August in Spain 2 - The 1st Flamenco Show
Monday, August 6
Robert packed every one (Emy, Nido and family, Imelda, Dan and family) into the 1 van and he drove them to Gibraltar while Donna stayed to wait for Emy’s friend and classmate Lilibeth coming from Germany. Lilibeth is coming with another friend, Lyan, visiting from the Philippines. They wanted to go with the group to Gibraltar but Lyan’s Philippine passport doesn’t have a visa for the UK. So they weren’t in a hurry to get to Jerez.
Below is Lyan in front of the altar of the Fatima Cathedral.
We were also expecting Stacy and Daniel to arrive anytime from Madrid.
Mary and I went on base early enough so we’ll have time to pick up the 2nd van promised to us by the car rental outfit. We headed straight to them. Unfortunately we were told it won’t be available till about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I can’t go home so I had to stay at Expeditions and wait. Expeditions is a little building here on base where people go on line.
I checked my eMail and found out that Stacy sent me one saying she and Daniel already have a flight booked for Jerez to Paris, another thing we don’t have to worry about. And now if they’ll get here to Jerez, the group will be complete. The only consequence of Daniel not getting his passport on time is their missing the Gibraltar trip.
Mary picked me up around noon and we had lunch, then she dropped me back off at Expeditions. She said the rental place told her it’s now 5 pm that the van will be available. Later on she sends me an eMail saying she’ll get off work at 4:30 and that I should just wait outside.
When we got to the rental place, the van's still not there. The lady at the front desk was apologetic and said the van’s on its way. We wait some more while Mary was talking with some friends waiting for a flight to the States. The rental place is in the terminal building. Finally a little after 5, the van arrives. Once the paperwork got straightened out, they gave us the keys and we went outside to check it out. It’s exactly the same as the other, with almost the same dents and scratches. I had a hard time closing the sliding door but finally figured it out. I had to push on it from the outside. Mary leaves her BMW at her work parking lot and we headed on home. She said she got a call from Donna and that Lilibeth and Lyan are at the house. They took the bus from the airport. Robert got a call from Stacy from Madrid and said they missed their flight to Jerez and are on a space available status at the moment.
On our way home, Mary and I were talking about how there were so many glitches experienced by almost everyone on this trip. Hopefully, when Stacy and Daniel arrives, everything will be ok.
We got home and Donna tells me Lilibeth’s friend Lyan is a daughter of our neighbor in Greenfields, Dr. Carlos. What a small world it is indeed! She’s a lawyer in the Philippines and she went to Germany (or is it Luxembourg?) to attend a seminar on human rights. Apparently Donna have been talking their ears off as soon as they arrive. A few minutes later Robert arrives with his ‘tour group’ from Gibraltar. Emy and Lilibeth let out a piercing scream once they saw each other! It was pandemonium from then on! So this is how it is to have such a big group under one roof! We were scheduled to attend a Flamenco dinner show at 9:30 in Jerez so we just kicked back, talking some more while the kids went to the beach. In the morning before they left, Robert reminded everyone to make sure and take their passports due to the immigration check point before entering Gibraltar. When they got there, he was leading the pack when he realized he forgot his passport! He had to wait for them to finish the Gibraltar on the Spanish side! A little while later we get a call from Stacy saying she and Daniel just arrived and will be waiting at the Jerez airport. We have our two vans, Stacy and Daniel are here – life is sweet!
We hurriedly drove to the airport to pick the two up. We met them at the curb, they looked worn out and they couldn’t wait to tell us their horror stories for the last few weeks, waiting for Daniel’s passport, etc.
When we got home, we had to wait for the kids to get back from the beach and then it was time to go to the Flamenco show. Robert drove one van and I drove the other. I followed him to Jerez and we finally got to the place. It’s a small restaurant with a little stage on one end. We ordered our food but a little before 11 the waiter started collecting our plates as a signal that the show was about to start. The lights were suddenly turned off and the lights for the stage were turned on. Four women and a couple of guys (one with a guitar) went up and proceeded to sit on chairs provided at the back of the stage. The guitarist started playing, then the other guy sang along. A bit later, one of the women stood up slowly, eyebrows creased with a really intense expression on her face and started dancing while the rest are clapping in a staccato way that’s always in beat with the music and the dance. And it was like that all through the show, sometimes two women dancing at the same time, etc. So far, this is my most enjoyable part of our trip. I just love Flamenco!
