Author Topic: SPAIN: Personal Photos and Stories (Read 5050 times)

tonytorero · « **on:** March 01, 2005, 01:00:46 PM »

Inspired by the past week's weather and news events, I thought it might be fun to open a thread dedicated to the sharing of any personal Photos, memories, experiences of current or past time in Spain that may help us continue to do what we do best here at the café: Offer personal, first hand insight, experiences and information regarding the cultureS that make up the fabric of Spain.

Come one, come all. If it's first-hand, it's fair game... B)

tonytorero · « **Reply #1 on:** March 01, 2005, 01:09:44 PM »

It's been a chilly past 7 days or so. The marmota (ground-hog) definitely must have seen his shadow here in Spain this year...

On the 23rd of February, we had the largest snow-fall I've seen in our town during 7 years in Madrid.

However, this would be nothing more than a dusting in the mid-west... :lol: It sure was pretty to see though.

The next morning, my daughter and I made a snowman:

Notice how quickly the snow melted away.

And, this morning, while driving through Madrid running errands, I passed by Cibeles and was shocked to see this:

...This second photo isn't mine. It's from the el mundo newspaper but I can certainly vouch for its authenticity.

Signing off from a very chilly Madrid... B)

tonytorero · « **Reply #2 on:** March 01, 2005, 01:12:09 PM »

On Sunday, we were driving down the Paseo de la Castellana when we happened to see the burned hull of the Windsor building after the terrible fire that destroyed it. (SEE STORY HERE))

Needless to say, it was pretty amazing to see in person. I had taken my camera with us to snap some family pics so I pulled it out and took some shots I thought I'd share with my friends here at the Café.

All for now...Anyone else have something to share? Feel free...

karyn · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2005, 03:58:00 AM »

Thanks for sharing those pics Tony!

Loved 'em, even though the last few of the Windsor building were a bit sad to see.

Its really great for someone like me that's only been to Spain for a month to really visualize life there...and you're right, that was a dusting of snow! (we like to boast here in Chicago!)

Karyn

tonytorero · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2005, 06:08:44 AM »

While leaving TGIFriday's a couple of weeks back, I leaned out the window of the car while driving in as safe a manner as possible and popped off this 'slightly askew' side-view of the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu where the not so inter-galactics aka- Real Madrid do 'their thing' at.

I imagine Shiloh will especially like this one!

P.S. Looks like I'm the only (former or current) expat in Spain with a camera! :blink:

tonytorero · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2005, 10:10:57 AM »

Okay, the lone Spanish expat cameraman on the beat and reporting!

Well, Monday was my birthday! B) And my guys took me out for lunch to celebrate. We ordered one of my favorite plates for such an occasion: Una Parrillada de Mariscos (A platter of grilled seafood)

It was soooooooo gooooood! I thought I'd share it (A picutre not the seafood! :lol: ) because it includes shrimp/prawns served in the manner that is oh, so foreign for we anglos... To dispell all rumors, NO we do not eat the heads. We simply name each shrimp we eat, remove the head and eat the rest. (Personally, I enjoy holding an imaginary conversation with my new group of friends/shrimp heads after I've finished eating! It helps pass the time! :huh: )

Mikahl · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2005, 10:12:16 PM »

I suck the heads off of crawdads (crawfish) but that is kinda normal for louisiana and Texas. However, I am not cajun, I am Texan. I think naming your food is interesting. It reminds me of 'Good Morning Vietnam' when Robin Williams is doing a song with shrimp heads on his fingers to serve as his performers.

El Manco · « **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2005, 04:54:24 AM »

ok, i know i've looked this up before, but just how cold does it get in madrid, in farenheit? I thought it got down there, but i guess i've just never seen pictures of the snow and ice like the ones you posted...

see, being a south florida native, your \"Kansas City dusting\" looks to me like the Fury of the Crotchety Gods of the North, and a ssuch I may think i like cold weather, but this january my friedn in DC was laughing at me when i told her it was going to dip into the 20s for a few hours of the early morn.

ps-i will buy a camera

tonytorero · « **Reply #8 on:** April 20, 2005, 10:49:31 AM »

Glad to see that another camera will soon be roaming around Spain in search of '¡Caramelitos de Belleza Española!' (Little nuggets of Spanish beauty!) B)

In order to answer your question about typical weather in Madrid, I went to the weather site: Wunderground.com and looked up a weather station in the heart of Madrid. I came up with an interesting report for Ventas:

...which gave me the following Yearly Averages for Madrid in Farenheit and Celsius. Check it out at THIS LINK HERE[/b][/font]

In summary, it says that the lowest it's gotten in Madrid this past year was 22.5º F., the highest was 73.5º (This I do NOT agree with! It's gotten much higher!) for an average yearly temp of 47.5º.

