A Rainy Day in Madrid = A Day of Museums and Mind Blowing Art

 I started my day at El Museo del Prado.  For those of you who don't know, The Prado was built in 1785 and is neoclassical masterpiece.  Originally, it was the palace of King Fernando VII, and in 1814 he decided to use it as a museum.  It is home to some of the finest artwork in the world and today I saw paintings that I never dreamed I would see in person.  The paintings were so huge and so well preserved that I definitely teared up a few times while I was there. I have been known to cry tears of joy when I am happily overwhelmed, and The Prado certainly had that effect on me. Check out some of the illegal pictures I took in spite of all the swarming guards.

A room full of Goya's black paintings...cue the tears

Self Portrait because why not

Velazquez's Las Meninas circa 1656. Never thought I would see this in person and it would be this perfect
 

Stopped for and ensalada mixta and some swordfish at this cute little spot...

And then moved onto Centro de Arte Reina Sofia!

Angelés Santos

Picasso's Guernica shot from the hip so that lady on the left didn't beat me up

Richard Serra

Salvador Dalí

Man Ray (Philly, represent!)

Ramon Gomez de la Serna

Proper Propaganda (Yes that is a Dilated People's reference for those of you who remember Expansion Team)
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After a long day and walking 5.5 miles, I decided it was time to eat!

Jamón croquetas and razor clams

The "Baby Jar" - Egg, Potato, Truffle, Cream and an Albariño

Beef Cheek with Rioja

¡VIVA ESPAÑA!

I feel very fortunate to be in Europe to present at two international conferences about my Community Engagement Photography class at The University of the Arts. Yesterday, I presented at The International Congress for Education and Learning at Universidad San Pablo CEU in Madrid. Originally, I was supposed to present in English, but they cancelled all of the English speaking presenters after I had committed to the conference so I presented in Spanish instead. Benjamin Franklin said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." I was prepared, and because of that I succeeded at something that I found quite intimidating. My presentation won the hearts of the audience and one woman thanked me for having the courage to present in Spanish. I was beaming from that point on.  

I am very lucky to have a friend in Madrid.  Alejandro and I worked together at Bar Ferdinand in Philadelphia, which is by far the most fabulous restaurant family I have ever been a part of.  When he left the States to go back to his native Madrid, I promised I would come visit if I could.  Alejandro came to my presentation with me in case I needed help translating questions from the audience.  Not only did he provide great moral support, but also gave me great feedback and celebrated with me afterward!  I am so grateful that we got to spend time together.  Did I mention this all took place on Thanksgiving?! Here's a look at our feast.

Alejandro with a celebratory Pisco Sour at La Pescería in Malasaña

Salmon Tartare at La Pescarería

Thanksgiving dinner: Foie gras with tomato-pimento jam, panko fried shrimp with jalapeño aioli, tuna sashimi on corn tortillas, and beef carpaccio with foie gras and hazelnuts

A Day of Textiles in Teotitlan del Viaje

I am really enjoying all of the people I'm living here in Oaxaca.  Xochi is from Austin, TX, and she is in Oaxaca to learn how to make natural dyes.  Her teacher, Beto, was kind enough to invite us to his studio in to a town called Teotitlan del Viaje.  We saw his amazing studio and learned about the process of dying wool and making rugs.

Awesome studio

These looms are really old and really cool.

These rugs take months to make.  Since I have little to no patience, I would fail immediately. 

All of these fibers are dyed naturally, not synthetically

Spinning wool

On our walk to another studio we passed these walls.  This one says, "To a life free of violence"

How do you say catfish in Spanish?  El pescado de gato?!  I hope so because it's FUNNY! Also, I love this mural.

There is a weaving studio here, but I was more fascinated by this woman making monster tortillas.

If you don't think this kitten in a frying pan is cute then you're just crazy.

Small Town Charm

Yesterday two of the artists that I live with and I went on a rural excursion.  We paid Jesús, our fantastic taxi driver, to take us to three small towns.  After a long adventure through very windy mountain roads we arrived at the hot springs pictured below.  This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

View from the top of the mountain

Now THAT is an infinity pool! 

The water was luke warm at 10AM 

I loved this color palate and pattern.

