Leighton Meester practicing Spanish in Madrid

Leighton Meester popped up in Madrid Spain yesterday morning at a photo call for Herbal Essences at the city's Hesperia Hotel. The Gossip Girl star is abroad tending to her promotional duties after a good few weeks in the Big Apple, where she got decked out for fashionable parties like the CFDA Awards and rocked a serious '90s look for a jewelry bash with Halle Berry. She also logged some time on set with Penn Badgley, filming moreWTF moments for this season. Taylor's future on the show is uncertain, but she's still under contract with the CW. I wonder if Leighton has thought about doing a teach yourself Spanish course, if she is rocking up in Madrid for Herbal Essence? 

Warm Scallop Salad

Make it fun to teach yourself Spanish with this Spanish recipe

Ingredients:

8 scallops
100 ml of cream
240 gr of courgette
300 gr of Galician cheese
5 cl of Ribeiro white wine
500 gr of fresh spinach
Salt
Black Pepper
Olive oil

Preparation:

Grate the courgette and then fry slightly in hot oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Put to one side.
Lightly fry the spinach in the same pan. Season and put to one side.
Melt the cheese with the white wine in a pan and add the cream. Let this reduce, season with salt and pepper and put to one side also.
Fry the scallops in a pan on both sides for 4 minutes.
Put the courgette and the spinach on a plate, then put the scallops on top and pour the cheese sauce over the scallops.
Serve hot.

Teach yourself Spanish at la Puerta Del Sol

Teach yourself Spanish at la Puerta Del Sol

Rivers in the Fall in Spanish

Fall by the river is absolutely amazing this year. In Spanish the word for river bank is la orilla

This can also be used for shore, or edge. Go ahead and use what is happening around you to teach yourself Spanish Try to think about each new situation and how you would say it in Spanish.

I remember orila by word association. Orilla reminds me of Rio that almighty river in the Amazon basin. I already know Rio is river and ccan remember that Orillia is River Bank. I think of the actual river bank of the Rio in the Amazon. If I need the word for river bank (not that often), I think of the Rio in the Amazon and get Orilla

Spanish Bull Fights

One of the great things that happens if you teach yourself Spanish is that you can engage with the culture much more than if you are a by-stander. Some states in Spain (e.g. Catalonia) are now banning Bull Fights, which is polarising local opinion.

If you are teaching yourself Spanish to retire

South America is such an exceptionally vibrant continent, inhabited by passionate people who live life to the full.  As Lonely Planet puts it: “It’s as though the continent was built for travel.”  If you’re currently exploring your global options in search of the best place to retire, and you’re looking for a place where you can have a low cost yet high quality living, South America is home to a handful of nations that you might like to closely consider. Where ever you choose you need to teach yourself Spanish of course if you want to integrate into the local community.