Ok I had big plans for this post, but they have melted away because I am going to cover for a sick colleague today and I leave for the weekend early tomorrow. So I will make this short and sweet. :)
I had written yesterday that I had not been in the US for a year, and the more astute of you might have realized that that meant that today was my Spain-adversary. (Almost every flight that I have taken to Europe gets me there the next day, due to the time change and the duration of the flight.)
So here it goes. Here is the first picture I took in Spain, I took it on May 25th 2011. I was staying near by. In this view you can see the Plaza Castilla, and the "gates to Europe".
And here following in a long line of American tradition, a top ten list.
The top 10 things I love about Spain / Madrid (in no particular order):
1.The marvelous blue skies / weather. There is so much sun here, and I love it!
2. The roses. They bloom for a good part of the year and decorate the city with their beauty and their sweet sent.
3. People watching. The fashionable, the not so fashionable. The old people that are dressed up to go for a stroll looking so dapper. It took me a long time to get used to it, but it is OK to stare openly in Spain, and it does make it easier to people watch. ;)
4. Regular people on TV. You can look like a regular person and be a TV star here, you do not have to be a modal. for example, if your teeth aren't perfect, no one seems to care.
5. The laid back attitude. There is less stress here than in the US, and I mean in general in people's attitudes. Things just aren't such a big deal. This will be good for me, once I get used to it.
6. The history as far as the gardens and buildings. I love Europe for that. I love the old regal-ness of it.
7. The ability to walk to a lot of places. I miss my car, but I love the fact that I don't feel the need to use a car.
8. Fresh local food. A lot of the food I can get is grown with in the country, which would satisfy most loca-vores in the US. Plus I can eat Bananas grown in Spain (in the Canaries).
9. Cheap, good wine. You buy wine in Spain for less then you pay for gas. But good wine can be as little as €3-5.
10. The strong sense of tradition in the different providences. I have seen many celebrations of the many different types of Spaniards. I love that the history is being passed down the generations.
I understand exactly what you mean. One of the things I loved so about British TV was the warts and all approach. Makes everyone who watches feel comfortable that they too are OK! Also the history--just everywhere you turn. And the slower pace and the walking--although that is hard when you have to haul the groceries, etc on the bus and up many steps, etc. :D And oh those steps...it isn't easy to creat equal access in 100 yr old or more buildings. Especially if the entire town is on a hillside. :D Enjoy the weather....having lots of sun is so great and not something the British can brag about. :D
ReplyDelete--elizaduckie