Monday, June 7, 2010
Goodbye Seville
Well study abroad has come to an end...to all my classmates, thanks for a hell of an adventure. I definitely won't forget those 3 weeks anytime soon. Although I miss the hustle and bustle of Miami, I will miss the leisure attitude of Sevilla. My campaign has been presented and it looks like I've finally overcome this food posioning. So after a 2 hour bullet train I meet up with "Lucy and Ethel"...my nickname for my two travel campanions...nd we are off to Rome. Will post tomorrow with pictures of the wonderul sights in Rome. When in Rome do as Romans did....
Morocco
Morocco was an amazing experience...aside from the food posioning. Over the course of a weekend and for only $250 we made our way from Sevilla to the coast, took a ferry to Tetuan, then to Tangier and finished in Chechuan. The food was amazing, our tourguides were hysterical, and the sights...well nothing like I've ever seen. I can finally say I went to Africa...and I rode a camel, who seemed to be a little too affectionate afterwards. We had planned tours of all the cities and mingled with the locals in the daily markets...you can buy anything and everything you need there. As well I visited Hercules Grotto and saw where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean. What a wonderful experience and the perfect topping to my study abroad.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Blog Update
10 Things I Learned About Flamenco Dancing
10. There are 3 major cultural influences on Flamenco, and even if I gave you 10 guesses you would not guess them correctly. They are Indian (as in India), Afro-Cuban, and French. Don’t worry I was dumb founded too.
9. There are 15 different versions of Flamenco, and each stands for a specific feeling like happiness, or passion, or pain.
8. Despite all the rhythm I have dancing salsa, merengue or even booty dancing, I have absolutely not one ounce of rhythm for Flamenco dancing. I look like a spastic mannequin.
7. Gypsies are not from Egypt, contrary to popular belief and what Disney tells you in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Gypsies actually come from India.
6. Flamenco started as a dance of death and pain. Which leads me to #5.
4. Most men that dance Flamenco look like real life vampires…honestly they look straight out of a Bram Stoker novel. Slicked back long hair, all black outfit, long nails, chiseled face, and they have this odd and frightening sex appeal. After two shows I am convinced that vampires do exist.
3. There is no concrete reason why flamenco dancers wear polka dots so much in their outfits. But every year there is a huge Flamenco fashion expo in Seville to introduce the latest trend in Flamenco dresses.
2. Although it may seem tempting….NEVER, I repeat NEVER sit in the front row at a Flamenco show where the seats are directly in front of the stage. Why you ask…well, you are in the sweat zone. Just ask all the tourists who were showered with flying sweat at our show. It is just an added benefit to the show that I believe one can do with out.
1. No matter how many times you have watched a Flamenco show or performance on TV, you must see a Flamenco show in person. It is truly moving and magical…to see their technique and the beauty of the movement is breathtaking.
The Real Alcazar
Day two meant another walking tour of Seville but this time we focused our attention and time on the Alcazar. It is an extravagant palace, which is the oldest still inhabited royal palace in the world…meaning the Spanish Monarch still lives in the palace when they are in town. Oh and R. Alcazar does not stand for Royal Alcazar…I was corrected by the tour guide, it stands for Real Alcazar, which sounds more like a Spanish soccer team to me. The palace is extremely large, spanning several acres, and after 3 hours we still had not seen all of its lovely treasures…but our attention span was shot by hour 2 so the guide decided to wrap it up by hour 3. As you can see the place is magnificent, words cannot describe the beauty and detail of the architectural design. Here are a few pics…oh and yes I made it to “El Patio de las Muñecas”; I talked about that in an earlier blog and I found the doll faces. My advice when you visit, don’t look so high for the faces, they are easier to find then you expect. Enjoy!!!
Seville…or as the locals say, Sevilla!
I am here in Seville…sorry I haven’t updated in a while but the Internet here has been very unreliable. So I have a few posts and pics to fill you in on everything. Seville is beautiful, in an ancient city type of way. And when you walk down the main streets you feel like you are on a movie set in a film studio’s back lot. I had to laugh as I was thinking that on our first walking tour we ran into a huge mob and in the middle was a bunch of Star Wars junkies dressed as storm troopers and Darth Vader…only in Europe would people walk the street dressed head to toe in costumes. I also learned that a part of Star Wars Episode II was filmed in Seville in the Plaza de España…once I actually find it I will post a pic. There are also some pics of me and La Giralda at night. We had a roof top welcome reception with this splendid view…the perfect way to start my time in Seville.