Posts in Visit Spain
Belenes, or Spanish Nativity Sets

We're a few months out from Christmas, but it won't be long before the decorations will come out. I'll decorate my apartment with some nativity sets collected from other countries, but although I've wanted to buy a Spanish one, I've had a hard time finding one. Here's why: Spanish nativity sets are passed on through families. Each year, the family adds a new element or two, until the nativity set is pretty detailed, containing more of a village than a set of one little family around a manger. In fact, Belén literally means, "Bethlehem" so perhaps that's part of why they set up an elaborate village scene, rather than just the usual few figurines. But the history and practice in Spain is pretty fascinating…

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The Aqueducts in Spain

I’m fortunate enough to live about an hour away from Segovia, where one of the world’s best ancient aqueducts exists to this day. For almost 2000 years, it has carried water from the local Frío river into the community of Segovia.

The aqueduct of Segovia is impressive indeed: 165 visible arches, 30 feet high, plus ten miles of underground system, and all of it built from granite without mortar! It’s no wonder that it’s the city symbol of Segovia, and a source of great pride for its people. .

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Seven Fun Facts about Eating in Spain

One of the best parts of living in Europe is taking advantage of the cultural and culinary delights of countries here.  Spain is particularly delightful because life is so social here that people often spend hours in restaurants and bars with friends.  In fact, sometimes I think they spend more time eating out than they do eating at home.  True story: many Spanish apartments only have stove-top burners—no oven and no microwave!  Spaniards aren’t “bakers” and why would they need to be?  There’s a café with delicious pastries on every corner, and a Spanish bar with tapas in between your apartment and that café. If you’re hoping to vacation here, or perhaps even planning a trip, here are seven fun facts that you should know about eating out in Spain.   As they say in Spanish, buen provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)

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Cádiz - Part 1

I’d love to be able to say that I chose to visit Cádiz for it’s spectacular sea views or the magical allure of Andalusia, but the simple truth is that I chose Cádiz because when I was looking at train tickets, I discovered that it was the furthest point to which I could travel from the Atocha station in Madrid, and that sounded like a pretty good deal to me.  The spectacular sea views and magical appeal came later when I actually arrived, happily.

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Mercados in Madrid

European living has some distinct advantages, and one of the things I love most is the abundance of fresh produce. When I lived in France I loved browsing the outdoor markets in the town squares on Wednesday or Saturday mornings. Strolling from stand to stand seeing the hundreds of types of cheese, or the 43 types of olives, or the stand that had all sorts of salami was magical. It was a sensory overload of beauty, fragrance, and samples to taste.  But now that I’m living in the capital city of Spain, I’ve had to figure out how Spaniards accomplish the same thing on a larger, urban scale.

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Adventures with haircuts in Spanish

“You can survive it! No matter how bad it is, you’ll live through this and you’ll be fine!”

This is my mantra whenever I’m getting my haircut in Spain. I know it’s not the end of the world—it’s not even that serious! But what strikes the most fear into my heart living here in this city is not the spiritual oppression, or any threat to my personal safety (after all, I’m more than a conqueror through Christ!), but what truly scares me is getting my hair cut one more time in this country.

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