From the 2nd of January 2011 - Spain becomes SMOKE FREE!

From 2nd of January 2011 , Spain is finally going to join other European countries such as Ireland (that was the pioneer!), Italy, Germany, Uk or France and smoking is going to be banned in most indoor public places (bars, discotecs and restaurants) . It has not been an easy decision after an unsuccessful partial-smoking ban was introduced in 2006 which many bars failed to comply with. I only hope businesses get strict and make smokers respect this law because it has been too many years already of passive smokers suffering the consequences of this bad habit of smoking. Only in Spain in 2010 , five hundred thousand people have died due to smoking and still this is not enough to put off some smokers. ME, as a passive smoker who has suffered this bad habit since i was a teenager, I would have loved to be able to be at my university cafeteria having a coffee without having a dry throat or itchy eyes! Let's not talk about going out to clubs ..,next day you can feel the smoke in your hair, skin and clothes! Don't get me wrong if you want to be a smoker and you are happy with shortening your life and dying of lung cancer even though your cigarette packages are warning you of that , fair play with what but with what i don't agree with, is that smokers do not only put their health at risk but others, too who have chosen not to smoke. I feel sorry for the business who invested in their premises to have smoking and non-smoking areas (this is the government fault for putting a partial ban, with smoke only a full ban works!), they should be remunerated. It's not going to be easy for Spaniards to take on board this law and it's also up to the public to make it respected (I'll believe me if I see anyone smoking in a non-smoking area)! Spanish non-smokers friend that had to put up with the smoke, this is going to change! and believe me, smokers will get used to it and going outside for a smoke is not that bad after all, i'm sure many smokers will quit when they have to go in the cold weather to have a fag! but no worries according to the government there are still going to be some hotels with smokers bedrooms..in the end, you get something!

My last post of this year is about something positive and good for the coming generations ,such as my nephews and nieces! A smoke free atmosphere!!! and to my smokers friends : NEW YEARS RESOLUTION QUIT SMOKING!! Do you know how much money you would save and how much better your skin and teeth would look like! and what about having a fresh breath all day long??!! think about it!! Dejar de fumar ya, leche!!

A mi amiga m'as fiel y veterana.."La Calva"

No quer'ia dejar acabar este a~no sin dedicar unas palabras a mi amiga del alma con la que he compartido tantos gratos momentos durante la adolescencia y adultez, los cuales a pesar de la distancia no han permitido que nuestra amistad se deteriore. Aquella amiga que ha sido y es mi confidente m'as fiel, compa~nera de risas , de l'agrimas, de primeras borracheras, la que me ense~n'o a hacer maletas en mis primeros viajes a Inglaterra cuando ten'ia 20 a~nos y queria meter hasta el gato y my mu~neca repollo, la que siempre ha estado ah'i apoy'andome y soportando mis caprichos e incluso mis peleas con el paco (en la que a veces te metiamos y todo..pobre!); tantos recuerdos vividos que no dejar'ia de escribir!! Con el que m'as nos hemos reido siempre ha sido con nuestro viaje de fin de curso en el instituto JAJA recuerdas las bragas de la trini?? o cuando nos despert'o el profesor porque ibamos tarde a la excursi'on y le mandamos al carajo?? JAJA. Bueno pues eso, calva, mote que te viene, por cierto, del chiste del calvo para hacer amigos del mismo viaje,del que s'olo nos reiamos nosotras ( me da un libro para hacer amigos : Calvo DE MIERDA JAJA) espero que te hayan gustado estas l'ineas donde pretendo darte las gracias por tu amistad, como puse en mi t'itulo , mi amiga m'as veterana..

Sigue con tu energ'ia, alegr'ia, lealtad y vitalidad!No cambies nunca!! te deseo un feliz a~no en el que espero que vivamos nuevas experiencias (bodorrio a la vista??)! te quiere , la otra calva : yo.

ah y llevamos vidas diferentes si pero paralelas porque siempre estamos conectadas de alguna manera y sabes que puedes contar conmigo!!

Con estas palabras que no se me enfade nadie, que ya ir'e escribiendo sobre todos mis amigos, a los que valoro uno por uno aunque cada uno est'e en una punta del mundo y algunos no entiendan este art'iculo porque no hablan espa~nol jeje

Ciao 2010..un resumen de mi a~no y bienvenida al Pr'oximo!

(Only in Spanish)
He estado pensando por un buen rato como puedo resumir lo que ha sido este a~no para mi y la verdad es que no me est'a siendo f'acil. Ha sido un a~no de viajes : Comenzamos el a~no en Berl'in (casi nos congelamos en la puerta de Brandenburgo pero mereci'o la pena!), Mi primera ida a Estados Unidos (Salt Lake City), por trabajo pero bueno!, Viaje a B'elgica: Brujas-Bruselas-Gante con mi madre donde conocimos a Melina (un abrazo Melina!), Viaje a la hermosa isla volc'anica de Lanzarote con Andr'es , viaje a la Costa brava donde compartimos una de las bodas m'as bonitas en las que hemos estado, la de Laura y Marc en la playa del Pals(felicidades otra vez chicos!), rom'antico viaje a las Aran Islands para celebrar nuestro aniversario de bodas, intenso viaje por el estado de Ontario y Quebec con mi amiga Cristina (te echo de menos amiga!), tambi'en hemos hecho sendos viajes en tren por Irlanda: Sligo, Cork y Galway, me vienen a la mente! y acabaremos el a~no en Paris brindando bajo la torre Eiffel y viendo un show en el Lido!

Ha sido un a~no de cambios en mi trabajo,un a~no de cine (lo cual mantiene vivo mi blog!), un a~no de fotografias! De reencuentros con viejos amigos: Cristina, Camino, Rafael, Herbert, Cris, Laura y Marc,Clarita,Rafael y Paula,Ursi y mi antiguo compa~nero de juventud, Paco,Con mis compa~neros teresianos( Amalia,Inma,Silvia,Olga,Chiqui,Jose Pl'acido..) y como no tambi'en con amigos de siempre como la Calva (mi amiga m'as veterana! cuantos a~nos me has aguantado ya, u?)! Desde aqui os mando un abrazo a todos, os quiero! Al mismo tiempo ha habido despedidas, de grandes amigos que han dejado Dublin : Column, Mariano y Luisa (menos mal que existe el facebook y estamos conectados!)! Ha sido un a~no de shows y conciertos: El Lago de los Cisnes, el musical de Fama, Tiesto, Paul Van dyk and 2 flamenco shows! Tambi'en ha sido un a~no de dificultades y de p'erdidas, de personas queridas como la abuela de mi marido, una gran persona a la que le quedaba todavia mucho por compartir (un abrazo donde quiera que est'es,Miriam!). Al mismo tiempo ha habido nacimientos como la hija de mi amiga Zuzi, Lili, el beb'e de mi amigo Cris,Adri'a (al que espero conocer en 2011!) y el de mi sobrino: Alfonsito (felicidades a todos!). Otro de los bonitos recuerdos que tengo es poder haber estado con mis hermanas y sobrinos el pasado noviembre y poder compartir con ellos el cumple~nos de mi hermana mayor y el de mi madre.

