school were around and I didn't know anyone else. The menu was extensive and none of it was in English. I knew I wanted a seafood paella, (see pictures of all the paella pans and the kitchen) but I wanted it with the mussels in the shells and the prawns and shrimp whole. I ordered Sopa De Ajo which is a garlic soup. I've been wanting to try that for a long time. It was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth! I had it only once before in Puerto Rico but that was so long ago I don't remember. I have some recipes for this soup now I know I want to try this at home.

Next I had Pulpito which are baby octopus that are sauted in a wine sauce and served in a little tera cota dish straight from the oven. The garlic bread was toasted and it was actually rubbed with whole garlic. I enjoyed my appitizer and soup with a glass of the house wine called Murviedrt. I believe the name refers to a type of grape or a region where it is grown. Finally my paella came. It was simply called Paella Marcelina, the house specialty. It is prepared when you order it rather than plated from a larger paella that was prepared in advance. It contained, bacalao (cod), camaron (shrimp), and mejillon (mussels). It was fantastic! I had to order a portion for two because they don't make individual servings of this dish. So I had plenty to bring home for today.

Beach II

Just a few more pictures of my time at the beach and another example of the parking situation here.

Next to where I stayed was a five star hotel called Hotel Las Arenas that was beautiful. I tooks a picture from front and back. I think I might stay there next week for a day or two.

La Playa (the beach)

I stayed at the beach on Saturday and Staurday night. The hotel was called El Coso. It was right on the beach (along with tons of other hotels). The sand is tan in color and water isn't really blue or green like at home. Its just a little different. The beach was crowded like at home. Maybe 20% of the females were topless which is not a big deal over here. Its a shame most of that 20% were Abuela's! There is a long prominade between the back of the hotels and the beach where venders set-up places to sell stuff. I saw the most wonderful looking seafood. I'll tell you about my meal in the next entry. I've included some pic of the beach. There is one where you can make out a montain range in the distance. It was much clearer in person. I'd like to go to the beach at the foot of those mountains.

Supermarket & Parking

These are pictures of the supermarket that is in the basement of a mall called El Corte Ingles. It's like a Publix Supermarket. First I have to say, I have no idea how to manipulate my text with the pictures so however it comes out is out of my control. Anyway, the first picture is of part of the seafood department. There are about 8 different types of shrimp, praws and Langostino's. They told me I cant take pictures so I didn't get one of the actual fish, to the left. Many, Many different types of fish & eel's. Usually whole fish and even live fish.

Next you will see all the Jamon Serrano's hanging. There must have been 100 of these. This ham is like Italian Procutto. Some of the pigs (cerdo) are farm raised and some are raised in the mountians free range. These are the most expensive and the have black hooves. They take the whole ham leg and place in in a carving rack then slice off thin pieces for you. I have never seen them put any ham on an electric slicer but I'm sure the do once they take it off the bone. The price can range from 10 euro/kilo to 145 euro/kilo. A kilo is about 2.2 pounds.

The last picture is an example of how close these folks park next to each other. This picture is not unusual. The cars are usually parked less than a foot apart. There are NO TRUCKs and No SUV's. There are 90% compact cars, Sabb, Peugot, Audi, Mercedes, Fords. Every now and then I see an expensive Benz or Audi sedan. The richer people live in apartments with underground parking. There are also hundreds and hundreds of mopeds & motorcyles (moto's)

Tapas & More

These are pictures of two different Tapas bars I have been to. The tapas bar in the two pictures to the left is called Sagardi on Carrer De Saint Vinvent Martir. They leave various plates of different Tapas out on the

counter all day. There are all kinds of munchies. You can't really see the food very well in the pictures. But each Tapa is usually a meat or cheese or seafood on a small slice of bread. There are also lots of little sandwiches (bocadillo's). They are like food passed at a cocktail party. Each Tapa has a toothpick in it. Either a short or long toothpick. When you have eaten as much as you want the waiter just counts the toothpicks and they know what to charge you. It's a beautiful thing, the food is wonderful and looks so enticing! Now the picture on the right is the same place I had dinner last night. This is a little different. There are plates of food but you don't physically pick an individual tapa. You either order off the menu or you just point to which tapas you want and they put what you ask for on a little plate and hand it to you. The first time I went there I was starving and I asked for three different things. There was so much on each plate I couldn't nearly finish it. I think it coast about 5 euros. Last night I had a large plate of seafood and a bottle of red wine for 20 euros. One euro is about $1.50 but the exchange rate changes everyday.

