| Tips and photos for Spain vacations and tourism, posted by real travelers and Spain locals. Map |
 | Spain General Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 798 |  |
 A semi-clean floor by SirRichard
Those bars get so crowded at the counter that is difficult to find a place to throw the rests of your tapas. There is virtually no place ON the counter to put trascans and the ashtries are too small, so we just throw them below.
BUT the waiter will clean the place as often as possible, allowing more rests to be thrown, LOL Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Spain?
Read reviews about Spain Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 "La Dolores" in Madrid by SirRichard
The habit here is to go bar hopping, jumping from one bar to the other. Each of the friends pays the whole thing in 1 bar, so the bigger the group the longer the "bar tour", LOL Leave a Comment
|
 Semana Santa in Castilla by SirRichard
The processions are formed by some "penitentes" (those with the "KuKluxKlan"-like gowns), musical groups (playing drums and trompets) and the "pasos", figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary... that go on wooden structures carried by hand by people that go inside the structure (they are really heavy).
They usually go out in the evening and at night, there are several everyday, you will find info in the newspapers or info agencies in each town... or just follow the crowds!! Some streets are cut for the processions to pass.
Thursday and friday of that week (normally in April) are holidays, though most of the people (each time less people, anyway) take the whole week free and go out on holidays. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
 A "Torero" LOL by SirRichard
Where to see it?
The best place to see it is the arena of Sevilla (in Andalucia, south Spain), called "La Maestranza". The south is where most of the "toreros" come from.
Another good place is Madrid, with its arena called "Las Ventas" (http://www.las-ventas.com/). This web is interesting, but is in spanish.
When to see it?
The corridas take place (in main cities) every sunday (from march to october) and in certain festivities. In some cities there are special weeks of corridas (San Isidro, may, in Madrid; La Feria, april, in Sevilla, Semana Grande, august, in Bilbao...).
Prices
The prices go from 2 euros (at the very top under the sun) to 100 (first row on the shade). Why different prices for sun and shade? Because all the corridas start at 5pm, and the sun is high normally at that time...
Where to buy the tickets? The best way is in the Plaza, the previous days (friday normally) or in certain "agencies", but there is more expensive.
How does it go?
There are normally 6 bulls, played by 6 different toreros (though some may play several, depends). Each bull has to be "played" and then killed with a sword and the corrida ends when the 6 bulls are killed.
It might be a disgusting show for some animal lovers and sensible souls, but beside the bull itself, there are many colourful and ethnically interesting aspects that make a bullfight an interesting experience while in Spain... Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Photos:
1. Orient Square and Royal Palace in Madrid
2. Typical street and small park in Madrid
3. Sandy and Dee on our way to Royal Palace
4. Allan and Sandy in Madrid
5. Post Card of Museo del Prado [Prado Museum]
Even though most capital cities lie beside a harbor or river (or at least stand on a giant hilltop), this cannot be said about Madrid. Instead, this huge capital city is rather flat and is far from the ocean, and its main river [the Manzanares] is quite narrow. It is important because of its location in the middle of Spain, providing a much-needed common ground for a nation of diverse ethnic groups.
Madrid is Spain's largest city and has two patron saints, San Isidro and the Virgin of Almudena. These saints are thought to be Madrid's special protectors.
The Virgin of Almudena has an interesting past. According to legend, a statue of the Virgin of Almudena was hidden in the wall of Madrid's castle during the 9th Century. 200 years later, a young woman, Maria the Blessed promised God that she would lay down her life if the imprisoned statue could be rescued. The wall collapsed with a thundering roar to reveal the statue. Of course, Maria the Blessed perished. That is why this saint is a favorite among Madrid's teenage girls!
San Isidro supposedly performed several miracles. He could heal the sick or make water gush from solid rock. San Isidro's feast day, May 15, begins a 3-week festival in Madrid. It's the festival that produces processions, music, dancing, and food, and everyone in Madrid is invited to attend. People pour into the capital from all over Spain for this special day.
During the San Isidro Festival, Madrilenos enjoy a series of lively operettas known as zarzuelas. These operettas are thin on plot but rich on singing and dancing. They usually praise life in Madrid.
In Madrid, music is an important part of life. Madrid's popular music is flavored with ingredients from Gypsy dances, Jewish holiday songs, and Arab love chants. However, the young people in Madrid prefer rock music.
People always ask me if I like Madrid or Barcelona better. I like them both; however, there is something solid, and magical about Madrid. Madrilenos have a saying, "From Madrid to Heaven, and in Heaven a little window from which to look at Madrid." I think they mean that Paradise would be flawed if they could not gaze upon their much-loved city. After visiting the city, I fully understand their saying. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Visiting Spain?
Read reviews about Spain Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 Dee on Patio of Hosteria Mont
Sant in Xativa by deecat, 4 more photos
1. Dee outside Hosteria Mont Sant Hotel
2. Le Seu de Xativa church in Xativa
3. A wedding we observed in the church in Xativa
4. View of Castillo de Xativa
5. Sandy and Allan looking up at Castillo de Xativa
When planning our trip to Spain, I just happened to read in one of my books a short "blurb" about an out-of-the-way place called Xativa. Later, I saw a lovely hotel located in that town. I did more research, talked to Allan about going out of our way, and made the decision "to go for it"!
We visited the old castle [Castillo de Xativa]that had, at one time, 30 towers. It was fun as was a visit to the oldest church in Xativa [Chapel of Felix]. We also saw a beautiful wedding at the church called La Seu de Xativa.
