One of the Most Special Meals We Had in 2017

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One of the Most Special Meals We Had in 2017

December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas you guys! I hope you are all having a great time with your loved ones. Today I want to share a special meal we had earlier this month. We celebrated my mom's birthday at the place where we tied the knot last summer. Going back to the place where we got married was very emotional. Not only because of our big day but also because it's closing down for renovations and we won't be able to go there for two years. We are quite sad about it because we love this place, it brings so many memories!

This is a different hall from the wedding one (since it's a hotel, it has a few) but equally beautiful.

Apart from the magnificent building and halls (it's from the 16th century), we love the place because of the food. It's traditional Spanish food with a twist. The ingredients are the usual ones, but the cuisine is modern and exquisite. The dishes are as pretty as they are delicious.

We are really excited about seeing it refurbished but we are surely going to miss it. Are there any places that hold a special place in your heart?

I'm sorry if I'm a bit MIA during this week. I promise to post some InstaStories so that you know what I'm up to. As a little preview I can tell you that I'm going to sleep in a medieval castle situated in an Arab fortress. Stay tuned by following me on Instagram.
xo Cristina

OUTFIT DETAILS
Claudie Pierlot top and pants

What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season

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What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season

December 21, 2017

Cafe de Oriente

The biggest advantage of living in a big city is the wide variety of leisure options that you have. Madrid has so much to offer all year round and the holidays are no exception. I've put together a list of things to do in Madrid this holiday season whether you are here for a short visit or you are living here for a while. 

La Botilleria de Oriente

What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: THE BEST FOOD AND DECOR

Pay a visit to Cafe de Oriente and/or its little sibling La Botilleria de Oriente for great food, service and decor. La Botilleria is currently offering a Christmas menu for 19€ that we got to try last weekend, it was so good!

El Invernadero de Salvador Bachiller. There's a beautiful "greenhouse" in the basement of Salvador Bachiller's store in Gran Via where you can have delicious food and the fanciest cocktails. Even the china is beautiful, we got to eat from a (china) pineapple and an aloe vera leaf. The menu is pretty similar to the one we had at El Jardin Secreto earlier this year.

The legendary Chocolateria San Gines is the best place for chocolate con churros in the capital of Spain. Definitely a must to recharge batteries on a cold winter evening.

Salon des Fleurs is not on the touristy area like the previous ones but worth a visit. This mixture of coffee and flower shop is probably the best thing I've seen so far.

Cafe de Oriente

What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: SHOPPING

The most famous Christmas market is in Plaza Mayor. Unfortunately, this is very far from the traditional Christmas markets around Europe -I'd love to see more craftsmanship and less tacky knick-knacks- but it's still worth seeing the ambiance.

My favorite shops in Plaza Mayor are two traditional hat shops: Casa Yustas and La Favorita. I have already devoted a full post to shopping in Madrid which you can read here. 

El Invernadero de Salvador Bachiller

What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: MUSICALS

If you haven't seen The Lion King, you have to do it. It's going to be in Madrid until the end of April and tickets go fast. We watched it earlier this month and we wouldn't mind going again. Our mouths were wide open from beginning to end. The costumes, the dancers, the singers, the staging...it's all breathtaking.
Other musicals currently in Madrid are The Bodyguard, Billy Elliot and The Adams Family.

What to do in Madrid this Holiday Season: NAVILUZ

It's a Christmas bus that takes you around the city to see the lights of the main areas of the centre of Madrid.

What are your favorite Christmas activities?
xo Cristina

BUNDLE UP

How to Survive Christmas When You Are Living Abroad

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How to Survive Christmas When You Are Living Abroad

December 14, 2017

I've been an expat which means I've spent special occasions far from home. From birthdays to Christmas, I've missed a few gatherings that are important for me. When you’re travelling or living abroad, spending Christmas outside of your home country can be a difficult time. Everywhere you look there seem to be families spending time together. People ask you if you’re going home for the holidays... However, there are many ways to make those times less hard and I'm going to share them with you today.

Let's see some tips on how to survive Christmas when you are living abroad!