Your guess is as good as mine

No idea what this means. I've been by the

place 2-3 times but its never opened

Dinner & Instructors

These are pictures of my two instructors. Yolanda is the one sitting. She's the one that mostly gives grammar lessons, the most difficult for me. She's nice but It's tough to learn when she tries to correct me in Spanish. The other girls name is Sylvia. She is much more light-hearted and fun. She mostly teaches vocabulary and some grammar. It is very difficult to learn a new language. The picture of food is from a Tapas bar I went to after class on my way home. The name of the place is Freiduria Botella Tapas-Cerveceria on the corner of D'ercilla & Placa Del Mercat. The plate includes: Chirretes (tiny fish 2"), boquerones (little fish 3"), sepia (cuttlefish), calamari (squid), & puplo (octopus). I ate at a table on the sidewalk and just watched people walk by. There was a cool breeze and it was very relaxing after class. The classes are very intense and I am drained afterwards. Now it's 1:10 PM and I am beginning to type my class notes and do some Rosetta Stone for about an hour before class. Next week my hours change to the morning and I get an additional 1:45 of "conversation". I will have class from 9:30-1:30 then "conversation" from 2:00-3:45. I prefer class in the morning so we'll see how it goes.

My Buds

It might seem silly but I do miss my two dogs which are like my closest family because I'm with them and caring for them every day. So I worry about them and at least I have my pictures. The boxer is named Rocky and the English Bulldog is Rosco. I've had Rocky since he was about 8 wks old. Now he is almost 13 yrs old. Rosco is a rescue dog. I got him when he was about 1 1/2 yrs old, he's about 4 now. Rocky is losing his sight and hearing and he has separation anxiety. You cannot close a door behind you (like a bathroom door) without him whining. Rosco could care less. Rosco is the comedian and the real bully. He moves furniture around, he carries his dog bed around the house, pounds on Rocky when it thunders, he will eat anything in sight if allowed to.

Better School Back to Heat

The instructor made my day when she announced "no grammar tonight". Of course she said it in Spanish because she rarely ever speaks English. Regardless, we just focused on vocabulary and it was cool to not have anxiety. Sadly I left my cold hotel room to return to this hot apartment with the construction workers banging and speaking loudly outside my window. I have headphones on listening to Howard Stern as I write my blog. Last night I went out again but I guess I found the "good" part of town because there were lots of nice people out and lots of bars and restaurants open. It's so easy to get lost here. There are a million tiny roads and side streets. I suck so bad with directions that I got lost last night and had to ask for directions back to my hotel. One wrong turn and everything looks unfamiliar and I end-up just getting farther and farther from where I want to be. In these pictures you will see a beautiful apartment building and one of the tiny side streets I mentioned.

Better Day

Much better today at class. No grammar lessons today. We just focused on vocabulary. This is a good way of learning because its not just learning words but it learning what words mean and how to use them in a certain context. Of course we still apply the "rules" of grammar but its just not as hard core as when we are just focusing on the grammar itself.

So I have another night with the comforts of a quiet room with cold air. I'm having a little Cuban rum called Havana Club Anejo Especial. I just wanted to try it because its from Cuba and we can't get any Cuban products in the U.S. This hotel (Hotels Catalonia) is right downtown in the center of the business district. I stood on a street corner that had three huge old buildings all of which were banks. There was De Banco De Valencia, Banco De Espana, BBV. Not sure what BBV stands for. I went out from my hotel at 8:15 pm last night and the streets surrounding my hotel were filled with people and bars/restaurants were all very active. I went out again about 10:00 PM and the streets were empty. I literally had people coming up to me asking if I wanted marijuana or hashish or cocaine. It was pretty scary, so I bought a hamburger and headed home.

