Christmas city decorations

If you have the chance to come to Madrid during Christmas time, New Year's Eve? do it! =) if you don't: do it anyway! =) 

Decorations are alsolutely wonderful, breathtaking, stunning, gorgeous and what's more impresive =)

The whole streets covered with gleaming, colourful lightings of various shapes; stars, snowflakes, Christmas trees, baubles etc.

The view that reminds you those American Christmas movies... and you can see it with your own eyes! 

I guess Madrid is the most 'Christmas decorated' capital in Europe!!!

Calle de Goya



Calle de Velazques




Calle de Serrano



so..

Advice for those who:

- live in Madrid - but don't visit other 'barrios' apart from yourown and the very Centre - Sol -> head Salamanca, Goya Street, Serrano (Plaza de Colon)

- do the practice in another place in Spain  - I know you think to go home for Xmas, maybe you come back for New Year's Eve? - visit MADRID later anayway!!! maybe around 6th January - The Tree Wise Men. It is another spectacular feast in Spain.

- are out of Spain now - next time if you plan to travel a bit during these "holy days" :) to spend Christmas in a slightly different way or to take part in a huge Fiesta on New Year's Eve  - keep in mind Spanish capital!!!

or if you manage - visit me this winter !!!

*I go to Poland for Christmas... yeah our Polish Christmas... really special traditions... and  pasta with poppyseed!!! ( They don't know poppyseed here! ) 

but I am back here on New Year's Eve :D

so

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Feliz Navidad!

Wesołych Świąt!

express florist's

What express machines do you know?

with cafe, tee, snacks, "urgent tools" (at discos;)...  here I've written about machines with books... but there is one more type..

Girls! Imagine... you leave some fiesta, in the morning, with your boyfriend, friend, new friend :) and ...

Boys! Imagine! .... ( and do it once ;) you go back with your girlfriend, friend, new friend :) by metro, the first metro at ... :) and you see the MACHINE with bouquets of fresh FLOWERS! 

Think how she would feel to get a lovely bunch of roses at 6 a.m at the metro station..  (Principe Pio!!!)

Or any other occasion... where can you find florist's at night? :)

in Madrid you can... ;)

eco-eSpain

I observed it schortly after I came here...

(and I really don't know why I post it right now :) I guess there were more striking things than ecology :)

Spain is very ecofriendly!!!

Recycling is on a very high level, indeed. In a flat you are likely to encounter 3 bins to sort your rubbish (it's really common practice). Next to each housing buidling there are big containers: vidrio, envasos, papel - what are the first two?, yes? :) glass and (plastic) packages ;)

Moreover, these tree types of bins are in the metro!

So if you want to throw away 'something' on the metro station and you don't know the meaning of the word on the bin (colours do not help, either), pretend that you still use the empty package :) You will throw this 'cleaned' yogurt pot or plastic bottle later, when you exit the undergorund ;) 

Another thing is that in Madrid tube there are special boxes for the used-newspapers. So if you have read, browsed through a newspaper, you can put it there or simply leave it on a bench so that other commuter, traveller, tourist ? ;) could benefit from it ;) You get these local papers for free anyway.  'The used' use reasonably then.

Furthermore.. have I mentioned that the city is very clean?

they do clean the streets at night.

When you come back from fiesta (from 3-6 a.m) 'cleaner-cars' drive along the streets and the men in cat's-eye uniforms, ecquipped with fire hoses pour the water on the pavements. All the rubbish flows with the water preasure and then it is 'collected'. In the morning there is not a trace of 'fiesta-waste' (read: bottles, cartons, plastic packages, cans, tissues etc.)

btw. When I first time saw wet street/pavement (in the morning while going to the bus stop - going to the school, not coming back home! ;) I was so suprised: "has it been raining? when? It's so warm afterall... hmmm.. Ok, I might not remember" :D
"Aaa there has been this 'clean&clear' (uff ;)"

Oh, and why in the title 'eSpain'?

Spanish people tend to pronounce English words that start with two consonants sp, st like this:
"estation", "estereo", "estart", "esport" and their own "eSpain" :D (etc.)
e.g. Pablo Alborán is eSpanish estar :)

El Escorial

El Escorial  -  the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo el Escorial is a historical residence of Spanish king, placed in the small town San Lorenzo de El Escorial, 45 km northwest of Madrid.