A couple of comments about this. It's been an unseasonably cold winter and spring this year. Not at all like years past. Madrid reminds me of San Francisco during the winter (cool and rainy) and like any other garden variety mid-western city during the other 9 months (warm to hot and balmy just with lower humidity!).

That's my take. Anyone else wish to opine? :rolleyes:

Mikahl · « **Reply #9 on:** April 20, 2005, 07:42:06 PM »

Let’s put this into perspective for everyone. Sevilla is at 37 degrees latitude and Wash. D.C. at 38 degrees. Madrid is at 40. Does that help? Spain in the winter is nothing like Cancun in the winter. Most Americans have a perception of Spain being environmentally akin to the tropical regions Mexico. They are not. Mexico just happens to be what they ran into. The heat in Spain has little to do with a tropical environment, and more to do with living next to the sun reflecting mirror that is the Mediterranean. It is fairly cold and wet in Sevilla during winter, and in Madrid I had to wear my silk long underwear to explore the city. I had other clothes over them, as they are quite revealing

Mike

El Manco · « **Reply #10 on:** April 21, 2005, 04:44:06 PM »

Yeah i guess it's been colder than usual in some form everywhere, even down here it's still been chilly in the morning...

but that all helps, thanks. I knew madrid roughly shared a latitude with philadelphia, but i never thought it got that cold... and i guess it still doesn't-just i had only seen photos of that glum, rainy weather and not snow and icicles hanging at an angle off (is that cibeles?). I'm still going to have to get used to this, though.

as for the heat... yeah i was there in july 2 years ago it was definately way past 73... more like upper 90s!

And once i have me a camera and finally arrive over there, which i am ECSTATIC to report is but 38 days away, i will have plenty of la belleza española to share w/ all...especially when i'm on the camino de santiago... i'll be sure everyone gets to see that wine-filled fountain in la rioja!

eric

spanishsueños · « **Reply #11 on:** April 21, 2005, 07:55:59 PM »

Hey, well, I guess I am a lurker coming out of the closet! :unsure:

My journey to Spain started in '03! :wub: Happened to find my \"media naranja\", a spaniard, while I was living in Morocco (long story). Anyway, after I took my TESOL course I found this site, and have been lurking since. (creepy, eh) :blink:

Oh, and I am a Canadian!

I spent all of last year in Spain, and of course got some great pics! (Tony, I cant believe no one else out there has shared any)

So, since this is my first post, I hope I will be able to figure out adding pictures...

...after 10 minutes...

Nope, I guess, I cant add a photito or two, I dont have a website!

so, imagine: a beautiful sunset, the castle in Segovia (princess tower and all), ahh to be there again!

My Spaniard and I are back enjoying Canada for the time being! B)

tonytorero · « **Reply #12 on:** April 25, 2005, 12:11:29 PM »

Quote

So, since this is my first post, I hope I will be able to figure out adding pictures...

...after 10 minutes...

Nope, I guess, I cant add a photito or two, I dont have a website!

Hey there Spanish-soñador! Welcome to the café and thanks for your post! B)

I'm glad to see more interest in adding some photographic-riqueza to this thread. That's good to see, indeed!

Thanks for trying to add a photo. You're right. You need an Internet link (URL) to include a photo. A good, free solution is to sign up for an account with Yahoo Photos. That way, you simply copy and paste the URL for one of your online pics directly to a post here on the Café by pasting your Yahoo Photos Link into the dialogue box that appears when pressing the 'IMG[/font]' button. You know the one see right above where you type your posts at that looks like this:

I hope that might help a bit. Me, I'll be looking for some more photo ops this week!

B)

Spain212 · « **Reply #13 on:** June 23, 2005, 10:14:22 PM »

I keep trying to post pictures and it won't let me! I uploaded some to Yahoo Photos and followed Tony's instructions and it's saying to me, \"Sorry, dynamic pages in the [IMG] tags are not allowed.

