Monthly Archives: November 2007

easyJet Madrid to Geneva for Thanksgiving

A LATE Happy Thanksgiving to United Statesens living abroad! Just returned from 3 nights near Geneva, Switzerland over the Thanksgiving holiday with a few American family members, some Brits, and one Spaniard. 3 of us (the one Spaniard, a Brit, … Continue reading

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Madrid Rain, Wet Laundry, & Umbrellas

FINALLY, IT’S RAINING!! About 7 weeks have passed here in Madrid with nothing but clear, sunny skies. This is great when out and about. I particularly love cool temperatures and those blue blue skies. The oddity is that it USUALLY … Continue reading

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“Españoles: Franco ha muerto!” – Franco Has Died

November 20, 1975: The day the dictator of Spain, General Francisco Franco, died. This day is an important day in the history of Spain. I’m sort-of watching the weekly 1-hour TVE1 Spanish television drama series “Cuéntame Cómo Pasó“, a popular … Continue reading

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“¿Por qué no te callas?” – “Why don’t you shut up!”

“¿Por qué no te callas?” (“Why don’t you shut up!”) ….is what esteemed King Juan Carlos of Spain said to Hugo Chavez, President and dictator wannabe of Venezuela. The phrase is now a sound-bite, a catch-phrase tossed around in Spain … Continue reading

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Wasting Water: Two Tissues – Two Flushes

¡Súmate al reto del Agua! (Turn off the water faucet!) Today at the gym I was absolutely furious after finishing my workout. I’d just returned to the locker room to use the restroom. While washing my hands there was a … Continue reading

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Taberna La Bola & Cocido Madrileño

Last Friday, El Día de la Almudena, we had 1:30pm reservations for Madrid’s Taberna La Bola to eat Cocido Madrileño – their signature dish. The ‘long-form-term’ of this dish is “Cocido a la Madrileña“, if interested. Background: El Día de … Continue reading

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Doing Laundry & Washing Dishes

Housework in Spain, to me, is NOT one of my favorite pastimes. Gone are the days, at least for the time being, of dishwashers and clothes dryers for me. Here, where I live, I do all the dishes by hand … Continue reading

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FC Barcelona vs. Glasgow Rangers: Soccer or Football?

I’ve just finished watching the FC Barcelona versus the Glasgow Rangers football/soccer game. It ended in a 2-0 win for Barça. To be clear, I’m not a soccer/football fan – much preferring American Football with pads, field goals, and hard, … Continue reading

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Spanish Bread

Sometimes I’m “enlisted” to buy the lunchtime bread at the local panadería and I do it more than willingly. There’s almost nothing better than walking into that bread bakery, waiting in line, and ordering a barra de bandeja and they … Continue reading

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Language Exchange in Madrid every Tuesday

Last Tuesday I attended my first “Intercambio de Idiomas” – “Language Exchange” – at O’Neill’s, an Irish bar on Calle Principe, 12 (metro SOL). Read some discussion on the topic and find links to YouTube videos in THIS THREAD on … Continue reading

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