Spain Thread 1

[shegie_285]

Hi everyone! Just back from Madrid. Hubby and I enjoyed it sooo much. sabi nga ni hubby he didn't expect to enjoy it so much, sabi ko its because he's with me kaya na-enjoy nya na. Plus we find Madrid cheap, we enjoyed the food, wine and beer. Anyway, some kwento lang and observations, we didn't go to any museums kase ayaw ko ng museums.

First day - watched a football match. Sa stadium, I noticed ang kalat nila. ang katabi ko tinatapon lang sa sahig ang balat ng sunflower seeds! gusto ko pa naman sana bumili kaso naisip ko san ko itatapon ang balat. sa sahig lang pala. at they smoke din in stadiums, ayaw ko! Then we went to local bars, €1 or €2 for wine tapos may libreng tapa per drink or sometimes €1 ang tapa. yumyum!

2nd day - travel to the wedding - northeast of Madrid. Took the train. Dito ko narealise ang ingay talaga ng mga Spaniards! pansin ko na ito dito sa Dublin, pag summer ang ingay sa bus because of the Spanish teenagers (taking up English classes). Na-confirm ko sa Madrid maingay talaga sila.

3rd day - hungover because of the wedding. travelled back to Madrid. did nothing! very late lunch sa Museo del Jamon! yumyum! sis letters_to_cleo hindi ko natikman ang bread pudding. wala sya sa menu. pero baka nagkamali kami kase dun kami sa nakatayo, dapat ata dun kami sa may table. sabi namin babalik kami pero hindi na kami nakabalik.

4th day - we went to San Anton market. we ate Japanese para maiba naman. mahal ng konti. but we enjoyed the terrace tambay drinking wine and beer. Then we walked along grand via, then edificio de correos, then retiro park then watched another football match - Barcelona vs a smaller team. I enjoyed this football match because I like Barcelona Tumambay din kami sa 5th floor ng edificio de correos (may bar dun). Siesta ata ng napunta kami hindi kami nakaakyat dun sa observation place.

5th day - Toledo - oh we love Toledo its a very nice city. puro lakad lang kami. hindi na kami pumasok sa mga churches, dun lang sa synagogue. Feeling ko mas worth it ang mga churches pero dami na naman namin nakita churches. kakapagod din kase super init! Mura din ang mga 'set meal' nila. its all over Madrid pero dito kami sa Toledo umorder ng set meal. For €10 we got paella (good for one person), steak and chips, dessert and coffee. share na kami ni hubby.

6th day - last day. So we were meant to go  to museo del jamon for lunch and shopping (at guilty si hubby sa two football matches). Late kami nagising so hindi na kaya ang outlet so dun na lang kami sa Sol mag-shop. Kaso sa pedestrian street between gran via and sol, we saw a bar na €1 ang cava. prior to that, sabi ko kay hubby I haven't had cava, puro wine or rose or beer lang kase sa mga bars na napuntahan namin. So punta muna kami dun sa may €1 cava. hala napatagal stay namin dun. we had enough time lang para sumilip sa mga shops and walked a bit sa Sol. We saw Plaza Mayor (I love this square too - ang ganda and ang laki). The square did remind me of Barcelona but mas maganda itong Plaza Mayor.

I discovered Kiko make-up too! its so cheap pero according to reviews maganda daw ito, its an Italian brand. so nag-shop din ako ng make-up dun. I think the shop in Gran Via is new, I overheard two Filipino talking, 'ay bago ba itong shop na ito?'

We find their metro clean and newer compared to other metros (Paris/London/New York).

Ang tagal ng siesta nila! hindi ko ito napansin sa Barcelona.

One more madami talaga sa kanila hindi marunong mag-English! joint effort kami ni hubby pero mas magaling si hubby sa akin sa spanish. naisip ko kaya gulat talaga mga Europeans sa mga Pinoy kase magaling mag-English kahit we use our own language sa ating daily conversation.

We really enjoyed Madrid at relax lang kami. Usapan nga namin ni hubby, its not like Paris or Rome na parang ang daming attractions na dapat puntahan so kapagod plus ang mahal pa sa Paris. sa Madrid we just experienced the city.

