It's Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas... and Hollywood.

So just as I'm sure any big city in the US will go all out with Christmas decorations, so it is with Madrid.  The holiday season seems to start at the same time as in the United States, right after Thanksgiving, even though Turkey Day is not celebrated here.  A lot of my kids were fascinated with the idea of Thanksgiving and in some of my classes I even gave short presentations and the teachers provided handouts describing the "First Thanksgiving" with the pilgrims and Native Americans.  Which brings me to my next segment of..

HISTORIA
As I was explaining modern traditions of Thanksgiving to my kids, we segued into the origin of Thanksgiving and the story of Pilgrims and whatnot.  Whether you know or not, early American immigration primarily consisted of Europeans (many English at first) who suffered from religious persecution.  The Protestant Reformation was making its way across Europe and causing a sh*t storm of violent persecution and suppression on both sides of the religious equation.  In England, Protestantism and Catholicism duked it out for over half a century (see Henry VIII through Bloody Mary) until The Virgin Queen Elizabeth seemed to have a firm grip on England as a Protestant nation (at least during her reign).  All those Catholics who had "lost" the battle in England then either had to renounce their faith and swear to Protestantism or face the wrath of a new Protestant regime.  However, on the other side of the spectrum, some radical Protestants felt the Church of England had not gone far enough, and sought refuge in the Netherlands where the environment was a little more accommodating.  From the Netherlands the "Pilgrims" crossed the Atlantic (Hey Mayflower!) and headed toward the new Plymouth colony near Cape Cod.  The first recorded Thanksgiving traditions trace back to the Spanish in North America in the 16th century, but the Pilgrim First Thanksgiving was in 1621.  While it seems to be true that some Native Americans may have helped the Pilgrims collect food for their feast (a Patuxet Native American named Squanto was apparently able to communicate to the new settlers how to catch and grow food after being forced to learn English while enslaved in Europe), relations between the settlers and Native Americans were not exactly the best (see American History 1600 - present) so I can't imagine the cheery Indian/Pilgrim lovefest story actually holds true.  NEEDLESS TO SAY, the kids in my class were in for a treat when it came to the story of Thanksgiving.   END HISTORIA

Spain has its own variety of once-proud-imperial-conquests-turned-evil-colonial-barbarianism which I will probably talk about later on, but seeing as how Thanksgiving was on everyone's mind, I'll save that for another day.  Ok after that windy digression I'll get to my Holiday point.  Madrid looks awesome!  Many of the streets have lights dangling from above decorated with various holiday figures..

And right in the center of Sol is a giant illuminated Christmas Tree!

Props to the guy who put the Star up there.

And what I especially love about coming home every day is the North Pole Village set up right next to my apartment.  Here they have tiny tiendas selling various items from gloves and scarves to jewelry to a marionette of Pinocchio!

Just hailing a taxi after a long day.

Now while this Santa's Village is pretty awesome, what is slightly terrifying are the half-sober characters walking around Sol trying to take pictures with tourists for money.  I immediately was reminded of Hollywood Blvd. with all its glorious characters roaming the streets.  Here in Sol there was an overweight Spiderman whose costume couldn't fit over his stomach, Mickey Mouse absentmindedly twirling dangerously close to a fountain, and a few other of my favorites..

I'm not sure why it was necessary to be levitating..

Pirates 5:  Dead Aliens Tell no Tales

Segovia!!

Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, my first successful trip outside of Madrid!  I have been looking forward to going to this place for weeks because of its several beautiful attractions, including, but not limited to, one of the most ornate cathedrals I have ever seen, a 1000 year old aqueduct, and a castle.  Yes, you read me correctly, A CASTLE.  And not just any old run of the mill 17th century Alcazar, but one that is purported to have been used to make the designs for the castles in Disneyland.  So after waking up before 10 on a Friday, UNHEARD OF (good thing I wasn't up until 4am the previous night.  Oh wait..), I metro'd it to the Chamartin train station to meet my friends and sip some cafe while waiting for our train.  I have to admit the train rides there and back were some of the most entertaining train rides I've ever been on.  The ride there was full of excited questions and comments about the magical city we were about to see and the ride back was full of delirious, non-stop laughter that only comes from being utterly exhausted from walking for the past 7 hours.

