Re: 小電器要自己帶還是去西班牙再買？ - 西班牙

※ 引述《personify ( )》之銘言：

: 我開口問他們說「Do you sell slippers?」

在巴塞隆納要買拖鞋那您就該知道打那兒去了XD

http://tinyurl.com/yxhcly

Sundays in Barcelona, if you're walking near the cathedral
just before noon, you'll hear the sound of instruments being
tuned. The music, which is coming from the square in front
of the 15th-century building, is that of the cobla, an 11-piece
band of wind instruments and double bass. People are hurrying
down the side streets, converging on the square, not for a
performance, but to participate in a dance that takes place
in plazas all over Catalonia, a fiercely independent region
in northeastern Spain. Some dancers arrive with a pair of
espadrilles slung over their shoulders, and quickly bend
down to change shoes before joining in.

They're dancing the sardana, a circle dance that represents
brotherhood, equality and liberty. The national dance of Catalonia,
it was outlawed for much of Franco's rule. Picasso used it as an
image in lithographs and ceramics to symbolize youth, peace, and
brotherhood. Though Catalans of all ages spontaneously join in the
dance no matter what they're wearing - high heels, running shoes,
topsiders or boots - the sardana is associated with one particular
shoe, the espadrille.

Called espardenya in Catalan, this is the traditional shoe for both
men and women, and each region in Catalonia has its variation on the
theme. In its generic version - a flat shoe with a coiled rope sole
and canvas top -the espadrille is worn all over Spain and much of
the Mediterranean. A good-looking, inexpensive shoe, it's casual
enough to wear on the beach, yet comfortable enough for city walking.

However, one store in Barcelona takes it quite a few steps further.

La Manual Alpargatera (the handmade shoe shop) has espardenyas from
different areas of Catalonia, plus a slew of imaginative imitations
of the basic rope-soled shoe, all made on the premises. The espadrille
as satin dancing slipper, as high-top sneaker or as canvas desert boot.
And at Carnival time, the espadrille as Roman sandal or whatever else
a reveler's costume requires. The best quality espadrilles are entirely
handmade, with hand-sewn soles. Less expensive versions may substitute
machine-sewn soles, but all the shoes are sewed together by hand at
the store. La Manual Alpargatera is just a short stroll from Cathedral
Square and the town hall at Placa San Jaume. This is the ciutat vella,
the city's old quarter, an area crowded with antiques stores, crafts
shops, and small bars and restaurants. Framed by hand-painted tiles
depicting Catalan artisans, the shop's windows display only a small
sample of the more than 100 types of espadrilles made in the region.
Inside, you can explore walls of cubbyholes stocked with espadrilles
in bright, crayon colors. Catalans come to the shop to order special
espardenyas for dancing the sardana, but whether you can dance a step
or not, the shoes look great on the street. Men with eclectic tastes
have shoes made up to match each of their suits. Stylish women opt
for the wedgies with long ribbons to tie around the ankle, while
teenagers snap up the sneaker version in natural canvas.

At the back of the shop, women sit at a worktable stitching the
shoes together with a heavy, white cotton thread to make a decorative
edge where the sole and the fabric join.

Joana Tasies, who owns the 44-year-old shop with her husband, Francisco,
says little has changed since she first began to sell shoes. A snapshot
taken in the 1940's shows the same table piled high with the plaited and
coiled rope soles, rolls of ribbon, and the narrow canvas fabric cut to
make the tops. To sew the ties to the shoes, they use a tapestry needle
threaded with lengths of cotton or satin ribbon. For some styles,
the ribbons are also used as a decorative element sewn across the
top of the shoe.

''The history of the espadrille in Spain goes back more than a thousand
years,'' Joana Tasies explained. ''Look at this poster. The photograph
shows an esparto grass sandal found in a cave at Murcielega near Granada.
It's said to be 4,000 years old, but the sole is basically the same as
an espadrille's made today.'' In Catalonia, each region has its typical
espardenya. The shape or the color or the way the ribbons are applied
define the style. ''Some of the Catalan styles we make here are 500
years old'' she added. For years, the Catalan-born artist Salvador Dali
paid an annual visit to the shop to order his espardenyas. He favored
the classic style called calle pinxo, with black cotton ribbons sewn
over a white canvas shoe to form a deep V-shape ($10.60). And he always
wore them with light summer suits and a Panama hat, she remembered.

