Spanish Wines

My first taste of wine happened in Italy in 2012 when I was a study abroad student in the beautiful province of Tuscany. Since then, I have loved and still love wine dearly. When I started drinking wine, I started with white wine and over time, I changed to red wine and now, its very hard for me to drink anything else besides red wine. I have been lucky because I now live in California and this state is filled with wine that is endless especially when you live in North California. 

But for today's discussion, I wanted to tell you guys about my latest favorites - Spanish wines especially wine produced in the province of Crianza, Ronda and Granada. I love Bordeaux that's why I love Justin Winery so much but ever since I spent 3 weeks in Spain and enjoyed their wines, thought I would talk about them. 

For those who love Cabernet Sauvignon and the fruits of Grenache then welcome to the love of wine mostly grown in the famous region of Rioja. Over those three weeks, I learned a thing or two, one being that Rioja classifies their wine using a system especially for their red wines.

The first one being Crianza which is what i drank the most. They are cheap and can be found for less than $15. That's why I was drinking so much wine for less than $2. So Crianza is basically created for high-quality daily drinking. Not too rich but just a lot of body more than your typical Merlot.

After the Crianza, you have the Reserva. They are aged for about 3 years. They have some serious tastes and for those who love good wines, go for the Rioja Reserva.

Then finally, you have the Gran Reserva. The cream of the best. They experience the best aging and hey select the best grapes for this. Which means, more money but excellent wine. 

So if you happen to be in Ronda, make sure you do a wine tasting. BTW, you wont find the long lines that you have to deal with in Napa. Make sure you stop by Chinchilla and also Joaquin Fernandez. For me they offered the best wine and I would love to try some of their wines when I visit a wine store here in California.

Cheers!

Granada, Sevilla and Cadiz

Last time I promised that I would be able to share with you the last part of my journey to South of Spain. The beautiful cities of Granada, Sevilla and Cadiz.

Granada

I left Almunecar very early so I can be able to get to Granada on time and get my tickets to the Alhambra. BTW, if you want to visit the Alhambra, my advice is to either get the tickets online since they only have two tours in a day if you want to visit the palace unless you don’t mind seeing the palace then you can try and get a ticket anytime. Just a warning that it gets rather packed so get your tickets and be there very early.

So how do you get to Granada? You have several options. You can be able to get there by bus like me from any of the cities in South of Spain such as Sevilla or you can take a plane to Federico Garcia Lorca airport. Another option is to take the RENFE train or drive to Granada. My only advice about driving is that you need to be careful because Granada has so many restrictions on driving and you don’t want to get a ticket for driving on the wrong side.

I checked into my hotel – Hotel Puerta De Las Granadas which is located on your way to the Alhambra. BTW, that hill to the Alhambra needs really really good shoes so make sure you are as comfortable as you can. I got my ticket for 2 pm viewing just to visit the general Alhambra and the beautiful gardens which prevented me from waiting and standing on the long lines.

What is Granada all about? Granada is known as a UNESCO heritage site because of the Alhambra and Albaycin.  Situated on two adjacent hills, form the medieval part of Granada. To the east of the Alhambra fortress and residence are the magnificent gardens of the Generalife, the former rural residence of the emirs who ruled this part of Spain in the 13th and 14th centuries. The residential district of the Albaycín is a rich repository of Moorish vernacular architecture, into which the traditional Andalusian architecture blends harmoniously.

So what is next after visiting the Alhambra? If you are in Granada for more than a day, then you can also visit places like the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel, the Banuelo and the old neighbourhoods of Albaycin and Sacromonte and then enjoying a nice evening watching a flamenco show or a good glass of wine with free tapa.

One of the things I loved about Granada is their tapas. “Ir de tapas” known as to go for a drink plus free snack in Granada is not only a tradition but it is a philosophy and way of life and tourists like me take full advantage of that. You can literary spend your whole day doing nothing but wondering around drinking and tasting different types of tapas. This way, you not only quickly taste the variety of Granadian cuisine. Some of the best places to enjoy tapas are in the Realejo, the Carrera del Darro, Plaza Nueva, the Paseo de los Tristes, Plaza de Toros and Elvira and Navas streets.