[letters_to_cleo]

^Hi sis! Nung nasa Madrid ka, nasa galaan naman ako sa Italy haha!  Nice that you liked Museo de Jamon!
Mura talaga sa Madrid no sis?  Actually wala ang napuntahan ko pa lang na kasing mura ng Madrid eh Budapest at Portugal, lahat na mas mahal lagi.
And yes ang iingay ng mga streets sa Madrid no? Kahit sa opisina namin parang palengke lang! Hahaha pero diba makikita mo talaga ang mga similarities
ng ugaling Pinoy at espanyol? Madali sa atin kasi andami nilang words na halos kaparehas lang sa Filipino hehe hehe! Ayun lang, bawal magmadali dito! hehe! Relaxed talaga, at ayun nga chika chika forever and warm ang mga tao :-)

Nice that you enjoyed Madrid! Wala talagang panggulat na attraction ang Madrid eh unlike Barcelona and other Eu cities, but yung lifestyle na relaxed at not too expensive ang ace niya for me

[shegie_285]

^ Naku sis ilang beses namin binalak balikan ang museo del jamon kaso ang dami kase ng gusto din namin I-try. where in Italy? I've only been to Rome - its one of my top 3 fave cities. Me client ako na sa Madrid ang head office, naku super relax, ang bagal bago makaresolve ng issues! hihi.

Actually naisip ko para lang akong nasa Pinas hehe except for the grand and old buildings at puro hamon! hehe.. I felt at home. May mga parts na makalat din!

I'd go back to Madrid if given a chance.   Siguro Madrid is one of our favourite holidays. Minsan hindi naman needed ang attractions, mas masarap mag-immerse sa culture.

[letters_to_cleo]

Just got back from a weekend in Valencia. It's a small but beautiful city which reminded me a bit of my hometown, Davao city.
It's small but very varied! It has an old town, with all the requisite old churches, big mercados where the locals shop, a Nuevo Centro with big malls,  and sprawling
parks! Plus the Ciudad Bellas et Artes which was my favorite complex! Beautiful architecture and sprawling spaces surrounded by
water!  And then there's the beach which was just 30 minutes from the city.  Truly an underrated city in Spain!  Great also that there
are not many tourists so the prices are really local prices and walang tourist trap areas.  This is of course the birthplace of paella, kaya
every meal we had paella.  Yummy and cheap at 10 Euros per plate of seafood paella!

[shegie_285]

Hi! I'm here again.. so hubby and I might go to Madrid or Seville in October. Might because its a work thing for him and not yet 100% confirmed but its more likely that we'll go.  I am checking the fast trains, I went to renfe.com but when I searched ang result is no available journey daw sa date ko. Is renfe.com only for the regular trains, not the AVE? There are other websites naman na available ang AVE sa date ko. I went to two websites, one is around €100, one is €75 although magkaiba ng times, would you know what website is the cheapest? Thanks!

[letters_to_cleo]

Awts Shegie now ko lang  nakita ito. Hmmmm I always use renfe for my train tix eh. Pero yeah may bug nga yung site, minsan lalabas walang available tapos pag search ka ulit meron na. renfe is for ave too.  Actually Ave talaga sya, kasi for the intercity trains na mid-distance (cercanias) sa train stations lang sila usually.  Where is your starting point ba sis? like madrid to seville ba? from outside spain, using other connecting trains like tgv? i use renfe always kaso lagi kasing madrid ang starting point ko :-)

[shegie_285]

^ hi sis. No worries.  I posted sa FB ang question ko. may bug nga daw minsan ang renfe website so try lang ng try. Anyway hubby and I will stay na lang in Madrid and do a daytrip sa Segovia (thanks for your kwento). Initially plan is seville then get train to Madrid dahil sa work ni hubby. Now, tatambay kami sa stadium ng Real madrid on the saturday we arrive dahil real madrid vs. Barcelona ang match. sana after kick off may ticket pa ang mga scalpers at magmura.

[letters_to_cleo]

^^haha asa sa tickets sis! Hahaha ako rin pinapangarap ko makanood sa Bernabeu ng Real vs Barca pero maliban sa mahal ang tix, lagi syang sold out kaya sa bars na lang siguro ako manonood tee hee!!

[shegie_285]

^ haha i know sis re: tickets. Asa in vain. €400 each ang tickets sa market at the moment so hindi kami bibili - kung €200 each pwede pa. And careful din kami sa nagbebenta baka fake! Hehe. But im sure great ang atmosphere sa Madrid so excited pa din sa match. 