Y como no, siempre recordaremos las famosas cenizas provenientes de Finlandia que tanto nos hicieron sufrir a los pasajeros asiduos! De algunas historias bellas, quedar'a en la memoria de todos el increible rescate de los mineros de Chile retransmitido en directo!

Este a~no que viene si todo va bien habr'a grandes cambios en mi vida de la mano de mi compa~nero de vida (te amo , beb'e).. y confio en que pueda seguir mi camino rodeada de la gente que quiero as'i est'en a mi lado o al otro lado de la red. Tambi'en espero que haya alg'un viajecito (Jap'on? Dominica Republicana?), m'as reencuentros: Con la familia de mi marido,con mi amigo Matteo,Tati?,Cipi?Esme?mis primos?mis tios?mi amiga Ruth? Virginia (nos tenemos que ver!) ? y como no una boda: La de mi querido amigo Herbert en Polonia (estoy tan feliz por ti!)! y por supuesto, conciertos que ya tengo las entradas: Marron 5, mi grupo favorito "the script" y la super diva: Kylie Minogue!Ah! Casi me olvido de que me gustaria hacer un curso de fotografia para alimentar mi hobby jejeje ah! y como no, me pienso tomar un vinito en la feria de C'ordoba con mi traje de flamenca nuevo!Y por supuesto he aprendido mucho a analizar los diferentes tipos de hielos en mis paseos irlandeses!


Llena de buenos deseos e ilusiones con esta fotografia de uno de mis saltos este a~no con una de las mejores visitas que hemos tenido,la de Anabel y Javier (os echamos de menos!)( y si.. tambi'en ha sido un a~no de saltos!), os mando un rayo de energia positiva todos vosotros, uno a uno (incluso a los que no haya mencionado,perd'on por si se me ha quedado alguien!). ah! Por 'ultimo, espero que en el 2011 alguno de nuestros amigos regrese a Dublin!! Dejar de viajar ya por ah'i y de comer pescaito y volved, que os necesitamos!!si,si Lucia tambi'en va por ti y deja ya de buscar bulla con los policias australianos jeje ah! Raquel en el 2011 tenemos que hacer una gran paella, como prometimos y por favor, tu qu'edate quietecita en Dublin,amiga, seguiremos en busca del Tab'u, ah Eliza tu est'as invitada tambi'en, compa~nera!!! Y por favor, en el 2011 espero que el beb'e aprenda bien a tocar el viol'in o que se cambie a la arm'onica, que suena menos!!!

a song for a Monday evening: Craig David - Insomnia

Movie Recommendation: Chatroom (2010)

We went to see this film because it was about internet and people interaction in chats, i saw the trailer and i liked the soundtrack , so, no more hesitation! First impression, the movie screen that we went too was half empty..uhm this can be either a good sign ,not being a commercial movie, or a bad sign, being crap and uninteresting that's why there may be nobody lol

Then, we noticed it was a British film so from that moment on, i knew it as not going to be a conventional story. I wasn't wrong, i started to get into the thread of the story by the mid of it and some people actually started leaving the cinema..,not us, of course. I liked the portrayal of an internet world into a real one, cyber users having a face and a body. Just to sum up, it's about a special chatroom where strangers meet up and the leader of the room is a bit malicious and uses his mind to try to control the others. It's an entertaining movie ,not for everyone and it's not going to be the movie of your life. I got something good out of it,appart form entertainment and it was, getting to know the British actor Aaron Johnson!! HE IS HOT!! Now i understand why people say that women find appealing evil men ,lol he's evil!! and sexy!! The actor Matthew Beard, playing Jim,also played an excellent role. I'm not gonna tell you the plot but i also liked one scene, when one pedophile came into the chatroom and his old dirty man face became a girls face trying pretending to be "tina" to find a chatroom for 15-year old girls!Meaning that on the net you can be whoever you want to be and there is always a risk and from my previous work as a cyberinternet investigator, i can confirm that this kind of net pedophile do exist!. After the movie, you really think it twice before chatting with a stranger!! There are so many nut people on the NET!! By the way, it's obvious the propaganda they do for apple! As i'm an apple lover i didn't not have any problem with that.

El regalo más bonito que me han hecho estas Navidades..

Aquí comparto con vosotros el regalo más bonito que me han hecho estas Navidadees, es un cuadro de un pintor de Dublín que pinta muñecos raros jeje a mí me gusta mucho,Andresillo me tenía engañada como a un chino y decía que no teniamos espacio para cuadros bla,bla pero al final me sorprendió gratamente!!

Vielen Dank bebé!! habe dich lieb!!

Memorable songs in my life: Stevie Wonder! "Part'time lover"

When I was a kid, i used to play my vinile records and picture myself at a party surrounded by friends , I used to imagine the little school kid i liked, came to me and asked me to dance! Stevie was one of the singers who made me use my imagination, now as a grown-up I don´t need to picture myself and i actually try to party from time to time!as a kid it was not so easy, specially because i was a bit shy, too..!

If you want to listen to some 80ies hits you can do it for free on:

http://www.4radios.com/

!! Viva los 80ies!!

happy Sunday!!

y no puedo parar de reir al ver este video JAJA and I Can't stop laughing after seeing this video LOL

(English version below) El peque~no Jamie, estaba emocionado al ver a su tio despu'es de tanto tiempo y va vestidito de papa noel para recibirle..tan tierno pero upps.. JAJAJAJA a carcajadas me estoy riendo que mala soy JAAJA

Little JAmie was so excited to see his uncle after a long time..dressed in a Santa Claus outfit..so cute..but upps.. HAHAHA i'm so mean but i can't stop laughing lol

Una recetita para noche buena de mi madre

Bueno amigos lectores de mi blog, quer'ia recomendaros muy brevemente una recetilla que aprend'i de mi madre , la cual es muy sencilla y te puede sacar de un apuro si necesitas tener un plato para Nochebuena:

Solomillo de cerdo envuelto en Jam'on serrano al horno:

Muy sencillo, se compra solomillo de cerdo se parte en pedazos

Yo lo pongo en vinagre un rato para que se le quite el sabor a carne (esto es opcional)

Depu'es de un rato en vinagre empiezo a prepararlo pedazo por pedazo

Se coge un trozo de papel albal que cubra el pedazo, se extiende

se incluye una loncha de jam'on serrano se pone el pedazo de solomillo encima y se enrolla

ali~n'andolo con ajo picado, perejil,vino blanco ,sal y un poco de pimienta

se envuelve con el jam'on serrano y se sujeta con un palillo de dientes

Se le pone un chorrillo de aceite de oliva y se enrolla el solomillo en papel albal

cerr'andolo completamente.

