Spain Is My Happy Place

Wordless Wednesday #98

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:46:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #97

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #96

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:03:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #95

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Malaga - Much More Than Just An Airport

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:31:00 +0000

I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting Malaga, so it's a real treat to have guest blogger, Paul Collins, shed some light on this little Spanish gem! Thanks for the great info, Paul!

Considering the number of people who’ve visited the area over the years, the city of Malaga has never quite had the reputation it deserves. For many years, the majority of visitors who flew in for their holidays saw little more of the place than when they picked up their car hire in Malaga airport before promptly heading straight off to their hotel on the coast or on to one of the other major cities in Andalucia. Which is a huge shame, really, because Malaga is a city with so many things to offer. Here are just a few of them…

1. It’s Still Largely Undiscovered

For many years Malaga was, in the truest sense of the word, a hidden gem. All too many travellers, on getting off at Malaga bus station and seeing the dismal suburbs that stretched away from them, would get straight back on the bus again – without so much as clapping eyes on the lovely (if slightly scruffy) network of narrow old streets of the city’s old town.

In the last couple of years the city has gone through something of a renaissance. The redevelopment of the port has led to an influx of thousands of cruise ship visitors a day, while travellers generally have caught onto its charms. Despite all this, it’s still got nowhere near as many other tourists as other cities of its size in the south of Spain like Granada, Cordoba and Seville. And this, of course, means that your chances of queuing for hours only to have to traipse around one of its museum or attractions in a mass of other visitors is that much less likely.

2. It’s Got some Great Art

Malaga puts a great deal of emphasis on the fact that it was the birthplace of one Pablo Picasso. Regardless of whether or not it overplays its role in the young painter’s formative years, it’s led to one inarguable fact: whether you’re talking about the Picasso Museum (Calle San Agustin 8), the Thyssen (Calle Compañia) or the CAC (Calle Alemania), the city is now home to some fantastic art.

3. There Are some Fantastic Sights

Art aside, Malaga’s got plenty of fantastic sights to see. While it’s largely 19th century in its look and feel, with some very grand apartment buildings lining its principal streets and squares, there are some fine sights. Malaga Cathedral in particular is well worth a look around. It’s known locally as ‘La Manquita’, or the ‘One-armed’, because the bishop, so the story goes, dedicated the funds earmarked for the completion of its second tower to the American War of Independence. It’s an imposing building nevertheless, and is home to some highly decorative baroque and renaissance architectural feature inside.

As you’d expect from an Andalucian city, Malaga is crowned by an impressive Moorish fortress, the Alcazaba. If it’s not quite on a par with Granada’s Alhambra or Seville’s Alcazar, the Alcazaba (and the Gibralfaro, which stands above it on the hill) is a handsome fortress/palace complex that’s well worth a morning’s wandering. While the climb is a sapping one on baking hot summer days, the views from the ramparts at the top – out across the city, the bullring and to the sparkling Mediterranean beyond – are absolutely stunning.

4. The Nightlife is Amazing

While Malaga nightlife has always been lively, one of the upshots of its recent renaissance has been a corresponding surge in bar openings. The best place to kick off a night out in the city is in one of the chic, modern breed of tapas bars that’s sprung up in recent years like La Moraga (Calle Fresca 12) and La Cosmopolita (José Denis Belgrano 3). For something more atmospheric and traditional, try pulling up a chair at the bar in the small but perfectly formed Lo Gueño (Calle Maria Garcia) followed by a trip to Bodega el Pimpi (Calle Granada, 62) for Malaga wine and a wonderfully picturesque setting of barrels, tumbling plants and a riot of decorative tiles. Then gravitate towards the bars that fan out from Plaza de la Merced to carry on long into the night…

5. And it’s Got Beaches

There’s a reason all those visitors flock to Malaga airport, and on to the busy Costa, year after year: there are over 300 days of sunshine a year. And with sunshine and a coastal location comes, inevitably, beaches. As is generally the case with city beaches, the strips of sand that stretch away from Malaga are slightly scruffy affairs, but that’s more than compensated by the convenience factor.

The beach at La Malagueta is the closest to the city centre, but stretching away to the east, the beaches of Pedregalejo and El Palo are wider and better catered for by nearby restaurants serving fabulous seafood (top tip: make for El Tintero, Playa del Dedo, where you have to flag down one of the waiters carrying plates of fresh seafood). Really, though, whichever you go for, it’s hard to beat a culture/nightlife-infused city break mixed with a day or two stretched out in the sun.

