Syns där!

Die Rundreise beginnt bei der Autovermietung in Málaga und führt am ersten Tag in das Weindorf Cómpeta, wo sich die Urlauber bei regionalen Spezialitäten auf die andalusische Lebensart einstimmen können. In den nächsten beiden Tagen geht es per Mietwagen in die entlegene Bergwelt am Fuße der Sierra Nevada. Die Tälern der Alpujarras bestechen durch ursprüngliche Landschaften kombiniert mit jahrhundertealtem maurischen Erbe. Kulturinteressierte kommen am nächsten Tag auf Ihre Kosten: Mit der maurischen Festung Alhambra und dem historischen Albaicín-Viertel erwartet Granada ihre Besucher mit gleich zwei Weltkulturerben der UNESCO. Vorbei an Olivenhainen und den blauen Bergen des Naturparks Sierra Mágina, führt die Reise am fünften Tag in die Renaissance-Städte Baeza und Ubeda. Weiter geht es nach Cordoba, wo der Besuch der gewaltigen Kathedrale Mezquita, als drittgrößte ehemalige Moschee der Welt, ein "Muss" ist. Und ob beim Besuch der Stierkampfarena oder des maurischen Palastes Alcázar - in Sevilla erleben die Besucher am nächsten Tag Spaniens "feurigen Süden" hautnah. Das traditionelle Leben lernen die Urlauber im Hinterland von Ronda mit seinen weissen Dörfern kennen. Entlang der Costa del Sol klingt die einwöchige Mietwagen Rundreise schließlich mit der Fahrt von Ronda nach Málaga aus.

Brunnen: TUI AG

Aquí dejamos un post que nos ha mandado nuestro amigo Mario de su escapada a Toledo. Gracias Mario!!

Toledo

Toledo es una ciudad preciosa, que se encuentra rodeada por el río Tajo por tres de sus flancos.

En el flanco que no estaba protegido por el río, edificaron una impresionante muralla que encierra un intrincado laberinto de calles, unas cuesta arriba y otras cuesta abajo, sin un rincón que no conserve el ambiente medieval.

Por la ladera del cauce en la que no se encuentra la ciudad, discurre una carretera en la que se encuentran distribuidos diversos miradores dónde se puede detener el vehículo por un momento para apreciar Toledo a vista de postal.

En Toledo, como punto histórico clave, conserva un Alcazar que ha sido maltratado por el paso de los años, pero que actualmente se encuentra totalmente restaurado y resplandece en pleno casco antiguo. Frente a este símbolo de la guerra, al otro lado del río Tajo, se encuentra la academia de infantería, cuyo edificio también causa admiración.

Otro edificio impresaionante, entrando por la última puerta de la muralla, y un poco antes de llegar a la casa-museo El Greco, es el Claustro Monasterio San Juan de los Reyes.

La catedral es preciosa, está en la plaza del Ayuntamiento, bien adentrada en el casco antiguo, al que normalmente se accede por la «Puerta de Bisagra», así que después de tanto caminar, el visitante puede agradecer que ante la «Puerta del Reloj», que actualmente es su entrada para turistas, hayan puesto un montón de botijos y unos grifos para llenarlos. La entrada cuesta 7 euros.

Se puede coger un tren turístico (parte de la plaza Zocodover) que te llevará por los edificios y vistas mencionadas anteriormente, así como por el castillo de San Servando dónde estuvo el mismísimo Cid, al razonable precio de 4.50 euros, y también se pueden contratar visitas nocturnas, entre 12 y 18 euros, que incluye el cuento de leyendas propias de Toledo ciudad.

Un producto típico de Toledo, a parte de las espadas, son los mazapanes, principalmente preparados por las monjas en sus conventos. Espadas he visto muchas, y muy bonitas, desde 50 euros, pero como dice mi madre «no debo comprarme algo solo porque me gusta».

Wikipedia states that transsexuality is most prevalent in Thailand than in any other country in the world - a statement that not only confirms my past experiences there, but also forces me to clarify my own understanding of transsexuality in Thailand. Because I'll admit, I'm never really prepared when someone responds to my "I'm from Thailand" factoid with, "Did you know that Thailand is known for its quality, lower-cost sex reassignment surgery?" Um..yes I did, thanks. I mean, I've come to expect the usual reaction - "I LOVE Thai food, omgz aslkgja;wlkrjga!" - so my discomfort probably comes from lack of information on the topic.

