Vale!

I can't believe I've only been here for 4 days! I really feel like I'm adjusting to the culture and language of the Spanish people. On Saturday when I went out to explore, I grabbed lunch at a local café called "Cervecería 100 Montaditos". The bar serves 100 different kinds of sandwiches on baguette rolls. I ordered the Pan Cereals, Gambas con tomate natural y lechuga (grain bread, shrimp, tomato salsa paste, lettuce) which is served with a side of freshly baked/fried chips.

It was delicious! But, I definitely didn't know it was going to be that small...next time I'm going to order 3 different ones to try! And the best part? This meals was only 1.20E (about $1.73)! How great is that? And on Wednesdays, they have a 1E deal! You can bet I'll be frequenting this place for lunch :)

Later that evening, my friends Zahra and Soo arrived to the apartment and we spent the evening unpacking and settling in. Skip ahead to Sunday and we had a truly Spanish day. We embraced the 3:00PM lunch time with a menu del día (menu of the day). At 12E, each person gets a drink choice, appetizer, entree, and postre (dessert). We decided that we wanted to try a lot of unique Spanish dishes and each ordered something different to share.

Gazpacho (A Spanish-style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables and spices, served cold)

Ensalada con atún (Salad with tuna--this is very typical)

Paella (A Spanish dish of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, etc)

Churrasco de la Ternera a la Parilla (Grilled beef rib with potato fries and roasted red peppers)

Another dish with Ternero--it was very tender!

Tortilla Española (a thick egg omelet made with potatoes and cooked in olive oil)

Flan de huevo (egg custard with a typical Spanish cookie)

The flan de huevo was definitely our favorite, so delicious.

Flan (custard with caramel)

Helado (ice cream)

In Spain, almuerzo (lunch) lasts for nearly 2 hours. This is definitely something we're adjusting to here, but welcoming to leisurely time with open arms.

Later Sunday evening Zahra, Soo, and I met up with some other NYU students around 7PM and went to El Jardín Secreto (The Secret Garden) for some drinks. It was a cute place and I got a blended fruit juice drink and we all shared a brownie/ice cream/fruit dessert. Everything was great!

Afterwards, we explored the area on our way back home.

El Palacio Royal (The Royal Palace)

El Senado de Madrid (The Senate)

Stay tuned for my next post which will include more Spain pictures and food features!

Vale (Okay!), the Spaniards use this word in just about every sentence!