Bio: Our guestblogger, Paul Collins, is a travel blogger writing on behalf of Espacar, a family-owned firm specialising in car hire in Malaga.

Wordless Wednesday #94

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:32:00 +0000

Why I love Osborne #375...Swag!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:11:00 +0000

To do a little take on one of my favorite Eric Carle children's book..."I open the box and what do I see...Six Osborne champagne glasses looking at me!" Sorry, but I couldn't help myself! I got these glasses for "gratis" (translation: free!!!) the last time I paid a visit to the winery...Tiff was a little miffed considering the amount of Osborne wine she purchased over her three years here! But the Osborne Gift Shop is a little like being in a Forest Gump movie moment...It's "like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get!" Wow! Two pop culture references int he first paragraph...Anyway, their gift shop is more for fun than profits. That's why it's so fun to go down there...There's always a new promotion or merchandise and if you see something you like, you better buy it because you aren't likely to see it again...When I went down with some friends in February, they were just getting ready to start a promotion on the Ayala Champagne for which they act as a distributor. They don't produce cava, but they are distributors for wine and spirits from all over the world. To promote the champagne they sell here in Spain, they were about to start some kind of promotion with these new champagne flutes to be used with Ayala Champagne. My friends and I didn't buy any bubbly, but we did purchase quite a bit of their higher end wines (high end wine starts at about 15€ here...I will miss the cheap, but good wine in Spain) and as a thank you, she gave each of us a box of 6 glasses...I use mine for cava!

I really like them, because unlike traditional champagne flutes, they don't hit you in the nose. The have a wider rim and look more like a wine glass, but they have a sharp point where the globe goes into the stem and it really showcases the bubbles in the champagne, cava or sparkling wines...and it's big enough for my new favorite night cap...a single serving bottle of Freixenet Semi Sec Cava!

Here's the wine I bought and my "thank you" gift!

I tried to get a picture of the rising bubbles, but the cava was so night and cold that it fogged up the glass, but you can see how the glass comes down to a nice point at the bottom of the stem, and as for the bubbles...you'll just have to take my word for it! Cheers, Ashleigh & Tiffani, The Drinking Girls

Wordless Wednesday #93

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #92

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:28:00 +0000

The Lady Needs A Smoke Break!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:37:00 +0000

A friend of mine from here in Madrid, Erica C., snapped the above and below pick while she was in Valencia this weekend. The famous festival called Las Fallas was in full swing and many of the Valencians were out in traditional dress. I asked her to use these pics on my blog because I just LOVE it! The juxtaposition of this woman in the Old World dress...so authentic, right down to the shoes...and there she sits, in her New World chair taking a smoke break! Classic! Here's what the outfit looks like when standing up, albeit on a different girl...

Here's what they have to say about the festival on SpainTravelGuide.com, "Definitely considered one of the most wacky and unique festivals in Spain, Las Fallas de Valencia – literally translated to mean ‘the fires’ in Valenciano – is a massive festival in Valencia, celebrated in vigour and awe every March.

This grand festival is the biggest of its kind in Valencia, and is much anticipated by the Valencianos. If you happen to be in town during the Fallas, don’t be surprised to see huge blazing fires around the city.The festival is focused on creating huge cardboard, wood, papier-mâché and plaster statues that are referred to as “fallas” or “ninots”, and then setting them on fire.

Substantial effort is put into making them look realistic; most of them depict a myriad of daily-life characters and topics such as corrupt politicians and celebrities. Las Fallas is a very labour-intensive festival, with the giant statues taking up to a year to prepare and can cost up to $60,000. A year-round effort is placed into making the festival a success."

A little about the history of the festival from SpainTravelGuide.com: "Las Fallas started out as a feast day for Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. Athought the exact origins are not clearly known, most believe that the fires evolves from the pagan rituals celebrating the arrival of spring and cultivation season. Back in those days (approximately 16th century), streetlights in Valencia were only used in the Spanish winter, when nights were bitter and cold. The wooden structures that used to contain these street lamps were ceremoniously burned on Saint Joseph’s day as the days got longer.

Through the years, it slowly evolved into a five-day, multifaceted celebration involving massive fires. Today, the festival has become much of a celebratory event. The population of Valencia, swells from just over 1 million to an estimated three million during Las Fallas celebrations. Flame-lovers and festival revelers from all around Spain flock to Valencia to be part of the festivities."

So, basically, they spend all year, making these amazing floats and then they save the best one and burn the rest to the ground! My husband has always wanted to go this festival, but after our Frankfurt New Year's Eve experience, it will have to wait until the kids go off to college! Hasta luego...

