Iceland volcano promotes Rioja wine??

This article from the WSJ is cute and gives a little history on Rioja wine. LOVE Rioja wine by the way.

Here's the beginning bit of the article "Nature's Effect on Rioja":

Fortunately, my Tastings diary didn't clash with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. With much of European air space closed last week due to the advent of a precipitous volcanic-ash cloud, winemakers joined the long list of would-be travelers stranded in remote destinations. In northern and central Europe, all eyes turned to Madrid, as Spain's skies remained open for business, blissfully clear of any trace of volcanic ash. As passengers from across the Atlantic funneled through Madrid airport, my wine historian antennae was alerted that it wasn't the first time that a natural disaster has benefited the Spanish economy.

Inspirational Quote #16

"As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own" - Margaret Mead.

La tasa de paro

The rate of unemployment is up to 20% in Spain and everyone is talking about it. And rightfully so, Spain is in deep mierda. The Barcelona cab drivers were very talkative and in every cab I took (all 3) the drivers and I engaged in a serious conversation about the economy and politics. They all asked what I was doing here and why I would be here when the economy was so bad. And I would respond with, believe it or not, but it hasn´t exactly been easy to find a job in the US either. Some people worry that Spain will be the next Greece, having to negotiate an emergency bailout from the EU, but others, like president Zapatero say that the jobless rate has peaked and will now start to decline.

My airport cab driver was on the more optimistic side. He said I shouldn´t go back to the US in a month, but stay here and work. When I said my job finishes in a month and I would have nothing else to do he said I should work as a "taxista" like him- that it is very lucrative and yes there are many women taxistas. I told him I hate driving, he said " tia, eso es un problema pequeñito."

Madrid vs. Barcelona

Before this past weekend with my mom I had been to Barcelona twice. Once with my dad when I was about 9 years old on a 17 day euro trip that was 17 days too long for my attention span. The second one was 2 years ago while I was studying abroad and went to visit CB and her motley crew. During this last trip I did not see the light of day so I really consider this past weekend to be my first real (memorable) visit to Barcelona.

So after this first "real" weekend I feel like I need to talk about Madrid vs. Barcelona, and no I am not talking about Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona. I consider myself to be extremely knowledgable on soccer, excuse me, "football," however I am not a close follower of the Madrid/Barcelona football rivalry. I can enthusiastically recount everything I learned playing this sport competitively for 10 years, but cannot tell you the last time these two teams played each other or who is really better and why. What I can tell you is that in my mind, there is very little competition between the quality of life in these two cities.

After living in Spain for a full 12 months of my life even tho I cannot fully call myself a Spaniard because I lack a !@*&@#%^ EU passport, I have a pretty good idea of what Spanish life is like and the factors that contribute to a quality city. Something that I tend to do when I travel is to imagine if I could live in the city that I am visiting. I know that many people will disagree with my opinion, but here is how I would grade the different cities:

1. Nightlife
There is no doubt that Barcelona has some of the most unbelievable nightlife on the planet (big plus). The DJs are world reknown and the nightclubs blow other clubs out of the water. Pacha and Gabana are two of Madrid´s most fun clubs. There are also great bars/lounges such as Fortuny and Moma, but nothing can beat Shoko, Oshum, Opium and the other clubs in Barcelona. Like honeslty, if you can get Jacomino to play at my 50th birthday party (or even my upcoming one this summer) we will be BFFAE.
Winner: Barcelona

2. Language
Is Catalan real? Spanish is spoken in Barcelona, but the city is part of Catalyuna and Catalan is everywhere. So if you are really interested in learning and practicing Spanish Madrid is a much better option. I´ve also heard from malaguenos that a company will not hire a Spanaird unless he/she speaks Catalan.
Winner: Madrid

