Burren and Moher

Riding a massive bus down winding and narrow country roads causes me to be nervous enough. When the bus driver happens to be texting while driving after drinking a pint at one of our stops, I begin t fear for my life. I guess that is just the Irish way of life, however, and I made it back to Galway alive. The tour was quite enjoyable. Having done the bus tour of the Connemara area my past two visits to Ireland, I decided to change things up and tour the Burren and see the jagged Cliffs of Moher. En route to the cliffs, we had the option to stop at either an Irish family farm to take a guided walk through the Burren hills and hear about life on an Irish farm. Or, we could go to see a cave. I vouched for the first option, as the bus driver informed us that when you see one cave you have seen them all, and I have already seen a cave. I was pleased with the outcome of my decision. The young farm hand who led us around was interesting and engaging, and I learned a lot about the agricultural industry these days n Ireland as well as a lot about the rocky Burren landscape who's signature limestone hills formed over 350 million years ago. After the farm, we headed to the cliffs and were considered lucky for getting even 5 minutes of visibility. Apparently, 9 times out of 10 the fog is so dense that you can hardly see a thing.

La Madre Tierra

At first, I thought that hipster vegetarian restaurants could only be found in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boulder, and other similar cities in the United States. It turns out I was wrong. One of the most uppity of all the uppity vrgetarian restaurants is right here in modest Toledo, Spain. When I studied here two years ago, my friends and I walked past the restaurant La Madre Tierra many times. We, or at least I, always wondered how it stayed afloat since nearly every table in the establishment was empty. This was the case no matter what time of day we passed by. That does not seem to have changed since I was here last. When I say that La Madre Tierra had a snooty atmosphere, I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Immediately upon stepping through the doors, we were greeted with a stronger smell of incense than you'd find in a stoner's house. The soundtrack provided for our listening pleasure was composed entirely of Enya songs. Everything from the walls to the placemats to the waiter's skin-tight jeans (which left very little to the imagination) were the same shade of melon orange. The aforementioned waiter left us unattended to a far greater degree than should ever be acceptable, even in Europe. When he did find the time to stop by, he seemed extremely put out. Despite these "quirks", however, I must admit that the food was fantastic. I ordered the lasagna with soy cheese, my father had the veggie burger, and after being informed that we each had to order an entree (my mother and I had originally intended to share the lasagna), my mother ordered the salad. The quality of the food almost made up for the 45 minutes that we had to wait for it.

Final Day in Madrid

You know the pickpocketing situation is bad when the city government erects signs alerting tourists to keep their purses metaphorically super-glued to their sides. Though I certainly took this advice to heart, I felt that more eyes were drawn to me because of the way I was clutching my purse while walking down Madrid's less tourist-inhabited areas. After paying La Plaza Mayor a visit and dining nearby (which is never a good idea- when you elect to eat too close to tourist attractions, the food is less tasty and authentic and more expensive), my parents took the metro back to the hotel and I once again chose to put the ol' legs to use. I sincerely feel that strolling through lesser-known parts of cities frequented by tourists is the best way to see the good, the bad and the ugly. And I certainly did.

The "good" included the smiles donned by elderly couples strolling arm in arm down a side street, the families laughing and dining at restaurants and the friendly greeting I received from a coffee shop employee who enthusiastically introduced himself and asked where I was from. The "bad" and the "ugly" can be lumped into the same category- the massive number of "for sale" and "for rent" signs adorning apartments, abandoned buildings smeared with graffiti and the scent of garbage wafting out of uncleaned gutters. But this is the case for any city, and it is no surprise that Madrid is experiencing more issues attributed to their economic woes.

Today is our last in Madrid. Tomorrow, we are off to Toledo where upon arrival, memories tucked within the deep crevasses of my mind will come careening back to my cerebral main stage. It has been two years since I spent a semester becoming intimately acquainted with the narrow, cobblestone streets of Toledo. I wonder if anything has changed...

A Lovely Dia Madrileno!

I do not want to complain incessantly on this blog. So, I'm not going to. I just figured that it was in the best interest of my readers to warn them about the dangers of staying at this hotel. I mean, parts of the ceiling are falling! Those who stay here not only risk their comfort level, but their lives! Ok- perhaps that is a slight exaggeration...

Today I went for a run beneath a canopy of clouds, gazed upon the works of Spain's master painters in El Museo del Prado, feasted with friends and family at a vegetarian restaurant, took a stroll through an upscale neighborhood, and conversed with a friendly bartender. To brandish off a lovely day, we got to see Spain win the soccer game against Croatia.

Tourists tend to embrace the slower Spanish lifestyle, and today we did just that. After snoozing until 10, we casually strolled around until happening upon a little cafe offering breakfast deals of cafe or cafe con leche and a variety of pastries or toast with tomato or jam to accompany your selected beverage. Since the majority of Spaniards sleep later than those pertaining to other parts of the world, they tend to skip breakfast altogether or simply eat a meal similar to ours. En route to the hotel, we popped into a market to pick up a few necessities.

