Dec 23, 2012

Enjoy These Spanish Festivals To Experience Their Culture

A European holiday is an excellent idea to de-stress. Make it a habit that you go on trips for at least once per year to meet different people and know diverse cultures as well. One of the best places to visit in Europe is Spain. Experience the sights, sounds, and culture of Spain. Thus, find cheap holiday deals to Spain in order to pack your bags and pay a visit to this wonderful location. Below is the checklist of a few holidays in Spain that you and your family should certainly pay a visit.. However, you ought to know that those vacation images of spending a vacation constitute only one half of the whole experience. Taking part and observing the country's special festivities makes up the other half. Remember the fact that Spanish culture is quite rich, and observing festivities and special occasions will let you appreciate that way of life. head over to Spain, and experience the Spanish festivals that tell a whole lot of Spanish culture.


New Year's Day

New Year is Spain is a wonderful event. You'll certainly have one with the activities they do to greet the New Year. Pay a visit to Spain early December or late January experiencing the Spanish new year. In towns and cities, firework demonstrations, fun activities, concerts, and parties erupt. Delight in and experience the great spectacle.

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

This is the time of the year when Spain will stop binging and fun to commemorate the Holy Week. Spain is considered as a religious country; you will see processions where people bring the images of Jesus and Mary. You will truly see that they commit lots of effort in this event., is observed during April or May. The setting becomes solemn as images of saints are paraded all over the street. Semana Santa is a celebration of the passion of Christ in Christian faith. In the celebration, you will experience the great faith of Spaniards. If you wish to reflect on your inner self, then Semana Santa is the best time to do such reflection.


Month of Ferias

This occasion happens in the month of April in Andalucia. The state of Andalucia honors Ferias on April. These two weeks of festivals will show you a window on how Spaniards had a good time during the ancient times. Bullfights, traditional dances, folk songs, and partying are the usual activities that men and women do during Ferias.

San Isidro

Cities come to life with color and excitement during May or June as people observe San Isidro. It can last for a couple of days, which may correspond with a weekend holiday. Witness Spain’s radiant colors and extreme fun during San Isidro. Called the San Isidro celebrations, the 2-to-3 day special occasion involves decorative banners, extended parades, loud live shows, and exciting street parties. Stores all over promote several types of meals, and tourists may try their luck at games of chance. Have a party-filled vacation during San Isidro.

Christmas Day

Obviously, Spain commemorates a dynamic Christmas Without a doubt, Spain celebrates Christmas time seriously. You must see how Spaniards celebrate their Yuletide. Infinite food, evening parties, explosive fireworks, bright colored decorations, and special events all make the Yuletide season in Spain a holiday to remember.

As you have seen, Spain is an ideal nationto see and explore. Helpful folks will pamper you. Spain is an interesting country, one that you must visit. Spaniards are naturally friendly and you will feel at home with their warm smiles and welcoming hellos. You will find stunning sight-seeing opportunities and interesting places to see, making you deduce that the country is indeed one of the most lovely nations on the planet.

Dec 16, 2012

There Are Some Guides To Help You Learn Spanish Well

It is noted that Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn, easier than English in fact. For one thing, Spanish words are generally pronounced as spelled and there are neither short nor long vowels. Communicative grammar, although still needs to intensely touch sentence structure and verb conjugation, is manageable to learn. But though this is the case, many Spanish learners are still having difficulty with learning the language. This is natural, of course, especially considering that fact that the mode of instruction is generally in Spanish. Yet, there are some tips to make learning Spanish a lot easier and more fruitful. Here they are:


1. Train your ear with Spanish music and movies. One of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to listen to native speakers through songs, movies, and TV soaps. When you listen to a song or to an actor, focus on the pronunciation, inflection, speed, and rhythm of the language. Similarly, take good note of the sentence structure. To get the best out of this activity, play any Spanish CD or movie or tune in to a Spanish radio station for 10 to 20 minutes and practice speaking whatever you learned.

