Posted 11:40 AM by MelanieandSteve
Second Letter to Friends: 3-13-03

Hi everyone; thanks for some of your great emails and responses:

REMINDER OF HOW TO READ THIS EMAIL: I know Loong form letter emails can be
tedious when you get more information than you want. So I will put topical
headings in capital letters ont eh following paragraphs so you can pick and
choose what you want to read. For thos of you who only wish to know whether
Steve and stop here. For those of you whow ant to know what we´ve been up to, read what
interests you. Alsof or thos of you who wish I wouldn´t send you group emails
like this, just le me know and I´ll take you off the list for the next one.

BLOGSPOT: Remember that for updates we keep a text only web log of our
activities at http://www.melsteveph.blogspot.com

SPAIN

THE MINUTES BEFORE OUR VOYAGE TO MADRID FROM PARIS, SOME GOOD LUCK,
SERENDIPITY, AND GOOD HUMAN GENEROSITY: The last day in Paris, we met Rafail.
He had a flat in Madrid. After knowing us only about a half hour, he offeredd
us his room in Madrid while he was traveling. What a stroke of fortune. By the
time our train arrived in Madrid, Rafael had already called his roommate, Hugo,
and he met us. We stayed there from 2-28 to 3-8 and enjoyed each day.

GETTING TO KNOW OUR MADRID ROOMMATES: Roommates Hugo and Fatima were great.
Hugo was great because when we went out with him, he would point out buildings
and sights bettter than any book or tour guide. Steve and I cooked dinner for
them as a thank you. We spent hours talking. Fatima is an attorney, so with
that in common, I had lots to ask her. She shattered one myth. I´d been told
that Europeans worked way less hours than Americans. Well, Fatima works from
10am to 10pm daily. Doesn´t sound like a cush life to me. With Hugo, we
discussed lots of topics, primarily politics. He studies business, with a minor
in political science, and his awareness of world events was uncanny. His
knowledge about politics in the U.S. was better than my own. Our conversations
went on for hours.

CARNAVAL IN MADRIDñ GOOD TIMING AND A GOOD TIME: Coincdentally, we arrived in
Madrid during the week of Carnaval. Carnaval is celebrated all over spain. When
we arrived in Madrid, I kept seeing people dressed as witches, bugs, or other
colorful costumes, and finally learned they were celebrating Carnaval. Steve
and I went to a concert in the plaza where the costumed people came out each
night to celebrate. The kids also dress up during the day for school: It´s
like their halloween. But, I was told Carnaval was bigger in other cities, so
we later continued the party in Cadiz.

PEOPLE´S THOUGHTS ON IRAQ: You cant go far in Spain without seeing a ¨No a la
guerra¨ (No to the war) sign. You can look for a contrary opinion, but you´ll
be searching for a long time, and the only place you might find it is the
government itself, the only political party currently backing the U.S.

position. The people here are more preoccupied with the potential for war than
are the people in America. After all, if war does erupt, it is a lot closer to
them and the consequences may be more immediate.

BURRIEL OF THE SARDINES: Long ago, some fishermen sailed to a Spanish port with
a load of fish to fry for the party, but the fish all rotted. It smelled bad
so they saddly had to burry it. In burrying it, they found they had a lot of
fun ceremonially mourning it´s loss. Each year after that, they´ve reenacted
the event with a silly funeral and dirge. We went this year and it was raucus
and fun. There are people dressed as black clad mourning widdows (mostly men in
drag) and La Cofradia del boqueron (the brotherhood of the anchovy) also
dressed in black. Two pall bearers carry an open casket holding a sardine, and
a brass band follows playing loud, raucus music. The parade goeson for hours
with a musical band forming the procession. and of course they end in a party.


TOLEDO: Two days before leaving Madrid, we took a day trip to Toledo, the
former capital of Spain. It has been taken over and ruled by various groups in
history including Visigoths, Alans, Muslims, Romans... It also has a gistory
marked by religious tolerance, scientific progress, and literature (Don
Quijote) and art (El Greco). It´s so old and well preserved with wonderful
old architecture and small winding cobblestone streets. The city was so small
you can walk it and feel well acquained with it in one day.

