FEET AND HANDS BEAUTY TRENDS/ tendencias de belleza para piés y manos.

Hi my dear bloggers, some more  fashion points about our hands and feet for this summer.
Hola mis queridos bloggers, algunos apuntes de moda más para nuestras manos y piés para este verano.

FLUOR PASSION / FEET AND HANDS NAILS
Pasión fluor  /  Uñas de piés y manos.

**INDISCREET HAND NAILS / Uñas de las manos "indiscretas".
This season, nail varnish is an essential accesory to paly with colours and to combine with "the summer star looks".
Forget the same colour on hands and feet.  Take a risk!  What about orange and purple?  Or turquoise blue and yellow?  How about fluor colours?  On short, square nails are great! 
An advice:  if you want to look younger, cut your hand nails square because the round way is for older women!!

**NAKED FEET / pies desnudos.
After a lot of months into our shoes, at last it's time to show our feet!  We must look after them if we want to have a good look!  I know that it's difficult because of hot, dry weather but we must try it.  Use a moisturizing cream every day, special feet creams better, protect them and paint your nails too.

Before painting your feet nails, put a protective base on them, then paint them with a nail varnish (twice) and finally apply a gloss.
A pair of beautiful sandals and our perfect feet are the best comination!!

**BEAUTIFUL HANDS /manos bonitas.
We are looking at our feet much more cause we haven't seen them until now but our hand nails are really important too and all year!
We have to take care of them every day too.
Cut and  file your nails.  If you like to paint them, so do the same operation than with your feet.
If you don't like it, cut, file and polish them.  Use a moisturizing cream and your nails will look great!

**DON'T FORGET THE FLUOR COLOURS:  yellow, blue, green, purple, violet, pink, red.
A lot of trade marks offer these fashion colours, for example:  Maybelline, Astor, L'Oréal and Bourjois.

** BE COOL!  BE FASHION!  PAINT YOUR NAILS FLUOR PASSION!!

EASY ENGLISH/CINEMA/AGEING STARS (Inglés fácil/cine/estrellas que se hacen mayores.

Good morning my friends, today I'm going to continue with a bit more of cinema stars.
Buenos días amigos, hoy voy a continuar con un poco más de estrellas de cine.

THE BIG FIVE-0
Grandes a los 50

Some of the biggest stars in entertainment are more than fifty.  Among them the singer Madonna,  and actors Michelle Pfeiffer and Sharon Stone.
But how are they reacting to ageing: with botox and plastic surgery (cirugía), or a wrinkled smile and a glass of wine?

MATERIAL GIRL
Madonna has said that she wouldn't tell anyone if she decided on a little surgery.  Well, the wrinkles (arrugas) around her eyes and mouth have suddenly disappeared and the newspapers want to know the truth.  Recent photographs cruelly compare her youthful face and severely wrinkled hands.  What does the future hold for her? She says:  "I have the same goal (meta)  I had when I was a little girl.  I want to rule (gobernar) the world".

CATWOMAN
Michelle Pfeiffer interrupted her acting career in order to bring up (criar) her children, but now they are older and she has returned.  Pfeiffer looks fantastic, even with minimal make-up.  How does she do it? "Plastic surgery can't stop getting older (envejecer)", she says.  "Eat well and exercise (hacer ejercicio) and get lots of sleep, but indulge occasionally (date un gustazo de vez en cuando).  At my age I think, what the hell (qué mas da), and eat a sticky doughnut (cómete un donut pegajoso).

BASIC INSTINCT
Sharon Stone adopted her three young sons in her forties (a los cuarenta) .  Perhaps she thought she'd have time on her hands (tiempo libre) after the bad reviews (malas críticas) for Basic Instinct 2.  If so, she must be disappointed.  Dior chose her to promote their Capture Totale skin range (línea de belleza) for one good reason:  she's still an incredibly beautiful woman.  But has she gone under the surgeon's knife(bisturí del cirujano)?  "No, I haven't and I won't in the future. I'm not afraid of ageing.  I stopped being afraid of life a long time ago"
Stone almost died in 2001 when she suffered a brain haemorrhage and needed emergency surgery.

