Feb 7th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Honestly, have you ever seen olives look so appetizing? This epicurean Photo of the Day was snapped at the Mercado San Miguel in Madrid, a traditional Beaux-Arts food market recently restored and reopened in 2009. Flickr user LadyExpat used a Nikon D90 to capture the details in the delicacies: the vibrant colors, the fillings contained in the olives, the reflection of light in the juice. ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
madrid posts
Photo of the Day: Olives, olives, and more olives
Feb 7th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Honestly, have you ever seen olives look so appetizing? This epicurean Photo of the Day was snapped at the Mercado San Miguel in Madrid, a traditional Beaux-Arts food market recently restored and reopened in 2009. Flickr user LadyExpat used a Nikon D90 to capture the details in the delicacies: the vibrant colors, the fillings contained in the olives, the reflection of light in the juice. ...Hikes near Madrid: a new guidebook shows you the way (in English!)
Sep 30th, 2011 at 1:00PM: Every year, thousands of English speakers visit Madrid on holiday or to teach English. Most never explore the many hikes near Madrid, and that's a shame. The Sierra de Guadarrama offers some challenging and varied routes, and the lowland areas of the Comunidad de Madrid offer pleasant rambles. One of the best spots is La Pedriza, which can be a tough slog and easy to get lost in.
One of the ...Naval Museum in Madrid: an overlooked treasure
Sep 12th, 2011 at 12:00PM: After six years of living in Madrid, I've finally made it to the Naval Museum.
It's overlooked by most tourists. In fact, it's overlooked by a lot of madrileños. I've met some locals who didn't even know it exists. Perhaps being so far away from the sea they don't expect there to be a major naval museum downtown. It also doesn't help that it's tucked behind a modest facade that's easy to ...Video of the Day - Paragliding over Spain
Aug 30th, 2011 at 5:00PM:
Want to film a catchy music video without a massive budget? Consider grabbing some of your most adventurous friends, getting them to do some outrageous outdoor activity, and then hire a talented editor to overlay some snazzy effects & motion graphics.
Madrid-based editor Jorgiatos recently posted this music video that was shot in and around Castejón De Sos, a town near the ...
Treasures of Teotihuacan go on display
Jul 28th, 2011 at 10:30AM:
Teotihuacan is the New World's most impressive city. Founded in the second century BC, it was a center of civilization for 800 years. Its Pyramid of the Sun has a greater volume than even the Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt. Teotihuacan is located in modern Mexico just outside Mexico City. In a country filled with amazing ancient ruins, it's one of the best.
An exhibit at Caixa Forum, one of ...Top ten tapas and free eats in Madrid
Jul 24th, 2011 at 2:00PM: In Spain, the "tapa" is the traditional free snack that often accompanies a drink in a bar. There is something unusually delicious about free food, especially when presented alongside a glass of red wine or an ice-cold "caña" (small glass of beer). "Tapas" are sensible – no drinking on an empty stomach. They also serve to whet the taste buds before a meal. Some even call tapas an ...Drugs and travel don't mix (in most places)
Jul 24th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
Flying out of Madrid's Barajas airport last week I spotted this curious poster. Sorry for the crappy photo, but there was a light right in front of it. The poster asks, "Do you seriously believe that being around drugs overseas would be fun?"
The message is one to think about. Most recreational drugs are illegal in most places, and going to jail isn't fun anywhere, yet I have to wonder about ...Madrid day trip: Romanesque churches and a Gothic cathedral in Segovia
Jul 20th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Segovia is an easy day trip from Madrid and has plenty of medieval and Renaissance buildings to capture the imagination. Yesterday I talked about the Alcázar, the city's castle, and today I'm looking at Segovia's many churches.
Most of the churches are Romanesque in style, like Iglesia de la Veracruz, which was actually built outside the city walls in 1208. The signage says this church ...Madrid day trip: the Alcázar castle in Segovia
Jul 19th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
As I mentioned yesterday, Segovia makes a great day trip from Madrid. One of the highlights of any visit is the Alcázar, or castle. Rising from the highest point on the promontory on which Segovia is built, it dominates the town and looks impossible to attack. The architects cut away part of the bedrock to make a dry moat cutting off the castle from the rest of the town, so to get in you ...Madrid day trip: Segovia
Jul 18th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Madrid offers a wide range of interesting day trips, from a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker to challenging hikes. My personal favorite is the ancient town of Segovia just on the other side of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. With a beautiful cathedral and castle, one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts anywhere, winding medieval streets, and delicious cuisine, it's a great ...Five overlooked art museums in Madrid
Jun 30th, 2011 at 9:30AM: Madrid is famous for its art. The Spanish capital boasts a "Golden Triangle" of world-class museums: the Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. While these are all worth a visit, Madrid has dozens of other art museums that are generally overlooked by the casual visitor. Here are five local favorites.
