Sunday, December 14, 2008

Madrid, Spain - Almudena Fiesta ...Back into the Swing again!

Wow, my transition back to the real world has been fast and hectic. Sort of like the energetic shoe tapping of the wonderful Flamenco dancers that I saw perform in Seville! :) It's kind a great to be back home again! I’m finally done unpacking, doing all of my household chores (well most of them at least)and so I'm starting to chill and pour over all the photos that I took during my trip. Wow, I took a lot!

Feeling quite festive these days with the holidays and my sis and her family visiting me in a couple of weeks (Whoo hoo!), I started to remember my experience at the Almudena Fiesta in Madrid and how much I really enjoyed that experience. I blogged about it before and during my trip.

It was so cool that I was able to take part in this annual tradition and celebration! The colors were so amazing. After the fiesta they even had some live entertainment in Plaza Mayor into the evening hours which was also fun. Here are a few photos that I took of the Almudena Fiesta in Madrid.



Hope everyone is having a great pre-holiday time!

12 comments:

  1. I loved seeing more photos of the Almudena Fiesta. So many interesting outfits. Do you know the purpose of the flowers? It must have been so exciting to be there in person to experience this festival. Thanks for sharing!

    Happy Sunday!

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  2. Hi Girasli, thanks for your comments. That's a really great question about the flowers! I did google that question but all I could find out was that the flowers are brought to the Plaza de la Almudena as offerings from the Spaniards in honour of the patron saint of Madrid, la Virgen de la Almudena. I'm not sure when the tradition of the flower offerings began, but it is a beautiful one to see. And as we walked through the streets there were lots of rose pedals on the ground which smelled really nice.

    Hope the hard rains have stopped in Hawaii for you! Happy Sunday to you too!

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  3. Your photos are so beautiful! I love all the different costumes. The women all covered in black lace are so interesting! What an amazing experience to see that Festa.

    Glad you are back in the real-world groove and getting psyched for the holidays! I am still in a bit of a jet lagged fog, but overall, I feel pretty good. Back at the office today and fortunately, it's pretty slow. I started looking at some of my photos last night. I have so many gray skies in mine, oh well!

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  4. Hi Annie, I was just thinking about the same thing about the women in all black. I wondered because all the other dresses were so bright and colorful. Maybe it had something to do with the region that they are from. There were so many of them that they really stood out to me.

    I can't wait to see your photos. I'm sure that you took some interesting shots even with a little hazey skies. I remember last year when I was in Venice I had 3 days of rain. When the sun finally came out I ran out of the door to enjoy the sunshine!

    I'm really glad things were slow at work for you on your return and that despite a little jetlag fog you are feeling good!

    Have a great week Annie!

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  5. I'm so happy to see more photos of this day honoring the patron saint of Madrid. I love seeing all the different colorful costumes. The women dressed in black striked (stroked?) me as something very unusual on fiesta since black is not a color associated with this kind of celebration. I wonder what is the story behind such custom color.

    The flower shots are gorgeous! I still think of them as a sea of flowers. The scent from the flowers must have filled the air with such a sweet smell.

    Glad to hear that your re-entry into everyday life was smooth and that you’re enjoying the company of your sister and family. I'm glad to stay put for a few weeks. I'm trying to save energy for January when I have two short trips planned and then my son's wedding in February.

    Have a wonderful day, Kathy.

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  6. Hi Maria, I agree with you and Annie, the all black regional dress was very different. Out of curiosity I tried to go through my photos for some clue as to where this group was from but I couldn't find any signs. The women looked really nice though. It's just the all black thing was interesting and different!

    I love that saying, sea of flowers filling the air with a sweet smell! It really was a beautiful experience!

    It's funny but I adjust so much better when I'm in Euorpe than when I return home! :) It is cool that my sis is coming to visit and we have a couple of road trips planned which should be really be fun!

    Given your busy schedule, I'm so impressed that you are able to organize and upload your photos to Slow Travel already. I'm really enjoying looking at your photo albums and reading about your experiences.

    Definitely try to set aside some relax time for yourself and save your energy for your busy schedule in January and February for your two trips and most especially for your son's big day in February! How exciting for you and your entire family.

    Have a great week Maria!

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  7. Kathy, I'm the same way. It is SO much easier to adjust to the time change when I arrive in Europe and much slower to re-adjust when I get home. I've been home for four days now and I'm still messed up. I keep coming home from work and falling asleep on the couch (with the cats) at around 7 pm. Then waking up in the middle of the night ready to go! I need to make myself stay awake longer tonight.

    I hope you have lots of fun with your sis on your road trips!

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  8. Hi Annie, I can relate to the waking up in the middle of the night! :) Oh the joys of travel! I love it. I just commented on your blog about your night photos! Very cool! As much as I'm not a fan of high waters, I would have done the same thing! Great job.

    Have a great week and holidays with your friends, family and also Lulu and whirlwind Maria!

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  9. Funny, I always adjust better coming back home. Maybe it is because I am not a morning person? Also 12 hours difference means half a day so breakfast vs. dinner??

    The rain stopped Sunday night. We were set to get another big storm tomorrow but now they are saying only possibly Kauai. Poor Kauai. They were really hit hard last weekend.

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  10. Hi Girasoli, glad the storms finally stopped! Too bad about Kauai though. Hope it's not too bad and homes are safe.

    That is funny how you are the opposite. I think part of it for me too is the exhaustion from the trip itself on my return home. Not having a lot of sleep, all the traveling and information absorbed . . . I think it just hits me hard when I return. While I'm there I don't feel it as much because of the excitement.

    I love traveling a lot, but it's just the "getting to" part that I'm not too thrilled about. But in the end, it's so worth it to be it Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France etc....

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  11. Kathy, I have so enjoyed reading about your travels! Gosh, your descriptions are so evocative, I really want to go to Spain even more than ever! You took some really gorgeous and interesting photos too. A couple favourites were in the Ronda post - those steep, steep stairs (oh my!) and the horse (you can just hear the horse thinking "dude")

    I'm so glad you had such a great trip!

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  12. Hi Anne, thanks so much for your comments! Spain is an amazing place and I hope that you will also be able to visit too. You also made me want to re-visit Florence again too! I was there twice before but only stayed briefly since I was on a group tour. I would really love to slow travel there some time soon! The art seems amazing there. I thought that horse shot was so cute and I didn't notice the expression on that horse until I saw the photo again on my computer.

    Thanks again and have a great holidays Anne!

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It's me Trekcapri (aka Kathy). Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.