OTHER CELEBRITIES BEYOND THEIR HALF-CENTURY...
*Andie MacDowell
*Annette Bening
*Tim Robbins
*Jamie Lee Curtis
*Alec Baldwin
*Holly Hunter

THE GRAMMAR CORNER

Hi my friends, beautiful Sunday in Madrid today. As I haven't got much time during the week to write on my blog, I will do it now.
What a nice weather! I have just arrived home from THE RETIRO park and it has been a  real spring day! I love it! I don't like winter at all!

Well, we are going to do a revision about tenses.
Bien, vamos a hacer una revisión de tiempos verbales.

THE PAST SIMPLE

TO BE (ser o estar)
I was                      I wasn't                       was I?
you were                you weren't                 were you?
he/she/it was           he/she/it wasn't          was he?
we were                 we weren't                   were we?
you were                you weren't                 were you?
they were               they weren't                were they?

TO HAVE (GOT) (tener)
I had                    I didn't have                    did I have?
you had                you didn't have               did you have?
he/she/it had        he/she/it/didn't have        did he have?
we had                we didn't have                  did we have?
you had               you didn't have                 did you have?
they had              they dind't have                did they have?

* La forma HAVE GOT la utilizamos con la idea de más POSESIÓN y para expresar ciertas ideas aunque a la hora de hablar se emplean indistintamente HAVE  o  HAVE GOT.  Los ingleses usan más HAVE GOT y los americanos mas HAVE. Sin embargo, en PASADO no usamos el verbo HAVE con GOT cosa que sí hacemos cuando hablamos en presente, por ejemplo:
She has got one dog.  She hasn't got one dog.  Has she got one dog?

Ejemplo en pasado:  I had a good flight (yo tuve un buen vuelo)  I didn't have a good flight.  Did you have a good flight?

Acordaos de que cuando utilizamos partículas, da igual cuales sean, tenemos que dejar el verbo invariable, es decir, en infinitivo porque el tiempo entonces está ya en la partícula.

AHORA VAMOS A PONER UNAS FRASES PARA PRACTICAR.

- Soy de India.  Tengo 16 años.  ¿Eres inglés?
- Ella se llama Lisa.  Su nombre es Lisa.
- ¿Es Lisa ingeniera?  Sí.
- Cuando eras un niño pequeño, ¿eras feliz? Sí, lo era.
- Nosotros no éramos ricos pero tampoco éramos pobres.
- Hay una mesa grande en mi cocina.
- ¿Hay leche en el frigorífico?  Sí, hay.
- ¿Hay naranjas? No, no hay.
- Había café encima de la mesa.  No había hielo en el congelador.
- No había patatas.

- Tienes los ojos azules.
- ¿Tienes hermanos o hermanas? Sí, una hermana.
- Tenemos un coche nuevo.
- Cuando Mary era joven tenía el pelo largo y rubio.
- ¿A qué hora has desayunado esta mañana?
- Ella siempre se baña por la mañana.
- ¿Tenían ellos dinero? Sí, mucho.

                                                      ****************************


SOLUTIONS

-I'm from India. I'm sixteen years old. Are you English?
-Her name is Lisa.
-Is Lisa an engineer? Yes, she is.
-When you were a child, were you happy? Yes, I was.
-We were neither rich nor poor.
-There is a big table in the kitchen.
-Is there any milk in the fridge? Yes, there is some.
-Are there any oranges? No, there aren't any.
-There was some coffee on the table. There wasn't any ice in the freeze.
-There weren't any potatoes.

-You have got blue eyes.
-Have you got any brothers or sisters? Yes, one sister.
-We have got a new car.
-When Mary was younger, she had got long, fair hair.
-What time have you had breakfast this morning?
-She always has a bath in the morning.
-Did they have any money? Yes, a lot.

HAVE A NICE DAY!!

HOLLYWOOD STAR "TOM HANKS"

Hi everybody, Monday again! but think of your summer holidays! No matter if you go to the beach, to the mountain or you stay in the city, you have to experiment a "holiday spirit".  If you are in the city, go to the swimming-pool, it is a good suggestion because it's really hot! Enjoy this wonderful season!

