Tag Archives: Spain culture

Spain

The Chicote museum

We went to check out one of the iconic and original cocktail bars in Madrid called the “Museo Chicote”. It is located on the Gran Via and was formerly known as Perico Chicote bar. It opened in 1931 by Pedro Chicote, who was a former barman of the Ritz Hotel.

The outside of the bar was unassuming and had a modern look.

The facade of Museo Chicote bar in Madrid

We went inside and immediately it felt like we had stepped back in time. The inside of the Museo Chicote had some interesting features. On the right side were small booths with moulded chairs and in the centre tables and chairs.

View of the interior of the Museo Chicote bar in Madrid

The rear of the bar had some red velvet curtains with an old style pay phone mounted on the wall.

Pay phone at the rear of the bar

We sat down at one of the booths and took in the decor as we enjoyed a cocktail.

Shelley sitting in one of the booths.

The Chocote bar was one of the first cocktail bars in Madrid. It is known for the many famous people that have spent time in the bar. On the wall behind the bar there were pictures of some of the famous people who visited the bar.

Photos on display behind the bar

We took a closer look at some of the photos and came across some famous people including, Salvador Dali, Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Sofia Loren, Earnest Hemingway and Many more.

Picture of Rita Hayworth (top) and Bette Davis (below) in the Chicote Bar
Some of the pictures of celebrities in the Chicote bar.

It was a wall full of Celebrities from all parts of the world.

There is even a Spanish TV series called “Arde Madrid” which features the story of Eva Gardner when she was living in Madrid.

Throughout the series there are many scenes involving the Chicote Bar. In 2004 the Chicote bar received an award as one of the best bars in Europe.

It was a great experience being in the Chicote Bar. We enjoyed a cocktail at one of the historic and iconic bars in Madrid. We even took a selfie picture of us with the Chicote Bar.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Alcalá del Júcar

We spent some time in the small and quaint town of Alcalá del Júcar with a population of only 1, 321. It is located in a narrow valley in the province of Albacete.

The view from the top of the valley

The view from the top of the valley is beautiful. The drive into the town follows a road that winds along the rocky walls of the steep valley.

The view of the town of Alcalá del Júcar

Bellow is a short video of the drive down the valley.

We went for a walk and explored the town of Alcalá del Júcar. The town is quiet and slow paced. We enjoyed walking slowly along the quiet streets admiring the architecture and scenery. We came across some interesting and beautiful spots along our walk.

The view from one of the streets in town
Ray near the arched bridge in the town
A man sitting on a chair on the middle of the street

Along our walk we came across a gentlemen sitting in a chair in the middle of the street. He was enjoying the sun and seemed surprise to see us.

There were caves carved out of the side of the valley walls where people lived. We could see the caves in many different areas.

Caves made into houses

Shelley explored a cave house which was converted to a museum. The inside of the cave was spectacular with features that would rival any home.

View of one of the main rooms in the cave house
One of the rooms in the cave house in the town of Alcalá del Júcar

The town even had a castle which was perched above the town.

The castle in Alcalá del Júcar

The castle provided a great view of the town and surrounding area.

The view from the castle of the town of Alcalá del Júcar

Alcalá del Júcar is very quaint and special town. It has great has great character and we enjoyed exploring the town.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

A tour of the Bodega La Cepa De Pelayo

We went for a tour at a winery called “Bodega La Cepa De Pelayo”  which is a new Bodega located in Alcafá Del Jucar, Spain.

The tour was very detailed and took us through the entire Bodega.

Ray at the start of the Bodega tour

Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained the entire process in detail.

Tour guide explaining the processes of the wine making in the Bodega

We began with a tour with the extraction process, known as “debourbage”and how the grape is separated from the juice.

The vats used to ferment the wine

The juice is then transferred to different vats where the alcoholic fermentation starts.

Shelley and Ray in front of the fermentation vats

We then went to the barrel storage area where the wine is aged.

Wine aged in oak barrels at the Bodega.

Finally we went to a large hall set up for the wine tasting. We found our seats and learned about the etiquette of wine tasting. Our tour guide was very good and explained everything very clearly.

Tour guide explaining the wine tasting etiquette

We learned about the colour of the wine, the smell, look, texture and taste. We were taught how to swirl the glass to release the aromas of the wine.

Shelley at the wine tasting

We tried several different wines including a white, rose and red.

Ray tasting a white wine at the Bodega

The wine tasting was very entertaining and a lot of fun.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

Go-carting Adventure.

When we were in the town of Alcalá del Jucar, Shelley and some friends decided to go carting for the first time.

Shelley and Monica at the go-cart race track

Each of them selected their go-cart and drove to the starting line.

Shelley, getting ready for the race in her go-cart.

Shelley drove up to the starting position along with two other racers.

Rafa, Monica and Shelley lined up to start the race.

The race track has many curves and was very challenging track.

The go-cart race track layout

The race began and during the first lap Shelley was in second place. As the race continued Shelley gained on the lead driver. In the last lap Shelley was able to pass the lead driver on the inside curve to win the race.

Shelley crossing the finish line in first place.

After the race Rafa, Shelley and Monica gathered in the winners area and took a photo on the podium.

Rafa, Shelley and Monica on the winning podium

Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed the go-carting.

“hasta luego y que tengas un gran dia”

Spain

The Fallas of Valencia 2019

Las Fallas festival in Valencia is a celebration to welcome the coming of spring and an opportunity to say goodbye to winter. As part of the Fallas festival there are giant “ninots” which means dolls. They are built using paper machè, cardboard,  wood and other combustible materials. The ninots have different themes and are sometimes political in nature.

We took a bus tour to Valencia and arrived early to explore the different ninots throughout the city.

Our Costablanca tour bus

We walked the crowded streets looking at the different fallas along the way.

The crowded streets of Valencia during the Fallas 2019

We came to some fallas, which were quite interesting and had specific messages.

Falla with naked Franco, Mussolini, Hitler and Trump with condom promoting no reproduction of these politicians.
Falla depicting the United Kingdom cutting ties from European union
A satire of a politician as a frog

Other fallas focused on the environment and in particular the issue of plastic in the oceans.

Falla depicting the dangers of plastics in the oceans.
Falla of a Turtle with plastics in its mouth.

We walked towards the “Plaza de Ayuntamiento” to see the “mascletàs” which is a pyrotechnic event that happens at 2 P.M. The mascletàs are focused on noise and rhythm rather than visual effects. As we got closer to the Plaza de Ayuntamiento the crowd became bigger and thicker.

View of the crowd in the streets at the Plaza de Ayuntamiento in Valencia waiting for the Mascletàs

The crowd was so large and big that we decided to go and find a place to have lunch instead of being in the centre of the crowd. We found a nice restaurant not too far away from the plaza. We enjoyed a nice meal and watched the mascletàs which were streamed live on the internet.

Watching the mascletàs live at the restaurant

After lunch we continued exploring and viewing the different fallas. We came to a parade and walked along with them for a while.

Ray walking along with the parade in Valencia

The parade had different traditional costumes, music and flowers. There were people of all ages participating in the parade.

After watching some of the parade we continued to explore the different fallas.

Shelley and Ray in front of a Falla in Valencia,

There are so many unique and different fallas that we created a small gallery of some of them.

During the evening the fallas and streets were lit up with decorated lighting. This made the fallas look completely different and they were quite beautiful.

We stopped at a bar for some tapas and a rest before heading back home after a full day of exploring the fallas. It was a very unique and enjoyable experience.

“Hasta luego y que tengas un buen dia”