SEGOVIA, NOT GENOVIA!

December 3, 2014January 31, 2016 Jeni MSegovia, Spain, Trip 1Leave a comment

I’m back in Spain now after a great week in Morocco. As much as I’ve loved the Moroccan meals, I was craving jamon; despite knowing very little French, I’m still finding myself defaulting to “merci” instead of “gracias”; but one thing’s for sure – it’s so nice to be able to dip my toothbrush into the water running from the faucet and not have to worry!

I’m in Madrid again for a couple of days and I decided to finally take that day trip that I tried to take last time but found myself having some train issues. So, onward to Segovia.

The massive aqueduct was the first thing I saw after getting off the bus. It’s the defining feature of the city, and very hard to miss. It dates back to the 1st or 2nd century and is made up of 25,000 granite blocks held together without mortar. Unreal!

Next up was the Cathedral. A beautiful Gothic structure with works of many artists inside. I especially loved this Tree of Life painting, and the unexpected Candyland-esque trim on one of the many internal chapels.

I walked through this charming city to the opposite end in search of The Alcazar…the castle. It was the favorite residence of Alfonso X, Isabella, and Henry IV, but abandoned when the monarchy established residence in Madrid. Later the castle became the Royal Artillery School. From the outside it is truly what comes to mind when you think of a castle from a fairytale. But walking up the tower (actually the first tower or spire that I’ve climbed this trip), I was brought back to reality – I’ve been away from home and out of the gym for a while, and all of that jamon probably isn’t helping :).

These 3 historical features of the city were all fantastic, but what I really loved most about walking through Segovia were all of the amazing building facades, full of texture. I couldn’t help but take a million pictures for future inspiration for my own house, or castle…who knows what the future holds, and why limit my possibilities?!

Which is your favorite?

My second and final visitor, my friend Tori, will be with me for the next week in northern Spain. We’re going to be road tripping, stay tuned…

SARTORIAL SPAIN

December 2, 2014January 31, 2016 Jeni MSartorial, Spain, Trip 13 Comments

I didn’t forget my promise to post a sartorial edition. And while I’ve been working on it, these are not easy photos to capture. Firstly, I only just learned the shortcut to the camera on my iPhone and secondly, how do you become daring enough to not take these photos on the sly, from the back, etc? If anyone has some advice for my next addition, I’m open to it!

But regardless, here are the trends I have observed most while hanging out in Spain…

Navy is the New Black

Elbow Patches Everywhere (and more navy is the new black)

Leather sleeves

Baggy Pants

Misc. Fun

Amazing patterned suit

Needs no explanation

Selfie Sticks!

KOSHER IN BARCELONA

November 23, 2014January 31, 2016 Jeni MBarcelona, Jamon, Spain, Trip 1Leave a comment

Yesterday morning I took the high-speed train to Barcelona, the perfect 3 hour opportunity for more Serial (somehow I stopped myself so that I could save episode 9 for another day). I met up with friends, Sarah and Alisa, and we’ve packed a lot into our 2 days here – jamon, Gaudi, more jamon, you get the picture.

First up yesterday was lunch at La Boqueria, the big market in the city. We walked around visiting the different stalls before committing to one sit-down place for lunch. We started with an appetizer of different types of jamon served in paper serving cones (these cones are all the rage right now!), and then found ourselves at a seafood stall where we had great pulpo (octopus) and fish.

We took a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter, including the old Jewish synagogue where I remembered seeing this beautiful stained glass window years ago (Rach, do you remember this?).

After a nice long siesta we were ready to eat again, so it was off to Mont Bar, which came highly recommended by friends. The food was good, but this smoked tuna belly was GREAT! The homemade chocolate ice cream with pop rocks wasn’t too shabby either.

After dinner we stopped off at an old hangout from Sarah’s days abroad in Barcelona, 12 years ago – La Pipa Club. It used to be a secret bar where you had to buzz up to have the door opened for you. Today, the entrance is different but everything else has remained the same. A good walk down memory lane and then we had to call it a night.

Day 2 was equally as food intensive! We knew we were going to Cal Pep for lunch, so we planned the entire day around it. First up was a walk down Passeig de Gracia to see all of the Gaudi sites. I’ve seen these buildings – Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, La Sagrada Familia – a couple times before, but they really are amazing each and every time! In front of La Pedrera, I immediately had flashbacks to being on this street years ago and almost losing my shorts, a few of you might remember that too 😉.

