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Weekend in Vigo

April 30th, 2010 | Posted by sawidner in Lifestyle | Stephanie | Traveling outside Madrid - (1 Comments)

After living in Madrid for five months, it was time to take a break from the city and hit the open road.  My husband and I  picked up our rental car from the Barajas airport with relative ease, then headed off for the five hour drive to Vigo.

Vigo is port city located on a large deep bay so the town’s living is made from the sea, and brackish water from the nearby rivers.   Normally off the typical tourist’s radar (especially in March), which is why we wanted to go there and to try their famous mariscos or shellfish.  That night we ate at the famous El Mosquito.  Its a family owned restaurant that has served a good number of Spanish celebrities and royalty. (witnessed by the pictures on the wall)  We started with some of the largest mussels I had ever seen, which had been sauted in olive oil, and garlic with a tough of saffron and vinegar.  Then we switched to the famous navajas or razor clams, which were tender with a sweet taste and cooked only in butter.  We ended the meal with a their almond cake which is traditional in the region, and washed it down with a glass of port.  This and our meal in Segovia, are still our favorite meals here in Spain, and may be overall.

The next morning, the town reminded me of San Francisco, as the fog rolled in over the bay and the bridge.  It was fun to sit and watch all the colorful tug boats and fishing boats maneuver in and out of the harbor from the window of our hotel room.  We walked up the hill past their fish market, El Berbes, where you can buy fresh oysters on the half shell, and on up to one of the highest points of the city.  Here there is a park, Parque del Castro, where you can see stunning views of the city, bay, and the Islas Cies.  Unfortunately the ferries were not running in the off season out to the two Islas Cies (only July to September), which is all the more reason to return to this bay city in the summer.

  • Hotel-Sercotel Bahia de Vigo Canovas del Castillo, 24 Vigo 34 98 622 6700 large updated rooms right on the water in the historic old town for a good price
  • El Mosquito, Plaza de Pedra,4 Vigo excellent shellfish and regional wine selection

Cheap Airlines out of Madrid

April 28th, 2010 | Posted by jodiehop in Courtney | Transit and Transport | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

While Madrid is a fantastic city to live in with more than plenty to see and do, its still nice to jet off now and then…for next to nothing. I tell you, as an American, it gets addicting…this whole easy Europe travel thing.  I come from a gigantic country, a gigantic state even, with limited train options and definitely no airlines offering no-frills flights for cheap.  So I find that it is harder to actually stay in Madrid sometimes than it is to leave it.

First things first…I am very happy to announce that all flights for Madrid – cheap and otherwise – come in and out of Barajas Airport. This is a huge relief after flying to places like Brussels with cheap airlines and finding myself still a 1hr+ out of the city.  So Barajas is it.  You can get there by the very economical metro/bus or roughly a €30 taxi ride should your flight depart before the metros open at 6am.

So how can an airline offer rates as low as €1 (before taxes)?  Well when I say no frills…I mean it.  The planes, they’re fine, clean, modern…it’s just outside of a seat, you get nothing else.  If you opt to check your luggage it will cost you – approx. €30.  If you’re thirsty it will cost you – approx €2.50 for a tini tiny can of coke. If you’re hungry…well you get the picture.  You are able to bring on one piece of carry-on luggage (and I mean ONE – this includes cameras, purses…everything) and the luggage can not exceed 10kg (roughty 22 lbs).  But don’t fret, this is Europe and very seldom does a flight take longer than 2 hours.  You can do it!

Here is a listing of airlines that depart from Madrid on the cheap.

Skyscanner – Great way to avoid going to each individual site.  Most scanning sights like Sidestep and Expedia don’t typically cover the cheap airlines, but this one does.

Vueling – Spanish airline.  Its a play on Spanglish and as a marketer…I struggle with their campaigns.  But I digress, I hear its pretty decent airline (favored over Iberia) but haven’t yet flown with them.

Easy Jet – I try to take Easy Jet as much as possible.  I feel they run more efficiently and are cleaner.  They have a good selection of destinations from Madrid.

Ryan Air – I take Ryan Air a lot as well.  Not my favorite but sometimes they have the best rates.  When you get to the airport you have to go to the Ryan Air desk (NOT the luggage check in desk.  This is closer to the front of security) and have your passport/EU ID checked and your printed boarding pass stamped before going through security.

Wizz Air - This is an Eastern European airline that I take to go to Prague (about €50 round trip).  I’ve had no trouble with them but note that they don’t fly every day.  Great for major Easterm Europe cities.

