Art, Flowers, Wine .... All on a Gorgeous Saturday!

I was very ambitious this Saturday and had alot I wanted to do and see. My first stop was to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. I wanted to see this museum the most because it had some of the greatest art of all time in it. Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali (my favorite), Jose Gutierrez Solana, Alfonso Ponce de Leon and many more I did not know of until yesterday. The most famous piece of work there (and one of the most famous in the whole world) is Picasso's painting called "Guernica". It was chilling to see this and I can barely interpret its meaning. It is a massive and extremely detailed piece of artwork about the Spanish Civil War. My favorite piece of work that I was really looking forward to seeing was Dali's painting "A Girl at the Window". I wish I could own it. If you don't know it, google it and I think you will understand why I love it.

After a few hours of walking through the museo I was onto the Jardin Botanico (Botanical Gardens) just right across the street. It was a gorgeous day for just strolling through the gardens and admiring the flowers and greenery.

After my stroll there I went to visit Liz again in the town over from Chueca (where she lives) called Bilbao. She had a friend from high school (Shorewood) who was also in town from London on business. We all met, had a drink outside and then walk the town. We stopped into a few shops and then eventually made our way home. And good news, I got home just in time for dinner to enjoy my first traditional Spanish Omelet. It was delish!

And that was my weekend for ya! I start Delfin tomorrow and will have some updates for you next weekend. In the meantime, enjoy the fall weather and have a Happy Halloween!

Carmel Apple Time!

This Friday for my fun activity with the kids, I taught them another American "fall" tradition....Carmel Apples! Their first reaction was "I don't like apples", well of course, they are kids and anything healthy is gross. But, I told them I think they should try it. And sure enough they did and they enjoyed it!

I went to the grocery store to get the simple few ingredients. It was a bit tough because in Madrid (and I looked many places) you can not buy Carmel bars. Luckily, I did find Werther's Carmel chewy candies and got 4 bags of them and melted them to make our dipping sauce. Then the fun ingredients they got to also use were chocolate candies, chopped nuts, candy sprinkles and chocolate sauce. So, we had at it! As you will see from the pictures the kids almost had a competition of who could put more stuff on their apple.

Happy Fall from Spain!

Vino

Last night I met my old friend, Liz Franczyk, for dinner and drinks in Chueca. Chueca is a great neighborhood in Madrid. It is the gay district that is known for having the best restaurants, clubs and shopping- what fun! Liz and I played soccer together when we were younger. We connected on facebook when I realized she was studying in Madrid. Perfecto! Liz is a great resource for me since she has been in Madrid now for a few years and has traveled around Europe.

We had a great dinner accompanied by a bottle of vino rojo (red wine-please excuse our purple teeth). Dinner was great and so was the wine.....oops....and the tiramisu! But, catching up and conversation was the best part. We talked about old soccer friends, our families and new adventures. Liz has a great life in Madrid; working, studying and socializing when she finds time. I'm looking forward to seeing her more! She invited me to a Halloween party next week and I'm looking forward to it! Now I need a costume!

Until next time.....

Help!!! I Can't Stop Eating!

Well, it is true what they say about Spain.....the food is delish! I guess that is why Gwyneth Paltrow and Chef Mario Batali did they tour here of food and wine. http://www.spainontheroadagain.com

Food here is so plentiful -it's everywhere! My family feeds me well, too well. Last night was my favorite meal/dinner yet! I went upstairs to the kitchen when I was called for dinner. I found what looked like a little mini grill placed on the center of the table. We all had our place settings (as usual) and there was some yummy pesto ravioli on it. Pilar (host mother) explained to me that we were going to have chicken for dinner with a Spanish cheese (along with the pasta). What you do is you cook the strips of chicken on the mini grill (on top), then underneath the mini grill is a stove top type area where you put your strips of cheese in a mini pan to let it melt. When your chicken is done (5 minutes or less) you put it on your plate and then pour your cheese on top of the chicken. It was delish! Pilar buys special Spanish cheese from the grocery store which is fabulous!

