Simply marvelous
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I'm not too fond of cold weather. Lucky for me, I don't have to suffer much of it, it's only really cold a few weeks in the dead of winter here, and then I tend to travel to warmer places during two or three of those wicked cold weeks. Sometimes, however, I'm caught up in the midst of it.
It snowed a whole dang lot in Madrid during January 9th, 2009, and partly during January 10th. Snow in Madrid is rare, to that extent anyway –we do get a bit of it, but it never takes hold, the white washed image lasts but a moment. Not this time, geez, it snowed and snowed and snowed like the sky wanted to compensate for never having fallen with such force in this city. It was quite chaotic, traffic was a mess, people got stuck just about everywhere, and the freeze-your-butt factor was extremely high.
That day I was working from home, so I didn't have to suffer any of the nasty and very cold consequences and, as it turned out, I actually lived through two marvelous days contemplating the wonders of nature at work.
Let the show begin!
The day after
Aftermath
I hope you enjoyed the photos!
I was reluctant to do a photo hub –I've actually been "fighting" the urge since January 11th! At the end of the day here it is, because I think it's worth sharing the magnificence of nature and the beauty it creates in the smallest things, such as a once in a lifetime snow day in my city.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Hi GT! I know what you mean about snowing in LA :-) And yeah, the view is wonderful. Been living here for 10 years and I still get a thrill out of the sunsets. Sometimes it feels like I have the world at my feet :-)
wonderful pictures...what kind of camera? It felt like I was there and now I am cold...brrrr...It actually snowed here again last night, but just a powdering not much but still cold. We also had record snowfall this year...your photo's took us through the whole day was fun to see Madrid this way...Thanks...G-Ma :o) Hugs & Peace
Hi G-Ma! You asked the million dollar question --what camera!!! Gosh, I'm ashamed to say I had to check! Laugh! I knew it was a Sony, but the rest sounds like a whole lot of letters and numbers to me! Here's the model: Sony Ciber-Shot 4GB, 8mp, Full HD -- I hope this tells you more that it tells me!! ;-)
Glad you liked the photos and the view of Madrid! I shudder to think at the least amount of cold, but this was a beautiful exception to an otherwise very serious anti-cold rule for me!! :-)
elena, i have never tried a photo Hub but yours inspires me because i enjoyed it so very much! thanks for putting it together. i wonder a lot of things while i read this Hub, because your slang indicates you are American. the question becomes what are you doing in Madrid? my daughter lived in Aix last year and traveled to your fair city- which she said was beautiful. i have never been to Spain. i have, however, walked this morning in snow such as you photographed... and nearly slid on solid ice even though it was noon. i am a Minnesota girl originally and remember days when snow covered half our picture window. i do love it, though shoveling gets old. thank you so much for sharing your joy. it reminds me of the special nature of something i take for granted each winter, thus enhancing my own experience!
Hi Storyteller! Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed the photos, and the special nature of the things we take for granted –like the view I have from my living room window :-) is part of what I wanted to share in this hub. I hope you do a photo hub yourself, it sounds as if you could take a few nice shots :-)
I'm Spanish, so I guess I'll have to take your assumption that I'm American as a compliment! But you're right, most of the English I know and practice is of the American variety –I work in an American company, read a lot of American lit, watch American movies... I guess it rubs off!
Elena: Like Storyteller, I was thinking that your English is perfect, and does sound Americanized, and was wondering if your were an American living overseas. The photos were beautiful, a few took my breath away; loved the pink sky, and the plants, you have plenty of them. I am ashamed to admit, I now live in a rural town, with plenty of garden space and fresh air, but I kill plants without meaning to!
Thanks, VioletSun! I'm as Spanish as flamenco :-) Well, OK, maybe not so much! But yes, born and raised in Spain! Laugh! I'm happy you liked the photos, and I share the lack of breath when looking at some of them, I had a hard time chosing from all that I shot!
Now, a brown thumb, are you? I'm neither brown nor green myself, but my partner has a seriously green thumb, and I can benefit! The terrace looks glorious in the summer :-)
Hi Elena, these are great pictures, especially the sunsets. We also had a dusting of snow here in the south of England a few weeks back (I live near Brighton) but it was melted by midday. There was enough for snowballs on the walk to school though, which was greatly appreciated by my 10-year old!