There are many things to see for which you will need 3-4 hours - of semi-speed walk :) Some exhibitions are more interesting than others :) It depends what draws your attention; architecture, paintings, paintings, architecture :) What I love in such places is the awareness that you had seen these works in your art coursebook, in school, X years ago ;) and now you see them in reality :)

Places that will amaze you:

- Library - huge, wonderfully decorated room with tens of bookshelves with old books and manuscripts.. On the ceiling images of 7 Free Arts - which are.. ? :) (keep reading)

- Panteon Real - astonishing golden, black marbled room with number of sarcophaguses of Spanish kings. Then,  another 9! rooms - other family vaults. (looks like indoor white marble cementary) 

- Garden - bowl-shape cut bushes, romantic paths surrounded by old, disintegrated walls... make you feel like a princess (even boys :P)

Escorial minature



 Paintings of Seven free Arts:

 Philosophy, Teology, Grammar, Rheoric, Music, Arithmetic, Geometry, Dialectic and Astrology



practical hints:

Cercanias: Nuevos Ministerios:, Atocha C3 Escorial - run every hour, time: 1hour

Escorial ticket: 10 E normal, 5 E discount

When you get of from the station, there is a bus that goes up - to Monasterio (1,10E) - just folllow the crowd ;] 

After the visit, however, you can easily walk down the hill to the station.. just 20 min - I know your legs are already 'tired' - (mildly speaking;) but come on, do not pay another 1,10 back :) 

for more pictures/ info visit the page: http://www.patrimonionacional.es/Home/Palacios-Reales/Real-Sitio-de-San-Lorenzo-del-Escorial.aspx

'Half-bike'

You have some free time and you fancy doing some 'non-equipment' activity like.... jogging? Great choice! You will (probably) find some park nearby or at least some Plaza that you can jog around :) But, it's worth finding a park as there you can do an 'equipment' sport, like  c y c l i n g! Totally for free! - Have a look:

'half-bike'

In parks, near the playgrounds, there are usually benches, right? For parents, grandparents that watch their charges.. In Madrid park you can find 2 pairs od bicycle pedals next to the benches.. really owesome! Thus, I finish my marathon jogging with a short bike-ride ;) (or other way round :)

Interestingly, many eldery people practice this kind of sport; they come to the park to pedal or they just pass by and sit on the 'bike-bench' for a while.

By the way, Spanish families spend lots ot time in parks...

While visiting one of them in the afternoon/evening time you can observe the blissful family - neighbourhood life: hoards of children, (GIRLS playing FOOTBALL!) parents: mumies and dadies!!! standing in groups, talking or playing with their children.. so cute..

Toledo trip

Toledo is a town situated 70 km south of Madrid. For sure, coming to Spain you've heard about it... as it was former capital of Spain and it is the capital of Castile - la Mancha, the region of Don Quijote.

Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which means it belongs to one of the most precious historical places. It is situated on the rocky hill surrounded by the river. The fortress takes you back to the Middle Ages.. with its mighty walls of the city, stony buildings, narrow streets and arch bridges...

c.d.n.

practical hints:

How to get there from Madrid:

- Plaza Eliptica - bus station - bus: Madrid - Toledo, price: 8,80 euro (ida y vuelta)

buses go every 30 min, the last one from Toledo goes at 10.30 p.m.

- one day trip - should be enough: Go in the morning and come back in the evening.. - must see Toledo by night ;)

Souveniers

Souveniers / regalos: souvenier shops... bunch of them and we want to buy several things.. for mum, dad, sister, brother, grandma, gradpa, a friend and..for ourselves! :) - why not?! Do not forget about yourself! It's true, you have this unbelievable luck to be here! - should be enough a good present... but a tiny gadget... let it be! :)   

Since there are plenty of places with regalos and prices that will set you back I put some hints:

What, where, how much?

During my lonely long walks across the centre of Madrid I found a few places where you can buy price-friendly souveniers... (like this)

fan with a bull, keyring, bracelet - LIKE IT? :)

fans - street sellers, you can purchase them for 2 Euro

magnets: stores on Paseo de Prado: all magnets for 1 euro If your friends collect magnets and you need to buy several of them - this is a good place :)

keyrings: 1,5 - 1,9 euro - many to choose

bracelets, eyerings, keyrings: Plaza de Espana, 2 things for 5 euro, keyrings: 3 for 5 euro

postcards: Dobra souvenir shop, Calle Montera, Puerta del Sol, 4 postcards for 0,50 euro (so 8 for 1 euro) This is a great deal, especially when you need to send numberless number of them :)

Happy with the shopping ? :)

more colours, the sun, monuments

You cannot simply pass the building /fountain/ monument by...
you are staring for a few minutes... (with the open mouth ;)and then you wake up.. 
take it!
take the picture! :)

more colours

 banco de España

 Cathedral: Nuestra Señora de la Almudena

 (mon. John Paul II )

Don Quijote de la Mancha

 the sun and water...

live...