All in all, Granada is unique, with its wonders such as the Alhambra. In my opinion, there is no place that equals Granada, cheap and beautiful and I could have not asked for more, well maybe more of the tapas.

Sevilla

Where do I start? My love for this city has no bounds. This is the city that makes my dreams come true. This is the city where if you want to enjoy and be your beautiful self, then you go to. Sevilla if full of life, full of amazing people, full of excellent food and off course endless parties.

How do you get to Sevilla from Granada? You get there by taking the train. The catch is, you have to get a bus to Antequera, then from there you will take the train to Sevilla. The total journey takes about 3 – 4 hours. And as long as you have booked the train, just go to the train station and the attendants will help you board the bus. The ticket covers both the train and the bus.

I arrived in Sevilla at around 3 pm and then checked into my hotel. That afternoon, I spent my time visiting Catedral de Sevilla and the spending my evening at the Giralda Tower which is part of the Cathedral to enjoy the most classic view of Sevilla. Another good option to do is to seek out a rooftop terrace bar and enjoy the view of the illuminated tower as you enjoy drinks.

I then spent my evening having an excellent traditional dinner at the Bodeguita Antonio Romero. This place has excellent traditional Sevilla/Andalucia food.

The next day, I spent my day visiting plaza de Espana where I took a stroll on foot. You can also rent a boat and row along the canal. You can also visit Maria Luisa Park and while there, pay a visit to the Museum of Arts and Traditions. Then take an afternoon enjoying the beautiful town of Triana. In Triana, you can shop, drink, eat in the famous Calle Betis and enjoy the beautiful views.  Then in the evening, spend time visiting Museo del Baile Flamenco where they have shows from 7pm.

Sevilla is a walkable city and everyday, I ended up walking more that 10 miles daily, so get ready to be fit and wear comfortable shoes. I visited Mercado de Triana and while here, I visited Museo del Castillo de San Jorge. Barrio Santa Cruz and got lost wondering along this neighborhood which is a true representation of what Sevilla is all about. You have to visit this place. I also spent time at the Alcazar and visited the Baths of Maria de Padilla located beneath the Patio del Crucero. And after a long day walking, enjoy good food at El Pimento with all Andalucian dishes.

And to top everything off about my favorite things all Sevilla, Restaurant Enslava. I actually wrote a review of them. I loved and still love this place and I cannot rave enough good reviews about food here. If you want to read more, check it out on my blog Eslava. This place has excellent tapas and drinks and is always packed so to avoid the long lines and wait times that crowded the bar in the evening, Carol and I went there in the morning from 12.30pm when they just opened for breakfast and lunch, that way, we get excellent wine and tapas for drinks for all under $3.00

Also, your trip to Sevilla is not complete without partying non-stop at some of the best bars and clubs. You can enjoy one of the rooftop bars or just go along the canal where they have so many clubs with so many drinks.

Cadiz

A day trip to Cadiz is just what you need after as a break away from the busy Sevilla life. Take the train Cadiz and enjoy a beach day. Besides enjoying the beach, climb to the Torre Tavirra and enjoy a panaromic view of the city. Head back to Sevilla after your day at the beach and have a good drink in Sevilla. BTW, I realized Cadiz was very expensive compared to some of the other towns. To me it rivaled Marbella in how expensive it was.

So that was how I spent my time in the beautiful South of Spain. If someone asks me which was my favorite City, I would say Marbella and Sevilla and my least favorite was Malaga. I plan to go back to South of Spain in a couple in a year or so and this time round, I will spend more time in Ronda, Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada.

Take time and visit Spain, because, I know of a little place in Sevilla, known as Eslava that has some of the best tapas in the whole world.

How to Keep a Healthy Balanced Life

I am a person who loves to take care of herself and granted, I have days when I am just too tired to get up and go to the gym or days when I am bing eating my Favorite food in a restaurant or consuming endless bread because it is what I love but all in all, I am a woman who loves to take care of herself and her body,  reason why, your body is the temple of God.

As a woman, I have my flaws and I will never say I love me 100% because I still look at myself daily and hate some parts of me (Am learning to forgive myself every time I have bad thoughts about my body) but yes, in most cases, I love myself a lot.

