Sunday, May 20, 2012

We slept in yesterday after a rather busy Friday night.  We puttered around in the morning and most of the early afternoon.  Susan finished and published her piece on The Ginger Loft and if you have not seen it yet you can find it here http://www.vistasdevida.com/ .  Before we knew it, it was 3:30 and we needed to get some lunch.  The easiest thing to do was to head to Canela Taberna, the less formal version of the restaurant where there is an outdoor patio.  We found a table in the shade and we studied the menu.

Cristina convinced us to order the clóchinas and it did not take much effort on her part.  We also ordered the steak and potatoes and that was more than enough to fill us up.  We passed on dessert, but we did have coffee.  When we finished Susan decided to hop a bus and go over to Rusaffa Art where more than fifty galleries had opened their doors to the public.  I opted for a nap and made my way home.

All dressed and showered we left the house at 7:00 and took a cab to the Museo de Bellas Artes, which is the new venue for the concerts sponsored by Los Amigos de la Guitarra.  We discovered that this used to be the venue for their concerts and for some reason they were obliged to change the venue to the auditorium at the Colegio Luis Vives.  They are happy to be back there and, in truth, it is a nicer and more comfortable space.

Last night’s concert was number 530 and the performer was Toni Cotolí who has performed worldwide.  His music choices, in the main, came from his current CD Puesta del Sol and from what will be his next CD, which is scheduled to be recorded in December.  Both albums feature the work of Valencian composer Luis Nuño who was in the audience and spoke to us briefly about his compositions.  Nuño has spent a goodly amount of time in South America, as well as a number of months in Boulder, Colorado.  He readily acknowledges the influence of South America in his compositions and the listener is immediately aware of that influence, also.

The concert lasted a shade less than two hours and the audience was enthralled with Cotolí’s performance.  We were able to purchase two of his CD’s and we enjoyed listening to them today.  After the concert we took a cab back to Calle Borrull and we decided to stop of at La Tasca Borrull, which is three blocks away from the house.  We always walk past it on our way to other places and we always say that one day we have to stop in.  Last night we did.

Monday through Friday nights the place is buzzing and the street is filled with patron drinking their beer and smoking their cigarettes.  There usually is a good-sized crowd indoors, also.  Saturday night is a quiet night.  There were four people outdoors and the two of us indoors.  I had a couple of beers and Susan had a glass of wine.  The bartender offered us two different tapas to go along with our drinks.  Our bill came to three Euros.  Now we understand the size of the crowds.

On our way home we chatted briefly with Marta and Juan of La Fórcola.  It was a little after 10:00 when we walked through the door and we spent the rest of the evening catching up on our e-mail and reading for a while.  Finally, here is a link to Toni Cotolí’s Web page where you can read all about him and hear some of his music http://www.tonicotoli.net/