Medieval Mercat de Vic

Dali

Whilst looking through some old photos I came across these pics! Dali made some fantastic jewellry in his time! I took these when i visited his Musuem in Figueres a few years ago. How inspiring!

LOVE

The hair, the jacket, the face...

MUSE barcelona

Last night Maria invited me to the MUSE concert. I havent been to a concert in ages and was particularly impressed by the lights, lasers and graphics! The put on an awesome show!

Retiro; me love

pretty colours in the park

drying bacalao at the market

autumn leaves

funny shaped buildings and toni

plaza mayor

A couple of weeks ago, Toni and I went to Madrid. It was the first time i'd been there and the first time since Toni was a kid. We stayed in a lux hotel (thanks Kim) right in the center and walked around the city, eating and watching and admiring the people. Madrid is so different to Barcelona. The one thing i noticed was on Sunday everyone was out and about walking around the city. The shops were open, there were markets and cafes and parks and the people were happy and enjoying the sunshine. In comparison to Barcelona, i really enjoyed having something to do on a sunday. Here, everything is dead. The best thing about Madrid was the Retiro, the huge park right in the center of the city. It was Autumn and the leaves were changing colour and falling to the ground. We sat for quite a long time, people watching, relaxing, enjoying the fresh air.

Aranda de Duero

Aranda de Duero is a small town in the province of Burgos. It has a population of about 32,000 people. The town is unique for having wine cellars that interconnect below the streets of the town cetnre. It is the capital of the Ribera del Duero wine region. Antonio took us out to dinner one night and to show us around. He used to visit it often when he was younger and was thrilled to act as our tour guide. It was a cool night and we quickly found a bar to get a copa and check out the cellars. After descending a cool damp twisty staircase for what felt like a long, long time it finally opened up to a plethora of rooms, all connected by small hallways. The roofs were arched and the walls were wet. The smell was musty and damp. We wandered around for half an hour discovering things and checking out wine storage areas.

Hinojar del Rey

Hinojar del Rey is the village that Antonios grandparents lived in and where he spent the early years of his life living with them helping them. We went to see his Aunt and cousins and they showed us around. Its tiny and a lot of the houses are run down and unliveable. The cute thing of the village is that it is built up on a hill and all around the base of the town, and under the church are private cellars. Built into the side of the hill, the cellars and co-owned by the people in the town. They still produce and store wine in them. We got special access to one which wasnt in use for fermentation, only storage.

Burgo de Osma

Maria with a very large bell!

The cathedral which was founded in 1232.

Inscription in the walls of the cathedral.

The town square.

Shopping for dried mushrooms....yummy!

Penalba de Castro