A Broad Abroad: April 2011

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Shopping in Madrid...espadrilles....

Espadrilles

It is the Semana Santa in Spain and most people have gone on holiday except for about 7 of us at the office. I have been referring to the Holy Week as Días Santos as I only have holiday on the national ones, Thursday and Friday. A couple of weeks ago a personal shopper had contacted our office to have a meeting. I found the request a bit strange being that I work at a small Private Equity firm whose investments are in Iberian Mid-Market companies and most of the people that request meetings with me are for hotels, telephones, printers, event planning, catering, etc but her studio is located right near our office and I have always wanted to be a personal shopper, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that my bosses were away and made an appointment.

So off I went to meet with Be Chic Personal Shopper. I entered the beautiful building on Calle Monte Esquinza and her studio was just as lovely but I was a bit surprised. I expected racks of clothing and tons of shoes more like how I have seen Rachel Zoe’s studio on TV. This personal shopper has just recently opened the studio and it is not yet finished. She offers a myriad of services and lucky for her the personal shopping business is still a relatively new concept in Madrid. I thought that she lacked a bit of pizzazz but perhaps that is my North American nature popping through. I wish her the best. I, personally, am a great shopper and love shopping for other people. I usually give my bosses great ideas for their wives so I don’t think my office will need her services.

My favorite type of shopping is for birthday presents and SHOES! Every year I ask my mom what she wants for her birthday about a month beforehand so the package will arrive on time for her special day. This year I decided to go off the beaten path and I gave her a Pandora charm in the shape of a fish because up until about a month ago, I was convinced my mom was a Pisces! It turns out she is a Aries, the ram – thankfully, my mom loves the sea so she interpreted the gift as such rather than my minor blunder of the Zodiac.

Usually, my mom requests a couple of pairs of alpargatas, espadrilles in English. She LOVES them! Here is an email from 2006:

“hope all is well. wore my pink espadrilles last night. greatly admired by all. love you”

My adorable mom in her espadrilles

In Spain, the alpargatas can be found everywhere and lately, I see them in all of my fashion magazines. Doña Leticia, the future king of Spain’s wife even wears them. Who knew that ropey shoes could become so popular centuries later? They are relatively inexpensive as well, even cheaper if you don’t have to ship them to the States.

I am not the biggest fan of the ropey Jesús shoes. I owned my first pair of flat alpargatas a little over a decade ago, bought them in Málaga during my junior year abroad and more recently, I had a pair that weren’t the typical flat ones. Due to my height and love of high heals, I can no longer were flat shoes. I find that the flat alpargatas are deathly uncomfortable because they are just so flat and have no lining so it feels like you are walking on rough pavement. My first pair was black (surprise, surprise) and my second pair had a nice wedge in a celestial blue with a strap around the ankle and the lining had hot pink and orange polka dots. They were very cute but they got VERY dirty.

After a bit of research, apparently that ropey sole is made of jute and the unisex shoes, originally for peasants, date back to the 13^th Century and the King of Aragón. The shoes were and still are hand made in near the Pyrenees; Cataluña and the Basque Country (northern Spain) as well as Bangladesh and France.

Here is a lovely article that was published in the New York Times in 2005.

If you are in Madrid and would like to buy some espadrilles, here are some stores that carry the classics:

La Alpargateria

Calle García de Paredes, 74

Casa Hernanz

Calle Toledo, 18 (right outside the Plaza Mayor)

The Princess Leticia buys hers here (very expensive for ropey shoes but they are a bit more fun):

Castañer

Calle Almirante, 24 or Calle Claudio Coello, 51

http://www.castaner.com/

On a side note, when I told Izzy that I was writing about alpargatas/espadrilles he really couldn't understand why. I wasn't sure why either being that I am not a number one fan of the shoe. I explained to him that it was because they were everywhere, almost like they are taunting me into buying a pair. He told me they could only be found at a particular place near Calle Princesa. When I said I wasn't familiar with that one he explained that it was a big, round type of bread filled with ham and cheese. I started started laughing and explained that I was writing about shoes. He is apparently more into the food department!!

Happy Shoe Shopping!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

To dream a little dream....

Salvador Dalí

Sueño causado por el vuelo de una abeja alrededor

de una granada un segundo antes del despertar

1944

“Es que, quiere jubilarse ya…” I eavesdrop on Boss 1 saying to Mr. GQ that somebody wants to retire as they walk by my office.

“Quiero jubilarme también.” I yell that I want to retire too from my office.

“¡Ya lo sabemos! Nada se le escapa a la Sarita.” Boss 1 says to Mr. GQ that they already knew that and that nothing escapes “The Sarita” (me!).

“I would love, loooove, LOVE it!” I add in English.

“We are sure you would!” He adds in his Spanish accented English.

That was a couple of weeks ago….

“If you were really wealthy and didn’t have to work, what would you do?” the Brainy Boss asks me today.

As my eyes light up, my heart starts to race and tingle with joy, he chuckles. I think of the million and one things I would do. So this is what I told him in almost a single breath…

I would be living in a large flat overlooking the Retiro Park with two cute Cocker Spaniels and I would have a walk in closet to hold all of my lovely shoes, similar to the one Carrie has in the Sex & the City movie. The apartment would be equipped with an excessively large terrace with a big built-in grill to keep my husband happy.

Some of the activities to occupy my day would be studying Art History and learning to Paint at the Prado Museum. I would master the art of Flamenco dancing through classes and going to shows all over Spain, I would have private Pilates classes, I would lunch and shop with a pal, I would have an obligatory siesta every afternoon, I would take a creative writing class in Spanish, I would volunteer to help combat illiteracy…I would organize fund-raising events for organizations (they would include fabulous Spanish vino and cava).

