Yesterday I picked up a lace shawl that I had started last summer...and it is much more emotional to knit it now than it was then.

To back up, I am one of those people who associates places--and apparently things--with memories. So I can be in a city, see a monument or restaurant, and remember who I was with, how I was feeling, and what was going on in my life at that time. Most of the time, it is wonderful. I do not have the best memory. That award would go to my mom, who could tell you what she ate for breakfast 30 years ago. However, my memory is more like a thumb drive, except that I have many thumb drives that I've dropped all over the world and in different objects and smells. If you asked me about a memory right here and now, I may not be able to recall it. If you take me to a place or give me an object, everything comes back. Perhaps that is why I have trouble throwing stuff away. Anyhow...

Back to the knitting. Normally I knit a project straight through without stopping. This year I got backed up on projects and had to put the lace shawl down. It has been about six months or more since I have knit it.

The last time I remember knitting it was in June and July of 2012. I was starting a trip to Spain and lace shawls are perfect because they keep you busy for a long time, but don't weigh much or take up much space. I remember knitting it on the plane, both ways. I remember knitting it on the couch watching Canal de Cocina at 11pm or later. I remember working on it while lunch was being made: I can smell the Spanish-food goodness, the olive oil, fish, and cheese.

It is so odd to look at that blue shawl and see so much of Spain in it, even though the yarn is from who-knows-where, and the pattern is American and found on craftsy.com. So much has happened to me since that shawl was started. Still, I look at it and it remains the same, though a few rows longer. I wonder how I will feel about it when it is finally done.

So this shawl-to-be has been in Spain, Sicily, Tucson, and it is my project-of-choice for my road trip to San Diego this weekend. Perhaps it will be my memory of this year. It could be the name of a book: The Blue Shawl: a Year in the life of L--.

Happy Knitting!

I've been to Madrid a few times now, and only recently have I gone to Botín. It is the oldest restaurant to keep its doors open. Since 1725, it has been open and serving food in the same location. Hemingway also enjoyed eating there. Being a literature lover and a lover of Spanish food, I had to go there. The menus are in English and Spanish. You can sit at Hemingway's table on the "top" floor (you may want to make a reservation), which is the floor on street level, or you can eat in the "cave." We chose to eat downstairs, which definitely felt like going back in time. In general, you may want to make a reservation, which can be done online as well. The wait staff are friendly, courteous, and professional, which is something the average Madrid restaurant does not offer. We were told to order a soufflé for dessert, which is not on the menu. However, be sure to order it with the rest of your food because it takes a while to prepare.

Sometimes it seems like I travel simply to eat. Wait, that's exactly what I do. I think my ideal trips include lots of walking, museums, seeing important sites, and food. If I had to choose two vacation necessities, they would be walking and food. I think the best way to talk about it is via pictures.

Ever since I started knitting and reading knitting blogs, I have kind of made it my quest to find yarn stores wherever I travel and to buy something. I like to support local yarn stores, even if I don't have a particular store in mind.

However, finding yarn in Spain has always been very difficult for me. I use google to search, but "lana" and "tejer" usually don't show me the stores I'm looking for. They tend to show sewing stores, a craft I cannot do, though I'd like to learn to sew someday (especially to hem my own jeans!). It took a Madrileña to tell me that all of the yarn stores are just south of Sol! Even the streets have the names: Calle de la bolsa. I ended up buying yarn in the modern part of the city, but there are yarn shops in Sol, the heart of the country! That just shows you how important knitting/crochet is nowadays.

Sorry about waiting so long to write! I left my connector in Spain, so I couldn't upload any pictures. I will be doing my best to write about my trip to Spain this summer. So far, I am planning posts on: yarn in Madrid, food in Madrid, Botín, and Santander, though I am sure there are many most posts in there!

I love Madrid. For some reason, I never get there as often as I would like to. This time, I made it there a few times. I love going to Retiro, walking around Sol and Plaza Mayor, and just being there in general. The tough part about being in Madrid in the summer is that it is so hot! So it is kind of hard to be walking around all day.

I love my wine! In the USA, I enjoy wine tasting at bodegas and wine shoppes. In Spain, I do the same. Esencias de Gourmet, a shoppe in Alcalá de Henares, does wine tastings either in the shoppe or in tapas bars. This time it paired up with Posada del Diablo and paired all of the wines with gourmet tapas. For 25 euros, it's a steal. It turns out that Posada del Diablo is from the 16th century. At that time, it was outside of the city (barely) and "witches" lived there. Hence "place of the devil." There, students would go and have their fortunes read by the cards. Here are some pictures:

Alcalá de Henares is a beautiful city and a World Heritage Site. Here are some pictures that I took this time.

After going to Santiago de Compostela last year, I have been thinking about doing a pilgrimage sometime in the future. As of 2011, Alcalá de Henares is now an official starting spot for the walk. I probably won't start here because it's 628km to Compostela, which is a bit far. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun finding the shells. There are 9 shells total, I thought I took pictures of all of them, but I may be mistaken...