Cod Fish Balls and Green Wine

So to kick off our 1-week trip, Patricia and I decided to head to Portugal for a couple days. I had been to Lisbon a few years ago with my family but nevertheless I was very eager to return to this coastal city which I had instantly fallen in love with.

This experience was quite different, having a basic understanding of the city already allowed me and Patricia-who had been there in the past as well-to move around with relative ease and confidence, only to find ourselves getting turned around a couple times. Also, with a Brazilian family background, Patricia knows Portuguese fairly well which made the experience even better and more authentic. The first day we spent in the Belem neighborhood, situated on the coast. We had 'pasteis de nata'-a popular pastry dish-at a restaurant called Pasteis de Belem; basically the Lisbon version of Cafe du Monde. After that we had a fish and rice soup and a thick, mushy/stu-like shrimp dish, both typical in the region. I washed it down with Super Bock, the pride of Portuguese beer and probably the best unknown secret of European brews (it has several European records-look it up). The second day, we decided to leave the city altogether...

When Patricia was in Lisbon a few months back, she met a Portuguese dude named Thelmo at the hostel she was staying at. Being that he seemed like a cool cat they decided to exchange info in case she were to return to Portugal or he were to make it over to Spain. Luckily for us, he was off work for a couple days and was more than willing to take two Americans to a little town about 30 minutes away which he thought we would like. The town was called Sintra, and I am pretty sure that Alice would liken it to Wonderland.

We started by hiking our way up to an old Moorish Palace (which Thelmo was proud to say that Portugal was able to conquer, despite its excellent strategic location) and then we walked around the 'park' which surrounds it. This beautiful property was literally fit for the king and royalty, and consists of a huge, beautiful and fairytale-like forest, lakes, watchtowers, swans and very confusing paths. We only had time for a few hours here, which unfortunately is not sufficient to see everything, so I look forward to returning in the future to explore that which we were unable to this time.

Returning to Lisbon we had worked up a well-deserved appetite, so we opted to eat in an old neighborhood called Bairro Alto (high neighborhood) which is located on one of Lisbon's hills. It is known for its outdoor dining, Fado clubs, beautiful views of the city, and also its poverty and crime. After weaving our way through the touristy restaurants at the bottom, for those unwilling to climb the hill, and the invitations of owners in the streets to dine at their "very authentic" spots, we found a nice little place that was grilling sardines in the street (they are in season) and couldn't resist. They were hands down the best sardines I have ever had (note: never liked sardines before coming to Europe) and their tastiness was equalled only by Patricia's freshly grilled salmon. We ended the night drinking daqueries at a hoppin Mexican side bar which was surprisingly packed.

Our last day we pretty much spent walking around the main part of town which consists of giant plazas-including the Plaza Comercio, the entrance to the city which boasts one of my favorite European statues-outdoor cafes, bakeries and dozens of people trying to sell you hash and tour bus passes. We ate cod-fish balls, which is a fancy name for fried cod fish, and walked around the old neighborhood where the castle is situated overlooking the city. However, being that we had both visited the castle before, we decided to go to a little wine and cheese cafe that Patricia had visited earlier this year with her friend. Good call, trisha. It was here that we enjoyed a plate of odd cheese assortments, ham, potruguese olives (hands-down the best olives in the world), jam, and Portuguese green wine. That's right, green wine (it's just kinda like a darker white wine, only you feel much cooler when drinking it). Being the generous host that that barman Nuno was, he then offered us a dessert and some 40-year-old Portuguese liquor to wash it down with. It was quite the appropriate end to our 2-day adventure in what is quite possibly my favorite European country. Overlooked by most, Portugal is the only country I have revisited in Europe, and is among the handful of places that I plan to return to throughout my life...everytime I go it just gets better.

Unfortunately, pics will not be able to be posted until I get back to the states. However, I made it back from Morocco alive and well and my Listening Wind entry about that will be coming soon so stay posted.

Future plans

So, the time has come. After nearly 8 months of living in Autol I will have to say farewell in exactly 2 weeks. It's really just hitting me that for the next month or so I will be travelling, non-stop, through 7 different countries before my return to the States. While I have spent the last couple of months trying to get all my ducks in a row, I finally have a concrete (well, maybe wet concrete) plan. Here it is:

-I finish work on the 26th of May. On the 28th my friend Alex and I will be in Barcelona to attend the Primavera Sound Music Festival. I am looking forward to seeing Beach House, Panda Bear, Yeasayer, Major Lazer, Owen Pallet and the Pixies.

