Serbia (What?), Cycling, and Segovia

Life has been very good since the Fulbright mid-year meeting. Even though I absolutely love every city that I visit in Spain, I am always so happy to be back in Madrid. There is simply no city like it in this country. With its amazing cultural offering, its endless list of things to do, places to visit, and unexpected opportunities, it has to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Let me tell you how I've been enjoying it recently.

A little more than a week ago, my roommate Kelly and I invited some of our friends over to play "Manzanas con Manzanas" (the Spanish version of "Apples to Apples"). I invited my new friend Colin, the guy who is running the marathon, and lots of our mutual friends arrived, as well, including a Serbian that both Kelly and I know named Matt. When the games were over, Kelly and Matt invited me to go out dancing with them. Though I do find it fun to "salir" here in Spain, I rarely go out since Spaniards go out so late and come home even later, meaning you sleep half of the next day away. However, I decided to heed my whim and go out with them. Once we were at the dance club, Matt introduced us to his guests, three Serbians here on vacation, one of whom I had been forewarned (that sounds so boding!) was gay. One of them instantly caught my eye--he was stunningly beautiful, with a soft smile and a nice way about him. When I found out that he was the gay one, I was ecstatic. I decided that life is short and that I had nothing to lose, so I flirted rather shamelessly with him, which turned out to be worth my efforts, as he reciprocated my attractions. We ended up spending the majority of the weekend together taking walks around the city and eating really cool, Slavic meals with his best friend and his sister, Matt's two other guests. His name is Милош (pronounced like "Milosh"), and he was a great guy. We connected on a lot of levels, and we both felt really frustrated that a Wyomingite American teaching and studying in Spain and a Serbian working as an electrical engineer in Belgrade met for a long weekend in Madrid. The brevity might have enhanced the romance, but we both were reluctant to part. We're keeping in touch and both feel open to many things. Though the spark was mutual and very intense, we also both realize how utterly difficult it would be for us to date, given that I'm only in Spain on a temporary basis and that even Spain is quite far from Serbia, which is where Милош is pretty permanently based. Regardless of what happens, I am grateful to have felt the surge of romance and attraction and know that there are good men out there, even if they're in Eastern Europe!

From left to right: Vladimir, Milosh's best friend and the man
who cooked me multiple delicious Serbian dinners; Milosh,
the Serbian heartthrob; me; and Yelena, Milosh's sweet
younger sister

Ali and I are both in the process of making a final decision about whether or not to stay in Spain a second year, but regardless of our decision, we both thought making a "bucket list" for Spain would be a wise idea. We've been doing an "article exchange" in which we read an article (about Shakespeare, about teaching English, or about whatever) and then discuss it. On Saturday afternoon, however, we thought it would be fun to rent bicycles and ride along the new and beautiful park that Madrid's government built around the Manzanares River. We rented bikes, went all up and down the river, and even entered the sylvan Casa de Campo park. It was a beautiful day weather-wise, we saw the Palacio Real as the sun was beginning to set, and it was simply a magical moment with one of my best friends out here in Spain.

One of many Romanesque churches in Segovia

Yesterday, in the spirit of continuing to explore Spain, I decided to go to Segovia. I had already been once with Laura and Ricardo and found much of it stunning, but given that we had limited time, and given how bone-chillingly cold it was (and this coming from two Wyomingites!), the three of us didn't get a chance to explore its every inch and corner. I went back yesterday on my own in order to give it the thorough run-through, and it was well worth it. I started my day by walking along the Roman aqueduct for its entire length, appreciating the longevity of this enormous structure that has survived 2,000 years. I then decided to visit a few Romanesque churches, a style of architecture typical of the early to middle medieval ages that I find very compelling. Though these aren't the grandiose Gothic cathedrals about which I will write next, they are nevertheless beautiful in their own humbler way.

I next visited the Gothic cathedral of Segovia, which lies right next to Segovia's main square and which is one of the most imposing, gargantuan edifices I have ever seen. This was the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain, and it is certainly one of the most magisterial. I entered it and was instantly impressed by the height of its ceiling vaults and its plethora of chapels appended to the sides of its central nave. It was a stunning cathedral.






The highlight of my wonderful day was probably visiting the alcázar, a palace-like castle that also served as a fortress. This particular castle served an important role in the history of Spain (fascinating to me but perhaps boring to someone less interested in the hereditary monarchy of medieval and Renaissance Spain) and also served as inspiration for Walt Disney in designing some of his castles. It really does look like something from out of a fairytale. After meticulously touring each room and imagining the footsteps of the history-defining characters who walked there before me, I then climbed up the tower and appreciated the stunning views afforded to the visitor up there. I spent a good twenty minutes just appreciating the beauty of life, of Spain, and of Segovia.

The view from atop the castle: how could you not be
happy when seeing this under the Spanish sun?

When I came down, I was hungry, so I decided to splurge and buy a very expensive meal at one of the nicest restaurants in town in order to try some of the customary foods eaten in Segovia. One traditional food is enormous beans called "judiones de la Granja," and they were delicious. Next came "cochinillo," which is literally the leg and some ribs of a very small baby pig. There is nothing animal-friendly about this dish, given that the pigs are slaughtered young expressly for this purpose and that pigs are one of the more sentient and intelligent animals that humans eat. I wasn't proud to be eating it, but since it is the typical dish from Segovia, I thought it was worth it just once. Fortunately, I found the skin pretty tough, the hoof unappetizing, and the meat too fatty for my taste, so I won't be contributing to the cruel death of young pigs again anytime soon. :) Dessert was "arroz con leche," which is a little like rice pudding but better, and I left the restaurant drowsy with delicious food and truly on cloud nine.

My day ended in Segovia with a tour of Antonio Machado's house, a famous poet of the late 1800s/early 1900s who lived for awhile in Segovia. I then came back to Madrid where I met up with my friends in a cafe here in Madrid to sketch my own "Extran Hero!" comic (check out Mike's blog to see what I'm talking about) and then to see The Vagina Monologues. It was wonderful and rewarding to think about my life in Spain in a comical yet still "heroic" sense for my cartoon, and The Vagina Monologues are a poignant, powerful, and oftentimes comical reminder that the fight for women's rights to health, love, pleasure, and understanding is not yet over and worth every ounce of sweat that we can muster and dedicate to the cause.

This weekend, I'm going to Valencia with Ana and her family, so I will write again soon with information about a new region of Spain and a traditional celebration there known as Las Fallas. Until then, know that I am well and missing you all.