I work all the time, Its what I love besides traveling, shoes and wine. But even when I travel, I have created a routine where I still get a dose of keeping a healthy balanced lifestyle.  So how do I do it you might ask?

Smoothies and Juicing 

Over the last one year, I changed my diet to reflect a healthy choice of eating. I am a green smoothie drink and it is what I have for my breakfast daily. It gives me strength to navigate the day and over the last one year, I have become so accustomed to it. I also have it as my lunch most days in the office but sometimes I change it to reflect other foods. If you want to learn more about the joys of smoothies and drinking vegetables, you can read it on my blog post here Green Smoothies.

Eating Fruits and Vegetables

Now I love anything that has sugar or bread in it - crisps, croissants etc but over the last year or so, I am trying to reduce on my sugar intake and also, eating foods high in calories. Well I will not give up cake but yes, am learning to leave without sugar and instead, am putting alot of ginger in my tea for example. But yes, for my snacks in the afternoon, you will find me either eating strawberries or banana or carrots as opposed to crisps and m&ms. 

Working Out 

It is said that real weight loss can be a commitment that becomes a job rather than an activity. Because when you work in places like I do, you have endless unhealthy eating because there is always something someone brings to the office to be eaten.  It is being adviced that you should take extra minutes in your day to eat less or to move more. So I try to move every two hours but when I move, I avoid the cafeteria. 

So try to incorporate working out into your life style. I go to the gym 5-6 days a week depending on how I feel and on Tuesdays - Thursdays where I get to work out twice - spinning in the morning and boot camp in the evening, I try to maybe go to the gym Friday and Sunday and rest on Saturday. Just set about 30-60 minutes workout.

Eat Smaller Portions and Don't Skip Meals

We all know this, eat less - this is one thing that I struggle with daily. Eating less portions. Hopefully I will get there soon.

Don't skip meals. Now that you have mentioned it, let me get my breakfast but yes, don't try to skip meals.

Finally, get enough sleep and worry less.

Weird Studies

I love to read articles on the web and the other day, I was reading CNN when an article showed up saying that husbands of female breadwinners most at risk for cheating...
Wow!
Am not married so I can't be able to say but it would be nice to hear thoughts from our readers on what they think.  Here is the article -

"(CNN)- Female breadwinners, especially those who didn't set out to make most of their family's income, have been found to feel less satisfied about their lives, based on a survey by Working Mother Media.

And now, the findings of a new study about infidelity will probably give these breadwinners more cause for concern.

It's tough to know precisely how many people cheat in their marriages, because many might not admit it in surveys, but researchers estimate that between 20% to 25% of married men and between 10% and 15% of married women have engaged in an extramarital relationship.

This new study, showcased in the June issue of the American Sociological Review, found that men who are 100% economically dependent on their spouses were most at risk for cheating, three times more at risk than women married to male breadwinners.

While, on average, women who are completely financially dependent on their husbands face about a 5% chance that they will stray, there is about a 15% chance that a man married to a female breadwinner will cheat, the study concluded...."

To read more, go to  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/living/infidelity-men-women-breadwinners-feat/index.html

 

Shoes of Prey Finally Here!

So you remember a couple of weeks ago when I spoke about The Hottest Shoe Trend? Read here The Hottest Shoes Trend 

So today I finally was able to open my shoes that arrived last week. Wow is all I could say. It arrived safely packaged with everything that you need. The color was exactly what I needed and the size was a perfect fit for me. And by the way, they are very comfortable.

Will I order again from Shoes of Prey? Ohh yes I definitely will especially now that they have colors that I could play around. For the shoes that I ordered, I paid about $220 and I had free shipping. 

I  will be wearing the shoes sometimes next week with one of my midi skirts and I would be more than happy to share the pictures. Below please find some of the pictures of my shoes from shoes of prey.

Why I feel in Love with Andalusia – South Spain

I love my friends blog, storytelling travellers and the other day, I wrote an article on why I feel in love with Andalusia - South of Spain. If you want to read more plus all the other places you can visit such as Bali, France or even Thailand, then head of to http://storytellingtravellers.com/.

