What's a foodie's worst fear? Especially when in Spain, where lunch is a seafood pasta soup and fresh strawberries with cream?
Congestion.
What's the best medication for that foodie to take? Especially during a stressful period such as exams?
A medication that "highly recommends the intake of substances with caffeine, such as [...] chocolate."
Please, at least someone laugh at the irony.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Live well, love much, laugh often...so go to Belgium!!
Life's too short to not do the above-mentioned three things, so YES, a trip to Belgium for just 48 short hours with half of the loves of my life is DEFINETLY WORTH IT. Best surprise ever: arriving unannounced at my grand-parents' house, where my Dad was also visiting in between business trips and where half of my family arrived the next day!
And of course, coming back with freshly made batches of Belgian waffles and speculoos, the best chocolate in the world, and a heart full of love...
That might be the one thing that fixes my relationship with airports. How easy it becomes to collect the pieces of your heart! :)
And I was pleasantly surprised to feel comfortable hearing Spanish again, once back in Valencia! I must be in the "calling it a second (or third, or fourth) home" phase...!!
Besos,
Roxy
Thursday, February 23, 2012
A little bit on world democracy
For those of you who think Facebooks gives you an appropriate world view, here's a post that'll spice up those daily conversations and take you a step closer to those know-it-all's who make fun of you for not knowing what the heck is going on with the world economy besides the fact that we're in a "crisis" (yes, I talk from experience.). Plus, with all I'm learning about Spanish economy and the European Union, it would be unfair to not allude at least a little to it, democracy being an intricate part of the society we live in.
If you've turned on the world news, you will have seen that Valencia is currently under siege to daily riots and manifestations. Some have turned violent, some are just protests (Yes, Mom, I'm doing well, safely and soundly taking a 10 minute longer bike route to get to school every day to avoid the center!).
What are the protests about? I'll give you the basic social and economical reasons.
Basically, the Spanish government has decided to borrow and borrow to fund projects for the upcoming Formula 1 races held in Barcelona this June, and have buried themselves in debt. Now, when money is low all over the continent, the government has decided to pull funds from the education sector, leaving schools with no heating, teachers underpaid, or no teachers at all, yielding classrooms the size of a closet that have to fit 100 students. Some of you might say, well geez, at USC, we have lecture halls of 300, I didn't even realize my roommate was in the same class until the final exam, suck it up, Spaniards! But these protesters are high-schoolers. 15-year-olds. Did you ever attend a class of 100 in high school? Oh, and remember that super awesome year we had at least 3800 days off for snow days...When you came back, did you have heat in the building? Probably didn't even notice it.
College students have now joined the masses after Sunday's protests erupted into police forces punching down the most violent protesters and handcuffing them, some minors. In all fairness, setting fire to trash cans is not the most diplomatic way to protest, but now citizens are also angry at how the police not-so-gently handled the mass, one policeman even handcuffing a girl that was just walking through with her grandmothers, but looked about the age of the average protester.
Spain has, of course, been hit by the European Economic Crisis like everyone else, but possibly has suffered more. If you look at Spain's economic past (which most people don't unless they have to 2 hours a day), it's a very polar cycle of economic booms and crises (plural of crisis?). Spain has also always had a huge problem with unemployment, always at a rate of around 20.6 %. After a civil war, a world war, and then a long dictatorship where Franco thought it brilliant to isolate the war-torn country and make it stand on its own, Spain's economy has never had the long period of modernization and maturity that most other first-world countries have enjoyed. So the money is low, but does that mean we should support a sporting event that will bring the country so much touristic revenue and attention, and push education for the leaders of our future for later times, or should we put the funds we have in education and start building now a more prosperous tomorrow?
While sitting at the bus stop waiting for a bus that would never come (some routes have been canceled or re-routed because of the protests in the city center, and two major streets are blocked off by shielded policemen), I thought about all the intricacies of the problem.
Education is what elevates a first-world country from a third-world country. Education is what enables teenagers to become adults, with goals and knowledge of the ways to achieve them.
A very intelligent little bird (tall, blond, Austrian) told me that it's no use to ever feel guilty for a gift, but to be thankful for that gift and use it to give back. I was gifted by karma to live in a country where the highest education is offered and possible to obtain, so I know there is something we all eventually can do to help situations like this all around the world, if we just pay attention to what's going on and use the precious education we got to come up with solutions.
As of now, on my way to hopefully changing the world, here's the best solution I have:
EVERYONE COME TO VALENCIA!
1. You'll enjoy the best food and wine.
2. You'll visit unforgettable sights.
3. You'll see Roxy.
4. You'll boost the Spanish economy and pull the country out of this economic standstill!
I'll let you know if anything more revolutionary comes up.
Going running for now, got lots of thinking to do! And of course, I still am taking time to enjoy this still wonderful life here in beautiful Valencia.
