The Blues . . . and Spanish Flavors

The cool one does the Blues! Very steamy, so if you dare check THIS out!

So, here's a little Spanish flavor for you . . . in Madrid, I'll be sampling some tasty churros so check out the photos on Gerry Dawes's blog entry on the very famous San Gines Churreria. And their hours are 6pm to 7am Mondays through Sunday! I've read that people in Madrid stay up pretty late! In Sevilla ... I'll be checking out a couple of recommendations from THIS wonderful Sevilla Tapas Blog . . . and in Granada, I'll be checking out Numbers 7 and 8 from THIS article! And they have live music too . . . Can you stand it?

I'm about half way done on my MUST SEE lists for all the cities and towns I'll be visiting. I'll be seeing some pretty famous monuments, beautiful cathedrals and churches, great plazas to relax in and as you can see great places to eat at.

According to my countdown clock, I have exactly 102 days until blast off! Whoo, hoo! BTW, I notice that Sandra has her Countdown clock up for her trip in 48 days too, both of which were inspired by Girasoli's countdown clock to Italy.

And if you're asking yourself what does the "Cool One's" blues and my Spain trip have to do with one another? The answer . . . Absolutely nothing! The two topics just sort of popped into my head at the same time.

Well, yesterday was a long day out so I'm glad that I'm just going to have a relax day in today. I'm going to head out to blockbuster later in search of three very famous Spanish films that were recommended by Sandra and Maria from ST. Volver and Hable con ella by Pedro Amodovar and Mar Adentro (all award winning films). Maybe I'll get lucky and find at least one or two of them available to rent.

Hasta Luego!

The eyes of the world converge on Beijing China . . .

On 08-08-08, the eyes of the world will converge on Beijing China in the spirit of athletic competition. Ever since I can remember I have been a huge fan of the Olympics. I enjoy hearing stories of athletes and their families. About their sacrifices, challenges, dedication, commitment and strive for excellence in their field. My favorite competitions are track and field, gymnastics, cycling, swimming, diving, basketball and of course beach volleyball where 4 Southern California athletes will be competing for Gold! And from a traveler's point of view, I’m also very excited about the opportunity for China to showcase their beautiful country. I think they will do an awesome job and I'm looking forward to seeing the coverage.

The talent and dedication of each athlete is so admirable to me. In two weeks, we will be seeing athletes that will be considered the front runners at winning gold, silver and bronze, there are some that will have a great underdog shot at claiming a medal as well. And then there are the rest of the field that have a long shot at most and yet they are equally just as dedicated . . . their hearts and soul for their sport are just as real and their belief in the true spirit of competition is just as strong. They are all a part of and what defines the Olympic ideals and spirit of competition.

From the Official Olympic Website:

"One World One Dream" expresses the common wishes of people all over the world, inspired by the Olympic ideals, to strive for a bright future of Mankind. In spite of the differences in colors, languages and races, we share the charm and joy of the Olympic Games, and together we seek for the ideal of Mankind for peace."

The cool one . . . .

A fellow fan sent me this link and living so close to Harvelle's in Redondo Beach, I cannot believe that I missed THIS performance from the cool one himself!

He is well known for making surprise jam session appearances with his friends like the very awesome Shiela E and so it is not a complete surprise that he showed up.

Note to self . . . check Harvelle's schedule for any future appearances by Shiela E just in case the cool one decides to come down to the Southbay again to jam with his good friend! Do you hear that sound . . . that's me still kicking myself for missing this and being so close!

Sorry for the whine session! Off I go . . . have a great weekend everyone!

Let the countdown begin . . .

Now that I have my tickets and all but two lodgings confirmed I have added a cool Countdown clock to my blog! It is an idea I got from Girasoli's blog (along with my Spain Time clock). Anne another ST Solo Traveler has her awesome countdown clock to the very beautiful city of Florence up on her blog too! I think it's pretty cool to know how many days we have left before take off! There are several more of us making our way to Europe in the Fall and Winter months. Very exciting!