To read more about South of Spain and why I love Andalusia so much, head over to Why I feel in Love with Andalusia.

I’ve always loved Spain especially Barcelona but this year for my 30th birthday, I decided that south of Spain it is going to be. I try to go to Barcelona or rather Spain yearly. I love Barcelona but now I am in love with South of Spain especially the Andalusian region. It comprises of Malaga, Marbella, Nerja, Almeria, Granada, Jaen, Ronda, Seville, Córdoba and Huelva. For my trip, I visited the following regions: Marbella, Malaga, Ronda, Nerja, Almunecar, Granada, Sevilla and Cadiz.

I landed in Malaga airport at around 2pm and instead of taking the bus since our flight was delayed, Lina and I decided to cough about £90. That’s expensive compared to £15 I would have spent with the bus. That means I had to wait extra hours. As an FYI, if you take the bus or taxi, make sure you sit on the left side, the view is absolutely stunning. The journey is about 50 minutes.

My first stop – Marbella

 

What can I say about this town that has already not been said. Charming, warm, welcoming, refreshing and of course expensive compared to the other cities in Andalucia. I guess that’s why they call it the St. Tropez of Spain. I’m actually thinking of buying a house here just for my holidays – fantastic idea.

So what do you do when you are in Marbella? Check into your hotel (make sure you stay in old town – has everything you need especially stay at La Villa Marbella) and then you go for a good sangria and paella at any of the local restaurants opened. Sure enough, I did just that. I love old town Marbella, the little restaurants surrounding the orange square, the buzzing that goes on from 6pm, the shops that open from 5pm after their long siesta, the good drinks, the wines, and the beaches, nothing makes a perfect vacation unless you have good food and plenty of drinks and beaches – my kind of place.

Don’t forget to also check a couple of restaurants and bars along the beach. They sure do offer a nice view of Puerto Banus at night. For night life – check out the old town, the local marina and Puerto Banus. Clubs along the beach such as Nikki beach are a good way to start.

To get your workout on, walk on the golden mile. It is a stretch of 4 miles between Marbella and Puerto Banus. You know what’s even better, taking a boat ride to go to Puerto Banus. Gaze at those luxurious residents and marvel at what you did wrong in life

A visit to Marbella is not complete without a stroll along the street market in Puerto Banus on a Saturday morning. Get your bargain face on and enjoy the time there. And after long hours of bargaining with a dry throat, stop at any of the restaurants along the beach for a sangria as you watch and nod your head at the expensive, beautiful boats lined up. You know how rich people live – with nothing but the best.

Then Malaga

Aha! I’m so glad I started my vacation with Marbella. Malaga is very different from Marbella. While Marbella has that slow and charming feel to it, Malaga is constantly buzzing with so much energy and a lot going on.

To get to Malaga from Marbella, take a bus for about £10 for an hour bus ride to Malaga from Marbella. And BTW, to get to Malaga from Malaga airport, it only costs less than $5 which is about 2-3 euros.

Carol and I had such a great time in this city. We visited Ronda from here and it was totally worth it. 

Here is quick itinerary of things to do in Malaga:

Museums – Malaga is known to have more museums than any other city if Andalusia. Wine and glass museums, Carmen Thyssen, Felix Revello del Torre etc. The sky is the limit here so knock yourself out. Not my kind of tea though. I only visited Picasso.

Shopping – the central part of Malaga, as you walk to the cathedral there are shops and restaurants everywhere. Get your shopping on and if you are tired, stop at any of the tapas bar for good drinks and food. It also has a Main Street with trees lined perpendicular to the avenue known as the Alameda. It starts at Plaza Marina near the port. Here get your shopping on and for all its worth, I bought a very nice bag for €15.

Also, don’t forget to check out the cathedral, beautiful botanical gardens of Malaga known as Jardines de la Concepcion, Castillo de Gibralfaro, Basilica of Santa Maria de la Victoria, Roman theatre and Alcazaba. It has stunning views of the city and port.

After a long walk of seeing and shopping, walk along the sea front known as promenade playa de la Malagueta and then sit down and enjoy are fleshing cocktail as you watch the sun set down over the Malaga bay. Nothing beats this.