Besos, Roxy
If you've turned on the world news, you will have seen that Valencia is currently under siege to daily riots and manifestations. Some have turned violent, some are just protests (Yes, Mom, I'm doing well, safely and soundly taking a 10 minute longer bike route to get to school every day to avoid the center!).
What are the protests about? I'll give you the basic social and economical reasons.
Basically, the Spanish government has decided to borrow and borrow to fund projects for the upcoming Formula 1 races held in Barcelona this June, and have buried themselves in debt. Now, when money is low all over the continent, the government has decided to pull funds from the education sector, leaving schools with no heating, teachers underpaid, or no teachers at all, yielding classrooms the size of a closet that have to fit 100 students. Some of you might say, well geez, at USC, we have lecture halls of 300, I didn't even realize my roommate was in the same class until the final exam, suck it up, Spaniards! But these protesters are high-schoolers. 15-year-olds. Did you ever attend a class of 100 in high school? Oh, and remember that super awesome year we had at least 3800 days off for snow days...When you came back, did you have heat in the building? Probably didn't even notice it.
College students have now joined the masses after Sunday's protests erupted into police forces punching down the most violent protesters and handcuffing them, some minors. In all fairness, setting fire to trash cans is not the most diplomatic way to protest, but now citizens are also angry at how the police not-so-gently handled the mass, one policeman even handcuffing a girl that was just walking through with her grandmothers, but looked about the age of the average protester.
Spain has, of course, been hit by the European Economic Crisis like everyone else, but possibly has suffered more. If you look at Spain's economic past (which most people don't unless they have to 2 hours a day), it's a very polar cycle of economic booms and crises (plural of crisis?). Spain has also always had a huge problem with unemployment, always at a rate of around 20.6 %. After a civil war, a world war, and then a long dictatorship where Franco thought it brilliant to isolate the war-torn country and make it stand on its own, Spain's economy has never had the long period of modernization and maturity that most other first-world countries have enjoyed. So the money is low, but does that mean we should support a sporting event that will bring the country so much touristic revenue and attention, and push education for the leaders of our future for later times, or should we put the funds we have in education and start building now a more prosperous tomorrow?
While sitting at the bus stop waiting for a bus that would never come (some routes have been canceled or re-routed because of the protests in the city center, and two major streets are blocked off by shielded policemen), I thought about all the intricacies of the problem.
Education is what elevates a first-world country from a third-world country. Education is what enables teenagers to become adults, with goals and knowledge of the ways to achieve them.
A very intelligent little bird (tall, blond, Austrian) told me that it's no use to ever feel guilty for a gift, but to be thankful for that gift and use it to give back. I was gifted by karma to live in a country where the highest education is offered and possible to obtain, so I know there is something we all eventually can do to help situations like this all around the world, if we just pay attention to what's going on and use the precious education we got to come up with solutions.
As of now, on my way to hopefully changing the world, here's the best solution I have:
EVERYONE COME TO VALENCIA!
1. You'll enjoy the best food and wine.
2. You'll visit unforgettable sights.
3. You'll see Roxy.
4. You'll boost the Spanish economy and pull the country out of this economic standstill!
I'll let you know if anything more revolutionary comes up.
Going running for now, got lots of thinking to do! And of course, I still am taking time to enjoy this still wonderful life here in beautiful Valencia.
Besos, Roxy
Sunday, February 19, 2012
YES, I'm STILL happily in my relationship, BUT...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA9mmz508Ro&feature=endscreen&NR=1
This song is so inspirational. And even if you are happily in love (e.g., Roxane Debaty), every single one of you beautiful girls/women out there can stand on your own, no matter what life looks like from your perspective. Because as women, we are all capable of great things :)
(This post might be influenced by my four essays, one written on femenism, the other on the Euro needing support right now, and the other two about love...)
This is MY tribute to Whitney Houston! Only wish you could have stood tall and proud a little longer...
Besos, Roxy
This song is so inspirational. And even if you are happily in love (e.g., Roxane Debaty), every single one of you beautiful girls/women out there can stand on your own, no matter what life looks like from your perspective. Because as women, we are all capable of great things :)
(This post might be influenced by my four essays, one written on femenism, the other on the Euro needing support right now, and the other two about love...)
This is MY tribute to Whitney Houston! Only wish you could have stood tall and proud a little longer...
Besos, Roxy
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Weekend trip to BARCELONA!
Last week-end, on a whim, Becky convinced me to take life by the tusks and go to Barcelona. And what a trip!! I think the main lesson learned was that, sometimes, tourists, look up from your map. You can best meet a city by moving your head side to side and walking wherever the streets lead you :)
Friday morning: HELLO BARCELONA!! First impression...it's like 5 Valencias pushed into one city.
Our first target was the internationally famous Sagrada Familia...but we had to get there first.