Robert packed every one (Emy, Nido and family, Imelda, Dan and family) into the 1 van and he drove them to Gibraltar while Donna stayed to wait for Emy’s friend and classmate Lilibeth coming from Germany. Lilibeth is coming with another friend, Lyan, visiting from the Philippines. They wanted to go with the group to Gibraltar but Lyan’s Philippine passport doesn’t have a visa for the UK. So they weren’t in a hurry to get to Jerez.
Below is Lyan in front of the altar of the Fatima Cathedral.
We were also expecting Stacy and Daniel to arrive anytime from Madrid.
Mary and I went on base early enough so we’ll have time to pick up the 2nd van promised to us by the car rental outfit. We headed straight to them. Unfortunately we were told it won’t be available till about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I can’t go home so I had to stay at Expeditions and wait. Expeditions is a little building here on base where people go on line.
I checked my eMail and found out that Stacy sent me one saying she and Daniel already have a flight booked for Jerez to Paris, another thing we don’t have to worry about. And now if they’ll get here to Jerez, the group will be complete. The only consequence of Daniel not getting his passport on time is their missing the Gibraltar trip.
Mary picked me up around noon and we had lunch, then she dropped me back off at Expeditions. She said the rental place told her it’s now 5 pm that the van will be available. Later on she sends me an eMail saying she’ll get off work at 4:30 and that I should just wait outside.
When we got to the rental place, the van's still not there. The lady at the front desk was apologetic and said the van’s on its way. We wait some more while Mary was talking with some friends waiting for a flight to the States. The rental place is in the terminal building. Finally a little after 5, the van arrives. Once the paperwork got straightened out, they gave us the keys and we went outside to check it out. It’s exactly the same as the other, with almost the same dents and scratches. I had a hard time closing the sliding door but finally figured it out. I had to push on it from the outside. Mary leaves her BMW at her work parking lot and we headed on home. She said she got a call from Donna and that Lilibeth and Lyan are at the house. They took the bus from the airport. Robert got a call from Stacy from Madrid and said they missed their flight to Jerez and are on a space available status at the moment.
On our way home, Mary and I were talking about how there were so many glitches experienced by almost everyone on this trip. Hopefully, when Stacy and Daniel arrives, everything will be ok.
We got home and Donna tells me Lilibeth’s friend Lyan is a daughter of our neighbor in Greenfields, Dr. Carlos. What a small world it is indeed! She’s a lawyer in the Philippines and she went to Germany (or is it Luxembourg?) to attend a seminar on human rights. Apparently Donna have been talking their ears off as soon as they arrive. A few minutes later Robert arrives with his ‘tour group’ from Gibraltar. Emy and Lilibeth let out a piercing scream once they saw each other! It was pandemonium from then on! So this is how it is to have such a big group under one roof! We were scheduled to attend a Flamenco dinner show at 9:30 in Jerez so we just kicked back, talking some more while the kids went to the beach. In the morning before they left, Robert reminded everyone to make sure and take their passports due to the immigration check point before entering Gibraltar. When they got there, he was leading the pack when he realized he forgot his passport! He had to wait for them to finish the Gibraltar on the Spanish side! A little while later we get a call from Stacy saying she and Daniel just arrived and will be waiting at the Jerez airport. We have our two vans, Stacy and Daniel are here – life is sweet!
We hurriedly drove to the airport to pick the two up. We met them at the curb, they looked worn out and they couldn’t wait to tell us their horror stories for the last few weeks, waiting for Daniel’s passport, etc.
When we got home, we had to wait for the kids to get back from the beach and then it was time to go to the Flamenco show. Robert drove one van and I drove the other. I followed him to Jerez and we finally got to the place. It’s a small restaurant with a little stage on one end. We ordered our food but a little before 11 the waiter started collecting our plates as a signal that the show was about to start. The lights were suddenly turned off and the lights for the stage were turned on. Four women and a couple of guys (one with a guitar) went up and proceeded to sit on chairs provided at the back of the stage. The guitarist started playing, then the other guy sang along. A bit later, one of the women stood up slowly, eyebrows creased with a really intense expression on her face and started dancing while the rest are clapping in a staccato way that’s always in beat with the music and the dance. And it was like that all through the show, sometimes two women dancing at the same time, etc. So far, this is my most enjoyable part of our trip. I just love Flamenco!
posted by reyjay @ 10:16 PM
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