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: TECHNOLOGY IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

During my first time as an expat in Ireland I spent many hours using Windows Messenger (does it still work?), then I moved on to Skype while I was in California. Nowadays, there are even more ways to communicate like Whatsapp or Facebook. I didn't have a smartphone back in the day, now you pretty much have the world in your pocket.

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: FIND WAYS TO GIVE BACK

One of my favorite activities as an au-pair was helping out at the Food Bank in San Francisco. Find out how you can make a difference, maybe you can help the elderly, volunteer at a Soup Kitchen or spend some time with kids who are having a hard time. It's such a fulfilling experience!

 Rodeo Drive L.A.

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: SHARE A ROOM

If you are traveling by yourself, stay at a hostel. Chances are you'll find people in the same situation.

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: GIVE YOURSELF A TREAT

Yes, we live in a consumer society but a little retail therapy didn't hurt anyone. I found that giving myself a treat made me feel much better when I was feeling blue. It can be clothes, eating out or a visit to the spa. Think about what your guilty pleasure is and spoil yourself for a day.

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: EMBRACE LOCAL TRADITIONS

One of the beautiful things about living abroad is learning about and embracing other cultures. Do what the locals do and you can still follow those traditions and show them to family and friends when you go back. If you are in Spain for instance you can eat the 12 grapes on New Year's Eve or celebrate the day of The Three Wise Men by watching the parade and eating Roscon de Reyes (more on Christmas in Spain coming soon).

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: KEEP YOUR TRADITIONS

Show those around you what you do back home during the holidays. Do those things that you miss even if it's just watching your favorite Christmas movie.

 Brussels

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS

This is the tradition that I miss the most, not getting any mail. While living abroad I used to get letters and birthday cards but not anymore. The excitement of seeing that someone was thinking about you and cared to send your something is gone. So maybe send some Christmas cards home, you will probably get some from family and friends too.

Surviving Christmas When You Are Living Abroad: GET YOUR LOVED ONES TO VISIT YOU

"If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain". I was really lucky that my parents could come visit me in California that year. They spent Christmas Day on a plane but at least we could spend a few days together.

 San Francisco

Have you ever spent Christmas abroad? What did you do to beat homesickness?
xo Cristina

Another Year Older

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Another Year Older

November 27, 2017

I've been extremely traditional when it comes to celebrating my birthday so far. Except for the years I've been abroad, the celebration has always taken place at home. The most important thing for me is to be surrounded by my loved ones so I didn't really care about where the party took place. However, this year we decided to do something different. Back in August we had been to a very special restaurant and I wanted to go back for my birthday.

This restaurant is like no other. I've never had a gastronomic experience like this one. The name of the place is LAV and it's in my hometown, Leon. The name is an acronym for Laboratorio Alfonso V, and if you pronounce it in Spanish it sounds like "lab", short for laboratory. So what's so special about this place? Well, everything. From the food to the fact that you don't start eating at your table. 

It all starts at the bar where you order drinks and eat unique tapas. See the four big grey stones below? They are edible. It's foie covered in chocolate. How genius is that? Meanwhile, you take a look at the menu and choose what you want with a colored marker. 

Next stop is the open kitchen for some live showcooking.

The rest of the meal takes place at the table. Take a look at the picture below, you can see the menu card. As I said before each one of us chose what we were going to eat with a different marker: red, black, green and blue. When you get to the table you put a colored card next to you so that the waiter knows your menu choices.

All dishes are carefully curated in terms of design and flavors. They are incredibly pleasant to both the eye and the palate. These are the starters.

The starters are followed by soup.

Afterwards, we had fish and meat. It may look like a lot of dishes, but the portions are small so you don't really feel full until the end of the meal.

To transition from the meal to the sweet taste of dessert, you get a digestive mousse in a beaker. A nod to the name of the restaurant.

And last but not least my favorite part...

The whole experience takes about two hours but it doesn't feel so long.
Have you ever been to a restaurant like this? What's the most unique experience you've had when eating out?
xo Cristina

Restaurant info
LAV
Av. Padre Isla 1, Leon
Tel.: (+34) 987220952
TripAdvisor

OUTFIT DETAILS
Claudie Pierlot dress
Purificacion Garcia scarf

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