After working up an appetite on our walk, it was finally time for Cal Pep. I had been for a memorable dinner back in 2006 and was excited to return. The waitstaff all looked remarkably familiar, and the crazy thing is I have photos from that visit and they are all still the same!! Lunch was pan con tomate, jamon (we ordered an extra plate because it went so quickly), amazing fried artichokes (!!!), tuna tartare, and grilled squid.

In our food comas, we made a stop at the Picasso museum and saw early works from the teenage years. We called it an early day and took a short siesta so that we could head out for some futbol. FC Barcelona v. Sevilla FC. It was awesome to be in Barcelona’s big house, Camp Nou, and even better that Barca won 5-1, with their star player, Messi, scoring 3 goals. Quite an experience!!

Heading down to Morocco tonight for the week. But until then, miles of jamon before we sleep.

WHEN YOU MISS YOUR TRAIN…

November 21, 2014January 31, 2016 Jeni MMadrid, Mercado San Miguel, Spain, Trip 18 Comments

Today I got cocky. I was all set to take a day trip to Segovia, I got up and out earlyish and took a beautiful walk through El Retiro, think Central Park, as I made my way to the train station. I had 15 minutes to spare, I had this…until I tried to buy a ticket and realized that this particular train departed from a different station, whoops! The next train was sold out, and the one after that wasn’t for another few hours, so I had to improvise…and I’m so happy that I did because it was a beautiful, fall, sunny day in Madrid and I had plenty to do to fill the extra day here.

(I’m horrible at selfies, working on it. I’ve actually seen a few people around the city with the selfie stick, no joke! http://www.amazon.com/Promaster-Selfie-Stick-Camera-Smart/dp/B00IEEN8TE)

First stop: The Botanical Gardens. I walked around these tranquil grounds as I listened to my stockpiled SERIAL (who’s listening?? I’m totally hooked, but NO spoilers please!!). Some might think it a strange choice while walking around in beautiful nature, but it was perfect for me!

Afterwards, I headed over to another art museum, Museo Thyssen. This was by far my favorite of the museums in Madrid! Their layout was the most inviting and accessible, and their collection is great. Right now there is also a temporary Givenchy exhibit, which was a lot of fun…dresses worn by Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O, different royals, etc.

For the rest of the day and night I was focused on food and roaming the streets of my neighborhood, Salamanca. (Mao, you should probably stop reading now 😉 ) Some Jamon Iberico, a night at Mercado San Miguel, and Churros…I couldn’t leave Madrid without crossing these things off my list. Those that know me well know that The Fairfax Farmer’s Market is one of my favorite places in L.A. Well, a night at Mercado San Miguel isn’t that different – there are various stalls with all sorts of Spanish foods (plus 1 stall of sushi?), and a bustling crowd. I had a variety of tapas and seafood and some Sangria, and then I headed out to Madrid’s most famous place for churros, Chocolateria San Gines. NO, I didn’t finish this huge order of churros, but yes I enjoyed every bite (how can you not?!)

And lastly, there was such great response to navy is the new black so I wanted to let you know I’m working on snapping some street style shots and will have a Spanish Sartorial post soon! Stay tuned…

Tomorrow morning I’m off to Barcelona for the weekend. Goodnight Madrid.

JET LAGGED IN MADRID.

November 20, 2014January 31, 2016 Jeni MMadrid, Spain, Trip 16 Comments

I arrived in Madrid yesterday, the first stop on my month-long adventure. Most of my first day was spent wandering aimlessly, delirious from jet lag, nibbling on warm chestnuts from a street vendor, and then catching up with old friends, Jaime and Fabiola, over a Mexican dinner (I definitely thought I was going to be without Mexican food for a month!!).

Today was all about the art at Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia. The Prado was celebrating an anniversary, so the 14 euro fee was waived…what luck!! My art history classes from college came flooding back to me as I was surrounded by the Velazquez and Goya paintings at the Prado, and Picasso’s Guernica at the Reina Sofia. Walking the halls of these two massive museums helped me to work up an appetite! When in Spain, Tortilla, Bocadillo de calamares, and delicious pastries are not to be missed!

And to top off an already productive day, tonight I found myself at a funny club called La Riviera dancing as Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings played. I always enjoy trying to see a concert if possible when I’m traveling – if you haven’t treated yourself to a concert outside of the US, I highly recommend it.

And, in conclusion, before I succumb to the struggle that is jet lag on night 2, I will leave you with just a little something I’ve learned while wandering around this city for the past two days…Navy is the new black! All of the chic Spaniards that I’m passing on the street are wearing Navy Blue suits, outerwear, etc. So happy now in hindsight that I went with the navy down jacket at Uniqlo…who knew I’d be so on trend?!