Sidre

There is a drink here called Sidre, which means Cider. They pour from a large cask as you see in the picture. The bartender holds the glass far away which airates the drink and causes a small head to form. It tastes like flat sour beer and its room temperature. They serve it in a straight glass but only fill about three fingers of the glass. I saw lots of people drinking this when they are eating Tapas so I tried it. Once was enough for me.

I went to an Irish pub with some guys from school that are from England. They wanted to watch some soccer (no basketball, baseball, or football). I ordered what I thought was a import beer from the tap. I had never seen this type of beer before so I thought I'd give it a try. It looked good but when I tasted it, it was like drinking carbonated apple juice. It turns out there are two kinds of cider here. The Spanish "Sidre" and the Irish type of cider which what I mistakenly order at the pub. I couldn't drink it (too sweet) but the bartender knew I made a mistake so he exchanged it for a Guiness.

Classes Kicking My Ass

I had another tough day today. Again, its singular and plural verb forms and the correct sentence structure that is seriously messing me up. If the instructor could just explain it in English for 5 min I could probably catch on but she insists on only speaking Spanish and tries to encourage me not to use any English. How do I ask for clarification when I can't speak English to her and she wont speak English to me? It seems like I get through the first 2 hrs OK, then the other instructor comes in and the subject matter is much more technical. I even asked for extra homework. Great idea! The instructions for the homework are in Spanish. At least there is some examples to follow. I'm really going to buckle down, otherwise I can't see it getting any easier. I have three more weeks so I need to get it together. I might stay at this hotel again tomorrow night. I'll look for an apartment but tomorrow I want to focus on these studies.

When I left class I just felt dumb and sick in my stomach because I am not catching on and other girl in the class is getting it better than me. She has been studying more and when she is interacting with people at school or at the apartment she tries to only speak Spanish even though its a struggle. I even complemented her today, telling her that her Spanish has improved in one weeks time. I can tell the difference in how she speaks and how she does on the lessons in class.

The hotel has cold air, I already told you guys that. What they don't have is ice makers on any of the floors. I needed some ice for a Coke so I go to the lobby and ask for some ice thinking they will bring me a bucket of ice. The guy comes back with a single short glass and asks me "is this enough?" I laughed slightly ans asked if he had anything bigger. He did manage to find a small pitcher for me. Luckily the room has a mini bar so I took some stuff out and put the ice in there so it'll last longer. When you enter a hotel room, you have to take your key card and place it in a slot just inside the room in order for the electricity to work. When you leave, obviously you take your key card with you so the electricity is shut off (including AC). Strange, but they are very Eco-conscious here and into conservation of everything.

Ice Cold Air

I found a hotel just around the corner from my school called the Gran Hotel Catelonia. Nice room, ice cold air, very clear color TV. I should get a good night rest tonight. I'll begin looking for an apartment tomorrow. I have three more weeks here and I can't stay in the hot box during that time and it's too expensive to live out of a hotel for three weeks. I want to enjoy my time here and learn as much as I can. I won't be able to do either if I'm hot and bothered all day and night.

Pictures 2

The obscured photo of the building to the left is where the construction is going on. The picture below is the ham station at the supermarket. This is where they have the best quality hams.
There is also a picture of the hundreds of Jammon Serrano hanging at the supermarket.

Pictures

I'm trying to learn how to upload pictures and haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The picture to the left is an old castle that has been converted to a hotel called a paradores which means its a government owned hotel. The picture below is the street immediately in front of my apartment called Paseo de la Pechina. The trees tops you see to the left of the street
are in the Jardines Del Turia. This is a riverbed that was closed down in 1958-59 and turned into a park. The river traversed the entire southern part of town but because of flooding issues they closed either end of the river and re-routed it to the outside of the city. Now we have this beautiful park that is about 8 kilometers long.