Hola a todo el mundo, ¡otra vez lunes! ¡pero pensad en vuestras vacaciones de verano! No importa si os vais a la playa, a la montaña o si os quedáis en la ciudad, tenéis que experimentar un "espíritu de vacaciones".  Si estáis en la ciudad, id a la piscina, es una buena sugerencia porque hace realmente calor.  ¡Disfrutad de esta maravillosa estación!

Photos:  conectate.co,do

CINEMA
Today, we are going to look at a very famous Hollywood star "Tom Hanks".  Everybody knows this American actor but today we will discover other different things from the ones we already know about him.

Tom Hanks began acting at a small theatre in California.  He was still a university student then.  The theatre department at his university did not think that Hanks was talented.  He could not win a role in the school's plays.  So Hanks took matters into his own hands.  Unable to perform with his classmates, he went to a small community theatre downtown and asked for a role in a play.  Remarkably, the theatre's director gave him a chance.  Hanks' talent impressed everyone and the director offered him a chance to travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to perform in a play there.  He never looked back.

Decades later, Hanks has gone on from his uncertain beginnings to become one Hollywood's most important actors and the world's best-known faces.

Hanks was born in 1956.  His parents divorced when he was young.  He moved many times and lived in several houses with different relatives.  After returning from his time in Cleveland, he moved to Los Angeles, California.  In 1980 he received his big break.  A television show "Bosom Buddies, a comedy about two young men who cannot find a place to live and secretly move into a building that only allows women.  Doing the show Hanks discovered he had a great talent for humour.  Soon he began to receive offers to appear in Hollywood movies.

**In 1984 he played the lead in "Splash", a movie about a man in love with a mermaid.
**His next comic role "Big", cast him as a man whose personality magically changes places with that of a young boy.
**In 1994 he received his first Oscar for his performance in the drama "Philadelphia".  The movie was a social breakthrough.  Hanks' Oscar made easier to discuss the deadly AIDS disease publicly in the USA.
**In 1996 he started to work on "Forest Gump", one of his most famous roles and then he found his most famous character :  the mysterious comander of a small group of soliders in Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan".

Rather than consider him a comic, movie critics started to call him an "actor's actor".
Today his movies are guaranteed hits and fans adore him wherever he goes.  He has showed a new "everyman" quality that audiences loved.

From a man who could not get a job in a school play, Tom Hanks has become everyone's Oscar star!

VOCABULARY  (from the text)
-ROLE: papel.
-TOOK ... INTO HIS OWN HANDS: tomó cartas en el asunto.
-RELATIVE: pariente.
-BIG BREAK: gran oportunidad.
-MERMAID: sirena.
-MAGICALLY: por arte de magia.
-BREAKTHROUGH: cambio de mentalidad.
-AWARD: premio.
-DESEASE: enfermedad.
-EVERYMAN: tipo corriente.

SPECIAL MARKETS/MERCADOS ESPECIALES

Hi my friends, from this lovely village which is San Rafael (Segovia) where I'm spending this long weekend, I want to tell you about "special markets".
Hola amigos, desde este pueblo encantador que es San Rafael (Segovia) donde estoy pasandoeste puente, quiero hablaros sobre "mercados especiales".

What is a market?  If I ask you this question many of you can answer that a market is a place where there are a lot of stands and where you can go and buy all kind of fresh vegetables and fruit, meat , fish, etc. And you'll be right but nowadays in our cities we are experimenting other kind of modern and fashioable markets in which you can not only go shopping but have breakfast or lunch or simply have a drink with your friends!

These new markets are nice and very pleasant places with a "gourmet"gastronomy and really beautiful buildings which is another reason to visit them.

I will recommend you some of these international markets as a suggestion for your travels!