After our run, my friend Jordan met us at our hotel and we took the metro to the part of Madrid in which el Museo del Prado is situated. Also situated there is a scrumptious vegetarian restaurant which offered a menu del dia with a variety of options for a three course lunch. I started my meal with a salad, chowed down a carrot and pumpkin tart as a main course, and polished it off with a vegan apple cake for dessert. Once our bellies were full, Jordan took his leave as he had a prior engagement. My parents and I then headed for the museum to visit our friends Goya and Reubens among others. Since I still possess a student ID, I got in for free which was a nice surprise.

After the Prado, we strolled through part of el Parque de Retiro, which resembles New York's Central Park. My parents then headed back to the hotel by metro, and I decided to walk back in order to stretch my legs a bit and explore Madrid. The smell of perfume emanating from upscale clothing stores enticed my nose to enter, but my empty wallet persuaded me otherwise.

It is bedtime now, but expect more tomorrow!

NH Hotel Complaint- Part Two!

I know you have all been left in horrible suspense sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear what happened next in the hotel experience. Well, we should have known that something was amiss upon returning to the room to find that the maids had not only failed to leave new mini shampoos, soaps and toilet paper rolls, but had actually taken away what had remained, thus provoking yet another call to reception. Things worsened when later in the day, the phone rang in our room and at the other end was a receptionist asking what time we were going to evacuate the room as a different individual with the last name "Mostek" was expected soon. The mentality of the hotel employee here is far outside the realm of reason. Perhaps it would be understandable if our last name were "Smith" or something equally common. After many failed attempts at resolving the miscommunications on the parts of both parties, things seemed resolved for the time being. My father explained that the "other" Mosteks were in fact, non-existent, and that we had reserved the room until Wednesday. This morning, a large chunk of wood panel clearly not secured properly to its intended location above the window came careening down- likely a mishap that the management will try to charge us for. I contend that it was intentionally loosened to "take care of" the horrible, high-maintenance Americans staying in the room. The Spanish police would inquire what happened to be informed that it was simply an unfortunate accident. We will see how the rest of this stay plays out, but I am truly concerned for my safety at this point. Who knows what other "accidents" lurk about the room...

You Get What You Pay For

There is a lot of advice that I can share with my readers about Spain. But one of the most important warnings I have is the following: do not stay at the NH Prisma in Madrid. There's a saying which is tossed in my direction whenever I complain about hostels I stay in- you get what you pay for. But when I am with my parents, who paid a significant sum for our lodging, you expect decent service at least. Yet for the first few nights, things went from bad to worse. As the accommodation is for three, the room situation is as follows: a room with a king bed (to be specific, two twin beds pushed together) and a sofa bed in the main room. After the first night, we wanted to return the sofa bed to it's original sofa state, but we could not find the cushions. Upon calling reception to learn their whereabouts, we were informed that since we requested that it be a bed we were not allowed to return it to its original sitting function. It turned out that they locked the cushions away in a closet in our room. So, to watch tv our options were lay on the bed and likely fall asleep, or sit on the one uncomfortable, modern style chair. We were permitted to sit in that one since sitting was the only function it could provide. How lucky. The other issue with the seating situation was that there was one chair for three people. I'm not sure what they wanted to do- sit in each others laps perhaps- but we asked for another chair nonetheless. The one they brought put the other to shame- it resembled one of those chairs in an office conference room. In cheap hostels, Internet is free. However, you try to stay in a decent hotel, and it somehow costs 10 euro every 24 hours PER computer. After attempting to use the provided Internet code on multiple machines it turned out that this was a downright lie, as my father and I were both able to connect. For whatever reason, Internet use was free for half an hour if you were willing to go down to the lobby and sit amid the chilling ambiance created by the glares of constantly angry receptionists. Stand by to hear more oh so pleasant stories of how we were told by reception that we needed to vacate our room to allow the "other Mostek family" who had reserved it to move in.

La Piteria- Posibilidades Para Todos

It somehow occurred that on our first day in Madrid, we came across one of the best restaurants I have encountered not just in Spain, but in Europe in general. First, a disclaimer: La Piteria is not typical Spanish food. For the kind of Spanish culinary experience that would make don Quixote proud, one must sit at a bar or outside table, and order a beer or wine to drink and tapas for the group to munch on. Generally, these tapas include a variety of meats and cheeses typical to the city you are visiting. Therefore, the experience of eating in a restaurant which would not seem out of place in the United States is not, as I previously mentioned, typical. A menu including vegetarian food was enough to provoke a sigh of relief as i had expected that vegetarianism would prove an impossibility on the Iberian peninsula. Better yet was my reaction when the food arrived and produced such a savory culinary sensation on my palate. Flavors from a variety of spices from around the world intermingle in stuffed pitas, freshly made pastas, and a selection of salads. Carnivores fail to be disappointed, as all of these meals have options containing meats. The first time we visited the restaurant, I ordered pasta with mushrooms and asparagus, and the second time a pita filled with corn, rice, curry, pineapple, lettuce and tomato. Both dishes were phenomenal. All meals are served with a little appetizer of bread with a homemade tomato dipping sauce to whet your palate. The service at la Piteria is fantastic- my family and I were on the verge of earning the title "regulars" as we ate there twice in three days. On our first visit, we were served by a kind older man who didn't mind in the slightest taking time to speak with us and share information about himself and learn a bit about us. On our second visit, it was a Filipina woman whose eyes lit up upon hearing that my mother once lived in her native country. She even was kind enough to deduct our dessert from the bill.