Salamanca and Avila

We've been horribly hectic in August- running training, respective hen's/buck's nights, putting things in boxes and roping our kind friends into helping us with the move, paperwork, sending things to Australia and planning the Camino de Santiago... Even though we're on holidays (well, technically unemployed) we haven't had much time to enjoy the freedom.

So we decided to go to Salamanca for a few days. I originally wanted to swing by Leon as well for the free tapas, but we finally decided to go to Avila, an hour and a half by bus from Salamanca. (Photo: view from our hostel room in Salamanca)

People have been telling me since I arrived two years ago that Salamanca was a must-visit place, and I always thought it would be nice to go, but was never too fussed about it until Beza casually mentioned that it's famous for roast piglet.

We bought train tickets on Monday and on the Thursday headed off into piglet country. Aside from the food, Salamanca really is a very attractive city. It has a huge plaza, the oldest university in Spain, which we visited, and a great cathedral amongst other things.

We arrived pretty late in the afternoon, so skipped the sightseeing and headed straight for the 'free' tapas. Basically for between 1.80 and 2.20, you get a beer and a tapa, pretty expensive for the beer alone, but a great price if it includes food. Some of the places give you huge servings- with three beers and tapas, it's hard to fit more in. By Sunday, I was pretty sick of beer; I don't want to know how many litres I'd drunk in three days. (Photo: free massive tortilla rellena)

I suppose we could've ordered proper food, but the prices seemed ridiculously inflated for the raciones, which may have been to compensate for the fact that they give out free food with every beer.

On Friday we woke early and did the touristy things- climb up the tower of the cathedral, look for the frog on the facade of the university building (supposed to be lucky if you find it), cross the Roman bridge and cross back again. For lunch, I'd looked up the best places in Salamanca to have cochinillo (roast piglet) and we rang one up and booked a table. (Photo: gargoyle in the university courtyard)

The piglet was delicious. I almost felt sorry for it, that such a small, pink little animal was ending up all crispy and succulent on my plate. Apparently in Segovia, they chop up the roasted piglet with a plate to show you how tender the flesh is. In some restaurants, they let you decide which part of the piglet you want to eat. I'm glad ours didn't offer us a choice because I would've had trouble deciding.

On Saturday, we headed to Avila, famous for many things. One is its 2.5 km wall that surrounds the village. Another is its saints- Santa Teresa de Jesus, San Juan de la Cruz amongst others. There is also an unproportionate number of churches, basilicas, cathedrals, convents and hermitages for the population of the place. (Photo: wall of Avila)

Here, they also offer the same beer and tapa deal as in Salamanca, but quite a bit cheaper if you head outside of the city walls. The cheapest was 1.40 euros, and we ordered 'patatas inglesas' (English potatoes) which turned out to be chips from a packet.

Avila is also famous for a sweet, yemas de Santa Teresa, which is basically egg yolk mixed with sugar water and rolled in corn starch. There's also a chuleton de Avlia (huge steak, not sure why they claim it's from the region, maybe they produce many cows) which I decided I wanted to try. We shared a 500 gram steak between us and the next morning I could still feel it digesting. I like meat but in small quantities or far between and with the piglet and the cow, I feel like I could leave meatlessly well for the next month or so. (Photos: free tapas of prawns and mussels; chuleton de Avila)

Sunday morning, we visited the convent of Santa Teresa and peered at a lovely relic of her finger, nail still intact and ring attached. We decided to forgo the cathedral because you had to pay 4 euros to enter, and not to climb the walls because the temperature was creeping up to 35 degrees. Had to catch a midday bus to Madrid to catch a connection to Logrono but despite the 6 hours on the buses, I enjoyed our weekend immensely. It's really helped me to disconnect from our half-empty but amazingly messy flat.

Today we had running training and I'm not sure if it was due to all the beer and food we ate, or the 36 degree heat but I really struggled to keep pace.

5 days, 2 people, 20 euros (Part 2)

Mum and dad, just to reassure you that I haven't starved these last five days, here's a list of some things we ate. (Photo: Our most expensive meal- 8 ham and asparagus rolls, 2,10 euros)

Breakfast: peach and banana smoothie, small coffee
Lunch: pasta with eggplant sauce, tortilla, homemade wontons, mushroom omelette
Dinner: creamy spinach on toast with anchovies, vegetable stirfry, tuna salad
Snacks: melba toast, biscuits (79 cents for a pack of 124 biscuits, this saved us), homemade potato chips

OK, I was hungry sometimes. Very hungry. Sometimes I would keep looking at my watch and count down the minutes until the next meal. But mostly it was bearable. And I'm a person who eats a lot.

I've had to do without my dairy-alternative products (except soy milk) because they're so much more expensive. I don't know how gluten-intolerant people would get by. Or diabetics.

