The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Are you heading to Bangkok to shop? Or shopping elsewhere in Thailand? Regardless, most goods and services in Thailand have a 7% Value Added Tax (VAT). I will share how you can save some money by getting a VAT tax refund in Bangkok or Thailand …
I have a penchant for Mexico, because it was where I went for my YOLO trip when I was in my early twenties. I spent three months studying Spanish at San Miguel De Allende (SMA), and prefer that place to Mexico City. For comparison sake, they’re like Malacca …
If you are like me, one of the things I like about planning is that I learn more about the history and culture of the destination before going. This gives me a greater understanding and appreciation of the place I’m visiting. Hence, I am going to start having a series of ‘Cultural Notes’. See if it works out. :)
Read on to find out more about Madrid and Barcelona of Spain, especially if you are travelling to these cities.
Madrid is the capital city of Spain and is located right in the center of the country. It is the largest city in Spain and the third largest city in the European Union. There are around 3.2 million inhabitants in Madrid. Other than being the capital city of Madrid, it is also the administrative, commercial, and cultural hub of Spain and home to the Spanish Royal family, whose lineage dates back to the 1300s.
The origin of the name ‘Madrid’ is highly contested, but recent excavations pointed it to a 2nd century BC Roman settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river. The village was first named ‘Matrice’, and later changed to ‘Mayrit’ under Islamic Conquest.
The Manzanares river is a river in central Spain, which flows through Madrid. Since the first recorded instance of the city’s name as ‘Magerit’, which means the place of abundant water, the city’s name continued to be in reference of this water that flowed through it.
The emblem of Madrid since the Middle Ages is a bear climbing a strawberry tree. This is because there are many bears in the nearby fields and forests around Madrid. Some even contend that the city was once known as ‘Ursaria’, Latin for land of the bears. You can find a statue of a bear and strawberry tree at one of their famous plazas, La Puerta del Sol.
A few blocks away from La Perta del Sol is La Plaza Mayor, the central plaza of Madrid. Built in 1619, it is a great big square located in the center of the city. Other than being a great meeting spot for tourists, this plaza has been used for almost everything — Christmas markets, saint beatifications, bullfights, concerts, and even public executions!
For art lovers, Madrid has it all! Museums in Madrid boast some of the most important Spanish art collections in the world. For example, you can find the famous painting, Las Meninas by Velázquez, in Museo del Prado and Picasso’s Guernica in Museo Reina Sofía.
Picasso’s most famous work, Guernica, is a depiction of the bombing of the Basque village of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso sought to show the tragedy of war, focusing on its civilian death and destruction. Picasso stated that the painting could only return to Spain once it had regained liberty and democracy. Its first Spanish exhibition was in Madrid in 1981.
When visiting Madrid and the rest of Spain today, it’s hard to imagine that less than 40 years ago, the country was ruled by the dictator, Francisco Franco. One of the more unique aspects of his oppressive rule was the suppression of Spanish cultural diversity. He established castellano as Spain’s official language, and cherry-picked regional cultural traditions, like bullfighting, as representative of the country as a whole.
It’s no surprise then, that upon his death in 1975, the cultural scene in Spain exploded. This resurgence of creativity, freedom of expression, Spanish identity, and Spanish language was centered in Madrid and known as la Movida Madrileña, or the happening.
Many famous artists, authors, and musicians were products of this movement. One of them is Pedro Almodóvar, the Oscar-nominated director of Volver, Hable con ella, and Todo sobre mi madre. He got his start directing underground short-films for the movida crowds.
Madrid’s home team, el Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, was founded in 1902 and has become one of the richest clubs in the world. The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is the home of this famous team and can hold up to 85,454 spectators. Attending a game is the icing on the cake to the Madrid experience!
And like the Madrileños, Barceloneses live for soccer. Hence, this could only mean fierce competition between Barça and Real Madrid, the natural rivals of the most renowned local football teams.
As the capital of Cataluña, Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid and the largest metropolis on the Mediterranean sea. Located in the northeast of Spain, it is one of Europe’s principal ports, and the country’s industrial and transport hub. Moreover, Barcelona’s history, economic power, political influence, and cultural legacy has helped make Spain one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
Are Messi and Piqué the only famous people associated with Barcelona? Think again!
Many of the famous artists of the turn of the century found their inspiration in this city. Ever heard of Picasso, Dalí, and Miró? These artists revolutionized the art world with their Cubist and Surrealist works, cementing Barcelona’s status as one of the world’s art capitals.
However, no one shaped Barcelona’s city scape more than Antoni Gaudí. This visionary architect built some of the most creative landmarks of Catalan Modernism.
Gaudí incorporates organic elements of nature within a Gothic aesthetic and this characterises his unique emblematic style. He was ahead of his time in both the materials he used and his designs. He repurposed and reused materials such as colorful tile and glass and created buildings with a sense of playfulness, fluid and undulating lines, and a harmony of colors and light.