Se procede as'i con cada pedazo y se ponen todos al horno en una bandeja o recipiente

por unos 30 minutos.

Se puede cocinar un d'ia antes de la cena y luego se puede servir o bien solo o

preparar una salsa adicional a tu gusto con unas patatas a lo pobre y pimientos. La foto

es para que os hag'ais una idea porque es bacon y no jam'on upps! ma~nana le hago una foto al mio!

Ingredientes:

Solomillo de cerdo (cantidad depende de los asistentes y del est'omago!!!)

ajo picado,perejil y sal

aceite

vino blanco

Jam'on serrano (si no hay pues un jam'on de parma, tambi'en vale)

Patatas ,pimientos y salsa para acompa~nar

y papel albal y palillos!

Has visto que sencillo? a mi madre le quedaba buen'isimo yo hago lo que puedo desde Irlanda,al

no tener jam'on serrano lo preparo con jam'on italiano de parma,el que tampoco est'a mal!

Bueno ahora adivinar que estoy cocinando para el 24? jeje

un abrazo y que pas'eis una buena cena!

Feliz Navidad a todos desde Dublin! Merry Xmas everybody from Dublin!

in English (SPanish version below)

I'm not going to be very original but it's a must to wish you all a Merry Xmas and a very successful year 2011 (is this the year of the end of the world?lol). Enjoy it wherever (specially my world travellers friend!) and with whoever you are,don't eat too much and don't drink too much wine! For those of you who are lucky enough to be with their families, enjoy every moment because some people are not so lucky and have to be appart from their families or some people no longer have some important family members in this world... In my case, I have some magical moments on my mind, like my daddy eating langostinos non-stop at the front of the table with all my sisters and my mother and cat under the table or spending Xmas with my beloved grandparents in Jaca (Huesca). I'll not be able to share these moments in person anymore but i have them always with me. Merry Xmas to you all!!! I love you all!!! I hope you like the picture i have chosen from one window shop in Dublin.

En espa~nol:

No voy a ser muy original pero queria desearos a todos una feliz Navidad y un a~no lleno de 'exitos en el 2011 (ups, este no era el a~no en el que se acababa el mundo?jaja). P'asadlo bien donde quiera que est'eis (especialmente mis amigos viajeros!) y con qui'en est'eis, no com'ais ,ni beb'ais demasiado vinito! Para aquellos que tienen la suerte de pasar estas fiestas con sus familias, disfrutad cada momento porque no todo el mundo tiene esa suerte y le toca estar apartados de su familia o tambi'en hay gente que ya no puede estar m'as con queridos miembros de la familia que ya no est'an m'as en este mundo. En mi caso, yo tengo momentos grabados en mi memoria, como mi padre comiendo langostinos sin parar presidiendo la mesa familiar con mis hermanas,mi madre y mi gatita por debajo de la mesa o las navidades en Jaca (Huesca) con mis queridos abuelos que tanto me ense~naron. Desafortunadamente, yo no podr'e vivir m'as esos momentos en vida pero siempre los llevar'e conmigo. Una feliz Navidad para todos!! os quiero a todos!!! espero que os guste la fotillo que he puesto de un escaparate de Dublin.

Cafe en Seine

I only wanted to recommend you a unique Cafeteria, restaurant and night club at nights over the weekend in dublin in Dawson street: Cafe en Seine.
I'm sure you have not seen before a place decorated and with a lay-out like this one. This CAfe has a mixture of classical touch with a Rococo style which will bring you back to the 19th century in Paris. It's a must visit if you come to Dublin, if you come to see me, you will end up having a coffee with a heart shape done with the foam and listening to some piano live music or some JAzz if you are lucky! For example during the Xmas season, you can listen to jazz music live every Sunday afternoon! This Cafe does not need any recommendations because it has a very good reputation but for those of you who do not know it yet, I'm glad if i have introduced it to you!

happy Sunday!

Xmas Flamenco Spectacular at the Smock Abbey on the 11th December 2010

Xmas Flamenco Spectacular at the Smock Abbey theater on the 11th December 2010 in Dublin Ireland. Thanx to the Pe~na Flamenca "El Indalo" , i feel closer to my roots being able to enjoy some flamenco dancing and singing.

I personally enjoyed the original, full of energy,rhythm and passion , Arancha Romero , from Algeciras. After seeing her, we all wanted to dance, she knew how to move her flamenco skirt and feet! The guitarrist "el cuco" played very well, his fingers were so quick and smooth touching the guitar's strings to the rhythm of the percussionist " El Chuster",that it was unbeliavable! By the way,it seemed to easy to play the acoustic box like the Chuster did, it was so natural!! but for sure ,it's not easy! and last but not least, i had the pleasure to see again the delicate and artistic dancer, Felipe, this time i could feel that he was more inspired,may be due to the company or to the gorgeous red suit and boots he was wearing! HE delighted us dancing with a stick and then with Arancha. The only one that didn't impress me much was the other singer Rosa Angeles, nothing against you, Rosa, it just didn't impress me much, as Olayo did the first time i saw him, this time he also sang with a strong voice and he even danced! Olayo you rock,man! where do you get all the voice from that small body??!! One thing that I like about flamenco shows is the wat they cheer up each other with compliments when they sing or dance well "guapa,que arte, vamos all'a" etc

Consejos sobre diferentes tipo de hielo,an'alisis en las calles irlandesas de una andaluza..

A pesar de que viv'i rodeada de nieve muchos inviernos en Baviera (Alemania), mi relaci'on con el hielo ha comenzado en Irlanda.. despu'es de muchos patinazos y haberlos esquivado todos por ahora y a pesar de ver caer transe'untes a mi vera, esta ma~nana conversando con un compa~nero, decid'i que iba a empezar a compartir mi experiencia con el patinaje sobre hielo y no en una pista,no, sino en las calle de Dubl'in y sin patines!

Para aquellos que vienen de paises c'alidos, como yo, la Primera lecci'on es entender los diferentes tipos de hielo existente cuando la nieve empieza a derretirse y a nadie se le ocurre echar sal o arena,sino m'as bien que las pisadas de la gente, vayan acabando con el hielo que as'i sale m'as barato al gobierno y el que caiga mientras eso pasa,pues que caiga! pero tranquilos yo estoy aqu'i para ayudar:

1. El tipo m'as peligroso de hielo: El hielo escondido o m'as comunmente denominado: Hielo invisible. Cuidado! Cuando uno se encuentra con este tipo de hielo , hay peligro de caida inminente! Y es que como dice su nombre, este hielo no se ve y se confunde con el pavimento, incluso toma el mismo color! La mejor manera de descubrirlo es ir muy despacio y fijarse bien en el que va delante, si este patina, reduce,reduce!!!