The most cost-efficient meals were the vegetable stirfries (1.12 euros for 1 kg of frozen veggies, 3 servings) although you get hungry very quickly after, and the tortilla (1 euro for a 6 egg tortilla) which is big enough that you have leftovers for later.

The can of anchovies was probably the least cost-efficient- 60 cents for 9 tiny anchovies that are more a garnish than anything else. If we were to repeat this, I'd add more potato dishes or pulses (Beza flatly refused to eat pulses this time round), and somehow make the salads more filling.

5 days, 2 people, 20 euros (Part 1)

A few of my friends signed up to do the Live Below The Line challenge and after hearing about their experiences, plus about a couple who lived a month on $1 a day in the USA, Beza and I decided to try for 5 days. Each person has a food budget of $2 (2 euros in our case) for the day. This has to include everything you put in your mouth- drinks, ingredients, oil, spices, salt, chewing gum.

Admittedly, we cheated a bit because if you take the exchange rate into account, the $2 AUD a day allowance should only be 1.35 euros. We did this because a) we wanted to see how it would be to live on so little a day and b) now that I'm not working, my bank account is going steadily towards zero.

I've learnt a few things:

If you planned in too little food for the day, you'll get hungry and hunger makes people cranky. Also, no matter how big a salad is, it gets digested within an hour.

We spend a lot of money out just on beers, the odd pincho and snacks without thinking. Spanish culture is so dependent on bars and meeting up with people in cafes and bars- on the 2 minute walk between the gym and our flat there are at least five different bars. Our social life was non-existent that week because you can't afford to spend the day's allowance on one beer.

We didn't budget beer into our food planning and this was a BIG mistake. (OK, this may sound flippant but there were times when I would have gladly exchanged something on the menu for a small can of cheap supermarket beer, 23 cents)

Still, I'm thinking about making this a permanent part of my meal planning. It really makes you think- we have so much but give it so little thought. We consume so unconsciously. One pincho and small wine or beer in Calle Laurel costs 2 euros- there goes your food budget for the day.

Hen's night

My friends took me out for my hen's night party on Saturday. It was awesome fun and probably the last time I'll be able to go out with them (minus boyfriends etc.) before heading back to Australia.

I'd told them no costumes or disguises or anything, so I was expecting just a dinner and then hitting the bars afterwards. However, they turned up wearing Spain t-shirts and short shorts and dressed me up in a t-shirt as well. I thought, OK, this isn't too bad. Then the stuff kept coming. First... a red garter. A referee whistle. A beach ball with Spanish images (ie. bulls and flags) plastered all over it. A pink massaging octopus named Paul. A money can with the Spanish flag. And last of all, a hideous Chinese headpiece with garish flowers and red tassles (totally random).

Apparently what I had to do was go around asking people for money for our 'national football team' and if they gave me some, I had to give them a massage with the pink octopus.

We had dinner in a fabulous place, where I ordered quail drumsticks covered in mushroom sauce (so cute! They have such tiny little legs!) and I had some baby squid that the other girls couldn't finish. NB. It's always good to dine out with girls because they leave stuff on their plates. With guys there usually aren't leftovers. Then we went to the bars. In one place we met a group of guys who were also celebrating a buck's night and we talked to them a while.

A few of the girls left just after 5 am, but the rest of us ended the night at 6 am, and arranged to meet up for a quick drink the next day. I brought along my money can and we opened it and counted the money inside. 17.35 euros! Just from randomly shaking the can in people's faces and telling them we were collecting for the Spanish football team.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos and my friend who took photos is away on holidays. But when she comes back I'll post a couple up.

A rant about weddings

It's time to rant about something that's been pissing me off for quite a while. I read this article in the SMH, about how feminism has taken a step back when it comes to modern weddings. As someone who's getting married in the next eight or nine months (no specific date yet), it's a topic that's quite relevant and one that's been on my mind for some time.

The article is written by a woman whose daughter is getting married and wants everything perfectly traditional, from the virginal white dress to being given away by the father. The author herself can't understand it- if women have spent decades fighting for equality, why throw it all away on this day?

While I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a step backwards in feminism, I will say I consider most of it unnecessary packaging. And it's all very clever marketing by the bridal industry.

Tossing out phrases like 'your dream wedding come true' and 'a perfect wedding for a perfect bride', they lure you into thinking that a $300 dress will make you look like a hag while a $3000 dress will make you into a princess. And oh no, what if you don't hire a photographer that charges through the nose to capture that perfect photo of the perfect couple at that perfect moment so you have proof that it ever happened? And why do you even want to look like a princess anyway?

If you tell a restaurant/caterer that you're planning a wedding reception, expect to pay extra per guest for mentioning the 'W' word. Apparently anything that comes with that word attached has the right to have the price jacked up.

