A quick note from the UK… I’m here until Monday and the trip has put a slight dent in the Spanish podcast-a-day schedule. Many apologies, but don’t worry, hopefully another podcast tomorrow and business as usual from Monday… and I still hope to make 31 in 31 days as promised.
Saludos from zero degrees celcius Oxfordshire,
Ben
Starting to learn Spanish? Check out Rolling R’s video ‘casts. Basic stuff, but useful for complete beginners.
My palabra del día today has to be ‘traducción’: I’ll be in front of the computer all day tackling some of the most boring translations known to man – insurance and commercial contracts, and building specs. Still, all from the comfort of my own home, so ‘no me puedo quejar…’ too much.
Meanwhile, check out tenuous connections, an interesting blog that has many a palabra del día and quite a few ideas on learning Spanish.
The Straights of Rand, in Galicia’s Ria de Vigo.
Ben and Marina would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Thanks to all of you who have listened to the podcasts this year, written to us with ideas and feedback, and sponsored my upcoming India trip.
There will be lots of new podcasts coming in the New Year and hopefully one, or more, from here in the Uk before we leave. We’ve got one week in England now with my lot before we head back for New Year’s Mahem in Spain (now there’s a podcast waiting to happen…) Así que Felices Fiestas pa’ todos (Marina dice que ‘pa’ es muy paleto, pero bueno, todos tenemos algo de ‘paleto‘, verdad?!)
Happy Christmas!!!
Our Frappr map has hit the 100 mark! Fantastic! One of the things Marina and I enjoy most about the podcasts is to find out where people are tuning in from. South Africa, Japan, Argentina, New Zealand, Denmark and much of Europe and the US of course. Check it out, and if you haven’t already, then please add yourself to the map – we’re especially grateful to all of you that have added a photo and/or a comment as well. Thanks!
Over in the right-hand column there is a pointer to my book Errant in Iberia. At least one person has noticed that it used to say ‘Coming soon in Audio Format’ underneath. Well, I’ve kind of taken that project off the to-do list. I tried recording a couple of chapters but just wasn’t happy with the results, so I’m afraid that it shall, for the immediate future at least, stay in that antiquated ‘book’ format, the old-school paper and ink kind. Ideal for getting to sleep at night. Or reading on the beach, so you don’t get sand in your iPod.
Speaking of to-do lists, I am revolutionizing my life (I think) with the ‘Getting Things Done’ system, GTD to me. It really seems to work – empty inbox, empty in-tray, loads of clear ideas about what needs to be done next in every aspect of life. Wow. Read all about it here. Why not give it a try?
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Many travelers find this an invaluable aid to traveling in Spain, especially when coupled with a more extensive listings guide like the Rough Guide. The appeal of this book is the incredibly wide selection of photographs, drawings and maps. Not only does it allow you to get a real feel for the country before you visit, but the street-level city plans are well detailed and an enormous help when navigating from site to site. Plus, this is a book that looks great on the coffee table once you get back! Pick up a copy at: Amazon.co.uk (Europe)  Amazon.com (USA)  |
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Great podcast here on a woman who lost her house in New Orleans flooding. Well worth a listen.
Back with the death on the roads theme… The Department of Traffic has a web page where you can look up accident black spots. Now what’s the point of that? To make you drive extra carefully in those spots? Should we all be checking where we are most likely to wipe-out before we get in the car? I thought the idea would be that once they know about them, they should do everything in their power to identify the problem and stop these stretches of road from being black spots permanently.
Then again their latest slogan is ‘No podemos conducir por ti’, we can’t drive for you, so they probably think that just telling us where to be careful is enough – we can do the rest.
Click here to see the black spots and stats for one of the busiest stretches of motorways in and out of Madrid (40 kilometres of the A6). And keep a real eye out as you approach Valencia on the A3! Scary stuff.
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 