By Nancy Todd
Roy Lictenstein has his wacky, in your face, sculpture in many countries in the world. He was one of the kings of Pop Art during the sixties playing it big in New York City with Warhol and the boys. Comic books were a big influence in his life. Where in Spain is this? The winner who guesses this photo correctly wins a ten year subscription to romance comics.
Stephanie Dosch
Viatrix, an odd name for a web site but not when you get to know Stephanie. It means ‘female traveler’ in Latin. Hailing from Seattle, Stephanie Dosch has made her home in Madrid since 2005. Along with being a travel writer, translator, and English teacher, she has married a Spanish man and acquired his family in the process. Stephanie has also been a guide for Rick Steve’s Europe, Through The Back Door. As a bird watcher and lover of classical movies, she works on creating the perfect tortilla.
Interview by Nancy Todd
Please describe your role with your site.
Founder and (so far) sole contributor. It’s basically a place for me to share personal stories about my travels and expat experiences.
l. What is the most satisfying part of your work?
Clicking “Publish!” Sometimes the posts write themselves and sometimes it’s like pulling teeth, so I definitely get that sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I also love hearing from people–especially people I don’t know personally–that they’ve enjoyed something I’ve written or they’ve found it useful. I definitely always write with the reader in mind, so I like knowing that I’ve connected. Read More
Say What? Learning Catalan helps with reading signs in Barcelona
I’ve got friends from all over Europe and the rest of the world here in Barcelona, and learning Catalan is always a hot topic. Some people are dead set against it, calling it a ‘useless’ language. Why should I learn a language that I can’t use anywhere else in the world? they say. Indeed, Catalan is helpful in Catalonia, and Andorra, and on the Spanish Mediterranean islands of Majorca, Minorca, Formentera and Ibiza….but it’s not spoken in the rest of Spain or much anywhere else in the world. Others say that to know a culture you must speak the language, and therefore if you live in Catalonia, you must have some grasp of Catalan.
Majorca Island
Here are common reasons for and against learning Catalan:
CONS:
No one uses it...well, Read More
Horses cavalcades stopping traffic along Avenida Primado Reig, Valencia. You always know its January 17th by the sound of horse hooves on street pavement.
By Zach Frolich
If you like animals, there is no entertainment quite like seeing hundreds of pets, dogs, cats, horses, and even iguanas, snakes, and roosters, all converging in one square to be sprinkled with holy water! January 17th, is yet another important Saint’s Day in Spain, that of San Antonio Abad, patron saint of animals.
Naturally there’s an important backstory to Antonio Abad, also known as Anthony the Great. He was a Catholic (Coptic) monk born in 3rd-century AD Egypt who was known for spreading monasticism, but is now most famous for being the first to practice the asceticism of going into the wilderness to renew one’s faith through nature. This is how he became associated with animals. (Odd side note: He is also the Saint to whom you appeal to get rid of skin diseases, i.e. “St. Anthony’s fire”!) Read More
Lauren at the Metro in Madrid arriving from the airpor
Moving can be a pain in the wazoo and as Lauren Linzer, our guest writer and expert on Madrid writes, she wanted to feel alive and immerse herself in a new culture despite the challenges. Some people find the transition to a new culture too difficult. Understandable. But for Lauren, the benefits trump the hassles. Check out her Moving To Madrid (Part 1) for more moving tips.
By Lauren Linzer
The first month of living in Madrid proved to be an exhausting rollercoaster ride, shifting from joy and wonderment to uncertainty and discomfort. It would have been easy enough to quit and go home, allowing the stress of getting started in this foreign land to drive me away. A few of my peers actually chose this route. But then I remembered why I was here: to feel alive every day, Read More
La Rioja
The Spain Scoop welcomes Liz Carlson as one of our guest writers and expert from Northern Spain. She is from Logrono, located between Bilboa and Sarragossa. Liz gives us an intro to her beautiful part of Spain. Oh, we love rioja – 2.50 a glass.
By Liz Carlson
1. Off the beaten track: Have you ever heard of La Rioja, Spain? Don’t worry, not too many people have. It’s one of the smallest autonomous communities here, and one of the least visited. This region is one of the best-kept secrets in Spain! I have been lucky enough to call it home since September, and everyday I fall a little more in love with it.
If you are an adventurous traveler like myself, lured by the road less traveled and want to know the locals, then La Rioja is a must-see. Without congested roads of tourists, it has many captivating sights, landscapes and activities. With it’s friendly people, La Rioja is definitely the crown jewel of hidden gems in Spain. Read More
By Regina Winkle-Bryan
Tapas in Poble Sec, Barcelona
The breakdown is: breakfast at 10, lunch at 2 and dinner at 10pm. With an eating schedule like this you may get hungry while wandering Spanish soil. Before you pack the trail mix in your purse, consider tapas which are cooler, less crunchy, and much more delicious.
By Nancy Todd
My friend Sonia posed with this whimsical sculpture. This famous artist, who creatied this and many like it, was know for working in hot primary colors. He fled mainland Spain during the horrible Franco regieme and went to Mallorca where life was easier. Where in Spain is this?
Lauren thinking about her move to Spain!