Coastal Tropical – Nerja and Almunecar

What can I say about these two places – amazing beaches and much needed relaxation. After all the hustle and bustle and walking in the city of Malaga and Ronda, I needed a place that will calm me down. Hence Nerja and Almunecar. Nothing rejuvenates the body more than enjoying a nice time at the beach with clear blue water, free tapas that comes with drinks and talking to people in broken Spanish. Just what the doctor ordered.

Ohh and bus only costs £8 from Malaga and is about an hour. Enjoy the caves or Nerja as well as Balcon de Europa but really, enjoy the beaches here. The views of the coastline from the Balcon de Europa is something that will stay in your memories for ever. In Almunecar, I had one of the best sea bass at cortijillo Restaurante and tried some of the Granada red wines like the Crianza.

After two relaxing days in costal tropical, time to head to Granada.

This city has so much more to offer than I can write here. So in our next post, I will be more than happy to give you all the details about Granada, Cadiz and Sevilla.

Super Soul Sunday - Tiny Buddha

So I love this blog, Tiny Buddha so much because it gets me out of days when I am not myself. For this Super Soul Sunday, I decided to share with you guys a post that I love so much. How to find real lasting love without looking for it.


“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” ~Carl Jung

Often when people want a new relationship, they either look for someone to complete them or they imagine sharing their life with someone just like them. So they try to present themselves in the best possible light for their imagined future partner—either as one perfect half of a whole or as an ideal version of what they believe their future partner will want.

In my experience, finding your soul mate requires a different, far more soul-enriching approach. Here are six steps that worked for me:

1. Stop looking for your soul mate and find the missing parts of you.

This may sound counterintuitive, but it’s exactly how I met my husband. I stopped looking for “the one” after a two-year relationship ended, which I had believed was the one. I decided to turn my attention inward—to get to know and accept myself, to heal past wounds, and to explore and develop new parts of myself.

Previously, I needed to be with someone in order to feel content, to have someone love me in order to feel loved. Breaking up with past boyfriends was so painful because it felt as if I was breaking up, as if I was being torn from a part of myself.

What I discovered was that I had to learn to be whole. And when I started to work on that, my life changed.

2. Live your life as you want to live it.

 

When I started to discover more about myself and to follow my own path, I started to live a life that was meaningful to me. I was no longer following someone else’s rules and ideas about what I should do.

This can disappoint some people close to you, such as your family. But if you want to find fulfillment in your life, you have to fulfill yourself, not someone else!

And doing what is right for you means you will be in places, jobs, and near people that are aligned with your life path, and with you. So you will have a much better chance of meeting your soul mate, because your soul mate will also be connected to your life path.

3. Stop trying to appeal to an imagined, potential partner.

 

A side effect of leading the life you choose is that you automatically become more attractive. You become more real, authentic, substantial, valuable, passionate, happy, and present. This makes you more beautiful in a natural and effortless way, and it will also make you attractive to your soul mate.
Whereas when you try to make yourself attractive in order to find someone, you alter the way you behave and present yourself so that if your soul mate were to show up, he or she might not even recognize you.

So just be yourself, whether that means you dress in corporate attire or resort wear, or casual clothing or more formal, or if your preference changes at different times.
You don’t need to be a particular weight or have large biceps or wear uncomfortable shoes if you don’t like them. Go to the gym only if you love it, do yoga if you love it, walk or surf or cycle if you enjoy those activities.

A partner who you will be with over the long term will not make a decision about your worth based on a superficial aspect of your appearance. So tap into what feels right for you, do the activities you enjoy, wear the clothes that suit you and in which you feel comfortable.

You will be far more attractive to your soul mate if you look like yourself when you meet them.


4. If you are attracted to particular qualities in someone else, find or develop those qualities in yourself.


Most of us express only a small part of who we are. We limit ourselves to the personality—or self—we have become in response to our childhood environment. This is an unavoidable stage in our developmental process because we have to form a self—or ego—that enables us to survive and hopefully thrive in our family and social setting.

