At least once a week, our group has gone on excursions throughout Córdoba and its surrounding areas. In the past two weeks I’ve seen so much more that I expected to, but last Friday, June 14^th, the group headed to the place where Nuñez de Prado olive products are created.

It’s difficult to fully grasp how many olives there are in this world until you visit an olive oil factory. The trip to this factory was a sight to see itself, with open lands and neighborhoods on hills, but once we reached a stretch of land with thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of olive trees, we were all in a bit of shock. For miles, we saw space solely dedicated to a food I once viewed as pizza toppings, dip for my bread, and a martini accessory. There were olive trees everywhere!

Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly my the owner of this company and given a tour of the facilities. We started in the fermentation room and made our way to an “olive oil cave”. In this space, the huge silver “vueldes” – which have been around since the 1860s – begin to refine the olive product (which is completely organic as the farm has not used preservatives since 1960). At this point, one can begin to make the olive oil or refine the fermented product into cosmetics and other non-edible products.

Finally, we arrived to the packaging room (left) where five men were working to hand-seal each bottle of olive oil. The owner explained that everything is done manually here. With no computers to keep count of how much product is made or where it exports to, there is no chance of system breakdowns or information loss. This system has works since 1944.

At this point, we were all amazed bythe work ethic and detailed productivity of the Nuñez de Prado system. There was even a 500-year-old olive tree on their land (right)!

However, we were even more surprised by the fabulous meal that they served us. Our three-course breakfast included: a bread entre that could be topped with olive oil, tomatoes ham, cod, and/or Manchego cheese, fried eggs with potatoes in the style of the chef on sight, and finally an orange with olive oil, honey, and a type of sweet biscuit to satisfy those with a sweet tooth. This only further proved to me how universal this product was. You can mix it with fruit and honey and have no complaints from me.

Here are some pictures from that visit:

In Spain, they take their olive oil seriously. This trip gave us a point of view of how important their production is here and throughout the rest of the world. To pick up some Nuñez de Prado products, join me in Spain! – or you could find some in a local Whole Foods!

Enjoy,

Lidia

 

So a lot of time has passed since I last blogged; since before I went to Patagonia and before my semester here even started! I’ve been busy and maybe I will post about all that fun stuff later, but for now here’s a note I wrote while coming back from a weekend venture to the driest desert in the world; the Atacama desert.

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¡Musica! ¡Fuega! ¡La Playa! ¡Baile!

 

My yelling of random Spanish words can be one two things. I’m either helping Pitbull with his new single or describing my night in Malaga last weekend.

Around 4PM on June 23^rd, a few of us students headed to the bus station prepared for a 3-hour bus ride to Malaga. There, we would celebrate the Night of San Juan. Each year, on June 24^th, “we mere humans give thanks [to certain Pagan gods] and realize that the seasons of harder times are about to come”. While I’m pretty sure not everyone in our group understood the specific significance and goal of this night, we did pick up on some of its themes. Andalucia’s website explained, “It is about night to day; it is about fire to water. Fire purifies and water recuperates, refreshes, and rejuvenates.” Some of the activities we enjoyed that night tied into this idea perfectly.

Upon arrival, we immediately dropped our bags off at a nearby hostel and headed to tapas. Sidenote: I am really going to miss tapas when I am back in America.

Now guys, I usually would not blog about the fact that I ate, but this restaurant we went to was quite fantastic. At, 100 Montaditos, there are 100 options of little sandwiches you could choose from (including chocolate bread on the sandwich deserts). Usually one person will order 2 – 4. Maybe even more. Would you like to know why? Because everything cost ONE EURO! Including their sizable beers and tintos (a wine juice). My description cannot fully encompass how exciting this place is, but my friends and I highly recommend it to any visitors.

After tapas, we spent some time relaxing by the beach. From that point on our trip was absolutely beautiful. I don’t think I have ever seen the moon so close except for in Bruce Almighty when Jim Carrey tries to impress Jennifer Aniston. To make the night even better, hundred of people were lifting lanterns into the air to completely light up the sky.

At almost midnight, we enjoyed a concert from some artist I wish I knew because he did a good job keeping the party going. Tradition says that come midnight, one needs to wash their face and feet three times to be granted three wishes and to have a happy following year. Who are we to defy tradition?! With our swimsuits on, we ran into the Mediterranean Sea at midnight, though to be honest I don’t think the girls cleaned their faces there for sanitary and anti-salt-face reasons.

The next tradition of the night was bonfire jumping. It is thought “if people jump over a bonfire three times on San Juan’s night, they will be cleansed and purified, and their problems burned away.” First, we wrote down things about our lives we wanted to rid of and threw them in the fire to see the negativity burn away. Then, we jumped over fire [videos to come]. I cannot even begin to explain how real the fear was – speaking for myself at least – but I am so glad I had the chance to experience this cultural and traditional moments with my friends and the Spanish locals.

 

Finally, we joined in on the tradition of hanging beachside, sipping sangrias/beers/mimosas/water.

 

 

All quotations and traditional information from http://www.andalucia.com/festival/sanjuan.htm.

Ciao!

My name is Lydia Wassman and I am studying abroad for four weeks at the John Felice Rome Center! I’m going to be a junior and I am a history major with a communications minor.

I’ve been in Rome for two days now. I flew in on Saturday morning and spent an entire full day doing fun activities and having a scavenger hunt in il centro (downtown). The John Felice Rome Center is located outside of the downtown area, almost like a suburb of Rome. This location is the BEST because it gives you an escape from the chaos of Rome, but is close enough to il centro that it’s only a 15 minute bus ride away.

So far, I love it here and think it is AMAZING. Yesterday when I arrived was the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, who happen to be the patron saints of the city. Everything in our area was closed due to the holiday, and later in the evening there were fireworks over the Vatican and the river! It was beautiful.

Today, we went to the countryside to a vineyard and had some delicious wine and food. It was so awesome and beautiful.

I’m slowly starting to realize the challange I’m facing with this blog: I have no idea how I am going to put the experience I’ve had (so far and, I’m assuming, that I will have later) into words. Being here is a dream come true and I almost never want to leave. Italy has so much to offer in history, entertainment, FOOD! I can already tell I’m going to LOVE it here.

I’ll be uploading some pictures once I can get them from my phone to my computer, so DON’T WORRY! Plenty of pictures of awesome sites and delicious food to make you jealous and your mouth water! 🙂

Ciao! Buenosera!

-Lydia Wassman

Ciao tutti! Just finishing up my second day in Roma and let me tell you, it is AMAZING! This weekend has been a crazy/amazing blur. First with getting to O’Hare airport and realizing I was in the wrong terminal (oops) and then being up for over 32 hours straight while trying to get through orientation and a walking tour of Balduino (our little neighborhood in Rome). But I managed to rally for the photo scavenger hunt of downtown Rome, which was awesome! It was an amazing way to see the city and to bond with my fellow JFRC peeps. Side Note: Downtown Rome is EXACTLY like you’re picturing it! It is so beautiful that I literally felt like I was in a movie the entire time (Lizzie Mcguire anyone?). Anyway, after my insane first day in Roma I had an amazing nights sleep, needless to say haha.

Today we visited Castello di Torre in Pietre, which was a beautiful castle that has a church and a cantina where they bottle their own wine. After we toured the castle and winery we had an very relaxing afternoon eating a buffet and drinking their homemade wine… absolutely divine. This weekend has gotten me SO excited for the rest of my study abroad!! Hope you enjoyed reading 🙂 Ciao for now!!