The Stitch Up

New Year Resolutions #2 - Aprender y Practicar Mas Español

I made a lot of progress in learning Spanish while we were in Spain, but sadly since being back home, I really haven't taken any classes, haven't had much opportunity to practice and I think I'm forgetting a lot.  So the plan for the New Year is to learn a few new words a week and hopefully sign up for a class.  In an effort to improve my vocabulary I figure that I'll start with words in Spanish that I'm sure I'll need, hence - embroidery terms!

I was inspired to translate a list of embroidery terms from English to Spanish by this post from the blog Alguhas de MÉRI.  She created a list of embroidery terms translated into French, German, Italian and Portuguese!  It's a great resource and has diagrams that demonstrate how each stitch is done.  I've found the list really useful as I've got a collection going of craft magazines in different languages.   I've got a subscription to Marie Claire Idees which has wonderful patterns, but they are all in French (obviously) and I'm sometimes not able to just guess what's going on from the diagrams.  I've also brought back craft magazines from Germany and Italy - so I'm excited to have all the embroidery terms in different languages in one place.  I've also brought back magazines from Spain which have AWESOME embroidery patterns and I've needed to take some time to translate the stitches so I know what I'm doing!  

(I've looked all over and can't find a place in the US to buy this magazine and I'm bummed because I love it!  I need some kind of source in Spain to send me new issues when they come out.)

(I really like this olive pattern - I think it will be the first one I try out.)

So without further ado - here is my translation of embroidery terms in English into Spanish.  If anyone sees any terms that they think are wrong or any additions that could be made - let me know.  I did this by going through my books and magazines and comparing the types of stitches used so, it's entirely possible that I have one or two incorrect.  But I think it's a good jumping off point:

Download Vocabulario%20de%20Puntos%20Bordado

I hope other stitchers find this useful!  

  

Snow in Madrid

Although I no longer live in Madrid, I still have my finger on the pulse of all that goes down in Mad-town.  I had read in the papers that last week when Europe got hit with a cold snap, Madrid actually got several inches of snow and even had to shut down Barajas airport due to the snowy weather.  Crazy!  There was no weather even close to that while we were in Madrid and I have to admit I'm a little jealous.  After heading back to the east coast of the U.S. in search of a crisp fall and snowy Christmas, we've had nothing but some small flurries.  Meanwhile, the Madrileños are walkin' in a winter wonderland!  Here is the photo evidence that my secret source in Madrid (what up, Katie!) sent me of this crazy weather:

 

 

 

 

Thank once again to our Spanish photo journalist Katie (or as she is known in the rap world Ka-T) for fabulous pics!

So when is DC going to get some freaking snow?  My theory is that it will dump down on inauguration day to further frustrate what is going to be an already crazy situation.  Stay tuned for news on that front.  I'm starting a new project on Monday and that will go through at least the end of the month and I have my fingers crossed that they won't want me to schlep into DC on the day of the Obama-rama.  But we'll see.  In the mean time peeps - pray for snow!

Fall Back

Well - things got crazy here.  I picked up a short term project and it was great but it kept me working about 80 hours a week for two weeks straight.  I'm now done and so happy to be taking a break.

I know it's really winter and time to be moving on to Christmas talk, but I took a couple pics in Madrid before we left as Fall was just starting and then a bunch of photos in DC when we arrived and Fall was in full swing.  It's my favorite season so I thought I'd share the photos here.

My fall-ish photos from Madrid:

 

I took the photos in the evening so they're not perfect - but they at least give a flavor of fall in Madrid.

Meanwhile, back in DC, the fall leaf colors were bright and beautiful.  I took photos near the Falls Church - a historic church in the suburb of DC named for the church.  The church is beautiful and has an interesting background - George Washington was a member and it was at the center of many activities during the Revolutionary War.

 

   

All right - I'm moving on to winter and Christmas now.  We've actually had a couple of snow flurries already and I do want to get downtown to take a couple of photos of the White House Christmas tree and how pretty Georgetown is this time of year.  Next week the movers are scheduled to deliver our furntiure, but if all goes according to plan I should be unpacked and settled in before Christmas, with a little time included for a photo outing.  I'll let you know how I do!

Where are you????

Aach!  I have been out of touch with the blog for the past month.  Things have been crazy and have changed for us quite a bit over the past month - but - before I get to all that I wanted to update some of the other stuff we had going on in October.  The most important thing - Mom and Dad came to visit!

Yep - those are the parents, chillin' outside of the Royal Palace amid some statues.  We had a great time!!  Mom and Dad only had about 6 complete days for sightseeing in Spain, but I think we hit all the hot spots over the course of their visit.

