Two weeks ago I went to a cheese factory that makes one of the most famous cheeses in all the world: torta de casar. It is regarded as a Spanish delicacy and has apparently been made since a farmer way back when wanted to preserve his goat milk in the ol' Iberian Peninsula. The factory/museum smelled uh...I suppose pungent would be the best word to use. We got off the bus and could instantly smell this reeking farm which was a cross between protein powder, dirty gym socks and manure. So in that case I guess it just smelled like the men's locker room during football two-a-days. Anyway, we sat through a presentation that was difficult to understand and then finally got to see the massive amounts of cheese that they make. I'm sure you've seen my pictures on Facebook thus far, but I've never seen so much beautiful wheels as I did that day and they smelled absolutely delicious. There was different hard cheeses, torta de casar and this fantastic herbed hard cheese that I still get shivers down my spine when I think about our tasting afterwards.
Torta de Casar: sooo creeeamy
If you couldn't tell, I loved this factory and wish that I could've bought a wheel to bring back to the States.
This same day our group went to 'El Museo de Vostell' who was part of the vanguard movement in art, or what I always thought of as "that strange, modern art that doesn't mean anything." I have to let you know, I no longer am under the same assumption after my time at the museum. Wolf Vostell was a German artist who fell in love with Spain, and in particular a Spanish woman, and decided to stay here and make art.
¿Por qué el proceso entre Pilato y Jesús duró solo dos minutos? (Translation: Why did the procesion between Pontius Pilot and Jesus only last two minutes?
Fiebre del Automóvil (Translation: Automobile Fever)
Having a guide made this trip so much more insightful into the meanings of these works. Granted, they're still kind of out there and I had no clue what the guide said about the airplane one up there. What I did learn is that Vostell was a genius and at times appeared to be able to see the future. I'm sure that sounds crazy, but the reasoning for some of his eclectic art made sense and often times would be made years before an event would happen. For example, he made a piece that told the sad story that students would one day be hooked to radios and televisions and would just be products of mass media. While our generation isn't necessarily hooked to TV's or radio, it's hard to find someone that doesn't have their phone literally attached to their hip. Social media can be a scary thing and although it brings it closer it can block out people's true personality by claiming it to be stupid, weird, or uncool.
To end on a better note, my favorite part by far was the exterior of the building where there was a beautiful lake and other gorgeous scenery. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to walk around the lake but this is another reason Vostell is awesome. He said that nature is it's own piece of art and bought up all this land to preserve it so people can take it all in. What a guy!
Finally, my trip to Lisbon. Because I don't have many pictures to put up because my phone is still wet I'm not going to talk to much about Lisbon. What I will say is that it was spectacular city even if it rained most of the time we were there. The culture is similar to Spain, but the language is gorgeous (and super confusing and sounds like Russian Spanish) and the fact that it was the capital city on the ocean was a huge contrast to being in Cáceres that barely has enough water to function. If you ever are able to go to Lisbon make sure you eat the seafood, and the bacalao (cod) in particular
Bacalhau a bráz (Bacalao Dorado or Golden Cod)
It's basically just olives, cod and potatoes, but it's fantastic. I wish I could spend more time in Lisbon, but I have a feeling my wish to see other places and lack of time abroad won't afford me to do so.
Other quick updates: 1) I went a neighborhood cookout and it was awesome and met a ton of cool neighbors, 2) I've bought a ton of postcards from different places thus far and want to send them to people so let me know your address if you want one! 3) I'm going to Salamanca next weekend so keep a lookout for new (and shorter) post, and finally 4) sorry for the long post! I miss back home but the constant adventure here makes me want to stay here forever so if I don't come back you know why. Also since my phone is messed up, send email's or Facebook message me until further notice. Love you all and keep in touch!
¡Adiós!
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