3. Weather
Barcelona is on the beach and everyone loves the beach, but it is probably the ugliest beach I´ve ever seen. It makes Malagueta look like a honeymon destination. The Barceloneta is surrounded by ugly buildings, a hospital and no landscape. You can tell they constantly have to add sand to the beach because it´s about 15 feet wide. However, Madrid lacks any body of water whatsoever- aside from the resevoir in Retiro- and during the summer it is blisteringly hot without a sea breeze.
Winner: Barcelona

4. Architecture
Does Barcelona have a style of architecture?? The narrow streets are cute, but that is nothing new in Spain. Due to French influence in Madrid, the architecture in Madrid is a lot like that of Paris. The buildings are gorgeous and classic. Buenisimo.
Winner: Madrid

5. Parks, Monuments and Museums
Barcelona is home to Antonio Gaudi´s abstract wonderland, as well as a Dali museum and Picasso museum. However, nothing can out due Madrid´s Reina Sofia, Prado and Thyssen.
Winner: Madrid

6. Food
When I studided abroad in Madrid I lived with a senora and did not really get to take advantage of the restaurant scene as much as I would have liked to. Luckily I´ve been able to do that this time around on my visits to see Rachael. This past weekend in Barcelona my mom and I ate at incredible tapas bars. While I believe some of the best fish in Spain comes from Andalucia, the restaurants in Barcelona were very authentic and unique.
Winner: Tie

7. People
There were definitely a lot of guapos in Barcelona, but there were just TOO many tourists! Was I there on international-Barcelona-tourism-weekend or something? The place was swarmingggggg with fanny packs, maps and tevas with socks. VOM.
Winner: Madrid

Many malaguenos prefer Barcelona because they think Madrid is overwhelming and too big, and Americans hear the word "beach" and are fishing in their pockets for their credit card, but I cannot put the word out enough about Madrid. Like can I please launch a serious PR campaign for their tourism sector? I was really disappointed to hear that Vanderbilt might have to terminate its study abroad program in Madrid, because every year less and less students want to go there, prefering to spring break style study in Barcelona. Madrid is a majestic, classy city, rich with Spanish culture and flavor and wants you to come visit!

Gaudi Galore

You can't go to Barcelona without seeing at least a little Gaudi so we decided to see it all. We were also able to squeeze in some time for Picasso, Montjuic, Las Ramblas, the aquarium and random wandering around. Here are some photos from our weekend in Barcelona:
Above: At Gaudi's Parc Guell
Above: Me on Las Ramblas in front of the famous market, Boqueteria
Above: Me and my mom in front of Sagrada Familia
Above: My mom having sangria during the day. WOW.
Above: Me on the roof of Gaudi's Casa Battlo

Above: At the aquarium!Above: Me and my mom in front of the harbor in Barceloneta
Above: Me and my mom at Montjuic. Slightly windy...

BARCELONA LIST

Restaurants:
We ate at soo many amazing restaurants! Here is what I would recommend to order at each:
Tapas 24: (they don´t take reservations, go early and sit at the bar) foie burger, patatas bravas, bread with tomato, jamon and mozzarella sandwich, chocolate desert
Txapela: ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING
Can majo: tomato mozzarella salad, paella, sangria
Cal Pep: shrimp, fried artichokes, white fish
Attic: any salad, monkfish, lamb, apple tart

Sightseeing:
Casa Battlo
Parc Guell
Sagrada Familia
Las Ramblas
Montjuc
Cathedral
Barcelona Aquarium

La nueva terminal

Although I was a zombie at the Malaga airport Thursday morning at 5:30am I was able to notice how AMAZING the new terminal is. WOW. Good job Ayuntamiento. Way to do something right. Finally, the Malaga airport is on par with the other major airports in Spain. The terminal is all glass, giving it a modern clean look like that of the Madrid and Barcelona airports. There are 2 Starbucks (thats 2 more than there are in the city center), tons of shops and restaurants to choose from, unlike the old terminal which hosted ONE horrible and expensive restaurant. The one thing that I thought was weird was that all of the signs were in Spanish, English and German, but the announcements on the microphone were in Spanish, English and French...Whatever, it looks awesome I just wish I had more time left here to take advantage of it!