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. There is dessert! Pilar's friend just got back from the Canary Islands and brought her back some special almond filling to make this dessert with. Nancy fried up some pie crust type of thing (wish i knew the name) and then put the almond filling inside. To top it all off, you put some powdered sugar on top and you have dessert! Muy bueno!

It was a fun night of cooking and eating! I hope you like the pics of the kids, Pilar and Nancy (the housekeeper/nanny)having fun at dinner!

Adios!

Week of Updates in Madrid

Hola mi Famila y Amigos!

It is day five in Spain and I have so much to tell you! I won't tell you everything because the blog would be very long, but already I have seen so many new and different things. I feel as though I am awakening a part of my brain that I have never used before....it's very neat. But, challenging too.

So, I am settled into the house and I believe my jet lag is gone. The family is still great and very accommodating and helpful. They feed me too much though. They sit down for every meal together (except lunch on Mon-Fri when the kids are at school) and have a feast. Breakfast is usually cookies, doughnuts (sweets they just call them)and pan/toastada (bread/toast). Lunch is chicken or fish, vegetables, crackers and cheese if you like and sometimes sopa (soup). Dinner is some sort of meat(chorizo(sausage), jamon (ham), etc.) and arroz (rice with cheese- very good!)or pasta, vegetables and then a treat after like cookies, ice cream. So, not too much different than our meals, but different flavors and such. On Friday night I hosted a little "American dinner" which the kids requested to their parents to have hamburgers, nachos and brownies. Their favorite American food. It was fun!

I went into Madrid twice now. Once was just a drive through with Pilar (host mother) and the other was yesterday to get a phone and meet a friend. I have a friend from high school here teaching English. We spoke via facebook and connected yesterday finally to grab a drink and walk around a bit. We met in Sol and walked to the Plaza Mayor- a historical and popular monument/area in Madrid. We walked around a bit and stopped in a local bar. I got vino (wine) for 4euro and it was a mini bottle that had about 2 1/2 glasses- it was very good and cheap. The bartender there happened to be doing his English homework so we helped him out a bit and also asked for his help in Spanish. All in all it was a good time.

Today is Sunday and I am relaxing with the children, just watched the Pursuit of Happiness- we watched the first half in Spanish and the second half in English. It was nice. The kids all got the flu today and are miserable. I hope it wasn't a virus that I brought! Anyhow, I am keeping my fingers crossed that I do not get it.

Now for my updates on things I have seen and heard....
Things I like:
1.) Bar Snacks. With every drink you get at a bar, you get snacks with it like peanuts, tortilla chips, crackers or corn nuts.....yummm! I love snacks!
2.) Fashion. The fashion here is different, not crazy different but interesting. They love to shop in Madrid and have ALOT of great shopping it seems, I'm looking forward to seeing more!
3.) Everyone here wants to learn English if they are not already. I would say 90% of people I have come in contact with (even on the metro or in the phone store) know a little bit of English. Think about in the USA how many people know a foreign language, not many. We need to catch up!
4.) Transportation is very clean, easy and accessible. So far, so good.

Things I do not like:
1.) My biggest complaint is the smoke. EVERYONE smokes. And I don't have a problem so much with the adults, but the kids- tons of kids smoke. You can be 14 years old here to smoke legally. I went to go pick up Jamie (son-9yr) with Pilar and kids were smoking on his playground area. I just thought it was a terrible shame to start so young and have it be accepted.
2.) Graffiti is everywhere. We typically see it in places in the US too of course, but here no place is respected enough to not have graffiti. Even the Plaza Mayor and old historical place had graffiti on it. It's not like in D.C. you see graffiti on the Washington Monument. If there was, it would be cleaned up right away.
3.) Money. Of course this is not surprising that I do not like our exchange rate right now. For every euro it is $1.35 American. Ugh, this adds up quickly.
4.) I am really missing American TV. The Office, Friends/Seinfeld reruns, Brothers & Sisters, Project Runway....it goes on. I haven't watched any TV in what feels like forever. Any updates on those would be apprecaited! Or if you know of a way I can watch them online, let me know (I already tried NBC and ABC websites, doesn't work, same with hulu.com- ugh). Oh well, things could be worse. On the brightside, bars do play American football and other US sports!