-The 30th of May I will head to Barcelona, where I may meet up with maggie Placer, who will be there with friends. I will definitely rendevous with my friend Patricia Duggan, who I met in Granada in December, and we will embark on a 2-week adventure together.

-On the 1st of June we will go to Lisbon for a couple days before returning to Madrid. Although I have been there before, I absolutely love this city.

-On the 4th we will fly to Marrakech, Morocco, and backpack our way to the north of the country, passing through Fes and Tetuoan until we reach the coast where we can catch a ferry back to Spain. I have never been to Morocco, but I must say I am more anxious about this trip than I typically am. I have heard many things about Morocco, some good and some bad, but either way I can't wait to be thrown into such a different culture and soak it up the sites, smells and tastes (well, maybe not so much the smells).

-Upon my return I will have about a week to kill before meeting Clayton. I will most likely go to Granada to chill with Caroline Davis, who will be studying there, and to Salamanca to catch up with Sarah Molbert before she returns to the States.

-On the 18th of June I will fly to Munich, Germany, where I will meet Clayton on the 20th. However, we will not spend much time in Munich-maybe one day-because we have many places to go and people to see.

-First we will head to Salzburg, Austria. I hear nothing but good things about this place, including that it is like a fairytale city. I can't wait to wander the streets, chocolate and beer in hand, and hear Mozart being played in the distance (he is from Salzburg). *Bonus* Nick Shirley, who has been living and teaching English in Austria, may come meet us which, would be awesome. We have been in contact throughout the year but haven't seen each other in years and joining him on his home turf would be quite exciting.

-From there we will head across the country to Vienna which is, if not my favorite, one of my favorite cities in all of Europe. Clay and I will also have a free place to stay-at the flat of this girl named Romy whom I met last time I was there-which will be nice. Plus she can give us a tour of the city and tell us where to eat, go out, etc.

-Next on the list is Budapest, Hungary. I am quite possibly the most excited about this city. I do not know much about it but I can't wait to find out what lies in the heart of traditional Hungarian culture which, from what I hear, still manifests itself in one of the oldest cities in Europe: Budapest. We will spend 3 days here.

-On June 28th we will catch a flight to Amsterdam, where we will spend 2 days. No explination is really necessary when it comes to this city, but I definitely want to rent bikes and bike around the countryside and, uh, drink their coffee.

-After the longest 2 days of our lives we will fly to Galway, Ireland. We have decided to start on the western side of the country in order to visit the Cliffs of Moher (sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings, doesn't it?) before busing across Ireland to Dublin, where we will spend a couple days before jumping the pond on the 6th of July.

While some-maybe most-of this is subject to change, I feel pretty good about our itenerary and cannot wait to backpack with my little bro...it's gonna be epic.

Nan and Papaw in Spain?!

It was cold. It was wet. It was an atypical affair.

This time last week I found myself in Barcelona, a European summertime hotspot and personally one of my favorite Spanish cities. I had been there a few times in the past; soaking up the welcoming sun, strolling the pedestrian streets filled with performers and artists alike, dragging idly along the miles and miles of inviting beaches decorated with the beautiful people from all over Europe, barhopping with fellow travelers until places started serving breakfast, etc. You know, the typical things one does in a dynamic place such as Barcelona.

This time it was a bit different. This time the sun was perpetually hidden behind blankets of purple and grey clouds, the beaches were as deserted as they probably are on the Gulf Coast, the artists were more concerned with protecting their paintings from the rain rather than creating new ones, and the closest thing I saw to a street performer were the dozens of Moroccan immigrants selling overpriced umbrellas to desperate vacationers. No, this was not the same Barcelona as depicted on post cards and television commercials.

However none of this mattered to me; the external factors took a distant backseat to the real reason I took off work to go to Barcelona on this particular week. The primary purpose of this trip was to rendezvous with my grandparents, Nan and Papaw, for a 2-day stint before they caught a Mediterranean cruise on Wednesday. It was super exciting for me-having the opportunity to meet up with one’s grandparents on the other side of the pond isn’t something that everyone can or will experience-and I was determined to make our 48 hours together special. Besides, they, along with the couple they were with, had never been to Spain.

