Thanksgiving and Excursion

Thanksgiving was too much fun. First, an expensive dinner of paella with our visiting Guilford professors, which was so nice it made me nervous just sitting in the restuarant. That, and Gabe and I were under a microscope the entire time, having to talk about every aspect of our experience here so they´ll know how they can improve it next time around. Gabe and I came home around 12 a.m., walked into the houses and were pelted by about 20 flying tennis balls. A battle ensued. Most of the house was awake and we ended up moving the party downstairs, sound system and all. At one point the girls felt like dressing up all the guys, so it turned into a costume party (that would be Gabe on the left). It all died down by about 7 a.m.

On Sunday Gabe and I had our last of three excursions, going with Mercedes (the woman who accompanied me during my operation) and her boyfriend. We went north of Madrid to a bunch of tiny towns in the mountains where it was already beginning to snow, amazing rocky landscapes and old roman stone roads. We wanted to reach Ávila be night, an ancient walled city that because of elevation is the coldest in Spain. Halfway there we stopped to tour an underground stalagmite and stalactite cave, which was HUGE and beautiful and eerie. The picture doesn´t do it justice, but you can see the little walkway toward the bottom left and can imagine the dimensions. More or less the size of a cathedral. I got sick as a dog riding in those mountains with a Spaniard driving who didn´t quite understand what it meant to be carsick. At one point on the highway to Ávila we hit 120 mph. And in the curvy, snow-covered mountain roads we weren´t going much slower. We almost hit a goat.

The city of Ávila was my least favorite part of the trip -- it was beautiful and walled, like they said it would be, but also cold and snowy and everything was closed by the time we got there. But the mountains around it were incredible to see and smell. And taste, actually -- there were natural springs all over the place with fresh mountain water. I think it may be one of the most gorgeous places I´ve ever seen.

Going to France on Thursday, coming back to Spain December 11th. I may or may not get a chance to blog there. Then back to N.C. on the 18th!

Mom in Madrid

Below is Mom´s take on Madrid after visiting me for two weeks.

¨Madrid has a way of instantly feeling like home. I guess that's partly due to it's easy accessibility(Metro takes you everywhere... fast, clean and cheap), a complete feeling of personal safety and a nightlife that's as easy and pleasing as your living room. Very easy city to manuever and when you get tired, you pop into one of thousands of restuarants, bars, spots and have a caña, a small beer, and then go your merry way.

Meredith was the perfect travel partner... always ready and willing to see what was around the next corner: shoes, the Reine Sofia Modern Art Museum, Toledo, Segovia, Retiro Park, Keith Haring exhibition and jazz.

Although I had researched the music scene before I left, I was unable to uncover much. Then during the four-story walkup in my hostal, I saw a huge poster announcing the 22nd Madrid Jazz Festival.

Luck has a way of hiding itself until it needs to come out to play. And play, it did. We saw four events with musicians I've always wanted to see but rarely come to the South. First night, Joe Zawinul (Weather report) and band with a 14 piece Big Band Köln. The biggest sound... very exciting.

The next weekend: Friday night, New Orleans Allstars that ended their set with a trumpet solo of "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?" (and yes, I do.) Then Saturday night (the highlight of my visit), we saw one of the great standup bassists, Marc Johnson, play with Niño Josele, a world famous flamenco guitarist that was unfamiliar to us, and a drummer. THEY PLAYED BILL EVANS! Imagine, a flamenco guitarist comes lone to the stage and plays subtly, softly a Miles Davis/Bill Evans tune but adds all the bravado and thrill of the Flamenco. Three shouting encores followed the set. Awesome. Never to be forgotten. Then lastly, Sunday night we saw Bill Frisell (guitarist) with Jenny Scheinman, an Amazing violinist. This night they chose to play 10 John Lennon songs. I really felt priviledged to be there among such greats... and to hear such amazing, creative music.

The other lasting memory I will take from my trip is my evenings with Mere. We would go out, eat a little something, and then go to our favorite hangout and sit and talk and laugh for hours. This was the perfect ending to every day in Madrid.¨

Short Update

Mom´s been here for the last two weeks and left Tuesday morning, which is why I haven´t written anything lately. We were mostly in Madrid, took some small trips to Toledo and Segovia, and saw lots of amazing jazz (Madrid Jazz Festival is going on). She took notes of everything we did and has digital pictures, so she said she´ll write the next entry. Just wanted to let y´all know I´m still alive and well.

It´s freezing here, classes are all right (I have to start using a camara in photography now...scary), and I´ve been hanging out a lot with the kids in my house. I currently have less than a euro in my pocket until my stupid bank sends me the money they suddenly froze in my account a few weeks ago because there´s been too much fraud going on lately in Spain. Looking forward to going to France in a few weeks. Love you all.