Spain

Art is relative. Great art is relatively great. I don’t care how many people love the Sagrada Familia, I will always think that it is a piece of “artistic dogshit”. Not only is this monstrosity being funded by the Spanish government, ticket fees from people coming to gawk, UNESCO and probably the spawn of Satan, but the fact that Gaudi’s …

See update 16th March 2010 at the end…. This is a question, I get a lot on forums or even from friends who are thinking about Europe, so I thought I would answer it. This is the 5th time that I am using a Eurail pass. My present pass is a first class (preferente) Spain/Portugal pass that costs $589CDN but …

The weather in Madrid this week has not been kind to me this week from a picture taking standpoint. It’s definitely tested the flexibility of my jacket, and the waterproofing of my gadget bag.  However doing lunch at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu was definitely a highlight of this week. The view from the upper floor while the girls and I did …

The Puerta is located in the very heart of Madrid. Immediately to the southwest lies the Plaza Mayor; the Palacio Real, the official home of the Royal Family, is further west. Parliament and the museum district are to the east and the train station Atocha is to the southeast. In the middle of the square is a large equestrian statue …

After a long night of walking in the cold, I think I found my first favorite experience in Madrid. Going for tapas at Mercado de San Miguel.  After walking through Plaza de Sol, Tisha and I headed straight to the Mercado de San Miguel and it is basically an experience right out of a movie, almost practically ‘food porn’. Set in an …

When you live anywhere for a long time, mundane events like route and terminal changes are inconsequential to your life, simply because we have our set patterns and routines. We have our timings down to the minute and we rely on those constants to maintain order in our lives. Traveling to a completely new place upsets that order and brings …

I love Shandy Carib, it is one of things in Trinidad that stuck with me and as a Trini, a mixture of beer and juice or soda is a “Shandy” to me, in fact Sorrel Shandy is one of the greatest things invented by man. In Madrid, one of the things to do is going for Tapas. Tapas are the …

Standing outside the side facade at El Escorial, looking at another work of the church, one cannot help but wonder what the world of architecture would have been without the church and its money. El Escorial was, at once, a monastery and a Spanish royal palace. Originally a property of the Hieronymite monks, it is now an monastery of the Order …

Trinidadians are a very particular people when it comes to their meat and the preparation of meat in dishes. I prefer meat that is well seasoned with herbs and spices, and after this afternoon’s lunch of cochinilo asado, I know that meat only seasoned with salt and smoke, just isn’t for me. Cochinillo Asado is roasted baby pig. Its fatty outside …