While the rainy weather deterred us from venturing to the beaches, it did not stop us from hitting several of the cities attractions. We walked down La Rambla-the largest pedestrian street in Barcelona, visited the Sagrada Familia-the still-being-constructed masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi, probably my favorite architect, and even to park Guёll (which Gaudi designed and where he lived).

Also, I was able to avoid the usual diet of Kebobs and street food that I typically have to settle for on a traveler’s budget, and take advantage of the fine dining in a city known for its culinary prowess. I really wanted to introduce to my grandparents and their friends the wonderful food culture that Spain has to offer, which I felt I was able to accomplish on our last night together. It was 5 elderly couples and me, and they basically decided to leave it up to yours truly to find a place to eat. I opted to take them to a tapas bar, where we ate everything from cod fish, bbq’d shrimp, olives, fish salad, calamari, stuffed potatoes and, of course, Spain’s world-famous cured ham. Icing on the cake: we washed it all down with a couple of bottles of red imported from my region. I feel like it was an appropriate ending to a successful and special experience. I hope that Nan and Papaw have a fun and safe cruise. Love you guys.

Es Ist Leiwand!

“Es ist leiwand!” is one of the few German phrases I picked up while in Austria. While we probably over-killed it, it was the phrase that possibly best summed up David and my trip to Central Europe as it literally translates to “this is awesome!”

However, the story really began before even setting foot in the Czech Republic or Austria. Given that our flight was out of Madrid, I decided to go to there a day early and spend the night in a hostel and meet David the following day. The great thing about ‘Catz Hostel’ in Madrid is that is has a downstairs bar/lounge where travellers frequently pregame in order to meet people and have a few drinks. This was not my plan, but I thought I would go down and try to get some reading in (I am currently crawling though Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged). I did not read one page. Instead I sat down at a random table next to a guy who introduced himself as Gaston. Oddly enough, he happened to be from Buenos Aires, where I lived for a summer a few years ago, and so we started chatting. Come to find out, Gaston was actually heading to Prague the next day-on the same flight-and staying at the same hostel as David and me. Being that he was in Europe by himself, it only made since for this Argentine to join David and I in our beer and sausage-filled Prague adventure.

As if this wasn’t enough of a coincidence, we actually met a handful of Argentines at our hostel our first night in Prague who Gaston had gone to school with in the past (small world, huh?). Being that it was their last night in the city and our first, they decided to take us, along with a couple of Brazilian and Dominican girls, to one of the most famous clubs in the city: a five-story dance club called “Lavka”, which is located on the Vltava river. Each floor blasts different musical themes and styles, ranging from 70’s disco to rock to modern-day electronic. Let’s just say it was an appropriate way to start the trip.

The next few days pretty much consisted of David and I taking advantage of the extremely cheap beer and local cuisine (which included everything from an array of sausages, fried cheese and mayo sandwiches, Czech-style pork dishes, and pizza). The main sites we saw were the famous Charles Bridge, the Main Square with the famous astronomical cuckoo-style clock tower, and the impressively unique Prague Castle. We also rented bikes one day and cruised throughout most of the city, exploring parts that we would not have ventured to on foot.

However, despite the picturesque views and impressive architecture that Prague boasts, it has become, over the years, renowned for its nightlife. During the four-day stretch David and I went everywhere from Jazz clubs, underground tavern-style bars, a 90’s-themed dance club, and even a bar in which each table has its own tap and digitally records on a monitor how many litres of beer you have consumed. In fact, at this one particular tap-at-the-table bar, David, Gaston and I were just about the only people there (it was a Monday), aside from a group of about 25 middle-aged Thai women who were celebrating a bacheloret party of come kind; very awkward and a pretty uncomfortable (they were hitting on us), but pretty entertaining nevertheless.

The next day we headed south to Vienna, Austria. Being that it is quite an expensive city, we decided not to stay in a hostel but to Couch Surf instead. We stayed at the apartment of a girl named Sara Schamat, who is from Vienna and is studying at the university there. One of the great things about Couch Surfing is that you get to see a different side of a city, one that the locals know about and which tourists spend weeks or months trying to discover. It helps that the people are genuinely friendly and for the most part speak perfect English, as they must begin to study the language at the age of six. They also are very well educated about their history, especially WWII history. In fact, someone told us that if you attend a university you will end up taking about 8 years of World War II history throughout your life. It almost seemed as if there existed an underlying feeling of guilt that still resonated throughout the contemporary Austrian culture, which I found to be quite interesting.

