Flamenco!

It'd be madness to come and live in Spain without going to see a Flamenco show. So I took the opportunity to go when my mum came to visit. She had come during Columbus Day, which just so happened to be on a Friday this year, and to mark the holiday, the show had guest performers from other parts of Spain.

The show opened with traditional singing, Spanish guitar and ambient lighting while we sat in a patio under the stars.

It was a warm night (for us Brits anyway) but the dancing was hot. The dresses hugged their hips as they swirled and sauntered, stamping their feet in time to the music.

Flamenco music has a distinctive 12 beat rhythm, and it's the most common although there are also dances to 3 and 4 beats.Try keeping in time clapping and at first, it's very difficult and requires way more concentration than you think it would as they clap away apparently with ease and minimal brain power.

Facial expressions were part of the show as the dancers would not only show passion with their feet but also on their faces. It demanded the audience to take them seriously; there was power in their movements and fire in their soul.

Every dancer chose to wear the traditional flamenco colour of red. Each dress was ornate and beautifully put together, perfectly tailored to curve with every contour, and flip with every kick.

I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a fat flamenco dancer. The 15-20 minute performances were high energy and fast paced. After each performance, the dancers were breathing heavily and sweating.

This guy was the Michael Flatley of flamenco. The tappy shoes weren't that far off either. He was the grand finale of the show, with fast footwork and enough passion to make you pregnant just by looking at you.

Seeing flamenco live was spectacular. It far exceeded my expectations in entertainment value. It was good value for money at €20 per person including a free drink. We were able to reserve a table at the time of booking the tickets which ensured our great seats but even the worst seats in the house would have still been great.

I'm going to try and find lessons that fit around my schedule - it's a perfect combination of cultural integration and great exercise! And if not that, then I want the pretty dress and an excuse to pin a big flower on my head!

Palacio De Viana

The Palacio De Viana is one of the biggest private palaces in Spain that's open to the public. There are 12 patios or gardens, each with it's own name and theme. The palace itself is an accumulation of the different architectural styles from the 14th century to now.

On a sunny Sunday morning, I went to check out the Palace mainly in preparation for the maternal visit so I would know where it was and what it would be like.

I think she would enjoy it, with all the trees, flowers and fountains, it was also a brilliant cultural experience, with a brief glimpse in to Córdoba's aristocratic past. 

This garden looks a bit like a jungle in this picture, but it had hedges that made it into a maze and it is the biggest garden of the twelve.

I love the symmetry of this palm tree contrasting against the blue sky. If England had palm trees, it would probably be easier to go back!

This patio had painted tennis balls on the ground but I wasn't sure why - other than for decorative purposes. They weren't secured down, so a gust of wind could've turned it in to a ball pit, but luckily for them, this is Spain, and the weather is nice for the most part.

I love the walls covered with terracotta pot plants. In May, the flowers are in full bloom and that's when people from all over Spain will come to Córdoba to see all the beautiful blooming patios.

The palace gardens were so romantic, it would've been a perfect setting for some period drama. A story about forbidden love perhaps, a cultural/class divide where the protagonists have to sneak around and hide in the gardens.

I can't wait to see what it'll look like in May!

Pan y Mantequilla

This song is so catchy! It's another that's been stuck in my head for a while now.
Must admit, the lyrics don't necessarily make the most sense to me. The title is called "Bread and Butter" so I thought that somewhere in the song he would say "we go together like bread and butter" or something equally cheesy.
But the actual line is "I want to eat you like bread and butter"
Which is strange because they don't really have butter over here.

Regardless, the song is upbeat and cheerful and I bet you'll be humming it after you hear it!

Murcia

The inevitable time came when university started and we had to say goodbye to Miriam.
We travelled 4 hours from Córdoba to Mazarrón, Murcia through green valleys covered row after row in olive trees spotted with distant white towns, dry dusty deserts with mystery green fruit, then onwards to Cartagena through the mountains with one eye on the Mediterranean.

What is this? Is it an unripe pomegranate?

We left early on Saturday morning to begin the 456km journey to Mazarrón where the family have a house by the beach.

As soon as we arrived, we headed straight to the beach where Miriam and I chilled and worked on our tans. The Kindle once again came in to it's own as I read Tom Sawyer on the beach.

Mazarrón is a port, hence the full name of the area is called Puerto de Mazzarón. The boats in the harbour set with a background of blue skies, turquoise sea and rugged mountain was just as picturesque as Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief. Obviously, I'm Grace Kelly.

When we got bored of turning brown, we went up to the viewing deck, where, on the railings were attached "love padlocks". I had never seen them before, but apparently they're quite the fad now across the world. It symbolises eternal love by locking two padlocks together, each with a name engraved on it.
It's not that different to the "ball and chain" metaphor really, but in this instance, the padlock holding the ball around your ankle is called love.

I've been to white sandy beaches, I've been to black sandy beaches, but I've never seen sand that glitters gold. It's most obvious when the sand is wet and it sparkles at you as you're walking along. I don't know what it was but it was beautiful.

The drive from Mazarrón to Cartegena was about an hour long. We went through some beautiful scenery that strongly reminded me of the Colorado leg of my Great American Road Trip. Green on one side, desert on the other. I never realised before how beautiful the landscape in Spain was.

We helped Miriam unpack and settle in her room. As we made our way back to Mazarrón, the sun was setting, casting the twilight glow on the world that makes it my favourite time of day.

The family also have an apartment on the 15th floor which allowed us a privileged view of the whole area. Sitting out on the balcony looking out at the view, I felt lucky to be included with this family's life and as the sunset behind the mountains in the distance, I didn't have a care in the world.