The best way to see as much as possible is the MadridVision bus which is always our choice when visitors are in town.  Mom and Dad thought it was a great way to get an overview of the city:

We hit all the hotspots in Madrid - the Royal Palace, the Prado, Puerto Del Sol, Plaza Mayor - and we took an afternoon to visit the Retiro, which I think was one of Mom's favorite spots:

I think Mom got some good photos - she was clicking away on the camera like crazy!

We also did a day trip to Toledo which meant a ride on the train and some sight seeing in the beautiful old city center:

Despite the hectic pace, I think Mom and Dad had a good time and hopefully will be ready to take on another overseas adventure soon!  We really enjoyed visiting our favorite spots in Madrid with them.

I'll post about all of our big changes next!  In the mean time - Hasta luego!

The Secret

Well it wasn't a secret necessarily, but, Katie and I tried to play it cool over the last couple of months and keep our "project" on the d.l. (that's the down low for those of you who are not as "street" as Katie and myself.)  We plotted, planned and executed - a baby quilt!  Yes, the magic waters of Madrid were at work again this time on our friend Amy who had a beautiful baby boy in September!  Katie and I started planning this quilt back in June and worked on it as we could over the summer as we each took off for a bit on vacations. 

As Katie and I are the sole remaining members of the craft club (except for Amy but of course we couldn't have her make her own quilt!) we planned a basic 9 patch quilt that we thought we could complete pretty easily.  Katie scouted out the nursery colors so that I could pick out fabric when I was back in the U.S. during the summer.  We also decided to "spice" up the basic nine patch with some applique.  Amy has decorated her nursery with some cute elephants so we decided to include an elephant pattern on the quilt as well.  I found the perfect pattern at the blog AJ Quilts .  It is a mommy and baby elephant pattern - so sweet - and Marie, the blogger was nice enough to send me a pdf of the pattern that would work with our quilt plan.  So without further ado, here is our quilting process.  First, Katie and I hard at work:

 

 

AND - the final product.  (Please excuse the wrinkles, I hadn't ironed the quilt when I took the photos):

 

 

 

It was a fun project!  To give the quilt to Amy we planned a nice afternoon tea at a spot here in Madrid called Living in London.  It is a store that sells cute stuff from England as well as a tea house:

 

 

Katie's sister Kellie was in town and joined us in our afternoon tea.  We got down with those little sandwiches.  It was awesome!

 

The new momy is the pretty lady in the red (although all three ladies are very pretty!)  This is our tea tray shortly after we dessimated the sandwiches and had started on the sweets:

 

Oh yeah!  After tea we adjourned to Amy's house to play with the man of the hour.  The little cutie very thoughtfully wore an outfit that matched the quilt!

 

He's so flippin' cute it should be illegal!

Lerma & Burgos

Last weekend some friends invited me to go with them on a trip to Burgos (a town about two hours outside of Madrid) with a quick stop in Lerma (a little town on the way to Burgos) for lunch.  It was such a great day!  First, Lerma:

 

This building is a parador (government hotels that are established in former palaces) that was built in the 17th century by the Duke of Lerma.  He was apparently kind of a Machiavellian figure who ran Spain during Phillip III's reign as the king preferred partying to ruling.  The house was built to look like the Royal Palace at El Escorial - built for Philip II.  The interior is very pretty:

 

The town also has a pretty church and convent with a pretty view of the surrounding countryside:

 

 

 

Pretty huh?  After sight seeing a bit we headed out for lunch.  Lerma has a variety of restaurants that specialize in roast meats.  My understanding is that this was a big area for hunting back in the day so the food is primarily big servings of delicious meat!  I shared a big plate of yummy lamb chops and french fries with my friends and finished it off with equally yummy desserts!  This region also has some great vineyards and the restaurant had a nice selection of local wines.