The Thai word, "kathoey" ("ladyboy" in English), can refer to either a transgender male who identifies as a female (who may or may not have gotten sex-change surgery), or an effeminate gay male. Growing up, I've heard and used the word countless times. From my experience, the term isn't used in an insulting or derogatory manner so much as it announces a sighting or a giggly revelation that the woman walking by is/was biologically a man. Rather, Thai transsexuals are something of a spectacle - neither completely excluded from the community nor completely accepted.

It makes sense, then, that Thailand is known for its transgender cabarets in Pattaya (a popular beach/tourist city). Actually, my mom's friend's father owns one of the two most famous cabaret shows - Alcazar - which bills itself as "The 8th Wonder of the World." Right - spectacle. In the two times I've seen Alcazar, the performers (all transsexual males, many of whom have had genital reassignment surgery) have all stunned me with their beauty and femininity. A literal I-can't-believe-my-eyes kind of moment.

Sometimes I want to object that these shows unfairly employ the kathoeys as freaks in a freak show. But after considering the role of transsexual individuals in Thai culture, the fact remains that these cabarets help propel kathoeys onto the national and international scene. They've become a part of the Thai image, which helps increase visibility and tolerance of transsexuality. Several individuals have used the cabarets as launching pads for greater fame as transgender rights campaigners, singers, boxers, and beauty pageant winners. So no, I don't consider transsexuality in Thailand to be a freak show - instead, it seems to be about furthering acceptance; by assuming their expected roles as cabaret performers, they can begin to reshape these identities for themselves.

PROGRAMA:

VIERNES 27 DE JUNIO
19.00h. INAUGURACIÓN OFICIAL, con actuación a cargo de Eliseo Parra (Castilla y León)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

SÁBADO 28 DE JUNIO

19.00h. Nacho Saavedra (Madrid)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

20.30h. Oeste (Castilla y León)
Lugar: Pza. de San Martín

DOMINGO 29 DE JUNIO
19.00h. Juan Hedo (Castilla y León)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga  

 22.00h. Son de Seu (Galicia)
Lugar: Plaza del Azoguejo

LUNES 30 DE JUNIO
19.00h. Folkidelia (Castilla - La Mancha)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga 

MARTES 1 DE JULIO
19.00h. Bruel (Cataluña)
La Alhóndiga

MIÉRCOLES 2 DE JULIO
19.00h. Javi de Manuel (Andalucía)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

22.30h. Los Talaos (Madrid), Hexacorde (Madrid) y Vanessa Muela (Castilla y León) 
Lugar: Los Zuloagas 

JUEVES 3 DE JULIO
19.00h. Carlos Montero (Argentina)
Lugar. La Alhóndiga

22.30h. La Órdiga (Castilla y León) y Let the Children Play (Castilla y León)
Lugar: Los Zuloagas 

VIERNES 4 DE JULIO
19.00h. O Carolan (Aragón)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

22.30h. Margarida Guerreiro (Portugal) y Tendachent (Italia)
Lugar: Los Zuloagas

SÁBADO 5 DE JULIO
19.00h. José Antonio Alonso (Castilla - La Mancha)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

20.30h. Presentación de "La mujer a la luz del folklore" (Ed. Diputación de Albacete)
Lugar: La Alhóndiga

20.30h. FESTIVAL JOVEN DE LA ESTEVA - Escola Provincial de Danza de Ourense y Grupo de Danzas "La Esteva"
Lugar: Plaza del Azoguejo

22.30.: Juan Mari Beltrán (País Vasco) y Los Sabandeños (Canarias)
Lugar: Los Zuloagas

SÁBADO 5 Y DOMINGO 6 DE JULIO10.30h. TALLER DE DANZAS DEL MUNDO
Lugar: Casa de Andrés Laguna
10.30h. TALLER DE RESPIRACIÓN CIRCULAR
Lugar: Iglesia de San Nicolás
11.30h. TALLER INFANTIL DE CONSTRUCCIÓN DE INSTRUMENTOS
Lugar: Plaza de San Martín

