#32 Another Observation - Flamenco

Hi Everyone I want to share what I have learned about Flamenco, you have to remember you are hearing this from a woman who loves dance. I wanted to see flamenco while I was in Spain that I only saw it once in person before I came here. I saw it three times while I was in Spain. The first time I went to a club in Seville and it was good, but even the locals said it wasn't the best. The best flamenco in Seville was at clubs that had shows that cost a lot of money. I met someone who told me the best flamenco they saw in Spain was in the gypsy quarter in Granada so I made it a priority to go there when I was in Granada. It was excellent and I saw the difference between the show in Seville and the one in Granada. Then I went to the Ballet Flamenco de Madrid's presentation of Carmen. I saw Carmen over 40 years ago at the Lincoln Center in NYC as an Opera. I went with a friend who was as uncouth as I and we left during the third act. We had enough of screaming French, which they thought was singing. But oh, when I saw Carmen this time. Flamenco was supposed to have come from the gypsies and the gypsies were supposed to have come from India. So the hand gestures look very Indian with the rotation of the wrists. But here's what Wikipedia has to say: Flamenco is a genre of Spanish music, song and dance from Andalusia, in southern Spain, that includes cante (singing), toque (guitar playing), baile (dance) and palmas (handclaps). First mentioned in literature in 1774, the genre grew out of Andalusian and Romani (another name for Gypsy) music and dance styles. In recent years flamenco has become popular all over the world and is taught in many countries: in Japan there are more academies than there are in Spain. (I like this fact! Just like Hula, the Japanese love dance, too.) On November 16, 2010 UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. I found this online if you would like to see Flamenco and then some of the things I tell you about you can actual see. Almost 2 million people have watched this video. Copy and paste this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxJMCQxb_Q First there is the ATTITUDE. I made that caps because it is an attitude. Notice the woman as she gets up to dance. And then it is not just the dancing that is making the clicks, like we are used to with tap dancing. The noise is also the other dancers and singers clapping their hands and the musicians also tap their instruments or tables to add to the clap sound. Other aspects to flamenco are the musicians, and the singers - you have to have one like this YouTube that sounds like he is pouring his heart out in a song. It can be a woman or a man that sings, I've seen both. And the dancer can be man or woman also. But they have to have THE ATTITUDE like they are angry or suffering. The dancers are also very suggestive. They rub their own bodies, and pull on their clothing, both women and men show skin with the woman lifting her dress and the man undoing his shirt, women also spread their legs, notice how this dancer was sitting when the video first starts with her legs apart, you should have seen the dancers in Carmen. If you ever get the chance to see Flamenco, don't miss it. It will just pull you in with the emotion and sensuality of it. Enjoy the YouTube I listed here. I've also added some more photos from Granada. They love the color red; notice the man has red shoes. And I saw castanets used only once and that was in Carmen for one dance. I think it must be like the implements we use in hula; not something used often. Also, the Spanish say "Ole" at the end when they watch Flamenco, like they do for bullfights. If it is a way of saying Well Done, I wonder are they saying Ole for the bull or the bullfighter? Love, Marie The photos are of two different female gypsy dancers who both wanted to show some skin, and the other two are of the male gypsy dancer who had his mojo going.

#31 Observations on my trip

Hi everyone Now I'm going to share some things I have seen and usually they are funny to me. First there are the toilets, a very essential need. I will preface this that I have seen worse, much worse in other countries, but I just don't understand why they do what they do here?! While I was still on the Camino I figured out a Star Rating that I used with some of the women I walked with. * One star was there was a Toilet Seat. For some reason some places have just the white enamel or stainless steel "throne" with no toilet seat. Are they afraid someone will steal the toilet seat or as someone suggested, maybe the toilet seats were already stolen?!!! I don't think so. *Two stars is when there was a toilet seat and toilet paper. I don't go anywhere without some toilet paper stashed in my pocket that usually there is no toilet paper. * Three stars is a toilet seat, toilet paper, and soap for washing your hands. I learned very quickly that the a US Department of Health would have gone crazy that there's never soap to wash your hands after going to the toilet. Remember the employees use the same toilets. That concept of cleanliness hasn't sunk into the minds of the Spaniards. * Four stars is toilet seat, toilet paper, soap for washing your hands, and some way of drying your hands, either paper towels or air dryer. * Five stars is all of the above plus some esthetic luxury like flowers, lounge area, machines to buy things (toothbrush was a big one). I know I count the 5 star toilets I've seen on one hand. So I come to the toilets and bathrooms I have had in my hotels. I have had a "throne" in the corner of my room with no walls or door to it. I thought of it as my prison cell, but it was a "private toilet", I didn't have to share it with anyone else. Right now in the room I am in, the WC is very literally a WC! The shower is probably not big enough for most people to even fit, next to it is this door that when you open it, there's the toilet but if you closed the door it would probably hit your knees. It's clean, though. Since a photo is worth a thousand words, I think I need to attach a photo. I hope it makes you laugh, or at least smile!