The First Spanish Lesson

This is my new Spanish book. Now I'm the student!

Learning a new skill is always rewarding and in my opinion, there are few things more rewarding than learning to speak a new language.
It's not just the new found ability to converse and communicate in a different dialect, but it's the insight it gives in to a new culture. It highlights the differences in how people see things and have seen things for hundreds of years.

An example of this happened only last night, when I was telling my mum to meet me at the end of the platform at the train station. In English, a platform has two ends, in Chinese, the platform has a beginning and end (or 'head' and 'tail'). So really, I should have told her to go to the beginning of the platform.
Ah, the comedy of confusion.

Yesterday's lesson: a lot of words and professions.

So, being in Spain, the natural step is to learn Spanish. The school I work for is so generous, they offer free language lessons to the teachers. Of course, I'm going to take full advantage of that! I have two hours a week of Spanish and one hour of French. Yes, I'm going to learn French too!

I had my first class yesterday and it was really tough. There was another girl who already knew all the vocabulary and all the sentence structures so I felt very stupid. The teacher asked me questions and I could tell she was asking "How old are you?" But I had no idea how to respond. Bah. First class is always tough though. It's helped me sympathise a lot with my beginner class. It just means that I'll have to push myself harder in my own time to catch up. Which really, is fine by me. Hopefully before the end of the year, I'll be able to write a whole post in Spanish! Even if it's "I like Spain, it is beautiful, I play football."

I'm very excited to learn more Spanish and French too!

This Friday is a public holiday, so no lesson, but next week, French: part one!

Cordobese Cuisine

Spain is famous for many different dishes around the world. From paella to churros, olives to oranges, there's plenty for the palette.

This region of Spain is particularly famous for it's olive oil. They are the largest producer accounting for 30% of the world's olive oil, 75% of which is produced here in Andalucia. They have it with everything, even in their cupcakes.

My first breakfast here, we had toast. I opted for margarine as there was no butter. But everyone else drizzled olive oil and a sprinkling of sugar. I had never thought of that combination before so the next morning that's what I had. Man, it was so delicious. I look forward to breakfast now just so I can have it again. Sometimes, I even have it for dinner. It's so good.

Dinner is usually a smaller lighter meal, as lunch is always the big one. It's later than we have it in England too - usually at 9:30pm. This schedule took absolutely no time at all to get used to. It was nice to have a big lunch and a small dinner as I never felt completely stuffed before I went to sleep.

The thing that I like to make the most is a cheese toastie. But of course, there's a Spanish twist.
The cheese is called Entrepinares Cheese, produced in Valladolid, Spain. It's a semi-cured mixture of cows, goat and sheeps milk.
With that there's a type of sausage that can only be bought in Murcia that doesn't have a special name. It's bright red and soft enough to spread.
The bread is, white. Standard.

Desserts are also pretty good here. One day Miriam presented me with this:

It's a mini Pastel Cordobés which is basically puff pastry filled with a pumpkin jam. Amazing.

And for something a bit more towards the strange there is blood sausage. A Spanish style black pudding.

Don't let the name deter you. It was delightful. I can't wait to have this again at some point. It might be called blood sausage but it doesn't taste like blood. It was fragrant and full of flavour. One little bruschetta was the perfect portion size. 
I can't compare it to black pudding as I've never tried it. Believe it or not, I've never had the guts. But after this, I would definitely try it!

There are lots of other things that I've tried since I've been here but didn't take a photo of. 

Like the family's rabbit rice. "The best rabbit rice in the world!" as quoted from everyone. It was delicious, delicately flavoured with herbs and spices which turned the rice yellow. It was also my first time eating rabbit. It didn't have a strong taste, but it was very tender.

A very famous dish here is gazpacho which is a cold veggie soup made with tomatoes, cucumbers and other things. The family make it often and it's the perfect refreshment for a hot sweaty day.
Special to Cordoba and this region of Spain is Salmorejo, which is a thick version of gazpacho often added to other things such as tortilla patatas or sometimes just dipped with bread, crisps and whatever else you can get your hands on! It's very popular in the house and cries of happiness are always heard when it's made. 

With so much delicious food and olive oil, I don't know how the women here stay so slim!

Yo Te Esperaré

Spanish music is great! Well, what I've heard so far. It's super catchy and easy to dance to.

Forget Eurovision. Who knew that that competition wasn't a real representation of the nation's musical genius???
 
So here's a song that's been stuck in my head on repeat for the last week or so since I first heard it. 

And for those with a curious mind, the lyrics translated to English are:

I feel like they took a piece of my soul
If you go there will be nothing left of a
lifeless heart that at the root of your departure is left shouting, but in a low voice.
I feel like the life is leaving me because I'm not with you
I feel that my moon is no longer you love
neither all the life nor all the water in the sea will be able to
pay all the love that you taught me to feel
without you I'm going to die alone, if you return I want to awaken
because far away doesn't serve my hand to walk
because I'm only waiting for you to one day be able to escape
I'll wait for you
we will feel together in front of the sea
and from your hand I will be able to walk
and although all my life has passed I will wait for you
and in your eyes there is still love
and your look says I will return
and although all my life has passed I will wait for you
I'll wait for you
we will feel together in front of the sea
and from your hand I will be able to walk
and although all my life has passed I will wait for you
and in your eyes there is still love
and your look says I will return
and although all my life has passed I will wait for you

Awwwwwwwww........

http://lyricstranslate.com

http://lyricstranslate.com