I sure am glad that I just happened to find this scarce information because Xativa was such a delight, and our hotel Hosteria Mont Sant was incredible.
Besides being in a great location, our hotel had one of the finest restaurants, and incredible grounds surrounding it. The whole time there, it was like being in a dream...perfect weather, perfect hotel, perfect food, and, most of all, perfect partner, my husband Allan.
The morning that we were preparing to leave Hosteria Mont Sant, I was sitting on the patio out front enjoying the warm sunshine, and the owner came up to me and handed me a bag of Valencia oranges that he had just picked off one of the trees in their private orchard (I told you the surroundings were incredible!)
I was so surprised that I just didn't know what to say. Allan saved me by thanking the gentleman and then taking a photo of me so we would remember his kind gesture.
Those oranges came in handy many times. We would stop and have a snack between locations.
Each time we shared an orange, we remembered our lovely time in Xativa, Spain. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Spain is one of the most ancient countries in Europe, & if you study the history of Spain, you'll discover that it has experienced the extremes. During its glory days [Catholic kings], it was a powerful force; however, during its dark days [General Francisco Franco] Spain fell into obscurity.
There are several distinct ethnic groups in Spain:
The Catalans live in Catalonia and have enormous cultural pride. They speak the Catalan language & all students have to know the two languages, Catalan and Castilian. This is a prosperous, urbanized, and industrialized region. The Catalans are known for their business skills and their thrift.
Gypsies are a small ethnic group in Spain with their origins unknown. They are divided into two groups:
Gitanos live in southern & central Spain. They are usually street entertainers.
The second group is the bungaros [OONG-gah-ros] live a more nomadic lifestyle, are poorer than the gitanos.
The Basques live in the remote region of Spain that includes the provinces of Alava, Vizcaya, and Guipuzcoa. They have a very difficult, mysterious language called Euzkera and are fiercely independent people. Their spirit of defiance is well known in Spain. The Basque region is one of the most prosperous in Spain. Its industries include metal, shipbuilding, and steel..
The Galicians live in the northwest corner of Spain. This region is sparsely populated and is quite rural. There are no industries. They speak Castilian and Galician. About 1 million people have migrated out of Galicia to urban centers.
Galicians by tradition and trade are fishermen and poor.
Even though Spain has very varied ethnic groups with different lifestyles, there still exists a distinct, national personality that links these various groups and cultures of Spain...they are vivacious, enjoy celebrations and parties; they are passionate about the arts, their religion, and their families. Yet, they also enjoy the small pleasures of life such as food, flowers, friends, & siesta. Regardless of ethnic origin, these are what make all these various people true Spaniards. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
My husband Allan fantasizes about sitting by a babbling brook or a small stream just absorbing the moment....that often happened to him, to us, quite often during our month plus time in Spain.
Since we leased a car, we did a good deal of traveling. The distances between places were not far; however, we often were side tracked by the beauty of the marvelous countryside, especially if a brook, stream, or river appeared.
The photograph that Allan took of me beside the stream was one such occasion.
We had left Xativa about an hour ago and were anxious to taste the delicious Valencia Oranges that the owner have given us.
Suddenly, along the side of the roadway, Allan spotted a grove of trees and a delightful stream. He almost came to a complete stop in the middle of the road (thank goodness there was no traffic).
He examined the situation, pulled the car off the road, opened the trunk, took out an orange and a knife.
Thus began one of our most pleasant memories of Spain....Allan's stream fantasy was about to happen...
He peeled that juicey Orange, gave me half of it as we strolled "stickey hand-in-stickey-hand.".
We sat by that hypnotic stream and enjoyed our treat with the juices running down our faces. It was a marvelous moment, an unimportant moment in the scheme of the world, but a moment that was forever emblazoned on our private memories. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 Paella from Recipe by deecat
From a woman that we met, I was able to obtain this recipe: Hope you enjoy it.
Paella
This recipe serves 6 to 8 people:
Needed:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 pound pork sausage, cubed
1 pound of boneless pork, cubed
1 finely chopped large onion
1 green pepper, thin strips [I prefer red peppers]
1/4 pound sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon saffron powder
1 pinch oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
3 cups long grain rice
8 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound peeled raw prawns or shrimp
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 medium tomatoes, peeled & cubed
12 clams in the shell
Heat some oil in a pan. Fry chicken, sausage, & pork one after another until lightly golden brown; then set aside.
Add more oil to the pan & fry onion, pepper, and mushrooms. Then slowly mix in garlic, saffron, oregano, salt & pepper, and rice; stir for 5 minutes.
Add the cooked meat, pour in the stock, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan with aluminum soil and bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes.
Add prawns [or shrimp], peas, and tomatoes, and arrange the clams on the top.
Bake for ten [10] minutes, until the clams open and almost all the stock is absorbed.
Now it's time to enjoy. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
 Spanish Child by deecat
The photograph on this page was taken in a small town in the southern part of Spain. We were "window shopping", and a young couple walked by pushing this darling little girl in her stroller. I asked if I could take a photograph, and the father nodded in agreement. [Boy, am I glad that he agreed].
As you can tell from this picture, the Spanish children are bright-eyed and cooperative. She was more reserved than most of the other children that we met.
Not all of the Spanish children had dark hair [as I had incorrectly assumed]. We saw some fair-haired children also.
The adoration of children in Spain reminded me of the attitude toward children in Italy. Even though the children are revered, they did not appear to be spoiled or ill behaved. It was a joy to be around them. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
|
|