Wordless Wednesday #91

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:24:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #90

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #89

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:51:00 +0000

Cocktail Demonstration from Our Spanish Cookbook on DrinkingGirlsTV...Please Share on Facebook!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

We have created a new video series called "Shakin' It Up with the Drinking Girls" on our very own youtube channel, DrinkingGirlsTV. I was the first ginea pig to make a video. Tiff will be filming hers soon! Check it out and tell us what you think! We would love it if you could click on the facebook button at the bottom of this post and share it on your wall! Cheers, Ashleigh

Tapas, Tomatoes, Baby Jumping and Bulls: An Expats Guide to Spain’s Famous Festivals

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:30:00 +0000

We are very excited to have Guest Blogger, Isabella Woods, with us. Here's her take on some of the most interesting festivals Spain has to offer.

Spain is the home of many unique, fun, and sometimes scary festivals, known as ‘fiestas’ is Spanish. If you’re prepared to travel across the country, you could find more than one of these fiestas to enjoy every month, and it is no secret that the Spanish love to let their hair down and party. There is something for everyone within Spain’s annual calendar of festivals, whether it’s drinking and dancing, eating delicious food, listening to world famous musicians, or witnessing religious traditions. The choice is vast and what’s more most of the festivals are completely free to attend.

There is no doubt that finding a Mediterranean cruise deal and soaking up some rays is a relaxing way to spend your free time, but there is much more excitement to be had by visiting a festival in Spain. There are some truly unique events that just shouldn’t be missed by anyone living in or visiting Spain.

Seville Tapas Fair – Birthplace of Tapas

Seville is the capital city of the autonomous region of Andalusia, in southern Spain. It is famous for its tapas and recognised as the birth place of this type of cuisine, which has become popular all over Spain, and many other parts of the world. If you haven’t come across tapas before, it can be described as a variety of snacks or appetizers that are often served with drinks, but there is much more to tapas than that.

The widest variety of tapas in the world can be found in Seville all year round, but during the Seville Tapas Fair the entire city gets involved, with restaurants and bars all offering their individual specialties for locals and tourists to feast upon. Delicious types of fish, meat, vegetables, cheese, and bread will be served in an almost endless variety of ways. The dishes are small, but the idea is to order a few of them and enjoy all the different tastes, along with a nice refreshing beverage of your choice. For food lovers this festival simply should not be missed, and it begins at the beginning of February lasting right through until March every year.

La Tomantina – Tomato Fight

The annual tomato fight in Buñol, within the region of Valencia, is one of Spain’s most famous festivals, and attracts thousands of people each year. The small town of Buñol has a population of around 9,000, but on the last Wednesday of August each year, the number of people crammed into the town swells to more than 30,000.

It’s a relatively new festival, and its origins can be traced back to 1945, when a gang of men brawled in the street during a parade and began hurling tomatoes at each other. Since then the act was carried out year after year, and sometimes people were prosecuted by the authorities. But now the town council completely supports the festival, and arranges for truckloads of tomatoes to be brought in each year for this messy event.

El Colacho – Baby Jumping
Known as ‘El Colacho’ in Spain, the infamous baby jumping festival is held in the village of Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos. It has been going on since 1620, and is one Spain’s more bizarre festivals. An entertaining but scary combination of Spanish folklore and religion, this festival takes places alongside celebrations of the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi, which occurs in either May or June each year.
The tradition is that babies born within the previous twelve months of the year are laid on mattresses in the street of the village. The El Colacho, a man from the Brotherhood of Santisimo Sacramento de Minerva dressed in a yellow outfit, represents the devil. He proceeds to jump over the babies, and by doing cleanses them of all evil doings.

San Fermín – Running of the Bulls

The world famous festival of San Fermín, often referred to as the running of the bulls outside of Spain, is arguably Spain’s most dangerous and exciting festival. It takes place in Pamplona every year, beginning on the 6^th of July and lasting until the 14^th of July. Every day after the opening ceremony there is a bull running event in the morning. Bulls are released within narrow streets of the old town, and people gather to run ahead of the rampaging beasts.

Definitely not for the light hearted or out of shape, you need to be fast and brave to run from the bulls as they undoubtedly run faster than everyone in the crowd. Watching the event can be as fun as participating in it, so this festival is great for spectators too.

-Isabella Woods is 29 years old and resides in London. For the past five years, she has been working as a professional writer and researcher.

