February 4, 2008 Madrid Running off to the Circus!

Sleeping in is a good thing.  Our day was totally unplanned and began with lunch at an Italian restaurant.  The coolest part was the menu was in English!  Oh and the fact the restaurant was open at 2 in the afternoon was quite refreshing.  Most places seem to be closed for Siesta and it’s hard to fins a late lunch place.

Having no idea where and what to see we decided to take an open top double decker bus tour.  Only thing was it began to rain and the idea of paying to get wet was not high on my list of thing to do.  Being quite inventive we decided to follow the bus and stay dry in our own van.  Each time we approached something that looked important we asked “Gypsy” our GSP to tell us about “points of interest”  in the area.  Using this basic theory we saw the Palace Real, Bank of Espana and way too many fountains and squares.

Next stop was to find a shop to buy a bottle of Rum and some mix.  Turns out they don’t have many place that sell booze!  Good news was we saw a Circus and when we went to the gates we found out we only had minutes to wait before the curtain went up. We rushed to buy VIP tickets and headed into Plaza de Toros (the bull fighting ring) where the big top had been erected.  

I have always loved Circus and dreamed as a child to run away and join one.  This was as close as I could feel.  I was a foot from the Ringmaster, could smell the sweat from the acrobats and the elephant dung!  With a huge glass of Rum and Coke in hand I sat though the Circus with a feeling I can not easily describe.  I even almost saw a man shot from a cannon!  (Long story … but funny)

Following the Circus we headed to find more food and drinks and ended up in a nightclub district called Sol.  We went to several clubs including a pirate themed bar and one devoted to Mona Lisa.  

A really fun thing happened while walking down a street in the club area.  I was trying to impress a couple of pretty ladies by vomiting some cards from my mouth when a man rushed across the street and very excitedly tried to explain he had seen me on the Norwegian Jewel in the Summer when I was sailing from Barcelona.  We took a photo together and I signed an autograph and headed off the see if we could crash a private party for Spain’s Motion Picture industry. That didn’t work out so we called it a night and caught a taxi back to the hotel.

It was a perfect evening, followed by a perfect dinner, followed by the most peaceful nights sleeps I have ever had…What a great evening … I will remember it forever …  

   

February 3, 2008 Madrid Day of Rest?

Well we crawled out of bed, drove past a few Castles and checked into a hotel in Madrid to rest for two days.  Ok, that was the plan.  

In actual fact we ended up going back to Houdini’s night club and watching a magic show.  There were several table magicians and two stage acts followed by two sleight of hand artists in a very intimate setting.  Everyone was kind enough to recognize me to the audiences and one even went so far as to try to do the show using a fair amount of English.  It was a great evening and we were lucky to get seats for the early show which started at 11 PM!  We were out by 2 AM and home by 3AM!  The late show started at 1 AM . .. these Spanish folks sure do like late nights …

We plan to sleep in and then do a short tour of Madrid in the morning and using “Gypsy” our faithful GPS and will try to see all the tourist sites … 

  

February 2, 2008 Almendralejo not Badajoz!

Our days journey began as we travelled out of the HUGE city of Madrid on route to what we thought was our next stop of Badajoz. As we attempted to exit the city with our trusty GPS we have affectionately named “Gypsy” we made a wrong turn into a tunnel. Well tunnel may give you the wrong impression. As a child I would hold my breath as we entered a tunnel and would try to hold on until the exit. Good luck with this tunnel!

It was about seven lanes of traffic in our direction and we were in this massive catacomb of on ramps and exits for approximately 30 minutes. All the time “Gypsy” was showing us a map of the surface, that is when she wasn’t just shutting down for lack of satellite reception.When we did finally return to the surface we had left the city far behind and we were well on our way to Badajoz.

Badajoz is on the extreme edge of Spain adjacent to Portugal. Our lecture was to be just for a small group of magicians and was originally planned as a link to a magic convention I was planning to perform at the next day in Portugal. Plans however had changed and I was not attending the event in Portugal so this was one long trip of about five hours each way to teach a dozen magicians some magic.As we neared the end of our journey to Badajoz, “Gypsy” had faithfully lead us to a dirt road in a very rural area which did not seem right to either David or me.

