Some nice things

1. Yesterday I went on an 8 mile hike through the forests/mountains of Huelva. We came across: figs, walnuts, chestnuts, edible acorns,  apples (which I later, drank...), peaches, pomegranates, and tomatoes. We drank from a stream and a waterfall.

Along the pass, we stopped to lunch in a small town called Castaño del Robledos.
While we were eating our "bocadillos" in the central courtyard, there was this little boy running around from person to person with a tray of glass jars and a large pitcher of brown murky liquid.
It was fresh pressed apple cider that they were preparing on the street in a wooden barrel. It was so delightful to see that IN entered those golden apples and OUT came ambrosial cider.

2. I went for a run today in a park and after, went to the playground. It made me very happy to see that in addition to all the cool things for kids to do, there was a section of playground for "personas mayores" (senior citizens) to work on balance, movement, and flexibility.

3. Kids get out of school at 2:30 PM, so they are all home in time for lunch, which they can eat with their family.

4. I might be taking a class called "Música en el espectáculo audiovisual" in the communications dept. at U. Sevilla. It's all about the use of music in movies and advertisements to evoke certain reactions within the audience.

5. "Spanish boy of the week" coming soon...

lunch today and the museo de bellas artes

It was incredibly delicious.
A cold pasta salad with shrimp and cheese and olive oil, pokemon pasta shapes, smoked turkey, and apple vinegar. Scrumptious it was.


This afternoon I rode a bike to the Museo de bellas artes and saw some magnificent work that has been restored from hundreds of years ago. Here are a few that made an impression on me: (the photos say nothing of their beauty...) 

In the Retablo del Convento de San Agustin- "Jucio Final" (Final Judgement) by Martin de Vos

Santa Isabel de Hungría curando un enfermo  by Lucas Valdes

Las Cigarreras  by Gonzalo  Bilbao (whose work I like)

La muerte del maestro (Death of the Teacher) by José Villegas Cordero

Retrato (Portrait) de Sra. Malinowska by Ignacio Zuluaga

Spanish Blunder #2

Today I visited a bakery and have been wanting to try this dessert very badly. It looks like a triangular wedge of chocolate eclair. They are called cuñas. I wish I had said that.

Instead, with that Alia-can't-wait-to-eat-sweets enthusiasm,
"! Hola, un coño con mi café, por favor!"

Direct translation:
Hi! A coochie with my coffee, please.

Funny Spanish Mistakes no. 1

What I said:
¡Mañana, voy a probarte!

Direct translation:
Tomorrow, I´m going to taste you!

Cádiz...ooooh

The magnificent view from the Catedral--you can feel the salt in the air and the steep climb to the top is not made of stairs, but a long winding ramp up a tower! 

I know, right? 

Manasi, you´ll be glad to know that my tour guide (beautiful Alejandro) referred to pigeons as "ratas con alas" (rats with wings...)

Narrow cobblestone streets seem to be quite common here in Southern Spain

View from the Catedral de Santa Cruz de Cádiz

Pretty Buildings ;)

Los primeros días

Future hunks of España

Take note of the pizza "Sorpresa." Of course that's the one I ordered.

The women's bathroom

Hoards of family members in our hotel to pick us up and take us home!