Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 1411

I'm usually not the sophisticated culture buff, trying my best to stay clear of museums and such. But I have some time to kill in Madrid, the home of some of the finest art museums in the world. And, since my student ID gets me in for free, what the hell...? My choice is Museo Del Prado, one of three world-class art establishments in the city. The choice is mostly based on the fact that this is where the classical art hangs. Paintings you can actually determine what they are portraying, as opposed to "modern" art. Picasso fans, do not bother here... There certainly are a vast number of paintings. Probably a very impressive collection, had I been better versed in the area. My hope is to find the work of Goya, one of few Spanish ... read more

There was a time, not too long ago, when people did not have access to or use the communication technology that we today could not (seemingly) possibly live without. Before the breakthrough of the World Wide Web, mobile telephony, SMS, instant messaging, email, digital cameras, Ipods, DVD, or what have you…That was the case for the class of 1996/1997 in Malaga, Spain. Using the Internet basically meant calling the main campus - obviously in Spanish - to make a reservation to use a computer with a insanely slow dial-up connection. Useful for finding information, useless for communicating - nobody had an email address anyway… Few people owned mobile telephones. Making phone calls to the homeland was indeed possible, but the roaming charges were astronomical….Even fewer people owned landphones, and those who did were restricted to incoming ... read more

Amazingly I had to be talked into going to see Laura. Ms. Pausini was to perform at Plaza del Toros - the bullfight arena - in Malaga. Two blocks from my apartment. At completely affordable ticket prices. And the cute girl had to nag on me to come...Finally we're there, moving around, forward, towards decent seats. The arena is not packed, but yet far from empty. The concert turns out to be something else. I don't recognize many of the songs, but with a voice not at all inferior to that of Celine Dion, the little Italian girl rocks. Big time. On top of that, it's her daddy's birthday. She brings him up on stage, and to use a cliché - the crowd goes wild: "Torero, torero, torero". Not sure he's really a bull-fighter, but in ... read more

We’re on our way back to the little hotel when we notice the party in the backyard. Of course we enter. There are lots of people. It’s some kind of ceremony. Children walk up on a small stage and receive awards of some kind. We have no clue what this event is all about. We don’t really care. It’s nice, and we clap along when the crowd does. Nobody seem to notice us. Rather peculiar, considering I’m by far the tallest guy there, and my friend is by far the blondest girl there. Food is served. We help ourselves. Still nobody seem to take any notice of us. Or, maybe they do, maybe this is Spanish hospitality….Needless to say, we leave unnoticed…... read more

The place reminds us not so little of the place in ”From Dusk Till Dawn”. For those of you who didn’t see that movie; it’s a rather large building with no other buildings surrounding it, outside the city. My friend met this Spanish guy who insisted that we come. Not so much out of friendliness towards strangers, more a faint hope of some action with my friend, a very pretty, very blond little girl. It turns out to be a nightclub, a very large one. It’s location, it’s size and it’s equipment would probably make it an excellent rave party spot. But although it’s Friday night there are no people there. Maybe we’re too late. Or too early. A creepy feeling comes crawling upon us. We ask the Spanish guy to take us back to back ... read more