Who wants some Spanish omelette??

Don’t think I forgot about you guys, once again I'm really sorry for disappearing but hey I'm back.

So as I was saying after Paris we took a night train to Madrid, Spain. This journey wasn't going to be as smooth as the previous one because we had to change trains after the boarder. We didn't know what to expect because it was the only train we could find, so fingers crossed.

The first half of the ride was alright, nothing special really. We reached the border, we got to our next train and oh no, it wasn't a night train anymore with cabins and a nice place to sleep. No, no, it was a normal train with seat, extremely uncomfortable ones. Usually it was me taking care of the papers, the passports, checking directions and making sure we got wherever we were going. But that night my Aunt Silvia was holding everything because when they asked to check our tickets I was sleeping.

So yeah we finally arrived to Madrid, got off the train and, as usual, I double check that we had everything before leaving the station. I realised that we didn't have our passports or train tickets, then my aunt remembered she left it in the pocket that you've got on the seat in front of you. She rushed in the train, check what she thought were our seats and couldn't find them, so she got really nervous and she came out freaking out saying that they weren't there anymore. So I went in, staring at her, walked to our REAL seats and find the missing documents. What my aunt forgot was that we couldn't get off from our wagon, so we had to get off the one behind it.

To be completely honest, I don’t remember much of Madrid. It is a big city, a capital, which remind me a lot of Buenos Aires. We were only there for a day and a half so there’s not much for me to tell.

But then we took a day trip to one of my favourite places, Toledo. An amazing town with medieval architecture, small streets and a beautiful Cathedral. You can also go visit the castle, of course there is a castle what medieval city wouldn't have one, I LOVE castles. We spent a day here, just walking around and enjoying the view. It was just so beautiful, everywhere we looked it was unbelievable. Definitely a city that I want to revisit and keep searching for new things to see.

After Toledo we went to our last destination, Barcelona. We stayed with my cousins, well they are not actually my cousins they are my cousin’s cousins but we grow up together, so you get what I mean.

We finally had a nice comfy bed, a great bathroom and homemade food.  During this last week of our trip we enjoyed car trips to nearby towns and a nice tour around a great city like Barcelona.

You've got a lot of things to go see here. We went to the Park Güell, Palau Güell and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (one of the biggest icons of the city), all designed by the architecture Antoni Gaudí. They are all weird looking, some kind of modern architecture with ceramic and stained glass. It’s cool, I would totally recommend it.

 

We walked down the Rambla, went shopping and I also went to the Aquarium with my cousin, Agustina. We saw a dancing water show in the Magic Foutain of Montjuic, which is a very interesting thing to go see.

They took us to Sitges, a town just 35km away from Barcelona. It’s known for its Film Festival and Carnival. We spent a day walking around on the beach. But, as I said before, it was winter so we couldn't enjoy the sea because it was too cold. But we did have a coffee while we enjoyed the view.

In Barcelona I also have one of my oldest friend, Candela. We used to go to school together but after Argentina’s economic crisis in 2001 her mum Marisa decided that the best thing was to relocate to Spain. So this was my turn to go see her, back then she visited Argentina once a year.

So we arranged to meet and Candela and her then boyfriend, now husband, Sebas picked me up and showed me some new places. We first went to Montserrat, a multi-peaked mountain. Here there is an abbey that hosts the Virgin of Montserrat Sanctuary. The view was amazing and there also was a little market with local food, I just remember having some delicious goat cheese.

After that they took me in the car and showed me some vineyards. Sebas is an oenologist, he studies viticulture, the whole process of the wine making from the vineyards to the selling of it. So we were driving around the hills and we stopped in a small restaurant, very local, very simple and just awesome. The menu was in Catalan so I didn't know what to choose so I told them to decide for me.

For a starter I had calçotada, which is some kind of grilled green onion and that you then dip it in romesco sauce, a nut and red pepper sauce. I even had to wear a bib to eat it, which is fun. For main course we had some sort of sausage that I don’t remember. For dessert we had crema catalana, a custard base dessert with cinnamon and citrus peel, similar to the crème brulée. Of course we had wine, and the specialist was the one picking one, so we had some nice rosé.

After almost an entire day out, we went to Candela’s house. I saw her mum, Marisa and her brother, Ramiro. We haven’t seen each other for 3 years, so it was really nice. They were really welcoming, as usual, they had a table with a lot of food, lots of different cheeses and different types of sausages and some pa amb tomàquet (my favourite thing ever), which is bread with olive oil brushed with a tomato mixture, which is amazing. We enjoyed a great evening together with Paco, Marisa’s husband, and they told me more about the Catalan situation and about trying to be independent. A lovely family which I care a lot about.

