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Published: June 25th 2009
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Oceanography Class
Going on a walk through Cadiz to the beach It’s my second day in Spain and I’ve already had the time of my life. We pulled into Cadiz yesterday morning at 8 am and got off the boat at about 9:30. From there I went on a little hike through town with my Oceanography class and a local geologist named Giorgio. We went straight to a beach called La Playa de Santa Maria and studied shoreline processes and different protection mechanisms used on the beaches there...but I won’t bore anyone with that. Afterward my professor, Giorgio, and a bunch of students stopped at a little bar on the beach and enjoyed an ice cold cerveza. Then we walked north along the coast to another beach called Playa de Caleta. On the south end of the beach there is a castle called Castillo de San Sebastian that I might have to go check out tomorrow or Saturday. I wish there was a castle at the end of the beach in SD.
Then we all kind of broke off and did our own thing. A couple other kids and I just started walking down random streets and checking out the city. There is narrow, cobblestone alley after narrow, cobblestone alley. A
Flamenco
Our host, Simon, showing us some Flamenco at the bodega. lot of shops were closed and we didn’t really understand why and then we realized that it was siesta time! So we found a hole-in-the-wall bar called Casa Fundada and decided it was time for our first glass of sangria. Our waiter spoke no English so it was pretty interesting trying to order. We ended up getting one of every tapas (small appetizers) on the menu to share. We got a bunch of different potato dishes, some cheese, some jamon (ham that is very similar to prosciutto), and some French fries and meat dishes. It was all so good and the sangria was delicious.
Later that evening I headed out with another group of kids in search of a bar and some more tapas. After a ton of confusion and walking around in circles we ended up at a place called El Sardinero. I ordered Vino Blanco y Gazpacho…aka white wine and soup. Gazpacho is basically a tomato soup, but it is served cold…it was delicious. I was there with a girl from Ohio State, a girl and guy from Colorado State, a girl from Michigan State, and a guy from Philadelphia. By the end of the night, and
Bodega Jesus
Me and the musicians who played for us all day. many rounds of drinks, we were all really good friends. 😊 It was a successful first day in Spain!
Day 2
Today I went on a trip with my Music class to a little town called Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez is home of the bulería, a type of flamenco dance. It is also home to many famous gypsy families who have very deep roots in flamenco. We went to a place called the Céntro Andaluz de Flamenco. It is an old house in the center of the gypsy district that has been converted to a museum/library. People from all over the world come to the Centro to study flamenco. We got a little guided tour and then hopped back on the bus and went to a nearby bodega (bar), called Bodega Jesus.
What happened next was just magical. We got a private flamenco lesson from a man named Simon and then a private concert from Simon and five of his local friends. And, oh by the way, the bodega made their own sherry, so the backdrop to our little concert was bins of fermenting sherry (which I had a couple glasses of, of course). We were
Playa de Santa Maria
One of the beaches in Cadiz...beautiful! in this huge room that was purposely kept humid so that the sherry could ferment properly. There was mold growing all over the walls and a dirt floor that they sometimes water down to make the room even more moist. We also had queso y jamon to eat. The cheese was Manchego, I think, and was so good and the ham was cut from pig legs that were hanging in the front of the bar!
A little background on flamenco: Gypsies came from India and settled all over Spain in the 15th century. They have always struggled between assimilation and preservation of their identity. The 1850s are considered to be the “Golden Age” of flamenco and little café cantantes popped up as musicians realized that they could make money performing. Flamenco is still a very prominent part of the Spanish culture. A typical flamenco performance has a singer, dancer, and guitarist. The singer, who is traditionally male but more and more females are beginning to participate, and the guitarist play off of each other. As you watch you can see that the guitarist is paying very close attention to the singer and adjusting his playing to match what is
Catedral de Cadiz
The beautiful cathedral in Cadiz. It also offers free wifi :) being sung. The dancer too adjusts what he does to match the rhythm being created. It is very difficult to learn because they do counts of 12 with an emphasis on the 3rd, 6th, and I’m not sure what else (I couldn’t figure it out), which is different from the typical Western counting. There are two different types of clapping done that accompany the music: one with the hands kind of cupped where you hit palm to palm and the other with the fingers of one hand hitting the palm of the other. Both make pretty distinctive sounds and can be switched back-and-forth throughout a song. Anyway, there is a lot more, but that’s kind of the basics.
The musicians were amazing. I think they could have played all night had we had more time. I had an incredible time and I wish I could go back and spend a whole evening with those guys just drinking, listening to their music, and dancing some flamenco. They all had such passion and spirit and it was truly remarkable to be there and experience all of it.
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Mom!
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Great Entry!
Nikki--great entry, so clear and well-written, I feel like I was there. Wait, I HAVE been there. Went to a converted Andalusian ranch in Jerez when I was in town for a class a few years ago ... we had a beautiful dinner int he converted stables and ... yes, drank lots of sangria. They still had some beautiful horses, which they brought out for us to see. No flamenco that night, though. sounds like a great time, and you are learning so much and experiencing the world. I'm not sure, though, who is having more fun in that picture, you or the musician with his arm around our beautiful daughter! Will send the blog link to all interested parties. Love you--Mom