Hi Amanda! I like that you find the photos nice, I'd love to say I'm this wonderful photographer that never got picked up by a big gallery :-) But such is not the case, the shots are beautiful because there's no way for me to screw up with this fancy little number of a camera, and because the scenery is just so very pretty! Laugh!
Cool that the kids get to have fun with snow every once in uhhhh two decades? :-) I've this colleague in Lisbon asked me to send her photos for her boy, since he's never seen snow with his own eyes!
By the way: Check out the second photo, you'll see a building that's four floors high, perpendicular to the street, where the street ends, and with a fancy modern addition to the right (it's an elevator). That's Reina Sofia Museum, where the Guernica resides!
Amazing! I'm glad you tod me because I've always had it in my head that it was in the Prado! Did it used to be in the Prado, or have I totally lost the plot? (That's entirely possible BTW! LOL!)
Nah Amanda, you've got your facts very correct :-) It was in "El Casón del Buen Retiro", which is a "little" palace off the Prado BUT that belongs to the Prado complex! That's where it took residence after coming to Spain, then was later moved to the Reina Sofia, which is a contemporary art museum! You've got it right! :-)
Hooray! I trust Queen Sophie is keeping it safe until such times as I get to Madrid (my friends in Merida are forever inviting us over. If we ever get there we'll fly via Madrid, and try to get round the city first. One day!)
Lovely photos Elena-- I envy you your terrace and your sunsets--but the snow?not so much. I have enough of my own right here in New Jerey LOL
I loved looking at this hub. Visited Madrid only once, long ago in the days of my mis-spent youth, when Franco was in power. Was very taken by the rhythms of the city, the food, the art, the people. You brought back fond memories. Many thanks.
Wow, it makes Madrid look completely and utterly different! Shows how important colour (such as the roof tiles) is to perception.
Great pics Elena. Thanks for sharing them.
I think you'll probably be seeing more precipitation, rain and snow, at least for a while. Warmer oceans and warmer air moving over them eqauls more evaporation. That means the clouds are carrying more moisture to wherever they're going.
I've never managed to get off the Norht American continent. After seeing your view I'd really like to visit Madrid.
Robie2, howdo! I don't want to boast –not too much anyway, but chica, the views we have are absolutely priceless! :-) Like I usually say, the snow is very pretty when it snows somewhere else!! Laugh! I'm a sissy when it comes to cold, but not even my sissy self could avoid being totally charmed by the picture!
If you visited Madrid when Franco was still alive, you're due for another visit! Ding Dong!
LondonGirl – You're so right about the color and perception – those roofs are reddish and it's part of the city feel, I take the color for granted, I carry the color with me when I travel, I identify other cities with mine on account of red tiled roofs! And see what a different picture here, it was a terrific wake up call for the senses!
CWB – Madrid welcomes you already! It's not only a pretty city, it's very open and very friendly to visitors! Rain I don't mind so much, besides after all the draughts we've been having for the past few years and their nasty consequences I've resigned myself to rain being "good" –it's freezing cold that I positively dislike. But there are exceptions such as the ones I captured on camera here! Nature compensates, kind of, "yes, I'm gonna freeze your but, but ain't it a pretty freezing?" :-)
Ahhh a fellow Sony Cybershot lover... wish it snows here... Oh I remember there was hail... corn size lasted for less than a minute... great pictures.
Madrid is my favorite city. I only lived there a year, but since I don't usually like city life Madrid felt so welcoming and comfortable that I hated to leave. (I walked part of the way home to Ireland, up through Burgos and on up until I caught a great train up to Hendaya.)
I lived in a tiny little buhardilla and loved to look out over Madrid from the little balcony, so your photos really made me feel nostalgia for the city.
Thanks, Elena, for posting these -- lovely photos.
Hey, needful! What I like best about the Cybershot is that it makes it hard for me to screw up, really :-) It's like the cute little thing is trained to bear with silly owners! :o)
Teresa - That's SOME walk from Madrid to Burgos! I know what type of tiny buhardilla you mean, I lived in one back when, and I have fond memories of it!
