Proof

Bueno, here is the proof! This is the Director of the Centro de los Lenguas Modernas Granada University and me, with my certificate.
Today we had classes as usual until 12.30, when we did an evaluation of the course and then were presented with our certificates.
We wandered back to the hotel and I packed the rest of my things, and brought my suitcase downstairs and asked the barman if he would weigh it for me, as there is a large scale in the kitchen. Much to my amazement, it was slightly under the weight limit!!
After such good news, I went and had a final swim in the pool.
Around 7pm, a group of us gathered in the bar, then a couple of Canadians asked if I wanted to go out for tapas with them. We found a restaurant that had vegetarian tapas as Lorraine doesn't eat meat. We shared a jug of Tinto de Verano and a pizza as well - all in all a lovely evening.

This is of most of our class. Some had already left to catch planes etc, but most of us are in this photo. A couple of the professors said that we had been the best class for quite a while. I bet they say that to all the classes!
Pues, it is time for me to say "Adios Granada" as I have a very  early start in the morning to catch my flight to Madrid.

Me and Tina - from Tauranga - on our last day, having coffee in the cafe at the Uni

Ultimo dia

8.30am and my last day at Granada University. This morning we have 2 classes, but they will be a little shorter as we have our evaluation and presentation of certificates today.  I have packed my bag, nearly, and had to go out last night to buy a bigger carryon bag as I had run out of room - yes I should have listened to you Noelene!
Last night a big group of us went to the Generalife to see a Ballet/Flamenco in the gardens. They have large area which holds around 300 or so seats, and a big stage, and often hold performances there. It was a beautiful night, not a cloud in sight, and the flamenco was spectacular. Sorry no photos as one was not permitted to take video or photos :(
We took a taxi there, but walked home - downhill all the way, and stopped for a drink with a couple of friends at a cafe not far from the hotel.
After chatting to Kay and the students from school, I posted a blog that had been waiting for some photos, then saw that Hannah was online, so ended up talking to her too which was lovely. As the performance hadn´t started until 10pm, it was reasonably late by the time I got to bed. This morning it was a bit of an effort to open my eyes. Mind you, tomorrow will be worse as I have to be up at 5am. Today on the walk to Uni, my legs felt like lead - must have been the steep downhill walk last night, my muscles are not used to it.
Bueno, es la hora salir.
Hasta luego

La Catedral de Granada

Yesterday we had the last of our compulsory cultural visits, this one to the Cathedral in the middle of town. It was built in the early 1500s by Isabel and Ferdinand, King and Queen of Spain at the time. We had a guided tour by one of the lecturers from the Uni who has a PhD in Art History, so as you can imagine, it was pretty detailed.

The inside of the Cathedral  is absolutely massive. This shows one small part of it.

We had to meet in the middle of town by a big fountain at 4.30, so a few of us decided to stay in town after Uni. We took our lunch - crusty rolls with Serano ham and local cheese - and picnicked in a park in town. I use the term 'park' loosely as there is no grass at all, just dirt.

One of the streets leading into the centre of town. It was very nice under the trees
By 4.30 the temperature was 40 degrees and climbing, so it was a relief to finally go into the cool of the Cathedral.

The organ in the Cathedral.
We arrived back here at the hotel in time for dinner.
From 10-12pm we had a get-together with all the students from our group - 36 in all, in one of the restaurants here at the hotel. They had a bar organised and a disco AND flashing lights!!  Actually it was good fun and everyone danced in a big group..We even did Saturday Night Fever, but they missed a few of the steps Kay!!

Now I need to go over to the Post Office and send a few things back home as my suitcase is overloaded!
Only 36 hours until I leave for Madrid...

The Mists of Time

Because it is so hot here, and the outdoor restaurants want people to patronize their establishments, they have come up with a great idea. The large roof covers all have a network of hose with attached nozzles which spray a very fine mist over the diners.  You can't really feel it but it cools the air and the people.  I stood directly under one of the nozzles last night, and it didn't even make my hair wet, but the effect was excellent - very cool.