Museo Sorolla
The house of one of Spain's most famous painters from the turn of ...Watching bullfights with my five-year-old
Jun 9th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
One of the facts an immigrant has to accept is that your children aren't going to grow up in the same culture you did.
When I want to give my five-year-old son a treat, I take him to dinner at El Brillante here in Madrid. You can't get more traditional than El Brillante--an old-school cafeteria/bar that hasn't had a remodel since forever, with hefty waiters who scream your order back to the ...Images of Paris in La Belle Époque
Jun 7th, 2011 at 9:00AM: Paris has always captured the imagination with its architectural beauty and interesting inhabitants. La Belle Époque from the late 19th century to the start of World War One is considered a high point of Parisian life, and this life was captured by an eccentric photographer named Eugène Atget.
Atget started taking photographs of Paris in the 1890s. Working in the early hours of ...Hiking in a natural park near Madrid
Jun 6th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
While Green Spain, the rainy north of the country, is Spain's popular place for hiking, there are lots of good hikes near the capital Madrid. The Comunidad de Madrid encompasses not only the city, but also several large parks, rivers, and mountains crisscrossed by numerous trails.
Yesterday I headed to one of the most beautiful spots in the region, El Parque Natural de Peñalara, an ...The beauty of Spain
Apr 10th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
Spain is a traveler's paradise. Modern pilgrims traverse the Camino de Santiago by foot in the north. In the west, kite boarders and wind surfers harness gusts of the Atlantic off of golden beaches. The east is home to the cosmopolitan Mediterranean ports of Barcelona and Alicante. The South holds the Alhambra, one of the finest fortifications in Europe. In every direction, character and ...
Madrid daytrip: a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker
Feb 18th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Madrid has a lot to offer--tasty tapas, wonderful wine, and amazing art. There's so much to do in the center of town it's easy to spend your entire vacation there without ever seeing the outskirts. Yet several daytrips offer a different look at Spain.
One possibility just opened up last year. Near the Metro stop Alameda de Osuna on the outskirts of town, the city government has recently ...Woman calls in fake bomb threat to keep boyfriend from leaving
Feb 14th, 2011 at 11:15PM: In a time when everyone's on heightened alert against terrorist attacks, a woman in Chile called in a fake bomb threat to keep her boyfriend from flying off to a new job. MSNBC has reported that Grace Guajardo phoned in the threat to keep Rodrigo Gomez from departing on his Iberia flight bound for Madrid.
The couple, who've been in a relationship for over eight years and have three children ...Three art fairs in Madrid this month
Feb 10th, 2011 at 2:00PM: Madrid has always been a favorite destination for art lovers, and in February you have three more reasons to go. Later this month the Spanish capital will host three contemporary art fairs.
Art Madrid is the biggest, with 45,000 visitors last year. Now in its sixth year, Art Madrid is hosting 89 exhibition spaces that will showcase the collections of 60 art galleries from across Spain and ...It's still Christmas in Spain!
Jan 6th, 2011 at 10:30AM: Well, Epiphany actually, but in Spain this is when we give presents. Christmas in Spain is a time for big meals and family fun, as well as church services for those who are so inclined. Santa passes Spain by to deal with the Anglo and Germanic countries, and Japan from what I hear. Spanish children wait for Los Reyes, the Three Kings, who come on their camels bearing gifts for good little boys and ...Smoking ban takes effect in Spain today
Jan 2nd, 2011 at 9:00AM: Starting today in Spain, it is illegal to smoke in any enclosed space where the public gathers. This includes bars, cafes, and restaurants. It will also be illegal to smoke in school playgrounds and near hospitals. Smoking will even be banned from TV shows.
Spain joins a host of countries that have recently toughened up anti-smoking laws, including Finland, Egypt, and Syria. Countries with ...