Enough about toilets, I'll pick another topic and write about that later. I'm starting to get hungry and it is breakfast time. Love, Marie

#30 Back in Madrid

Toledo was a great town to visit and it was a good three days. I stayed at a Hostel that turned out to not be my favorite, but when I told the manager that I wanted to check out, he got so upset I accepted his offer and stayed. Spanish men are very emotional, I need not say anymore. But I won't recommend the place to anyone and I showed a young German student (Sophia), my roommate, where the better hostel was so she doesn't book anyone at the one we were staying in. Sophia will be there in Toledo for 5 months and will be having people visit. She would have checked out too except she already paid for 10 days while she is looking for an apartment to rent. The two highlights of the Toledo trip were going to all the tourist sites, six places for 8 Euros if you buy a bracelet which I did. One place, the Jesuit Church I went twice because it had towers with a spectacular view. Also went to the Santa Cruz Museum that was for free and was one of the best museums I have ever visited. And the second highlight was the German girl Sophia is also a vegetarian so we went out to dinner and found a place that offered us several vegetarian entrées and she and I shared different choices. After the Camino and I still haven't learned that food is for nutrition, not an entertainment. I'll attach some photos now. And finally I have my travel arrangement made. August 28th I leave Madrid and go to Athens, Greece. September 4th I leave Athens and go to Istanbul, Turkey. September 14th I leave Istanbul and go to Kolkata, India, but it will take two days for me to arrive, on 9/16 at 3:00 a.m. I am traveling by the seat of my pants, no idea what I will be doing so far except for my first night in Greece, I have a reservation for a hostel. I also met a Turkish woman this morning in Toledo who lives in Istanbul and has given me her email address and phone number. I will be contacting her before I book my first hostel to make sure it is in a good location, although she seems to think it is as safe in Turkey as it is here in Spain. I asked her if I was dressed appropriately for Turkey and she said yes, of course not for the Mosque, but I had on shorts and a sleeveless blouse and I thought it was not acceptable for Turkey. Glad it is.

I've included a cute graffiti drawing I saw. They are definitely BIG on the Man of La Mancha here in Toledo. That's a photo I took of the city from the Parador Hotel on the other side of the river. Then Marie taken by a Japanese lady as I left the Parador Hotel. We were waiting for the bus together. And my favorite church, besides the Cathedral of Santiago, it's the Jesuit Church in Toledo that opens it's towers to tourists. I went back to it twice. That's Marie taking a photo of "QuasiMarie", not Quasimoto in Notre Dame, up in the bell tower. I have a few more days here in Madrid without anything to do, really, so I will probably catch up with adventures I've had or insights I've made. I've got my private room again at the same hotel I had before Toledo so I have access to the internet and lots of privacy. Talk to you all soon. Love, Marie

#29 Carmen last night

Good Morning everyone I'm taking the train to Toledo this morning but I had to tell you what a thrill it was seeing the Ballet Flamenco de Madrid last night at the Teatro Nuevo Apolo - that's right, the Apollo Theater. The fact that I was able to buy a ticket just hours before the performance was amazing. The theater itself was worth seeing, this very old, regal building, I've attached a photo of the stage. Sorry I was not able to take any photos of the performance. The director was an older woman and she was part of the performance and could she dance! She certainly still has all the moves. Even as I was sitting there, I couldn't believe that I was watching this performance for less than $20.00. It was only 15 Euros. If I was able to get a ticket for something like that in the US it would have cost $90-100. The other photo you will have to turn your head or hold your computer sideways. Good exercise for your neck. I just had to take a photo of the outside billboard. I'll keep in touch but remember I'm in Toledo for the next three days. Love, Marie