I tried reprogramming the GPS and it kept saying this was the right area. It was quite an unusual area. At one point we even saw a monument of an Espana fighter plane! I took a few minutes to read through all the notes, emails and schedules only to discover we weren’t really going to Badajoz but another place called Almendralejo. With “Gypsy” readjusted we headed back towards Madrid and then off in another direction to our real destination. 

   

On our arrival at the hotel I contacted our host who said it was a mistake. He was not coming to my lecture as “he had something better to do” and I should call someone else. I realize it was most likely a language issue and he didn’t mean what was said. I had a bad feeling but I am a positive guy and just put it down to a new experience and tried to have fun.

When I did meet our host and translator they were super cool people!Jose and Jorge took us on a short walk through the city to Wizards Sala de Magia.On the way we noticed people gathering wood and making huge bonfires in the middle of streets! The streets were getting crowded with people all out for a party of some kind.Inside Wizards I was amazed to see such a cool environment to perform magic.

The owner, Jose, has a really first class club and it is quite surprising to me as the population of the area is around 40,000 people. Vancouver has over a million people and has nothing to compare to this club!The lecture was lots of fun and they were quick studies. I took pictures with almost everyone and signed plenty of playing cards and was having so much fun that I showed them a few extra ideas I have been playing with on the tour.

We were then off for something to eat and a drink.Well the food was great and the company was even better. When we had finished eating we went to a club and had a few more drinks. Ok, a lot more drinks. Jose was an amazing host and we could not buy a drink all evening … or morning ..yes we partied until 7AM!

We visited several clubs, danced a bit and did lots of magic. It was an incredible evening and David and I agree we hope one day to return and have some more fun.

      

February 1, 2008 Madrid

Our day started off by surfing the internet and writing a blog.  Then we headed off in the car.  Leaving the hotel was quite fun as we had parked in the underground via an elevator for the car!  If you have not ridden in your car in an elevator I can tell you it is very odd. 

Once on the road we set our GPS to find us a Castle of two. Our first Castle was quite old and apparently occupied by the Ministry of Culture. We discovered this while exploring the Castle until the security guard asked us to leave. 

Off on the road again and close to the town of Median we saw what appeared to be a Castle. It was either a Castle or a grain silo. We jumped off the highway even though the faithful GPS had no record of a tourist site in the area. After about 30 minutes of getting lost in the twisting streets and alleys of Median we found the Castle. Yes it was a Castle and quite a beautiful one at that. We explored the chapel, dining hall and the main square of this castle before the security guard came to ask us to leave. Seems like a theme huh?

We made our way to Madrid with only one stop to eat. Well I ate an David watched. Not sure why but …My lecture was scheduled for 9 PM. Quite late but the attendance was good and many of the magicians were fairly new to magic so it was great to be able to teach ideas and theory to an open mind.

The lecture facility was beautiful. It is a magic night club for the public called Houdini’s and it is like a miniature Magic Castle. There is a main theatre, a seance room and two close up rooms. I did my lecture in a close up room and it was quite unique as you can see in the photo. Mariano, creator of Melting Point, acted as translator. He is an exceptional magician and I was honored to have him assist me in the lecture.

After the lecture we moved to a smaller room for photo’s and autographs and later saw a presentation by Pablo Segobriga, who is the Master and owner of Houdini’s. Off to bed at 3AM and looking forward to the four plus hour drive to the next lecture…

Valladolid, January 31, 2008

Having stayed at the same hotel for two days, we decide to sleep in with no alarm!  How sweet it was to just wake up when I had enough rest.  We ventured out into the city and found a Donair King restaurant and had a wicked lunch.  So much flavor.  We went walking past the bar from the night before and took a picture.  A quick trip to Zara mens wear to buy a few new shirts and the back to the hotel to prepare for the lecture.  

There was an even 20 magicians in attendance and they were a fun group.  Quique, the President, acted as translator and host for the evening.  He is a super great guy and he and his Wife are expecting a baby boy in just two months. He did such a good job as translator that hey laughed at all the good jokes.  Ok no one laughs at all my jokes … they aren’t all good!  Following the lecture we took a group photo and then headed out for Chinese food.  

