Friday, August 26, 2011

Palma de Mallorca

A good deal on a round-trip ticket from Málaga city to Palma turned out to be 179€ ($240). You don't get nuttin' free on this 1 1/2 hour flight. At the Palma airport, a coke is 3€ ($4.50). Everything costs more in Mallorca.

City Hall and an olive tree nearby.
 
2 churches 4 blocks apart.
 

The Old Man And (AT) The Sea -- Ernest Hemingway. With a recent suntan and a cold caña (CAH-neeah, beer in a glass). 
 

A typical food store aisle. Just like back home but more expensive.
Bicycles for rent. I couldn't find how much they rented for though (duh). I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford it LOL.

On the Road Again -- Willie Nelson. This time to Valldemossa (vahl-deh-MOH-sah, in the Catalá language, like Valle de Moises in Spanish, or Village of Moses in English). It's like the little towns in the Rocky Mountains. Kirk Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have a home up here somewhere. If you speak Spanish, you MAY make out 1 out of every ten or twenty words in Catalan. Wicked! The Catalan people here and in Barcelona are known for their business acumen and have a reputation of being very well off financially. 
 M R Cruise ships.

Some of theM aRe private yachts with a staff of 12. Yikes!

Waiting for the airplane on the return flight, I bought a 3 euro coke. Damn, I feel so freakin' rich. I may vote Republican. 

Off to Sevilla next. (Sevilla? Damn, I am rich! LOL) 

Monday, August 15, 2011

Trip to the Malaga Fair Grounds



Somehow the videos would not load up as 1 movie. So, sorry you'll have to click on each of the 10 short clips that follow. USE THE LEFT ARROW TO GET BACK, DON'T USE THE RED-X.

This is actually the bus ride to the fair.
Feria Málaga Parte 1

Feria Málaga Parte 2

Feria Málaga Parte 3

Feria Málaga Parte 4

Feria Málaga Parte 5

Feria Málaga Parte 6

Feria Málaga Parte 7

Feria Málaga Parte 8

Feria Málaga Parte 9

This is actually back home.
Feria Málaga Parte 10

Saturday, August 13, 2011

At The Málaga Fair Aug 12, 2011

VA-MOS A LA FE-RIA, O E O E O E. If you think automobile exhaust harms the environment, try horse exhaust. Hel-lo Dol-ly!
I heard an old lady say: ¨This is nothing compared to Semana Santa¨¨. Then she added: ¨Nobody comes to these things anymore¨. Wasn't that Yoli Berra's line? I prefer my ¨It's so sunny here, you can get a suntan overnight¨. 
Mothers and Daughters. 
(She wasn't supposed to turn around) 
And what'll you have? Uh, Tapas and Beer. 
And what'll you have? Uh, Tapas and Beer.  
 And what'll you have? Uh, Tapas and Beer.
 And what'll you have? Uh, Tapas and Beer.
And what'll you have? 

Málaga middle of week 7 of 12, August 13, 2011 Saturday


More of Diana Navarro (DEEAH-nah). The web is great! The TV show where I first saw her is already available online at:
It is 30 minutes long. The first four minutes and the last two are introductions by Antonio Banderas. In between the intro/outro are 5 songs. The program is as follows (starting at mm:ss):
00:00 Intro
04:00 Guajiras De La Tarántula
09:30 El Quince De Agosto En Madrid
16:35 Rosa Acabó Llorando
21:00 Carmela Y El Minero
25:15 Alegría De Paloma
A few notes. This dialect of Spanish mutes the d’s and s’s. Madre = Ma’re; Todo = To’o. I especially like the third song, Rose Ended Up Crying. It is from an operetta (written by Ruperto Chapí) called El Rey Que Rubió. I not sure how to translate Rubió, maybe someone can help and comment on this. Anyway, ¨Ay de mí¨ sounds like ¨Woe is me¨. Diana Navarro and the musicians are fantastic. That little box (the drummer is sitting on) is very popular in flamenco music and can be bought at most music stores here in Andalucía, for 180€! I hope you enjoy the video. It is worth watching (And, don’t ever bitch that I never take you anywhere! LOL)

