Culture and Religion

We woke up this morning, and we didn't have power. We weren't sure if somehow we blew a fuse, or if something happened in the building. Luckily the fuse box was easy to find so it was a quick flick of a switch and we were back in business. Of course the appliances in the apartment are all in Spanish. Again we are reminded how English appliances are quite a bit different from the rest of the world. The washer and dryer are part of the same machine over here. So we can see how trial and error may lead to quite a few stories. Many of the words we are familiar with, but there are few we have had to look up. We have started placing sticky notes on some of the more unfamiliar items in the apartment and have started recording words that we didn't know but have had to use.

Getting directions and getting details on specific things has proven interesting. We took a Spanish-only guided tour of  Basilica San Francisco el Grande today. I was waiting to hear him speak in Spanish and then translate to English...but that didn't happen. Dorothy said she was able to follow about 25% of the words that he used, and then had to fill-in-the-blanks with her knowledge of art, Catholicism, and being able to pay attention to what he was pointing at. There is no way you can learn every word used in Spanish from your basic everyday courses. Placing yourself in real world situations is really key to picking things up.

One of the most interesting real world experiences was our visit to the Museo de Jamon shop. Basically it is a Spanish meat market full of ham hocks hanging from the walls. We knew we were in with the locals at this shop. It did turn out to be the deal of the day...pan con jamon, bebida, y fruta por dos Euros...ham sandwich, drink and choice of fruit for 2 euro...DEAL!

I will add that as you get tired towards the end of the day, speaking in (or at least trying to) speak in Spanish becomes more and more taxing. Thinking of what you want to say in English first and then mentally translating it to Spanish is time consuming, however, at this point a necessity.

Well at least "Stop" is the same!

Taking notes

One of the stained glass windows in Catedral Nuestra Senora de la Almudena.

Like Madrid there is a juxtaposition between the old and the new and together it creates a harmony. 

We couldn't find a repeated pattern in the ceiling of the cathedral; it simply was amazing.

These patterned reliefs covered nearly the entire ceiling of the cathedral.

Museo de Jamon...we did find it interesting that this place calls itself a Museo. 

This was one of the most important frescoes in the Basilica San Francisco el Grande because it was painted by Spain's Goya. The man in yellow at the bottom right is actually Goya himself at the age of 38. 

 We decided that pictures really help us understand what is happening...the mustache just adds to the culture!

Guess "Acero" means "Steel"