2. Have a brief but frequent study time. This is much better than having a long but infrequent time for study, a research says. In other words, thirty minutes of study scattered throughout the day works more efficiently than when you study three to four hours in one or two days every week. This is more practical in essence especially because there are a lot of free time you can squeeze study time in. While driving, for example, you can name the objects you pass by in Spanish, or construct Spanish sentences while eating. Now that we've covered those aspects of Learn Spanish, let's turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

3. Craft learning tools. There is no doubt you can learn from books and software, but there is something to be said about personalized learning materials, those that you made yourself and therefore address your needs and strengthen your weak points. For instance, you can make flash cards with Spanish words on one side and the equivalent English word on the other side. You can also make a chart of present, past, and future tenses of verbs. With the purpose of meeting your unique needs, you can make as many, not to mention creative, devices for improving your Spanish language skill.

4. Make extra effort to practice. All the knowledge accumulation is laid waste if not applied in practical situations, so practice speaking the language every chance you get. You will notice that you learn even better when you speak the language than when you just read and study it. Read aloud. Speak to other Spanish learners. Don?t be afraid of committing mistakes. If the only thing that keeps you from conversing in Spanish is your fear, you certainly miss on a lot of things. Remember, speaking in Spanish is a skill, and you can never master it unless you practice and put that skill to a test. So, speak.

5. Learn actively. You cannot learn by simply browsing through books, memorizing the rules, and reading mentally. Learning Spanish requires your active involvement and commitment. Speak. Practice. Hear yourself. Track your improvement. And continuously look for ways to continue progressing.

Dec 8, 2012

Teach You How To Make So Famous Spanish Frittatas

Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, Spanish frittatas are only limited by your imagination. Though eggs and potatoes are the only ingredients you need, try adding sausage, leeks and spinach to one or smoked salmon, fresh dill and chives to another.

Serve with a garlic aioli, sour cream or crème frâiche for a snack or appetizer. The great thing about frittatas is that you can make them ahead and just heat them up when you're ready to eat.


Ingredients:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced
  • 2 medium zucchini, sliced twice as thick as potatoes
  • 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
  • 1 large red bell pepper, roasted, seeded, and sliced
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 Tbsp drained capers
Instructions:
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Layer half the potatoes, zucchini, shallots and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper, repeat layer and cook until potatoes are tender and lightly browned, stirring and flipping frequently to avoid any burning, about 20 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat, sprinkle and toss with thyme and red pepper flakes. In a large bowl whisk eggs, season with salt and pepper. Add potato mixture to eggs. Wipe pan clean and add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan. Pour in mixture and sprinkle with cheese and capers. Reduce heat to medium and cook until eggs are slightly firm, about ten minutes.
  3. Heat broiler in oven to 450 degrees, place pan under broiler until lightly brown on top. Remove, sprinkle with parsley and let stand for five minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm with crème frâiche or plain yogurt.

Dec 1, 2012

There Is An Authentic Cocido Madrileno Recipe


Ingredients for Cocido Madrileno:
  • 250 gr dried chickpeas
  • 500 gr meat
  • chicken bones
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 2 small blood sausages "Morcillas"
  • 6 chorizos
  • 1 piece of salt pork belly or streaky bacon
  • 1 ham bone or fresh pig’s foot
  • 1 savoy cabbage
  • 1 onion
  • 3 carrots
  • 6 small potatoes
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • pasta o rice for soups
Preparation:
  1. First of all, the day before you prepare the cocido, soak the dried chickpeas in a large pot of cold water with some salt for 12 hours. Be sure that the water covers the chickpeas entirely, so that they soften.
  2. In a large pot with 13 cups of cold water, put the meat, ham bone, alt pork belly and chicken (both breasts and chicken bones). Bring water to a boil and skim any fat, etc. off the top, add water if necesessary.
  3. Add the drained chickpeas, onion, garlic and salt to taste, simmer 2 or 3 hours.
  4. Chop the cabbage in to eighths. Remove 2 cups of broth from the stew and put into a large stock pot. Place the cabbage in the pot with 2 cups broth and 2 cups water and boil until cabbage is soft.
  5. In the pot where you are cooking the cocido add the chorizos, morcillas and the peeled carrots and potatoes.
  6. Take as much stock from the pot of meat as you need and mix it with equal amount of stock from the cabbage. Bring to a boil. Add pasta/rice to pot and cook until al dente.