Newsletter - Archive - Issue 9 August 2004

Boletín de Babylon Idiomas

 +34 93 488 1585

www.babylon-idiomas.com

el 9 de agosto de 2004

Valencia Special

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>>> Did you know . (I) <<<

... there's a Spanish festival where you can actually throw ripe tomatoes at everyone around you?! Why? Just for the fun of it! So expect to be dripping with tomato juice when you're finished. To make it even more exciting than it already is: foreigners and photographers are the most likely "victims" to be targeted. The festival is called La Tomatina and is held the last Wednesday of August, which this year falls on the 25^th. La Tomatina is the finishing high note of a yearly festival held in Buñol, which is near Valencia. If you have the time, go a couple of days earlier and party with the Spanish as the festival lasts a week! The easy way to get there from Valencia is to take train C3.

... the famous Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz will give a concert in Valencia the 4^th of September? It's a little early to mention maybe, but you better get your tickets now before they're sold out!

... you can learn a lot more about Babylon Idiomas' school in Valencia by clicking here?

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>>> Estudiantes hablando <<<

¿Quién? Nicole (25) y Katrin (28), Alemania, nivel B1

¿Qué es lo que os gusta en Valencia ?

'En Valencia hay muchos lugares muy bonitos que merece la pena visitarlos. Si quieres conocer la ciudad, acompañanos. Esta ciudad destaca, especialmente, por sus parques, jardines y plazas pero existe un lugar que es totalmente diferente al resto. Este espacio es impresionante por su arquitectura. Todo el conjunto se llama La ciudad de las artes y las ciencias. Se compone de tres edificios: el hemisféric, el museo de las Ciencias Principe Felipe y el Oceanográfico.

Este se encuentra en un parque muy grande. En mi opinión, es un lugar muy variado porque hay tres grandes áreas temáticas: arte, ciencia y naturaleza. Lo que más me gustó fue el Oceanográfico. En él se puede conocer toda la fauna y flora marina de las zonas climáticas más representativas de nuestro planeta. Hay ejemplares de 500 especies diferentes. Cabe destacar la parte donde se puede ver a los delfines, tiburones, tortugas y

picture: Nicole (left) and Katrin (right) in Valencia

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>>> Did you know . (II) <<<

... Valencia has 20 cinemas, 344 cafés, 35 museums, 23 gardens and urban parks and 59 art galleries?

... 782.246 people live in the city of Valencia?

... the annual average temperature in Valencia is 18,9°C?

...  58.000 cruiser passengers visited Valencia in 2003?

... that if you're hungry but don't want to cook, you can choose between 1499 restaurants in the city?

MUSEO CATEDRALICIO DIOCESANO
 

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>>> Recipe <<<

Valencia is, amongst many other things, known as the home of horchata. It's a sweet, milky, refreshing drink that is made of chufas (tiger nuts). You drink it really cold with fartons (sweet, soft breadsticks) or rosquilletas (biscuit sticks).

Here's the recipe:

You need 1 kg of chufas, 1 kg of sugar, 5 litres of water and 1 cinnamon stick.

1.     Thoroughly wash the chufas, rinsing them in clean water and remove any little hairy fibres that remain. When they are completely clean, set them to soak in a lot of cold water for 12 to 14 hours.

2.     Rinse the chufas again in clean water, until the water runs clear and then drain.  

3.      Mash the chufas or put them in a blender - until the consistency is that of soft paste. Add a little water if needed.

4.     Add the 5 litres of water to the paste, put in the cinnamon stick and stir. Let it sit in a cool place (like a fridge) for 2 hours.

5.       Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

6.      Strain the mixture thoroughly as many times as required until a fine, milky liquid remains.

You can also serve the Horchata in slushy form as you would ice-cream. Simply put it in the freezer, stirring occasionally so it does not freeze solid.

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>>> Idioma - confundir - to confuse <<<

Some words really look alike, but they can have a very different meaning. For example, during my trip by train to Barcelona I tried to tell someone (in beginner Spanish) that I was very tired and that I wanted to go to bed. He looked at me with a disturbed face. Only minutes later, after talking, listening and explaining, I understood that he thought that I was married but that I wanted to go bed with him. Hence his face... So watch out for these words!