We spent our last day in Barcelona rambling on La Rambla amongst the throngs of tourists. We had booked a rental car to drive to Madrid, and the only place we could rent from that would let us drop off in a different location was at the airport. So, early in the AM we packed up our bags, checked out of our apartment and hopped on the metro for the airport. I had booked the car onine for $76 for one day, however on pickup found out that there was a 60 euro charge for dropping off in Madrid, plus a 25 euro "premium locaion" charge. Read the fine print people!
We broke up the 7 hour drive with an overnight stopover in some small town on the beach. I forget the name but it was right next to Marina D'Or. We had a shabby hotel with no air conditioning, but it was right on the beach, so we had a nice swim and siesta. The next day we drive the rest of the way to Madrid.
One of our few "adventures" on this trip - the Madrid airport has 4 terminals, and we couldn't for the life of us find the rental car dropoff. After about an hour of driving around the airport (and around and around) we finally parked, and I went inside to find the rental desk. I explained to the guy our situation and where the car was, and he said "Oh you are really lost!", and then he said "If you don't mind I will drive the car back to our lot." At least he didn't charge for our late dropoff.
Our apartment in Madrid is very nice, and very central. We are a half hour walk from Park Retiro, and about an hour from El Centro (downtown). We've spent the last 2 days wandering around downtown (plus a couple of bus tours) and last night took in a flamenco show. We also have tickets for the Futbol match Aug 19 Real Madrid vs Club Athletico Madrid. The stadium seats about 100,000, so it should be quite the experience. Jack has a Real Madrid t-shirt, so I hope we're not sitting in the C.A. Madrid section!
I don't have too many photos because I keep forgetting to take my camera with me, so will post some photos later.
Oh yeah the food - a lot of places don't have my favourite breakfast - pan y tomate con jamon - so I've branched out into the local breakfast bocalleros (sandwiches) - ham, bacon, etc. Not bad! For lunch we usually tomar el manu al dia, which includes an appy, main, drink, pan y postre o cafe for about 10 euros. The best lunch we had was just outside the futbol stadium in Barcelona, other than that we've had mixed results. For dinner we usually just do a couple of tapas. Lunch is la comida mas mejor here in Spain!
We're going to spend an evening in tonight, and plan a couple of day trips for the coming weeks!
Hasta luego :-)
Saturday 9 August 2014
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Turning 50 in Spain
I'm in Barcelona! Not a bad place to turn 50.
We arrived a few days ago, and have visited many of the famous sites of Barcelona. We visited Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia, both works of the architect Anton Gaudi. On my birthday we spent a felaxing day at the beach before taking a tour of the Sagrada Familia and even going up the towers. (I have conquered my fear of the towers due to the Spanish discovery, over the past 10 years, of "safety". They have installed many features to prevent tourists from falling to their deaths, safety devices that were not prsent on my last visit!)
And of course we have visited many fine tapas bars around the city! (Sorry foodies we have been too anxious to eat to take any pictures of our awesome tapas :-()
Sagrada Familia, under construction for over a hundred years, and another hundred to go.
The tall skinny towers are bell towers. There are currently 8 built, with 4 more to go. In the center will be a tower about twice the height (!) - a moument to Jesus Christ.
View from Park Guell.
Park Guell again.
Our Barcelona apartment all decked out. Dione sent me on my way with a bunch of "old guy" decorations for celebrating my birthday in Barcelona. (Jack blew up all the balloons.)
My cake, from Sonya and Jack. It says "our little one", or something like that ...
We arrived a few days ago, and have visited many of the famous sites of Barcelona. We visited Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia, both works of the architect Anton Gaudi. On my birthday we spent a felaxing day at the beach before taking a tour of the Sagrada Familia and even going up the towers. (I have conquered my fear of the towers due to the Spanish discovery, over the past 10 years, of "safety". They have installed many features to prevent tourists from falling to their deaths, safety devices that were not prsent on my last visit!)
And of course we have visited many fine tapas bars around the city! (Sorry foodies we have been too anxious to eat to take any pictures of our awesome tapas :-()
Sagrada Familia, under construction for over a hundred years, and another hundred to go.