Wordless Wednesday #88

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:38:00 +0000

Staying Connected...Through Football!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:31:00 +0000

Although we live in Spain and we LOVE it, it is nice to commune with our fellow Americans, even if we have to do it across the big blue ocean. This was third Super Bowl that has taken place since we've lived in Spain, but its the first one that we've watched live. It's really tough to watch prime time sporting events that take place on the east coast of the United States when you love in Madrid because they don't even get started until midnight. The Super Bowl always takes place on a Sunday night, so that makes it even harder because the kids have to get up and go to school on Monday and they don't do it all on their own. So each year, I have begged off, until now...

I told the boys that if they got everything ready for school and ate dinner before we went to church AND went to bed right afterwards (we like to attend 7pm mass on Sunday nights), then I'd wake them up at midnight so they could watch the game live. As a military family, we watch American broadcasts on American Forces Network. According to Wikipedia, "The AFN worldwide radio and television broadcast network serves American service men and women, Department of Defense and other US government civilians and their families stationed at bases overseas, as well as U.S. Navy ships at sea. AFN broadcasts popular American radio and television programs from the major U.S. networks. It is sometimes referred to as the Armed Forces Network. AFRTS, American Forces Network and AFN are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Defense." AFN does a great job of keeping us from getting too homesick. Many of the most popular programs and sporting events are shown love or the next day. We really appreciate it too, because all the programming is donated by broadcasters.

So while the shows are the same, there is one major difference...No Commercials! Normally, this is a good thing, but when it comes to the Super Bowl, you do kind of feel like you are missing out a bit. Still, the kids really enjoyed waking up in the middle of the night and watching the game. It was a good one, for sure, and our team won! Content with our victory, we were all back in bed by 4am for three more hours of shut eye. Can't wait to do it again next year! Hasta luego...

Wordless Wednesday #87

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #86

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #85

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

My Day Alone in the City!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:30:00 +0000

I almost chickened out, I have never gone into Madrid all by myself. I've always gone into the city with one of my friends or family. It's not that I was afraid to go by myself, I just prefer to go with other people. I'm a talker, and if you walk around the city talking to yourself...without a blue tooth device...people think you're nuts. Plus, when I'm with someone else who knows their way around, I don't pay any attention to where places are in relation to one another. I'm just along for the ride, enjoying what I'm doing, but caring not at all about how we got there. I had my final visit to the orthopedic surgeon at 3pm, so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to venture into the city alone and see something new. So with my metro map in my bag, and some sites in mind, I made my way into Madrid.

I got off at the Opera stop, which is so named because it's right next to the Opera House. From there I walked down to the Royal Palace, and was hoping to have some coffee at an outside table at Cafe Orient and do a little people watching, but it was a little too early. They were only serving inside, so I decided to wait until later.

Over by the Palace, the street performers were getting ready for the daily throng of tourists.

This group of tourists must be from Russia, or at least somewhere considerably colder than Madrid in October. It wasn't freezing, but a tank top, skirt and sandals???

Especially when the Spanish student in the city for a field trip are dressed as they are below...

Leaving my coffee break for later in the day, I set out on foot for the Temple of Debod. It's an old Egyptian temple in the heart of the city. I've always wanted to go see it, but it isn't that close to anything else we normally do when we go into the city, so this was my chance.

I love the architecture in Madrid. It truly is a grand old city. And anywhere that has palm tree lined streets is all right with me.

You can't see the temple from street level because it's up on top of the hill. So up the stairs I go. I don't know what the significance is of the sculpture on the wall.

When I get to the top of the stairs, I see a group of people being led through an exercise routine. They are being led by trainers (see the young guy in the red and white track suit) who are employees of the Communidad de Madrid. You will see these groups in parks all over the city. I saw one over by the Palace on my way back. I love it! What a great idea. I don't know for certain, but it looks like anyone can join...but I am a foreigner here and could be totally wrong! Hahaha...So after snapping a few pics, I was off to the temple.

The Temple of Debod was originally built in the 2nd Century BC in southern Egypt and dedicated to the Goddess Isis. In the 1960's, this temple and three others were threatened by the building of a dam. UNESCO put out an international call to try to save this rich history.

From the guidebook, Frommer's Egypt, it is written that "In an act of gratitude for their support during the UNESCO-led Save the Monuments of Nubia campaign the Egyptian government gifted four small temples to other countries' goverments. Temple of Debod now tops the [Parque del Oeste] in Madrid, Spain, while the Temple of Taffeh is now on disply in Rijks Museum in Leiden, Holland. the Temple of Lessya is exhibited in the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy, and, finally, the Temple of Dandour is now a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art." It was rebuilt and open to the public in 1972.

