I went to Ciudad Rodrigo and got to see what real Spanish rural life was like a few weeks ago. We went to Alberca, which is famous for it's pig that roams around the city being fat and smelly. At the end of the year, he is given to a citizen of the town and usually eaten at a matanza, like we have in New Mexico. Also, went to the Pena de Francia, which was absolutely incredible. It was like being on top of the world, seeing mountains for miles and miles. Finally arriving in Ciudad Rodrigo, we got to the hotel and immediately went sightseeing around the city of just a few thousand people (much smaller than Salamanca, which is about 200.000 salmantinos). The original city walls still surround the city, built to protect the city from falling against the Moors during the Reconquista from 711-1492 in Spain. It is a beautiful city, though surprisingly dead for a Saturday night. Even Toledo seemed to have more exciting nightlife on a Sunday night!
Two weekends ago I went to Madrid for the first time since orientation (besides going to the airport) and met up with my friend Joe. We are in the same fraternity at DU and he kindly invited me into his 7th floor terrace for the weekend on a couch that was more comfortable than my bed in Salamanca. The first day we stayed away from the tourist spots and instead they took me to Casa de Campo, which is basically a giant national park that overlooks almost all of Madrid, complete with lake and gondola! That night I saw what Spanish university students do on the weekends. Hacer botellón, or basically drink in public on their campus with no repercussions from law enforcement. Thousands upon thousands of students show up with plastic cups, ice, Fanta or Coca-Cola, and a bottle of their choice and make new friends. We didn't stay long, but I was soon to return the next weekend for the halloween festivites (further down). The next day we took the gondola in the Casa de Campo to the Madrid Zoo/Aquarium. It was an incredible experience because they have so many different animals at their zoo than we do in the States. However, it was all about Saturday night, which rocked my world. We went to Fabrik, which is rated a top 30 club in all of the world! There was a opening party for SupermartXé; please watch this to understand...More sightseeing and an incredible trip to the Thyssen-Bornemiza, one of the three museums that make up Madrid's Paseo del Arte along with the Reina Sofia and the Museo del Prado.
This past weekend I returned to Madrid for some more fun. I have fallen in love with big city life and if the city doesn't have a metro system I'm not sure if I want to live there! just kidding, it's just I'm spoiled with European metro systems! We arrived on a Saturday, which meant we had to get straight to the party action. I returned to Compultense campus, where, sure enough, there were thousands of uni students dressed up for Halloween. However, the only Americans there were sadly not in costume (us!). We quickly learned another tradition that involves throwing ice and sometimes glass bottles at those who try to climb the horse in the middle of campus. Apparently, ice is more common but a few bottles did fly that night...The next night I went solo to the Kings of Convenience concert. If you haven't heard of them, get to listening! They played an amazing songs, all of my favorites, and I couldn't have been happier with the weekend! We finished it off with a trip to the Reina Sofia which blew my mind for the second time! Picasso's Guernica is breathtaking and the Dali exhibits were even sweeter now that I had studied him so in depth in the spring.
This weekend is Granada; hope it goes as well as the rest of my trips thus far! Big ups and I'll be back for more great stories, stay tuned.
-Adam
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