Spanish Fashion

Probably one of my favorite things about Spain is the way people dress here, particularly the women. Not all women dress alike, of course, and there's a fair number of fashionistas, but there's also a definite prevalent hippie vibe. There are a lot of very loose pants, the hybrid pant/skirt, and lots of kurta-style tops similar to what you would find in India. It makes a lot of sense given that summers here are incredibly hot, not unlike the weather in India at certain times of the year.

There are plenty of smaller boutique-type shops scattered about, and then there's El Corte Inglés. I'm not sure I can adequately describe the scale of this mega, mega department store. Perhaps something like Macy's in New York City compares, but there's a serious buzz of energy in this place that feels very much unique. I went there the other day to buy headphones, among other things, and worked my way through the maze of departments, many of which, on the electronics floor at least, have their own checkout counter. In other words, you have to buy certain products in designated areas otherwise an alarm will go off if you try to leave that area with a product you have not paid for. So essentially I had three separate transactions for three different things. I was chatting with one of the cashiers about how impressively huge and comprehensive the store was, and I jokingly asked him if you could buy a car there. He kind of laughed, but then said, "Actually, I think in the insurance division you can." He said the same went I went even bigger and asked about houses. I didn't verify this information, but I would not be surprised. Crazy store, crazy big... but also a good place to go for a nice air conditioned break from hot streets.

After my last day of classes I decided to make one last pass through the stores and ended up buying myself some awesome pants, which are also kind of like a skirt, from Desigual, and a pair of shoes from Camper, which is a company from Mallorca. The lady in one of the stores gave me a 50% off coupon, so it was hard to resist. I also wandered for bit and took a few final pictures. I'm kind of sad to leave Valencia. But alas, life moves on. Today I head to Cuenca, a much smaller city, but I'm told even they have El Corte Inglés there.

 Off the Plaza de la Reina, this is the spot where my fellow students 

and I would often grab a coffee during "la pausa".

One of the streets I took on my way home from school. It's very common to see a refurbished building next to either a crumbling one, or one that's been knocked down completely.

One of the plazas near my apartment.

Calle de los Caballeros, leading up to Los Torres del Quart.

Note: Sorry no pics of the awesome fashions, but I felt a little creepy taking pictures of random women on the street. You can check out my purchases when I get home. :)