Almonds of Alcalá

It's come to my attention that I haven't shared with you my experience with the almonds!

Apart from the University of Alcalá and being the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes (the author of El ingenioso Don Quijote de la Mancha), Alcalá is also known for its almendras garrapiñadas. Glazed almonds. Here is a visual:

Anyway, you can buy these from any shop in town. But the best ones are at the convent right next to the University. These monjas (nuns) are cloistered (meaning they can't have any contact with the outside world), so there is a super sneaky way to buy almonds from them. You go through a door into a small room. There is a bell and a kind of turntable window. You can't see the other side of the window. You ring the bell and wait for the monja to get to the other side of the window. The password is "Ave María Purísima" (Hail Mary most pure). The monja replies "Sin pecado concebida" (Conceived without sin). Then you tell her which size box of almonds you want. You put the money on the turntable, then the monja turns it around and BAZINGA! There are your delicious almonds.

The nuns use the money to finance their convent. You get delicious almonds for dirt cheap. It's a win-win situation. Also, God wants you to give monies to the convent. And you get delicious almonds for dirt cheap. So it's a win-win-win.

To summarize: "Ave María Purísima" = delicious almonds.

Medieval Festival in Alcalá de Henares

As promised, here is my coverage of the medieval festival in Alcalá! Enjoy!

When I returned to Alcalá from our road trip to Ávila, Salamanca, and Valladolid, I was walking to my house when I noticed that the streets were filled with an inordinate number of pedestrians, and there was a lot of  noise coming from the Plaza Cervantes. While waiting at a stoplight, a group of 8 or so Germans asked me in broken Spanish if I could point them in the direction of the beer. Heh. So it turns out there was the annual medieval festival that weekend. The entire Calle Mayor, Plaza Cervantes and adjacent streets were filled with booths offering just about anything you could imagine (from the middle ages, of course). All the people were dressed in medieval garb, and there were all sorts of artesanía. Here are some of the cool things I saw/did:

Raisin bread

It was SUPER crowded!

Confectioneries!

Apothecary

Candy!

Hand-bound books

Perfumes

Incense burner

Un Belén - Nativity

Compass

Owls!

Masks

Bizcochos - Cupcakes

Döner kebaps

Abby, Jeff, Abby, Me, Marcela, Michelle

"Con mi burrito sabanero voy camino de Belén"

Goofing off at the apothecary

Chocolate almonds? Yes please!

Tarta de Santiago

Ceramics

Don Quijote and Sancho Panza

Horno de leña - Wood oven

Baker making fresh bread

So as you can tell, it was a great time. But, the best part was the band. We wanted to follow them around for a while and be their groupies. Alas, it was too crowded. But here they are:

So yeah. All in all, it was a good time. The festival ran Saturday through Wednesday night. Yes, I went every day. Anyway, stay tuned for the next installment of BRIAN'S ADVENTURES IN SPAIN!