IN MADRID
**THE SAN MIGUEL MARKET.  A lovely place  in a recently restored building which combines a new concept of leisure, luxury, gastronomy, fresh  and first quality products. Really beautiful! It's "a must" if you are a tourist or if you are living in the city too!
For molre info:  http://www.mercadodesanmiguel.es/

IN BARCELONA
**"THE BOQUERÍA MARKET" whose origins come from the XIIth century, is "a must" if you go to Barcelona.  Marvellous vegetables, fruit and flowers stands combined with its bars which offer a wide range of typical Spanish food.  Don't miss it!

IN LONDON
**PORTOBELLO MARKET.  Although it is not a  market inside a building, I want to recommend it because it is a lovely place too.  An outdoor market, in Portobello Road, Notting Hill district, is a colourful street market with an enormous variety of stands where you'll find the most beautiful flowers and the best fruit and vegetables.  Also, visit the shops and boutiques that are next to it, they have a typical Brittish and vintage style! The tube station is "Knitghsbridge" just opposite Harrods store.  Then a pleasant walk until Portobello
 market is a real pleasure.  If you go to London, don't miss it!

IN STOKHOLM
**Since 1880, THE SALUHALL MARKET mixes its stands with restaurants.  It opens at midday and you will find there the best products too.  It is situated inside  a restored building with a typical Swedish architecture. Summer is the best season to go to.  This Nordic city is really beautiful!

CARNABY STREET -LONDON-

CENTRAL LONDON

Everything changes at Soho

Carnaby Street's modern history began when a man called John Stephen opened a shop selling men's clothes on this small road behind Oxford Circus in 1957.

London's modernists, were the first to discover his bright styles of dress but soon youngsters from all over Britain were coming here.

Nowadays, you can experience a variety of outdoor cafés and restaurants while the Street reputation for fashionable gear is creeping back.

Kylie Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Natalie Imbruglia, Robbie Williams, Madonna and Donatella Versace can be seen over there not only looking around the shops but having lunch or a drink at the restaurants and clubs of the area.

The liberal atmosphere in Soho is attributed to its history as an immigrant community.  Over the years, Greeks, Italians, Chinese and Vietnamese have all contributed to the area's development.

Soho, with its tolerant environment,   has also become the national centre for gay pubs, bars, shops and clubs.

The colourful London neighbourhood of Soho is home to many forms of entertainment.  We can find there the famous department store LIBERTY'S and a street market too.
For more information:  http://www.carnaby.co.uk/

VOCABULARY
-GEAR:  ropa.
-TO CREEP BACK:  volver poco a poco.
-TO PICK UP: adquirir.
-YOUNGSTERS:  jóvenes.

ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS -TALKING ABOUT PLACE / preposiciones inglesas - hablando de Lugar.

English prepositions are always very complicated to use but if you learn some expressions and the most important situations in which a preposition is needed, everything will be easier!
Las preposiciones inglesas son siempre muy complicadas de utilizar pero si aprendéis algunas expresiones y las situaciones más importantes en las que se necesita una preposición, ¡todo será más fácil!

TALKING ABOUT PLACE - hablando de lugar.
ON: sobre, en.
IN: en, dentro de.
NEAR: cerca, cerca de.
UNDER: debajo, debajo de.
NEXT TO: próximo a, al lado de.
BEHIND: detrás, detrás de.
OPPOSITE:  en frente de.
IN FRONT OF:  delante de

In the living room:  en el salón.
In a small flat: en un piso pequeño.
On the second floor: en el segundo piso.
At number 53 Park Street:  En el número 53 de Park Street.
In Park Street:  en Park Street.
In Madrid:  en Madrid.
In England:  en Inglaterra.
In bed: en la cama
On his way to work:  de camino a su casa.

He lived in Saigon.
He studied at Saigon University
I'm going to Edinburgh tomorrow.
I'll arrive at Kings Cross statiion at 9.15.
She was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
He was the first man to fly round the world.
Where are you from?  I'm from Ireland.

