The Experience of El Escorial

Hola!

Once again, it is very late here. It is 1 am, but we are so busy during the day that I don't have a chance to blog until it is very late. On the bus ride from Madrid to El Escorial (technically we are in San Lorenzo El Escorial  . . more on that later), Professor Raleigh told me that we should see a cross in the mountains of El Escorial as we approach the town. He said that the first person to see it wins the game on the bus. So, all of us were searching the mountains for the sky. Guess who saw it first????? Prof. Raleigh! . . hmmm . . .seems like a trick to me. However, I was the second person to spot it. I was proud of my 2nd place finish until he and Dr. Sicius pointed out that 2nd place meant that I lost . . .(so much for the self-esteem literature of the 80s . . my students should understand that reference!) Anyways, I took a picture from the bus; I'm hoping that we get a chance to go up the mountain to see the cross while we are here.

Then, the bus arrived to San Lorenzo El Escorial, and we stopped near our hotel. The street that we live on is too narrow for the bus so the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a hill, and we had to drag our luggage up the hill. Dr. Sicius had warned us about this, but warnings just aren't sufficient. That was one big hill, and although my luggage made the weight requirements for the flight, those bags were extremely heavy. We were all huffing and puffing up the hill to our hotel. Although I was struggling, I was saying some quiet thank yous to Beth, and Ali! Go Perfit! Working out with them is the only way I was able to carry all my luggage up at one time. Whew! So, this is where we are staying: the Hotel Florida. How appropriate for us!

Dr. Sicius told us to bring up our luggage and then meet him downstairs to go on a tour of the town. I couldn't help but remember what Ginger, Bill, and Deborah told me about the elevators they were on in Europe. TINY! We sent one person up to our floor, and then put some of our luggage on the elevator and sent it up to them. Then we repeated that step over and over. After my one trip up the elevator, I decided from that point forward, the stairs would be my personal choice. :) We dropped off our luggage and then headed out (very sleepily) on a tour of the town. We were all starving by this point so we first stopped in the restaurant in our hotel and Dr. Sicius ordered all of us a mixto which is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It was delicious, and I couldn't help but think that momma, you would actually love the food in Spain . . it was a great ham and cheese sandwich although I winced a bit when I saw the cook put tons of butter all over the bread (although of course that made it taste awesome!) I also had my first cortado con leche in Spain. (coffee with milk . .and it was outstanding) See pic below . . I know I'm looking a little rough in this picture, but at this point, we had been waiting at the airport or traveling for almost 20 hours! So, that is as good as it is gonna get after that much travel! But, of course, I had to document my first cortado con leche in Spain.

We walked around the town of San Lorenzo El Escorial for a bit that evening and saw some beauftiful sites.We are surrounded by mountains (first pic) and the second picture is a plaza very near our hotel.

Beautiful! (Hermosa?) Is that the right word? We walked around for a bit, and then about 45 minutes later, we are sitting at a restaurant owned by a close friend of Dr. Sicius. They started bringing us tapas (kind of like appetizers), and I started to learn how much the Spanish people love potatoes! Again, Momma you would have liked the food because they brought us different kinds of french fries (paps fritas? is that right?) We had all kinds of potatoes. I had just eaten so I tried a bite or two, and then we walked back to the hotel, and it was time for dinner! Now, the restaurant at our hotel always serves us 3 plates of food (appetizer, entree, and dessert). It really feels like I'm on a cruise because the food is included at our hotel, and when the food is in front of me, I feel compelled to eat it. But, I was still so full from the mixto and tapas! For those food lovers, here is a pic of my first plate at dinner. Salad with tuna. 

 (this was just the first plate  . after that we had chicken and guess what the side dish was? roasted potatoes!) It was excellent. The servers are also very professional and nice. Coming from the restaurant business, Daddy and Momma, you would appreciate the service. Being a waiter or waitress in Spain is more of a career (not just a side job), and so they take their job very seriously. You will never have an empty glass at your table. This first night they served us bottled water, and I know this sounds weird, but I LOVE the water here (and at least here in Spain, it was very cold water! I've heard that is not typical in Europe). Those of you who know me well know that I'm picky about my bottled water (Yes, I CAN really tell the difference between Dasani vs. Evian). The water here is spring water, and it is amazing. I drank about 5 glasses of water. (Maybe that will counteract the many carbs!) I know I'm writing a lot about food, but my students are journaling as part of my class, and they all agree, and have said that their first cross-cultural observations of Spain include how often we eat, how late we eat dinner, and how many carbs they serve us.  I promise to blog about more than food soon! But, food is definitely part of the Spain experience! Tomorrow we have our first day of class. I'm attending the History of Spain class that Dr. Sicius is teaching, and we will get to see the university! Adios for now!