Amsterdam as Seen by my iPhone

iPhoneography Amsterdam:

Canals Centraal Station Amsterdam

My first glimpse of Amsterdam, leaving Centraal Station.

Royal Palace Amsterdam

The Royal Palace Amsterdam (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam), built in the 17th century, located in Dam Square.

Dinner Amsterdam Canal

Having dinner alongside the canals.

Canals Amsterdam

A boat-lined canal, just your everyday thing here in Amsterdam.

I amsterdam sign Begijnhof

Just your typical touristy photo in front of the “I amsterdam” sign in the Begijnhof.

Begijnhof Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s Begijnhof, similar to the one I talked about in Belgium.

Flowers Begijnhof Amsterdam

Bloemenmarkt Amsterdam Flower Market

The Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam’s floating flower market

Bloemenmarkt Amsterdam Flower Market

Canals Church Amsterdam

Canals Boat Flowers Amsterdam

There’s no photos of the notorious Red-Light District or the numerous “coffeeshops,” but you’ll have to make do for now.

What would you most like to do or see in Amsterdam?

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Throwback Thursday—Granada

El Mirador de San Nicolás is the place to go if you want a panoramic view of the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada. Located at the highest point of the Albayzín, the district of Granada that still retains the narrow winding streets of its Moorish past, this lookout is the place to go if you want to sit back, relax, and enjoy the view! Don’t be daunted by the climb, as it’s the best place to recuperate after a long day of walking around in Granada’s summer heat.

Mirador de San Nicolas

Have you ever sat where I’m sitting in this picture?

I’m off to Amsterdam tomorrow morning! I’ll be back Monday with pictures and hopefully lots of stories! Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll be on the lookout for some wooden shoes for you!

Next Destination: Amsterdam

I am happy to report that, come Friday, I’ll be setting foot on Dutch soil for the very first time!

Amsterdam

[Source: AP]

I don’t know if Amsterdam has as many “must-visit” sites as a place like Paris, but I’m quite looking forward to the general ambiance: canals, bikes, tall people like me (you know, the usual).

Amsterdam Bikes

What are your Amsterdam recommendations?

Spain’s Abuelitos

I love my abuelitos of Spain. How can you reliably identify them?

  1. They walk around with their hands clasped behind their back.
  2. They hang out in groups: on park benches, walking around town, in bars playing card games.
  3. They know how to rock a boina, otherwise known as a beret.
  4. They find guiris like me posing with weird statues very confusing.

12 Haciendo amigos(3)

Elderly Spanish men are the cutest, aren’t they?

My Madrid Neighborhood: Arganzuela

Since we moved to Madrid, I’ve come to realize that mi barrio, my neighborhood, isn’t one of Madrid’s coolest or most coveted places to live. I don’t live in Malasaña, where hipsters ride bicycles and drink cañas in old men bars; nor do I reside in La Latina, with its bares de tapas along Cava Baja street; I don’t call Chamberí or Chueca my home; Salamanca is out of the question. My neighborhood isn’t even included on this map made for you to choose the best one to live in.

Where do I live, then? Arganzuela. (Metro: Arganzuela Planetario or Legazpi.)

What I love about mi barrio:

The green spaces. We live right next to two great spots for being active. Mario and I are runners, so the fact that just 100 meters from our front door lies Parque Tierno Galván is a huge plus. This park is home to the planetarium as well as the IMAX. The planetarium offers free activities throughout the summer, indoors as well as outdoors.

Madrid Rio

We also love running alongside the Madrid Río, a project that began when a section of the M-30 road running parallel to the Manzanares river was moved into an underground tunnel. The park actually is in several districts of Madrid, including Moncloa, Carabanchel, and Usera. Here you’ll find runners, cyclists, skaters, and tons of families. There are places to stop and have a beer or eat some churros as well! You can also run under the picturesque Puente de Toledo.

Puente de Toledo Madrid

The quiet. Perhaps I’m outing myself as a 26-year-old grandma, but I don’t care! I love sleep, and I love going to bed at 11:30 on a weekday and not hearing people partying, not hearing cars drive by, and not getting my sleep interrupted by anything other than the occasional sound of the trash collectors (who drive by every night around midnight). Sure, it’s not quite the same as living in Indiana where you hear the crickets chirp outside your window in summer, but it’s perfect for me.

El Matadero. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t quite get this place—or at least its art. El Matadero was once Madrid’s slaughterhouse (in fact, matadero is literally “slaughterhouse) and was used as a livestock market. It closed in 1996. In the last few years it’s been made into a cultural space dedicated to the arts. El Matadero houses numerous exhibitions throughout the year in its many buildings. In each of the buildings there are programs and services related to a certain cultural area: theater, design, visual arts, and literature.

Matadero Madrid

The prices. If you want to eat cheaply in Spain, Madrid is not your best bet—most of the time! But Mario and I have our secret little bar in our neighborhood where we can eat dinner on Friday nights for €11–€12—for the both of us! Sure, we’re not eating anything groundbreaking. But you won’t find a better empanada. And I refuse to pay €4 for one pintxo de tortilla (especially if served cold, ahem ahem).

Moreover, we have a two-bedroom apartment here for the price of a one-bedroom in central Madrid. Since I expect to have family and friends visiting from the States sometime, it’ll come in handy to have a cheap (free) place for them to stay.

Legazpi

The people. Ours is a family neighborhood. Apparently quite a few people from Zamora choose to live in this area, which obviously helps. But our neighborhood panadera (baker) is the friendliest around and always refer to me as reina or cariño. Nothing beats Midwest-style kindness!

Would I change anything?

Well, yes. I’d like to live a bit closer to a metro stop, and I’d like to have a frutería right outside my door. But we can’t have everything, now can we?

Where do you live? What do you love about your  barrio?

The Begijnhof, Bruges’ Benedictine Convent

For those of you still curious about yesterday’s post, the photo is from … (drum roll please):

De Wijngaard (The Vineyard) Begijnhof / Béguinage in Bruges, Belgium!

Guessed correctly by  blogger Den Nation.

Begijnhof Béguinage 2011

 

The béguinage  (French) or begijnhof (Dutch/Flemish) is technically a collection of small buildings, but it was in these places that medieval religious women would live. They wanted to serve God, but didn’t want to withdraw from the world completely, as beguines were not cloistered and lifelong celibacy did not figure into the rules. Each community had its set of norms and rules

The first béguinages were set up in the 12th century in now-French-speaking Belgium. This particular one was founded in 1245 by the Countess of Flanders, Margaretha of Constantinopel. (Her father, Count Baldwin, conquered Constantinopel in a crusade.)

Begijnhof Béguinage 2011

The entrance gate says 1776, but most of the houses are from 17th and 18th centuries.

In 1937, this béguinage became a monastery for the approximately 25 Benedictine sisters who still live there. Apparently it’s quite lovely to visit in spring when the daffodils are blooming.

Have you ever visited this iconic béguinage in Bruges? Have you visited any other such places?