navarra

Just thinking about Navarra. That was a great trip for Carnaval at the end of February. Gracias Andrea! Here are a few photos.

The girls,

Pamplona,

I loved the look of this little old man. So pueblo, playing cards with the Spanish baraja with his boina,

Corella,

Carnaval costumes,

Azotea

A few weeks ago I went on a recommendation, with a group of friends, to the roof terrace (azotea) of the Círculo de Bellas Artes. It is a great place to go for views of Madrid. You can look over the city, including Palacio de Cibeles opposite and the iconic Madrileñan Metropolis just across the road.

You have to pay for entry and the drinks are a little pricey but I think it's worth it, especially at sunset for champagne or at night for a cocktail. We did the latter.

With the huge cushions to sprawl out on, it's perfect for good weather so when it's starts to get warm again - I may have to wait a few months (meh) - you will find me there!

I even went back when showing Madrid to a friend, as with the price for entry, the museum are free. However, the queue was so long for the lift that we bailed on the views and just saw the exhibitions instead. Català Roca's black and white photos were particularly interesting, showing us 20th century Spain through his lens. I was very pleased with myself, managing to recognise most of the photos taken in Madrid. I really am getting to know the city... I will never want to leave at the end of the year.

Date Night

Being a lovely girlfriend, I found an architecture exhibition in Madrid and took Ger. It was at the Biblioteca Nacional which in itself is interesting in terms of architecture. Here's me being the language geek that I am - Alfonso X, my good friend.

We then ambled over to where the museums are, Paseo del Prado, Madrid's Exhibition Road. By night, I snapped with my iPhone until it died. Blogger total mode.

Caixa Forum.

The Reina Sofía lifts.

Place to go for Picasso.

You know it.

Chao for now...

Las Rozas Village

I've never really been big on outlet shopping, I find the whole business a little stressful having to fight to find something that ends up not even being my size, but I have to admit, I quite liked my evening at Las Rozas Village.

El Ganso there is pretty good and could this top in Pepe jeans be any more perfect?

It's open late therefore you can escape the crowds and the options for relaxing are pretty good too. Definitely go to Lobby Café where everything is all British-acristocracy themed and look at the view from this bar de copas, 

All in all, if you're around there - granted it is quite far out of Madrid - it's a lovely place to be.

Fuencarral

Germán, my boyfriend, studies architecture. Because creativity is one of the key attributes students should be honing to be an architect, they are frequently given projects providing them with a lot of creative freedom. Last weekend, his project was to put together a video portraying street architecture but from an alternative perspective. He chose to film different people or different shoes walking on calle Fuencarral in Madrid both at night and daytime, as well as surrounded by crowds or completely alone.

So that's what Germán, María, Jaime and I spent our day doing. We looked like such freaks... however, in Malasaña (Madrid's Camden) the hipsters and other oddballs didn't really seem to notice us. Having oh so professionally taped an iPhone to a metal pole, we set off.

That trusty palo...

 

I feel like a verb we really lack in English is the very concise Spanish aprovechar, meaning 'to make the most of'. Anyway, aproveché, I took the opportunity to photograph the counterculture of such a dynamic area. The graffitied narrow streets tightly pack old school Spanish matchbox-sized shops or traditional churches, with tattoo parlours, vintage stores, artsy bars and a place selling the next newest *thing* (I saw quite a few bike shops so look out pedestrians - you don't want to get run over by a hipster).

We then hopped right back on the tourist route with a walk to Sol and the Plaza Mayor and then for a (slightly over-priced) glass of wine - or two or three - in Mercado de San Miguel. It's one of my favourite places for tapas in the city (think Spanishified Borough Market).

Vida madrileña

 

Can't quite believe I'm here... Already stocked the fridge with gazpacho, tortilla, jamón and fuet - feeling I've gone española and there's no turning back. What you would only find in García on Portobello or perhaps a delicatessen is normal here and better yet - usually very cheap. I have to say I am seriously impressed with the choice of bread in Spanish supermarkets as well, even the smallest ones which don't have an in-store bakery seem to have a wealth of different types. Not so impressed by the choice of humous (my addiction) but c'est la vie!

So far I haven't done all that much except unpack, see a few old friends and explore the area. I am VERY happy with the location of my flat, Barrio de Salamanca. It's very well connected and I can walk almost everywhere. I'm surrounded by bars and little boutiques (take a look at a few photos I took yesterday). Right, well I know where my first pay cheque is headed.

I love this little pedestrianised mews, el Callejón de Jorge Juan. Reminds me of Notting Hill with it's candy-coloured buildings and little doorways.

Work starts tomorrow eek, wish me luck...

Having to start somewhere

I have been meaning to do this for a while now. By this I mean start a blog. It's always difficult knowing what to say, what people want to read, whether anyone is even going to look at it... but here I go.

Right, well for those of you who don't yet know, my name is Rozzy Gadsden. Rozzy is short for Rosamund (cruel parents - I know), which means 'rose of the world' in Latin. That, and my obsession with all things Spanish have contributed to the blog name.

Moving swiftly on, I live in London but have just finished my second year reading Spanish at Oxford, therefore my real excuse for writing this blog is my year abroad, which officially began in June and will take me to Madrid for ten months from September.

I love travelling and love documenting said travels. My friends are almost all sick of my incessant need to show them my photos, so I imagine the blog will be dominated by photography but will be dotted with some reviews of places I find along the way. Unable to avoid clichés, I'm just going with it, feel free to follow my journey.

Me