Fantasmas

lunes, 26 junio, 2006

I´m starting to get to know Querétaro more and more, and I guess maybe that means getting scared by the stories everyone tells. Yesterday I went to the Casa de la Zacatecana. The story is that in the 1800´s la Zacatecana moved to Querétaro with all her stuff and lived in this big house all alone because her husband was always gone on trips. So, she decided that she wanted to kill him. She got a servant to kill him in the night and lay his body in the street. Then she decided she better kill the servant because if anyone found out she’d be in trouble. So, she killed him in the house. Now the house is a museum and a legend in the city and if you go into the main sala, there is a glass in the floor where you can see the skeletons of the dead guys buried underground. Yikes! But, to make things worse the guys I was with had a door mysteriously shut on them while we were going up a tower in the house. The old woman who works there told us she has seen a few crazy things happen there. It was creepy...and I’m usually not one to care. Needless to say...I didn’t sleep well last night.

Other then the haunting, the city is great. My class is getting a bit more lively, it’s been slow to start...but Mexico time is great. Class starts at 9 and the prof doesn’t get in until 930. then at about 10:15 we have a half hour break. and class ends at 12. Pretty nice.

Well, I have to get to lunch. Yum! Nos vemos

oldies

I visited Myspace yesterday for the first time in 9 months. One of my friends had posted "Holy cow, I haven't been on here in so long. I feel lost and confused, lol...hello out there....;O)". Besides that one personal message, the only others posted we the Myspace office, advertisements and whatnot. Is anyone out there still using Myspace?

Anyway, I was happy to find everything still in place, including my old blogs from Mexico and Venezuela (unfortunately there are only about 10 total, bummer.) It was such fun to read through them again, that just for old times sake (and in case suddenly myspace closes sometime without warning) I decided to post them here with a few of the fantastic pictures of both places that are so close to my heart.

Here's the first, my first impressions from my first trip to Querétaro, Mexico.

martes, junio 20, 2006

Querétaro...

Mexico is beautiful. The food is delicious. The city is lovely. Beautiful old churches painted fading oranges and yellows fill the center of town. Big plazas offer a place to cool off under trees or next to fountains...one is dedicated to dogs. Dark doorways fill the steets with delicious scents as tortillas fry and bees buzz around fresh fruit cups. People are everywhere. Class was long, but so far I love it here. Can't wait to see more...

Surprise!

Saturday was a scorcher. Everyone was at the beach...or at least wishing they were there. We were lucky enough to spend the day with friends on a boat! It was beautiful baby Frida's first birthday so the weekend was for celebrating. We spent the day on a rocky island called Isla Rúa (home to an old light house, seagulls, and many a desertish plant in hues of mustard, lilac, and light green) and anchored near the Riviera coast, diving off the back of the boat and soaking up the sun on the front. Only bummer, since we left home uber late, we left the camera at home. In any case, the few fotos we took with Diego's phone give you an idea of the amazing rías baixas of Galicia...

p.s. I want a boat!

cool as a cucumber

There's nothing like a cucumber to cool you off on a hot day. And who'd have thought a gin tonic would taste so incredible with a little cucumber slice? Cheers to drinks with cucumbers.

Terrace!

We've been working on the terrace little by little. Remember the before? Last summer we painted the walls "Mallorca" beige, bought the cute green chairs and table on clearance at the end of the summer, and enjoyed the little lizard my brother in laws got us adding a little bit of Mexico. This year we added the big table and chairs, and the plants. I'm really excited for our "huerta urbana" as they call them here-or our terrace garden. We're starting of small with tomatoes-regular and cherry, lettuce, a few herbs-rosemary, mint, and parsley, and pimentos de Padrón (a fantastic pepper native to a town in Galicia called Padrón- so delicious fried with a little pit of salt, and every now and then one is super spicy). I'm still looking for a little lemon tree and a few hanging plants to make the walls look more lush. Maybe some strawberries? or ferns? In any case...it's time for a barbecue!

(early tomato plants)

(jasmin, daisies, and pimentos)

(lettuce and herbs)

after work...

Aside from the many series we watch on DVD in English (lately we've been watching Entourage...never thought I'd get into it!), a few nights of the week I actually enjoy a few Spanish series on TVE and I think they are quite an improvement on Física o Química from last year (remember Gorka and Yoli?) This year, I've been getting into Pelotas-a comedy series about a barrio in Madrid and their football club, and Gran Reserva-a telenovela about a family owned vineyard (starring one of my favorite Spanish TV actresses of the moment Paula Echevarría-she reminds me of my good friend Christine). After spending the day in English it's nice to take a break back into the world in Spanish.

p.s. everyday the idea of having a vineyard is more and more appealing...