History Time

A little lesson from the not so distant past..

Up until 1975 Spain was ruled by Fransisco Franco who's power was supported by the Roman Catholic Church. He had a similar regime to Hitler just minus the mass genocide and I guess you might be able to say not as extreme but it was still pretty bad.

When he died he restored the monarchy to power and the monarchy created a democracy and so now we have Spain, still with a King and Queen but with a Prime Minister who governs the country. Remember this is only 36 years ago so many people still remember Franco's rule.

Why am I telling you this? Because of a little place hated by many Spaniards. A place where my aunty Susana refuses to step foot (although I may have succeeded in convincing her) and that place is Valle de Los Caidos.

The site itself is beautiful and amazing. You just want to stare at it. The first thing I saw as we drove along these beautiful roads surrounded by forest and green land was this huge cross standing on top of a mountain. As we approached it we saw just how magnificent it was. There were carvings of figures around the base of the cross and you just stare in awe at the thought of how it was created. Then we were hit by this amazing stone entrance which arches away from the mountain and it is stunningly designed. Everything inspires you to go 'oooooo' or 'aaaaaahhhhhh'. This place with all its spectacular beauty is so hated by many because under this cross, built inside the mountain is a tribute to Franco. Carved into the mountain is a huge church which is also the resting place of some of those who fell during the Spanish Civil War. Some of those who built this monument were Franco's prisoners and to make things even worse Franco himself is buried within the church. His tomb is marked by an engraved concrete slab on the floor under which his body lies.

You can see now why regardless of its magnificence there is still some resentment from many towards visiting this place.

Although originally built as a tribute to Franco and those who fell in the war (it is called the Valley of the Fallen) it is now to some extent being considered a monument to everyone who died and suffered during the war and not just those on Franco's side but I don't think this concept is really taking off yet.
Until only recently there was weekly Mass held in the church and many would attend every Sunday. The government has since ended this, they have given some excuse as to why there should be no mass but I'm pretty sure it has got more to do with the Franconess of the place and not whatever it was that they said.

Regardless of the political intent behind its construction it is definitely a very beautiful place. The architecture is phenomenal and the gardens and grounds surrounding it are amazing. I'll let you see for yourself.

My uncle on the right and the exterior of the monument

Me and the cross

The cross ( I read somewhere the largest in the world)

amazing arched entrance

Huge open space in front and an amazing view

Inside the church carved out of the mountain.. we weren't allowed to take photos

The church was filled with statues such as this

Huge gate

The other side of the mountain which was also amazing

Food Time

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love food and being in Europe I am being exposed to the best of the best in food. Food in Europe is a culture. It is more about the joy of eating rather than the need to eat and the quality of food as opposed to the quantity.

Here in Spain the food culture is amazing and considering that I have been somewhat deprived of good food having just spent the last year in South Africa where the culture behind food was born of necessity to eat rather than enjoyment and love of flavour, I am soaking up Spanish food and the Spanish way of eating.

Here food is about flavour, about people coming together and also very much about moderation. There are 3 main meals a day;

Breakfast which usually consists of breads and cheese and coffee. Because of the new working culture where people start work at maybe 8am people first just have coffee before work and then have second breakfast at around 11am which consists of coffee and perhaps a croissant or small sandwiches.

Lunch which is the biggest meal of the day and starts at 2pm and can go till 5pm.

Dinner which is usually a small, light meal and often eaten around 9-10pm

In between these meals people eat small appetizer sized snacks called tapas and they drink coffee so at no point is anyone going hungry.

Back in the day the Spaniards would not start work until around 9am. They would work until 2pm taking a small break at 11am. At 2pm everything would close as people went home to have siesta, eat and sleep, before opening up again at 5pm and working till 8pm. They would get home and eat dinner at around 9.30pm before starting their social events for the evening. From 10pm until maybe 1 or 2am people were out visiting their friends or going to bars. They would come home, sleep and again only wake up at around 8am to start work. Although the work schedule has changed, much of the eating culture and social culture is still based around this pattern.

The next thing about food culture that stands out for me in Spain is doggy bags which I do not think exist. If you don't finish your food then you let the food go. People have not adopted a culture of taking left over restaurant food home no matter how much they leave on their plate. Another big thing is that if food does not taste good you don't eat it. It doesn't matter how much you have paid for a meal, if you are not enjoying your food you don't eat. Also no one eats to the point where they have to start undoing pants buttons or belts, if you are full you don't eat.

This is a bit of a contrast to the "Finish your food as there are children starving in Africa" mentality that many of us were raised with. The Spanish know good food and they have very high standards.

Here are some Spanish foods that I have eaten so far


Torrejas

Torrejas (pronounced Torekhas) are a Spanish Easter desert. They are something like French toast in that it is bread soaked in milk and egg which is fried. The exterior is bread but the interior is soft and fluffy and sweet. It is then served in a plate and either covered in milk or with sugar.

Paella

Paella (pronounced Pa-eh-ya) is a Spanish rice dish cooked with either meat or seafood or a mix of both and it tastes so good.

Churros

This is a Spanish food that has crept into much of the world, churros are a fried pastry of some sort which you can either have with sugar or dipped in chocolate. I eat mine with sugar as I don't like chocolate. Today we had this for breakfast.

I will continue putting up different Spanish foods that I have eaten as I eat them so that you can all be jealous.

Not the Ku Klux Klan??

The above image is not a recruitment party for the KKK although that is exactly what it looks like. Now is the period of Easter and Easter in Spain and in much of Europe is not your typical chocolate festival. Here it is actually a religious occasion, who'd have thought?

The Easter traditions of Spain are based on those of the Roman Catholic Church and Easter is 99% about the Crusification of Christ and 1% about chocolate.

For the whole period of Semana Santa which is the time for Easter, every city of the country hosts its own parades and ceremonies. People dress in robes with hoods, in different colours depending on the tradition of the area. They have processions where these hooded followers carry replicas of Christ on the Cross and what I thought was the most interesting is that in most of them the colour of Jesus Christ's skin is dark brown and not white as the Americans would want you to believe. There are others who walk in the processions topless, with chains around their feet and a whip which they hit themselves with on the back. For the most part the images of these processions and ceremonies are a little frightening.

Thousands of people travel to Spain from all over the place to witness these Easter traditions. It is really a big part of the life here in Spain.

It's interesting to be in a country that considers the Christian Holy days as religious occasions and not material ones as they are for the most part in Australia. People in Spain are actually mourning the passing of Christ and not celebrating a rabbit who gives away chocolate. Still I'm not sure about the attire that they wear. I am yet to find out exactly what it symbolises and even if it does have some deep spiritual meaning I still think it looks scary.

Here are some more pictures.. also none of these images are mine, click on the image to go to the site where I got it from and also to get more information about Semana Santa

Hola Espaṅa

It is my second day here in Madrid. So far I have already managed to tick off some of the most important things that anyone should do in Europe; I have had amazing coffee and pastries, I have eaten ice cream and tonight we will be watching Barcelona play Madrid in the Copa del Ray final (and hopefully watching Barcelona win).

The weather so far has been cool with warm afternoons and a little bit of rain. And hopefully tonight we will plan how I will be spending the next month.

I am staying with my Uncle Arman, my Aunty Susana, their kids Shoghi and Natasha and Susana's mum.

More to come as it happens

:)