German Wings – They have a good selection of flights from Madrid.  Obviously it would be best to use them on trips to Germany.

SmartWings – An airline just for Prague from Madrid but they claim to be opening up more routes soon.

Enjoy the friendly skies!

,

Casas Rurales

April 26th, 2010 | Posted by jodiehop in Jodie | Traveling outside Madrid - (1 Comments)

Many of the people we know are living in Madrid as MBA students and have to watch their spending a bit. As you may have seen from our posts we like to go away a lot. Some people reading this will only be in Spain for a short time and will want to make the most of travelling around the country – which we highly recommend!

When you are booking trips, consider staying in Casas Rurales instead of hotels. Casas Rurales literally translates as ‘rural houses’ but is in fact bed and breakfast type accomodation which ranges from people who have an annex on their house with an extra couple of rooms, to what I would consider a small hotel but that doesn’t serve meals apart from breakfast. In England they would be known as B&Bs (bed and breakfasts).

Whilst Cases Rurales can be in towns, they are often on the outskirts, or even in the countryside so make sure you check out exact locations before you go. As car hire is so cheap, we are usually able to get around fairly easily but this can be difficult if you get the train.

There are two main advantages to Casas Rurales: Firstly it is price as they are often less than half the price of hotels. Secondly, the hosts are usually couple and families who are genuinely nice people who have lived in the are a long time and are incredibly friendly. They can usually give you great tips on the region.

To find Casas Rurales I usually start with a quick google search of the town’s name and then ‘casas rurales‘. It may be easier to go straight to the listings, useful websites include:

Glossary

Destino – destination

Provincia – region/province

Poblacion – town (literally speaking: population)

Habitacion(es) - room(s)

Noche(s) – night(s)

Tiene una habitación para tres noches desde el 23 de abril? – Do you have a room for three nights from the 23rd April?

Motorcycles in Madrid

April 23rd, 2010 | Posted by sawidner in Entertainment | Lifestyle | Stephanie | Transit and Transport - (0 Comments)

After living in Madrid, you start to notice that there are a lot of motorcycles parked on the sidewalks of Madrid.  Apparently this is legal, at least for the time being, and perfectly acceptable here.  Usually parked right outside a large office building, I’ve noticed some Harleys, and an ocassional Suzuki, but the Vespa scooter still seems to be the most popular here.   I realized I started paying more attention to what was parked along Madrid’s streets, after stumbling across a motorcycle rally here in Madrid.

It all started when our sax friend Lou called us to tell us where the gig was he was playing that night.  “It will be great because it will be alfresco, should be a nice night, oh and by the way its at a biker rally, ” Lou says at the last minute.  My husband and I start to look at the metro map and realize that its a 45 min ride to Puerta del Sur (not Sol), but we really want to see them play again, and it gives us an excuse to actually attend one of these rallys.

We arrive at Pirata’s Cerveceria, the biker bar that was hosting the event along with Custom 13, (a bike accesory shop) and see our friend’s  band, Red House, already belting out some rock tunes.  They had set up a makeshift stage for them on the back of a semi that was parked in front of the bar.  Meanwhile, there was an outdoor bar serving cheap beer only on tap, and handing out free tapas of very tasty Cuban style pork.  At least a thousand bikes were lined up, all makes and models imaginable, along with some classic cars.  The black leather clad bikers were from all over Spain, and the atmosphere was very celebratory with people dancing and eating in the street.  (something we miss from Hawaii)  After the band packed up, they set up a screen outside with chairs in order to watch the futbol game.  We moved inside to explore this pirate ship bar complete with port holes, sails, and wooden beams.  The place was a lot fun, and has a second bar upstairs where they have a stage for different rock and heavy metal bands.  As usual, it was another fun interesting night with Lou and his wife Carmen.

  • Pirata’s Cerveceria, Calle de Polvoranca, 108 Alcorron-Madrid Metro: Puerta de Sur 34 916 436 (the Biker rally is usually the first or second Saturday of April)
  • Custom 13- Numacia de la Sagra, Toledo 607 53 58 95 on their website you can order biker merchandise
  • Bike shops- Moto Costa  Calle Cartagena, 64 91 355 201 (mainly sport bikes, and some accessories)                 Vespa Madrid Attoche, 94   Sells Vespas and Piaggios

Weekend in Barcelona

April 21st, 2010 | Posted by Courtney in Courtney | Food and Restaurants | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

Last weekend we went to Barcelona, our second visit since moving to Madrid.  While the weekend began with one intention, the plans were quickly foiled by a certain 20 letter long Volcano.  Certain plans were made and expectations set, none panned out as intended.  But you know what they say “when life hands you lemons…”…you go find the best place to cook them up.  And that’s what we did…EAT.