12.00h. PASACALLES por el Centro Histórico con participación de los siguientes grupos:

• Tierra de Pinares (Castilla y León)
• Abraira (Castilla y León) 
• El Auxar (Comunidad Valenciana) 
• Ronda de El Bonillo (Castilla - La Mancha)
• Ronda de Villanueva de la Vera (Extremadura)
• Clamores (Castilla y León) 

PRECIOS / VENTA DE ENTRADAS
- La Alhóndiga (desde el 28 de Junio): 2 €
- Los Zuloagas (a partir de las 21.00h. los días de concierto): 10 €

FERIA DISCOGRÁFICA:Folk Segovia volverá a contar con una feria discográfica dirigida a los aficionados y a todos aquellos que quieran iniciarse en el mundo de la música folk. Varias compañías ofrecerán su catálogo durante los días que dure la feria para facilitar a los coleccionistas el adquirir las piezas que aún les faltan en su colección.
Una retrospectiva del fotógrafo Paco Manzano recuerda los momentos más destacados de Folk Segovia. La exposición fotográfica de Paco Manzano "24 ediciones de Folk Segovia" se podrá ver en La Alhóndiga, entre los días 27 de junio y 6 de julio, de 12 a 14 horas y de 16 a 21 horas.

Editorial

Pues sí, ya cumplimos el cuarto de siglo. ¿Y que hemos hecho en estos años?. Muy fácil:

Presentar la música de raíz en todas sus manifestaciones, desde lo llamado puro a la fusión más actual; dar cancha a las nuevas formaciones españolas; ofrecer muestras de otras culturas, de otros países; disfrutar de los artistas más consagrados; conferencias; exposiciones; talleres;feria de discos, .... Y hemos usado los recintos más hermosos: Plaza del Azoguejo, Plaza de San Martín, Plaza Mayor, Plaza de San Esteban, Calle Real, Alhóndiga, Torreón de Lozoya, San Juan de los Caballeros (iglesia y jardín), Casa de Abraham Senior, Salón de actos de Cajasegovia, Palacio de Quintanar... Y hemos tenido momentos maravillosos: la lluvia con Carlos do Carmo; la majestuosidad con Hevia y la Bandona de Villaviciosa; la complicidad de Calicanto y Filipa Pais; la avalancha de público con Gwendal; la pasión segoviana hacia Nuevo Mester; el señorío con Mª del Mar Bonet; la sorpresa con Free Folk; la emoción con La Vieja Trova Santiaguera; la pureza de Ségueme a Capella; el nacimiento de Celtas Cortos; la anticipación de Kepa Junkera; el señorío de Carlos Montero; el desgarro de El Cigala; el viento con Emilio Cao; la nostalgia con los Pioneros (Vino Tinto, Carcoma, Hadit, Maíz y Laurel); la alegría de Gertrudis; el gancho de El Bicho; el hermanamiento con Los Sabandeños; la generosidad de la Ronda Segoviana; la presencia imponente de los maestros dulzaineros Silverio, Facundo, El Obispo, Florencio, Antonio, Talaos, ...; lo exótico de Finka Pé o Pohjantati; la novedad de La Musgaña; la sabiduría de Manuel Luna; el consejo de Ismael; la prudencia de Quique Valiño; el apoyo de Martinotti; las retrasmisiones de Radio3; las críticas de El Ruso; la presencia de tantos músicos anónimos y espontáneos y de tantos entusiastas de la música de raíz y la cultura tradicional. Muchas vicisitudes, muchas alegrías, algunas penas, sol, lluvia, entusiasmo, y... mucha gente en nuestra ciudad y en nuestro corazón.

