Marina and I were walking around Madrid the other day when we came across one of these, a ‘Pepe Moto‘. At last someone has had the sense to offer scooters for hire in Madrid and Barcelona. We hope to be in Barcelona in September, and I know exactly how I’ll be getting around! Driving around Madrid on one of these is not for the faint-hearted, but if you like a bit of adrenalin and a hell of a traffic-dodging challenge, this scooter owner highly recommends it!
Ben and Marina head down to the center of Madrid to check out the August fiestas and find a wild mix of music, circus and unpalatable tapas (anyone for entresijos?)
The photo above highlights the wonderfully multi-cultural nature of the barrio (enlargement).
Discuss the show on the Notes from Spain forum.
Increasingly reputable (we thought!) 20 Minutos to its readers: “Send us photos showing off your body on the beach or in the pool.”
As over 150 fires continue to spread across Galicia, the rumour mongers are having a wonderful time debating who is behind them. It is already widely accepted by the authorities that the majority of the fires are the result of deliberate arson, but who is to blame? National gossip picked up by NFS has it that there are two main potential culprits:
1. Rookie firemen who are furious at having failed exams to work in Galicia just because they didn’t speak Gallego – this was not a requirement last year.
2. A big time ex-football club chairman (whose surname rhymes with Jerez) apparently wanted to build several thousand houses in Galicia but met with fierce resistance from locals. With the land destroyed by fire it is re-classified and becomes legally viable for new construction, plus the terrorised neighbours suddenly loose the will to fight.
And there we were thinking it was just a few crazy pyromaniacs… So is their anything to these rumours? As the saying goes, where there’s smoke…
More photos of the Galicia fires on the BBC…
The Culinary Podcast Network recently hosted a ’round-table’ discussion on food from all over Spain, with Ben and Marina, Chef Mark from the ReMARKable Palate Podcast, and Ryan from Catavino. There’s a lot of good info on there for the gourmets among you!
During the first weekend of October of even years (2006, 2008 etc), Tarragona bullring holds one of the most bizarre spectacles to be found in Spain, the ‘Concurso de Castells’, the human castles competition. Every year there are serious injuries as these towers topple to the ground, the worst of which led to the death of a twelve-year-old girl earlier this month in Capgrossos de Mataró (Barcelona), when she fell from the top of a nine-story castle.
You might want to turn the sound down before hitting play…
Well all great directors have to start somewhere… here’s a bit of video to go with the podcast of Ourense Market. Interesting, or a crime against bandwidth? Let me know! (Direct Youtube Link)
All the Notes in Spanish podcasts and worksheets can now be found at their new home, Notes in Spanish.com Come and have a look!
For those of you that remember the India trip I did in February, I have a photo feature on Lonely Planet – it’s on the front page today, but if its gone by the time you see this, then there is also a direct link. Did you ever hear the podcast?
Spain’s most famous director and leading lady appear in a Guardian podcast as the film is released in the UK. (Direct mp3 link)
As Marbella points out in the foums “I just love the way Pedro reverts to castellano so he can express himself more colourfully… A wonderfully charming and amusing interview!”
And Penelope, what an accent, that lovely giggle, wow! Time to revisit Jamon Jamon!
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 