And to celebrate the occassion . . . here's a cool video of Madrid . . .



Thank you so much to everyone for the support and help in planning for this trip. Slow Travelers are truly a very special group of people! And to my family and friends, thanks so much for your encouragement! And try not to worry!

And so the love affair continues on in Spain . . . .

AnnieNC from Slow Travel passed on this wonderful link, Index of Art Historical Images. Lucky for me, a couple of them are magnificent churches in Spain such as the Cathedral in Sevilla and a really interesting church called Basilica de la Macarena where there is a statue of the Virgin Mary with tears made of glass. Now, I have to see that for sure!

And so as it was in Venice, the love affair with churches that was inspired by AnnieNC's Slow Travel article on "My Favorite Lessor-Known Churches in Venice" continues on in Spain!

Thanks so much Annie!

España 2008 . . .

Got my tickets and I'm on my way!



Many, many thanks to Slow Traveler and fellow blogger friend, Maria, for taking time out of her 4th of July holiday to send me e-mail alerts on some great airfares on Kayak. You're awesome!

Another cool thing . . . . Maria and her husband is also planning a trip to Spain in the fall. Their last visit was in 1981 and this will be a return trip for them. Isn't that nice! We plan to share and exchange travel information with each other during the planning stages. Like they say, two heads are always better than one! In fact, there is a chance that our paths may even cross somewhere in Spain. And if it does, that would be really cool!

By the way if you want to read a really cute story, have a look at another Slow Traveler and Blogger friend, AnnieNC's blog entry HERE. This is like the 3rd time that I have gone back to read this entry. I think all the Slow Travel pet stories I've been reading is really tempting me to get a cute little kitten too!

Although a little late, this month's photo of the month is a close-up of a sunflower or in Italian "girasoli." It reminded me of reading Slow Traveler, Girasoli's blog. She's been traveling in Italy to towns such as Camolgi, Portofino and Acqui Terme. It's been pretty cool following her blog and a couple of other Slow Travelers.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Whoo Hoo . . . I'm heading to Spain in only 4 months!

Through the eyes of a child . . .

One of the big highlights that I have planned for my trip to Spain in November is to see an authentic Flamenco show. Wikipedia's definition . . . Flamenco is a dance genre originating in the Andalusia region of Spain. The dance is described as a strong rhythmic, powerful yet graceful style of dance with intricate hands and footwork. The performances can be pulsating, sensual, passionate, strong, colorful, electric and rhythmically explosive!

Frankly, there are probably a hundred different ways that one can describe a good authentic Flamenco dance to another person . . . and I have logged many hours on the Internet searching these definitions out.

Recently, I was chatting on-line with my Slow Traveler and fellow blogger friend, Maria (My Place in the Sun), about my interest in seeing an Authentic Flamenco performance when I visit Spain. She began to tell me a story of how in 1981 she, her husband and her son went to see a live Flamenco show. She said that during the show her then two-year-old son, was so excited and captivated watching the Flamenco performers that he stood throughout the entire show, smiled and clapped a lot!

Maria said that she took several photos of that evening. I mentioned that if she were able to find those photos, it would be so cool if she could post them. On that very same evening, Maria took the time to go through her old family photos, found the exact photos of the performance (with the name of the Theatre House, Los Gallos), scanned them and posted them on her blog HERE. In one of the photos she posted, you can see her son standing near the stage. By the expression on his face, you can immediately tell that he was so happy to be watching the dancers and listening to the incredible music. Priceless!

And then she went on my blog to let me know that she found them and that she posted them on her blog so I could see the photos and get the link to the Theatre House. That was so incredibly nice of her. I mean really, really nice.

When I saw her wonderful family vacation photos and especially the one with her two-year-old son in the audience up near the stage I suddenly realized that the very best way to describe an authentic Flamenco performance was simply through the eyes of a child . . .

Check out Maria's wonderful blog entry HERE about this very memorable family trip to Spain and her son's wonderful experience seeing his very first live Flamenco performance! So cool!

Thank you so much Maria!