2. Segundo tipo de hielo: Hielo evidente. Este a pesar de que se ve como una pista de hielo e impone un poco de respeto, sobre todo porque uno no lleva patines, sino converse o botas de dise~no y alguna valiente irlandesa, tacones, es m'as seguro. Si llevas una suela con dibujos y botas en condiciones puedes caminar sin problemas pero tampoco dar saltos,no eso no! PEro cuidado cuando este hielo aparece en forma de bache y repartido puede ser m'as peligroso, siempre mirar donde uno pisa y no ir andando con el iphone.

3. A continuaci'on, el hielo m'as seguro de todos aunque ensucia un poco los zapatos: El hielo arenado. Este tipo de hielo s'olo lo he visto en Dubl'in y es que como el ayuntamiento no tiene preosupuesto para sal, pues se ve que han recogido todo el verano arenilla de los parques y la echan en las aceras! Increible pero cierto! el hielo sigue,si pero al mezclarlo con arena, lo que se pega al zapato no es el hielo,sino la arena, as'i que el zapato queda de pena pero uno no se cae!

4. Por 'ultimo, un tipo de hielo con el que no he tenido experiencia propia pero he oido hablar mucho de 'el, de nuevo un tipo de hielo que s'olo se puede ver en algunas calles de Dublin: el hielo sobre hielo , desp'ues de una ba~no de agua caliente, que alg'un cateto ha ido echando con un coche o cami'on! y es que a pesar de lo que piensen algunos, el agua caliente no derrite el hielo,sino que lo hace m'as consistente!

Quiero dedicar este art'iculo a Silvano,mi compa~nero de andanzas por el hielo cada ma~nana, anda que te creias que no lo iba a escribir,eh? te dije que compartiria mi experiencia, a ver si as'i no nos resbalamos m'as! jajaja y el que me diga que le gusta la nieve ,lo envio a una piscina de hielo invisible!

Waiting for the weekend listening to the new song of Black eyed peas!

I had the pleasure to see Black eyed peas live 7 years ago in Munich , when they were not so famous like they are now and I can confirm that even if you are not a fan of this American hip-hop band, they are artists! and know how to sing live and make the audience enjoy!!! I love their new song,the version of Dirty dancing's song "time of my life" and I want to share it with you all! move!! yeah!!

Now a very good French movie " a La Folie Pas du tout" (2002)

Still my French hasn't improved after I watched this movie, maybe because i couldn't avoid reading the subtitles all the time! The famous actress of Amelie , Audrey Tautou, shows another side of her in this thriller, where it's portrayed the incredible power of mind, when one is really in love. Do not be foolished by harmless appearance of Audrey, do not think either that this film is a romantic one, as I did judging only the title, IT IS NOT! As usual , with the French cinema, you cannot really expect what is going to happen next or how the film is going to end. It's the kind of movie that you start to understand what is going on by the middle of it! So be very well awake when you watch it! IF you want to see something different, don't miss this film! In case you want to look for it, in English it has been translated like "he loves me,he loves me not", here you have short preview in the trailer:

Movie Recommendation to have a good laugh: Due Date (2010)

We went yesterday to see this movie by chance, we I saw Robert Downie Junior and Zach Galifinakis on it, I thought " this one has to be a good one" and I wasn't wrong. I don't need to introduce the superb actor Robert Downie Junior, I guess you know him already and Zach, a few may remember him from the hilarious movie " the hangover ", well if he made you laugh then, you will laugh again with this movie!

Don't expect a deep ,complicated story, if you go to see " Due Date" just expect to be entertained and suffer with "Peter" (Robert D. Junior's role), the eccentricity of the character of Ethan Tremblay (Zach's role) and his cute dog. Of course you have to see thi movie in English to get the true essence of their humor, avoid any translated version. Sit back and relax and let me know if you liked it or not!

Para que empeceis este fin de semana con una sonrisa! jaja

He descubierto este video espiando los muros de mis amigos en Facebook, gracias Amalia por semejante descubrimiento!no podia parar de reir a medida que avanzaba y es que yo tampoco soy muy amante de la nieve,sobre todo si toca vivir con ella durante meses. En este video pod'eis oir a un humorista que relata como un argentino de Santa FE se va a vivir a Toronto (Canad'a) y como va cambiando sus impresiones de la nieve desde que llega hasta que finalmente se va JAJA. Disfrutadlo !! os deseo a todos un buen fin de semana y perd'on si no salen los acentos en mi blog pero todavia no entiendo muy bien el teclado de este Mac arg

Espero que este video os gusta, sobre todo los que han convivido con la nieve y vengan de un ciudad calurosa como la mia, entender'an al protagonista de la historia jaja

aqui ten'eis! Que linda es la nieve!! JAJAJ



Que mejor video que este ,en este invierno que se presenta duro y nevado en casi toda Europa! abrigaros y no os olvid'eis los guantes!

Despedida a uno de los mejores actores c'omicos de los 80: Leslie Nielsen

Qui'en no recuerda pel'iculas como "Aterriza como puedas" (en ingl'es "Airplane!) o " ag'arralo como puedas" (en ingl'es "Naked gun")? Otro carism'atico actor de Hollywood que dej'o huella en una adolescente como yo , nos abandona fisicamente pero sus pel'iculas estoy segura de que har'an reir a generaciones por venir. Muchas veces me he acordado de "Aterriza como puedas" al ir en un vuelo de Ryanair,sobretodo cuando aterrizan jaja ! A mi padre tambi'en le gustaba mucho Nielsen, nos re'iamos juntos viendo sus pel'iculas.. que buena es la magia del cine que le trae a una asociaciones con la gente que quiere que ya no est'a entre nosotros..

Este fin de semana en homenaje a Nielsen me comprar'e sus pel'iculas en versi'on original ya que s'olo las he visto traducidas y estoy segura de que ser'an mucho m'as graciosas en versi'on original. Adem'as lo bueno de mi memoria es que puedo ver una pel'icula mil veces que no me acuerdo de muchos detalles, as'i que la disfrutar'e como como cuando las veia en el braserito de mi sal'on! Antes de acabar ,me ha venido otro recuerdo de Nielsen a la cabeza, cuando estaba con mi madre una vez en el cine hace a~nos y anunciaron una pel'icula en la que hacia de vampiro, en el trailer se pegaba una torta contra la c'amara ,un murci'elago tenia su cara, a mi madre y a mi nos di'o un ataque de risa que casi nos tuvimos que salir del cine y eso que s'olo era el trailer!

Nielsen, espero que est'es haciendo reir a mucha gente por all'a, all'a donde est'es y que si alg'un d'ia me caigo en uno de los multiples aviones que cojo, que est'es ah'i para hacerme reir!!!

Nieve en Dublin! Snow in Dublin! Nov 2010

This winter looks like is going to be a tough one..,snowing in November already! Will this year the government be better ready for cold and snowy weather conditions than last year disaster? hopefully they learned from their mistakes! In the meantime, watch out people when you go out and don't slip like the guy from the video lol!

