Tuesday 19 February 2019

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 19 February 2019 - T for guitar museum

Hi everybody! It's Tuesday, so off we go to join Elisabeth and Bluebeard at the T-Party. You can join in with a blogpost that has a beverage or a reference to a drink in it.

I usually start with showing you some postcards. (My hobby is Postcrossing, which is a worldwide postcard swap). This week I received two postcards from Finland, a country that has a lot of Postcrossers. 

This beautiful, cold looking card was sent to me by Pamela, who tells me it was -5 degrees C with 30 cm of snow. She is looking forward to spring as she is 'getting tired of the white stuff'.
The stamp is beautiful too. It features the northern lights or aurora borealis. A natural fenomena that I have yet to witness in person (But I'd love to)
The second card comes from Finland too. It features a yummy looking waffle with cream and jam! It really makes me hungry for the wrong things! I love waffles, but they are not good for my figure and that is the reason I have never bought a waffle maker. I might have to relent though, after seeing this....


The stamp has a very handsome dog on it. I assume it is a sleigh dog. It's not a Husky, and it's not a fox either as it is wearing a collar. It seems to have a very thick coat to keep it warm in the snow.
Last Sunday we went on a little trip to nearby Almería. It is on the coast and about an hour and a half drive from home. But we had never been there, so we decided to have a look what it has to offer.

We found a nice hotel in the centre of town (so we could leave the car and walk). Car parking space in Spanish cities is at a premium and not every hotel has parking facilities, but this one had. It was built underneath the hotel and was accessed by a car elevator. This was new to me. We'd never  used one of those before, so that was fun. I have put photos of the hotel on my previous blog (Friday).
We'd been to a party on Sunday afternoon, so we weren't hungry in the evening. All we wanted was drinks and tapas (snacks). In the Granada province (where we live) we get a free tapa with every (alcoholic) drink. Here in Almería they go a step further in that they let you choose your tapa. Wow, that is good. 


In the photo you see the tapa list on the table, Hubby had a beer and a burger, and I had red wine with a Russian salad. Very nice. Hubby then liked it so much, he ordered another one. The total bill 4.50 Euros! (beers 1.25 x 2 = 3.00 plus 1.50 for a glass of wine. The tapas are free).

The next morning we went sightseeing. We visited the Guitar Museum.


It was all about Almerían guitar builder Antonio de Torres. (some blurb from the leaflet further down in yellow).


The bottom floor featured a giant model of his famous guitar. I took this photo from the upper gallery. One can walk underneath the guitar model, where there is a lot of information about De Torres's guitar building. 

The maker's label that is inside the guitar, was stuck on the floor. We saw it as we walked underneath the huge structure. When you walk in, you don't realise you are walking inside a giant guitar. It doesn't become obvious until you go upstairs, from where i photographed the label.

The ground floor houses a replica of Torres's workshop, and described the tools and the method. It also showed all the different kinds of woods. Very interesting. There was a video explaining and showing how a guitar is built. In Baza (we live just outside Baza) there are still a couple of guitar builders and we have been in their workshops a few times when hubby, who is a guitarist, needed something. I am always fascinated by their art.
There was also a photo exhibition about what Almería looked like in Torres's days (19th century).



Going up the stairs to the first floor, there were famous guitar-themed works of art. Then we looked at the players gallery. A compilation  of great guitar players in history (including people like Hendrix and Clapton).



There was a space where acoustics were explained and one could 'have a go' at playing. So hubby had a little strum on one of the modern guitars lying about.



Then there was an exhibition on the history and development of the guitar from antique guitars to lutes and vihuelas. (see this short article from the Encyclopedia Brittanica). 
At the end there were headphones where every antique instrument could be heard.
Here is a copy of the leaflet about Antonio Torres:



I hope you enjoyed the visit to the guitar museum. We certainly did. I don't play the guitar but I have lived with a musician husband for many years and have been 'roady' to his gigs whenever I had a weekend off (he led a ten piece folk band). And now living in Andalucia where guitar playing (flamenco and classical) is in their blood, it was a very interesting experience.

Happy T-Day,
Stay safe,
Lisca








21 comments:

  1. Great postcards and I like those stamps. The free tapa with each drink sounds like a good deal. The guitar museum looked fascinating. Happy T-Day!

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  2. Hi Lisca, I really enjoy your posts-love those stamps this week what a great deal-free food with your drinks! You find the neatest places to visit-the guitar museum is really something-a very neat place to visit for sure.
    Happy T hugs Kathy

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  3. You always have such interesting postcards and postage to share. Your tapas - wow- what a great buy!! The guitar museum is really interesting and I love all the info you shared. Love that your hubby got to play a bit:) Almeria looks like a wonderful town. Happy T day!

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  4. Beautiful postcards and stamps. I can understand that lady being fed up with snow! The tapas look great and the prices for the drinks are very low. At the Spanish restaurants here everything has to be paid for, and drinks are always much dearer, too. The museum is fascinating, that's something I would love to see. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  5. Very beautiful postcards and stamps and such a wonderful hobby to have.