Y es el momento de los reconocimientos y agradecimientos: en primer lugar a los responsables de todas las instituciones de ámbito local, provincial y autonómico y su disposición inmediata para apoyar el festival en sus inicios, apoyo que, básicamente, se ha mantenido hasta la fecha. También a RNE-R3 que retransmitió en directo para la UER (Unión Europea de Radiodifusión) las tres primeras ediciones, y que después ha seguido dándonos cobertura. A la Fundación Don Juan de Borbón y sus "almas" Teresa, Eva y Paco, que nos ayudan a llegar a buen puerto. A todos los responsables de instituciones segovianas, públicas y privadas, que nos han cedido instalaciones, sufragado gastos, reducido costes. Y, especialmente, a otras instituciones:

Injuve, A.I.E., S.G.A.E., Diputación de Albacete, Diputación de Guadalajara, Diputación de Salamanca, Gobierno de Cantabria, Gobierno de Canarias, Gobierno de La Rioja, Gobierno de Cataluña, Gobierno de Baleares, Gobierno de Azores, Gobierno de Méjico, Unión Europea, ... que nos ayudan generosamente desde hace muchos años. Por todo ello vamos a seguir trabajando con el máximo entusiasmo para conseguir mantener el espíritu del festival y QUE SEGOVIA SEA Y SIGA SIENDO UNA FIESTA FOLK.

Luis Martín Díez

Más información
Telf: 616 683 752 - 629 455 552

Ver web oficial

Ver programa en PDF

A weekend city break in Seville is a great idea. Seville is home to Flamenco, bullfighting, Carmen the Opera, the Alcazar, and my favourite the Tapas. Tiny bars packed to crushing point with people spilling out onto the streets. Instead of a waiter taking an order, you tell the barman and he/she chalks it on the bar where you are sat.  If you don't like a bar move on, if it shuts move on, there are always other bars just round the corner.

We flew direct to seville airport (thankyou budget airline)  and then a quick cab to stay at San Andres Apartment which is in the centre of the old part of Seville but tucked away which made a great oasis from the hussle and bustle.

One of the things we always like when on a city break is a place to go and chill in the sunshine. This apartment has two terraces, a roof top hot tub, as well as a lovely shady day bed area we were in heaven.

In the evening wandering around eating tapas seems to be the best thing to do, it suits the temperature, you are on holiday so go to the places with the best ambiance. The apartment has a great list of all the best tapas bars but remember it is a weekend break not a treasure hunt! I have made us walk miles from one end of the city to the other just because they serve better meatballs only to find them shut.

In the evening, once the tourists have gone home, head to Santa Cruz, with its pretty old streets and hidden bars. One of my favourites claims to be the oldest bar in seville (has a plaque outside) and is no bigger than a shop window it sells vino de naranja which is dark brown, sweet and tastes of oranges. Served in shot glasses, staring up at the cathedral sipping orange wine is always a favourite for us.

Top Tips - take a horse and cart around the city it is a lovely way to travel a big distance without getting too hot! Go to the Cathedral and of course the Alcazar.

Cost - Well I think we managed to get the flights for about £70 each (check the link on the right for latest deals) and the apartment was 95 euros per night (min 3 night stay) so roughly about £340 for two (or £170 each for three nights of bliss in Seville)

[gallery]

Best time to go - April, May, September, October, November

Segovia és una de les més bellas ciutats d'Espanya. A més, te nombrossísims monuments, inacabables monuments, tots ells de primera categoria: l'aqueducte, l'Alcázar, (a la foto). la catedral, el monestir del Parral, l'ermita de la verge. I fora, a pocs kms. llocs tan fantàstics com els palaus de la Granja i de Riofrio, els pobles medievals de Sepúlveda o Turégano, las hoces del Duratón. Segovia mereix una visita completa, la ciutat i la província. Tornareu a casa amb ganes de venir-hi de nou, paraula d'escout!  http://www.segoviaturismo.es/  L'hotel "Los Arcos" és el millor de la ciutat: http://www.hotellosarcos.com/

Segovia es una de las más bellas ciudades de España. Además, tiene mogollón de monumentos, inacabables monumentos, todos ellos de primera categoría: aqueducto, Alcázar, (a la foto). la catedral, el monasterio del Parral, la ermita de la virgen. Y fuera de la ciudad, a pocos kms, lugares tan fantásticos como los palacios de la Granja y de Riofrio, los pueblos medievales de Sepúlveda o Turégano o las hoces del Duratón. Segovia merece una visita completa, la ciudad y la provincia. Volveréis a casa con ganas de venir de nuevo, palabra de escout! http://www.segoviaturismo.es/  El hotel "Los Arcos" es el mejor de la ciudad: http://www.hotellosarcos.com 

Assiah es el primero de una lista de personas que aprecio en lo fotográfico a las que les quiero dedicar una entrada en mi blog.