Started in 1882, it's still only about 1/3 completed (see diagram on left; brown=completed, white=yet to be constructed)...and the highest tower is yet to come! Its original mastermind, Gaudi, made the Sagrada his life acheivement. The current architect, his best friend's son, is the white haired man in the lower right hand picture! Above, you can see the front facade of the Sagrada, recently graced with the name "basilica" by the Pope in the early 2000's. To be called a "basilica", a cathedral must demonstrate exceptional work and basically rock.
Below are some details of the facade...Not all are pictured, because basically every three statues have their own significance and story!
The more modern architect of today added fruit to the top of these towers...must have been around 2 pm that day.
The central tower yet to be built is higher than these!! It will be the tallest religious monument in the world. Planned completion in 2025, I believe.
Examples of the beauty of the other facade of the Sagrada Familia...notice the beautiful blue!
The inside of the humongous cathedral. A more modern twist on Cathedral building, I'd say...
We climbed to the top of one of those towers. Yes, I hate heights, but Barcelona lying at your feet is worth the climb!
Next, we travelled to Gaudi's other masterpiece, the Parque Guëll! Such a peaceful, dream-like atmoshpere that makes you feel like you cartwheeled into Willy Wonka's neighborhood, where even the cacti seem to match the eccentric designs of the bridges and houses!
And the exquisite view...
"And we're the three best friends that anybody could have, and we're the three best friends..."
And here is Gaudi's house! The exterior matches the man on the inside. On the bottom is an example of mosaics, found everywhere in the park.
The famous gecko/dragon, and his new best friend Roxy :)
I thought my photography skills should match Gaudi in creativity...
And after this...my camera died :(
Saturday, after a somewhat late start (due to the attractiveness of the Barcelonian clubs/night life), we took a paseo down La Rambla, a very long pedestrian street that is flooded with tourists buying flowers, admiring the street performers, and picking up art at the many stands. The locals don't actually hang around here...but we know we don't look like locals (yet), so we did ;)
At one end of the Rambla is the port, coronated by this statue of Christopher Colombus pointing towards his discovery (El Mirador de Colon). I am in love with this picture (bottom right)!
And Aslan watches over the city.
Meats...
Fruit...
Dried fruit and nuts....
...CHOCOLATE....
Weird fruit....try naming all of these!
Nougat and other Spanish delicacies...
When we had bought the next day's lunch and finally tore ourselves from the Market, we realized most museums had probably closed. But did we go home? NO! And that's when alllll our good karma was put to use, because the city opened up and we discovered things that probably weren't labeled on any tourist's map.
A Roman wall.
The Cathedral, at night.
Some building that looked legit in this lighting.
Talk about gothic novels...
And...these giant white inflatable bears?! This is where the night goes from Edgar Allan Poe to Japanese Manga.
And then we ran into a light show!!
Some cool store with masks and dolls and crazy things.
An even BIGGER LIGHT SHOW!! It was such a lucky, magical night!
And then Sunday was the return home...
Friday morning: HELLO BARCELONA!! First impression...it's like 5 Valencias pushed into one city.
Our first target was the internationally famous Sagrada Familia...but we had to get there first.
But THEN...there it was!! In all its intricate beauty!
Started in 1882, it's still only about 1/3 completed (see diagram on left; brown=completed, white=yet to be constructed)...and the highest tower is yet to come! Its original mastermind, Gaudi, made the Sagrada his life acheivement. The current architect, his best friend's son, is the white haired man in the lower right hand picture! Above, you can see the front facade of the Sagrada, recently graced with the name "basilica" by the Pope in the early 2000's. To be called a "basilica", a cathedral must demonstrate exceptional work and basically rock.
Saturday, after a somewhat late start (due to the attractiveness of the Barcelonian clubs/night life), we took a paseo down La Rambla, a very long pedestrian street that is flooded with tourists buying flowers, admiring the street performers, and picking up art at the many stands. The locals don't actually hang around here...but we know we don't look like locals (yet), so we did ;)
Then we walked to a nationally (if not internationally) famous market called el Mercado de la Boceria, known for its fresh produce and innumerable stands selling goods of all sorts!!
Meats...
Fruit...
Dried fruit and nuts....
...CHOCOLATE....
(I couldn't bring myself to buy--much less eat--either of these...for different reasons.)
Weird fruit....try naming all of these!
Nougat and other Spanish delicacies...
A Roman wall.
The Cathedral, at night.
Some building that looked legit in this lighting.
Talk about gothic novels...
And...these giant white inflatable bears?! This is where the night goes from Edgar Allan Poe to Japanese Manga.
And then we ran into a light show!!
Some cool store with masks and dolls and crazy things.
Next trip, I'm not even bringing a map! Oh, the places you'll go...Plan to be blind and you'll see so much more :)
Besos, Roxy
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)