Next, we decided to travel to Mitla to check out some ancient ruins.  On the way there we slowed down to check out a very pretty horse and the man standing next to him asked if we wanted to know how he made his Mezcal.  Duh, of course we do!

Crunching on sweet, smoky agave and sipping Mezcal from a gourd.  This is totally my kind of mid-afternoon activity.

The mezcal workshop

I found this lady out back and told her that I loved her colorful kitchen.  She was very sweet.

 Our next stop was Mitla, where we visited ancient ruins.  There is evidence of human settlement as far back as 0-200 A.D.  After the fall of Monte Albán, it became the most powerful nucleus of the Zapotec culture, flourishing from 950-1521 A.D.  Beside walking the grounds we even went underground into the funeral tombs.  We had to crawl through stone tunnels on our hands and knees and it was very humid but worth it.

North wall

Look at those intricate patterns!  Amazing!

Lastly, Jesús took us to Tule, where there is a famous massive tree.  I was hungry at this point so I wasn't really caring all that much about a tree but some chorizo quesadillas fixed me right up.

Alright, I admit...that it a Big. Ass. Tree.  Wikipedia says that this tree has the stoutest truck of any tree in the world, measuring 119 feet in circumference, making it slightly larger than the Giant Sequoia.  The best scientific estimate says that it is between 1400 and 1600 years old and local Zapotec legend states that it was planted by Pechocha, the Aztec god of wind. 

A Very Oaxaca Birthday

Maybe it's just my Only Child Syndrome kicking in, but I think birthdays are VERY important!  Come on, people, it's YOUR day; it's all about you!  My love for birthdays definitely comes from my loving family.  When I was little, my grandmother used to make me personalized chocolate birthday cakes that were decorated with Barbies, Care Bears or whatever else I was interested in at the time.  On top of that, my mom (also known as the best kindergarten teacher to walk the earth) always planned impeccable birthday celebrations for me.  Whether it was miniature golf, roller skating, or pin the tail on the donkey at our house on North 25th Street, she always went out of her way to plan an amazing party for me.  Now that I'm older and I realize that my birthday fell right before the school year began, I appreciate her efforts even more.  I'm sure it stressed her out to plan these parties but she did it anyway for her one and only!  Thanks, Mom!

Today, on my 30th birthday, I traveled from Puebla to Oaxaca.  I can already tell that this city is very much my style and I'm really excited to spend the week here.  Oaxaca has a fantastic reputation for food and as a lover of all gastronomical endeavors, I set out to treat myself this evening.  There have been a lot of changes in my life over the course of the past year, and as I ate my birthday dinner alone I couldn't help but enjoy the company immensely!  I didn't feel lonely for one second, instead I felt grateful to be doing the things that I love: traveling, teaching, eating, and interacting.  My waiter also told me in broken English that when I smile it's like magic.  He was certainly not older than 23, if that...so I grinned widely and gave him a high five.  30's the new 20, baby!  Still got it! HA!  Here are some highlights from my birthday meal at La Biznaga.  I definitely researched this place on Food and Wine's website prior to my arrival in Oaxaca because I am a really big dork.

I ordered the mushroom soup because I read about it online.  It came to me in pieces... 

But look at how gorgeous it was once I put it all together and ate it!

Tuna seared rare in a green chile sauce

Cincos hermanos chocolate cake with a delicious guava sauce and a glass of Malbec 

I'm going to have to stop by again before I leave, everything was quite tasty.  Next time I'll go for the house mezcal!

Last Day in Puebla

I will be leaving Puebla tomorrow and heading to Oaxaca for about a week.  I am sad to leave this lovely city that I have become so familiar with, but I am also REALLY excited to check out a new city!

Today I walked around Puebla for about five hours.  First, I hit yet another new market and then just enjoyed the scenery.

Very much like Reading Terminal Market, but cleaner.

I was running short on cash so I couldn't afford the fish soup!

Instead, I sprung for the shrimp soup.  I had just enough cash for this and a tip.  I left sweating after eating this, it was spicy and delicious.

Pretty architecture, as always.

I love the hand painted tiles on these buildings.  Why doesn't my house looks like this?!

Goodbye my dear Puebla, it's been real!