So we get to the city and realize we can't see any of the three aforementioned landmarks (a common theme with coming to new cities..see El Escorial pt. 1).  By meeting a jolly old English couple looking at a map of the city outside the train station, we found out we were on the opposite side of the city.  My new grandparents were gracious enough to show us the way (and give us much more history of their home city in England than was necessary).  Then while looking for food we followed my friend Christina's directions which led us up a windy road to the top of an abandoned mountain (aka not where we were supposed to go) and we firmly decided never to listen to her again.

So finally, we had had enough and took a taxi to the Alcazar (Castle).  Then we saw it.  The facade of an ancient drawbridge and majestic gates and towers all situated on the top of a rocky mountain.  As soon as we got a view of it, we knew we had picked the right city.  It literally lures your eyes in until you cannot look anywhere else.

We went on a short tour of the interior then got to walk up the Harry Potter-esque spiral staircase to the top of the Juan II Tower.

Boss on a Hoss.

Stairs of Death.  The sign literally reads:
"153 steps.  Not for unhealthy people."

Once at the top, the views are breathtaking.  On one side you can see out to the country side and get a chance to see it as the old royal elite used to.  An opportunity to see the vast kingdom that belongs all to you.  Then the other side is the city of Segovia with the beautiful Cathedral sitting right in the center.

Yea that's right.  I gots friends.

Yowza.

So little did we know that the entrance to the Castle was not even its best attribute.  The real place to see the Alcazar in all its glory was from the back.  How do you get to the back?  Why by hiking down a windy mountain of course!  Luckily we found a very helpful gato who led us to the bottom.  Gato, this blog entry goes out to you.

Ready..

Aim..

BLAMO!

Now THAT is a castle.  So the treacherous march down the mountain was exponentially worse going back up, but when we got to the top we went straight for the Cathedral.  And we got there just in the nick of time! ..to watch the doors shut as it closed.  Luckily I think there might be other Cathedrals in Europe (just maybe) so we weren't too disappointed.  Next on our list was the Aqueduct!  It was perfect timing for this landmark because we got some sweet pictures right as the sun was falling.

Who is this handsome fellow?

So something I did not tell you at the beginning is that the ONE MAIN purpose I had for this trip, besides cultural enhancement, spending time with friends, blahhhhh, was a picture of the castle at night.  My one request!!  So I convinced my reluctant amigas to get a taxi back to the castle again (because there was no way in Nicholas Flamel we were walking down that death trap again without our gato) and boy were we not disappointed!  Don't believe us?  Just take a look at this gem!

MAJESTY.

So after dinner, we had our Segovia gigglefest 2011 on the train ride back, got some tapas and beer and called it a day.  A very productive day if I do say so myself.

Wow, I'm really living here now..

Coming up to my 1.5 month anniversary, and I totally feel settled in.  I was thinking about this today while sitting on the metro subway completely unphased by two guys making out right next to my face and a man in a wheelchair asking for money while he utilizes the train's momentum to zoom up and down the aisle (aka releases his breaks and hopes for the best).  I have found an awesome 11 year-old kid named Alvaro to tutor in English who cracks me up every time I see him.  He LOVES crazy 8's, Go Fish and is a big fan of Clue so naturally we play all the time.  Favorite quote of Go Fish, "Do you have any ass?" "Alvaro, you mean Aces.  Do you have any Aces?" "Oh ok, do you have any asses?"  The kids I teach at Instituto Manuel Elkin Patarroyo (Colegio=Elementary School, Instituto=Middle/High School, Universidad=College/University - THAT took me a while) are equally great, always asking me the most random questions based on their perceptions of the United States:  "Do you know Jackie Chan? "Can I live with you in California?" "Do you own a gun?"  A few classes are like pulling teeth, but most are a lot of fun and the kids really enjoy talking to me!  They call my name from windows on the 3rd floor and I feel like a celebrity.  Then when I pass them in the halls they say, "Hi!" then run away laughing hysterically.

I also found a great place to live about 7 minutes away from the center of the city (Sol) for incredibly cheap.  I share a room with a Columbian guy and share the apartment (piso) with 2 other Spanish gentlemen and a Russian woman.  Any day now Disney is going to come by and record our lives for a new segment on It's A Small World.

My Crib.  Swankalicious, I know.  Lavalamp included. 

