More of Spain and Spanish Food

Although this weekend was pretty fun, I am getting really tired of the rain. On Friday we went to a town about an hour by bus away from Seville where Christopher Columbus set sail for the new world back in 1492. It would have been really cool to go see the replicas of the 3 ships out in the harbor, except it was raining and really cold. When we got to the monastery La Rábida, we got to go inside and see the beautiful place where Christopher Columbus asked for help from one of the monks who was really close with Queen Isabella.
On our way back from Huelva (the city where we were) we stopped by a beach really nearby where I got to touch the Atlantic Ocean!!! So I’ve been to both sides of Spain and gotten to touch the Atlantic Ocean AND the Mediterranean Sea! I would have been even more excited had it not been raining. Oh well, I plan to go back when it’s sunny.
That night, my friend Kristen and I went out and tried Churros con Chocolate, which were AMAZING! It was a fried churro served with a cup of hot chocolate so thick it was like melted chocolate. Saturday, I learned to cook some Spanish food with my housemom, Amalia. We made pisto, which is basically fried green peppers, red peppers, onions, squash, and eggplant in a tomato sauce. We also had a fruit salad with a mustard/vinegar dressing that I learned to make also. It was a lot of fun and I hope to learn to cook more delicious Spanish food soon. After that, Kristen and I went out exploring Seville. We ended up walking a lot, tried gofres con chocolates (waffles with ice cream and chocolate sauce on top) and finding a really fun outdoor market. There were a bunch of tents with vendors selling things from many different part of Europe: jewelry, rugs, candy, bags, hats, scarves, etc . Sunday was mass at the Cathedral, coffee with friends, and then Kristen and I went and saw Tiana y el Sapo. It was the Spanish version of the movie The Princess and the Frog. It was so cute, and they even translated all the songs into Spanish. It was a great weekend. Even though I couldn’t spend it with my boyfriend, Valentine’s Day was pretty fun.
Update on Spanish food:
~Battered and fried cauliflower= delicious
~Churros con chocolate- fried breading like a funnel cake served with a cup of hot chocolate like melted chocolate
~Gofres con chocolate- hot waffle topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce
~Cuñitas- two layers of a bread-like cake with some cream in the middle with a little chocolate on top
~Rosquitos- basically cinnamon/sugar covered doughnuts
~Fanta Limón- lemon flavored fanta, made with real sugar. DELICIOUS!! (and not very good for you)
~Cafe con leche- delicious coffee with milk
~cafe cortado- coffee with a little milk. usually served in a smaller cup
~Cafe solo- just coffee. usually served really strong in a really small cup. it makes it seem like you get less for your money, but it's still pretty good.
~Pisto- Olive-oli fried green peppers, red peppers, onions, squash, eggplant, in a tomato sauce
~Melocoton- peach. :)