So we hung out with Sara’s friends at local markets, plazas and bars while they showed us around the city, telling us where to go and what to eat. They also introduced us to one of my favorite things about Vienna: they have a beer delivery service. Yes, that’s right, you heard correctly. In Vienna, there is a delivery system that mirrors that of pizza in the US, except it’s with beer-probably one of the greatest concepts I have experienced since being on the other side of the pond. Is also noteworthy that Austrian beer is among the best in Europe; I’ll just say we didn’t see many people drinking cocktails while we were there.


Aside from the eating, drinking, and hanging out with locals, the actual city is exceptionally impressive. It boasts some of the most beautiful architecture in Europe and, for a large city, is very clean. In fact, it is the greenest city in all of Europe and has been voted as the number one place to live in the world for two consecutive years, and the reasons, as you can see, are quite obvious.

However, there is a very interesting juxtaposition between the old and the new in Vienna, as contemporary art can be found next to and inside classical buildings as well as the existence of random establishments such as the “Anal Bar” and “Sperm help-desk” (both of which are probably designed to look a little too realistic) in plazas surrounded by fancy cafes and contemporary art museums. Yet, it only seems appropriate for it to be this way, as Vienna itself seemed to me to be a city of contrasts. There are obvious contrasts that exist between the locals and the Turkish immigrants, between the lingering WWII hangover and foresight to be one of the most modern cities in the western world, and, like so many European countries today, between the old and traditional generation and that of the 21st century.

*I would also like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. In Spain, the tradition is to pull the ears of the birthday boy/girl: one pull for each year they have. Yesterday afternoon when I returned home my ears were red and my e-mail was full, and that meant a lot to me.

Apple Juice

15 gentlemen. 3 days. Nearly 300 bottles of apple cider.

Last Friday was Father’s Day in Spain, a national holiday which gives everyone the day off of work and thus a three-day weekend. In order to take advantage of this, two American friends of mine, Matt Walsh and David McCoy, along with Matt’s American roommate Tom from Maine, and 11 of their Spanish friends decided to go to Gijón.

Gijón is a coastal city in the north of Spain located in the Asturius region and is famous for its apple cider, beaches, and partying all night in the streets and plazas. While drinking outside of bars is frowned upon and even against the law in some parts of the country, it is almost a necessity in Gijón because of the fashion in which one drinks the cider. You see, you have to pour about a sip’s worth at a time from the bottle into a glass from holding the bottle above your head, making for about a two and a half foot pour. This will ultimately result in missing the glass at times (especially as the night carries on), so it makes since that it’s encouraged to be drank in the streets instead of the bars.

After a successful Thursday night of introductions to both Matt’s Spanish friends and the cider culture, we hit a bit of a speed bump on Friday morning. You see, Matt and Tom, who teach English in Segovia, have expired visas and had forgotten their passports at home. In hostels, it is standard procedure for everyone checking in to produce an international ID of some sort if you are not a citizen of that particular country. When Matt and Tom had no proper documentation, the police were informed about their illegal status and brought them to the station. However, given that Spain is in a financial crisis and didn’t want to pay for their deportation, they were told that they have 2 weeks to return back to the States. Fortunately, they were released and thus able to spend the rest of the weekend with us.

The weather in Gijón was fantastic, it was actually the first time since I arrived in Spain that wearing a jacket wasn’t necessary, and the warm sun was definitely welcomed. Gijón is supposed to have a really nice beach, but I wouldn’t know, because we never made it there. Instead, we decided to take advantage of the friendly and vibrant culture by hanging out in the streets and plazas all day with boxes full of bottles of cider with guitars and harmonicas in hand, singing songs and striking up conversations with the locals (especially the women, who are beautiful in Asturias).

Each day followed a similar routine: wake up around 1:30, eat lunch, start drinking around 3:00, play music and make up songs, and ultimately bar/club hop until about 5 am. This went on for three days and I must say it was one of the wildest and best weekends I have experienced in a long time. Now begins the countdown to Prague and Vienna for Easter.

