Viva Espana!!

Semasa Puda berada di UK untuk menghadiri Majlis Konvokesyen Zayani di University of Liverpool, Puda beserta Auntie, Zati dan Zayani sempat membuat lawatan singkat ke Negara Sepanyol (Spain). Kami berada di kota Madrid, Sepanyol selama tiga hari mulai 21hb Julai sehingga 24hb Julai 2010. Kami menyewa sebuah apartment di kawasan Calle de Lavapies, Madrid dan pada keesokan harinya (22 hb Julai, 2010) Dayang Hajah Noor Arbieyah (Bibeh) telah ikut serta kami dalam membuat lawatan ke Sepanyol, setelah membuat penerbangan dari Manchester (melalui London) ke Madrid.

Saksikanlah gelagat kami ketika berada di Madrid seperti yang dipaparkan dalam gambar-gambar berikut:

Former Casa de Correos (Post Office)

Bergambar di dataran Puerta del Sol

Bronze statute of the bear and the strawberry tree

Gambar-gambar di atas mempaparkan suasana di Dataran Puerta del Sol, sebuah dataran yang begitu termasyhur di Madrid.

Catatan ringkas mengenai Puerta del Sol:

Puerta del Sol is one of the busiest and most popular spots in Madrid. This square has witnessed some of the most important events in the history of Spain: the uprising of 2 May 1808; subject of the painting "The Charge of the Mamelukes", by Goya; the proclamation of the Republic in 1931; the inauguration of gaslighting in 1830; and the opening of the first line of the metro, from Sol to Cuatra Caminos, 1919. It is also kilometer 0 of all the roads in Spain. In one corner, opposite the Calle del Carmen, a statue in bronze of the bear and the strawberry tree represents the coat of arms of Madrid.

The square first became known around the 15th century as a populated area surrounded by the city walls, with a gateway facing "towards the sun" (sol), hence its name. Since 1560, a variety of buildings, beside the bookshops, eating houses and jeweller's shops which became established there, have converted the Puerta del Sol into a rival of the Plaza Mayor as to which is the true city centre.

It was during the reign of Isabel II that the square took on its present appearance, with alterations carried out by the engineers Lucio del Valle, Juan Rivera and Jose Morer giving it its elliptical shape, conserving only the Post Office, constructed by Jaime Marquet in 1761, which between 1847 and 1979 served as the seat of the Ministerio de la Gobernacion and later as the Office of the President of the Community of Madrid. Ever since the 19th century it has been the tradition on Old Year's Night to bring in the New Year to the sound of its clock striking.

Lorong membeli belah berdekatan Dataran Puerta del Sol

Sunguh enak menikmati kelazatan ais krim dalam keadaan cuaca yang panas di Madrid

Semasa kami sedang bersantai di Dataran Puerta del Sol ini, kami dikejutkan dengan kehadiran pelakon Asia yang popular iaitu Jackie Chan yang kebetulan berada di Madrid bagi mempromosikan filem beliau yang terbaru, "The Karate Kid".

Pengawal peribadi Jackie Chan kelihatan berada di verandah bangunan bekas Casa de Correos semasa pelakon itu berada di bangunan tersebut

Poster filem The Karate Kid di pamerkan di salah sebuah pawagam di Madrid

Perjalanan akan disambung di ruangan blog akan datang..............

Salam hormat - PUDA