A beautiful song for a cold Thursday evening

THe script " we cry" (i dont seem to be able to insert the video,sorry..just think of it lol)

I can´t wait to see them in concert next year in July ! what you haven´t listend to this group from Dublin, yet?? what are you waiting for! they have beautiful songs with a nice melody and meaningful lyrics!

Flamenco Show at the culture Box in Dublin (20th Nov 2010)

I had the pleasure to attend this flamenco show with the flamenco singer Olayo Jimenez with a great clean strong voice, accompanied by the talented guitarist Lucas Gonzalez and by the elegant and passionate flamenco dancer Felipe de Algeciras organized by the Irish Peña Flamenca El Indalo!

The magic of Flamenco is that it brings happiness and positive energy to the audience,no matter the nationality. At the beginning of the show the public was shy and only moving slightly their feet but this changed quickly when Felipe and Olayo started to show us how to palm and gave us some basic flamenco singing lessons! I'm impressed about my singing skills "lerele,lerele laaaaaaaaaa" even the non hispanic audience could follow.

One of the highlight of the nights for me was the original interpretation of Olayo of Rocio's Jurado song "se nos rompi'o el amor" !

Felipe's powerful "taconeo" (shoe heels clicking typical of Flamenco dancers) throughout the show following the palming and voice of Olayo and excellent guitarist Lucas made us smile and enjoyed the night while drinking a complimentary glass of red wine.

The night ended up with some volunteers to come to the stage to dance some "Sevillanas" (popular flamenco dance that I learned when I was a teenager) , I was seated in the front row and then the dancer,Felipe looked at me and said " tu sabes bailar sevillanas, a que si? (you can dance sevillanas, can't you?), of course I couldn't lie and i went to the stage along with other volunteers. Actually it was the first time I danced sevillanas with a live singer behind my back, what a feeling!

What else can you ask for ? For one night I felt closer to my Andalusian roots at the heart of Dublin's temple bar! I can't wait for the Flamenco Xmas party on the 11th of December, who wants to join us? there will be Spanish traditional Xmas sweets and of course a lot of flamenco!!!

In the videos you can see> Belencita dancing Sevillanas with other volunteers, Felipe dancing and the performance of Olayo of "se nos rompi'o el amor"

Memorable songs in my life : Guru Josh Infinity (1991)

Who doesnt remember this song that was a disco hit???!!!

A mi familia y amigos desde la lejana Irlanda

Regresando ahora de mi tierra natal y de haber visitado a mis hermanas ,madre,primos,tios,sobrinos y amigos he vuelto reflexionando sobre lo duro que es estar lejos de todos. El no estar en los cumplea~nos de mis hermanas,madre o poder charlar o comer con amigos de toda la vida o seguir el crecimiento de mis sobrinos y pasar m'as tiempo con ellos. El residir en el extranjero aunque tiene cosas buenas, tambi'en tiene cosas duras que no se reflejan en programas como "espa~noles/andaluces por el mundo", no es todo de color de rosa y la mayor'ia que tenemos ahora buenos puestos de trabajo es porque hemos luchado mucho antes y pasado penurias (pocos habr'a que hayan entrado por enchufe viviendo en el extranjero) sin contar con el apoyo familiar de una manera presente.

La gente dice que hay que ser valiente para dar el paso y salir y dejarlo todo y con el paso del tiempo me he dado cuenta de que puede que no sea valent'ia pero si es un gran esfuerzo,hacer tu vida tan lejos de las personas que te quieren.

Cada visita a Espa~na la disfruto al m'aximo pasando tiempo con todos, a veces no tanto como el que me gustaria y prometo compensar esa falta de tiempo de alguna manera. Que alegria me ha dado poder ver a mi prima en su nueva aventura como madre, por ejemplo y que penita me da perderme el nacimiento!

Con estas palabras queria dar las gracias a todas las personas que me quieren y a las que yo quiero a pesar del paso de los a~nos y la distancia, el cari~no es mutuo y siempre estar'e ah'i ,ya sea a trav'es de una pantalla de ordenador o en persona en uno de mis viajes, os llevo a todos siempre en mi maletita!

un abrazo para todos!

La Cala, best Spanish Tapas bar in Dublin (Ireland)!go and see for yourself!

This cozy Spanish owned tapas bar in Dublin is the best one i have been to, for those who know me well,know how demanding i'm with the food, you will trust me then, when I recommend the Spanish tapas bar " La Cala"! . Tapas have actually a reasonable price and size (bigger than in Spain!) and they are all homemade.

Don't miss the opportunity to go and order one of the following:

1. Croquetas (meat/ my favourite!!!)
2. Albondigas (meatballs uhm delicious!!)
3. Pan tumaca (bread with oil and Spanish ham)
4. Calamares fritos (Calamari / fish)
5. Ensalada de queso de cabra
6. Boquerones fritos (they don't always have these, it's fish)
7. Pincho moruno de pollo con cuscus (Chicken)
8. Aceitunas!(olives!)

There are many more tapas but i haven't tried them yet lol but i'm sure they will be nice, too! If you want to have paella,you will need to ring them so that they cook it for you, given thatpaella it's a very elaborated dish and they don't have it on their menu as a tapa.

With 3 tapas you will have more than enough to eat! you can also enjoy the meal with a glass of red wine! On Saturdays nights they usually have live flamenco music or dancing!

The only piece of criticism I can make is that the deserts are not so typical Spanish..specially the Tiramisu, I do hope that they include some Spanish deserts, as well

Where you can find them appart from in facebook? They are located along the quays (5 minutes from the Smithfield luas stop)>

12 Ellis Quay
Dublin 7, Co. Dublin
01 764 5834

If you want to go on Saturdays, it'd be advisable to book in advanced. All the staff in the restaurant is Spanish ,also the cook, I promise that you will not find a Chinese cook like I have seen in other Spanish or Italian restaurants in dublin (Nothing against the Chinese but of course they can't cook Spanish food like we do!).

http://www.lacala.ie/LA_CALA/HOME.html

Let me know what you think after you go!

OS presento a la niña Repelente en su capitulo 9 "El Calor"

Esta niña rubia sevillana llamada Margarita, con su madre depresiva que ve alucinaciones, su padre al que llama "calva" y su vecinito al que llama "gorda" con la que se hizo famosa la frase "que te calles gorda" y su muñequita "kimberly" hacen que esta niña no pase desapercibida a pesar de ser una serie de internet de bajo preosupuesto, estoy segura que algun dia estar'a en la tele!

Para los que ya la conozc'ais aqu'i os dejo con este cap'itulo que a mi personalmente me hace mucha gracia jaja "gorda echate agua en las teticas!" " que no te dejo bañarte que te haces pipi" jaja

If Facebook existed years ago LOL

Check out this link ,it's very funny, just imagine what would be the status of facebook if God had it or Julius Cesar or Darwin? have a look and judge for yourself!


http://www.hotsynch.com/funny/fb.html?ref=nf

(if the link doesnt work ,copy it in a browser!it's funny!)