#28 My last days in Spain

Hi again, I'm staying in a hostel in a single room which is very nice. I can turn on the computer whenever I want and type away so I thought I better bring you all up-to-date. I just bought a ticket for tonight to see Carmen, performed by the Ballet Flamenco de Madrid. I am really excited. It's at 8:30 and it is right down the street from my hostel so at 10:30 I can just walk home, no problem. And there won't be a problem with the language, I know the story and I'm just going for the dancing anyway. I'll let you know how it is. This will be the third time I'm seeing Flamenco since I arrived in Spain. I booked my flight out of Athens this afternoon. So now I am flying out of Madrid to Athens on 8/28, Tuesday, and then on to Istanbul on September 4th, giving myself exactly one week to enjoy Greece. I am going to book my flight to India for around the middle of September, giving myself at least 21 days advance purchase as it costs more if it's less than 21 days. $75 penalty to be exact - Ouch! I bought a train ticket this afternoon for Toledo and have already booked a hostel for 3 days there. It should be nice. I am going to share the room with 3 other women (girls?) but I return to Madrid, this same hostel(and a private room)for my last two days in Spain. I am going to just take my backpack with me when I go to Toledo and leave my suitcase here to make it easy on myself. This morning on my way to the train station I stumbled on the "little India" area of Madrid. Restaurant after restaurant of Indian food so I am going to have a really good vegetarian dinner tonight before the show. I'm going to sign off now so I can pack and be ready for my trip tomorrow. I am still amazed at the ability I have to do what I want, when I want, with no responsibility. I also amaze myself at how I determine what to spend my money on! I will pinch pennies on some things, and then throw money away on other things. When I went to Barcelona I left my backpack with lots of things I didn't need for a week in a locked storage box at the bus station that cost 3.50 Euros a day. By time I got back that cost $35.00. But it was worth not having to carry all that stuff with me to Barcelona and back. The suitcase I am leaving here at the hostel is only going to cost me 2 Euros a day, a lot less for a much bigger piece of luggage. The problem is there are stairs sometimes and even with the wheels on my suitcase, it is heavy and difficult for me getting it up and down stairs. I want you to know I think of you all a lot. What a wonderful life I have lead to have made friends with all of you (and some of you are just stuck with me as a relative!). Love, Marie

#27 continued with more photos, I hope

These are of Barcelona, Monserrat and the Barcelona Ashram. Barcelona is very old, also very unique. Monserrat is incredible, way up in the mountains, getting there was a treat. The ashram has 17,000 olive trees with a view of Monserrat. My photos are of the Sagrada Familia Basilica, construction for over 100 years and counting, won't be done until maybe 2030. The same designer Gaudi did the building and this dude died in 1926. He was definitely ahead of his time. And then during my night tour I captured the homeless in front of Lacoste; they had an upper class designer store front to sleep in. And here's some street scenes of Barcelona. Very pretty, I know the fountain in Las Vegas at Bellagio and this fountain was impressive. One photo of the inside of the Basilica. And check out how they carved the flowers in the marble so it looks like it is separate from the background. But it's all one piece. Love, Marie

# 27 I'm back in Madrid

Hello again. Sorry but I fell off the planet for a few days. I was staying at the Spanish Ashram of the Indian Group I know and it was an excellent experience. Like the Camino, it was very disciplined, wake up at 6:00 a.m. for prayer, breakfast at 8:30, volunteer work on the Olive Grove Farm until lunch, then lunch at 1:30, rest until 3:30, then a second session of volunteer work until prayer and meditation at 6:30 or 7:00. Dinner was at 8:30. The days went flying by. Now I just got back here from Barcelona. I was there since Friday, 8/10. I enjoyed it - a walking tour (very good), a night bus tour (not worth the money I paid), got taken by making an "online reservation" for Sagrada Familia (it turned out to not be a reservation with the actual cathedral using the headset for the tour but through a travel agency and it cost 29 Euros instead of 17 and I had a live tour guide with a thick Spanish accent giving us the tour) but I did love seeing the basilica, and I also went to Monserrat - spectacular. It was the logistics that pushed me over the edge. I bought a return ticket Madrid to Barcelona by bus with an "open return". When I went to set my return date, they would not do it by telephone nor could I do it online. So I had to make it in person. Yesterday - Sunday - I checked online and it looked like there were 13 seats left spread over 3 bus trips, 1/2 hour apart - 11:00. 11:30 and 11:59 p.m. But when I get there they tell me there are no seats available until 5:00 p.m. today. I found out that my passport with the Indian visa was ready for pickup at the Indian Embassy and I needed to get back to Madrid. So I decide to take a taxi from the Bus Station to the Train Station (the driver wanted 5 Euros more than it should have been) and after I get there I find the Information Booth is closed, I cannot buy a ticket until the morning...AND they close the station so I get kicked out on the street. I decide I'll just play "street person" for a night and go to a bench and sit there next to a woman also with two small suitcases. I am so blessed that this woman became like a sister to me. She is Slovenian, works for the European Union in Alicante and was on her way back home from a vacation in Slovenia. We talked all night and had a great time. One of those suitcases was her dog, that's why she was stuck in Barcelona. She tried to find a hotel for the night and the only one who had a room was 120 Euros and she decided it was not worth in for 6 hours. She has been living in Alicante for 3 years now and spoke Spanish. This morning the saga continued with the 6:00 a.m. train sold out, the 7:00 a.m. had 3 seats and I could not buy the stupid ticket with my credit card and I tried all my cards. Meanwhile the seats are disappearing and when it got down to only one left, my "sister" offered to buy mine with her card and I paid her cash. Thank God, I got the last seat and I made it to Madrid this morning. The funny thing is there were several vacant seats on the train. It's Spain. They are just messed up! I know there were seats on those buses but their systems don't work. My "sister" agreed, that she has 6 years left to work here in Spain and she said she has learned not to fight with the taxi driver who cheats her, or get angry when there is so much noise she can't sleep. She says you have to accept it. So now I have to wait until August 27th when I fly from Madrid to Athens, Greece. I got that ticket already. I have to book a flight out of Greece or I think I may have a problem when I arrive there, it will be over 90 days since I arrived in Europe but if I can show I just want to see Greece for a few days, I should have no problem. Let me attach a few photos and I'll keep you posted on my next flight plans when I make them. Love, Marie

