JUZCAR - A SMURF VILLAGE IN SPAIN
Guest post by photography and travel enthusiast Mela Mörtenbäck
Here I am – back from my road trip through Spain and Portugal, with loads of great places to share with the Everplaces community. Let’s start with Júzcar, a small Spanish village in the heart of Andalusia.
Hearing the hard facts about Júzcar, one would never consider this village as that special place it actually is. But in 2011 the small village in the province of Málaga was chosen to host the premiere of the Smurfs movie. Therefore, the white-washed buildings were painted entirely in that unique Smurf blue.
This is where the amazing story of Júzcar actually begins. Although Sony Pictures promised to return the village to its former white color, the 221 inhabitants voted to keep the buildings painted blue as due to the new awareness the number of tourists increased from 300 a year to an estimated 80.000 in the first sixth months.
Today, on June 16th, Júzcar celebrated its first anniversary as „Pueblo Pitufo“ and tourists still have the chance to take guided Smurf-tours to discover the uniqueness of the village. In addition, the village holds regular events such as a Smurf moonlight fun run, Smurf painting competitions and Smurf trade fairs.
Make sure to visit this lovely place when you’re in the province of Málaga, save it to your collection on Everplaces and check out some of my impressions.
By guest blogger Mela Mörtenbäck, passionate traveler and hobby photographer from Tyrol, Austria. Mela loves to combine traveling and photography by exploring new cities. You can see her full collection on Everplaces here.
ROAD TRIPPIN’ IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Guest post by photography and travel enthusiast Mela Mörtenbäck
For weeks I cannot think of anything but my upcoming road trip along the shores of Spain and Portugal. Starting in Malaga, the trip will moreover take me from Cádiz via Seville to Lisbon with some stopovers every now and then.
Although I already know some parts of Andalusia and the Algarve, there is so much more to discover and two weeks might not be enough to visit all the places I would like to. So I started to create a collection of must-see’s on Everplaces that I’d like to share with you.
Europa Point - GibraltarThe Europa Point is the southernmost place of Gibraltar with a lovely lighthouse. On a clear day, it’s possible to take a glimpse of North Africa and the shores of Morocco. Save place
Blue Juzcar - AndalusiaUsually, most villages in Southern Spain are painted bright white. But there is one exception at the moment: Juzcar. As the small village is chosen to host the premier of the new Smurf film, it’s currently painted entirely blue and a real attraction for all smurf fans. Save place
Eléctrico 28 – LisbonNumber 28 is rumored to be the most legendary one of the famous trams in Lisbon. The historic yellow tram follows the perfect route for sightseeing, passing numerous sights you’ll find in travel guides. Save place
Elevador de Santa Justa – Lisbon
It’s one of the major tourist attractions of Lisbon: the Elevador de Santa Justa. It’s a classic steel-frame elevator running up 30 metres, where you’ll find a café with sometimes playing live music. Save place
Palacio da Pena – SintraThe Pena National Palace is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and one of the so-called Seven Wonders of Portugal. It stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra. On sunny and clear days, it can be seen from Lisbon. Save place
Cascais – PortugalThe traditional small fishing port Cascais offers historic buildings mixed with a cosmopolitan atmosphere – but all without losing its local spirit. It’s worth walking around the pathways as the bay is probably the main attraction. Save place
There is actually no end in sight discovering new places that seem to be worth visiting alongside the shores of Spain and Portugal. I’m sure I will add loads of unique and special places to my Everplaces collection during my journey, so follow my road trip by browsing my Spain and Portugal collection on everplaces.com/mela.
By guest blogger Mela Mörtenbäck, passionate traveler and hobby photographer from Tyrol, Austria. Mela loves to combine traveling and photography by exploring new cities.
Photo credits: planetware.com, ellenzee.tumblr.com, dailymail.co.uk, laser-line.de, wikipedia.com
SECRETS OF SPANISH GASTRONOMY
Guest post by foodie, cinnamon tea lover and Malaga native Francisco Pinto
Most of my current spots in Everplaces are in Spain. This is a nice country with an enviable climate and gastronomic culture. Spanish cuisine has a wide selection of dishes. It is said that our mountainous orography acted as a natural barrier to communication among regions until the last century and that had an influence on the food. Our cooking methods and ingredients remain simple and unalterable for centuries. Our essential ingredient is always a trickle of olive oil. If I would have to mention three typical dishes they would be: tapas, Spanish omelette and Iberian ham.
We have a lot of cafeterias and, specially in the south, tearooms. If you like to drink something special, Moroccan tea — green tea with mint leaves — is a must. Personally, I taste brewing black tea with slices of cinnamon and star anise sweetened with maple syrup. Check out my favourite tea house on Everplaces.
As I am a big fan of Moleskine notebooks, I filled them up with map clippings and notes for all the places I wanted to go to. After visiting them, if the place was not worth it, then I crossed it off the list. However, it had some snags. Sharing was unbearable. When friends asked me for recommendations, I had to scan the pages.
Later smartphones became popular and after a couple of geolocation services I came across Everplaces. It is pretty much what I was looking for — offline mode, private places, images, maps, notes and easy to share all your profile without a click. I find the private checkbox very helpful. When someone recommends me a place I add it as a private place until I visit it and decide if it becomes an Everplace.