If you look carefully you can see the mist in this photo. We were there around 6.30pm which is too early for the locals - they arrive at 8ish.

We had a couple of interesting cocktails here, one made with mint and strawberries and the other with basil and lemon - very delicious.  The tapas was prawns and olives.

 The hotel I am staying in has an  interesting choice of music - it is 7.30am and they are playing - "Ï've got you under my Skin" and similar songs by some generic American woman! 

Una copa con tapas.

A wonderful tradition that happens here in Spain in the evenings that would be great in NZ is ‘una copa con tapas’ a drink with tapas.

Tapas is a plate of food that is served with your drink – anything from a plate of olives, to a roll with ham and cheese, or a delicious tomato, feta and basil mix.
Here in Granada and some other cities in the south of Spain, tapas is free, but in Madrid you pay extra.

Each restaurant or bar has their own special varieties, and these are served in a certain order and change from day to day. With your first drink, you may receive a plate with slices of ham and hot chips. With the next drink, it could be a plate of small bread rolls filled with ham and cheese, and potato chips.

One restaurant I went to had a plate of casseroled pork as the first plate, and tomato basil and feta for the second plate.

There are enough servings of tapas for each person who orders a drink.

In the south, the tapas are reasonably simple and unadorned. In other cities in the north, the tapas are extremely ornate and are comprised of several different methods of cooking. These latter examples are those that are priced separately from the drinks.

The other day I had a plate of tapas that was a fritter on a slice of corbata bread. It was delicious. Others are a simple dish of chicken or pork pieces served with pieces of bread to soak up the juices.

Malaga

Jane Lee (no, no relation, although she is an adopted sister) and I went out for a drink and tapas in town tonight after a day swimming in the Mediterranean sea at Malaga!

It was very easy to stay afloat as the salt content in the water is extremely high. The beach slopes sharply from the edge of the water, which is fine when you are going in, but somewhat difficult to get out of. Jane ended up crawling on her hands and knees! ( lots of laughter involved). She tells me it was the only way she could get out.  We  caught a bus from here in Granada at 10am this morning and arrived in Malaga at 12noon. After a wander down the main drag, we hired a Italian to cycle us down to the beach - as you do.

It was one of those bikes with a little cabin thing on the back - you remember John, like the one we hired in Auckland on our honeymoon.  Anyway, this Italian had lived in Christchurch for a while and had a Maori motif tattooed on his arm.

We hired two lounge chairs under a sun umbrella and spent a couple of hours dipping in and out of the sea.

Centro de Lenguas Modernas

The street outside the Centre

 

El patio del Centro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are photos of the building where I have classes each day. This 'patio' is right in the middle of the building. Last week they pulled shades over the patio to keep out the sun, so it is a lovely cool place to be in between classes. Each class lasts for  2 hours - it is a long time some days!

Just another day - IN SPAIN

The title won't mean much unless you have seen an episode of Sponge Bob when he has to work 24 hours a day - but basically it means that you can put up with anything in the right setting.
Today is Wednesday on this side of the world, and I am once more in the hotel lobby making use of the internet connection - along with various other students from all over the world.
Last night I went out with a few friends to find a new place to sit awhile. One of the girls had read in Lonely Planet that there were some good places close to the Cathedral, and eventually after a few wrong turns, we found the right place.  The bar we chose was called 'La Bella y La Bestia  " of  Disney fame. I was happy as Hannah and I had been to see Beauty and the Beast in Madrid a couple of years ago.  We ordered our drinks and enjoyed the view, and the tapas. Of course we were the beauties and there was also a beast - a drunk gypsy at the next table with 2  hungry dogs!