Conozco a Assiah desde hace once años, han pasado los años y ha sido una de mis amistades más duraderas quitando algún que otro compañero de colegio con los que todavía tengo contacto.

Hace un par de años pasé por su piso en La Laguna (Tenerife) y me enseñó unas fotos en su portátil que dicho sea de paso me impresionaron, por aquél entonces me importaba tres rábanos (para que os voy a mentir hasta hace cosa de un año cuando me picó mi amigo Sergio pasaba de la fotografía).

Os dejo una selección de su cuenta de Flickr:

- 4 non blondes, "What's up", que m'encanta i la trobo una cançó espatarrant. I és que és d'aquestes que m'hi emociono!!!! Buf: and I say hey-ye-ye-ye, uats gouin gon. Endai crai, endai zen got enai crai!

A part que la lletra la trobo profunda i maca i la veu de la cantant és híper expressiva.

- A-Ha, "Take on me". I jo fent el solitari i cantant: teeeeeei-cooooon-miiiiiii, teeeeic-miiiiiiiii-oooooooon, aalbiiiii goooooon, tarararúúúúú

- I el moment orgàsmic va ser amb ABBA, "The winner takes it all": Súper trista, la cançó, però el momentazo ABBA no me'l treu ningú!

- I quan semblava que ja no podies demanar res més, vénen uns altres suecs, Alcazar, i em canten "Crying at the discotheque". Més recent, de fa potser 5 anys i no tan bona com What's up o The winner..., però genial igualment. Jo estava: jolín, hauré de posar RAC105 més sovint!!!!!

El nuevo single de Alcazar titulado "We Keep On Rokin'" es un tema muy similar a lo que habia hecho el grupo en sus incios y recupera la esencia del glamour y de las lentejuelas de este sofisticado grupo sueco que se hizo de oro con su single "Crying At The Discoteque".

El nuevo álbum saldra muy pronto, así que un vez más sólo nos queda esperar.

Más iformación : www.alcazarwold.com

Seville – Cordoba – Cadiz

(April 30 to May 5)

Words could not even begin to describe this past weekend, but I will try my very best.

Wednesday afternoon was spent in great anticipation, some packing, and lots of nerves. My bus left Estación Sur at 11:00 p.m., Kim’s at midnight, and Caroline’s at 1:00 a.m. I probably could have accomplished quite a bit Wednesday afternoon but I was too excited. Oh and the nerves… we had bus tickets to and from Seville, high hopes, great backpacks… but that was it.

I arrived in Seville at 5:35 Thursday morning, and then just as we had left we arrived. Kim came next around 6:00 and Caroline showed up by 7:30. We felt gross, tired, and a little hungry. So we thought we might attempt a search for a hostel. Difficult. It was a holiday weekend (we did know that we might encounter this problem before we left, but where is the fun in that?). One very “nice” place had vacancies. Okay, whom am I kidding, there was a reason it was the only place with vacancies, but at least we had a back up plan. After a half hour of searching and a detour to sneak into the Cathedral, we decided we might try calling a few places in my wonderful Let’s Go book. Success. It was almost too easy, and it was located next to the most delicious bakery. So room and breakfast were taken care of, as well as a quick call to a hostel in Cordoba to make reservations for the following night. Amazing. We were rather impressed with ourselves. We’d gone from only a bus ticket at 7:30 to hostels in Seville and Cordoba by 9:00 a.m.! I called my friend Erin who was studying in Seville, so after coffee and croissants we decided to meet at the Alcazar.

The Real Alcazar de Sevilla was built in the 1600s by the Moors. The Arab influence in all of Andalucia was striking. Anyway the palace had beautiful arches, patios, and gardens. The gardens were breathtaking. Fountains, palm trees, ponds, more arches, courtyards, roses, more flowers, ducks, beautiful.

We met up with Erin and her roommate and went to the Cathedral next. It is the third largest in the world and the biggest gothic structure ever constructed. There are 44 chapels, a patio of orange trees, a thorn from the crown of Jesus, and supposedly the remains of Christopher Columbus. We also climbed to the top of La Giralda minaret which was built in 1198. The view from the top was breathtaking. There is a law I believe, that doesn’t allow any building to be more then four stories so that it isn’t taller then La Giralda.