I love Chinese food.  After dinner I was given lesson on shooting cards, bottom dealing, and a few really cool coin effects.  I love that even after all these years in magic I have so much still to learn.  We called it an evening at 2AM and I am crawling into bed  to get some rest before the trip to Madrid in the morning …

 

Oviedo, January 29, 2008

It was a day of David being wrong!  He’s usually always right so this was fun.  It began with a search for food.  He had finally had enough of my schedule which rarely includes eating.  Today we found a Bocatta restaurant which was actually open!  I had told David it was just in the next block and he told me we had already passed the area.  Now David’s sense of direction is way better than mine … but this time I was right because as he finished his sentence we reached the next block and could see the restaurant.  As an added bonus there was a Pizza Hut … oh but it was closed.

After a filling meal of burger and fries we were off to find diesel for the van and see some sites.  We saw some spectacular monuments to people we have never heard of and a real cool fortress.  It was a citadel style fort in very good condition.  I have always been fascinated by forts having constructed many of them in my backyard as a child.Driving on the highway for about an hour David discovered a fuel station so I hopped of the highway and tried to enter the station.  This you think would be easy.  Not.  As I went to enter the station there was a round red sign with a single horizontal white line.  This is a do not enter sign.  So I did not enter and David got all upset that I didn’t go into the station.  I tried to explain he must not have seen the sign and he said whatever, ignore the sign and get fuel.  I went to the second entrance only to find it was blocked with a fence.  I turned around and reluctantly entered the wrong way only to discover David had spotted a service station that no longer operated.  No pumps, no people and no fuel.  Twice in one day he was wrong …  wait it gets better.

When we reached the city of Oviedo it took us over an hour to find our hotel.  The tour book for the lecture did not have an actual address for the hotel.  I called them from my iPhone and the kind lady said “we don’t have an address” it’s a just a big grey building in a roundabout”.  Oh we found a dozen roundabouts and hundreds of grey buildings!  When I finally had a good feeling about one of the buildings I headed straight towards it when David said he had seen a small sign with the hotel name.  So I tunred around and followed these stupid little white signs that ended up being miles from the hotel.  After another 20 minutes I decided to head back to where I had initally wanted to check out … and surpirse …  I was right … three times in a single day …does it get any better?

Yes!  The hosts for the evening Julio and Carlos put us in a magnificent hotel with free wifi!  The room is gorgeous.  In the evening the lecture was held in a church center and they had expected a dozen or so magicians.  30 magicians came and they were very enthusiastic.  In fact they gave me the longest round of applause at the end I have received on the tour.  I took pictures with just about everyone, in fact two with some. The evening ended  as usual at a restaurant!  

This restaurant was outstanding.  We saw people pouring cider by holding the glass feet from the bottle.  It is traditional as it allows the air to enter the cider which makes it taste better.  It’s also traditional to drink the entire portion offered to you …fun night!We had a huge plate of traditional dishes and then did a little magic.  I attracted a crowd, did some card stuff and stole a watch.  By the end of the evening I had met a fellow Canadian from Toronto, a director of a sporting club in the UK who gave me his card and had impressed the owners of the restaurant so much they lined up when we left to say goodbye!

 Fun night.Tomorrow I will sleep in as I have no lecture planned.  Off to the next city … 

Santander, January 28, 2008

The drive to Santander was less than spectacular.  The view was most likely amazing as we took a coastal mountain road.  The problem was the fog was so thick it was hard to even see the car in front.  Oh, when driving in Spain in excess of 150 KMHr it is always good to see the car in front of you!!!We made good time and arrived with lots of time to explore the city.  We took an hour to surf the web since the wifi was free and then headed out to have dinner. 

It was around 5:30 PM as we headed out.  To most people this would seem like a reasonable time to start looking for an early dinner.  By 6:30 we still could not find a single restaurant, cafeteria, bar or pub that was open and serving food. Apparently folks in Spain don’t eat until the middle of the night!  Normally this is cool with me but “whinning” David needed to eat.  Geez we ate the night before, what more could one want?  In the end we bought some stale doughnut shaped cookies and a bag of old salty popcorn and called it dinner.

Our host for the evening was Enrique and he was lots of fun.  His English was excellent and his humor was twisted like mine!  He expected a small crowd of perhaps a dozen magicians but 22 showed up.  They were a really quick group and asked lots of fun questions.  After lecture sales were brisk and then we were off to have some traditional food of the region.  I love olives and I can’t think of a meal here that did not include olives.  Oh wait I just did … Dinner with popcorn and cookies didn’t have any olives.