Dia de la Hispanidad 12 octubre

Today big Fiesta! The first one I could watch :) The rest is to come.. ;)

Spain has got a vast 'collection' of holidays; national and regional. 12th October is Spain's National Day and it's one of the National Holidays (really serious:). They celebrate the the arrival of Christopher Columbus (Spanish Cristobal Colon) to America. That time their ruling power begun after all :)

On that day they organize a huge parade... 1,8 km long, throught the main streets of Madrid, with lots of soldiers, of different kind (the armed forces, the air forces, the police etc.) the lines of military vehicles.... and tounsands of citizens ;) and this part I liked the most :)

The whole families came to see the parade... the young and the old... both groups decorated in some way; caps, flags, T-shirts, flags paitned on the cheeks... 

And now, an absolutely awesome cultural scene: One man from the crowd screams: " Viva España!" and the whole rest continues: "Viva!!!" "Viva España!!!"

(and now my Polish friends, imagine: Niech żyje Polska! Niech żyje! :)

My another great image of that day was that (almost)  everyone  was equipped with digital camera or phone (with the camera function of course :] - btw. they were all touchpad phones! - what a shame with the keybord nokia:P) 

Acording to this and one American novelist:
 "if there is no   f o o t a g e, it means IT doesn't exist". This is how we perceive the world today :) by our "digital eyes".
It looks so funny when you stay aside ;D Have a look - planes!

Oooh planes!

=D

Colours / Magdalenas

Colours: I've sent already a few postcards writing "best regards from beautiful, synny and green Madrid" - yes I wrote the same text to some of you :) (these were my very first impressions!).In Madrid there are many plants, trees along the streets, pavements.. so first your eyes perceive green... then sunrays... then you squint your eyes and cherish the day, the second, the third, etc. :D 

And now I might say there are lots of colours around me! :) - wonderfully saturated paints of tenements houses, huge, 6-7 floor buildings... but how lovely decorated! Just have a look!

Magdalenas:  Spanish nation seems to love Magdalenas :)))

In every pasteleria (cake shop), store with biscuits, sweets, in cafes, in hostel etc. they serve magdalenas :)))

To be honest I've heard about them in Poland, yet it was not so common to have them as a dessert or snack - cheesecake is superior after all.

Best regards for all magdalenas' eaters :)

Enjoy the snack!

your sweet magdalena ;)

Bibliometro

I've mentioned about 'book attendance' in Madrid metro.. but I've noticed one more thing at one of the stations. There is something like Bibliometro, a kind of kiosk with books. I wanted to check the rules (and language levels :) but it was closed that time (open from 1.30 p.m. - 8 p.m.). I guess anyone (?) can borrow a book.

Great thing for citizens-commuters.

(From today on, I will post passages entitled with the keyword ;)

Madrid zoo / Museo de Jamon / Come closer

Madrid zoo: An excellent place to spend the whole day with your family. J So take the kids and come to Madrid zoo J Numerous specious – including the cow and the hen (Polish people come!) J In this place, not only animal exhibitions can you watch but also the shows of seals, dolphins, parrots and eagles (a huge wild bird with its 1,5 m long wings flying over your head) accompanied by nice music… great feeling.  Another attraction is an aquarium with the diversity of fish species including the white one with black spots! – yes like a cow! But it’s a fish! ( so rare I even cannot google it;) 

Museo de Jamón: Sounds serious, no? But it’s not. They offer a list of food and drinks for a tune of 1 Euro!!! In the very centre – Plaza Mayor  (so are they serious?:) Actually it is the chain of restaurants located in the whole city. So if you want to have a caña ( 0,33l glass) de cerveza or vino in the centre of the centre and some way you want to save money,  you will pay only 1 Euro at the bar in Museo de Jamón  (sitting at the outside table costs;)

Come closer: While having a walk in the centre, just to cherish the views of amazing night lights, suddenly you realize that you can approach Palacio Real just like that… (I didn’t realize till my friend made me do so). During the day you don’t think about it, so many tourists, groups, everyone is coming closer.. you pass the gardens by, there is no fence, no gate (like to Buckingham Palace – no ofence!) and you stand in front of the door..  

Palacio Real