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Showing posts from March, 2013

Spain: Avila, In the City of Stones and Saints

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Spain: Avila, In the City of Stones and Saints Kon Hans The city of Avila, one and a half hour’s drive from Madrid, invites the visitor to a magical journey into the history " High up in the mountains and made from sun, soil and stone and frozen winds that swipe the plains, Avila is a shining Lady that rules from inside her huge walls… ” Walls and Cathedral of Avila And so begins the story of the unique Avila, the “ City of Stones and Saints ” ( Ciudad de los Cantos y los Santos ), with its numerous churches, monasteries and the massive walls that embrace her and immerse her in a glorious medieval tale. A small city of 60,000 inhabitants with a rich history emerges majestically, firm as a rock in its small valley, under the shadow of the Sierra de Gredos , in the highlands of Castile, inviting the visitor to traverse its gates with its colossal impregnable walls looming above, for a magical journey in history, just one and a half hours’ drive from Madrid.

Madrid, a modern European city, where liveliness and art blend in a latin dance!

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Madrid, a modern European city, where liveliness and art blend in a latin dance! By Kon Hans Madrid is a mysterious and full of charm Spanish Lady.  She is stern and majestic, and at the same time sensual and cosmopolitan, but above all she knows how to welcome her visitors.  From the famed “ Golden Triangle of Art ” that unfolds in her centre with the three big museums: Prado, Reina Sofia (MNCARS) and Thyssen Bornemisza, to the huge evergreen park “ Buen Retiro ”, and from the alternative, lively and with the omnipresent artistic spirit, neighborhood of  Chueca  to the frantic nightlife district of  Huertas , where thousands of bars and discos open their doors and let the latin rythms pour out, Madrid offers absolutely everything; except of course the sea. Madrid´s City Hall However this absence has forged its Castilian temperament.  Situated high in its plateau – it’s difficult to imagine that Madrid has an altitude of 700 m.! – she gazes at the yellow-red plai