And here’s my attempt at a flamenco song. I’m not forking over 180 euros for a drummers box, so I’m just playing lead, rhythm, and bass guitars. A gratis clapping track is available online but I cannot get the S-ss-ss- pattern to sync to my already-done recording. It was tough picking a name for the song. Here are some of the choices:
Solo tú y yo (Just You And I)
Una luna azul (A Blue Moon)
Solo tú y yo y una luna azul
Por la carretera (On the Beltway/Loop)
Dos solos juntos (Two Singles Together)
Un paso más cerca a tí (A Step Closer To You)
Triste sin ti (Sad Without You)
Oye (Listen)
Extrañándote (Missing You)
Espera (Wait)

DAY TRIP TO MANILVA, ESTEPONA, AND MARBELLA. Finally, made it down the coast. I chatted with the bus driver all the way. It was great! After a while, you don’t hear his words or yours; you just hear the idea being conveyed. Kool. Basically, everybody is weary of Chinese-made goods.

Manilva is a nice town quite a ways up the hill from Sabinillas, which is right on the coast. The latter is a perpetual party; the former, a sleepy (cool) village. Both are very neat and clean. The beach at Sabinillas is not as crowded as Málaga. Both towns are so remote that a car is a Must Have. The bus service does exist; it is excellent with the exception that it is not frequent.

Estepona (on the way back) is a little more developed. A haven for retirees. Clean!
The Boardwalk
A Chiringuito.
A Playground.

And, Marbella (after that) has the reputation of being a jet set location. I didn’t even get off the bus there. The bus took route A7 (rarely lost sight of the sea) and it is evident that there is a lot of money invested in apartments, businesses, and golf courses all along the coast!

Friday, August 12, was also the start of The Fair in Málaga. Great fireworks that went on forever. Now, instead of the usual Tapas and Stuff, there will be Stuff and Tapas! No, just kidding. There is a carnival just west of the airport. The carnival has rides, games, shows, etc.

I’m so tired. LOL

Monday, August 8, 2011

Málaga end of week 6 of 12, August 9, 2011 Tuesday


If you like noise, you’ll love Málaga. 1) Half of the bums (who can’t feed themselves) have a dog. Our neighborhood bum’s dog barks at anything and everything. 2) The customers at the Tapas Bar come to hear the sound of their own voices and usually end up saying something stupid. It also seems that they don’t really listen to what anyone else has to say. 3) Some neighbors were going to the beach. Well first you have to go up and down the block singing ¨Va-mos a la pla-ya, O, E, O, E, O, E¨ (We´re go-ing to the beach, doo dah, doo dah).

I broke down and bought 2 electric table fans. Now, I don´t open the doors and windows. God bless Thomas Edison (he killed two birds (temperature and noise) with one stone (the fan)).

Wow! (you’ll need to hit the >(play) button first, and later click the [x] to close the advertisement box). I saw her on TV. She is so, very PROFESSIONAL. How does someone compose magic like this? Must be the water/wine? in Málaga. I’ll have to try my hand at composing flamenco. heehee
My translation to English is shown below.

I’m going to Marbella this week, O, E, O, E, O, E. Nah, just kidding about the doo dahs. But, I bought a Tarjeta Dorada (Golden Card) for 5.05€. This gives us old (over 60 year old) farts a 40% discount on the Renfe rail system. Kool. For now, the Renfe train only goes ¨south¨ (west, mostly) as far as Fuengirola, after that the Portillo bus system takes over. However, Renfe trains service Granada and Sevilla, which are on my list of cities to visit. Too bad I couldn´t take the Renfe to Mallorca (an island) and it turns out the ferry system does not go there directly; so I’ll have to forego that experience and fly there instead (from August 19th Friday through the 26th Friday).

The lady next door is cooking again ... Lord have mercy.

