Spain Thread 1

[letters_to_cleo]

I have only been to Majorca, as per my Espanyol colleagues, Ibiza is more for the younger crowd.
Majorca has gray sands. Medyo laidback lang dun, uso sa Majorca ang staycation especially sa hotels na beachfront. But Majorca is big, madami rin mapapsyalan aside from those sa shoreline. Meron mga valley towns and mountains.
But the best beaches in Spain are in Menorca, again as per my Espanyol officemates.  Menorca, Mallorca and Ibiza are part of the same group of Islands ~ the Baleares. I think pwede naman maglipat ng islands but expensive din.

In my opinion, kung beach lang naman, wala nang tatalo sa beaches natin sa Pinas. lol

[jeune]

Parang nice nga ang Menorca. In- law's time share has some nice places where we can stay in Spain but I was looking at Ryanair's flights wala silang biyahe sa airport ng Menorca, closest is Palma 131 km away. What websites do you guys use for cheap flights?

[letters_to_cleo]

^Palma is in Mallorca.  Wala talagang direct flights ang Ryanair to Menorca. Air Europa lang ang alam kong meron flight to Menorca. The other option is to go to Barcelona (by plane or train) then from there, take a fast ferry to Menorca.

[chuzzle]

letters_to_cleo - do you already have your NIE? How long did it take for you to claim your ID?

[letters_to_cleo]

Of course :-) 60 days after I arrived nakuha ko na yung NIE ko. From the initial application and finger printing sa Police station, two weeks lang then nakuha ko na NIE ko. :-)

[chuzzle]

^ thank you so much. My appointment is tomorrow kasi and I am wondering when I´ll get my tarjeta cos I am planning to go to England last week of September. I hope I get it before the date of my intended travel.

[shegie_285]

question ladies especially to letters_to_cleo meron bang mobile network sa spain na may unlimited internet either per day or per month na mura lang, ie less than €20 per month and the prepay sim is free?? or kung hindi free ang sim how much normally ang sim? 

I saw there are pocket wifi rentals na €5 per day kaso I have to post the pocket wifi pa, ayaw ko sana ng iiwan ang credit card details ko. But I might consider this..

going to Madrid for a week in less than two weeks.

thanks!

[letters_to_cleo]

The prepaid mobile companies  here halos pareparehas lang naman ang offer which is about 8€ per month base rate (i.e. kelangan mong magload lagi ng at least 8 euros per month), inclusive of 1 GB fast speed internet. Pag naubos mo na yung 1 GB data usage mo, babagal na sya parang dial up but pwede kang magpa-add ng 500 MB for  5 €. But ang catch is pag nag call ka or tawag ka mababawasan yun.  Prepaid lang din ako ditto, I usually load lang 20€ per month.

Meron cheap na phone company ditto, Lebara, eto mura na pangtawag sa Pinas.  So usually the Pinoys I know here have one prepaid na 8€ sim for their smart phones, tapos one phone pa na may Lebara sim for calling sa Pinas.

Anyhoo, most buses pala in Madrid  may free Wifi.

[shegie_285]

Thanks sis.. mukhang ok na ang 1Gb at €8, one week lang naman kami. We wont call or text na lang. everyone here naman sa Ireland has 3G then sa pinas FB message ko na lang sila.

Good to know na may mga wifi ang buses.

thanks!  excited

[shegie_285]

I was going to book Botin (thanks sis letters_to_cleo for the link ) but then starter is €20 for melon and parma ham? hindi naman sila Michelin star restaurant and its only melon and parma ham! so isip isip kung magbook dun. oh and we tried Friday/Saturday evening, full daw according to the website. we can book next sunday (22 Sep lunch time).  Main course is ok sana for €23 for the suckling pig. maybe we'll give it a miss...

[letters_to_cleo]

Shegie meron silang set meal na 31€ including the conchinillo (at Botin!) Pero honestly over-rated an conchinillo, mas masarap ng di hamak ang lechon cebu sa atin:-)

Also kung pupunta ka rin lang naman sa Segovia (day trip lang from Madrid), dun ka na lang magtry ng Conchinillo since that is their specialty and dyan talaga yung authentic, old fashioned conchinillo. We tried it there (yung friend ko nagtry then I ordered another specialty dun, Chuleton, pero I ate her conchinillo too haha), and masarap naman pero mas masarap talaga ang lechon nation. Wala kasing kaherb herb ang conchinillo nila kay nakakaumay.