I don't know what it is about Madrid, it just captures everyone's heart, mine included, I'm originally from Barcelona! Glad the photos brought back good memories!
beautiful photos Elena, they certainly make me want to visit and enjoy your city - I am already a fan of spanish and italian food and try to cook it when my sons come home - thank you for this lovely hub - cheers
Thanks, ajcor! I'm very glad you liked the scenery :-) Can I say you're smart to be a fan of Spanish and Italian food? Laugh! Silliness aside, I do think Madrid is a wonderful city and I'm sure you would enjoy it! :-)
Elena - My first mother-in-love's family came from Madrid and her surname was Iglesias - she couldn't cook to save herself but she introduced me to lots of great spanish food...so would love to visit one day..my own mother rented a house in Fornaluche(?) up in the mountains somewhere to paint for about 8 months at one point in time and she loved it...so maybe one day...cheers
Iglesias! That's as Spanish as flamenco! Laugh! Anyone whose last name is Iglesias here will get the question "is there any relation?" (to Julio Iglesias, of course) which is an old joke, 'cause Iglesias in Madrid is like Smith in... well, anywhere!
Can't figure out the name of this place you post, but the mountains that surround Madrid are very pretty --this said by the ultimate city girl!
Hi Elena - the meaning of her name plus the country of her family's origin would explain your/the smith reference don't you think...?
re the location of Fornaluche I just found the following in a spanish/portuguese dictionary - "Fornaluche Lease Fornaluig El alcade es pedaneo, masbien es gober nada por una de los 4 regidores que tienen todas las villas prinicpales de Mallorca, a mas de Baile."
Hope this helps...tiny place as I understand it...cheers
Aha! I get the place now! Fornalutx, pretty little town in Mallorca --I've been there! I was trying to come up with a village around Madrid with that name, with no success, obviously, since I was misplacing it about 800 kilomentes, silly me!
http://www.ajfornalutx.net/municipi/fotos.ct.html
On the Iglesias name, absolutely! :-)
Shizam!!! Those are some really beautiful shits you got... you are a photographer no? I would say so!!!! WOW!!!
Glad you got snow, we get it here often, but its been ages since we got a really good pouring of it.
OH MY GOD... I meant to say SHOTS... and just realized I wrote shits. lol.
Thanks for the photos Elena - as they descibed it - very pretty ...cheers
Mellas, I sure got a good laugh outta your comments, thanks for that! I'm SO not a photographer that I wouldn't feel too bad about anyone calling the shots some shits! Laugh!
I reckon this cute Sony Cybershot that I have wouldn't allow me to take bad photos even if I tried, though! At any rate, I'm glad you liked them sssssh...ots! :-)
Gorgeous photos!
I spent some time in Madrid, like Robie2, during the Franco years, but never had the pleasure of seeing the city's roofs tiled in white. :)
You are a girl after my own heart. When it snows around here I make a cup of coffee, toast some bread, pick up a good book, park myself at the window and enjoy the winter wonderland from indoors. I HATE being out in that cold stuff!
Thumbs up.
Hi Sally! Like I told Robie2, you're due for another visit if you were here so long ago! And I promise, it only snows like this every 10 years! Laugh! I'm SUCH a chicke with cold weather! Kinda good to know I'm not alone in my wintery missery! :-) Thanks for the comment!
Hi Elena. My favorite photo is the cacti with snow on them! Gave me quite the chuckle. And marvelous is right! Nice hub! You may have started a trend with the photo thing you've got going on in this one. Hope you make some more in the months to come. Thanks for sharing.
F.B.
My pleasure, Frieda! For the record, the cacti are still alive and kicking ... or stinging or ... never mind, they are healthy and I think they can smell spring in the air, I think they forgave the snow! :-)
On more photo hubs, I may be tempted if I come across some other wonderful, spectacular and marvelous subject matter! Thanks for your comment!
Haven't I commented here before? Did you delete my comment, you naughty girl! Really though, some more great pics of a beautiful city. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around it snowing in Madrid! We tend to think of anyplace in Spain as always being warm. I don't know why, but we do. Is snow there unique? I would love to visit Madrid and stroll it's streets with a beautiful senora on my arm. Ahh, to dream.
How ya doing?
I did not do any such thing as deleting your comment! You know I adore you and I wouldn't even do it if you talked dirty to me! Laugh!
I know what you mean about snow in Spain -- this country of mine is popular for sun, beaches, t-shirts & sweat and beer and toros :) but in truth the interior and northern provinces get really cold weather and lots of snow in winter. And how are you?