Every expat who has moved to a foreign country, whether for decades or three months, goes through the bunglings, searching for street signs (some of which aren’t there), trying to find the perfect apartment, or just damn trying to find an apartment. Lauren Linzer, a guest writer and local expert from Madrid, shares her hilarious experiences. Watch The Spain Scoop for her Part 2 on moving later this week.
By Lauren Linzer
With all my adorable European outfits tightly packed away, the essential paperwork and tickets printed, basic Spanish flashcards in hand, and the tearful goodbyes said and done, there was nothing more to do than board my plane and begin a new, wondrous life abroad in Madrid, Spain. Read More
Liz Carlson, our guest writer and expert on Northern Spain, has moved alot. I mean alot. Salmanca, Madrid, Malaga to name a few. She is the Queen of Move and is in the know on how to do it. I wonder if she did bring those six pairs of jeans.
By Liz Carlson
1. Packing
Packing is key when it comes to moving abroad, and 9 times out of 10, people pack too much. When moving to Spain permanently, for a year or two, or even just a few months, one of the biggest mistake made is to overpack. So pack that suitcase, and then unpack it and take half of it out. Read More
Flamenco dancing in Seville.
By Nancy Todd
Baby, it’s cold outside and quiet on the fiesta front in Spain. You may hear an occasional drum or coronet. Or see a priest in a funny hat and dress (do you think they are really transvestites?) leading an entourage at night with candles. Here is The January Scoop for events in Spain.
1. Celebrate Food and march in San Sebastian. British royalty established San Sebastian as a resort in the 1800′s and it continues in all it’s formality. La Tamborrada, a midnight to midnight fiesta, honors the patron saint St. Donostia of San Sebastian and boots formality into the Bay. Thousands of drummers represent different groups of gastronomic societies and bang it out all over the city. Some drummers wear their chef’s hats. Forget about shakin’ your booty, this is real marchin’ music. January 19. Read More
The Scoopettes head over to one of Barcelona’s most important monuments, Casa Milà also known as La Pedrera. Come take a look around this amazing building.
Robin Graham
Interview By Nancy Todd
The Scoop Interviews Robin Graham, writer extroidnaire, who lives in Cadiz. His writing is about places and experiences in Spain, some as he says, “made up,” perfect for his site name: www.alotofwind.com His writing is well crafted and at times, when I plan to spend three minutes on his blog, I read and read and read. He transports me to the people and places with his insightful descriptions. Robin’s graphics are unusual and rare as is his photography. We are proud to also have Robin as a guest writer for The Spain Scoop. Be prepared to be captivated by his writing.
l. What is the most satisfying part of your work?
From time to time I feel as though I’ve written something competently. A story that takes an idea and sees it through without leaving loose ends and without labouring it. I find it incredibly difficult to do and so conclude that it must be worth trying. The less successful stories are ok by me, as they just get me closer to the next good one. They’re very very rare. You have to be patient. Read More
BCN Street Art
By Regina Winkle-Bryan
Street art is plentiful in Barcelona, and many of the big dogs in the underground art world have made their mark on the Catalan Capital. I’m a fan of Read More
By Regina Winkle-Bryan
Barcelona Airport - El Prat
Getting to and from Barcelona’s El Prat airport is not as easy as it should be. Follow our tips to get there hassle-free!
1. Call ahead or check your ticket. You need to know which terminal you are going to, T1 or T2. They are NOT close together. This is the first thing you should confirm. Read More
By Nancy Todd
January’s Photo Friday takes you to outdoor sculptures. Those of you who read The Spain Scoop while eating corn flakes every morning know that I am an incurable art geek. Just can’t help myself. This sculpture is in Northern Spain by an artist who is revered in Spain and unfortunately, not know well outside of Spain. Where is this sculpture?
Money Money Money!
By Regina Winkle-Bryan
My oh my, it was a busy year…..
I saw Christine’s post on where she went in 2011 and decided to do something similar. This time of year most of us want to reflect on the year gone by, and doing so through photos is a good way for a ‘visual learner’ like myself to process 2011. So much of my life is connected to travel that it makes sense to do a little roundup of where I’ve been in 2011 and the adventures I had in those places while giving some scoop on why you might want to plan a trip to these destinations, or skip them!
NEW YEAR’S EVE 2010:
New Year's 2010, welcoming 2011
Let’s start at the beginning. Just back from the USA I spent New Year’s 2010 with my sweetie A and a couple friends at home. Of course we ate the mandatory 12 lucky grapes!
JANUARY 2011:
Copenhagen for work in January 2011
As Barcelona got ready for Kings’ Day, I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark, for work. It was my second trip to this cool Scandinavian city, and I’d love to return someday in the summer!
FEBRUARY 2011:
For some reason I did a lot of traveling Read More
Grandvalira Ski Station - Funicamp
Granted, fluffy snow is not what most of us think of when we imagine Spain. However, the north of Spain is separated from France and Andorra by the Pyrenees, and in those mountains snowflakes tend to tumble. I went on my first ever Spanish ‘winter wonderland’ excursion over the New Year. I went with A, and we drove northwest towards Andorra. A tiny Catalan-speaking country in the furthest corner of northwestern Catalonia, Andorra is famous for cheap shopping (less tax) and ski holidays.
I did not ski, nor did A. We didn’t have the gear, the know-how, or the will. We did see other Read More
The Scoop’s Best Hotel Picks of 2011: 5 Hotels, Seville, Spain
Tilework In Seville