Finally stuck my toes in the Mediterranean Sea. Ahhh. The water is very cold, and very salty, but clean. At waist high, you can still make out your feet. The beaches here are very well kept. Some beaches have lifeguards on duty. All beaches are free, but permanent palm-hut-style post umbrellas(?) rent for 6€ a day, lounge chairs for 2€. Policemen (on motorcycles) patrol the beach from the brick malecón (boardwalk? brickwalk?); great idea that: protecting local and foreign sources of income to this country. Beach vendors (yeah, ugh) sell beer and hats, which they are wearing (yaow). It is hot, humid, and crowded. Once you get used to the cold water, the heat and humidity problems disappear. Occassionally you will see a young lady laying topless (t’aint no big deal, all men are topless too); bottoms are required though, for all. Although I understand there is no law against nudity anywhere in Spain, the police will make one waste his/her day at the police station if one bares it all. Also available are chirinquitos (food stands), bars, toilets (very clean!), and rinse-off stations (the water is potable, the drainage is perfect). The sand is kept clean but there is a 10 yard wide (10 meter wide) band of coin-sized smooth rocks starting at the water line (that has got to be there by design, to lessen erosion?); I wish I had brought my beach shoes on this trip instead of my sandals; my feet are tender after all the walking (BTW, I broke the heel on the left tennis shoe and had to buy a new pair here). There is just barely a small surf breaking, and no major undertows. Beaches are a mere 2 to 8 blocks away from the bus stops, so it is just a matter of deciding which beach you want to visit. I feel safe here.


Brindo Por Ti (I Drink A Toast To You)
 
No me dijo ni palabra, (He said not a word,)
Me clavó su mirada en mi mirada. (He fixed his gaze in mine.)
No me dijo ni quien era, (He didn’t even tell me who he was,)
Ni de donde venía (Nor where he came from)
Y sólo me amaba. 
([And] he just loved me)

Ay, el aire salado del puerto, (Oh, the salty air from the port,)
Las gotas de su frente (the drops from his forehead)
Y esa corriente casi quemaba. (And that current that almost burned.)
Le besé con los labios que besan las hadas 

    (I kissed him with lips that (until then) kissed fairies)
Y le canté, (And I sang to him,)
Y le canté... (And I sang to him ...)

Brindo por ti (I Drink A Toast To You)
Con vino malagueño de amor. (With wine of love from Málaga.)
Quiero que bebas de mí  (I want you to drink from me)
Traguitos de mi vino interior. (Sips of my inner wine.)

Brindo por ti  (I Drink A Toast To You)
A medias con la luna y el sol, (Halfway between the moon and the sun,)
Y ojala te lleves de mí (And hope that you take from me)
El líquido de mi corazón. (T
he liquid from my heart.)

Brindemos juntos tú y yo. (We’ll drink a toast together you and I.)

De él no queda casi nada: (Of him, little remains:)
La mitad de un recuerdo y media mirada. (Half of a memory and half of a stare.)
Se marchó por donde vino (He left from whence he came)
Y el calor de poniente, ay amor, me lo borraba. 
    (And the westerly heat, oh love, continued to erase him from me.)

Ay, cómo cantaban mis entrañas, (Oh, how my ¨being¨ sang,)
Cómo temblaban los cielos (How the skies trembled)
Cuando su cuerpo y mi cuerpo volaban. (When his body and mine soared.)

Y gocé (And I enjoyed)
Agarrándome bien a su almohada, (Grasping tightly his pillow)

Y le canté, (And I sang to him,) 
Y le canté... (And I sang to him ...) 


Brindo por ti (I Drink A Toast To You)
Con vino malagueño de amor. (With wine of love from Málaga.)
Quiero que bebas de mí  (I want you to drink from me)
Traguitos de mi vino interior. 
(Sips of my inner wine.)

Brindo por ti  (I Drink A Toast To You)
A medias con la luna y el sol, (Halfway between the moon and the sun,)
Y ojala te lleves de mí (And hope that you take from me)
El líquido de mi corazón. (The liquid from my heart.)

Brindemos juntos tú y yo. 
(We’ll drink a toast together you and I.)

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Málaga middle of week 6 of 12, August 6, 2011 Saturday

Museo Unicaja de Artes Populares (Unicaja Bank Museum of Folk Art)
Some Coat of Arms.

A Two-Seater Sedan.
A Family Sedan.
A caged cart (? I have no idea).
Fire Engine.
Keys.
Wrought Iron Work.
2 Grinding Mills.

Clothes Irons and Scissors.
Kitchen.
Spinning Wheel.
Wine and Brandy Casks.

Vitrola.
Woodworking tools, hoes, axes, and grinders..



Sala 9 (oops, incorrect translation ¨costumbres¨?)


Parlour.
Bedroom (Notice the Birthing Chair! Whatever works. Just get it done.)
An Angel. (Men can have wings, but birds cannot have arms. Um-hum)
A museum is a nice headstone in the graveyard of eras gone by. (I wax poetic oft times)