The Social Network (2010)/ Movie about the origin of Facebook

I always have a constant desire for knowledge and in addition, a vivid facebook user like me, couldn't resist the temptation of going to watch "The social Network", a film about who and how the idea of facebook came out. The social netwrok page of facebook has already made history with 500 million users around 207 different countries in only 6 years. Only a genius, young, programmer mind could create it, this mind belongs to Mark Zuckerberg. It may be that the original grasp of the idea of facebook was not originally from him but he already had some inclinations towards networking at the university when he hacked into the university databases and grabbed pictures of different students to compare which one was hottest (some applications in facebook, still do this with celebrities). After this act, by the way, Mark was penalized for breaching the privacy of the Harvard university data (Can we trust him protecting our privacy in facebook with such records lol ?) and he said they should thank him for discovering the flaws of the privacy system Harvard.


It's funny to see how Mark came up with the idea of the relationship status and how the initial idea of "the facebook" was to meet other students and help to socialize for people like Mark, a bit shy and introvert according to what the movie showed.

Some people may criticise what Mark did to reached the top but no-one can deny his talent and ingenious mind, which has captivated millions of users, making him also the youngest billionaire in the world.

I'd say that the main protagonists of the film , like Jessen Eisenberg who has an impressive resemblance with the real Mark Z! his friend, Andrew Garfield , who in the end you feel sorry for.. and the cheeky "enterpreneur" Justin Timberlake roles were all very convincing! In a nutshell ,if you are really interested in the phenomenon of facebook and want to know a bit more about its short history, go and see the movie! don't expect to be blown away by it but at least to walk away knowing somethingelse that you didn't before watching the movie.

See you in my next humble review!

Pyjama girls (2010) / Las Chicas Pijama (2010)

Spanish versión only /

Cualquier extranjero/a que haya vivido en Dublín por cierto tiempo, se ha tenido que preguntar al menos una vez que hay detr'as de las chicas en pijama con sus botas de esas de "pelo" de cabra que se pueden ver ocasionalmente en ciertos barrios dublineses por la calle ,de compras en el Pennys o en el Tesco o en el Dublin bus en la parte de arriba. Pues bien, nuestras dudas se han terminado con el film documental de 70 minutos de Maya Derrington. Dos chicas pijama muy buenas amigas que residen en el barrio de clase obrera Ballyfermot, nos llevan a su mundo del pijama. El documental tiene subt'itulos debido a la dificultad para entender a las j'ovenes protagonistas del mismo. Tengo que decir que tenia grandes expectativas antes de verlo, las cuales no fueron cumplidas porque me di cuenta de que la mayoría de las cosas que mostraban, ya las conocia, como por ejemplo que dichas chicas vienen de barrios marginales, de familias conflictivas donde el padre o la madre es drogadicto o alcoholico y viven de las pagas que les da el gobierno. Estas chicas del pijama no suelen ser buenas estudiantes, hacen la rata y tiene como hobby ir en el Dublin bus buscando pelea a cualquiera que les mire fijamente por cualquier motivo , o sino se van a la puerta del Tesco a ver gente o al Pennys de compras. Me hace gracia el lenguaje que utilizan como "ma" (para mum) o "da" (para father). Ellas explican en el documental que la gente les tiene envidia porque es m'as practico salir en pijama! que no es para nada poco higiénico y que para ellas su barrio es como una extensi'on de su "flat" (casa t'ipicamente de proteccion social) y por eso pueden salir por ah'i en pijama, que no entienden porque la gente les mira.

El documental refleja como estas adolescentes tienen pocas expectativas en la vida, beben, fuman salen con adolescentes que en muchas ocasiones las dejan en embarazo y tambi'en muestran como también muchas veces sus tías o abuelas acaban cuidando de ellas por la ausencia de sus padres o bien por que han fallecido o porque est'an en prision. Es una parte de la sociedad Irlandesa que est'a presente y el gobierno no hace mucho por ayudarles, a parte de darles un flat donde vivir,no les incentivan para salir de ese mundo. Del documental me parece entra~nable la hermana peque~na de Lauren, que pena que tampoco vaya a tener un gran futuro.., la verdad es que tengo algo en com'un con las chicas del pijama ,me encantan los pijamas de 6 euros del pennys!! pero todavia no me los pongo para salir a la calle, puede que algún dia lo pruebe para ver que se siente! Al final del documental se entiende un poco mejor su perspectiva del mundo pero como decía al principio, es algo que no me sorprendi'o despu'es de los a~nos que llevo aquí.

Trip recommendation> Brussels, Gent and Brugges

Recently I travelled to Belgium for the very first time and I was nicely surprised! I organized the 4/day trip myself online. My itinerary was:

First day in Brussels arriving very early in the morning, we stayed at a very peculiar Bed and B in the city centre. I found accommodation in Brussels very expensive. We managed to 'see the old town, the mini,mini 50 cms Maneken Pis statue and all its streets surrounded by chocolate wafers and sweets. I couldn't resist to the delicious and inviting smell and i had a wafre with chocolate sauce! From there we went to the famous Tin-Tin shop and there is also a nice graffiti on the way of the Belgian comic character. On the Belgian corner shop we bought some original souvenirs! and from there to the beautiful Grand Place which reminded me of the Marienplatz in Munich but more impressive!At night we went to the numerous Mariscos restaurants where the typical mussels were on offer. I was amazed at the similar plates of Paella served at the Rue of Bouchers Beenhouv, you can't leave Belgium without eating Mussels either!. It's also worth it to walk around and see the different chocolateries! dont miss a visit to the EU parliament!

Second day in 45 minutes we arrived in one of the frequently scheduled trains to Gent. I bough online the ticket which allowed me to take any train going to Gent with the printed ticket to the Station of Gent-Sint-Pieters. Tickets to travel throughout Belgium for a reasonable price can be found at: www.b-rail.be. It's very convenient! Of Gent I loved everything! its buildings,its variety of bars (go to Flamingos bar!) and original shops,its canals ,its boats, taking long strolls around the city,its Castle,its bridges, The adoration of the Lamb of Van Eyck in the cathedral,its tram and even its bikes which are everywhere (watch out! you maybe run over by one bike,they go very fast!!) hotels prices in Gent are more affordable and of better quality. I stayed at a nice hotel very close to the train station,to save me time when i went to Brugges. We decided to stay for 2 nights in Gent and the next morning we took a train to Brugge (train schedules can always be found on the internet on the page i have given you before).I almost forgot! to travel by tram, get an 8 euro ticket for one zone ,from the station you can get tram 21 and 22 to go to the city centre.