Grrrrr

tonytorero · « **Reply #14 on:** June 24, 2005, 01:42:08 AM »

Hi there Spain212. I just took a look at the general board permissions just to make sure I hadn't accidentally removed the ability to add images on the board and I haven't so it should be possible for anyone who's a member of these forums. :unsure:

So, let me ask you... How are you adding fotos? Personally, I like to add them with that IMG button you see above when you're posting. It will cause a pop up window to appear where you're asked for the URL (that is, the link... http://www.mylinktomypic.com/lookatmypic.jpg ) or something along those lines.)

You can also add the link with code. To learn how to do this, press the 'Reply' button and place your mouse over the IMG button and some sample code will appear below it showing you the syntax for this.

If you've done all this and you're still puzzled, let me know. I can try logging on as you and posting a test pic just in case that gives us a clue. Thanks for your persistence. We'll get to the bottom of this! B)

tonytorero · « **Reply #15 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:03:24 PM »

Quote

When I posted that link a few posts back, I could click on it and it took me straght to the yahoo photos page with the pictures. Why didn't it take you there?

It didn't take me there because you are signed in to your Yahoo group to view your Yahoo photos. But the rest of the world doesn't have permission to access this. I don't remember if this is possible but you may want to look at the permissions settings for your Yahoo Photo Album. Perhaps you can make it to where anyone can view them. Then you could remove the yucky part of that link that the board doesn't like and it would let the board link to your Photo album. Make sense?

Head up. You're getting closer! B)

Spain212 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:03:38 PM »

New try. Different website. Searched on the FAQ and figured it out. This is Cadiz.

Spain212 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:11:32 PM »

Let the photo posting begin!

a town in Huelva, Andalucia - close to the Portugese border

Semana Santa in Seville. Don't be scared...

One of my classes during CELTA. Drinking champagne on our last day of class. See folks? CELTA can be fun!

Spain212 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:15:54 PM »

Seville.....Sigh.

The Giralda Tower. I have infinite shots of this beautiful landmark.

More of the Giralda.

Spain212 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:20:08 PM »

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT come to Spain without visiting La Alhambra in Granada.....

Imagine this Arabic stone design covering entire building interiors. Mindblowing.

Spain212 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 28, 2005, 05:35:35 PM »

Should I keep going? Okay, for any of you wanting to go to Barcelona......

And more of the lovely Seville.....

And yes, Spain is really this beautiful and Seville is really this colorful.

And for any of you who might be having a problem with yahoo photos like me, I'm using Flickr.com to post these. You upload the pictures, you can edit them, post them to your blog from the site, and lots of other stuff. It's a good site. I used it to blog my stuff with it while in Spain. Anyway, if you go to the RESIZE button, choose the size you want, then look below the picture and the URL for the picture is posted there. Copy it and post it using Tony's explanation he posted earler!

tonytorero · « **Reply #21 on:** June 28, 2005, 06:06:31 PM »

Phenomenal pics there my friend. Thank you so much for sharing them. You are quite the photographer! B) And to heartily agree on one point, the Alhambra is a MUST! for anyone visiting Andalucía. And after visiting, I cannot recommend more strongly that you buy a copy of Washington Irving's 'Tales of the Alhambra'. :wub:

What a great way to see beauty and then recreate it in your mind afterward again and again while comparing the stories you read with your own personal images. Great stuff. Keep 'em coming!

El Manco · « **Reply #22 on:** July 04, 2005, 05:20:51 PM »

i must agree w/ tony that yes, those are amazing shots. muchos kudos. with an amazing subject matter, of course.

i wish i could be able to contribute shots of norhtern spain via the camino de santiago, but delays in getting my visa didn't make that possible this summer. maybe next year.

Spain212 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 05, 2005, 06:54:29 PM »

Hey thanks for the kudos. But really, it's no photography wonder that these are good pictures. The subject matter did ALL the work. Andalucia is truly amazing to look at.

lizziee · « **Reply #24 on:** July 05, 2005, 07:14:16 PM »

These are fab! I forgot how lovely Cadiz is!!!!

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Author Topic: SPAIN: Personal Photos and Stories (Read 5050 times)