Beauty and the Beast

Brenda (Canada) Pia (Philippines)Yo y Loraine (Canada)

L

Todedo cont

Sunday in Toledo was hot and busy with heaps of tourists. Funny, but I didn't feel like a real tourist from abroad as I am studying here in Spain. Weird, because I was a tourist from overseas. I did the sites until it was time to check out of the hostel, had yet another shower ( am VERY clean here in Spain - lots of showers because it is so hot). I caught the tourist bus to the train station and had a very quiet trip back to Madrid.
I could see the monument at Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) that Franco had built. His crypt is there, and it is supposed to be a monument for all who were killed in the Civil War. I had taken a video of it from the plane on the way into Madrid the first time.
This photo is in Toledo and the tall hombre with me is  Cervantes  who wrote Don Quijote.

Toledo

After a 9 hour journey to Toledo, I was beginning to wonder if it was going to be worth the trouble.
I left the hotel at 10.30, plenty of time to walk to the bus I thought -  but no, the bus stop for  the airport leaves from the opposite side of the park, and consequently I missed it. A $3 trip turned into a $42 one by taxi. It did mean that I was at the airport nice and early and was able to get a good seat on the flight. All went well until I was on the Metro changing lines, as one does to get around Madrid, when I discovered that I was going in completely the wrong direction!  At the next stop, I did a quick change and eventually arrived at Atocha which is the actual TRAIN station.  To get a ticket to Toledo, I had to take a number and wait, and wait, eventually I succeeded, only to find that the next train was and hour and a half later.
The AVE train is very smooth and comfortable and the trip to Toledo only half an hour.  I caught a taxi to the hostel which was right in the middle of the old city.

Hostel Centro was basic but perfectly adequate for a night or two. After a quick shower, I set off to explore. The streets are winding and narrow with unexpected twists and turns. I did see a restaurant called 'Kumera Cafe' which seemed a little out of place amongst the historical buildings.

I wanted to see an exhibition of the 'Kinghts Templar' but it was closing and they didn't want to let anyone else in. I happened to find the most popular bar in town (everyone wanted a drink there) and sat for a while people watching. Lots of families, groups of friends etc were having a drink before converging at the Cathedral for an amazing light show. The whole of one side of the Cathedral was lit to show images of the works of El Greco to music. It was fantastic and a wonderful end to the day.

 On Sunday morning after a very strong coffee in a cafe, I rode the tourist bus on the circuit, and made friends with a couple from Adelaide who needed some help with  the headphones on the bus and a couple of directions from a local - well I had been in town over 12 hours!!

To be continued...

Plaza del Sol Madrid

Bringing back a few memories today. Am in the same internet cafe that Hannah and I used to come to when we were in Madrid.  And I found it first off, well actually I looked at some shoes first!!
Am on my way back to Granada after a wonderful trip to Toledo, and decided to stop off and kill an hour or so in the city.  Airports are so uninteresting!
I took loads of photos, ran the battery down in my camera filming a light show, but it was worth it. 
Ok, time to catch the Metro,
Hasta luego

Flamenco

Last night Tina and I went shopping. We had seen a ball dress previously  that she wanted to buy for her daughter and asked if I wanted to go with her to buy it - what could I say?  Shopping and me, !Por supuesto!!

We arrived at Uni in time for the Flamenco show at 8pm. This particular photo is actually Tango Flamenco, (nothing to do with Tango from Argentina). All the musicians were excellent. La cantante (singer) had such a strong voice - I loved it, and the guitarist was amazing. I kept thinking that John and Tim would have loved it. It was somewhat different to the show Hannah and I  went to in Seville, which was a large production, this was smaller of course but still stirred the soul

!

After the show a group of us stopped for a drink on the way home, then went to a Latino Bar to dance the Salsa - I know, Salsa in Spain, but we are a multicultural group.
In this photo are people from  New Zealand, via Britain, Madagascar, Italy, Colombia, Brazil, and Turkey - all  speaking Spanish!!!

La Alhambra otra vez

More photos as promised. this one was taken as we were walking in the gardens towards Generalife, which is another palace over a small river. The gardens of Generalife are used for outdoor productions - ballet, music, drama etc.

After dinner, a couple of us stopped in the bar on the way to our rooms and had a night cap called 'vino de verano' similar to Sangria - looks the same colour.  It certainly helped me to sleep - not that I needed much help after so long walking in the sun.