Another Catalan shoe from Valls, near Tarragona, was a favorite of the
Italian film director Michelangelo Antonioni. This one is a clear
Mediterranean blue with ribbons sewn in an overlapping pattern to
cover the entire top of the shoe ($12.40).

Serious sardana dancers prefer an all-white style from Barcelona edged
at the opening with white cotton ribbon ($6.25). A variation from
Ampurdan in northern Catalonia uses black cotton ribbons to border
the white shoe ($10.25). These handsome styles are worn by men and
women and all have long ties to lace up the ankle. They're usually
made in an austere palette of colors - black, white, blue, sometimes
brown - but they can be made to order in any other colors.

Every step of making these traditional Catalan shoes is done by hand.
The plaited, coiled rope soles are sewn by Alfonso Rodriquez, a master
craftsman in his 70's. According to Mrs. Tasies, handmade soles were
once the standard; today they're a rarity. La Manual Alpargatera is
one of the last shops in Catalonia to feature entirely handmade
espardenyas. She said good hand-sewn soles should last far longer
than the machine-made as long as they don't get wet. (These are not
a good rain shoe; the rope sole soaks up water like a wick.) If you
prefer the generic espadrilles - flat, rope-sole, machine-made, plain
canvas top, no ties -they've got them in dozens of colors. People in
the countryside wear them in black, sometimes with the back folded
down to leave the heel bare. This is also the familiar beach shoe,
perfect for traveling because it doesn't weigh much and folds completely
flat ($4.35). Just as practical is the canvas desert boot style in brown
or natural ($11.45).

Women's styles include rope-soled wedgies in low or medium heights with
long ribbons to tie at the ankle. They come in plain colors as well as
candy cane stripes ($11.65). Fancier versions may be embroidered, or
have satin ribbons sewn over the canvas top ($14.60).

You can find espadrilles for toddlers and children, too, with the same
quality and workmanship in miniature. The basic shoe comes in every
color ($3.95), but the sneaker model also comes in pastel and white
stripes ($8.60). The entirely handmade Catalan styles, such as the
pinxo in white with black ties is $4.95, while a dainty pink shoe with
pink satin ribbons is $8.15. If you intend to buy shoes for children not
traveling with you, take along an outline drawing of the child's foot to
be sure of the size.

Elderly women come in to buy the shop's clever ''orthopedic'' espadrille.
Made up with either a flat or a low heel, it has a canvas top that laces
much like a sneaker, but is cut much more amply. Mrs. Tasies will
custom-cut the top, if need be, and says she enjoys puzzling out the
shape it should be to accommodate an individual foot. And the color
is not restricted to the inevitable black or brown of leather orthopedic
shoes. These are available in lollipop orange, turquoise and other racy
colors as well as in more sober hues.

If you're interested in traditional styles, Mrs. Tasies will pull out
still more examples from her informal archives, such as a special shoe
worn to work in the rice fields around Valencia. Entirely woven of hemp,
it features an open toe to shake out the water. ''Each of the Balearic
islands has its own style of espadrilles, too,'' she explained as she
brought out three graceful rope-sole sandals from Ibiza. The tops of
the sandals are tightly woven straw, rather than cotton, and the color
is pale ivory.

Any of the styles in the shop can be made to order in the fabric or ribbon
of your choice. If you wear a standard size, this will take an hour or a
morning at most. Spanish shoes are generally cut wide, and come in a
single width, so if your foot is narrower or wider than the standard,
the custom-made espadrille is an affordable option. They'll make a
special sole to fit your foot, tailor the top if necessary, and keep
your template on file for your next order. The cost is $16.15 to $23.65,
depending on how extensively they have to alter the basic shoe.
Count on three weeks to one month for a custom-made shoe, plus mailing
time (about six weeks by surface, a week by air).


http://www.lamanualalpargatera.com/



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另外
大家不要再討論彼此面對來自內地的中國商店老闆的使用語言情形與是非對錯了啊
這是社會語言學的問題 這兒是西班牙板

板上的大家有不同的政治立場或生長背景
加上大家各自擁有不同的語言程度跟能力
要怎麼去面對"中國" "台灣"等身份認同的問題
還是希望以理性的分享為原則 不要推文推出了火花 回文殺紅了雙眼啊

畢竟 大家都是吃蚵仔煎 魯肉飯 燙大陸妹長大的嘛 XD


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