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Beach hopping on the Costa de la Luz

August 27th, 2011 | Posted by JMurphy in Janine | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

Playa Bolonia, August 2011

After moving to Madrid and exploring the city a little bit, it’s fun to start learning about and checking out other parts of the country.  During the summer, most of Madrid heads for the beaches and even though September is almost upon us, the Costa de la Luz (coast of light) is still a great destination.  With average temperatures for September and October still in the mid 20s it’s a great time to check out the beaches and pueblos without the crazy August crowds!

I recently took a couple of weeks to explore southern Spain and I found several great little towns and beaches south of Cadiz that are worth exploring.  I am already planning my next trip back!  About a quarter of an hour drive south of Cadiz is the bustling beach town of Conil de la Frontera.  Fun for families, couples or groups of friends, the old town is full of ourdoor cafes, restaurants and bars.  It’s great to grab a table outside for dinner and then wander around checking out the shops, stopping for a helado or another caña or two!  There are two beaches along the coast of the town – Playa de los Bateles and Playa de la Fontanilla; however, there are several more within a short driving distance.  Just north of town, Fuente del Gallo has a lovely little beach with a chiringuito (beach bar) right on the sand.  It’s a nice drive to keep heading north, past Playa Aciete and up to Playa del Puerco.

South of Conil, the drive and the beaches are just as lovely.  Bolonia beach was a great escape with smaller crowds even during August.  It has a large sand dune at one end which is a fun climb for a bit of exercise.  There are a handful of chiringuitos on the other end of the beach to grab lunch or a drink.  Closer to Conil is El Palmar, which is famous for it’s sunsets.  It has a little grocery store and a cafe located nearby so you can pick up some bebidas or a snack, watch the kites flying and wait for the sunset.  While both these beaches can be accessed within a short drive from Conil, another option is to move to a hotel further south in Zahara de los Atunes, Vejer de la Frontera or one of the few scattered on the beaches just north of Tarifa.

El Palmar at sunset

The Tarifa beaches are known for windsurfing and I couldn’t help but give it a try while at Playa Valdevaqueros.  There are rental facilities on-site (http://www.club-mistral.com/en/home) and they offer individual, semi-private or group lessons.  I was a complete beginner so luckily my instructor had a lot of patience … although I think I need a few more lessons before I will really take off!  Kite surfing and paddle boarding are also available.  The restaurant and bar at Valdevaqueros is a very laid back, surfer-style hangout. There are big cushions setup on the grass next to one of the bars and they had live music one afternoon before sunset.  A bit more lively happy hour can be found just down the road at Arte y Vida where the staff are covered in body paint and you could be too!  The bar and the DJ get busy a few hours before sunset.  After a day of sun, sand and watersports, if you still have the energy head into Tarifa town where the nightlife is energetic and keeps on going well into the morning hours.

Club Mistral, Tarifa on the N-IV highway at the Valdevaqueros Hotel.

Arte y Vida - CN 340 Km. 79,3; 956 68 52 46

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(Bachelorette) Weekend In: Ibiza

July 23rd, 2011 | Posted by JMurphy in Entertainment | Food and Restaurants | Janine | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

When moving to Spain, lots of friends may ask you about coming to visit Madrid and taking a side trip to Ibiza.  Located in the Balearic islands off the east coast of Spain, the island is legendary for it’s party atmosphere and club scene during the summer months.  Popular with people of all ages and nationalities, a visit to this sunny isle might leave you exhausted, but it will be a trip you won’t forget!

I recently took the 45 minute flight on Easy Jet to celebrate the final single days of a good friend (another budget airline option is RyanAir).  As you can imagine, with 11 girls trying to cram in as much sun and fun as possible, we hit a lot of beaches, bars and clubs in our 5 day stay.  Salinas beach was one of our first stops which, while famous and beautiful, was very crowded and we subsequently thought it easier to stay on the Figueretas beach near our apartments.  This also made for an easy walk to some great bars and restaurants.

Some of the best tapas I have had in Spain came from Home Loos, a small restaurant in Figueretas run by a very friendly and helpful Dutchman.  Given our large group, he suggested bringing out a selection of dishes and we happily tucked into a wide variety of dishes that included piripiri prawns, meatballs, grilled veggies, cuttlefish and patatas bravas.  The food was delicious and a welcome respite from some of the cheesy and overpriced spots that line the beach.  For a more upscale dining experience, both Aura and KM5 delivered excellent food with a great atmosphere.  At Aura, we ate in a beautiful and very private garden … a lot of girls wished their partners were along!  Some favorite dishes included slow-roasted lamb and chargrilled squid.  After dinner, we headed inside for a few drinks and a little dancing inside the small club.  KM5 provided a more extensive after-dinner experience, with several areas reserved for groups with large couches and tents as well as a separate dance floor and multiple bars.  They also had a live singer on staff who was truly amazing!   The food and service were also excellent during our meal.  The menu included a large selection of Argentinian beef; however, my sea bass and tastes of the roast lamb were delicious!

