Traveling Simile: spain

Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts

"Flamenco is life...it is like an injection of morale that lifts the spirit, so that one can go on living." ~ Rafael Maya

Take an ordinary...

add some...

inspiration for ...

and you are instantly pulled into the soul of flamenco.

Passion fueled by love and joy...

or sorrow and heartbreak...

all carried out through the intensity of the

music, singer and dancers.

Our last night in Madrid was filled with first-rate food and flamenco...

enjoyed at the Corral de la Moreria, the oldest flamenco show in Madrid...

since 1957.

Upon realizing that I had not spent anytime just sitting and watching life in Madrid, our last morning the sun decided to kiss our heads as we sat across from the hotel and observed...

the street performers...

an impromptu antique car parade...

and the daily noontime appearance of

King Carlos III, The Duchess of Alba with her dog, Francisco Goya and the bullfighter Pedro Romero to the sound of chiming bells.

Madrid is a cultural gem of a city.

On our flight back to Aberdeen...

we were treated to a perfect exclamation mark...

to a perfect girls trip to Spain.

Have a wonderful weekend!

"I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything." ~ Reese Witherspoon

Alright...

so I admit it.

I am a sucker for a good bookstore.

Throw in a decent cup of coffee and I'm there.

Add to those two details the added bonus of books in English in Madrid, Spain and I'm there for a few hours.

J & J Books and Coffee has been open for over eight years and quite the neighborhood hangout...

with its cozy nooks...

and long-time manager from Baton Rouge, LA whose personality is in perfect sync with the...

right amount of quirkiness.

Since we were in the neighborhood,

after snagging a few books on my list,

we went in search of THE place to purchase a pair of espadrilles while in Madrid...

Antigua Casa Crespo.

Antigua Casa Crespo

Mr. Crespo and his family have been making the popular summer shoe since 1836, but unfortunate for us, were enjoying their siesta hours when we arrived,

bumping this little spot to my list for a return visit.

Happy Thursday!

"The work of art represents common ground for the artist and the spectator, and as such it facilitates a relationship with others and with an environment perceived not as belonging to someone else but rather as one's own." ~ Museo Reina Sofia

While in Madrid...

which museum to visit was one of our biggest decisions.

With over 45 choices...

it would take weeks to enjoy them all.

Museo Reina Sofia kept us enthralled for hours and has 84,048 square meters composed of many rooms filled with art.

We saw maybe 20% of what this incredible contemporary museum has to offer its visitors.

Speaking of visitors...

my mom and dad and two aunts arrive in Aberdeen today...

so therefore...

a very short post.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Chocolate con churros = the perfect Spanish breakfast...

Tasting your way through Madrid makes looking at photos later...

sooooo....multi-dimensional.

Churros by themselves are nothing more than strips of fried dough...

but dipped in that thick dark chocolate...

has scientifically changed my preference of chocolate from a solid to a liquid.

Beautifully restored back in 2009,

Mercado de San Miguel...

is bustling with people shopping for home or meeting amigos for a glass of wine or a beer to compliment the large selection of tapas...

including some very American style choices.

Dining in the underground cavern like room...

at Taberna de Capitan Alatriste began with suckling pig and ended sweetly with Flanders Pie.

And, that was one day full of goodness.

Reason #813 why you need a few days

to fully enjoy Madrid.

Happy Tuesday.

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." ~ Abraham Lincoln

Top Ten Reasons to see Madrid from the Teleferico...

in no particular order of importance.

#1 Climb inside...

from the Paseo del Pintor Rosales...

#2...as you glide 1.5 miles...

like a charm dangling from a bracelet...

#3...admiring the city...

#4...and taking in green spaces with...

you may not have visited.

#5 Discovering the Manzanares...

#6...and from the sky...

on its beauty.

#7 You may get lucky and be even further entertained by...

levitating from below.

#8 Arriving at Casa de Campo you can stay on board or get out of your car to stretch your legs where you are tempted to go in search of Madrid's Parque de Atracciones...

#9 If your eyes have not already had enough...

offer more suprises at a different angle...

and it becomes crystal clear.

#10

and we had a ring side seat.

All this talk about the sky reminds me of my angel of a mother so I want to send a huge shout out to her and all you other mothers out there!

Next week I will be able to give my mom an in person hug when she arrives in Scotland along with my dad and my two aunts!

WooHoo!

Have a wonderful week end.

"De Madrid al cielo y un agujerito para verlo"...

often quoted about Madrid and translates...

"From Madrid to heaven, with a little hole to still see it"

Rain followed us to Madrid and forced us to forgo our bike tour and instead get the lay of the land on the hop-on-hop-off bus.

Madrids City Gates...

or the Puertas de Madrid,are a few of the many historical fragments left behind.

One of these century old gates marking thoroughfares entering the city, is Puerta de Toledo, just ahead.

Fortunately, the sun forced its way out towards the end of our loop, so please forgive me for including photos where the blue sky is the main attraction.

San Geronimo el Real church, founded in 1503 as a monastery, retains its beauty sitting next door to the Prado Museum. The actual cloister of the monastery was painstakingly taken apart stone by stone and moved to become a part of the new extension of the museum.

Empty balconies are filled with friendly characters bidding...

amigas.

Hasta manana...

happy Thursday.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused

Emilio Estevan was right.

It is easy to gravitate to Plaza Mayor...

for the ample supply of photo ops and the narrow streets that feed off of the plaza in all directions...

like a spider web.

Lagging behind I was able to make a few mental notes of where to return, as we walked posthaste to meet up with our guide through Old Madrid for a...

organized by Walks of Spain.

Best introduction to a city...

full of history, tapas and wine.

Our first tasting took us to Casa Paco, one of the oldest taverns in the city where your vermouth style wine is served on tap.

Sherry wine was paired with amazing cured meats and aaaahhhh...manchego cheese at our second stop.

For our final tasting,

and my favorite tapa of the evening,

paella in tapa size...

we spent quite some time at Bahiana Club

where the incredible wine was followed by a perfect ending to our tour...

a glass of cava and a platter of blue cheeses in levels of intensity to delight any cheese snob.

Needless to say...

going right along with the theme of the weekly photo challenge...

as we headed back to our hotel...

we were in control, but...

More Madrid manana...

have a wonderful Wednesday!

"Madrid is enjoyed most from the ground, exploring your way through its narrow streets that always lead to some intriguing park, market, tapas bar or street performer. Each night we'd leave our hotel to begin a new adventure in Madrid and nine out of 10 times, we'd walk through the Plaza Mayor." ~ Emilio Estevez

One of the perks of expat life, for me,

is the opportunity to journey alongside other women who are living away from family and friends back home.

Some are raising their families here,

a few are empty nesters like myself...

but we all have the commonality of our other lives,

careers left behind, and loved ones far, far away.

One other feature we share is the love of travel.

Otherwise, we would have never moved abroad in the first place.

Inevitably...

while the husbands are entrenched in their work...

we ladies busy ourselves with

'ladies only' adventures to easily accessible European cities, and most recently took fourteen of us to Madrid for a long weekend.

As we approached our hotel...
fans were lining the streets...
waving flags and cheering.
I had the urge to smile and give them my best parade wave from inside the van,
confused and overtaken by a moment of vanity...
until one of the 'sportier' members of our group explained who they were waiting for.