After the great lunch we hopped back in the car and headed on to Burgos which is fantastic!!  I think this is one of my most favorite cities in Spain - it's so beautiful and interesting!!  Starting first with the Arco de Santa Maria - the old entrance to the city.  Remodeled in the 16th century but constructed before then (I'm not sure when exactly) it is wonderful:

 

The city is located on the banks of the Arlanzon River and has so many pretty views near the water:

 

 

But the star of Burgos is the Catedral de Burgos - it's spectacular:

 

 

The cathedral was initially constructed in 1221 and then added on to through 1795.  It is also the burial place of El Cid and his wife.  El Cid is a national hero of Spain - he was born in Burgos in 1040 and is most famous for driving the moors out of Spain.  I took a TON of photos inside the cathedral and I wish I could post them all here - but I'll just post a few:

 

 

  

  

There is a pretty interior courtyard that is surrounded by stained glass windows:

  

  

  

The last picture is me, Kellie and Katie chilling by the wishing well in the courtyard.  There are so many pretty photos of the cathedral - it's a gorgeous place - but this is already a pretty long post.  The last spot we checked out in Burgos was the remnants of the old castle at the top of the hill.  It's a pretty spot that offers great views of the city and has a nice spot to enjoy a drink in the cool shade:

 

 

 

Check out the view:

 

Awesome!  After the castle it was back down to the square in front of the cathedral for a nice tall beer and then some tapas.  It was a fantastic trip - Burgos is one of the prettiest cities I've seen in Spain and I highly recommend it!

Noche En Blanco

During the month of September cities all across Europe set aside a night to celebrate art and music.  In Spain it's called La Noche en Blanco or "White Night".  This year the celebration fell on September 13th and it basically consists of various art installations, concerts, outdoor movies and other events that start at around 11 pm and continue until 5 or so in the morning.  The museums stay open all night and admission is free (but the lines are CRAZY) and various government buildings are lit up for the evening.  Hubby and I hit the event with some friends.  We wandered around a bit on Paseo de Recoletos and the Plaza de Cibeles - just to get an idea of what was going on.  The fountains had been jazzed up for the night with some giant rubber duckies:

 

 

Here are some of the government buildings lit up for the evening:  The communications building had big lipstick prints projected onto it along with a recorded sound effect of a woman giving a big smooch to someone - mmmwwwahhhh!

The Congreso building was lit up pretty as well and we hung out for a jazz concert that was scheduled to start at midnight in front of the building:

 

Unfortunately, when the concert finally started they had some problems with the sound, so we fought this sea of humanity to do some more wandering around:

 

There are tons of concerts and other acts (including a guy walking the high wire!) to see during Noche Blanco, but we figured out pretty quick that you have to be o.k. with HUGE crowds of people if you want to see any of the more popular events.  Noche Blanco is a really fun night - there is a ton of energy and it feels a little crazy to be out at a museum at 3 in the morning.  But I'd recommend to anyone interested in going to get a list of events, pick the ones you really want to see and get settled in early as all the events fill up with people pretty quick! 

Here are a couple of other shots of  buildings lit up for the evening:

 

Barcelona 2 Mas Veces

I LOVE Barcelona - I can't lie.  I blogged about our first trip to Barcelona here and here.  Since that first trip we've been back twice: a trip in late Spring with friends and a trip this Summer all on our lonesome. Despite these trips there are still so many things I want to see in Barcelona and so many places left to visit.  But here are a few of the spots I "discovered" on our last couple of trips.

First and foremost - the Gothic area.  I think the Hubby and I passed through this area as I was dragging him to various Gaudi houses on our first trip, but the last couple of times in Barcelona I've been able to just wander around and gaze at this lovely section of the city:

This is a section of the old Roman wall - with some modern Spanish scooters in the foreground:

In the Gothic area is the beautiful Barcelona Cathedral which in my opinion is one of the most impressive churches we've seen in Europe:

I'm not gonna lie - I'm pretty proud of the picture!  Here's another:

The churches can be tough to photograph as it's pretty dark inside and flash is not permitted.  But I do my best!

Another great church to visit in Barcelona is Santa Maria del Mar - it's close to the Gothic area but I think it's technically in the El Born neighborhood - which is a cool area with lots of great stores and cafes.  My pictures of the Maria del Mar church do NOT do it justice:

I was also determined on this last trip to check out Palau Guell - another Gaudi house, built for his patron Guell.  However my timing stinks.  The house is under renovation until 2010!!!  Bummer.  All I could really see is the outside and the stables.  So here's a couple of shots of both:

Our main objective on this last trip to Barcelona however, was to catch some rays.  So, we hit the beach and it was nice!

The water is beautiful here which surprised me as it's near a really busy port and is such a popular beach - but it was lovely and clear and great for swimming.  No pics of the hubby and I in bathing attire as we were dangerously white before the trip to the beach and probably would have created a hazardous flash situation.

This whole post has me thinking of our next trip to Barcelona - hopefully we'll get up there again soon. There is so much more to see!