I love this shot because it shows you how this ancient Egyptian temple has been rebuilt right in the middle of the city! I'm so glad I finally got to see it in person.

Once I toured the inside of the temple, I came back out and watched these old men talking and playing fetch with their dogs. So cute!

This is the view from the back side of the temple.

More pics from my walk back to the Palace...

It's very hard to take good pictures of yourself in front of what you are seeing...

More people exercising...I know it looks like the guy in a track suit, but it is not, I assure you!

Here are some people taking a break on what looks to be the base of a statue, but...no statue is there, so i don't know what the purpose of it is, unless it is a modern park bench...

Finally time for breakfast...I have been wanting to go to Cinco Jotas, the restaurant owned by Osborne, whose winery we visit in Malpica de Tajo. Below is their menu for tapas, but I was here for breakfast...

A little people watching while I wait for my delicious breakfast of pan y tomate, cafe con leche and orange juice. I will definitely miss the orange juice in Spain. It is the BEST juice i've ever tasted in my life!

More street performers getting ready for the day. These are over near the Plaza Mayor.

After breakfast I walked down to the Caxia Forum, a museum in Madrid with rotating exhibits of all kinds from classic to modern. One of it's best known features is the living wall on the outside of the Caixa.

On this particular day, there were two temporary exhibits, one was of the work of French painter, Eugene Delacroix...

...And the other of the artifacts from Teotihuacan, City of the Gods and Aztec culture in Mexico. they don't allow photographs in the museum which is nice, sometimes, because then you just get to enjoy the art...

After a walk through the museum, it was time to head over in the direction of my doctor's office, and get some lunch at one of my favorite little pasteleria, Mallorca. A glass of cava and bufala mozzarella, tomato and basil croissant hit the spot! And I was even able to snag a window seat...After that, I was off to my doctor's appointment, then back on the metro and home in time for the kids to get off the bus...It was a great day in Madrid! Hasta luego...

Guest Blogger's Top Ten Tips for Moving to Spain

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:28:00 +0000

1) British families who move to Spain with school-age or pre-school children should register at their town hall, who will advise about schools.

2) Spanish families place high priority on giving their children a good education; consequently places at private schools are filled well in advance, and there are waiting lists.

3) Upon successfully completion of four years of secondary education they are awarded their ESO (certificate of secondary education, Educación Secundaria Obligatoria). This may take more than four years since failure to make satisfactory progress can mean repeating the year.

4) Some fiestas are location-specific, based on a local legend or a real historical event. A good example of this is San Sebastian, in the Basque country, which holds a festival each January to celebrate their liberation from French rule by Lord Wellington in 1812.

5) Many aspects of the Spanish lifestyle are extremely easy to get used to: the sunshine, the wine and the sangria, the paella, the tortilla and the tapas, and the uplifting rhythms of the bossa nova and the flamenco as the sun goes down and nightlife begins.

6) Spectacular fireworks are a popular feature at fiestas, and probably the most spectacular of all are the ones that light up the skies at the Summer Solstice, when bonfires are lit to celebrate the longest day. This tradition is especially strong in the south of Spain.

7) The Spanish healthcare system works well, and it is often even possible to find English speaking medical staff. However, before moving to Spain you need to be sure that the costs of future medical treatment will be covered.

8) Spanish healthcare is not free, but individuals who are covered by the State system pay only a small contribution towards the cost, depending on their personal circumstances.

9) For those looking to embrace a traditional Spanish lifestyle, inland Spain has plenty of attractive villages where life is not seasonal, property prices are lower, and you will be able to join in local community life.

10) A common pattern is for people to move from the UK initially to their Spanish holiday home, and to relocate to a different part of Spain a few years later after exploring the country in greater depth. There is probably a richer variation in regional cultures in Spain than in any other European country. Each region has its own history and its own traditions, and regions such as Galicia, the Basque country and Catalunya still retain their own languages alongside Spanish.

Bio: Our guestblogger, Armishaws, are one of the leading removals firms in the UK. They regularly move to Europe, including Spain.

Wordless Wednesday #84

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday #83

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Feliz Año Nuevo a Mis Amigos Españoles!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashleigh) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:45:00 +0000

I'm sure all my Spanish friends have these party supplies on hand for tonight's New Year's celebration! Cava and twelve grapes to ring in the new year..a grape for each of the 12 dongs of the clock at midnight. from experience, I can say it's hard to eat twelve grapes that quickly! I'll be drinking champagne and eating Chinese food with family tonight! Happy New Year to all! Wishing you all peace and happiness in 2012!