AT (en Español esta preposición la traducimos por EN).
at the supermarket.
at the doctor's
at the bus stop
at the station
at home
at work
at school
at lunch

TALKING ABOUT TIME / hablando de las horas.
*I'll see you at ten o'clock.
*The film starts at five.
*What time do you usually get up?  At seven in the morning.
*At the weekend:  el fin de semana

TIME EXPRESSIONS / expresiones de tiempo.
*In the morning:  por la mañana.
*In the afternoon:  por la tarde.
*In the evening:  por la tarde/noche.
*At night: por la noche (tarde)

*On Thursday: el jueves
*On June 22nd:  el 22 de junio.
*I'll see you in three days: te veré dentro de tres días.

SHOPPING IN PARIS and other things.

Hi my dear friends, here I'm again.  Summer time is also  here!  So, today I'm going to tell you some advices if you visit Paris.  Shopping and more!
Hola, queridos amigos, aquí estoy otra vez.  ¡El verano  también está aquí! Así que, hoy voy a daros algunos consejos por si visitáis París.  ¡De compras y más!

Paris is more expensive than London, in fact, it's one of the most expensive European capitals to go to, but as you know, you can take a low cost flight and save some money.  You can look at the Internet offers and choose the best one.

I'm not going to speak about tourists' guide or something like that, because it is supposed that you have got one or that you have contracted a guided travel, so here you can see some recommended places to stay, to eat and to go shopping.

TO STAY  OR SIMPLY HAVE A REST / Para alojarse o simplemente descansar.

**LE ROYAL MONCEAU.  It is  a modern art place.  Decorated by Phillipe Starck, it is perfect to promote new art.
ADDRESS:  37, Avenue Hoche, Paris.
http://www.leroyalmonceau.com/

**LE CITIZEN.  This one is a cheaper place.  It has got an excellent design.
ADDRESS:    96 Quai de Jemmapes.
http://www.lecitizenhotel.com/

**LE PAVILLON DES LETTRES.  For poetry and writers lovers!  Each room has a letter and a writer or poet's text.
ADDRESS: 12 rue Saussales.
http://www.pavillondeslettres.com/

TO GO SHOPPING/  ir de compras.

**If you are  a fashion victim, your shop to go to is "COLETTE" but if you are a trend hunter, your best place to visit is "MERCI".  This shop offers "vintage" clothes and furniture  even craft soaps (jabones artesanos), and a wide range of other articles.  Don't miss it! (no os la perdáis)
ADDRESS:  111 Boulevard Veaumarchais.
http://www.merci-merci.com/

**UNIQLO.  It's a real curious shop.  Here you can find the articles and clothes that the designer Jil Sander makes for the "Zara"'s  Japanese competitor.
ADDRESS:  17 rue Scribe.
http://www.uniqlo.com/

**GALERIES VALOIS.  Situtated into the Royal Palace gardens, it has become the coolest shop! You can find here a mix of trends.  The vintage style by Didier Ludot, the avant-garde by Rick Owens and the "savoir faire" by Corto Moltedo (marvellous shoes).
ADDRESS:  36 rue de Seine.
http://www.galerie-vallois.com/

TO EAT / comer.

In Paris you'll find a lot of places to eat.  They are famous for their wonderful "cuisine".  The following places are good, special and fashion.  Don't miss some of them!

**YAM'TCHA.  If you like the oriental food this is your restaurant. A very good quality! 
46 rue Sauval.

**LE CHATEAUBRIAND.  This restaurant is owned by Iñaki Azpitarte, a  35-year-old Spanish chef. His proposal is an excellent "cuisine" but with cheaper prices.  His restaurant is considered one of the best in the world. So, although prices are popular at the same time it may be expensive for a lot of people.
ADDRESS:  129-131 Av. Parmentier.

**PATTISSERIE DES RÊVES-PIERRE HERMÉ.
French people are well-known by their "pattisseries" (cake-shops).  The "macarons" and "éclair" are two famous French cakes that you can taste at this Pattisserie des Rêves.  Excellent quality!.
ADDRESS: 111 rue de Longchamp and 72 rue Bonaparte.

 (Information about some of these places from "Mujer hoy" magazine)

SHOPPING IN LONDON

Hi everybody, as we have a "long weekend" next week, here you are some shopping ideas and something else  if you decide to go to London.
Hola a todo el mundo, como tenemos un "puente" la semana que viene", aquí tenéis algunas ideas de compras y algo más si decidís ir a Londres.

