Flamenco in Sacramonte!

First of all...Look at that face. Second of all, a couple of nights ago we went to the Sacramonte district in the Albaicin for a Flamenco 'espectaculo'. Amazing views of Alhambra. The "Zapateado" or percussion done with the feet-blew me away, as did the singing and emotion in their facial expressions.The show was in this small, narrow cave with framed pictures of Flamenco performers who have performed there and golden pots and bowls hanging on the walls. The music and ambience was beautiful. This weekend off to Sevilla!

This whole month of July Granada hosts The "Festival Internacional de Musica y Danza". It is quite famous and a lot of well known musicians and dancers travel from around the world to perform here. There are music events happening every night in different parts of the city. The other night I was walking around and stumbled upon an open-air concert; there were four men on a stage that was illuminated with spotlights and behind the stage the cathedral stood as their backdrop-massive and majestic. They played what sounded like french gypsy music. It was so beautiful and there were so many people gathered in the plaza to listen. The Festival is also host to very famous orchestras and bands that come to perform at the Alhambra. Last night when I was feeling a bit of apartment-fever, I decided to walk up to the Alhambra to see if I could buy a ticket to go see the "Staatskapelle Berlin Orquestra" directed by Israeli-Argentine conductor Daniel Barenboim. Little did I know that you have to buy tickets for these types of concerts months in advance. So I decided to sit outside and hear what I could of the concert from the outskirts of the palace (I really couldn't hear anything). I got to talking to one woman who was waiting for her friend who was at the concert. She was so nice, and I tried soo hard to follow what she was saying. After the concert she introduced me to her friend who is a Russian ballet professor and the three of us went to the reception that was directly outside the Palace. It overlooked the whole city and was so spectacular. The Alhambra is really a magical place and being there at night was even more special. I have included a photo of the Palacio de Charles V, where the concert was held. The Palace was built in 1527 for Roman Emperor Charles V, after the "Reconquista"; this explains the Roman-style architecture. I can imagine that coming to see a musical performance here would be quite moving. Maybe if I buy a ticket today I can secure a seat for next summer....

Abaco Te

Went out with our neighbors last night. Very nice guys- one of them will be coming to Boston in August to study Astronomy at Harvard! He wanted to know what to expect and I told him: cold, screaming men with beards in Red Sox garb, and the hilarious accent. He was so proud of himself when he finally mastered "Yah Dude"...he sounded perfect. I think he will be just fine in Bostonia. I am excited to show him around in the fall! Yesterday Caitlin and I want to the Albaizin, which is the neighborhood around the Alhambra. I had read about a "teteria"- a tea house- in that area that looked and sounded really great. We trekked through these amazing tiny cobblestone streets. Although they were not streets, but merely paths that sloped down and up and curved in ridiculous directions. We kept stumbling upon incredible old buildings and once in a while I would peak through the cracks between two houses and find ridiculously wonderful views of the city. We followed the sounds of people to guide us to civilization and right as we were admitting to how lost we were, I heard people laughing and looked to my right. In the middle of no where-sitting on the edge of a tiny little road was "Abaco Te", the teteria that I had wanted to go to! We creaked open the door and inside was soo nice! A woman greeted us and we went upstairs to where there were little tables and stools, amazing murals on the walls and big windows with brilliant sunlight. There was another staircase that led to a third floor where there as an outside terrace looking over Granada. WOW. There were only a few people there. We sat on the second floor and ordered Peach and Melon "Granizadas"- a fruit smoothie type drink with milk and we shared a banana and chocolate crepe. Our stay was so pleasant and I couldn't believe we actually had found this place. There was this beautiful completely-white cat that was wondering around and kept moving from place to place, finding rays of sun to sleep under. We stayed for quite some time, then unfortunately had leave to make it home for dinner. I can't wait to go back there.
I have posted some of the drawings I've been doing. I have also added the link to Abacote's website (up on the right)...not only is the place really great, but their website is awesome.