The following is a guest post from Martin of the S&M Motel. Thank-you Martin! This is Martin’s second guest post on DreamBigLiveBoldly.com. If you’d like to be a guest contributor, please contact me. ——————– There’s a niche in the corner of King Charles’ palace in Alhambra, Spain, where you can Continue Reading
Europe
El Gato Con Botas
We arrived in Madrid in mid-afternoon and booked into the only open campsite near the city. Although it was later in the day, it was only a short walk and metro ride to the center of the city. We arrived at the Plaza del Callao station after dark and ascended Continue Reading
Flamenco
Flamenco and bull-fighting are perhaps the two biggest symbols of Spain, the things that come to mind when people think of this country. We knew that we wanted to experience flamenco, as most tourists do, and saved this event until the city of Seville in the south of Spain, the Continue Reading
Impressions of Spain
The central part of the Iberian Peninsula, where Spain is situated, is a large, open, wind-swept plain dotted with small hills. It looks like Nevada in the old Westerns. Between the major cities like Madrid, located in the center of the country, there is a lot of open space between Continue Reading
Sobrino De Botin
Sobrino De Botin was established in 1725 making it the oldest restaurant in Madrid. Indeed, it is listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest, continuously operating eatery in the world. It is said that the famous Spanish artist Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) worked there while trying Continue Reading
Le Marseillaise
Le Marseillaise is the national anthem of France. It was named after the city of Marseille, which sits on the southern coast of France on the Mediterranean, and which has never been the capital city. I wondered how this came about. Le Marseillaise was written and composed by Claude Joseph Continue Reading
The Spanish Schedule
On the whole, Spanish people wake later than North Americans. They don’t eat a big breakfast, perhaps coffee and some toast, before beginning their work day around 9 AM. Later in the morning, around 11 AM, they take a break and have a snack, often accompanied by some wine. They Continue Reading
Andorra
Leaving France on our way to Spain we decided to visit the Principality of Andorra on the way. It’s a tiny, land-locked, mountainous ‘country’ surrounded by Spain except for its northern border with France. We set out from Limoux, France after a night of enjoying Blanquette and then sleeping in Continue Reading
The Trim
Diane and I stopped for the afternoon in the quaint French town of L’Isle sur la Sorgue, located on a small island in the Sorgue River in the Provence region of southern France. L’Isle sur la Sorgue is known for its antiques, markets, and working water wheels. In this town Continue Reading
Impressions of France
The stereotype of French people as snobbish hasn’t been our experience. Most are nice to us. French people kiss when they greet and say goodbye. Usually an alternating kiss on both cheeks, with an optional third kiss on the initial cheek. Both men and women do this, with members of Continue Reading