Somewhere in the Middle: Let's dance & eat paella

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

On Saturday the Spaniards held a celebration with flamenco dancers, live music, and traditional Spanish food. It was incredibly fun. It started at noon and ended at midnight! Those Spaniards definitely know how to party.

We arrived about 1:30 to see the flamenco dance performance but later discovered the dancers were going to perform all throughout the day. Lil' C & I always made a point to get close to the stage and watch them. It's a beautiful dance. And the costumes are just beautiful... so colorful and fun! If I get the opportunity to visit Spain again I'd love to buy a dress and those pretty shawls. I love how they tie them around their waist. One of my girlfriends had a friend in the Spanish dance group and she tried to teach us a few steps. So much fun!

The food was delicious too and we were treated to a sample of Orujo, an aperitif with on average a 40% alcohol content, which is a little strong for my taste but the Sangria that flowed all day was perfect. Outside there were several Paellera used to prepare the paella and grills cooking Spanish Chorizo and sausages. They also had jamon serrano, manchego cheese and these cute crackers shaped like little baseball bats. It was an all day feast. After eating at least 3 plates of paella, nibbling on tapas and drinking sangria all day we left about 8pm.

On Sunday, I went to the movies to see "The Other Boleyn Girl" with one of my girlfriends. It was so nice going to a real theater to see a movie. It's been about 2 years since I've gone to the cinema. The movie was in English except at the end when they let you know what happen to the characters the words were all in French! lol! Luckily, my friend was able to make out some of the words.

Monday I was back in celebration mode and attended the Spanish Luncheon. The tapas included tortilla (Spanish omelet), manchego cheese, and baguettes with red peppers and tuna. Our first course was a deliciously smooth gazpacho. I was a bit disappointed when they didn't serve paella as the main dish but I quickly recovered when I had my first bite of chicken which was cooked in a traditional Spanish style. I'm getting hungry just writing about it! lol! And of course there was more Orujo, Sangria, and a drink they called a Mojito (very different from the classic Cuban drink). The women in the community put on a fantastic dance show for us.

Especially love this woman's dress. The paisley print was so pretty.

After celebrating in true Spanish style, I'm all set to plan my own version of Eat, Pray, Love and fly to Sevilla to learn flamenco and Castellano and of course enjoy their way of life.

Once the luncheon ended, I went home and met my girlfriend K and we drove to Antwerp to see the ballet "Giselle". The first time I saw "Giselle" was at the Kennedy Center in DC and it left such an impression on me. Everything about the performance was outstanding from the choreography & music to the realistic theatre design. I remember being so emotionally involved especially at the end when the prince is weeping at Giselle's grave. You felt his despair and guilt. And when Giselle finds out the prince is already engaged she is so bewitched & distraught she pulls out her bun and wildly shakes her hair and dances in a crazy fashion but that emotion was missing this time around. There just wasn't that connection between Giselle and the prince. Perhaps if this was my first time seeing "Giselle" I wouldn't have been disappointed yet I wouldn't have left with that overwhelming feeling like I had to see this ballet again & again.