[plush]

can we bring Jamon from Spain? baka kasi di pwede sa customs sa airport.

i know in the US bawal to bring in pork products from SPain. i dont know sa atin. any experience? thanks.

[letters_to_cleo]

Yes you can. I've done this on my trips to Pinas. I however do not buy a whole leg of jamon. I buy them sliced na. Pack them well though. I even bring fruits from Spain (mostly stone fruits) basta pack them well para hindi  mangamoy. cheese also are nice things to get from here kasi they're relatively inexpensive.

[shegie_285]

Going to Madrid in 21 days. excited. I backread again naku na-confuse na naman ako sa shopping, haha...  I have questions:

Segovia - Avila - can we do this in one day, if yes how? We want DIY sana rather than joining tours. Our plan is to a day trip to Segovia on Monday, we're thinking we'll leave Madrid probably around 10am. Segovia talaga gusto naming puntahan so okay lang kung hindi kaya ang Avila

And dahil sa shopping.
sis letters_to_cleo you mentioned good ang Mango sa Factory Outlet, I googled na that before and it is close to the Getafe football stadium. We plan to watch a match on the Sunday sa Getafe and naeengganyo na talaga ako pumunta sa outlet. Problem lang sabi ni hubby baka they won't allow shopping bags sa stadium. Do you know? I think he's just trying to put off the shopping idea hehe but actually sa US we watched an American football and bawal nga backpack at bags. But my plan is to bring na lang my neverfull bag para madaming malaman. normally pwede naman ang pambabae na shoulder bag.

And I've googled parang complicated to go to the Factory outlet from Madrid dahil bus - metro or train - then car? we will come from Paseo de la Castellana (we booked a restaurant there) going to Getafe. What's the best way, get a train/metro to Getafe then get a taxi to the factory outlet? and would you know how to get from the factory outlet to Getafe Stadium? Actually most likely we'll go to the stadium first dahil we tried booking tickets online but we were directed to a 3rd party ticketing agent and 3x ang price ng tickets, hindi naman siguro ma-sold out ang ticket ng Getafe although they are playing against Atletico.

This time sana ma-try na naming ang churros! my friend who works for a Spanish company sabi try ko daw nga ang churros sa Madrid.

Thanks a lot ladies..

[letters_to_cleo]

Hi Shegie, magkalapit lang ang Segovia at Avila.  I think doable naman sya na one day, may bus to Avila from Segovia:-)  But yeah, prioritise Segovia then pay may time pa kayo pwede mag-Avila.  Maliit lang ang old town ng Avila so 3 hours sa Avila is enough.

Sis,  I am not sure if mali yung check mo sa maps or meron bang Outlet Shop,  pero ang Getafe Stadium ay sa South  and the two outlet shops I know  (San Sebastian de los Reyes,  Las Rosas)  ay parching north ng Madrid.  If these are the two outlet shops you are referring to, then kind not possible yung plan mo to go from here to Getafe kasi magkabilaang dulo sila ni Getafe.  The big mall with some outlet shops na I saw sa South is yung La Gavia.  Hmmm, ayos lang naman sa akin iyong La Gavia, pero mall kasi sya so mall prices din. Ang good point  lang sa La Gavia is may Primark haha but bilang taga Ireland ka haha I am sure sawa ka na sa Penneys/Primark.

Anyhow easy to visit lang the outlets shops.  You said you will be coming from Paseo Castellana, where particularly sis? super duper haba ng Paseo Castellana eh haha para syang nagcrocross sa Madrid.  But anyhow maraming metro sa Paseo Castellana.  To go to the SS De Los Reyes factory outlet , go to Plaza de Castilla station. And look for bus 171 or 181.  Diretso na sila sa Factory.  Sabihin lang sa driver na factory alam na nila yun.   For the Las Rozas factory naman (nice ditto yung mga high end brands such as Polo, Lacoste.  Yung Lacoste polo shirts nila 30€ lang the last time I went there. Not US mural but pwede na. May Burberry, Tod´s  and Armani rin, same sya sa Bicester Village sa UK).   As for the churros, I don't really like churros haha but yung chocolate sa Chocolateria San Gines sobrang sarap. Kahit walang churros kebs na lang.  There´s another old school churreria na known din, La Antigua Churreria. Eto sya located din sa medyo antique na lugar sa Madrid haha.  Enjoy Madrid!

