Barcelona I

April 2007

We went to Barcelona for five days with three of our good Cambridge friends. We were visiting a swing dance camp called Barswingona, we looked around Barcelona and we caught up with other dance friends from around the world. I had lots of fun dancing in Barcelona and here are some photos.


The dance floor was very large, very busy and full of good dancers (and a few too many who 'thought' they were THE BEST, but we ignored them).

One day we also danced on a square outdoors to live music.


During the day we went sight seeing and guess what we bumped into: a little jazz band playing in one of the main shopping streets. Of course we had to have a dance.



Everyone watching loved it, especially the funny Portuguese man who you see in the photo below. He walked up REALLY close taking footage and photos with his camera.

Lotte likes, I mean LOVES, dancing!

I not only 'like' dancing outside. I LOVE it!

I was reminded myself when a friend of mine took this photo of me at the Cambridge Lindy Hopper's first ever Lindy Bomb! A 'lindy bomb' basically means you choose a place and time, you bring some fine jazz tunes, you invite your dancing friends and you DANCE :)

Don't ask me what I am doing in the photo. It must have been one of my famous improvisation moves. They are all truly amazing, original and like nothing else!

So, proven here, Lotte is in her element when:

She is with friends and family,
outside in the sunshine,
in a nice location, like a park,
dancing Lindy Hop!

YAY

Holland's Jumping invention!

Dutchies -- what is going on??

Check out this new thing, created by Dutch people, called Jumpstyle. Zot discovered it and we have decided it is very similar to the Lindy Hop charleston steps we do. The kicks are the same really, just the way they put them together is different. And yes, the music of course is VERY different from the jazz music we normally dance to.

But, we think we might spend an hour on some tutorials we found on YouTube and teach Jumpstyle as a warm up for our Lindy Hop classes ;) Should be fun. It was certainly fun to see Zot practising this morning in our living room. He has got plenty of energy, that is for sure.

This clip is quite fun too.

Cute little moorhen!

Punting can be so romantic, idyllic and wonderful. At times the river can be a real stunning place, with the sun shining on the water and on the beautiful buildings. At this time of the year it is even more exciting and lovely because the ducks and moorhens have their ducklings.

So, we are in the boat, punting along, happy times, romantic times, lovely times.
"Look over there!".
"Aaaah, there is a moorhen mum with her little baby duckling. Sooo cute!!"

Next moment, a big SPLASH! Gone is the little black duckling. Under water. It took one second and one big splash. The next moment it seems as if the duckling had never been there. The water is calm again. We could only know something had happened by the concerned, upset sounds of the mum.

I wasn't sure. Some said the duckling was just diving and would come up soon. It never came up though...

My punting colleagues told me later that there are eels in the river that eat ducklings. I read about it and apparently BIG eels eat ducklings. Hope this is not going to happen on many of my tours. It will be an upsetting rather then relaxing tour on the river.

Romantic? Yes. But now I also know the river can be a place of life and death.

Family & friends visiting!

So, when I work, I punt on the river. When I get visitors and I take a day off, I punt on the river! Me and the river are getting to know each other really well :)