Spain
Goodbye France
August 13, 2010 by Samia Shalabi
We left the chateau with a very nice farewell. Lots of hugs and kisses. I was ready to leave. When I travel, I mostly have that feeling, when it is time to go, it is time to go. Yesterday was that day and I was ready.
A friend from the chateau drove us to Toulouse, the scenic way and it was beautiful along the small winding road through SW France, a great way to say goodbye and move on from our intense three-week movie-making experience. Our friend dropped us off in Toulouse near the bus station and for hours we sat at a café and had a nice lunch and nice French wine and slowly unwound. We talked about how we felt and I cried a bit to let go from the intensity. And then we made our way to the bus station. We took a bus to Barcelona because it is a straight shot, no transfers and we learned our lesson on the way to France, transfers with as much luggage as we have, is not a good idea.
The bus ride was strange and beautiful. Strange because there were about ten people on this huge bus,…
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Canary Islands: History, Culture & Economy
July 31, 2010 by A'Keiba Burrell
The Canary Islands (pronounced /kəˈnɛəriː ˈaɪləndz/, colloquially also known as the Canaries; Spanish:Islas Canarias, pronounced [ˈizlas kaˈna.ɾjas]; are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The sea currents that depart from Canary’s coasts used to lead ships away to America. The islands from largest to smallest are: Tenerife,Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza andMontaña Clara.
The Canary Islands have great natural attractions, climate and beaches making the islands a majortourist destination, being visited each year by about 12 million people. Among the islands, Tenerife has the most number of tourists received annually, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The archipelago’s principal tourist attraction is the Teide National Park (in Tenerife) where the highest mountain in Spain and third largest volcano in the world (Mount Teide) is located; it receives over 2.8 million visitors annually.
The Canary Islands currently has a population of 2,098,593 inhabitants, making it the eighth most populous of Spain’s autonomous communities, with a density of 281.8 inhabitants per km². The total area of the archipelago is 7447 km². It also enjoys sub-tropical climate with longer hot days in…
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Spain: History, Culture and Economy
July 31, 2010 by Victoria Levy
Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish:Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory.
With an area of 504,030 km², it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France.
Because of its location, the territory of Spain was subject to many external influences since prehistoric times and through to its dawn as a country. Conversely, it has been an important source of influence to other regions, chiefly during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has left a legacy of over 400 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world’s second most spoken first language.
Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. It is…
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Barcelona on the Livability Factor??
July 21, 2010 by Samia Shalabi
One of the things we love about traveling is seeing how people in other countries do things differently or how things function differently. We love to check out livability of a city. Of course that is our own opinion and certain things are important to us.
Barcelona, is pretty livable, to us. First of all it is on the Mediterranean, second, I love the open and kind Spanish culture. Then there are things like, public transportation, which we loved and used everyday. They have a fantastic underground. It pedestrian friendly, and many more things. Here are a few.
The courtyards, they are everywhere, you walk a little bit and suddenly you are in a big open space where people are sitting outdoors at cafe tables, socializing, children are running around, bicyclists riding through. This is so appealing to us and somehow we did not take a photo of one..
Now this may seem funny, and well, it is, but one of the things we noticed (and liked) in Barcelona were the garbage bins. They were so cool! First of all they were plentiful, neat, clean, non-stinky (in 90 + humid weather), they were double sided (which I love). You could…
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Barcelona
July 20, 2010 by Samia Shalabi
We are leaving Barcelona today. It has definitely been an adventure. Here is a little bit about our day yesterday.
Hmmm…. It seems this trip to Barcelona has been about lessons, about how travel is amazing and amazingly frustrating, about how expectations are just that… Expectations.
We had ideas about today. They were great. We were going to rent a scooter, but it didn’t work out. We were going to go to the train station and buy tickets and it didn’t work out. All this not working out took all day of running around, with a few cafe/sangria stops along the way. We decided after several disappoints and not getting anywhere to go back to our flat to try to get the tickets online. Which after another hour or so, we think worked. So, then it was 8:30, we went on a walk through the beautiful Park Guell and we were going to have a fine meal up on the hill and guess what? You got it, it didn’t work out.
Sometimes that is how things are. Sometimes…
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Lucky Girl!