[letters_to_cleo]

For Las Rozas, go to Moncloa metro station, and then soon may bus din na diretso sa Las Rozas village :-)

[shegie_285]

letters_to_cleo thanks a lot sis for the reply. Ay eto ang na-google ko na outlet - Factory Getafe, inside the Nassica Shopping Center.  I thought you meant that when you said Factory Outlet. Iba nga ang sinasabi mo.   The website did say its difficult to get there, no direct bus. Primark - actually I go to primark kapag nasa UK ako dahil mas madaming options doon compared here.

I saw rin the outlets you've mentioned, I am thinking pa if i'll go to any of those dahil i'm quite afraid to travel by myself (kahit na i've done it a lot of times) plus I don't think i'll buy a lot dahil I don't want to spend money hihi. Uwi pa ako ng Pinas. Goal ko lang is to shop for dresses/work clothes. I have one day free (Tuesday) dahil si hubby need mag-work and ang flight ko gabi pa, around 8pm.  Inisip ko din puntahan ang Las Rozas Village because I want to see it dahil feeling ko maganda sya (we have one of the chic outlet shopping branches here in Dublin, its called Kildare Village). Mura ang lacoste, sa Kildare mga €45 ang cheapest na nabili namin na lacoste shirt.  Wala pa ako plan that free day, I could go to museums or I could go to the outlet, leaning towards outlet hehe.. Sabi mo madali lang naman pumunta.

Ah we'll be coming from Otto Restaurant in Paseo Castellana, its close to Gran Melia Felix hotel.

Feeling ko hindi ko din magugustuhan ang churros dahil ayaw ko din sya,hehe.. pero dahil sabi I-try sige I -try.

thanks ulit sis.

[shegie_285]

Back from my 4 day trip to Madrid.   Highlights of our trip were the Real Madrid and Barcelona match and the cochinillo in Segovia.

We were able to get tickets for the Real Madrid and Barcelona match at face value (tiyagaan sa ticketmaster.es)! Yay! My husband got his ticket 2 days before we left ako naman the day before. Hindi kami magkatabi dahil hindi na kami umasa makabili ng two tickets together, isa nga lang super hirap na kumuha. The atmosphere was great! I'm not a football fan but na-enjoy ko itong match na ito.

We did a daytrip din sa Segovia, sis letters_to_cleo sobrang sarap ng cochinillo! Im not a fan of lechon dahil hindi naman malasa but this cochinillo ang sarap-sarap.  Segovia is nice din, worth na daytrip.

I tried the Chocolateria San Gines, super sarap nga ng chocolate. Pinapak ko ang chocolate. Sayang nga hindi na kami nakabalik dahil once lang kami pumunta sa may Sol.

I didn't go to the outlets dahil ayaw ko mag-commute mag-isa. One day I just went to the Mango shop in Fuencarral st dahil may outlet sa baba ng shop.  Wala naman ako nabili sa outlet dahil sort of alangan ang size ko, maliit kapag extra small but the upper body of small size malaki sa akin.

We also found a nice and cosy coffee shop/bar - its called Lolita Vintage, close sa Tribunal station.

This trip was our 2nd time in Madrid, super nag-enjoy pa din kami.   One thing na gusto ko din, masarap and mura ang wine. Lahat ng wine na inorder ko masarap.

[letters_to_cleo]

^Great that you enjoyed Madrid, Shegie! Ako naman kakabalik ko lang kahapon gaping Istanbul haha (where you went na rin, saw your comments sa Turkey thread :-)). Masarap talaga yung chocolate ng San Gines ano!  Great that you liked conchinillo. Ako medyo loyal pa rin sa Lechon Bisaya eh haha pero yep ang tender kasi ng meat ng conchinillo :-)

[shegie_285]

^ super nag-enjoy kami sa Madrid. I want to learn Spanish (i'll enrol here . I'm craving for chocolate sa San Gines and cochinillo.

Oh did you go to Kusadasi or Ephesus? Istanbul is on our list!

[spoiledbratinella]

Hi sissies! Anyone here already living in Spain? Been here for months already and I wanted to have another source of income. Thinking of having an online store.. or buying any goods here and selling it to pinas perhaps. Any ideas sissies? Really needed income badly! 😢😢😮 hope someone could help! Thanks!!!😄😄😄

[mama squeak!]

^You can send a PM to letters_to_cleo. She's from Madrid.