That's all for now! Thank you all for your posts and emails. I love hearing from you! Please keep me updated on the happenings back home via email!

Love and miss you all,
Holly

More Pictures cont.

My room, the garage and Andres' office- all on the lower level of the house.

More Pictures of My Home

Pictures of (from bottom to top) the cinema room (they call it where they have a projector to watch movies- NICE), laundry room, game room (fussball, board games, TV, chalk board, etc) and the computer room.

I Have Arrived!

Hello everyone from Madrid!

I'm finally here! After weeks of thinking, planning and fretting over getting here, I am happy to report I am safe and sound! Pilar (my host mother) picked me up from the airport. We had a nice drive home and talked about the children the entire way. When I got home, I was greeted by the kids who were waiting to say hello before they went to bed at 9:30pm. Lucia (the oldest dughter, 11yr), Jamie (son, 9yr) and Carmela (youngest daughter, 7yr) were all very nice. They were very shy to speak English, but I'm hoping that soon will change. I think they are going to help me just as much as I will help them in learning each other's language.

I ate a late dinner with Pilar and then watched some TV with her and Lucia and Jamie until Andres (the father) came home. He works for Morgan Stanley Bank and as you can imagine right now has very demanding work hours. He was a pleasure to finally meet and speaks English just like an American. He has lived in the US before, in Philadelphia for 9 years with Morgan Stanley. He has also lived in the UK as well, so his English is right on. We talked alot about the US and reasons he really loves it. He told me he wishes that he and Pilar will live there soon with the kids for 2 years or so. So, I need to get on the tutoring quickly I guess so the kids are prepared!

A couple of things that were interesting to see or hear from my family....
1. Spain and Europe are just as into the US politics and the election as we (Americans) are. Interesting huh? My family here likes Obama.
2. The "siesta" is a myth. No one takes naps during lunch time. They do however, have a 2 hour lunch break because lunch is a long and heavy meal. Lunch is 2pm-4pm.
3. My family, and most around this area, have a live-in housekeeper. She does the cooking and cleaning and watches the kids until Pilar and Andres get home from work. Nancy (the housekeeper, is very nice (and little like me) and from Ecuador).
4. They do have cereal for breakfast- thank god! Toast or cookies and cafe or tea are typical breakfast options though.
5. The weather is absolutely beautiful. It's almost 70 degrees and sunny. It's not very often that they don't see the sun here. Andres and Pilar were also happy to report that it doesn't get as cold here as where I am from and the most snow they have seen in Madrid is about an inch. Hooray!

That's all I have for now to report. I am going into the city tomorrow for the first time to check out language courses and do some sight seeing. I'll have more to speak of then. I posted some pictures of their beautiful home and hope you enjoy!

XOXO,
Holly

Rainy Dublin

I have arrived! Not quite to Spain, but a little pit stop in Dublin. I'm a little off, but hanging in there. Right now it is 5:21am in Milwaukee, but almost noon here. I have been up awhile now. I didn't sleep well on the plane because just my luck, there was a crying baby and the seats were uncomfortable. I don't know how people sleep in planes.....

So, Dublin is nice from what I have seen so far! The only unfortunate thing is that it is pouring rain outside. I went out walking around and now I am in a coffee shop drying off and drinking some tea :) I saw St. Patrick's Cathedral and walked around the Temple Bar district. I'm looking forward to enjoying an Irish beer soon......

I think right now I would like to be in sunny Spain instead! Viva Espana!

Hasta Luego!

Last Day of Work at GMR

Today was my last day of work at GMR! I will miss everyone dearly but know I will be speaking with them often. Everyone at GMR has been so very good to me and I appreciate the tremendous support I have received. This is truly and amazing company!

I leave in one week from today......I got lots of packing to do!

My next post will be from Madrid! Wish me luck!

Until next time...........