Even churches are cashing in on this desire to have a traditional wedding. After making enquiries, I was shocked to discover you pay upwards of a thousand bucks for the privilege of getting married 'in God's house' with an organ, minister and bell ringer at your service (double the price on Sundays, but that's understandable). Yes, I understand the church has to pay liability insurance, you need to pay people for their time, you need to help pay for the upkeep of the church etc. etc. but a thousand dollars? And that's just the cheapest.

But of course, there's no money to be made in telling people not to buy the most expensive dress available. Or that they don't need a 2-hour photo shoot plus photos of all the preparations, the reception, a video, an album...

I'm not going to comment on what happens in the ceremony because I genuinely believe that's personal choice. If you want to be given away by your father, that's great. If you want to have eight bridesmaids and eight groomsmen, good luck finding dresses and suits everyone's happy with.

Here's my view of weddings: If you're a religious person, regardless of religion, your wedding is a formal/legally recognised declaration and celebration of your union and commitment before your God, family and friends. You're also stating to everyone that your God is a vital part of your life and will continue to be a vital part of your marriage. If you're not a religious person, omit the parts about God.

It is not imperative to get married in a church, to have flower girls and photographers, to have a white cake covered in sugary flowers, to go hysterical because you couldn't get the perfect shade of ribbon to match your groom's tie. And it's not imperative to spend $50,000 on your 'dream day'.

Far be it for me to say I don't like weddings. They're aesthetically pleasing and I appreciate the effort and planning that go into them. They're also usually quite fun- you get to hang out with people and eat. But a wedding is only one day, a celebration of something that will hopefully last (pleasantly) the rest of your life.

I was looking up reception venues, potential churches and wedding dresses online and getting really depressed. Why was everything so... maudlin? I have never dreamed about my wedding day, with clear blue skies, me in a flowing white dress and a floating veil, couldn't tell you where/when/how I would like to get married. The more I browsed, the more I knew what I didn't want. I'm not saying it's wrong to get married in a church with a beautiful dress and lovely blooming flowers, but it's just not me. And some people love organising things and are good at it, and can whip up their wedding with not too much fuss, just the way they've always dreamed of.

Just don't expect me to buy into the consumerism of my 'big day'. No bridesmaids, photographers or expensive dress for me thanks. And please stop telling me that my 'big day' isn't a big day if I don't spend x amount.

World champions!

The Spanish team, receiving the Cup

My Spanish boy, decked in red and yellow

Tearing down the flag to drag into the street

Celebrating at the Fuente de Murrieta (a fountain where people from Logroño traditionally go to celebrate when there's a massive soccer win)

Drinking in the street

Summer activities

Since I have so much free time on my hands now, I'm trying to get my act together and send a package to Australia via seamail, so it arrives more or less when we do. Unfortunately, I hate packing so my days are spent procrastinating.

Here are some things I've done to date:

La Hoguera, las fiestas de San Juan: To celebrate the summer solstice, some friends and I went and burned things near the Plaza de Toros. You have to bring an old item of clothing, a list of ten things you want for the coming year and a list of ten things you want to disappear in the coming year and then you throw them into the massive bonfire. It's a tradition that harks from witch-burning days (in the past they used to burn witches instead of clothes and pieces of paper).

Monasterio de Santa María de Toloño: Last Saturday, a few friends, Beza and I climbed to the top of a small mountain to see the ruins of a monastery built in the 9th Century. My arse was sore the next day from the uphill climb but it was worth it. We had morning tea at the top but it was pretty chilly so we soon came down. There's a well the monks dug that used to serve as a fridge. In Winter it would fill up with snow and they'd bury food in the snow to keep it from going off. Because it's so high up, the snow wouldn't melt until well after Spring.

Muñeca: A friend of ours went to another city to work for a few days and left his dog with us. We had lots of fun together, the dog and I. We went for three walks a day, we went to have morning tea with Beza and we sunbaked and had many a siesta together on the sofa in our patio. When she went home I felt very empty and alone.

Jewellery and yoga classes: I signed up for three-week courses in jewellery making and yoga. I'm into my second week and I'm quite enjoying it. Yesterday in the jewellery class, we made brooches using Chinese knots. Since I'd already learnt Chinese knotting, it was pretty easy for me but the teacher ran around from one student to another screaming 'Undo that knot! No, you knot with the left string, not the right! What have you done? It's so basic- you knot from the left to the right, and now, the right to the left, and now a half knot!' I thought she was going to weep with frustration.

(I told my dad I was doing jewellery classes and he laughed and asked 'Why do you want to be a jury?')

Nephew's birthday party: Beza's nephew turned four and to celebrate, his parents threw together a gathering. I had more fun than expected- it wasn't like a birthday party in Australia, with organised games, a cake and the parents watching their kids with eagle eyes and complimenting each others' brats while secretly thinking 'my child has better developed motor skills than yours.' Basically, there was a table with food, where the adults congregated and the kids were thrown in a pile together and left to their own devices. That's the kind of kiddy party I like.