Europe 2006 | George Filev

European tour part 2.

11 Jul 2006 02:26 Filed in: Europe 2006
Well I finally got my luggage back after 3 days. Luckily we had 3 rest days planned in Madrid so this worked out perfectly. I ended up buying some new undies and a couple of nice shirts and then got back all my stuff.

Really enjoyed the night life in Madrid and just enough time before heading off to Almagro in the land of La Mancha in Spain's centre. We stopped at a roadside café so we had to take the obligatory photo with the cutout figures, as you do.

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Who's Hosé and who's Hose B?

Almagro is a quaint little village with a festival of classic theatre. We go from the Renaissance of Bar le Duc to the Baroque of Spain. They love theatre here and love this festival. These posters of this old lady were everywhere.

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The square we performed in had these great long green buildings, almost Japanese in style with outdoor cafés.

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People actually still live in the rooms above the monolithic columns.

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This is Darren in front of one of the many ornate doors to non-descript buildings. What a door-knocker!

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Gives you an idea of the sort of architecture.

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One of the restaurants we ate at with a retractable roof. Most of the buildings have these open courtyards with rooms looking into them and retractable roofs so if it is a nice night you can look at the stars while you eat and drink. Even some of the theatres are constructed this way.

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This is one of the oldest theatres in Europe. It was used in Shakespearean times and has an open roof.

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People sat in two balconies and oil lamps were lit and you can see them hanging. This theatre is still used today during the festival.

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Check out this well. Ever been thirsty when you were watching a show? Dip in the well and help yourself to a drop. By the looks of the contents, think I will give it a miss.

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At night time, everything is lit up and it looks really romantic. Most of the town people come out at night as they all have a siesta during the day. It is not uncommon to see very young children out at 1:00, 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning with their parents, enjoying the cool evening under the moon light. The kid's of the village all had these long balloons that they blew up and set-a-free to make whizzing sounds before descending to the ground.

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Even our dressing room was a bit special. Parquetry floors with ornate ceilings and walls decorated with original artwork. The picture in the background is of the theatre I was talking about earlier.

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All the chairs were hand carved and leather upholstered by craftsmen. Most ornate make up tables we have ever had.

Really enjoyed our time in Almagro spending the days swimming in the local pools with local people and the nights performing. Oh did I mention that they are famous for there pickled eggplant?? Go figure...it was very yummy!

Next we had a bus ride for 3 hours to Madrid airport and got on a flight to Luton, London on our way to Gdansk, Poland.

Gdansk is yet another beautiful place.

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It really is stunning and my phone camera doesn't do it justice.

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Gdansk is close to the ocean and a river runs along side it so it is a very touristy place but it's charm outweighs any vulgarity.

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Did I mention it is bloody hot here in Europe at the moment?

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This is an old crane that had a great big wheel in it that was turned by men walking inside the wheel and using their weight as the ballast.

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All along the river there are market stalls with people selling Ember in all its forms. Gdansk is famous for amber.

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It also has an amazing church in the centre of the old town. The church had really high ceilings, stunning sculptures and also some bizarre ones.

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I guess it is Pope land after all. This was a weird kind of calendar / clock / moon cycle contraption with Adam and Eve on the top and there was also an organ that dated back to the mid 1500's. There is a recital on Friday night and I will have to check that out.

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But what the hell was this sculpture about???

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That is the campiest Jesus I have ever seen!!

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Below is the view out the bedroom window. Not as picturesque as Croatia but it has its own charm about it.

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Sometimes things are lost in translation. Like when you go to a Polish hairdresser and ask for a number 2 clipper and end up getting your head shaved...oh well it will grow back and until then, I can always wear a cap or go bowling with my head! Keep mistaking my eyebrows for a couple of caterpillars crossing a billiard ball.

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Went and saw a great company perform yesterday called Banditos. They had this old fire truck and wreaked havoc in the village because the truck was full of fireworks, water cannons, foam spraying machines and flying chickens, (real carcases). They were mad and backed into the crowd and drove straight at them. They also had flamethrowers and bombs they let off that sprayed the audience with water. It was crazy and exciting as they herded the onlookers around the site before dousing them. Having witnessed their shenanigans before, I knew to stand well back. Wonder what their public liability insurance costs are, and whether they have a good risk assessment plan in order?

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Another company that performed was a French troupe with a show called Aqua Dreams. It took part on a white sailing ship, which looked like a float from Moomba, and drove through the streets before getting to a performance space. The audience followed it and became the ocean surrounding it as musicians, acrobats and stilt walkers performed on and around it.

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Our show was the closing finale of the festival and it was a huge success. The presenters were literally on their knees bowing at the end and a large crowd of people expressed great joy after our performance.

Well heading off to Germany next to a little town called Plettenberg. I am driving the truck with the gear from Poland so that should be interesting.

Till next time,

All the best,

George

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