Bar Lobo – Lobo means Wolf.  This place is a cafe, tapas place, asian-flare restuarant and bar all rolled into one…depending on the time of day you go there and what you fancy at the time.  We went for a coffee and enjoyed the atmosphere.  The food at the next table looked good though.

La Vinya del Senyor – I think I visited La Vinya del Senyor three times over the weekend.  This is a wine bar in the Plaza of Santa Maria del Mar, it’s charming both inside and out in the plaza.  They have wines (and cavas) by the glass at 10ml, 14ml and bottles as well as a menu of bar tapas like sausages, cheeses, olives, breads…etc.  I loved it and will go back when in Barcelona.

Crema Canela – What I would give to have this in Madrid!  It was a small all-white bistro like restaurant near Plaza Reial (close to Las Ramblas).  The meals were well priced.  I had a Mediterranean salad (green salad with small servings of tabouli, humus, pita and olives) and then tuna which was cooked to perfection and served on a bed of stewed tomatoes and fried basil leaves.  Very few items on the menu exceeded €10.

CheeseMe – Anything with cheese in the title calls my attention.  On an exhausting day we settled here in the La Ribera neighborhood on Calle Argentina for dinner.  On a Saturday night they had a three course set menu open for €20 that was well worth it.  Of course every dish contains some cheese but there is an “anti-cheese” plate on the menu if you just can’t do it.

Orio Euskal Taberna – This is basque Pintxo eating at its greatest.  You simply walk in, grab a seat or stand at a table or bar, ask for a plate from the bartender, get your drink and you’re off!  The bar is covered with a variety of pintxo’s for you to select and take as you wish.  Often when new arrivals are sent up the dumb waiter from the kitchen, the staff will bring them around to see if anyone wants the new fresh item before its placed with the others on the bar.  Most pintxo’s are veggies, meats, fish on a piece of bread with a toothpick.  When you’ve had your fill, the waiter simply counts the number of toothpicks (€1.80) on your plate and charges accordingly.

Outside our weekend of culinary delights I can recommend the following:

We rented an apartment from Top Barcelona Apartments on Calle Taller just barely off Las Ramblas in Barri Gotic.  We were really pleased not only with the location but also the apartment and company itself.  They were kind and extremely responsive to emails (even on the weekends).  Our arrival was made complicated by the volcano but they were very accommodating.  I also prefer apartment stay when going somewhere 3 or more nights for convenience and it gives you the chance to tackle foreign grocers for snacks and breakfast items.

Given that this was not our first visit to Barcelona we were able to relax when it came to the sites, and really focus on walking and discovering neighborhoods – La Ribera, Barri Gotic, Eixample…etc.  Of course we did do a few sites, one in particular that I would recommend is a visit inside Gaudi’s La Pedrera (aka Casa Mila).  An entry ticket gives you access to one large apartment (period furnished), the attic (which has an extensive exhibit in it) and the roof deck which is spectacular and provides great views of Barcelona.  The tour gives great insight to the whimsical yet genius mind of Catalunya’s golden boy, Antoni Gaudi. With a student ID I paid €8, I think the standard rate is €10.  In July concerts are held on the roof.

I often get asked the question – which do you like better, Barcelona or Madrid?  I think that’s not really a fair question.  These cities are so far apart regionally, historically, culturally…they don’t even share a common language.  The answer is simply that I love them both and am fairly certain you will too.

Details:

Bar Lobo – Pintor Fortuny, 3 Barcelona 08001 Tel: 93 481 53 46

La Vinya del Senyor – Placa Santa Maria, 5 Barcelona 08003 Tel: 93 310 33 79

La Crema Canela – Passatge Madoz, 6 Barcelona 08002 Tel: 933 182 744

CheeseMe – Pl. Jacint Reventós Barcelona 08003 Tel: 93 268 11 27

Orio Euskal Taberna – Ferran, 38 Barcelona 08002 Tel: 902 520 522

Top Barcelona Apartments – Rambla Catalunya, 77 Barcelona 08007 Tel: 934 875 119

La Pedrera – Provença, 261 – 265 Barcelona 08008 Tel: 902 400 973