Buenos Dias amigos y familia!Things are going great here - I thought I'd update you all on what we've been up to but also send some pics of our apartment and neighborhood so you can get a sense of where we are. This is it - Calle Costanilla de Santiago, 1-5-D, Madrid, 28013. We are right across the street from Plaza Mayor in the old city...amazing location! It's a pretty quiet street (compared to Calle Mayor!) and everything we need is within a few blocks.
I've had an incredible two days. Juan Carlos, my percussionist friend here, is such an amazing guy. One of the nicest people I have met anywhere. A great thanks to Steve Smith for introducing me to Juan Carlos!!! We have had fun jamming, listening to music, etc. He is loaning me a cajón while I am here and really exposing me to a lot. Juan Carlos turned me on to a cajón builder, actually a luthier, in Barcelona and I am having a custom cajón built while I am here. His name is Germán Ocaña, and you can check out his site here. I am so excited - Juan Carlos has one of his cajones and it is the most amazing instrument I have ever played...truly unique! Juan Carlos took me out CD shopping last night which was great - very nice to have someone recommending some important flamenco CDs to have in my collection!
Monday night I went to a club and heard a flamenco singer, El Torta, who is making a comeback after 15 years. He was really great - powerful, expressive, and passionate. It was a very small club called "La Boca del Lobo" (the jaws of the wolf). Hard to see, but good sound and a nice first flamenco experience. Very pure - only cante y guitarra (singer and guitar).Sunday we are going to see Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (the top professional soccer team in Spain, and one of the best in the world) play at their home stadium. It is a league match against Osasuna. It is pretty hard to get tickets, but Juan Carlos helped us figure it out and we got some. They were ridiculously expensive...but when else will we have this chance? We watched them play in the Championship league on TV last night against Lazio (Italy) and it was an exciting game.
So, as promised, here are some pics of our apartment and our neighborhood. See you in cyberspace soon!"Bienvenidos!" says Max.
Maddy at the elevator
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.Maddy in the stairway...muy rústico!
Neighborhood streets
Max doing some homework:
Maddy doing homework:
Jen in the living room:
Maddy & Max in their bedroom:
Our tiny kitchen - thank god for it!:
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1 comment:
Hello from Texas. I had not checked my yahoo acct. for awhile and was thrilled to see that you were in Madrid. I love all the pictures and text. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Tell Maddy and Max hello for me. I'll pass the blogspot on to Melody - she loved being in Madrid. I'll keep watching for updates.
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