Our third day we went to the famous city of Brugges, first i saw at the train station was the they were selling the Irish movie I watched a couple of years ago: "In Bruges", which I watched again after having seen the city and i actually liked it even more! At the station ,we bought a map of the city and it took us around 20 minutes walking to go to the city centre. We met a very nice Argentinian girl who was our travel companion in Brugges. About Brugges what can I say? its narrow and fairy/tale houses,its horses carriages,its canals,its love lake,its swans and its boats! the only thing i didn't like was the amount of tourists in Brugges and I also found some restaurants very expensive. Hotels were much more expensive in Brugge and you dont need more than a day to see this city, so im glad we chose Gent which is actually much bigger than Brugges and there are more things to do than In Brugges.

Last but not least, people in Belgium working in the tourist areas, speak many languages or at least the ones we encountered! even Spanish! so it's not hard to get by in Belgium eiher with French,English,German , Flemish or if you are lucky like us Spanish!

On our last day we walked around Gent before heading off to Brussels to take our plane in the evening!

Farewell to a land of beautiful buildings, delicious chocolates and with a clear European charm! I definitely recommend this trip for a long weekend break!ah! dont forget to bring coins to go to public toilets in Belgium, in most places you have to pay from 30 cents to 50!so dont drink a lot of liquid! i had to pay even in Mcdonalds to go!

Best place in Dublin to eat a nice creppe: Cafe Crepe

A long time ago i wanted to write a few lines about this little cozy coffee shop and creperie in Dublin: "Cafe Crepe" located in in the city centre in 15 South Leinster Street just on the way to the national gallery and by the French Institute. For a very reasonable price you can have a nice sweet creppe like my favorite one with chocolate sauce and cream or a nice salted crepe with salada and crisps. Coffee also tastes very good (I recommend a capuccino!), you can have nice breakfast there for 8euros per person. The thin and tasteful crepes are the closest you can get to a true French crepe, they are not so thick like in other places in Dublin like lemon jelly where crepes are nice but not French at all. By the picture i have just taken today, you can tell that my crêpe was very well cooked and delicious!! im not exaggerating! To finish just to let you know that this cafeteria usually closes very early at around 5 or 6 sometimes, so you´d rather go early! Bon appetite!

My favorite places: Canada

One place you have to go and see is definitely Canada! I happened to have a good friend there who was my guide for most of my trip. I travelled around the states of Ontario and Quebec.

My first 2 days I was on my own in the modern city of Toronto! I was fascinated by the skyscrapers in the downtown where I stayed at, the beautiful harbour , the Ontario lake and the islands and I have to say that although there were some homeless in the street, i felt pretty safe. There was one square that reminded me of the Picadilly Circus in London and even the tour double-deck buses were red! Toronto has very good means of transportation> tram,bus and subway. Although the private coach company (airport express) from the international Pearson airport was a bit expensive, i'd advise you to buy a return ticket for 36 dollars which is valid for 90 days and takes you to downtown in only 25 minutes.

I wish i had had more time to spend in Toronto to be able to go on a cruise to the islands or to the Museum of Contemporary art and to do some shopping in the Eaton centre! Toronto is a expensive city and all around Canada taxes are not included in the prices you pay for clothing,food or bills in bars or restaurants, so always take that into account.

I spent half a day in the Niagara Falls, next time I'll stay overnight there since there is so much to do with the Niagara city entertainment shows and funny museums! It's worth it to stay! you can go by bus form Toronto like I did on a budget company that goes there daily for only 15 $ one way. Once you get ot the Niagara City coach station, it's a 40 minute walk to the falls or you can take a transit bus or taxi. I felt adventurous and walked all the way but I would advice you to take the transit bus not to lose any time! You can also go to the Niagara falls from Toronto on a tour bus but they charge you minimun 50 $ and you dont have a lot of free time to hang out.

After coming back from the falls, on my third day from Toronto I travelled by rail canada train (I bought the tickets on their web page), the ticket was a bit expensive but it was a nice way to see Canada for longer than 4 hours until I got to Ottawa.

Ottawa is a cozy traditional city with an impressive parliament which reminds me of the Big Ben and lovely castle just above the river.

By car we got to the beautiful mountain landscaping full of wild woods and lakes in the bilingual area of Tremblant in Quebec. It has it all, you can have a swim in the lakes in the summer and in winter yo can go skying in the multiple skiing resorts with lovely cafeterias and restaurants. Hidden in the mountains you have an amazing shop of Tommy Hillfiger where discounts up to 50 % can be found all year long! These discounts are only offered in this place because Tommy has a house in the area.

Last but not least, I spent my last day in the European-American style city of Montreal. I would have need at least other 2 days to be able to enjoy the city more, i only could appreciate the charm of the old city of Montreal, the harbour with its great atmosphere and inviting cafeterias. It was amazing to see the mixture of skyscrapers and Georgian style buildings. Montreal even has a replica of the French Cathedral of Notredame, they are very similar indeed!

Dont leave the state of Quebec without having maple sirope and poutine! 2 of the specialities of the area!Canada is a very ethnically and culturally mixed country and specially in the state of Quebec inhabitants speak more French than English and street signs are in both languages.

Ah! i almost forgot the cheapest airline that goes to Canada is airtransat, it's actually good value and they fly to the main cities!

I have to thank my friend Cristina and their family for the wonderful tour around Canada! i hope to be back soon!

Around Ireland: Inis Mór island (Aran Islands)

Our search of the deep true Irish culture continued and we are just back from a magical place called: Inishmore (in Irish: Inis Mór). As we have been living in Ireland for more than 5 years now, we know that in order to travel around Ireland you have to be very well prepared to confront the changeable weather: waterproof trousers and jacket,rain boots, a couple of torches and a couple of fleeces.

