El Grande by night

I was trying to get a nice sunset picture when I turned round and noticed the church lights had been switched on.
jolly good timing :-)

Guitar Heroes

While walking back to the flat last night we noticed a group of rather medieval looking Spaniards, singing, drinking, and playing guitar in the bar below our house. It looked pretty fun so we decided to drop in. A quick google search of the words 'tights', 'spanish', and 'guitar' when I got up today revealed that what we saw was in fact a 'Tuna'. "..Essentially a roving band of semi-professional musicians and singers, hardcore partiers, and would-be womanizers who dress up in costumes that date back to the 17th C". "Most of their songs" the website continued, "are about women, drinking, or being from a certain part of Spain, Portugal, or Latin America...". They looked as if they'd just escaped from the set of a new Robin Hood film. Spain's answer to Morris Men perhaps?

Los Calamares

A bar by one of the schools I teach in. Greasy chickens sit hanging in the window for days, but we like it. It has character

Colour Schemes

Jamón anyone?

Walking into the Sun

Horns of the Devil

The Kios Towers in Plaza Castilla. I get the impression they only built these to have a 'distinctive' skyline, but you can spend ages just staring up at them. I teach a class for a company in the building on the right, the inside is not so flash but the acceleration in the lift is quite exciting. My next challenge is to sneak into somebody's office and get a picture out of the window...

i don't care where, but lets take the Vespa

Matinée

We went to see Avatar in 3-d today. It would make a good source for a History essay. Go see it!

"Happiness"

An article I came across in a textbook today. Click to enlarge

Entertainer

I see this guy quite often around different parts of town. He and his friends spend their days waiting for the lights to change - whilst the cars are stopped, they rush onto the crossing, perform a few circus tricks, then take a hat round the waiting drivers for tips. Slick stuff

mid-week

I have a big weakness for anything with foreign writing.

dolls' houses

Everyone in Madrid lives in flats. I've read in some guide books that this is because the Spanish are a very social people. My neighbours definately like to party at the weekend, but I haven't actually met them yet. My section of the block houses an english school, music academy, at least two restuarants, some offices ...and probably a dozen more kids like me sat writing blogs in their rooms! The photo above is of one of the blocks facing ours.

Stand with Haiti

Modern Romance

the cold retreats

Today we went up to Navacerrada to make the most of the melting snow and have a go at cross-country 'nordic' skiing. Its nothing like the exercise machines, but aches and soggy clothes were compensated with plenty of hot chocolate

a city awakes

cloud with a silver lining

Francisco Silvela

My bedroom window here in Madrid opens onto 6 lanes of traffic. Although the noise doesn't bother me, you can always tell what the weather will be like by listening to the sound of the car tyres against the road. Today was pretty wet, making for some nice reflections

Coffee Break

The good thing about learning another language is being able to justify almost anything you like as a 'learning experience'. What you see above is not only a coffee and a croissant, but also an opportunity to read the news in Spanish and eavesdrop on conversation, thus brushing up both listening and reading skills. Bargain!

Snow in the City

I walked to work rather than taking the usual steamy metro today. Others must have had the same idea, as Retiro Park was full of people and their cameras making the most of a beautiful cold snap.

thank you for not thinking

snow down !

Stormy weather in the sierra above Madrid

Life from the 5th floor

Style