To answer your question, yes that is a centaur
suggestively holding a fair skinned woman.

 The place is great, my roommate bought all the pots, pans, plates, cups, etc. because according to him he'll just keep them after I leave.  I insisted to split them, but to no avail.  I need to start cooking some authentic Spanish food though, because so far my diet has consisted of healthy soup, fruit, pasta and sandwiches.  Also, this just in, I activated my Debit Card so I am now part of a bank in Spain!!  That's when I know this trip is legit.  Next up I'll be going over my trip to Segovia (there's a castle) so stay tuned!

Also many of you might think I went to Spain to experience new things, learn a new language and culture, travel Europe, etc., but after getting a library card, this is the real reason I came.

Each completed page is my most fulfilling personal accomplishment.

El Escorial, pt. 1

So I have been dying to get out of the city, and last Monday we had a meeting with the program to try and get our NIE residency cards and I didn't have to go back to school to teach afterwards.  So after the meeting, I booked it to the train station, bought a ticket for El Escorial and hopped on the train.  For those of you who don't know, I love history so I will probably be stocking these posts with as much history and stories as I can.  To warn you I'll put a big HISTORIA sign up so you can choose whether you would like to enrich your lives or not.  So, HISTORIA.

El Escorial is a city northwest of Madrid best known for its huge palace/monastery near the edge of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range.  Felipe II (King of Spain from 1556-98) built it as a final resting place for his father Carlos I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).  Felipe II was King of Naples, Sicily, Milan, The Netherlands, Spain and The New World so you can imagine all the riches this guy acquired (read: stole).  This place is legit.  The chief architect Juan Bautista de Toleda adopted a plain architectural style known as desornamentado, meaning unadorned, for the exterior.  For reasons to be explained soon I won't get into detail yet about the interior.  END HISTORIA.

It was great finally getting out of city and into the countryside.  As I said goodbye to Madrid...

Madrid's 4 skyscrapers in the background

I said Hello to deer, cows and rabbits on my voyage to Felipe II's majestic city.  I got really excited when I saw the palace from the train on the way there, however when I disembarked it had disappeared.  How do you lose a gigantic palace in a small city?  So I followed some signs that suggested the monastery was up ahead and after a 1.5 mile walk (should have taken the bus..) the palace appeared out of nowhere!

Spanish Hide and Seek Champion.

Isn't it awesome!?  It kind of reminded me of the Beauty and the Beast castle (pre-transformation back to humans) because it was overcast and it was a little spooky, but that could just be my proclivity to Disney-fy my life.  I took some pictures, walked around a bit then thought I'd take a step inside.  Little did I know, the San Lorenzo de El Escorial had a different fate awaiting me.

Free admission to the person who remembers what day I went..

Well then.  So I wanted to make a day out of my trip so I continued to walk around and was pleasantly surprised to find other things to amuse myself during my stay in El Escorial.  There was a couple other splendid churches in the area, a nice park that I got to walk through, and plenty.of friendly people.  After I got lost in the park it began to rain so I thought I'd call it a day.  Not a perfect first trip outside of Madrid, but that's why this post is called El Escorial pt. 1.  Here are some more pictures to feed your hunger!

Church on the Hill

San Lorenzo de El Escorial Gardens

I'm so artsy.

If The Grudge, The Ring and Carrie had a Rosemary's Baby, this is where it would be born.

Ok now I'm just being silly.

Who knew they filmed Jurassic Park here?

Wooooo, First Entry!

Ok long overdue first entry to Ryan's Spain Blog!  So first month down, and I have to say, you know what?  Spain is pretty cool.  It started out a little early and exhausting..

I walked down this exact staircase after 20 hours of traveling!

but once I realized where I was going..

Disregard the Free Checked Bag.  It is NOT true.

I got pretty excited again.  This city is so great for so many reasons, but my personal favorite right now is that it has the feel of a huge American city (SF, NY) but all around you are monuments, 6 story buildings with balconies, and other beautiful works of architecture that mark it as strikingly different from anywhere in the United States.  What's that?  You'd like to see some of these pieces of architecture and fountains?
Well, all right.

Retiro Park, Parque de Buen Retiro

Fuente de Neptuno

Banco de España

 WOOOO!!! So that's Madrid so far.  See you soon!