July 19, 2010 by Samia Shalabi
we made it to Barcelona and it’s amazing. Although, I have to say we did not arrive without a few small inconveniences…
I should have known, when we got on the plane and my seat was in the middle of, the middle of the plane. You know, the seat where no one wants to sit. My husband very graciously switched with me. He’s so sweet…
The plane took off and I decided to recline. Nope, it wouldn’t recline. I asked a flight attendant about it and soon all the flight attendants were helping. No one could figure out how to make this stupid seat go back and since my husband already switched with me for my comfort, I wasn’t about to make another peep. Our flight was over 9 hours.
So, needless to say, I did not sleep the whole flight, which isn’t entirely the end of the world, but it kind of sucks. It also did not help that the family, with 3 kids behind us did not shut up the entire way. I guess they didn’t sleep either, but at least, they did have reclining seats.
We got off the…
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Spain… France… here we come!!
July 15, 2010 by Samia Shalabi
I have decided to completely shut down all operations here at Karazi Design, while we are away filming a movie in S. France.
For the next month, I am going to try to travel blog as much as possible. Please, if you know anyone interested in travel and reading about it, pass my blog on to them.
We leave in 2 days and I am quite excited and totally not ready… First of all, what do I wear? I’m so used to traveling to India and the Middle East and I have my go to cover up baggy clothing, but Barcelona and S. France? So, I decided, I will wear dresses all sorts of dresses and maybe only pack dresses, because here in the NW, I never really get to wear all my beautiful sundresses, (the sun don’t shine much on these parts). I guess I answered that question.
photo from the uah.edu website
Next, what to do in Barcelona? OMG, I am sooooooooooooo excited, a new city, on the Mediterranean, in the summer, in Europe. OMG! I know we will find plenty to do, but we only have 3 days and we like to wander and serendipitously run…
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Blogsherpa Blog Carnival: Kids Around the World
July 15, 2010 by Glennia Campbell
I’m hosting the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Blog Carnival this time around, and our theme this week is Kids Around the World. I asked my fellow Blogsherpas to write about taking their kids on trips or meeting kids while traveling. I got some amazing stories from top bloggers and photographers from around the world. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and take a little trip around the world with me now, and meet some great kids (and bloggers) along the way…
Planning a trip to Spain with your kids? Jennifer at the delightful Orange Polka Dot offers some sage advice on traveling with kids or teens. In Spain, don’t be surprised if you spot kids drinking something that looks like wine, either a few sips from mom or dad’s glass, or a finger of wine in a glass of La Casera (soda water). Jennifer speculates that maybe it is a bottle that is just their size that delights them. Be forewarned that in Europe, wine does not carry the same taboo for youngsters that it does in the United
Tortilla Española
July 11, 2010 by Kip Wilson
In honor of Spain making it to the World Cup final (¡que viva la roja!), I made a few tapas for us to nibble on during the game.
Every time I make a tortilla, I am amazed how six of the most simple ingredients in the world can come together to become something so delicious. All it takes is:
- potatoes (3 large)
- eggs (8 large)
- onion (about 2/3 of a medium-sized one)
- garlic (1 large clove)
- olive oil
- salt
Not only is it made up from simple ingredients, but it’s pretty quick and super-easy to prepare. The only challenging part is the flipping. We’ll get to that in a minute.
The first thing to do is to prepare the potatoes. Peel and wash them, and then cut into small thin slices. With a large potato, cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut each half in half lengthwise (so you have 4 long quarters), and then just start slicing away.
Start heating up a pot of olive oil on high temperature when you start slicing the potatoes, so that it’s hot and ready as soon as the potatoes are. The oil has to be deep enough to cover…
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One Month Update
July 8, 2010 by Kim and Clark Kays
Monday marked the our first full month on the road, and it’s time for a Q&A on our wild, crazy lifestyle to date.
So, how’s it going?
Pretty damn good. Besides a lost hat in Seville, we haven’t had any problems. We try to plan our days one at a time, and we usually see what we want without killing ourselves. If we miss something, we miss it. Some days are spent just hanging around the house doing laundry or relaxing. Today was one of those days. We slept in, had some lunch, and are waiting for our clothes to dry.
You would think living out of a single 70L backpack would be difficult, but it has greatly simplified the decision making process. Do I want to wear the light pants or the dark pants? The green shirt or the yellow shirt? Hell, I may just stick to three shirts when I get back to the US. There are no bathrooms to clean, plants to water, carpets to vacuum, etc.
Not that I used to do any of those things anyway.
Laundry has been easier than expected. Except for a shirt or two in the sink, we have been utilizing…
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