LONDON
A visit to London at any weekend, it's always a good option.
The following places for shopping, having a rest and eating are some of my suggestions.
Una visita a Londres cualquier fin de semana, siempre es una buena opción.
Los siguientes sitios para comprar, descansar y comer son algunas de mis sugerencias

TO STAY OR HAVING A REST / para quedarse o descansar.

**Any B&B in London is perfect for you to stay.  They are cheaper than Hotels but comfortable and beautiful.
http://www.bedandbreakfastlondon.com/

**THE ZETTER TOWNHOUSE.  It's a real and authentic British house.  It has got 13 rooms and it is a lovely place.
But if you prefer a bigger place to stay, THE ZETTER HOTEL is your destination.  There you will find "The Bistrot Bruno Loubet" where you are going to eat well or simply have a typical English tea.
CONTACT INFO:  http://www.thezetter.com/
Address:  86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5RJ.

TO HAVE BREAKFAST, LUNCH, OR DINNER / desayunar, comer o cenar.
**If you are looking for a typical English place and food, you can go to SOHO and enter "THE SHAKESPEARE'S HEAD".  There you can have lunch, taste the typical fish and chips or some of the most famous English dishes. It's situated in Carnaby Street, and your tube station is Picadilly Circus.

**HARRODS' restaurant  is another option at the same time that you visit this famous store. It's more EXPENSIVE.  Your tube station is KNIGHSBRIDGE.

**ST. JOHN  is another option.  Typical British food.  1 Leicester Street, London.
http://www.stjohnhotellondon.com/

SHOPPING / de compras.
**Oxfod Street is one of the most famous streets in London for shopping.  The nearest tube station is MARBLE ARCH near Hyde Park.  There you will find a lot of shops and boutiques.

**COVENT GARDEN
It's an indoor market which has become a place not only to go shopping but to have a rest and see several  performances.  The tube station is Covent Garden.

**DOVER STREET MARKET
One of the best fashion selection in the world.  And near there the Paul Smith Antique Shop must be visited too.
17-18 Dover street, London
http://www.doverstreetmarket.com/

**LIBERTY.
More modern than Harrods but a big store too, Liberty is very interesting to go to.
Great Malborough Street, London.
http://www.liberty.co.uk/

**HARRODS.  It's a "must".  Tube station Knightsbridge.  Everybody has to go to Harrods and see its beautiful building outside and inside.  A bit expensive, surely that you will find something to buy.

*TUBE.  metro
*"A MUST":  algo que hay que hacer, ver o comprar.
*INDOOR:  cerrado, interior.
*B&B:  Cama y desayuno.  Parecido a nuestros hostales. Típico inglés.

INTERNET . A BEGINNER'S GUIDE. Internet. Guía para principiantes.

Hi everybody, at this very moment we're going to look at some of the most used Internet words .
Hola a todo el mundo, en este momento vamos a ver algunas de palabras más utilizadas en Internet.

Internet is considered nowadays by many people as the most important developement in communication technology since the telephone.  However, before looking at what the Net has to offer, we need to familiarise ourselves with  the Internet words and expressions.

**ADDRESS: dirección.
**BROWSER:  explorador.
**DOWNLOAD:  descarga, descargar.
**ICON: icono
**TO LOG ON:  conectarse.
**TO LOG OFF: desconectarse.
**MODEM: modem.
**NET: la Red.
**ON-LINE: estar conectado.
**OFF-LINE:  estar desconectado.
**SERVER: servidor.
**SITE: sitio en la red.
**WEBSITE:  página web.
**E-MAIL:  correo electrónico
**PC:  personal computer
**LAPTOP:  ordenador portátil

GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
One of the great attractions of the Net lies in the rapid two-way communication that it offers users.  E-mail has been especially embraced by big business, as it provides companies with a communications network that allows documents to be sent  all around the world.  Newsgroups have allowed people from the four corners of the globe to "chat" with each other as if they were at the same table in a bar.