Caminamos

The weather in Madrid changed a little last week and became pretty balmy.  Cooler and breezy and perfect for some long walks.  And the only really good place for long walks in Madrid is the Parque Retiro. I've blogged about the Retiro before.  It's a beautiful place with so many pretty corners to find.  I also realized last week that it is where all of the people left here in Madrid during the month of August are hiding.

The cafes in the park were full of people and there were more boats in the little lake than I had seen before.  

I'm not surprised there were so many people there - there were lots of spots to find some shade:

And the park has stayed surprisingly green despite the heat and dryness this summer:

Now we know where to beat the heat and find all the other Madrilenos during August.

I also wanted to mention that while Hubby and I don't personally know anyone on the Spanair plane that crashed yesterday, it's an unbelievably shocking and tragic event and I'm keeping the families of those who died in the crash, in my thoughts.

Ferria 2008

I have in fact had a few things going on this summer - although you wouldn't be able to tell that from this blog.  My most recent outing was this past weekend.  One of my friends here in Madrid - Caridad - invited me and Katie (another friend) to visit her town as it was having a Ferria - what in the U.S. would be a fair or carnival.  The celebration includes carnival rides, roast chicken stands, games, markets and a couple of bullfights. 

Caridads town is Villarrobledo.  It's about a 2 hour train ride from Madrid and has a population of about 30,000 people.  Like most towns in Spain they have their own bullring and our first order of business after arriving was to hit the bullfights!

Now, I know bullfighting is not everyone's cup of tea.  The hubby and I have been to a few here in Madrid and it's hard not to feel that the odds are stacked pretty well against the bull.  But culturally it's an interesting event and there is a certain pageantry to the fights that is always impressive.  The bullfights we've been to in the past have been the regular type you see on t.v. - some Picadors get the bull ready for the matador who is on foot and uses his cape to get the bull to perform some passes before killing him.  

The bullfight we saw last weekend in Villarrobledo however was a little different.  The matador is on horseback for this fight and the horses used are well trained, magnificent animals that are easily the highlight of the whole event.  This type of bull fight is called a "rejoneo" and the men on the horse are "rejoneadores" rather than matadors. 

 

The horses really are just beautiful.  The above photo is of the three rejoneadors coming out at the beginning of the event for a paseo with their horses.  The horses are beautiful Andalucian stallions that are both graceful and brave.  They would stand facing the bull and actually charge at the bull to get the bull to charge back and then cut quickly to the side at the last second to allow the rider to stick the bull with the flag or banderillas (colorful sticks).  The horses would finish getting chased around the ring by the bull and then perform a little dance or prance for the crowd that we all went wild for.

These rejoneadors are expert riders.  This next photo is not the greatest - I'm definitely not going to win any awards as an action journalist - but it's of one of the rejoneadors, after having wrapped the reins of the horse around the saddle, grabbing a banderilla in each hand and galloping toward the bull:

It was all pretty awesome.  We sat in front of the President of the local bullfighting authority who scored each fight.  When the crowd thought one of the rejoneadores had done particularly well, they waved white hankies - an indication they thought the rejoneador should be awarded the bull's ear (like I said, bull fighting isn't for everyone): 

The President then hangs his own white handkerchief over his box to indicate that he is giving an ear to the rejoneador:

I don't know if all of the rejoneadors were really good or the crowd and President were just especially gracious, but all of the rejoneadors were awarded ears for the bulls they killed and one or two were even awarded BOTH ears from the bull.  I didn't take pictures of the ears being taken.

After the fight we were off to the fair.  They had the usual games and rides that you see at a carnival in the U.S.  Here is a photo of Caridad and Katie at the entrance to the fair - the streets leading in to the carnival were all decorated with lights - the town was really pretty that night:

The highlight of the fair in my opinion are the tents serving rotisserie chicken.  They served up plates of delicious roast chicken on top of french fries and topped with sauteed green peppers - we then washed it all down with a jug of sangria.  It was GOOD!

After meandering around the carnival and market a bit and figuring we had exercised off all that chicken and sangria, we hit one of the many chocolate and churro stands.  Man - I L.O.V.E. the whole chocolate and churro thing:

After sleeping in a bit the next day (we had to recover from all of the chicken, sangria and chocolate!) Cari gave us a little tour of Villarrobledo.  It's a pretty town - this is the main church and plaza:

There are also several pretty convents and gardens:

The Ferria weekend was really fun and Caridad explained to us that every pueblo in Spain has it's own celebration that usually includes the whole carnival, bullfight and roast chicken experience.  Now that I know this I'm planning to map out the local fiestas for the next few months and eat my weight in roast chicken.  Or - maybe I'll just try to return to Villarrobledo next year!