A good spot for a bite along the beach is the newly renovated Ushuaia beach hotel.  With long tables beach-side, a DJ pumping out a bit of techno and plenty of sun, it’s a great spot for hanging out for a few cocktails during the afternoon.  I also heard that their parties on Sunday are a lot of fun with a big stage setup poolside, but unfortunately we were too busy checking out another of the islands legendary events.  Sundays at Space, one of the islands mega-clubs, are well-known and the club is packed from afternoon until early morning with partygoers from all over the world.  It’s an anything-goes environment where people wear everything from bikinis to stilletos.  The dancing moves from room to room as the night progresses and you also have the option of chilling out on the terrace for a bit of fresh air.  Be prepared to boogie and to be out all night!  Other club options include Pacha (related to the one right here in Madrid) and Amnesia.  It’s impossible to miss the promos plastered all over the island advertising what DJs will be there during your visit.

Ibiza has lots of options available for you to create your own special holiday.  A trip like mine definitely requires a lot of sleep beforehand, some comfortable dancing shoes and maybe a few pairs of funny sunglasses (what’s a bachelorette party without a little dressup??).  If you prefer a calmer weekend, check out Jodie’s post (Quiet) Weekend In: Ibiza. Safe travels!

 

Aura: Ctra San Juan km 13.5, San Lorec, Ibiza / +34 971 32 53 56 / info@auraibiza.com

KM5: Ctr Sant Josep km 5.6, Ibiza / +34 971 396 349 / +34 696 255 100 / reservas@km5-lounge.com

Ushuaia: Carretera Playa d’en Bossa 10, 07817 Ibiza / +34 971 39 67 10

Space: Playa d’en Bossa s/n 07817 Sant Josep de Sa Talaia, Ibiza / +34 971 396 793

Pacha: Avinguda del Vuit d’Agost, 07800, Ibiza / +34 971 31 36 00

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Not your Grandma’s Apple Cider

June 2nd, 2011 | Posted by Courtney in Guiri Guest | Traveling outside Madrid - (1 Comments)

Guiri Guest, Jamie is a 31-year old American woman who has been living and working in Madrid since September 2009. Her fate was sealed in 2008 when she met a Spaniard at work in NYC who, after a year together in the States, was able to convince her to pack up her tiny West Village studio and move to Madrid.  Working in a large, international finance firm enabled Jamie to transfer to the firm’s Madrid office and she has been navigating the city and culture ever since.  One month shy of her one year anniversary of living in Madrid, Raul proposed and they are currently planning their fall 2011 wedding that will take place in NYC.

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Living in Madrid has afforded me the ability to explore pockets of Spain that are not typically on the top of the list of most Americans.  Although slowly gaining recognition in the States thanks to the annual Film Festival, you would not normally hear San Sebastian mentioned in the same breath as say Madrid, Barcelona, or Seville.

Last spring my fiancée and I had the pleasure of hosting two of our best friends from NYC in Spain for a week. We dedicated part of their visit to San Sebastian and to this day it remains one of the best trips I have taken since moving to Spain.

San Sebastian, located in the north of Spain in Basque Country, is a lovely, small city nestled on the Bay of Biscay and is about a 5 hour drive from Madrid. The city is known for, among other things, pintxos, kalimotxo, and sidra.

Pintxos are small bite-sized appetizers similar to tapas, which are typically served on small slices of bread and displayed atop the bar with small toothpicks in each one. Tradition governs that you cruise the bar, taking any pintxo that catches your eye, and then stacking the corresponding toothpicks on your plate once you are done eating. When you are ready to pay, the bartender simply counts the toothpicks on your plate and charges you accordingly (a price of €1-3 per pintxo is probably about average).  San Sebastian has a wealth of such bars concentrated in the city center. Our group enjoyed having wine and a pintxo or two at one place and then moving on to the next until we couldn’t possibly eat another bite.

Afterwards we washed our pintxos down with kalimotxo, a mix of 1 part coca-cola and 1 part red wine with plenty of ice.  In other parts of Spain this would be considered a drink more for teenagers, most typically consumed on the streets with supplies from the local alimentación. In San Sebastian, however, this drink is more prevalent and is often a featured special at bars and nightclubs.