One of his masterpieces is Casa Batlló, a renowned building located in the centre of Barcelona. Also, he designed Park Guell, a public park in Barcelona. Gaudi planned and directed the construction as a residential park for Eusebi Guell, intended for sixty single- family residences. However, the project was unsuccessful and never fully completed. The park became city property in 1923. It is remains one of his most colorful and playful works.
La Sagrada Familia is arguably Gaudí’s masterpiece and Barcelona’s most famous monument. Construction began in 1882 and is still ongoing, making it the only cathedral in the world still under construction. It is projected to be finished in 2026, to coincide with the centennial of Gaudí’s death.
If you’re not into art and museums, Barcelona still has a lot to offer. The food, the shopping, the beaches, and the nightlife make this city one of Europe’s most happening places.
Head to Las Ramblas, a street in central Barcelona that’s popular with tourists and locals. So walk down the tree-lined avenue that stretches for 1.2 kilometres and enjoy this amazing city!
The content is provided by Fluencia.com, used with permission and amended by Christina Siew. Fluencia is an online platform for learning Spanish through interactive lessons, an intuitive interface, and personalized feedback. The team of Spanish experts behind SpanishDict.com developed this platform.
Other References: Wikipedia, www.parkguell.org.
Christina’s Note: Here’s another article by Sharon Au, ex-mediacorp actress and currently head of styleXstyle.com. This time it’s on the things to do in Vienna. If you haven’t read her first article on this site, here goes: “If You Only Have One Night In Budapest” 3 Non-Touristy Things …
Christina’s Note: I love the film, The Grand Budapest Hotel for its editing, plot, camera angles, acting and the backdrop. The beautiful landscape and architecture made me want to go to Budapest! But before I have the chance to do that, here’s an article by Sharon …
This post is following Part 1 of Travel in Paris With Young Children by our guest writer Jane! Find out more about her in Part 1. :)
As mentioned in my previous post, the main highlight of this Paris trip for the children is Disneyland! Oh well, I have to confess that I was very much looking forward to Disneyland as well and to introduce Mickey and the classic Disney characters to my children.
Our plan was to stay in the Disneyland hotel right in the park but it was fully booked! Hence we settled for a partner hotel, Vienna House Dream Castle Paris, located right by Disneyland Paris. The hotel is designed to look like a historic palace surrounded by a beautiful French garden.
Image credit: viennahouse.com
It was a nice and comfortable hotel that had easy access to the Disneyland parks because of its free shuttle bus service. However, there was some waiting time involved for the buses as they run every 15 minutes and take about 5 minutes to reach the park.
On hindsight, we realised that with young children (a toddler and a pre-schooler) who still require afternoon naps, it would be more convenient if we had stayed in the Disneyland hotel in the park. In this way, we can simply walk back to the hotel room as and when we like rather than having to join the crowd and queue for the shuttle bus.
Disneyland during Christmas time was simply magical. In addition to the usual parades, there was also the Christmas parade which my kids simply love! There is also something magical about listening to Christmas songs in Disneyland during this season.
Of course, we also heard the Frozen theme song in multiple languages several times a day during the special Elsa and Anna parade. The parade was actually nice!
One of the highlights of our trip to Disneyland is their night show. You simply must not miss! The light show was impressive and its finale was absolutely stunning. The tip is to catch the last parade at the park and then grab a quick dinner inside the park or in one of the many eateries outside. After that, return for the finale. It’s totally worth the wait!
When I asked my son what was one thing he really liked about Disneyland, he said it was the lunch with Mickey! Before our trip, we booked in advance a lunch with the Disney characters at Mickey’s café. It was a great opportunity for us to get up close and personal with the characters (without having to queue) while enjoying a hot lunch. This is a good respite from the fast food served in several food outlets in the Disneyland park.
This was totally worth it in my opinion as we had a proper lunch (hot food like grilled fish instead of burgers and hot dogs) and the kids got to take photos and interact with Mickey, Goofy and other Disney characters in the comfort of the restaurant.
If you do go to Disneyland and you love shopping, you have to check out La Vallee Village factory outlet which is only one train station away. Most Disneyland hotels provide a return trip bus shuttle service at a small fee.
I went there on my own one afternoon when the hubs took the kids back to the hotel for a nap. On the way to the factory outlet, I walked through a huge shopping centre and was already distracted by the stores even before I reached the factory outlet!
The layout of the La Vallee Village factory outlet is very similar to the ones in the United States. There was a good selection of French brands like Celine and Longchamp; and a Cath Kidston store with major markdowns on their tote bags.
I really like the neat and clean look of the village with nice cosy cafes and chocolatiers serving up delicious looking chocolates, ice cream and hot drinks. My favourite was the Pret a manger café which has a good selection of fresh juices, soups, salads and sandwiches, a perfect pick me up after a good shopping spree!
Oh, there is a playground in the village for the dads to watch the kids play while the mums go shopping! Well, you could take turns.
Travelled in 2015
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Today I’m really delighted to introduce Jane, who is going to be a guest writer of this space. She is currently based in the South of France as her husband is posted there on a work stint. She has hung up her corporate suit for …
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