WORKING ON SPANISH LANGUAGE: It´s been difficult to practice Spanish because
people we stay with like to speak English. We found a pub where people can go
to talk with other new Spanish speakers. Steve and I spent two hours there
talking Spanish. One day, I sat on a city bench and an elderly man and his care
taker sat with me and we talked for an hour in Spanish, about every subject
under the sun: politics (Ronald Reagan), books (the man says Don Quijote es la

primera libra del mundo). The only words he knew how to say in English were Ï
do not speak English,¨ and ¨to be or not to be, that is the question.¨ The
hour sitting on the bench was getting kind of chillie, but it was priceless.

CADIZ: After we saw news coverage of the bigger Carnaval in Cadiz, we cought a
train to check it out ourselves. It was such a sweet city. It was small,
beachy, with cobblestone streets, tall quaint architecture, streets so narrow
that cars pull their side view mirrors in when they drive by, and when Carnaval
was not in session, it was incredibly clean. Street sweeping is a practice. I
loved it there and also loved rests on the beach in the sun.

FUNNEST HOSTEL YET, IN CADIZ: We took a chance in going to Cadiz during
Carnaval. Would there be any place to stay? We found this hostel that was
housing people up on the roof on mattresses. We slept in sleeping bags under
the stars. Everyone who stayed there was friendly and adventurous. We

immediately befriended a group of fellow roof top dwellers and went out
together several times. Also the food was great, all home cooked by the funny,
loveable, and extravagant owner, Enrique. We appreciated Enrique so much and on
the last day we didn´t leave without one of those European 2 cheek kisses
goodbye from him.

CARNAVAL IN CADIZ: It lived up. Yes, it was BIG. There were the nightly
concerts crowded with costumed party goers. The concerts go until at least 2am,
but the people keep going all night. When you leave the crowded plaza, you
might expect the crowds to thin, but they dont. They spread throughout the
city. They fill every plaza. Many people party right into the next day and
then crash on the beach. Whats so amazing is that the crowds can be so huge and
the partying so extensive, but the people don´t seem to get out of control. You
see very few police, and the ones you do see are standing cross armed, talking
to each other. No, I never made it all night. But that´s OK, the night
partying was not all: the festivities continued all day. There are choruses
and singers in the plazas during the day usually in comical costume and singing
in great well rehearsed voices. The crowds gather around them so thickly that
sometimes you simply can not move.

GRANADA: Now we´re in Granada.
FIRST IMPRESSION: ¨let´s hurry up and see the main sights, and leave.¨ I was
spoiled by Cadiz. But, that was the evening, after a long train ride, when all
the shops were closed, and we had trouble finding exactly the hostel we wanted.
SECOND IMPRESSION: But it turned out the hostel we found was great, and the
town in the light of the next day turned out to be fun and bright. Our hostel
was a stone´s throw from the huge Cathedral which includes the Capilla Real
where I believe Ferdinand and Isabella are burried. We´ve seen many of the
sights and walked the streets, and I´ve learned to really like it here. We´ve
stayed longer than we first expected.
THE ALHAMBRA: Washington Irving of the U.S. has made it more famous with
prolific writings about it. This Alhambra was the last Muslim Stronghold in
Spain during the time of Catholic Conquistadores. It lasted until 1492 when
Ferdinand and Isabella took it over. I loved walking through it and
appreciating the architecture. It was a refreshing new style since most
everywhere else we´ve been has been predominantly catholic.
SACROMONTE: The place where gypsies dwell in caves was a great walk we took.
ALBAICIN: We took great walks through the winding streets and white buildings
of this old muslim village. Loved it. Loved going to a tea house and trying
indian tea (made with milk.) all in the great ambiance of muslim decor with
candles and couches. Comfortable.
FRIENDS: We´ve gone out with some very fun people from Australia and British
Columbia.

CULINARY LIVING:
We still love cooking and grocery shopping.
Foods that friends and fellow hostellors have had us try include Australian
Vegamite, spanish bread with tomato and garlic, and Chocolate con Churos (Thank
you Dolly for that suggestion: a late night/early morning specialty of hot
pudding-thick chocolate and churros to dip in it, YUM)
In the restaurants we´ve loved paellas (Spanish Rice dish) and Indian Tea.

Hopefully, this finds all of you well. We are really enjoying every day. I
would love it if some of you would come on out and enjoy it with us. Mostly,
this trip just makes me feel thankful for everything.

Til next time,
Love

Melanie
and Steve