Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Flamenco Show

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

flamenco-showDarkness. A man on center stage, four women dancers on each side. Man shouts out. Lights flash on stage. Audience stares at his face, twisted in agony and tension as he sings with his entire being. Suddenly two guitars enter the background. Everyone on stage dances spectacularly. Clickety-clack. Snappety-snap. Ole. Abada. Ole. The first song and dance ends. Lights out. Stage empties.

A duet of guitarists, playing quickly and skillfully. They keep looking at each other as if they are competing and answering each other with their guitars. Faster, faster. Really gooflamenco-show-2d.

A new male singer on stage. Sad song. Love song. Woman sings with her entire being. She’s good. She dances. Man and woman dance. Man seems sad. The woman dumped him apparently. He sings sadly and is dancing alone. It becomes happier as they become reunited and begin to dance together again.

The songs have a flamenco-show-3story to them. It’s like the opera, except for the style of the music. The dresses are gorgeous. The dancers are all experts – every muscle is in the correct position. Confident and dramatic postures. Looks beautiful on stage.

One male dancer is looking straight at me. He sings with extreme intensity, then looks at me for a response. I snap a picture, and he seems pleased.

The final act is a line-up. Each dancer has a solo dance. The couple dances in a romantic way. Suddenly we were all clapping loudly as the central main dancer dances faster and faster and faster. His feet are a blur. The dancing stops, and loud applause thunders the room.

I return to camp and breathe a final “Ole” as I fall asleep.

Paris at Midnight

Monday, June 21st, 2010

ParisI woke up in the middle of the night, freezing. I unzipped my sleeping bag, shoved my tennis shoes onto my feet, and exited the tent. My shoes sank into the deep mud. It was raining in Paris, and it was six degrees below zero.

I quickly ran to the camp bathroom and returned to re-enter my tent. I realized that my sleeping bag was not insulated. This was supposed to be spring. I put on all of the clothing in my backpack. I was still cold. My feet and hands felt like ice. I crossed my legs so that my feet were warmed by the back part of my knees. I felt so bundled up that I could hardly move. I felt claustrophobia for the first time in my life.Paris-2

The next morning a few people from my tour bus (all 18 and 19, while I was 21) had frostbite. When they moved their fingers, blood came out. Indeed, it was not an exaggeration that we were freezing to death. My nose was running, and I had a cold. Not surprising.

At least we were on our way to the Eiffel Tower. It seemed surreal as I stood there, looking at it. We rode on an elevator to the top, and we looked out over Paris. It was a dreary, overcast day, but it was still magical, because I was in Paris.Paris-3

I saw the Arc de Triomphe up close, and the sculptures were intricate. Cars drove past it all the time without even noticing it. The Notre Dame Cathedral was magnificent with its stained glass windows and its imposing structure.

I went to a small cafe and ordered coffee. The Frenchman behind the counter was rude to me and gave me a teeParis-4nsy weensy cup with a shot of the strongest coffee I’ve ever tasted. I looked around and wished I had an easel so I could paint. Except that I had no energy, so it was just as well.

The Louvre Museum had so many famous works of art, including the Mona Lisa. After waiting a long time to see it, it was encased in glass and was far smaller than I thought. I wish I had had more time to see the wonderful artwork; it seemed almost like I was jogging through the entire museum just to see it all before the tour guide told us we had to go back to camp.

Sherwood Forest and Nottingham

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

nottingham

When I looked at a map of England as a student, I saw the city of Nottingham. I asked a British friend if this was the same Nottingham from Robin Hood, and he said yes. I was determined to go, especially when I saw that there was a real Sherwood Forest nearby.

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Sherwood Forest was not much of a forest. Of course, both times I went, it was early springtime, and the leaves hadn’t come out yet. A statue of Robin Hood fighting Little John can be seen at the entrance to the forest. As I walked along the path, I saw a large oak tree that was over 800 years old. A fence blocked it off so that people wouldn’t carve on it, and it had wooden scaffolding to hold up the heavy branches.

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The town of Nottingham was similar to any other town in England, with a plain-looking, boxy, rectangular castle. It was more like a fort, and it had no turrets. Down the road from the castle was a tourist trap called “Robin Hood Centre,” where the story of Robin Hood is told Disney style, but without the ride. You walk through an indoor path with different scenes displayed on either side of you. I enjoyed it, only because I love the stories of Robin Hood.

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Tintagel and King Arthur

Friday, June 11th, 2010

tintagel-and-king-arthur

In a land of cliffs and turquoise waters, at the edge of a land called England, there once lived a king, a magnificent king who had a round table. That king’s name was King Arthur…

tintagel-gateFor anyone who loves the medieval time period, or for anyone who loves literature, I would recommend visiting Tintagel in the southwestern part of England. Yes, I know King Arthur was just a legend, but many legends are based on fact and exaggerated over time, so King Arthur could have actually existed.

Even though this castle is a complete ruin with no real walls, the legend that King Arthur lived there makes it magical. At least one doorway still stands, but mostly you will see something that resembles a floor plan of a castle, barely in 3D because most of the walls are a foot or two high.

Green, grassy cliffs hang over the turquoise waters of the ocean. The waves crash against the black rocks, and caves run along the ocean shore. In the town of Tintagel, you can go to a museum where the legend of King Arthur comes to life. Of course, all the items are based on the books, so they are not reality. But for the literature lover, Tintagel is a fun place to visit.

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