#26 Barcelona

Hello everyone, if there is anyone reading this? I arrived in Barcelona around 5 p.m. My reservation at the hostel got messed up by the Hostel and they had to move me to another hostel of theirs, so right now I'm in a room with 2 young girls (18 yrs old), 1 Canadian and 1 British. They will be here for a week so at least I won't be getting different roommates everyday like I was in Madrid. There have been a lot of robberies here in Barcelona - mostly pickpockets and grab & runs - so I have to be very diligent watching my stuff. Barcelona is another big city with a metro. I took the Metro from the bus station to the hostel and then the hostel gave me money to pay for a taxi from the first Hostel to the new one they sent me to. Nice of them to do that for me. I met a very nice girl at the first hostel and we made arrangements to meet for a walking tour tomorrow morning. She is Australian and is going to stay in Seville for a few months to learn Spanish. She just came from Croatia and loved it and is willing to give me info on what I should do if I go there to visit, which I think I want to do. It's still monsoons in India so I know I need to delay going there so if I go to Croatia and Turkey, I think the timing will work out just fine. I'll write again tomorrow and tell you how the sightseeing goes here. Love, Marie

#25 In Madrid

Hello Everyone I've been in Madrid for a few days now and really thought I had entered a post so I was surprised to see the last one was Granada. Madrid is a busy city. My hostel is ok, excellent location but I've stayed at better places. It is also very hot. You have to like "night life" to enjoy Madrid and I'm not big at partying at night. I've gone to Segovia, did a walking tour one day, went to one museum and saw works by Picasso and Dali. It is just so hot and I'm not really into modern art. So tomorrow I leave for Barcelona. I have to return to Madrid around August 22nd because I have to pick up my passport from the Indian Embassy. I could kick myself that I didn't get my Indian Visa when I was home in the US. Now it is taking twice the time, costing almost twice the money, and I have to walk around in Spain without a passport for two weeks. Not the smartest thing I have ever done so learn from my mistake. I guess I was concentrating so much on the Camino, that I forgot the rest of my trip. I am also going to have to get a visa for Australia and I am giving it some good thought on when and where I should do that? So this is me in Segovia

And this is what some people think was the inspiration to Walt Disney for his castle. I don't think so.

And this last one is the Roman Aqueduct in Segovia. I'll try to be more up-to-date for you. Here I come Barcelona. Love, Marie

#24 I'm in Granada, Spain

Hi Everyone Where's Wally? Now I'm having fun, moving right along. After Portugal I went to Seville, then Cadiz, on to Cordoba, and now I'm in Granada. Saw the Alhambra and went to see Flamenco in a gypsy cave. I tried to turn this photo - and the other one of the Cathedral in Santiago - around and even though I can do it in Picasso, they don't stay that way when I download it to this Blog. So you will just have to turn your head or your computer to see it right! I have lots of photos, but had to decide which ones I wanted to post. The gypsies have a monopoly on the flamenco shows here. They are spectacular! And they want to keep the tourists coming to their area so they have their own police force and make sure we are safe. If something was to happen they would lose all their business. My computer is saying I have to save so I am going to do it and get back to you later. Leaving for Madrid tomorrow. I'll keep in touch...