Did a little wandering through the streets after our touring. We learned about Seville’s colors, which we also happened to be wearing that day: Red for the bulls blood (bullfighting is very big) which Caroline was wearing, Yellow for the dirt/sand or maybe clay (Kim), and White for España (me)! We bought our bus tickets for Cordoba, saw the Plaza de España and then stopped for a long lunch near the Cathedral. It was mid afternoon when we finished and realized there was nothing left for us to see of major importance. Walking by a tapas bar we noticed it was overly crowded so we thought we’d stop by for a drink and hopefully meet some people so we could practice our wonderful Spanish. Kim aksed for “tres cervezas” which resulted in a song and dance from a group of people in the bar and us spending the rest of the evening hanging out with a Spanish Rugby team. Truly entertaining. This trip was turning out very well. The party eventually left the bar and moved down by the river and then we eventually said our goodbyes (it was almost midnight...) and met Erin to see a Flamenco performance. Sleep.

Friday morning we had breakfast and boarded the bus to Cordoba. Another beautiful city. Oh and did I mention the weather was gorgeous? Sunshine and 80 degrees at least everyday. Our hostel was adorable. It was a family's home and very quaint. We had a balcony that overlooked the street. All of the streets in the old neighborhood were skinny and winding. Lunch and then the Mezquita.

La Mezquita was built in AD 783 on the site of an old Visigoth basilica. It has more then 850 columns and at the time it was the third-largest mosque in the Islamic world after Mecca and Medina. However in 1371 following the reconquista the first chapel was built in the mosque beginning its transition into a place of Christian worship. In the 1500s a cathedral was constructed in the center of La Mezquita. It looks horribly wrong. All of these Arab arches in red and white and then Christian crucifixes and chapels stuck amid the numerous columns. So very wrong, almost frightening, but also very cool. The original mosque was added onto multiple times over the course of two centuries with the same style repeated. I thought it was interesting because with the last addition there was a lack of funds. Instead of using actual red and white stones to form the arches, they simply painted the stone red to make it match the rest and save time and money.

We also visited an old Jewish synagogue, one of only three left in Spain and the ancient Arab baths. That evening we had teas and juices sitting on cushions in a recreated 12^th century tea house and then we left the walls of the old city in search of food. We ended up stumbling upon a small grocery store where they made us bocadillas (sandwiches) for less then a euro! Fruit, cookies, wine and pop (to make Calimocha) completed our picnic and we crossed the street to a park to eat and watch the sunset. Delicious. We also made friends with a dog whom we named Rodrigo. He was basically just using us for our food but we thought he was cute and he would sit and lay when we gave him the commands in Spanish! That night we slept with the doors to the balcony open. The weather was still nice…

Saturday morning we took a bus from Cordoba to Cadiz. It was time for the Beach. We arrived in Cadiz by 2:00 in the afternoon. Perfect sun-time. The water was blue, the sky was blue, we didn’t have a place to stay so we went straight to the beach with our backpacks and everything. We kind of assumed that since everything had worked out perfect so far it could work out once more. After about an hour and half of lying in the sun we were realized we were hungry and really hadn’t eaten at all that day. Plus we were hot. Cheap Chinese food hit the spot. And then disappointed that we could see no visible tan we thought we might find a place to sleep that night since we were tired of carrying around our massive bags. After a half hour walk to the old city we were ready to begin our hunt. We walked into the center of a plaza and a middle aged man stopped us and asked if we needed a hostel. Well “yes!” of course, that was easy. Although it might be a little shady we were thinking… but we said we’d go look at it. So he grabbed his bike (the non-motorcycle kind, don’t freak out mom!) and we followed him to his apartment on Feduchy street number 15. The whole way there he told us about the room, bathroom, and who else was staying in his home at the moment. This was our first experience with an “illegal” hostel, so we listened intently. It turned out to be a third floor apartment, slightly cluttered, but extremely clean. It was cheap, there was a lock on the door, and there were three of us. We took it. That was the easiest hostel to find yet! (We later realized that he was an obsessive compulsive cleaner. He mopped the bathroom everytime after we used it, emptied the garbage multiple times a day, and took our sheets to wash before we even left.)