To get to the island you can go either by ferry for 40 minutes or like we did, by a small aircraft for 8-people on a 10-minute flight only. The aircraft flies very low and it´s very nice to see the islands from the sky, I truly recommend it (you pay 45 euros for a return ticket) you can check: http://www.aerarannislands.ie/index.php?page=group-rates. A shuttle bus will take you to the Connemara airport from Galway in only 30 minutes. Inismore is the biggest of the 3 beautiful Aran island on the Atlantic ocean. According to what the locals told us it has around 900 inhabitants and everybody knows each other, the most popular hobby is : gossip which spreads quickly! There is no crime at all there so no police is needed, there are no petrol stations, nor big shops or other common places we take for granted in this globalized world. There is only one small bank, 3 schools and when you get sick they come to pick you up by helicopter. The means of transports around the island is mainly by: pony carriages, bikes and for the oldest tourists there are around 3 small vans that take them in a tour around the island for 2 hours (10 euros each). No map will help you on this island since there are no street names and only a few signs and all in gaelic! People from the island are extremely nice and helpful and their main language is Irish, which unfortunately it´s only spoken in a few places in Ireland. There are no big luxurious hotels to stay on the island, only bed and breakfasts from the locals. Without knowing it, i booked a room for 2 in the most beautiful spot of the island, "The Man of Aran cottage" whose owner Joe and wife Maury treat you like one member of their family, we had long conversations with them while having a homemade Irish breakfast in the morning with the products from their own garden. They have been for 18 years in the business and take care of every detail. We were lucky we got the cottage number 5 just in front of the ocean, you pay 45 euros per person but it´s well worth it (they can make you a discount if you are a group)!The reservation is done by email and then you pay at the end of your stay. You can find them here: http://www.manofarancottage.com/about.html.
We rented our bike in town and cycled all the way to the cottage with our rucksacks, i have to say that if somebody would have told me that it was going to take me an hour to get there, i may have chosen another means of transport but it was an experience for me, to be honest! Just 5 mins before arriving we saw one tourist lying on the road because she was hit by a car, being her an American tourist going in the wrong direction with the bike,she was taken quickly to the mainland. There are only a few cars on the island but on the Aran islands , it´s like in the U.k. and cars go on the left and some tourists are unaware and a beautiful trip can end up badly.
I could be writing for hours about Inis Mór but I’m going to sum it up now:
@ Beautiful colours of landscapes and sky free of pollution where you can see the stars at night!
@Perfect place to get away from hectic life
@go to the local pub, Joe ,to listen to live music and have a wonderful meal, i recommend the cheese cake with Baileys
@have a coffee on the Man of Aran small shop in town
@choose a bed and breakfast a bit far away from town
@Don´t miss the fort of Dún Aonghasa and its beautiful cliffs, our cottage was only 10 minutes away from this site
@if you want to rent a bike do it directly in the main shop in town, 10 euros per day
@if you need to leave your bags , you can leave them at the tourist office
@don´t miss the smallest church in Europe and the beautiful cemetery with celtic crosses just in front of the ocean (both of them very close to the airport)
@choose carefully the time of the year when you want to go there, for us September has been very nice, they told us that many bed and breakfasts close from October to January (the lowest temperature being 7 degrees and the hottest 20 degrees,so leave the bikini at home!)

Locals like the American pub , we went there and we actually didnt´like the food, the Joe´s pub was much nicer, don’t waste tour time there.

@leave your umbrella at home and bring better what I recommended at the top of this post , all the American tourists in shorts got a bit wet.

To me it has been one of the most beautiful wedding anniversaries i have had with my beloved husband, he was so happy cycling and talking to the locals that only to see this it was well worth it!We have definitely a different view of Ireland, the more we get to know it , the more we like it!

Around Ireland: Sligo - Green Landscapes and tradition

Our aim is to see the most of Ireland by train as it´s one of our favourite means of transport. It took us around 3 hours to get there from Dublin , all green landscapes with cows and sheep. I noticed more cows in these area than in the Galway one.I dont know how many pics i took of them, i find cows so cute!

A couple of weeks ago we where in Sligo, capital of the county of Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, it has a population of around 1800 people. Sligo had a big influence in the poems of the Irish poet " Yeats", who spent many childhood summers in there. Yeats statue can be found just outside the beautiful building of the Ulster Bank at the heart of the town.

We stayed at the Glasshouse hotel which plays an important part mingling in the Sligo town with the traditional country style Irish buildings and the modernity of this innovative hotel full of glass just above the Garavogue river, much cleaner and nicer than the Dublin Liffey river. I totally recommend this four star hotel to have a nice weekend break, the lay-out of the room was very nice and modern with free internet and tv, breakfast was not great but you can´t have it all!For me, it has been the nicest hotel we have been to in Ireland. It´s located just at the heart of the city centre and it has a pub with a nice atmosphere at night, if the weather is good you can even have a nice drink by the river. If you travel around Ireland for a weekend break, it´s important ot go to a nice hotel in case the weather is crap and you dont want to leave the hotel!

Sligo it´s very different from Dublin, it´s a ver y traditional Irish place , quiet and clean, you could go nicely for a walk. Just a few kms away you can go to do some surfing to the Strandhill beach, if you are brave enough to surf in the Irish sea. There are a few coaches going there departing from the city centre.

Sligo is very small and you can see it in a couple of hours, we fnid a bit hard to find a place for lunch, being used to have so much variety of places in Dublin, in Sligo there are not so many restaurants, we ended up in an Italian restaurant, I think we were the only non-Irish there and sometimes we felt being stared at by the locals lol!

We felt very comfi in Sligo and we promised to be back again!

Memorable songs in my life: Taylor Dayne | Tell It To My Heart

Does this song ring a bell? i used to love it when i was a kid! the video is so 80ies! Happy Sunday everyone-

My favourite cities : Berlín

I have been to Berlin a couple of times and I wanted to write some recommendations for those who haven´t been there yet. If you are thinking of what to do Next Years Eve and you are not afraid of minus temperatures and snow, I totally recommend the experience of going to Berlin to celebrate in the big outdoors party in the Brandenburg Tor. Entrance is free ,you may not be able to be in the first row of the main stage due to the popularity of this event and amount of attendees but there are big screens and music for around of 2 kms or longer and you can have a really good time. It´s very welll organized, if one part is very crowded, you have to keep on walking for a few metres to the next entrance until there is enough room for everybody. I took my Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes to Berlin and i bought them in advanced at a little fruit shop at the Alexanderplatz station. The only thing that stopped us from staying longer at the outdoor party was that we didnt have proper snow boots but the atmosphere was great, you could by German sausages, cocktails and watch the fireworks surrounded by people from different ages and nationalities. On that night the underground is operative all night long so we coudl even go back to the hotel by underground.

In case you decide to go, don´t do like us and book your hotel well in advanced, otherwise prices can bve very high. The hotel where we stayed in ,has beven one of my favourite ones, so far but you would need to have a good budget. It was call "Park plaza, wallstreet Berlin", it´s a very modern and original hotel Andywarhol style ! breakfast was fab and it was well located. If you are on a shorter bduget, youth hostels in Berlin have usually a very nice buffet breakfast and you can experienced the graffiti life-side of the city! in the one i was in when i was erasmus the entrance looked like what we call in Spanish "ocupa house" and the "recepcionist" was totally high on cannabis!

Berlin has an excellent transporation system, if you are going for at least 3 days you should buy a 3-day ticket to be able to go by tram,underground,S-bahn and bus.

Don´t miss:

-East Side Gallery to see the wall of Berlin in a very artistic way!
-Museum of the wall in Checkpoint Charlie - you will need to be in the mood of reading in French,English or German , different true stories of waht people did to cross from East to West
-Ampelmann shops- unique trafficlights men wearing a hat has many shops around town
-Museum Insel- if you have time for more museums, don´t miss the museum for Egypt
-Reichstag - Pariliament- you have to queue for long but it´s totally worth it, i loved the parliment visit
-Gedächniss Kirche - old bombed church surrounded by modern Berlin
-Der sieger- golden Angel in a very high column, beautiful area , where the famous Love Parade used to take place
-Brandenburg Tor-
-Central train station and Alexandre-platz
-Berliner Dom- one of my favourite buildings...

and many more in a city full of contrast between the modern world and a piece of history ,still very present!