In the evening, I would be quite flexible to whatever plans arise, vinitos with hubby/friends or just enjoying the terrace of my own home or watching TV.

At the weekends, if I wasn’t pruning the grapes or tending to the beautiful garden on my vineyard, I would hop on my private jet to wherever my little heart desires….Macaroons and champagne in Paris, High Tea with Annabel followed by theater or dance in London, if I was feeling home sick, I would head to Stateside for a few days or if there was a girls’ weekend, I would be there….I have yet to travel to Budapest to experience the heart of Europe, Morocco to see Spain from a different angle, Russia to see Saint Peter’s Cathedral, Japan while the cherry blossoms are in bloom, Brazil for the Carnival, Peru to climb Machu Picchu, Venezuela to see where Joanna’s family is from, Finland to eat some good salmon with dill, Ice Land to see the northern lights, Alaska to see some glaciers, and California to try some of Sutton Cellars Cloudy vermouth, to name a few of the places on my list.

“Wow!! I can see that you have this really thought out!” The Brainy Boss states in a fully surprised way almost in shock that he asked me the question in the first place.

“It would be fabulous. A broad abroad can dream, right?”

Salvador Dalí Muchacha en la ventana 1926

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Tacata, tacata, tacata - Flamenco!

Flamenco in the Plaza Santa Ana

“Don’t you think it is funny that I still email you to see what flamenco place you recommend? Where did we see the dancing elf?”

I chuckle just imagining her face when she opens that email!

My dear friend, Joanna, from the Uni hasn’t lived in Madrid for about 5 or so years but she has such a passion for art, dance, music and pretty much anything cultural that I always get her opinion when the moment arises to see Flamenco.

My sister is trekking across the globe to come see me in May and I am so excited. We are meeting up in Lisbon where I’ll be for my company’s AGM and then she heads over to Madrid with me for a couple of days. I have everything all set in Lisbon but I am working on the Madrid part. She requested to see Flamenco.

Flamenco is a type of music that has origins from somewhere between the XV and XVIII Centuries, the origins of the word flamenco are sort of a mystery. It started in the Southern region of Spain, Andalucia, by the gitanos (gypsies). I find that what I love so much about flamenco is precisely the mystery. I find that flamenco causes the 5 senses to dance together; it doesn’t matter if you aren’t eating or touching anything; the resonance of the guitar fills the soul then it mixes with the vibrating voice of the singer and then that mixes with the dancing, the clapping and the castañuelas.

Joanna & Me after seeing Sara Baras in Sabores
December 2006

Joanna and I have a long-standing tradition to go see flamenco shows when she and I are both in Madrid. We love it. We have seen novices to well known dancers such as Sara Baras. We love everything about it; to the tacata, tacata, tacata of the shoes (tah-cah-tah is the sound the Spaniards make when they refer to the sound of the flamenco shoes or the castañuelas), to the dance, the music, the passion; it can leave you breathless and wondering if, with a bit of practice, you could be a flamenco dancer too.

During Joannas’s last visit, we decided to go to Casa Patas, my treat for her birthday. We chose to meet up in Plaza de Santa Ana and have a drink at the Penthouse before the show. While I was waiting for her, I got to enjoy a couple dancing in the center of the plaza asking for money after they did their brief act (see photo above) – it was lovely to watch the delight of the tourist drinking their tinto de verano and their performance wasn’t half bad.

Joanna & me having a pre-show drink at the Penthouse
June 2010

We were going to see a famous flamenco dancer from back in the day. We were both excited and weaved our way through the center streets to get to the venue. We had decent seats. To get ourselves settled, we ordered some over-priced vinitos and jamón, took a tourist’s photo, and patiently waited for the show to start.

The show started and it was fabulous until the famous flamenco dancer came out on stage.

“No way!” I thought to myself.

A muffled chuckle possessed me and my dear friend thought that I was choking on my vinito and when she realized that I was chuckling she gave me the evil glare, which is something that goes right down to the soul.

The famous flamenco dancer from the last century was dancing in a highly flammable, polyester dance outfit in red and green, white patent leather flamenco shoes, and his hair was so full of Final Net that it didn’t move an inch during his entire performance. I couldn’t focus on his dancing because his outfit caught me so off guard. I had to keep my laughter hidden deep within to avoid another scolding. He looked like the dancing Elf!!

The Dancing Elf!!!

“So, what did you think?” my dear friend asked after the show.

“I loved it up till the dancing Elf.”

My dear friend who has the tendency to be politically correct and always sees the positive answers, “Aye, ¡MIJA!” she says with a glare….moments later she adds, “Ok, his outfit was a bit much.”

Flamenco is definitely worth it to see and if you are in Spain, I highly recommend it. Flamenco can be seen almost anywhere. Some of the best flamenco I have seen has been “off the beaten track” as many bars have flamenco on a given night. The best flamenco surprise I have ever gotten was when my brother and I were eating tapas at a random little restaurant in Sevilla, suddenly, the owner who had been talking on the phone decided to rest the receiver on the bar and just started belting out flamenco for about 30 minutes. It was impressive and I still wonder who was on the other end of the line.

If you do chose to see a show, I recommend that you check their websites beforehand to see who is performing and make a reservation. I only hope that flamenco causes your heart to skip a beat like it does mine and I hope that my sister and I don’t end up seeing another dancing elf!

If you are interested in listening to flamenco-Spanish guitarists, I suggest Paco de Lucía and Bebo & Cigala.