More beach time after we “checked in” to our hostel then a stop at the grocery store so we could pack lunches for our beach day on Sunday. After showering the three of us admired our “color” that had appeared over the past few hours. That color happened to be very reddish. Lotion time. That night we tried a hookah bar, but they were out of the tobacco. Instead we had a few drinks and chatted. Then a group of 17 and 18 year old Irish boys invaded our table. They were funny, immature and in high school. We left and went to another bar to eat potato chips!  They also offered us some carmel pretzels.  Don't fall for it!  Kim opened the can and out popped those boingy snake things... The bartenders thought they were pretty clever...

Sunday morning we had a breakfast of coffee and churros and then toured the cathedral and bell tower of Cadiz: amazing views from the tower of the Atlantic Ocean and the city. The Cathedral was built in the 18^th century and took over 116 years to build. While the Cathedral is newer the city itself was founded in 1100 B.C. by the Phoenicians and it’s thought to be the oldest inhabited city in Europe. The old part of the city is located on a peninsula and is full of winding streets with open plazas. The people of Cadiz go to the beach. I’m not sure if they do anything else. Sunday afternoon we went to the beach again with our lunches and laid out some more. It was full of people. Very fun to people watch, the little kids were adorable. Went back to our “hostel” by 4:00 because we couldn’t take the sun anymore and showered. The nice thing was that there was no check out time…! Cleaned off all of the sand and put on fresh clothes for our marathon bus rides. We said goodbye to Miguel, our host, he gave us business cards made out of construction paper and written in pen. We told him if we were ever in Cadiz again we would definitely look him up. At 6:00 p.m. we took a bus back to Seville.

In Seville we stopped at a tapas bar along the river for a light dinner. Plus it was only 8:00, Kim had three hours until her bus left for Madrid and Caroline and I didn’t leave until 1:00 a.m. It was a swanky place called “Rubek: International Cocktail House.” We couldn’t afford the cocktails but we could afford a jar of Sangria. Yum! We also ordered some patatas bravas, croquetas, and meatballs. All of it was good. They served it with little cracker like breadsticks. We were hungry. We basically licked our plates clean. Then we reminisced and laughed about our wonderful weekend. We also joked about asking for more breadstick crackers. Most people don’t even eat them, they were kind of stale. So we asked our waiter for more. Laughed some more. Then the gentleman behind us got up and yelled at the waiter “Get these nerve-wracking girls Chupitos (shots) on the house. They speak perfectly good Spanish and here they are sitting babbling in English.” We looked at him surprised. Nerve-wracking? Really? Who uses that word to describe girls? I personally might have tried obnoxious… but NERVE-Wracking? And was the shouting necessary? Who did he think he was? The man sat down behind us with his friend again and asked us where we were from. We did the brief run down then we turned back to finish our stale crackers. He wasn’t done talking to us though. Turns out he owns the bar, as well as a few others in Germany and Amsterdam. He was originally from Ohio and now lives in Seville. He was a little crabby because his ex-wife was in town and had taken his car for the weekend so he couldn’t drive to the beach. That was a surprise to us. So we got our shots on the house. They were good. We kind of hoped our whole bill would have been on the house… no such luck. He probably heard us insulting some aspects of the establishment before we knew he was the owner and he was in earshot… His friend did offer to drive us to wherever we were going. We told him we could manage the five-minute walk to the bus station.

Kim caught her bus. Caroline and I went to McDonalds and got McFlurrys and played hangman and MASH for two hours. I slept relatively well for it being a bus. We arrived in Madrid by 7:10 a.m. Monday morning. Just the right amount of time to take the metro home, change, eat breakfast and go to school.

Five hours of interrupted sleep, classes, homework, I need to pay rent, go grocery shopping… I’d really prefer to go back to Andalucia at the moment! At least Madrid is sunny and in the high 70s today, and I have Flamenco class tonight.

Grenada and La Alhambra this weekend. Hopefully. I think we may actually make reservations for a room this time. Ha!

Charlotte Perrelli-Nilsson ken je wellicht van Take Me To Your Heaven (ESF 1999). Gisteren kwam haar ESF 2008-inzending Hero promoten. In de Red & Blue zong ze die song tweemaal voor de in het wit uitgedoste gilnichten. Om haar liedje er goed in te drillen.