The tall skinny towers are bell towers. There are currently 8 built, with 4 more to go. In the center will be a tower about twice the height (!) - a moument to Jesus Christ.
View from Park Guell.
Park Guell again.
Our Barcelona apartment all decked out. Dione sent me on my way with a bunch of "old guy" decorations for celebrating my birthday in Barcelona. (Jack blew up all the balloons.)
My cake, from Sonya and Jack. It says "our little one", or something like that ...
Friday 30 May 2014
Mid-life Crisis - Status: Ongoing. What's Next?
I turn 50 this year!
As part of my ongoing mid-life crisis I have:
1. Sold my house, and took 6 months off work to travel the world (3 months in China, 2 in Italy and Spain).
2. Bought a motorcycle (and recently had my first motorcycle accident).
3. Changed jobs (I now work for a small startup).
4. Found religion - I am now an ordained minister for the Universal Life Church (http://www.ulchq.com/)
5. Hired a stylist and bought a new wardrobe (I bit more pricy than I was expecting, but I look years younger, so it was worth it) (or at least I look like someone who is trying to look years younger :-))
What's next? What have the rest of you almost-50-something's done to try to cling to a feeling of youth?
(PS Don't tell me to get a sports car, I'm going to run my 1997 Corolla into the ground!)
As part of my ongoing mid-life crisis I have:
1. Sold my house, and took 6 months off work to travel the world (3 months in China, 2 in Italy and Spain).
2. Bought a motorcycle (and recently had my first motorcycle accident).
3. Changed jobs (I now work for a small startup).
4. Found religion - I am now an ordained minister for the Universal Life Church (http://www.ulchq.com/)
5. Hired a stylist and bought a new wardrobe (I bit more pricy than I was expecting, but I look years younger, so it was worth it) (or at least I look like someone who is trying to look years younger :-))
What's next? What have the rest of you almost-50-something's done to try to cling to a feeling of youth?
(PS Don't tell me to get a sports car, I'm going to run my 1997 Corolla into the ground!)
Tuesday 18 February 2014
Testimonial for eChineseLearning.com
My teacher has asked me to film a video testimonial for eChineseLearning.com! Not sure if it's because my Chinese has progressed so rapidly, or because I'm so good looking :-)
Here is my script. Now I just need to practice and then film my video!
Thank you. 谢谢 and 希望在中国见面！
Here is my script. Now I just need to practice and then film my video!
大家好！我叫 Ian. 中文名字是“一安”。一二三的一，西安的安。我是加拿大人，我住在维多利亚，是一个很漂亮的城市。
我学了汉语差不多两年了。以前我打算去中国旅行，想去很多中国有名的地方。我想体验 (ti3 yan4) 中国文化，吃中国菜，看有意思的地方，跟中国人用汉语聊天儿。
以前我自己试着学习汉语，但是没成功 (cheng2 gong1)。听说 eChineseLearning 是很好的中文学校，所以我马上就注册 (zhu4 ce4) 了！
What I like about eChineseLearning is
… The schedule is completely flexible. I take 3 classes a week, and I can take
classes whenever it fits into my schedule.
Since it’s online I can take the classes anywhere. (I travel a lot for work so this lets me
easily fit my classes around my work schedule.)
I have an assigned teacher, but if she is not available, then
eChineseLearning assigns me a substitute, which gives me a chance to practice
listening to a difference accent, different vocabulary, teaching style,
etc. Learning from teachers in China
also gives me the opportunity to learn about Chinese culture and life in China,
which was very useful for my trip! Every
class I have very interesting discussions with my teacher.
去年我去了中国三个月。我认识了很多新的中国朋友，他们告诉我,我的汉语还不错， 我说哪里哪里。在西安的时候我见到了我的非常好的 eChineseLearning 老师。回加拿大的时候，我决定继续 (ji4 xu4) 学汉语，因为汉语有意思，也很好玩儿。
If you are interested in learning Chinese I
encourage you to try eChineseLearning!
I’ve learned a lot (and I’m not even very good with languages) and also
greatly enjoyed my experience.
Thank you. 谢谢 and 希望在中国见面！
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