Each year in mid-May, Madrid celebrates it's patron saint, St. Isidro, a man from humble beginnings as a farmer. The week leading up to May 15th there are lots of activities all around Madrid in its parks, plazas and streets. From parades of huge historic figures (gigantes - below) to concerts in parks, - from picnics along the river to live music for dancing and free instruction, the city of Madrid comes alive at this time of year. I love seeing children going to school and adults out and about in the typical dress (chulapos as they are called). Here are a variety of images from heading out this past weekend to enjoy the good weather and wide variety of activities offered free to the people of Madrid.
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Roadtripping with your bestie through Iceland. Sound like a fun plan? It was! Church in the West Fjords. Sunset at 11pm in August. Summer days are quite long! Our faithful Suburu Justy! Holt Beach-where we would go swimming for about 15 seconds. ;-) Outdoor thermally-heated pools & hot pots! There is a pool in every town in Iceland! Meeting the locals. You really had to be careful because they would run out in front of you on the national highway. Dynjandi Falls in the West Fjords. My friend Kim is at the bottom right in black. Secret lagoon-hot springs bath Basalt columns at Blackbeach near Vik. Yours truly in there to show the size of these hexagonal beauties. Glacial lagoon with floating glacier pieces. The glacier is that white mass in the background. A quick stop at a coffeehouse that sold pancakes too. A friend of a friend runs this little shop. There are turf houses here too. Near Selfoss. Behind the waterfall. Traditional turf house. Divide between two tectonic plates (N. America & Eurasia). Main church in Reykjavik-the facade was modelled after the basalt columns from the Blackbeach! Before, I thought Montana was big sky country. But Iceland has some of the most amazing views, skylines, landscapes and rock formations I have ever seen. I definitely recommend it for a road trip to explore all you can.
Three stages on the Paseo del Prado, one of the most central and emblematic streets in Madrid, showcased music, dance and theater/comedy this weekend in Madrid. This past weekend while on my way home from lunch with friends I encountered a road block and, while I was initially annoyed at the inconvenience, I quickly parked my Vespa and headed to check out the promise of something interesting. Up ahead were bright costumes, people dancing and music accompanied by whistles and singing. Lucky for me I had my camera so got some cool pictures of the jubilant and colorful atmosphere. I discovered the "Gran Carnaval Boliviano" - a traditionally pre-Easter parade of sorts where different dancing societies performed different traditional folk dances of Bolivia. I caught the tail end of the "pasacalles" (parade) and saw groups dancing the Morenada and the Caporales dances. The dances are inspired by legends and myths and the morenada is often called the "dance of the black slaves" because it was thought to have been started by them. I spoke with a Bolivian work colleague who told me that, even though it sounds strange, there are masked demons in the groups because miners would pray to them before going into the silver mines so that the demons wouldn't hurt them while in the dark mines. The general feeling was lively, with music, whistles and people just having fun. The costumes were vibrant and intricately decorated and as my workmate told me each region has a different traditional costume.
Paco, a shoe repairman, has been working in his small shop in the working class neighborhood of Madrid called Vallecas for over 30 years. He and his wife work to repair shoes, handbags and other leather goods.
For my birthday weekend I went to a small southern Spanish town called Moraira in Alicante area on the Mediterranean. It is so beautiful and the water was amazingly warm so you could swim around in the clear blue water for quite a while. I wasn't the only one who headed south for the warmth. Southern Spain is known for having Northern European retirees and investors galore, but this trip was the first time I saw it for myself. There were British fish 'n chips places, Swiss mail services, Russian radio stations, etc. Here are some pics from the trip.
If you’ve never seen a para-cycling race, then you don’t know who true athletes are. Strong in mind and strong in character. And, if you’ve never tried to ride a hand-bike, powered only by your arms and shoulders, you can’t possibly know how strong these athletes are. It’s tough stuff!
I was recently at a UCI (cycling’s international federation) para-cycling tour where athletes from over 20 countries competed in official races for several days. The course circuits were in some very tough terrain through the Basque country area of Spain. There are categories of para-cyclists depending on their level of physical or mental impairment. • Hand-bikes – for lower limb impairments powered only by the arms. • Tricycles – for balance impairments. The extra wheels help with stability. • Tandem bikes (bicycles built for two) - for visually impaired or blind athletes. Front rider has the eyes for the pair. To learn more about para-cycling, check out the UCI page. The shots posted here were taken with my little Canon G15. I wanted to see how it would do with action shots and I think it did fairly well. garage sale noun : a sale of used furniture, clothing, etc., held at the seller's home On most summer weekend mornings in the U.S. there is a certain type of person who will get up early, check the newspapers for garage sales, and head out to search for bargains. These people may be looking for specific items or they just like the excitement of finding a deal. I am one of those low-risk thrill seekers who loves the smell of bargains in the air and will brake for garage sales. First, let me explain what a garage sale is for some of you who might be wondering. It is an interesting way for people in the U.S. to sell unwanted things that have been lying around their homes for who-knows-how-long. These things are put out on tables in garages and driveways for anyone to buy. Sometimes, neighborhoods coordinate to have sales on the same morning and people flock. The moral of a garage sale is that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure! While in the U.S. recently I found out about several block sales. At one house I bought a t-shirt, a belt from Abercrombie and a Kate Spade iphone cover for $2.00; bargain! Finding steals like that only fuels the fire to keep going. My best purchase of the day was an old 1950’s Japanese camera that cost $10. Even if you have to look through a lot of junk it is important to keep the faith that your treasure is out there. So get up early, walk the streets, dig through boxes, and keep your eyes peeled and you just might find it. Just like folk music and secret family recipes, weaving is an art form that gets passed from generation to generation. New generations are keeping the art of weaving alive while at the same time adapting traditional weaves into modern forms. One new generation weaver is Kim Nemeth who runs Woven, a one-woman-weaving company based in Walla Walla, Washington. I spent some time with Kim in her Walla Walla home and she explained how she got started weaving. We sat in her living room accompanied by two large looms and her dogs happily snoozing on the floor. Kim was first introduced to the world of weaving when she hosted a sheep shearing and weaving event at a museum where she was curator. Inspired by this art, she bought a small loom and began learning from books and through pure trial and error. She strives to make traditional American patterns which you can see on the pillows she has around her house. Weaving is an art form practically as old as time because there are some indications that there were woven items in the Paleolithic era. But, weaving isn’t your grandma’s knitting project! It takes time and concentration and can be quite physical. Long hours are spent leaning over the loom and the movement of the foot pedals and the actual weaving is tiring. Setting up the loom is time-consuming because you measure the yarn and then thread it through the heddles, metal pieces that have an eye in the middle. This process of warping gets the structure set up and then you can start weaving. This is where the concentration comes in as each pattern requires different use of the foot pedals and weaving patterns. Kim has been weaving since 2008 and makes beautifully crafted traditional designs that are 100% American handmade. She specializes in wearables like scarves, cowls, and shrugs, but also makes home accents. You can check her out on FB at https://www.facebook.com/wovenbyhand or her website http://www.wovenbyhand.com. What is more California than a green juice truck, a missing dog sign that alerts the finder to only feed the dog GMO, or a place that does loans for designer purses? Here are some photos from a recent trip to the Sunshine State from San Diego on up to Los Angeles. Being from the east coast sometimes things seem foreign and fun to me. Here are a few of my observations.
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AuthorHeidi Buffington, American expat living in Madrid. Archives
September 2016
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