BTW,  one of the best value restaurant sa madrid is yung Museo de Jamon. Madami yan sa centro (i.e. sa Bilboa, or along Grand Via).  Mostly Spanish people lang kumakain ditto and their Menu del Noche starts at 8 Euro lang.  Last weekend dito kami kumain (kasi we went out supporting Madrid's bid for the 2020 Olympics haha pero talk!) and I had the following:  Bottled Still Water, seafood salad for my primer,  beef in wine sauce for my second course, bread pudding for my dessert (delicious ang bread pudding nila sa spain! almost akin to our leche flan! yung flan nila ang walang masyadong kwenta haha parang gelatine or more akin sa pannacotta lang ang texture.  you have to try bread pudding as your dessert ha!). And all these, I only paid 8.50€! Super mura talaga and maayos ang food.  Also pwede lang magtapas sa museo de jamon kung di mo type magfull meal, a lot of jamon etc.

Another tourist "must try" daw in Madrid is the Chocolateria St. Gines sa city center.  It supposedly offers the best ever churros.  Pero sa totoo lang mas masarap pa ang churros dito sa malapit sa flat ko haha! Pero masarap ang hot chocolate nila, super thick talaga. But the churros itself, okay lang, walang extraordinary. If you want to try sa Chocolateria St. Gines, go there mga offpeak hours or kahit wee hours of the morning para di masyadong madaming tao :-)

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ I agree on Chocolateria San Gines.. masarap ang churros pero di naman super-wow.. but the chocolate was really yummy for me.. very thick. We went there for breakfast, then walked na to Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, etc..

One resto we really liked in Madrid was Taberna Maceiras. Di sya malapit sa hotel namin pero two nights kami dito nag-dinner kasi nagustuhan namin ang ambiance and ang food. We liked their pulpo, arroz de madrilena, etc. And mura lang din, i meam price is reasonable na. Another is La Bola Taberna, masarap yung cocido and ropavieja yata yun..

[shegie_285]

thanks sis letters_to_cleo and bagaholic_chewy! The Museo de Jamon is on 'my saved places' na sa trip advisor app ko. I love parma ham and cava and Spanish wine! actually hindi ako mahilig sa lechon, kahit sa pinas. gusto ko pag lechon kawali na sya. Ok i'll order the bread pudding. im excited sa museo de jamon.

Ok lang naman sana magspend ng mahal sa resto kase birthday meal ko din kaso ayaw ko ng hindi good value. parang dapat bursting with flavours kapag mahal.

Sa Toledo kami mag-day trip. we'll go there on Saturday and then Sunday gala lang sa Madrid and then see (hopefully me ticket pa) Real Madrid.

We'll try din that chocolateria and I'll check those restaurants.

So excited!

[letters_to_cleo]

Sa Toledo maraming Michelin recommended restaurants at meron din Michelin starred resto na mura lang. Max na siguro 60€ per person.
Don't forget to buy jewelries sa Toledo!  They have very unique Toledo designs kasi eh:-)

Every sunday nadadaan ako sa Santiago Bernabeu (Real Madrid Stadium) from my badminton sessions pero di pa ako nakakanood ng live game since dapat months in advance yung booking otherwise uper mahal na ng tickets, but good luck baka makakuha ka!

Madami rin Filipino stores and restaurants sa Madrid so if you so desire to get some stocks I'll tell you where you can get these haha--including siopao, pan de sal, and pan de coco baked fresh daily by a Pinoy panaderia/restau :-)

[shegie_285]

Ang tickets available online is VIP lang which is super mahal, mga €200. My hubby said before daw day of the match na sya bumili. Another friend said the day before (but these were 10 years ago!!). Hubby said there shouldn't be a problem dahil small team lang kalaban ng Madrid but because there's this new player from the English premiere league kaya baka madaming manood!

omg - I want siopao and pandesal!!! sippao na fresh? where? I cant bring home stuff from there kase we're not paying bags sa Ryanair. 10 kilos for 5 days with a wedding pa. pack light talaga ako. But i'll eat as much as I can there. haha..