Enjoying Vino de verano in the bar - all of us exhausted!

 

Looking toward La Alhambra from Generalife.

La Alhambra

My class went to La Alhambra this afternoon. It was a compulsory part of the course- how sad ha ha!
La Alhambra is a Moorish Palace on a hill overlooking Granada. Our guide,  who speaks Arabic (as well as Spanish por supuesto!) told us that La Alhambra means 'The Rock' in Arabic.

It was extremely hot, even at 4.30 in the afternoon when our tour started. We didn't finish until 8pm and it was Still hot!  Four of us shared a taxi to and from the palace as it is quite a distance from our hotel, and we wanted to conserve our energy for the tour.
I was disgusted to see a women scratching at the stone decorations - and I told her so!

The gardens are lovely at this time of the year, unlike when Hannah and I were there a couple of years ago. Sorry this next photo is sideways, I forgot to change it before uploading  and I have to go to my class  now. More photos soon.

Tapas

In Granada, and others towns here in the south of Spain, tapas are free when you buy a drink. These rolls with tuna, and chips came with our coke. Another tapas in this particular bar was pieces of chicken and bread.  Every time you buy a drink, automatically you get another plate of food. Further north, you choose your tapas, and pay for it. It is usually more elaborate hence the cost in some instances I suppose. Although when Hannah and I were in Madrid, we paid for a plate with sliced cheese, so I think that's just the way it is - custom; tradition.

Outside the bar at half time

The final whistle

In a Bar about to watch 'The game'

Monday 12

This morning was the beginning of my course. Around 60 of us walked to the Language Centre, following a guide as it was our first day. I'm not sure that I remember the way yet, so will have to make sure I go with others to lessen the chances of getting lost!Today I met the other two kiwis who are here - Tina from Tauranga and Nicole from Napier. Both teach at secondary schools, and both are immigrants to NZ. Tina has been in NZ 4 years and is British and Nicole met and married a kiwi in South America. She has been in NZ for 10 years.
I have 2 classes a day - each for 2 hours, so it is hard going, especially as it is all in Spanish, with lots of colloquialisms that I have never heard of! I think I understand about half of what is said, and take a guess at the rest. We had a welcome from the University of Granada and the Ministry of Education - at least I think it was a welcome lol!
We finish at 1.30pm, walk back to the hotel, have lunch and then a siesta. The weather was quite warm today - too hot to be wandering around outside!
I am meeting people from all round the world - Brazil, Russia, Romania, Turkey, USA, Australia, South America, Madagascar etc - as you can see, we are a mixed lot.

Enhorabuena España

What fun! I spent the evening in a sports bar with 2 girls from China watching the game. It was loud, messy and lots of fun. Their English is not fantastic so of course we had to speak Spanish. Mostly we could understand each other.
The patrons of the bar were mostly 20 somethings and of course extremely passionate about football. Every time Holland missed a goal opportunity they cheered and if the Spanish missed, a great roar went up. The owners of the bar had hooters and all during the game they would blow them and we would all sing - especially "Yo soy español, español español" over and over again
When Spain scored THE goal, one of the guys was hit in the eye with someone’s elbow and he had an immediate lump. In the streets everyone was crying, laughing, singing and it appeared that they were all on the phone. I should imagine the telephone companies would have made a fortune tonight.

Hola Granada

My day started at 5pm with the alarm, then a wake up call from the hotel reception. Last night I tested out the alarm clock to make sure it was working, then promptly forgot if I needed to have the switch up or down to make it ring, so I had to do the test again. I put it down to travel weariness lol!
I was outside waiting for the shuttle at 5.50am, and boarded the flight at 8am. Had a very quick (relative to my last flights)trip here, then caught a bus into town. Another girl got off at the same stop and together we managed to find the hotel. There were a few anxious moments when we arrived and saw a sign on the door saying
"Cerado para los renovaciones". Just as well Sylvia (from Bulgaria but used to live in Barcelona)had a phone, so she called the number I had and it was only that we were at the side door, not the front entrance which is one another road!! Phew, was a little worried.
So, the weather here is lovely - 25degrees, and the hotel is great. I have a nice view of the mountains, plus some city buildings. Some of the rooms look out onto brick walls so I am lucky.
Tonight we have a meeting at 7pm, then dinner. tomorrow we meet outside at 8.15 to walk to the Language School. It is about 40 mins walk - across the other side of town.
Bueno, es hora para el almuerzo.

