My First Trip to Spain by Jamie Ramsburg
Hi all!
There is so much to tell about my first trip to Spain! But I promise to keep it brief.
First of all- let me announce that I barely spoke any English while I was there and I managed just fine. I brushed up on my Spanish the week or so before the trip and on the flight there and, while it was far from perfect, people understood me and, for the most part, I understood them. I did have a little trouble with menus, but that's mostly because they put ham in EVERYTHING even if it isn't listed as an ingredient! That being said- we did have some great food.
The hotel was beautiful! We got a big room with pretty shuttered windows and a not terrible view. I managed to fit in a little sightseeing before the rain came, but once the rain came it did not go away. So I spent most of the day Thursday in the Museum of Modern Art (el Centro de Arte Reina Sofia) which was amazing!! There are entire rooms devoted to Miro and Dali AND there is one large gallery dedicated to Picasso's Guernica. Guernica is probably Picasso's most famous painting. It is HUGE and is his comment on the horrors of war. It is mesmerizing.
There are many stories I could tell, but I think our trip to Madrid can be summed up by one:
Thursday night after dinner John and I wanted to have a drink before returning to our hotel. There was a little bar across the street from our hotel and we thought we'd go there. If you'd like a frame of reference, there is a photo of the outside. It is the eighth to last photo in the batch.
We walked into this place and it was empty. There were two people: the bartender and the cook/owner (I think.) So we ordered our drinks and sat at the bar. There was no TV, so after about two minutes John got bored and asked me, "Are you comfortable translating for me?" I said, "Not really." So he asked the bartender if he spoke English. He didn't. The bartender looked to the cook/owner who didn't speak English either, but now he wanted to talk. And voila- I'm translating! We spent about 30 minutes with John talking and asking questions- me trying my best to translate- listening and attempting to comprehend the man speaking- and then translating back to John. It was like a bad comedy sketch! The man told John I was doing well, but the truth is: my tenses were a mess, my vocabulary was less than acceptable and I spent a lot of time searching for the right words! By the end of our first beers, I hurried John out of the bar reminding him that he had an 8:00 flight the next morning.
That says it all. I can't wait to go back!
Click Here to see our photos
There is so much to tell about my first trip to Spain! But I promise to keep it brief.
First of all- let me announce that I barely spoke any English while I was there and I managed just fine. I brushed up on my Spanish the week or so before the trip and on the flight there and, while it was far from perfect, people understood me and, for the most part, I understood them. I did have a little trouble with menus, but that's mostly because they put ham in EVERYTHING even if it isn't listed as an ingredient! That being said- we did have some great food.
The hotel was beautiful! We got a big room with pretty shuttered windows and a not terrible view. I managed to fit in a little sightseeing before the rain came, but once the rain came it did not go away. So I spent most of the day Thursday in the Museum of Modern Art (el Centro de Arte Reina Sofia) which was amazing!! There are entire rooms devoted to Miro and Dali AND there is one large gallery dedicated to Picasso's Guernica. Guernica is probably Picasso's most famous painting. It is HUGE and is his comment on the horrors of war. It is mesmerizing.
There are many stories I could tell, but I think our trip to Madrid can be summed up by one:
Thursday night after dinner John and I wanted to have a drink before returning to our hotel. There was a little bar across the street from our hotel and we thought we'd go there. If you'd like a frame of reference, there is a photo of the outside. It is the eighth to last photo in the batch.
We walked into this place and it was empty. There were two people: the bartender and the cook/owner (I think.) So we ordered our drinks and sat at the bar. There was no TV, so after about two minutes John got bored and asked me, "Are you comfortable translating for me?" I said, "Not really." So he asked the bartender if he spoke English. He didn't. The bartender looked to the cook/owner who didn't speak English either, but now he wanted to talk. And voila- I'm translating! We spent about 30 minutes with John talking and asking questions- me trying my best to translate- listening and attempting to comprehend the man speaking- and then translating back to John. It was like a bad comedy sketch! The man told John I was doing well, but the truth is: my tenses were a mess, my vocabulary was less than acceptable and I spent a lot of time searching for the right words! By the end of our first beers, I hurried John out of the bar reminding him that he had an 8:00 flight the next morning.
That says it all. I can't wait to go back!
Click Here to see our photos
posted by Jamie & John | 3:05 AM
1 Comments:
Sounds Like a great trip can't wait to read about your next adventure. Great Blog Keep em coming!
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