The Malta Experience

Posted on May 20, 2013 by kshap

Our wishes came true and the sun shone down on us for our last two days in Malta.We ate traditional Maltese rabbit dishes by the bay in Saint-Julian, and had a couple ridiculous nights in Paceville, followed by ridiculously cheap after-bar food (which was so delicious, and is non-existent in Huelva!), and spent our last two days by the water; first on the sand at Golden Bay, and to end our trip, a day by the Blue Lagoon on the island of Comino.The Blue Lagoon was my favourite part. We hiked away from the main beach where the boats docked and over some rocky terrain (not made for our sandals) to find a secluded little cove. We swam through caves and re-applied sunscreen about every 15 minutes. The water was cold and crystal clear– the colours looked photoshopped. One if our more adventurous friends cliff jumped… The rest of us cheered him on. All in all, it was a great getaway to the Cisk drinking, left-side of the road driving, culturally ambiguous (Maltese? British? Italian? All good!) island of Malta. The joys of travel!

Miércoles en Malta

Posted on May 15, 2013 by kshap

Taking a little vacation from this working vacation in Malta this week! It was a little too windy (sadly and surprisingly!) for any beach time today, so we took the time to explore some of the islands sights; the ancient and silent town of Mdina, the capital city of Valleta, and the Blue Grotto.We’re off to explore the (in)famous Paceville…Hoping for sunshine and island breezes tomorrow! Happy Wednesday to all of you!

Mad Dash to Madrid & Sunday in Segovia

Posted on May 14, 2013 by kshap

The weekend was almost a disaster when I work up 10 minutes before my train was to leave the station. (My fault, but I’ll blame it on the karaoke competition the night before.) By some miracle, I managed to throw stuff in a bag and run the kilometer to the station in about five minutes (definitely a personal best). It was a panicked and dramatic ten minutes!

I would have been so mad at myself had I missed the tennis tournament, so it was my lucky day. I spent the whole day at La Caja Magica. Seeing Nadal play in the semifinals agains fellow Spaniard Andújar, and in front of a Spanish crowd was so much fun…and totally worth the mad dash.

On Sunday, my friend Elvira and I went to Segovia for the day. The streets were full of puppeteers, musicians, and children’s shows. We walked through the entertainment to see the famous (and incredibly impressive — there is no cement between those stoens!) aqueduct, the castle that inspired Disney’s, and the ornate cathedral.

We finished the weekend back in Madrid, and as I was wandering the sunny streets Monday morning it hit me that I only have three weeks left in Spain… a karaoke win (and being subsequently interviewed on Huelva radio?!), a full day of pro tennis, a day trip to yet another beautiful Spanish town, and a last day of exploring the capital city…it wasn’t a bad way to enjoy one of my last weekends here! Hope your weekends were great as well! Un beso:)

Perfecto Cinco de Mayo

Posted on May 5, 2013 by kshap

A homemade Mexican feast, sunny southern Spain, day drinking, and lovely girlfriends…definitely a perfect Sunday afternoon and a perfect Cinco de Mayo.It’s the kind of sunny afternoon that you’d want to last forever (which I kind of managed to do, with an evening siesta and a walk along the pier at sunset). It was summertime in Andalucía, and the living is easy…
(My contribution to our lunch was my go-to one bowl chocolate cake– just added cinnamon and orange zest to the cake, and lime zest to the cupcakes to make things slightly more “Mexican” in a pinch!)

Beach Clean in Mazagon

Posted on May 5, 2013 by kshap

My ninth graders and I spent Friday cleaning a beautiful beach, Cuesta De Maneli, in Mazagon. Although the area itself is stunning– a boardwalk winds through sand dunes to the beach below– there was a surprising amount of trash. We filled over twenty big garbage bags (as the students squealed in disgust when they found increasingly yucky things) and although it was hot, stinky work, the day went by quickly and we rewarded ourselves with an afternoon spent in the ocean and siesta-ing on the beach. Not bad for a school field trip…The tricky part came when we had to lug the garbage bags two kilometres back over the sand dunes to the parking lot. I was informed by the students that it should be considered “explotación infantil”, but we made it.

Tortilla de Patatas

Posted on May 1, 2013 by kshap

Tortilla is ubiquitous in Spain and was at the top of my bucket list but it took me until last week to finally make it all on my own. (I think it was the flipping part that scared me away.) The bilingual coordinator at the school I work at showed me how to make tortilla my first weekend here in her beautiful country kitchen. Since then I’ve had it for breakfast, in sandwiches, in the woods for a picnic, as a fancy tapita, and recently we went out to try the best tortilla in Huelva. It’s versatile, and totally adaptable to your taste so whether you keep it traditional or spice things up a bit it is sure to please (and give you a taste of Spain!).And if you choose to smother it in mayonnaise, that seems to be very Spanish, too.

Tortilla de Patatas

May Day in the Mountains

Posted on May 1, 2013 by kshap

With people taking advantage of the day off (día del trabajador) in Spain to demonstrate and protest I went with a couple friends back to Aracena for the day. We left the palm trees and city streets behind in Huelva for the rolling green hills of the Sierra, spring blossoms, and the best ham in Spain.It’s a short, and beautiful, drive up to la Sierra– and there’s lots to see out the window…I was mesmerized again by the landscapes at the Rio Tinto mines.

Kate's Plate

the too-full plate of a happy generalist — what's on your plate?

The Malta Experience

Miércoles en Malta

Mad Dash to Madrid & Sunday in Segovia

Perfecto Cinco de Mayo

Beach Clean in Mazagon

Tortilla de Patatas

May Day in the Mountains

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