Dat haar aanwezigheid in de Red & Blue op voorhand bekend is gemaakt is zeer uitzonderlijk. Enkel toen in 2002 Alcazar kwam optreden, was dit op voorhand geweten.

SIN SEGOVIA, NO LUNA.Sin Segovia, no Isabel.Sin Isabel,no Colón.Sin Colón, no América. Sin América, no Luna

Histoire

À l'origine, sur le site, il y a eu une forteresse construit pas les Wisigoths. Quand les musulmans on conquérit la peninsule, les émirs du Califat ont reconstruit la structure.

En 1236, les forces chrétiennes ont pris Córdoba. En 1386, Alfonso XI de Castile a commencé à construire la présente structure sur la partie de la vieille forteresse.
Alcázar a été impliqué dans la guerre civile où Henry IV de Castile a fait face à une rébellion qui a été soutenu son adolescent et demi-frère Alfonso. Pendant la guerre, les défenses de l'Alcázar ont été modernisées.. En même temps on a construit la tour principale de Alcázar, maintenant connue comme la "Tour d'Inquisition".

L'Alcázar a été utilisé par les troupes de Napoleon Bonaparte en 1810. En 1821, l'Alcázar est devenu une prison. Finalement, le gouvernement espagnol a fait l'Alcázar une attraction touristique et un monument national au cours des années 1950.

Tourisme

L'Alcázar est une attraction touristique importante. Beaucoup de touristes visitent les bains arabes, les jardins mauresques.

Une série de mosaïques romaines et un sarcophage romain sont exposés dans la Tour d'Inquisition.

L'orchestre symphonique
Portée au plus haut degré par Beethoven, la symphonie devient la forme la plus prestigieuse à laquelle se consacrent de nombreux compositeurs. Les plus conservateurs respectent le moule beethovénien : ainsi de Schubert, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, de Schumann, de Brahms. D'autres font preuve d'une imagination qui leur fait dépasser ce cadre, dans la forme ou dans l'esprit : le plus audacieux d'entre eux est Berlioz.

Enfin, certains vont par delà raconter une histoire tout au long de leurs symphonies ; tels Liszt, ils vont créer le poème symphonique, nouveau genre musical, généralement composé d’un unique mouvement et inspiré par un thème, un personnage ou un texte littéraire. Puisque le poème symphonique est articulé autour d’un leitmotiv (motif musical permettant d’identifier un personnage, le héros par exemple), il est à rapprocher de la musique à programme.

Le pianoforte s'étant beaucoup développé au cours de la période romantique, ce genre musical est apparu. Le lied est une musique vocale accompagnée le plus souvent par un piano. Le chant est tiré de poèmes romantiques ; et ce style permet de rapprocher le plus possible la voix des sentiments. L'un des premiers compositeurs les plus célèbres des lieder, est Schubert, cependant beaucoup d'autres compositeurs romantiques se sont donnés au genre du lied ; on retiendra donc, après ce dernier, Schumann, Wolf et Mahler.

C'est Beethoven qui inaugure le Concerto romantique, avec ses cinq concertos pour piano (surtout le cinquième) et son concerto pour violon. Son exemple est suivi par de nombreux compositeurs : le concerto rivalise avec la symphonie dans le répertoire des grandes formations orchestrales. Enfin, le concerto va permettre à des compositeurs musiciens de révéler leurs virtuosités, tels Paganini au violon, et Chopin ou Liszt au piano

Grands concertos pour violon : Paganini, Beethoven, Tchaïkovski, Mendelssohn (n°2), Sibelius...

Grands concertos pour piano: Hummel (en la et si mineur), Kullak, Litolff (3,4&5), Schumann , Tchaïkovski, Rachmaninov (2&3), Chopin (1&2), Saint-Saëns, Grieg...

Le Ballet romantique va beaucoup se développer tout au long du XIX^e siècle, notamment par Tchaïkovski en Russie, et Delibes, en France

On reconnaît généralement qu’il a porté à un point de perfection le concerto, la symphonie, et la sonate qui deviennent après lui les principales formes de la musique classique et qu’il est un des plus grands maîtres de l’opéra. Son succès ne s’est jamais démenti.