After our late night dinner we headed to a small bar where Enrique and Cesar were apparently regulars.  So regular they didn’t have to order drinks, the bartender just brought them as we sat down!  I had a couple of rum and cokes, which over here they call Cuba Libre’s. During dinner I shared several bottle of a great red wine and a shot of some cherry something or other so by the time I got back to the hotel I was feeling quite fine.  

Tonight was a highlight of Spain! To top it all off I woke up in the morning to sound of crashing waves as our hotel was right on the beach and the surf was quite huge.  I have always loved the sound of water and hope one day to live close to a river or ocean.  I guess that’s why I have always loved working on a cruise ship. 

Pamplona, January 27, 2008

Today was a fun drive of four hours.  We actually drove through the Greewich Meridan which marks the O degree of Longtitude.  Quite a unique experience.  The city of Pamplona is really pretty and the hotel was quite nice and even included a balcony.Our evening began with photos of me with a 10 month old baby named Pablo.  He was so cute and I was honored that his parents wanted me to pose for a few pictures.  After we took a few shots they told me that just a few weeks ago, Juan Tamariz, Spain’s most famous magician had also consented to a few pictures, which they quickly showed me.

    

Then it was off to the lecture.  This was also a small group of 16 very good magicians.  They listened closely and asked great questions.  I had a great time as I am starting to get my voice back and was able to share a few stories along the way.  David acted as camera man for the evening and shot video of most of the lecture.Our evening ended with small group from the society taking us out for dinner and drinks.  It was an outstanding meal and the company was superb.  I really had a great evening and they were so nice to us.  They even gave us these special red handkerchiefs that are traditionally worn during the running of the bulls.  The cool part is that the handkerchiefs are embroidered with the magic societies logo’s! 

Reus, January 26, 2008

A short drive from Barcelona that was quite exciting when I missed a turn and David and I had a short but loud discussion on who’s driving and who’s a passenger.  I had seen a “do not enter” sign on the road the GSP wanted me to enter.  So I didn’t enter and a quick discussion on driving skills began.  I took us only minutes to readjust our coordinates and get back on the road but hours before we were laughing at the situation.Reus is a small but fun town.  The hotel was beautiful and the magic club was awesome.

The evening began with a stage show by Miguel who worked to a crowed room of really happy lay people.  He had a couple of outstanding ideas and all in all a very professional show.  Although the entire show was in Spanish, David and I were laughing in all the right places.We headed up to a small room above their theatre for the lecture.  Here in Spain they don’t actually refer to them as lectures.  They call them “Confrencia’s”.  Only a dozen magicians were in attendance but they were a great group with all the right questions and were quick studies. Rafael, the President of the club, was so nice and publicly thanked me for coming to his town.  

Later we all went for drinks at a club called Bogus where the music as we entered was “abracadabra”  by Steve Miller Band … a fact that none of the Spanish magicians even noticed or understood even when David and I pointed it out! 

      

In the morning we are off to Pamplona to look for some bulls!  If I understand the folks correctly we will cross the Greenwich Meridian somewhere along the road …  I’ll let you know later ..  

Barcelona January 25, 2008

Well for the first time on the tour I got to stay in the same city and hotel for an whole day!  David and I took a walk down Rambal de Catalonya (Las Ramblas) and watched the street buskers and con artists.  It was really fun to watch the three shells game workers from Russia.  They are really very good at their craft.  I was so tempted to play just to “best them” but I’m sure I would be in a hospital right now!

In the evening I lecture for the largest club in Barcelona and it was a sold out crowd with standing room only.  They have their own amazing magic club with a card room, library, bar, social area and lecture hall!  Sure was fun meeting the magicians and having the pleasure of Jose translate a second a lecture.  He was exceptional and found the humor in my jokes and even made them work.

   

Following the lecture we were off to have dinner.  This time I tried a dish I have no idea how to even pronounce!  It was basically BBQ huge onions that you strip and dip in a spicy sauce.  Really was quite delicious!

Tomorrow we head out to Reus.  It’s a small club of a dozen guys but I expect it will be lots of fun …