And the way we do that is by developing characteristics that meet our survival needs and pushing away any characteristics that aren’t valued or needed.

So we all have hidden or disowned parts of ourselves that at some point we need to unearth.
When we haven’t yet unearthed and embraced our disowned parts, we are drawn into relationships with others who express those parts. It is like we are unconsciously trying to complete ourselves through our relationships.

These relationships usually involve intense attraction at first and are characterized by feelings of completeness. But inevitably, they become stifled by strong relationship patterns that form where people get stuck relating to one another from one main part of themselves that bonds with its opposite in the other person. These are called “bonding patterns.”

So, for example, a very responsible man might become a “responsible father” in relation to his partner’s inner “pleasing daughter,” and a nurturing woman might become a “nurturing mother” to her partner’s inner “needy son.”

If the woman doesn’t become conscious of her own responsibility, she will rely on her partner to be responsible. And if the man doesn’t connect with his nurturing side, he will want to be nurtured by her. But then when stresses and vulnerabilities arise in the relationship, these bonding patterns turn negative, and the partners turn on each other.

I am so grateful to have learned about bonding patterns because the awareness of them not only helps enormously in my relationship, but they also act as a guide for which parts of myself I have lost connection to.

Because bonding patterns are the natural way that we give and receive love, they are unavoidable. And no matter how conscious we become, there is always something that’s unconscious! But bonding patterns can be navigated successfully.

When you become aware that you are attracted to other people because of what you have disowned in yourself, and then work on owning those qualities in yourself, your relationships transform. I
If you are in a relationship already and you begin this process, then as you and your partner reclaim your disowned selves, you start to become more fully yourselves with each other and your relationship will become richer.

5. Engage with life; accept the gifts that are offered to you. 

 

The night I met my husband a friend had invited me to a party hosted by one of her friends, and at first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go.I was tempted to decline the invitation because I didn’t know the person whose party it was, and it was a Sunday night, so I had work the next day. But I didn’t have a compelling reason not to go and I had promised myself that I would accept the gifts life offered me, such as saying yes to invitations that seemed to come from nowhere. And this was one of those. 

When I got to that party, there he was: my future husband, with whom I have had three children and twenty-five years of a wonderful life together.

Was I looking for someone when I went to that party? 

No. And it was a surprise to meet him there. If I had been intentionally looking for a partner, I probably would not have even spoken to my husband that night.

When you look at each person you encounter as if you are screening them for a job with a life-long contract, it changes the organic flow of events and natural connection that forms with the people you encounter. It is also off-putting to be evaluated as a “catch” and it is likely to make people run from you!

The simplest way to stop assessing others as potential life partners is to just stop looking for a partner and connect with the people you meet with genuine interest. Then enjoy the type of relationship that naturally develops—or doesn’t—whether that’s a friendship, a business connection, or a bond based on a mutual interest.

6. When you meet someone, don’t hurry things; allow the relationship to unfold.

 

When you meet someone you have a good connection with, allow that connection to develop and grow. If the person is a soul mate, he or she will also be into you, so if you both pay genuine attention to each other then something will develop.

There is no need to play games or to try particular seduction techniques or to achieve milestones by a particular time. A successful long-term relationship is not a game.

Do you really want to be in a relationship with someone you had to manipulate into it? Do you want your partner to be enchanted by an image you have created so that you have to hide yourself in some way? Or do you want your partner to love you wholeheartedly? What kind of relationship do you want to bring children into if you end up having them?

Each relationship is unique, just as each person is unique, so how your relationship unfolds will be unique too. You can’t plan for it to go a particular way. You have to engage with the process of it and with each other, and then make decisions as you go. There is no one line you can say, no one action you can take, that will lead to a particular result.

All you can do is live your life more fully, learn to accept and love yourself more fully, and you will love and be loved more fully.

This blog was written by,

Astra Niedra writes about relationships and personal growth at her blog Voice Dialogue and You!. She is author of The Perfect Relationship, The Greatest Relationship Secret, 3 Instant Relationship Fixes, Enlightenment Through Motherhood and Which Self are You?. Get a free ebook when you visit Astra’s blog and subscribe to her newsletter. Connect on Facebook and Twitter.