I couldn't thank enough to the Devoto family for being so welcoming and caring. I had an amazing time and I loved every second of it. Luis, my uncle, used to work at the port so we had a lot of fresh sea food, lots of bread and Spanish omelette. But the trip had to come to an end so we took a flight back to Rome just for a day.

On our last day we went and took some more pictures but unfortunately when we were on the metro going back to the hostel, just hours before taking the plane, somebody stole my camera with most of the pictures of my last week. Sadly doesn't matter where in the world you are there’s always people like this. The police was friendly and helpful but they couldn't do much.

So we headed back to Argentina and as soon as we landed they there were, my parents were waiting for us. And that’s when I told my mum “Next time I'm going for longer”.

Spain is an incredible country with a lot of history and is very different depending on the region you are visiting, people are friendly and the food it’s just amazing. So if you haven’t been there yet, put it on your list because you are not going to regret it and to be honest it’s not even that expensive.

Next post is going to be about my latest trip. At the beginning of October I went to visit a new city, a new country. So hold on guys I swear it’s worth it =).

Let's set the record straight!

As I said before, I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But after travelling and living abroad I realise that people know very little about it.

First of all, I was impressed about people not knowing where it is located. I know I love geography and I've got a school size map in my room, but seriously what do people learn at school?? Particularly the young people, OMG they've made the funniest comments.

I'm just going to clear up some things that I've heard .

So, let's set the record straight!!!

ARGENTINA IS NOT IN SPAIN: I heard this one too many times. Yes, we do speak Spanish and yes, we were a Spanish colony over 200 years ago, but Argentina is in South America.

ARGENTINA IS NOT IN AFRICA: This was said to my friend when she was moving from the U.SA. to Argentina. I don't know where people get this from, I don't think the name sounds exotic or anything.

ARGENTINA IS NOT A TROPICAL COUNTRY: People have this image in their heads that we are in the Caribbean, with palm trees and pineapples. Not true, we've got 4 seasons (even though global warming keeps changing everything); in summer it can get really hot and in winter it gets really cold. Remember we are one of the southest countries in the world, we've got the Andes, it even snows in some regions.

ARGENTINA DOESN'T HAVE PARADISIAC BEACHES:  I wish this bit was true, but it isn't. The sand is not white and forget about the crystal clear water, not even warm water.
So guys, we all have internet now, Google it, check an updated map. Just do it and don't sound completely clueless.

Second, It really annoys me when they use Argentina in the movies but they don't do any research bout it. The stereotype that all Latinos are the same bugs me simply because we are all different, we don't look the same, we don't dress the same and, definitely, we don't sound the same. So many people told me "Mexico and Argentina, same same". No people, we are not, we are in two opposite extremes of Latin America, we just both speak the same language.

But let's go back to what I was trying to point out. These are just some examples used on tv shows and movies.

FRIENDS: There is an episode where Phoebe is singing outside Monica's restaurant, and she says that in Argentina you can buy a human spleen for 50 pesos. It's true, Argentina has been one of the biggest points of transit for the black market since it was a Spanish colony, but I can assure you it's not so easy and it's definitely not so cheap.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Robin decides to move to Argentina and they show this  kind of hut on the beach, an amazing one by the way, to be honest for me it looks more like a country in Central America. As I said before, we don't have those amazing beaches. To make it worst, she meets Enrique Igleasias. He is Spanish, he doesn't look Argentinian and he definitely doesn't speak like us.

TOO FAST, TOO FURIOUS: The big narco guy in the movie is supposed to be Argentinian. In this case he might look like one (it's a very diverse country, people came from everywhere, we are a mix of everything), but he doesn't dress like one and he doesn't speak like one either.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS: Biggest fail EVER!!! In this movie they show a little cottage in the mountain and it says VILLA GESELL. For the ones  that don't know, that town is one of the biggest beach destinations among locals, so they made a mistake. In my opinion, what they meant was Villa La Angostura, a beautiful town in Patagonia,south region of Argentina, located close to the mountains. But,apart from that, when they are at the bar the men start talking, and they don't sound Argentinian!! Just because we are from Latin America doesn't mean that we all speak the same (I know I said this a lot today, but it's true, ask any other Spanish speaker), we don't all say CABRON or COÑO.

So please Hollywood, PLEASE!!! Do your research before naming a country in your movies. Especially when you choose one you have no idea about.

Next time I'm going to tell you more about my country and the places you MUST visit.

But before I go, I'll leave you some YouTube videos you should check, they are called "Argentina according to Hollywood", they are hilarious, hope you enjoy them.

  I'd also wanted to thank my friend, Nati Riveiro, for helping me with this post, our tv series knowledge was useful after all ;).

Argentina According to Hollywood, part1

Argentina according to Hollywood, part 2