Hasta pronto

Madrid - hace calor

The trip down to Spain went quickly thank goodness. I managed to find my suitcase, a little nervous waiting at the carousel as it is my sister's bag and I wasn't sure that I was going to recognise it, but I did thanks to the double lock I had used.
Then I waited outside in 37degree heat for half and hour for the shuttle to the hotel. This hotel is very modern - black, white and chrome, but is very comfortable and it has the most awesome shower.
Speaking of bathrooms, I had forgotten the flushing system of the toilets in public places - it pays not to sit down to do the paperwork!
Anyway, I walked a way down the road to a big shopping centre and had a wee browse, then braved the supermarket and bought some fruit for dinner as I feel that I have eaten my way here. Interesting fact that I had forgotten - there are heaps more men doing the shopping in the supermarkets.
I need to leave here at 6am in the morning for my flight - which doesn't go until 8am but by the time I wait for the shuttle and check in, it should be about right.
I must say I will have had enough of planes by the time I get to Granada tomorrow.

Amsterdam

Just as I am about to write this, and my battery is going - darn ,will have to wait until Madrid tonight. All good, very long plane flights, pity I'm not rich as Business Class looks very attractive!!
hasta luego

Friday morning

I have space in my bag! Must mean I can bring home presents! Everything is set to go and as there is still an hour to go before I leave, the danger is that I will keep adding to the suitcase as I see extra things. Should close and lock it now!

On the countdown

It's 4.30pm and by this time tomorrow I will be on my way to Kuala Lumpur, the first stop in the journey, then from there to Amsterdam where I have around 6 hours before the flight to Madrid. It will be interesting to see if there is any palpable feeling in the air re the football final on Monday.
I have just looked at all the things I am thinking of taking - and looking at my suitcase; not sure the pile will compact that much! I have spent a lovely day with Hannah, Tim and Kay in Pukekohe. The chn had hair cuts and Kay and I shopped - with some success I might add. I am cooking dinner for family, but my stomach seems to be a little unsettled. I think because I have never been this disorganised before a big trip.

Another glorious day in Paradise

Today Kay and I rode the gondola up the mountain here in Queenstown.
What a truly magnificent view! There were no clouds in the sky and we could see for miles. It was very cold outside and there is still ice on the ground from the snow they had last week as some places don't see the sun for long, if at all during the winter. Right now it is -2 degrees C outside.
Tonight was the Conference Dinner and dancing - which is still happening as I type. We enjoyed the dinner speaker very much - he is from the States and is an accomplished speaker. He speaks Italian, French (grew up in Canada) and Spanish and does the languages circuit from what I gather. He was also the Keynote speaker at the beginning of the Conference and was a very hard act to follow as he is very funny.

The holidays begin

It is Friday night at the end of term 2, and I am now officially excited. In one weeks time I will be on my way to Spain, but before that I have another adventure.
On Sunday we fly to Queenstown for the NZALT Conference. It is a chance to catch up with all the language friends we have made over the years, and a chance to make new ones; a chance to see what others are doing; and a chance to reflect on our own programmes.
Queenstown is very cold according to the weather reports so I am pleased that we are staying in the hotel where the conference is being held, still, my suitcase will contain lots of winter woollies. I hope it will be big enough to fit everything in. One good thing about packing last thing is that there isn't as much time to add extra things as one passes by the suitcase.
Tomorrow will be a busy day as there is much to organise before flying out, starting with a haircut first thing in the morning, and of course Saturday coffee!