wish i were there

rural cottages for rent...

found on fodor's message boards, from some spain experts...... a recommendation for toprural, a website that offers a search for country and rural lodging in spain, portugal, and france.  another site, nekatur, also gets a shout out for offering rural guesthouses and accomodations for the basque country.  casas rurales are akin to the gite in france.

and here's some more chatting about northern spain...  i love the posters on the fodors message boards!

mymymy boogie shoes...

speaking of souvenir shopping... what do i want to buy when i (hopefully) go to barcelona this november?   espadrilles and ballroom dancing shoes, yessiree.

espadrilles
i went to the castañer shop in paris, and loved their styles.  they make espadrilles for companies like christian dior, hermes, and kate spade every summer, but they have their own line as well, which i have seen at barneys, among other fabulous stores.  they also make cute non-espadrille styles.  i bet they're even better (and cheaper? please?) in spain, since that's where they are based.  locations...

• castañer barcelona: meste nicolau, 23  (tel. +34 934 142 428)
• castañer madrid: claudio coello, 51 (tel. +34 915 781 890)
• castañer madrid: c. cial moda shopping local 19 pl.o av. gereral perón (tel. +34 915 566 902)

one of the most famous places to buy espadrilles is la manual alpagatera, shown above (calle avinyó, 7; tel. +93 3010 172).  they have an endless selection, and even do custom styles if you bring in your own fabric.  also, check out the beautiful slideshow on their site showing the espadrille making process (click at top of page on "galería 1"; one example at top of this post).
         

ballroom dancing shoes
i love how 40's these shoes look... and they have to be well made and relatively comfortable, since they are designed for dancing!  of the two, madrid really seems to have the bigger concentration of flamenco dance over barcelona.  also, here's what i found in barcelona and southern spain, the true capital of flamenco:

barcelona

• flora albaicin, barcelona: calle canuda 3, in barri gotic, metro catalunya (tel. +93 302 10 35)
• calzados don pepito, barcelona: paseo espronceda 84, sabadell/bcn (tel. +93 710 56 93)

madrid

• don flamenco zapatos, madrid: calle leon 26 (tel. +91 429 98 39)
• yebra, madrid: calle luis vélez de guevara 16 (tel. +91 369 32 12)
• zapatillas coral, madrid:  cava baja 25 (tel. +91 365 58 69)
• calzado senovilla, madrid:  c/ mercurio, 11 pol. ind. sur  (tel. +34 91 846 40 00)

other cities in spain

• begonia cervera, elda (alicante): avd. chapí, 8 entlo. B (tel.+ 965388717)
• zapatillas coral, sevilla: plaza de gavida 9 (tel.+ 95 437 62 03)
• zapatos mayo, sevilla: pza. alfalfa, 2 (                                    tel. + 954225555)

other souvenirs from spain

i wish i were going to madrid:  here's a great article about special stores in madrid that carry spain-specific souvenirs.  some places mentioned, aside from castañer, in summary:

• capas seseña: a 103-year-old cape store!  for your dramatic side... 23 Calle de la Cruz; (tel. + 34-91 /531-6840)
• casa de diego: madrid's oldest fanmaker, also carries umbrellas and spanish haircombs, for all your flirting needs... 12 puerta del sol (tel. +34-91/522-6643)
• guitarras ramírez: machine and hand made guitars, from the family who invented one of the prototypes for the world's first modern guitars.  george harrison used a ramírez when recording help!... legacy enough for me.  8 calle de la paz (tel. +34-91/531-4229)
• maty: ruffles galore at the flamenco dancing shop to the pros.  maybe some dancing shoes, too?  2 calle maestro victoria (tel. +34-91/531-3291)
• casa mira: a sweet shop specializing in turrón, a traditional spanish nougat, among other tasty treats.  wrapped in waxed paper and string, since 1845.  yum. 30 carrera de san jerónimo (tel. +34-91/429-8895)
• guantes luque: gloves, gloves, and more gloves.  how ladylike.  3 calle espoz y mina (tel. +34-91/522-3287)

since i'm not sure when i'll be making it to spain, i'll have to settle for  espadrilles etc., and jacqueline schnabel's fabulous dancing shoes at calypso christiane celle....  and maybe a pedro almodovar movie to get me in the mood.

free travel guide to spain

the good people of the fodor's messageboard swear by the free but super-detailed, personal advice that maribel's guides offer.  they know what they're talking about... so if you're on your way to spain, or even just considering a trip, this is worth a look.  maribel covers madrid, barcelona, sevilla, bilbao, san-sebastian, and hondarriba, as well as regional guides to the basque country, pais vasco, pays basque, and la rioja.  it's always nice to have another voice outside the generic guidebooks.