Fiesta, fiesta, fiesta

This Friday, the 12th October, is a national holiday in Spain: El “Día de la Fiesta Nacional de España”. Despite being originally intended to commemorate Christopher Columbus’s discovery of South America in 1492, in recent years the Spanish government has been eager to replace the festival’s links to colonialism with a sense of national and military pride. Shop doors will close (Inhispania's too, don't forget!), the people of Madrid will grab their cameras and the city will make way for an impressive military parade.

Da Vinco. El Genio. The Genius.

Until the 2nd of May 2012, the Centro de Arte Canal in Madrid will put on an exhibition recreating the workspaces and machines that this Renaissance genius created.

He was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.

El problema es (SER)

La diferencia es...
In Spanish, the verb ser (to be) works slightly differently to how we would use it in English.
For example: El problema son dos cosas.

In this sentence, the verb “to be” is in the 3rd person plural to agree with the 2 cosas, even though the noun is singular. This is because in Spanish ser agrees with what follows, whereas in English we would say “The difference is 2 things” or “2 things are the difference”.

Llaollao

In my opinion, of all the frozen yoghurt joints in this town, this one is to be avoided. At the very least the one on calle Montera. Inhispania students deserve better.
Firstly, another froyo establishment about 3 doors away (Smooy) is 20 cents cheaper so they’re lucky to have my custom in the first place. Secondly, they are RIDICULOUSLY stingey. For 3,20€, I can go to Simply Market and get a whole punnet of strawberries, yoghurts (plural) and a bottle of honey so I don’t know why I waste my time at LlaoLlao. Every time I think I hope he’ll give me more than what amounts to about one strawberry, 3 walnuts and a Petit-Filous but I am warning you all now: he won’t.

Travelling Around Spain

Madrid (and therefore Inhispania) is one of the most ideal places to do a Spanish course for a multitude of reasons but perhaps one of the most enticing (bar that Inhispania is super cool) is how easy it is to travel around Spain. The capital city’s central location means that it is possible to get to anywhere in Spain without wasting time or money.

The cheapest way to travel is by far the bus but be aware that it will take a lot longer than a plane or train might. The best thing to do, in my experience, is book an overnight bus so you can sleep the whole journey: you don’t lose any tourism/fiesta time and save a night’s accomodation.

The Ideal Summer Cocktail

Summer is upon us and the regular 33 degree heat might be getting to you if, like me, your native land is not so caliente. However, I have a solution: tinto de verano. The name of this drink even translates to red wine of summer and is an ideal antedote to the madrileñan heat.
This wine cocktail is similar to sangria (which, let’s face is, is overdone) but is easier to make has less alcohol in it so is an ideal afternoon tipple. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy: