Florence sips champagne from the dance of Spain

I have tasted Spain. I have experienced the passion, the sound and the dance of Spain.
Last night I was given an appetizer....... it was titillating and I was left wanting.....
I have seen Carmen as opera, and I have seen Carmen as ballet .....
Now I have seen Carmen as flamenco with the full force of a Spanish world...
The color,
The rhythm
The sound
Women in full dress and mantilla
Flounces
Men in high waisted pants
Bolero
And heels
Tapping
Pounding out the sensuality and emotion
Of the story of Carmen
I listened to the music from two 12 stringed guitars
A flute
A percussion drum
One man beating the rhythm with his hands
And the dancers telling the story of sad love.
I came out of the theatre with no words
Into a massive crowd of thousands in the square.... thousands
Which one is Spain?
I think this night
I found what I wanted
And it is not the buildings, though they are beautiful
It is not the streets
I saw it in the countryside through which I walked and I saw it again tonight.
Viva España!!!!!!!!

Florence feels the passion.......

Just a first thought- love the Spanish trains!
Arrived in Madrid- after being in a natural other world for some time, it was like a sledgehammer. People and cars everywhere- people shopping crazily and cars doing whatever cars do crazily.
And
Finding the amazing accommodation that seemed not to be was hopeless......have since dealt with booking .com and they are onto the scamming mongrels of whatever that place was.
Mind you I kind of reluctantly upgraded to Hotel Preciados, across the street. How I suffered!!!!
Organized new accommodation at petit palace Preciados which is awesome.
Today I have seen a cathedral where I was told that god was having lunch and a siesta so it was closed! Don’t get me wrong but there might have been a little something wrong with my Spanish or it was the first cathedral ever where god got a lunch break.
I love the colors of buildings here especially the other cathedral which was pale blue and cream..... very nice!
So I now own clothes that show I have arms covered in skin and not material- what a freedom that is- shoulders bare, back bare..... loads of sun and brown feet! It is delicious after a year of covering up.
And tonight
It was flamenco
In a little side street
In a dark room
And the music
The voices
And the sensuality of the rhythmic beat
And the feet
And .....
I was enthralled.......
So here I am in Madrid
I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Florence Flies Solo, and Los Pair of Gringos start new Adventures

Last night in Santiago tonight....
have crossed my finishing line with little fanfare but heaps of fun...
Tomorrow morning I am off to Madrid for a couple of days while deciding whether to go right south or a bit south.... either way , I will eat oranges and hopefully dance flamenco.
Had a moment in the sun today when it looked like there was a flash mob in the park.... so I joined in and Lee has a video to prove it! One day the world will see my ability to dance in a bunch of strangers! Great fun.... but we moved on .....
First tattoo has been done..... very happy....... has taken a few years!

So the Camino for this year is over but the possibility of another next summer is on the cards...
Lee heads off to do the French Way tomorrow, then the Pyrenees..... while I get to swan around , getting some clothes as the hiking gear is not quite what I wear..... all the time.

Florence sips the sweet sweaty life of Spain

And in they come..... tired sweaty, hot..... limping .... the look of relief when they see a hotel is awesome......pleasure like never seen before....
Sitting on the patio outside the hotel in Padron, sipping a little sip, gives me a moment to reflect on the last 8 days of walking a path in one direction with no real idea of what lay ahead.... some days have been easy but the 37 km day with nearly 30 km road walking and so so hot wasone of the hardest..... and my feet were heated by huge blisters...... not a pretty sight.
We have climbed hills, chilled in water troughs.....
I have fallen flat on my face and had my traveling doctor mend me...... mind you, the traveling doctor slipped a time or two.....
I can certainly say that the pleasure of traveling with a good friend has been excellent..... I never tire of my jokes and he is polite.....
The food has been amazing ... besides the coffe and croissants for breakfast.... we have eaten seafood, local meats, sausage, cheese and enough olive oil to lubricate a Dreamliner.....
I swanned  into Vigo in size 12 Ultra shoes..... having to make sure the feet did not trip each other, my walking poles got a complete workout as I tried to keeep the pain off the feet......
We stayed by the Atlantic Ocean.... straight over the road so had doors open all night, listening to the water...
I have decided my rosy li’l cheeks must look eminently pattable as they have been patted by unknown kind hands, and my back has been patted too.......I cannot speak Spanish but I did fine in Portugal with my French......
It has been a blast... tomorrow another adventure awaits.......
And again I must apologies for pics only being on FB

Los Pair of Gringos in Portugal and Spain

Last night in Porto was spent in the exotic  company of thousands of footy fans , muttering and groaning as their team drew with Spain...... we roamed and finally settled on a seat watching people, sipping Portuguese Port.....
Seems so long ago now and it has only been five days. Easy to say as we sit in Spain.... in A Guardia....
Five days? My body found muscles it never knew existed... it has been exhilarating, fatiguing.... but I am keen for the next seven days...
The travel has enabled not just the sightseeing up close and personal but also to engage with history.... it also allows for a bit of limit testing...
It is hot... like really hot.......
And we walk
And walk
And walk
And it is the sun beating down, searing skin and ripping every bit of moisture from your body......
I thought I would die the other day
.... really just keel over, tongue hanging out and all that kind of heat dead stuff,,,,,
I was saved by water all over my head.... and drinks..... then further on after more overheating..... the delicious thrill of a huge water trough..... every hedonistic and I didn’t die.....
Quite a satisfying ending , don’t you think?
Have met many awesome Portugués and Spanish people...... some excellent exchanges and what fun it was to walk in a country  where many understood French..... .....
It has been more than a blast........
Sorry but no pics as cannot get to them with this device...... check out FB cos can upload to there.

Florence treads a new Path.......

Its time!
Long plane trip yesterday with all the joys of misdirection at Madrid airport- go there, no go there..... decisive action was called for and happened! Yes Ryanair was found and due to misjudging of time changes there was mobs of time.......
and Porto was found!
As was the Grande Paris Hotel in Rua Fábrica....
It was warm, but not hot.... how great to be out of 40+ degrees.
The streets of Porto are tiny like mNy other European cities.... cobbled And completed with a fine array of tourists......
Task one was to find and destroy some great food and wine- a simple action based upon the vision of so many places to eat and sip!
Selected was a restaurant  on a raised platform on the street...... red wine, cheese, bread, sausage, ham, aoli, olives..... and such delights.
This , of course, was after walking along the river.... sitting on the wharf and hanging feet over edge..... no falling but elegant rising from position.....
Watching street music and more wine......  quite nice actually!
Today has been spent visiting the Porto Cathedral, getting planned for the finer points of not losing oneself in the wilds of Portugal and getting Sox.... a most delightful experience of where are we and do we go this way.... oh no we don’t so ? All problems overcome and life returns to normal except we are not in Kuwait!
So ..... packed is what we are
Early start tomorrow
Very early start actually
And the walking will begin.......

Florence of Arabia flees the sandy skies

Today it is quiet! Most people have already left , flying off to many different destinations- there are just a few of us who still have to go.
So we leave at  1.30 a.m to catch the 4.30 flight to Porto.... it is going to be a long day .
It’s nice , you know, having adventures and this coming one is going to be amazing. I get to walk with my dear friend, we get to be out of the sandy atmosphere of Kuwait.... and we get to walk by the water.....
Oh and did I say we get to drink wine ? And eat excellent food?
Thought I might mention that....
This is good as my plans are flexible except for when I must leave Madrid to fly back to Kuwait and then back to Oz.....
So, we will play chess this afternoon......
And just stuff around....
Waiting
I hate waiting
But the blogs will be done and you all can follow as it unfolds.....

The Rising of Schereharazade....... goodnight Florence

Sheherazad, Shaharazad..........Scheherazade......the person whose realm/dominion (شهرšahr) is free (آزاد āzād).

So this is what will welcome me on my return to Kuwait...

The red bordello? 

A place for the tales of a thousand and one nights?

I am now content- with the vibrancy of colour and the jazz in the background....

The moving was alleviated with a non caped hero!

The Finishing of Florence's Year

The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage. Thucydides

It is almost over! The wheels are just clicking round and we only have three days of school to go... finish on Tuesday and out of here early Thursday morning.
Bags are packed- kind of.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” -Lao Tzu

Part of the travel experience is certainly the prep- have been prepping for some time for this. Began training 8 months ago but I can say that with the heat, and with the slow pace of life, I have tended to become somewhat slack. Instead I am focussed on the delights that freedom will confer on me.
Freedom to dress as I please- even to naughtily bare shoulders and knees!
Drink wine by a river
Oh yes!
If you have never lived a restricted life, then it becomes difficult to understand the true meaning of what i just said.  This year , every appendage has been covered - sort of. For someone who is pretty much used to doing whatever, it was initially a novelty but that wears a bit thin after a while.
I actually am not sure what I will end up doing in Spain.
The first couple of weeks are flat tack - with views of the Atlantic.
That is all I know!

I have done reports, trained in IB( two courses in the last month)  waved farewell to the students, and felt the brunt of Ramadan...
Tomorrow, my apartment gets a remake

Be patient till the next story which will maybe be on Friday.