    The visit to the guitar museum look fantastic and also your post brought back memories for me of 30 years ago when I landed at Almeria airport to travel up the mountains for a bowling holiday at the David Bryant Bowling centre. I expect it is long gone now.

    Have a very happy T Day

    Love Chrissie xx

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  6. The posts cards looked lovely, but those stamps were fantastic. Do you save them on the cards or file them in a stamp book?
    The guitar museum looks a great destination and wow what a huge exhibition piece that guitar was.
    The tapas looked delicious and your bill would have been muck bigger here in the UK
    Happy T day wishes Lisca.
    Yvonne xx

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  7. I was going to leave a comment on last Friday's post but wasn't sure you would see it. I loved the funnies, especially the vegan one. I was impressed with the city you went to and wanted to tell you that some of the really old (old for the U.S. at least) hotels are built the same way with rooms facing the street or the indoor court yard. I think the materials they used were beautiful. I know I'm forgetting something, but I'm getting very, very tired. Oh, I remember, those were great scrapbook pages.

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  8. I hate to tell the lady from Finland, but -5 C is warm compared to our weather lately. It is bitterly cold and wind chills are intense. I really loved the stamps and I also want to see the Aurora Borealis,


    I loved that museum. It is incredible. I had to laugh at your comment about Hendrix and Clapton. Those are my favorite eras (I've been told I was born too late because I was around when rap got popular). Regardless, I want to put that on my list of places to see in Europe. It's incredible.

    Sounds like you got a really good deal on the wine, For some reason, I thought tapas were tiny appetizers, but these looked like they would make a full meal. Thanks for sharing your trip, your visit to the guitar museum, and your wine and tapas with us for T this Tuesday. I'm off to bed now, I believe.

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  9. seeing the northern lights would be my dream!! but i´m a whimp and going there into the cold without the guarantee to see them, haha, well, no risk no fun;) the finnish stamps are so beautiful!
    enjoyed the tour de guitar museum, too! happy t-day!

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  10. Hola Lisca, we had a trip to Salamanca and the hotel had a lift, scared me I must admit, I don’t go in any lift if I can help it.
    Looks like you had an interesting trip, funny how towns still have free tapas but not usually on the coastal areas. We had freebies in Segovia which were delicious
    Have a great week
    Jan #17

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  11. I've never heard of a car elevator, but it sounds efficient. I love it when you can walk to attractions from the hotel. So much easier than parking.

    The museum is a marvel! Your snacks look like a meal to me :) Happy T Tuesday

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  12. I've seen aurora borealis, Lisca, when I lived in Wisconsin (43 degrees N latitude). They are an amazing and beautiful sight! The Internet says they can be seen from as far south as 35 N and Andalucia is 37.5 N. Maybe there's too much ambient light where you are? That is a gorgeous stamp.

    I love the custom of free tapas with a drink. Yours look delicious.

    Walking inside a giant guitar must be very cool. How clever. I bet hubby had a good time in that museum.

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

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  13. I love the postcards and postage stamps this week - amazing! Your tapas and drinks looks yummy, especially that russian salad 😁. I enjoyed visiting the guitar museum too, so interesting! I know it's not the same but my hubby is learning to play Bass guitar and is really enjoying it 😁. Happy T Day! J 😊 x

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  14. What is in the Russian salad?
    The museum looks so interesting, I always enjoy learning about different things.
    Interesting post cards this week......I like the stamp on the first one, very pretty.
    Happy T-day

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  15. Your tapas sound very interesting. I need to try these sometime.

    I would love to see the aurora borealis as well. What a wonderful postcard from Finland and those wonderful stamps.

    I bet that guitar museum is a wonderful place of inspiration for guitar players. Looks like your hubby is enjoying it.

    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  16. Love those postcards! The tapas seem to be very good value and the Russian salad looked delicious! The guitar museum look to be such an interesting place - I can see your hubby thought so!! Happy T Day! Chrisx

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  17. The guitar museum looks really cool. And does free food with your drink. That is smart and probably saves people from getting too tipsy. I think it is really smart. Hope it was a great T day. Hugs-Erika

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  18. I'm with your Finnish friend. I've had enough snow. Seeing the Aurora Borealis is on my bucket list. I just saw a video of it on Facebook. So awesome. The guitar museum was very interesting especially walking through a giant guitar. Happy T Day!

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  19. What a fabulous outing, Lisca Meijer. Thanks for sharing. Thank you for visiting my blog. To answer your question regarding iPads and Blogger: no. Google does not allow those of us with Apple Devices to create blog posts and add photos from our devices. Not very nice of them, is it? (giggle). Wishing you all the best, Donna
    {Creative Smiles - my little crafting world}

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  20. What a nice place to visit. Love the giant guitar! And yes the restaurant on the ship was expensive, but we had gift certificates, so it didn't cost us anything extra.
    Jan said she contacted you with info from blogger, and she shared with me, but I still don't understand it. Happy T Day
    1

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  21. Hi Lisca, Just popping back to say how happy I am that you know Quarrybank! They have opened up much more of the gardens that were once returned to wasteland and there is now access to one of the Millworkers cottages and the grand house! If ever you return to this area we must meet up there - we visit the gardens regularly on our way to do the weekly shop!! Hugs, Chrisxx

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