Author: Ben

Off to India

Post author By Ben
Post date February 15, 2006

I leave for the UK this afternoon and fly out of Heathrow tomorrow evening. In the past I have been lucky enough to visit much of South East Asia but India has always been the ‘big’ one on the horizon. And the strange thing about this trip – 2,500 km in 15 days on Royal Enfield motorbikes across ‘India profunda‘ – is that I have almost no idea where I am going!

The usual months spent pouring over the Lonely Planet prior to a trip like this have been replaced by faith in the fact that we are following a fully organised itinerary, along a meticulously planned route. We’ll be given a map every morning, and told where we’ll be sleeping every night (from beach tents to tiger reserves and five star hotels – apparently!) So I’m ready to be surprised at every turn, and think it may be a really interesting way to travel!

So watch this space. I’ve been told there are cybercafés all over India so I’ll check in here at the blog if I can – meanwhile Marina has promised to post occasionally in my absence. I’ll be back in 2 weeks, hopefully with lots of exotic recording material from India. Thanks again to all of you that supported the sponsored side of this trip, I’m afraid Notes in Spanish 31 has been left in the air for my return – we would love some audio comments or questions in Spanish for the next episode if any one is up for it! E-mail us here.

Hasta Pronto!

Ben

Technorati Tags: spain, podcast, enduro, India, motorbike

Spanish

Spanish Humour #2 – A Classic

Post author By Ben
Post date February 15, 2006

Dos peces en el mar.
Un pez dice al otro – ‘¿Que hace tu padre?’
El otro contesta – ‘Nada’

Technorati Tags: spanish, humour

Spanish

Spanish Humour #1

Post author By Ben
Post date February 14, 2006

LA FRASE CORRECTA

Luis se despierta en casa con un tremendo dolor de cabeza. Se esfuerza en abrir los ojos, y lo primero que ve es un par de aspirinas y un vaso de agua en la mesita de noche. Se sienta y ve su ropa toda bien limpia y planchada frente a él. Luis mira alrededor de la habitación y ve que todo esta en perfecto orden y limpio. El resto de la casa esta igual. Coge las aspirinas y ve una nota sobre la mesa: “Cariño, el desayuno esta en la cocina, salí temprano para hacer unas compras. Te quiero.”

Así que va a la cocina, y como no, ahí estaba el desayuno y el periódico del día esperándole. Su hijo también esta en la mesa, desayunando. Luis le pregunta:

– “Hijo, que pasó ayer por la noche?”

Su hijo le contesta:

– “Bien, pues volviste después de las 3 de la madrugada, borracho, meado y con delirios. Rompiste algunos muebles, vomitaste en el pasillo y te pusiste un ojo morado cuando te diste contra la puerta.”

Confundido, Luis pregunta:

-“Y como es que todo esta tan limpio y ordenado, y el desayuno esperándome en la mesa?”

Su hijo contesta:

– “Ahhh, eso..!! Mamá te arrastró hacia el dormitorio y cuando intentó sacarte los pantalones, tu gritaste: ¡¡¡Quieta perra, estoy casado!!!”

Conclusiones:

Una resaca autoinducida – 100 EUR

Mobiliario roto – 2000 EUR

Desayuno – 20 EUR

Decir la frase adecuada….. NO TIENE PRECIO!!!

Technorati Tags: spanish, humour

Spain Travel

Segways in Madrid?

Post author By Ben
Post date February 13, 2006

Now this is something I’d like to try!

Technorati Tags: Madrid, segway

Notes from Spain Podcast Spain Travel

Notes from Spain Podcast no. 31 – Travel Answers

Post author By Ben
Post date February 12, 2006

[Download MP3]

Thank Goodness, another Notes from Spain podcast at last! We answer questions put to us on travel and life in Spain. Here is some of the info we promised to put on the blog:

Our favourite restaurant in Madrid: Taberna Miranda on Plaza Conde de Miranda

Nice, and cheap, hotels in Spain: NH and Tryp Hotels, and in Madrid,
Hostal Barrera on Calle Atocha – 55 euros for a double, phone number: 91 527 53 81, and the Hostal Macarena.

An amazing place to visit in May is the Sierra de Aracena, and partcularly the town of Almonaster la Real (an hour west of Seville and an hour north of Huelva).

See the in-madrid.com classifieds for a place to find intercambios.

Was this podcast interesting? Please let us know in the comments below!

Technorati Tags: spain, podcast, vacations, holidays, tips

Escape artists and Travelogues Spain Books

Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia

Post author By Ben
Post date February 12, 2006

		Chris Stewart really does live the broken-down-farmhouse dream. Lost in a river valley in rural Andalusia, he renovates his home with basic local materials, sheers sheep, and bemuses the bemusing locals. This book rightly deserved the huge success it enjoyed when first published in the UK, and marked something of a resurgence in ex-pats tales from Spain. Pick up a copy at: Amazon.co.uk (Europe) Amazon.com (USA)

Fiction Spain Books

For whom the bell tolls

Post author By Ben
Post date February 9, 2006

		More classic Hemingway. Set in the pine-covered hills beyond Madrid during the civil war, the American Robert Jordan joins a group of rebels hiding out from fascist forces, and sets out to blow up a bridge in time for a big Republican attack. All the typical Hemingway elements are here, bravado, earth-moving romance, glory, death and tragedy. An incredibly evocative slice of historical fiction which is almost impossible to put down once started. Pick up a copy at: Amazon.co.uk (Europe) Amazon.com (USA)

notes

This isn’t podfade, we promise!

Post author By Ben
Post date February 8, 2006

‘Podfading‘, whereby podcasters just give up and let that poscast slide, is not what’s happening with Notes From Spain, worry not! What is happening is total stress in the lead up to my India trip next week, and work overload for Marina. So, the travel hints podcast has been re-scheduled (for the last time!) for this Sunday… Still time for any more questions you would like answered on travel in Spain – why not record an audio question to send to us?

By the way, 43 folders, where I picked up the new word in the title, is a great website for helping to keep life stress free and, for converts like me, Getting Things Done.

notes

Still time (’til Sunday) for more travel questions.

Post author By Ben
Post date February 7, 2006

We still haven’t recorded this week’s Notes from Spain podcast, so there’s still time to include questions on anything you’d like to know about travel in Spain! Just add to the comments on the previous requests post here.

Technorati Tags: spain, vacation

		Sam and Sam Clark have done it again, a beautifully presented cookbook full of mouth-watering dishes from Spain and the Mediterranean. How about Roast Lamb with honey and rosemary? Or garlic chicken with pine nuts, rains and saffron? Or just a simple, warming, chickpea or lentils dish that’s easy to follow and unbelievably satisfying? Salads, vegetables, desserts, tapas, sauces, conserves, soups, paellas…. this book has it all, is complimented by beautiful photos, and is going to see a lot of use in the kitchen. The next best thing to a meal in their famous London restaurant. Highly recommended. Pick up a copy at: Amazon.co.uk (Europe) Amazon.com (USA)