I'm doing fine, thank you, my lord, for inquiring after me ;-) Been up to my **** with work this week, haven't shown my face much round here -- I have actually missed you and your shennanigans, fancy that!! :-*
You missed little ol me? I missed you too. Anyway, it's way past my bedtime. I hope you have a great day. (I knew you didn't delete my comment. I think I first read it when I first started harassing you, and like I told you, was afraid I'd freak you out, so I didn't comment.)
I'll have to come up with some shennanigans to amuse you with. Have a nice day!
And you, my dear, have some sweet and sirupy dreams --and come back refreshed to harass me some ;-) BESOS!
Elena, I was at the Botanical Gardens last Sunday and on the walk I spotted some cacti. A bit weathered looking mind you. Not quite as robust as your snow covered ones. But it reminded me of yours and I had to take a photo. Now to find the chord so I can upload it into my computer. Will show you when I do. :)
Frieda, you tease! Go find the cord and don't come back until you're able to deliver! Laugh!
Thanks for the photos Elena
De rien, Lgali!
There is nothing more magical than snow! It transforms the landsacpe with quiet peace. You've captured that so beautifully with your photos. Thanks for sharing, Elena. MM
My pleasure, Mighty Mom! Snow does just that, brings a new look and a new light to everything, especially when it's a rare occurrence and one isn't used to seeing it fall in such abundance. I'm glad I could witness this ... from within my warm home!!!
This is a great hub. I enjoyed each and everyone of the pictures. Thanks for writing this. Interesting concept for a hub page. I like it.
Thanks, RKHenry :-) If you like this concept, you can see other photo hubs from me, they are rather popular!
What lovely snowscapes! Thank you! :)
Hey Suzanne, they do look lovely, but I'm so glad winter is finally over! I really CAN wait to see more of this until ... until.... oh, man, if I never see it again it'll be too soon! Laugh
OK, I'm slow, but I got here. Don't know how I missed this one considering how much I *love* the view from your place! You take such gorgeous photos!!
But when I read how much it snowed, my first thought was for all those plants on the terrace! Did they survive??
Hi Jama -- They did! The bamboo is a bit worse for the wear, and so are some of the cacti. The lemon tree is taking it's own sweet time to pick up the spring in the air. BUT all is well, even the parsley, which we thought we'd lost, is again being a major ingredient in our omelets :-) The elms, the love and hates, the Don Diegos, all is growing like it never snowed!
Great! Here in the land of killer frosts and several snows every winter, we wouldn't dream of leaving anything living outside (except trees) when it's freeze-your-butt-off cold! But you might've left out the part about the parsley for your omelets - I'm so jealous! lol!
btw, you wondered about the blue in the sunset pics. I'm no photog expert, but it has something to do with the camera not being able to compensate for the brightness of the snow when other objects are darkening due to the natural light fading so quickly.
Well, Jama, I wanted to give you the full report! Laugh!
Sometimes we "suffer" a bit for the plants when it's biting cold, but there's only one cactus that we take down to spend the winter. We think being exposed to the elements makes the plants sturdier and less bound to perish at the minimum change of weather. Strategy has served us well, with some sad exceptions. A rotten freeze a few years ago killed our aloe veras. I still MOURN that one, I swear I get sad just thinking about it.
Oh, thanks for the explanation on the blue :-) I find it very pretty, even it it's somehow a "light defect"!
I've never lost a favorite plant to freezing, but did lose a magnificent airplane plant (some call them spider plants) to an overzealous plant sitter while I was away on vacation. Have tried to grow another like it, but think that one's heartiness came from the year it had to fight for its life when my late mother mistook the bag of plaster of paris for the vermiculite she usually added to potting soil. I didn't realize what she'd done until I took the poor thing home to re-pot it because she thought it was alraedy dead. How it survived that and not a couple of weeks of over-watering is beyond me!
We've had the occasional plant sitters round here, but we give them such STEP BY STEP instructions that if they kill a plant.... well, they deserved to follow the same path afterwards! :-)
goldentoad 3 years ago
I think if it ever snowed here, people would freak out. They said it was going to be another rainy day here but I got the sun busting through my window. I have to mention you got a real cool view.