Month: March 2007

Categories
500 things Spain Travel

500 things: Taking it easy in Murcia city

You still have ten days left to enter our competition and help us make a fantastic book about the very best things to do in Spain. Debbie Jenkins, from www.NativeSpain.com sent in the latest entry, about Plaza Cardinal Belluga, in Murcia City:

“Nothing could be more relaxing than making the short drive into the city on a Sunday morning, and sitting in the Plaza Cardinal Belluga with your newspaper (La Verdad for Marcus and El Semanal for me – I like the pictures!) and a coffee and tostadas, watching the world go by. On many occasions we’ve been entertained by marching bands, balloon sellers or by watching cars magically appear out of buildings.”

The region of Murcia (map) is off the map for many travelers to Spain, but is increasingly popular with British holiday makers and second home buyers. Do you know anything else about the region? A Murcia secret you’d like to enter into the 500 things to do before you die competition?

Categories
Spain Travel

“Take me there”

Kaliyoga

“Oh my God, take me there” was Marina’s reaction when she saw this photo, by Fred Shively. Now I have always had a funny relationship with yoga – I’ve taken it up and dropped it again three times in the last 4 years – but I’m right behind her on this one. How relaxing does that look?! Sitting high in the Alpujarras, south of Granada, with that view? Yes please! The photo was taken at Kaliyoga retreat if you feel in need of such an experience yourself…

Categories
notes

Did you know about the Spanish videoblogs?

Just in case you missed the video blogging action over at Notes in Spanish – come and join in the fun!

Categories
notes

Expat Interviews.com

asked me some questions…

Categories
Spanish Culture and News

If you will play with bulls…

…you are going to get hurt. Yes, it’s the start of the goring bullfighting season again!

From Reuters:

In Valencia, Spanish matador Fernando Cruz remains in a serious condition after being gored twice during the fourth bullfight of the Fallas season in Valencia, Spain. The bull left a 20 centimetre deep incision in the bullfighters left buttock leaving his femur bone open to the air, while the second broke his scrotum.

There’s a video too!

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500 things Notes from Spain Podcast Spain Travel

Notes from Spain Podcast 56 – A Year in Europe


[Download MP3]

La Cartuja

Ben and Marina talk to Scott and Sheryl who gave up everything for a year on the road, and have just spent two months in Andalusia. To follow them as they continue on their adventures check out the great posts and podcasts at ayearineurope.com, and Scott’s photos on Flickr. The image above comes from Scott’s La Cartuja Flickr set, taken at the semi-abandoned Seville Expo site we discuss on the podcast. Would you consider giving up everything to make a trip like this? Let us know in the forum or comments below…

Scott also came up with an entry for our 500 things competition (keep the entries coming in!):

La Mesquita in the Morning

Experiencing one of the jewels of Mudejar Andalucia is something you’ll never forget. Make your way to Cordoba and visit La Mesquita first thing in the morning, right at opening time. As you walk through the courtyard you are teased by the bricked up Moorish arches that were originally open to the interior. When you enter through the tall wooden doors, and once your eyes adjust to the darkness, you’ll see what makes this place so breathtaking. Stretching seemingly into infinity is a forest of columns, connected by graceful white and red arches and dimly lit by hanging chandeliers. Wander through the streams of morning light, splashing pools of color onto the marble floor. If you’re lucky, you’ll pass through a wisp of orange incense in the air. Inside La Mesquita, you are transported to another time where you experience a special piece of ancient Spain. It is magic.

Mesquia, Cordoba

Photos above © Scott Andress

Categories
Spain Travel

I am not a tourist!

The best way to avoid being pick-pocketed, ripped off, abused even more by taxi drivers etc is, conventional wisdom would have it, not to look too much like a tourist. How do you achieve this? According to Dave Hall (aka Pepino) in a must read forum post on the subject:

“Avoid the absolute worst fashion crimes below, and you’ll be well on your way.

  • Dress for the season you’re in
  • Don’t have too much flesh on show (unless you’re on the beach)
  • Bikini tops are for the beach only (not for walking around shopping centres)
  • Wear subtle jewellery or single pieces of funky large accessories (not dripping in gold)
  • Try to avoid the typical British "combats/trainers/white socks/vest top” look (although, one individual part combined with something else can be absolutely fine)
  • Be careful with Burberry checks. Burberry’s still a great brand, but their famous check pattern has been hijacked by Chavs, so don’t touch it.
  • If you’re American, avoid the "nautical” look and DO NOT wear a plastic sun visor…. Ever! jeje
  • At the moment, big sunglasses are still very cool (Posh Spice’s are bigger than her head these days!)
  • No cheesewire knickers on show.”

What’s your top tip for blending in whilst in Spain?

Categories
notes

An open letter to Easyjet

Dear Easyjet,

I am generally very happy with the service you provide between Madrid and London Gatwick. You even seem to have the ridiculous queuing system under control these days, with far fewer examples of the undignified and totally uncontrolled rush to get on the plane that were so characteristic of many of your flights last year. I suppose that since you introduced the ‘Speedy Boarding’ concept (money for nothing, great business idea), with people paying extra to get on first, you have to be careful about ruffling feathers.

Last night I sat with my wife on the 4.55pm Gatwick-Madrid plane, amused that we had missed our take-off slot as the stewards couln’t work out why there were four too many people on the plane. Turns out your check in staff were to blame, they let four more people through at the last minute but didn’t tell the gate dispatcher… could happen to anyone! Still, we were relaxed enough, pleased to see the captain giving passengers a quick tour of the cockpit until it was time to turn the engines on and head off once air traffic control gave us the all clear.

So far so good, just one request. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use catering firms who put caterpillars in their sandwiches. It quite put me off my red wine and mini-cheddars. In fact, having got two mouthfuls into my ‘soft cheese wrap’ before I discovered the bright green little fellow in the middle of the packaging (he had had a couple of bites of my wrap too by the way), I nearly had to reach for that little-used waxy paper bag found in the pocket behind your occasionally readable in-flight magazine. Thanks for the £ 3.50 refund and the offer, declined, of the replacement sandwich, but if it would be possible to do without the caterpillar next time, I’d be grateful.

Best wishes,

Ben Curtis, frequent easyJet traveller

Categories
500 things Spain Travel

Silence in Spain?! …500 things competition

Arpi Shively, who runs the excellent Andalucid blog on life in the Alpujarras and beyond, sent in this entry for our “500 things to do in Spain before you die” competition (you can win and iPod Shuffle and get in a book!). Apparently there is somewhere in Spain that you can get away from all the noise:

“Retreat from ‘la ruida’ at Osel Ling in the Alpujarras: Noise, cars, buildings and people gradually melt away as you wind up the long steep track to this Tibetan Buddhist monastery, whose name means ‘Place of Clear Light’. Its rugged stone buildings and stupas are perched at the top of the Poqueira gorge above Pampaneira in Andalucia’s High Alpujarra foothills. Retreat to one of the simple huts on the herb-scented hillside, attend lectures on Buddhism and drink in the silence that is sweeter than any music.” – Photo: © Fred Shively who has some wonderful photos of Spain.

Have you got a silent Spain secret you are willing to share? Enter the competition! Details here!

Categories
Spanish Culture and News

A great excuse for a porn film…

From the Guardian:

The Catalan regional government has decided to fund a series of blue movies after deeming them useful for spreading the Catalan language.

[Found by Guapo in the forum]