The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the night we went to one of the local sidrerías, or cider houses.  The four of us hopped in a caband headed out to Sidrería Petritegi located in the small pueblo of Astigarraga, not far from the city proper. It is a massive restaurant with high ceilings and rows upon rows of picnic-style wooden tables.  As is tradition, we each ordered the fixed cider menu for €27.95 per person. It included a starter of tortilla de bacalao (cod omelet), followed by fried cod with peppers, chuletón (a juicy and perfectly seasoned t-bone steak) and dessert (cheese and membrillo, which is a type of dense marmalade). The menu also included unlimited cider, which for us was the main draw. In Spain, cider, or sidra, is a mildly alcoholic drink made from apples. As I have learned since moving to Spain, the flavors of the cider open up when they hit the bottom of your glass.  Accordingly, the pouring of cider is somewhat of an art form here and is taken very seriously. This particular restaurant dedicated an entire room to the pouring and consumption of the sidra. In the back of the restaurant was a large, cavernous space filled with huge barrels of cider and a barman that was tasked solely with pouring directly from the barrel. We had to watch a few other patrons to see how it was done, but basically you walk up to the barrel, hold out your glass, step back and hope to get some cider in your glass.  Drink (in one sip only), raise your glass, repeat.

I truly cannot say enough good things about San Sebastian. Although what I described above was just the culinary part of our adventure, the city is rich with other sites as well; we were even able to spend an afternoon on the coast of France as it was only about 30 minutes away by car.  If you are ever in Spain, I highly recommend a trip to San Sebastian. Buen Viaje!

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Valencia and the burning of the Fallas

March 25th, 2011 | Posted by allisonstendardi in Allison | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

Last year Jodie told us about her Valencian experience during the first week of Las Fallas (check out her post for some background on the festival), and now I am going to share my experience of watching these giant Fallas burn to the ground, and some tips on making the trip to Valencia.

The final weekend of Las Fallas is a huge party. The giant fallas that have been decorating the streets and squares of Valencia are burned to the ground, and rather dramatically at that. On Saturday, the last full day of viewing the fallas, the streets are filled with tourists and locals alike. We found that the center was incredibly packed, not surprisingly of course. As we branched out from the very center the crowds became much more manageable and it was easier to get close to the fallas. For people that have trouble with crowds and feeling claustrophobic, you can still go and enjoy the festival, just stick to the edges of the city center. It was actually much more enjoyable that being smashed in the crowd in the very center, and the fallas themselves are equally impressive no matter where they are located.

On the evening of March 19th the burning began. The fallas are pretty incredible works of art – it was sort of sad to know that in a matter of hours all that would be left is a pile of dust.

At 10pm the infantil fallas (fallas made by kids) were set ablaze. We gathered around the falla as some men setup a line of fireworks and draped the falla with explosives. They lit the end and POW! The fireworks crackled and zipped their way toward toward the falla. When it hit the falla the whole structure began to explode from the inside. The crowd was excited and started inching closer to the fire. The men had put up some barriers, but the children went right under them to get a closer look! The safety standards at Las Fallas are not what they are back home in the U.S. Use your personal judgement on how close is too close, and remember that the fires are very hot. We found ourselves backing away from the fire for each one we saw, and since we picked less crowded fallas this wasn’t an issue. I imagine that when watching the burnings in the very center it’s very hard to move – so don’t get too close to start with. The infantil fires were big, but the full size fallas created massive flames and huge black clouds of smoke. Starting at midnight the full size fallas were burned. The fire department came to hose down the area on a particularly large falla, and good thing they did, since it could have easily gotten out of  control. Watching the giant flames, feeling the heat of the fire, and hearing the fireworks explode overhead was an amazing grand finale!

Tips for traveling to Valencia for the burning of Las Fallas:

* Book early. Rooms are very expensive the closer you get to the actual burning.

* Stay near the center. We reserved an apartment very close to the center, but not in the actual center. I preferred this since we could easily walk to the center, but also could get away from the massive crowds. Also the fallas located further out are easier to view and have a more local feel.

* Don’t get too close – those fires are hot!

* Allow time to see the amazing museums of Valencia, even just from the outside. The architecture is incredible.

* Go to the beach. On our final morning we visited the beach before heading back to Madrid. The smell of the ocean and the feel of sand beneath your toes is something you just can’t find here in Madrid.

Enjoy Valencia!

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Weekend in: Cordoba

March 7th, 2011 | Posted by jodiehop in Jodie | Traveling outside Madrid - (0 Comments)

Cordoba is one of the oldest cities in Spain and was formerly the capital of Andalucia. It is about a 3.5hour drive from Madrid or under 2hours on the AVE train so it’s relatively easy to go for a weekend when you are living in Madrid.

There is plenty of accomodation to choose from either at Cases Rurales in the country or in hotels in the centre of town.

The town is known for it’s Tabernas and  my favourite was Taberna Salinas

There are Arab baths there which are nice, but not amazing and the price of 26eur just for the hammam is steep for what you get.

The Mezquite (mosque), or Cathedral as it now is, is an absolute must see. It is well worth the 8euros to get even if you are not usually a fan of visiting religious buildings. The histpory is simply fascinating – I for one had never seen a mosque than has been converted into a cathedral…what a mix!

Also worth a visit is the less talked about Alcazar  – for the view, the gardens and the mosaics.