[letters_to_cleo]

Hi Shegie :-)  Yup fresh pan de sal!  It's called  Panaderia Phoebe, actually nalalakad lang sya from Santiago Bernabeu but medyo may liko liko so i'll give you the direction via metro na lang :-)

Go down at Valdeacederas Metro Station (line 1. Next to Tetuan Station). Exit at the Bravo Murillo exit, then walk papunta ng Mercadona (but do not cross ha! landmark lang Mercadona so you know what direction you'll walk). The first street corner na matamaan mo turn left and walk lang (2 mins) and ayun na yung Pinoy Panaderia. They also sell Pinoy cooked food but it varies per day kasi eh.
Kunin ko phone number nila later. Habit kasi na after badminton namin we eat there for lunch haha! Weekend Pinoy comfort food ba

Mahal talaga now ang RM ticket! Lalo nakawinning streak sila!  Kami ang ginagawa namin nanonood kami sa pubs or bars, ansaya ng energy! Lalo siguro kung live :-)

[shegie_285]

Thanks sis! napicturan ko na ang direction. sabihin ko kay hubby punta kami dun.

yes excited din to watch the RM kase nga daw super saya ng energy. We have an option din to watch Barcelona against a smaller team na somewhere close to Madrid on Sunday. Hubby said the stadium daw of that small team, 15k lang capacity so huwag na daw.. Altought we're Barcelona fans than RM.

[shegie_285]

Mga sis question ulit... how long is the journey to las rozas village outlet? is there a train? I read bus journey and around 30 mins. is this correct?

sis letters_to_cleo have you been there? if yes, how are the prices for Michael Kors bags?

Kung normal clothes shopping, ie tipong zara and mango lang, saan best magshop sa Madrid?

Thanks! parang gusto ko na magshopping kase hubby found out that atletico Madrid are playing home on Wednesday, Barcelona somewhere close to Madrid on Saturday and Real Madrid home on Sunday. Naging football holiday ito!!

Just checked the weather  26C at 9:13pm. Yay!! ang init! excited!

[letters_to_cleo]

Madali lang pumunta sa Las Rozas sis. Ride ka lang ng metro to Moncloa Station. Then from there go to the bus stops and look for Las Rozas Bus station. Bus 621 or 629.  Every 20 minutes yung alis and 40 mins travel time.
I live sa North Madrid (about 10 minutes from Barajas) and it takes me less than 1.5 hours to go to Las Rozas.

Mga highend yung items dun. Mura Burberry nila and nice ang ambience.  And yup mura ang MK dun! Di ko kasi masyadong gusto ang MK but nung nagpunta kami dun bumili ng bags and wallets ng MK yung kasama ko.  Also may Pinoy beki na salesperson sa MK na super maasikaso at nagbibigay ng extra discount :-) So yep nice dun. Mura din mga Clarks shoes dun. From 10€.

Pero for me, there's an outlet center na nearer my place and mas midlevel ang brands. Andoon yung mga outlet shops ng Mango, Desigual, Springfield, Camper, Pull&Bear, Benetton, Adidas, Nike, Ripcurl, Mascario ( maker of pretty ballerinas na flats) and other shops pa na mostly European hughstreet brands. So dito ako lagi and about 15 minutes lang kasi by bus from me.

It's called Factory Outlet.  You can go there by going to Plaza Castilla Metro station and from there go to either 171 or 181 na bus stop. Just tell the driver to drop you sa Factory Outlet. You will not miss it naman kasi sobrang laki ng Factory Outlet na ito, you can spend the whole day just shopping around. :-)

So there, hope this helps.

Mango, best to shop is sa Factory.  Ang Zara kasi same price lang sa lahat ng shops kasi di na sale season :-)

[shegie_285]

Thanks Sis! You're a great help. Parang mas gusto ko na dun sa  Factory Outlet. Naexcite ako. Isipin ko kung ano mas gusto kung clothes and shoes or bag. I can only go to one. 

Pero parang gusto ko din puntahan ang MK dahil gusto ko ang brand. bahala na when we get to Madrid.

Thanks a lot again!:)