Pics will be posted promptly

Civil Rights and Tasty Baby Lamb

As an appropriate follow-up to last week’s insight into the celebratory mentality of the Spanish population, a couple days ago was a national holiday for celebrating women in the workplace. I’m down with that; all of the female teachers got flowers, we all got pastries during break, and I got to say “congratulations” all day to each of them which is always a psychological mood-booster on a bitterly cold Monday.
Anyway, being that it was day for women to unite as one and celebrate their social status in the modern-day business world, the female teachers at my school all decided to go to lunch at the best restaurant in Autol. That is to say, among the best restaurants in the world. If all of the women were dining together in a non-male environment, then what did the men do for lunch, do you ask?

Well actually, we decided to have our own special lunch party, for men only. Good news: the principal of my school is a man, who happens to have a bodega (wine cellar) underneath his house. And when I say bodega, please don’t picture a modest little room. This was a two-century year old “man’s room” full of art, cultural antiques, local liquors and more bottles of wine you could imagine. The one room had more floor space than the Rent House.

So the 9 of us guys cracked open two, 2-liter crianza (aged) bottles of wine made in my principal’s village; it was one of the best wines I have had since arriving to Spain. Main course: grilled cordero-baby lamb, it wasn’t exactly terrible. Oh yeah, and this was followed by a round of shots of herbal liquor which it touted as being very good for the digestive process. We would have loved to continue with the lunch party, but we did still have two more hours of school to teach so we needed to get back to Autol.

Festival Fever

One of the great things about Spain is that the Spanish love to celebrate and have a good time. They will go to just about any length to find any excuse to party. As a whole Spanish people, despite their religious past (Inquisition, anyone?) are not very religious. In fact, I don’t think I have met one Spaniard in six months who claims to be a stern Catholic or even a religious individual in general. This has led me to conclude that in Spain, people don’t like to practice religion as much as they like to celebrate it.

By this, I mean that Spain has many festivals with traditional religious roots but currently carry very little religious significance; rather, it is an excuse to have a party. Think about the images that come into your mind when you imagine San Fermines, the biggest festival in Pamplona. This festival was originally meant to celebrate Saint Fermine, but has virtually turned into a week of debauchery for locals and international travelers alike, who only practice drinking wine all day and running away from bulls opposed to practicing creed. The fact is, the festival of San Fermine is just a macrocosm of what occurs throughout the country during the spring and summer.

Every city, town, and village, no matter how large or small, has at least two festivals every year. In fact, the town where I live, Autol, home to only roughly 4,000 habitants, enjoys three festivals annually (keep in mind that all local festivals involve bulls-whether it be bull runs or bull fights). And don’t begin to think that the series of local festivals occur at random; on the contrary they are very well coordinated to the extent that in a given region the festivals rarely overlap, but instead occur virtually every weekend for several months. That is to say, if one were so inclined one could attend a different festival in a different city/village/town every weekend for roughly 6 months out of the year.

This past weekend was the festival in Calahorra, a nearby town of about 20,000 people. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a show at the plaza de toros (bull ring) by some locals related to my landlords. I had seen a corrida in Pamplona last year, the well-known event where the bulls are killed by a matador with a sword, but this event was much different. It was not a 'bull fight' where they slay the bulls, but rather a competition among younger, less experienced toreros, men ranging from the ages of 18-26 or so. The way it works is that there are 12 teams of 2 people. One pair at a time, the toreros enter the bullring with only small silver rings in hand (no sword or spear). Once the bull is released, the pair has 3 minutes to try to put as many silvers rings on the horns of the bull as possible. This means getting very, very close to horns. One pair, comprising of a 19 year old and a 21 year old was unfortunate enough to get the rowdiest bull, who in only 3 minutes broke both arms of one contestant and the wrist of his partner, by slamming them into the wall. It was good fun.

Anyway, the point is, festival season has arrived in Spain and I’m loving it.

In other news, my friend David and I are planning a trip to Prague and Vienna for Easter week because we have a 10-day vacation. It should be a really good time, Prague is supposed to be a lot of fun and very cheap while Vienna is said to be among the most beautiful cities in the world. Also, Nick Shirley, who is living in Austria with his wife and teaching English like myself, is planning on meeting us in Vienna and showing us around. It’s a small world huh?