El Gregor Fiddle School Rocks The Casa!

Hi! Don't you love this post title? Thankyou Anne-Marie (and americans) for coming up with such an awesome name. With a name like that Gregor will be turning down applicants by the dozen!

Anyway, it was an absolute blast. I took the train to Madrid on Friday lunchtime, the metro to the airport (*ugh* - not a fan) and went through security with an hour to spare. There, I had the worst airport sandwich I've ever had (which is saying something), and felt so sad I bought some oreos to cheer me up. They were very nice :-).
The hour-long flight to Alicante was uneventful, the day was so hot there was a haze at ground level and I got some good photos of the clouds. I landed ok but it took a few minutes to catch up with Gregor's wife, Steph, who very kindly picked me up from the airport. She had their two little boys with her too. I'm not really a little-kids kind of person but these two are gorgeous.

So, we drove out to the Casa, which is actually about an hour north of Alicante, near Bellus, in Valencia. It was awesome to see some kiwis again! Anne-Marie, Wayne and Shelley...I think I was supposed to know a couple of other people too but I didn't recognise them. I did remember Lorraine though. We had Kiwi Paella (think rice risotto but DON'T call it that!) for dinner and had a chat around the table.

During the days, when the others had their fiddle lessons, Shelley and I did some exploring. The first day Wayne drove us out to some little town about 45mins away, and he had planned to go back but decided to stay with us and do some walking. It was called Bocairent, and has old muslim caves, and the twelve stages of the cross on a path leading up a hill to a church. It was a nice day, and a lovely walk. Shelley commented that it was her 'open-air walk', which got me thinking 'what's a closed-air walk??'. Apparently that is a walk in a town. Oh well :S.

We stopped off at the bullring and the supermarket before leaving and I decided to introduce these kiwis to Tinto de Verano (think red wine+fizzy water), and most people tried some that night, before we went out for dinner. It was a cute little restaurant, but the prize for the most notable part of the evening has to go to the dying, later dead, snake on the pedestrian crossing outside. I have a photo of me with it! About a metre away from it, actually, but you get the point.

During the evening Lorraine said jokingly to Steph, Greg's wife, "so we'll pay for your dinner and you'll cook us lunch tomorrow, right?". It turned out that Steph doesn't really get the kiwi sense of humour, and was up at 8 preparing vegetables for 12 people the next morning. Oops :S. Shelley and I were heading out on a bike ride when Gregor announced that lunch was at his place in a nearby village, so Shelley and I biked over and met them there. It was about a 45 minute bike ride, quite pleasant except for the heat. We went past a fireworks factory and a solar farm (they grow solar panels :D), as well as a stinky piggery.
After their class the rest of the group joined us in the main square drinking Sangria (they'd never heard of it!!) before we went over to Gregor's house to eat. It was delicious!!!!! Thanks Steph!

After biking back, which we really didn't feel like but was ok when we got going, Shelley and I lay around by the slightly green pool (we'd done that the day before too - very pleasant) and when class finished I asked Gregor about the bass he'd brought. It was a bass guitar, not a double bass, but I didn't mind because IT WAS SO AWESOME!! I enjoy playing the guitar but the bass guitar is something I'd really like to get into.
That night was the last night of the camp. I listened to Anne-Marie and some scottish guy playing a few tunes with Gregor on the bass, I got a video, I'll try to post it online somewhere. Then Gregor handed me the bass but I didn't do so great with the scottish music :S. Practice!! I was sad when he had to pack it away though. I have since gazed longingly at the bass guitars in the windows of the music shops here in my town. One has one on sale for 320 euro. Birthday present, anyone??

Anyway, the next day we headed out to Alicante in groups, co-ordinated by rental car requirements and plane check in times. My train didn't leave until 5 so I hung out with Lorraine until her train left (thanks Lorraine, you have some incredible tales about Africa) then walked down to the waterfront. I contemplated going to the beach but I only had a couple of hours and it wasn't that close, plus it was quite hot, so I settled for some photos of all the yachts in the marina. I was pretty tired by the time I got on the train so it was pleasant to watch the countryside flash by.
I did hear some tunes but this camp wasn't as focussed as SHISSF - it was much more relaxed. Gregor turned up to lessons 20 mins late...but that is the spanish way I suppose. It was a lot of fun. I also got rather more sleep than I was expecting which was good considering how active we were during the day, and that I had to get up for 8:30am lectures in the two days immediately afterwards.
I got the obligatory postcards too, and am now back into uni. Monday is a national holiday, because in 1492 (!!) they discovered America. Whoop whoop. I am taking the opportunity to organise a pancake breakfast though. Yay!!!

That's pretty much it for now! Write to me?
:D