On April 1st, we arrived in San Francisco. It’s just so wonderful to be back here. I came to SF a few times over the years I lived in the States, either to dance tango or to just be a tourist. And I love the city. So, we combined our trip to visit some of my tango friends, visit the city and especially go and meet Josh’s Grand parents, June and Burt. We took also lots of pictures in the city, with friends etc.
It felt so good to see some friends again. Tango life is interesting. You meet people once or twice a year sometimes, or you don’t see them at all for a couple of years, but somehow, there is always something that keeps you in touch… the tango! We have shared experiences, we went to the same places to dance, and we are all totally obsessed with the tango! So, we understand each other and don’t need to be in constant contact to feel that we are still friends! I love that feeling!
After just a couple of days in SF, we drove to Monterey. Another part of the journey!
In October of last year, when I came back to DC, Josh and I met (again!). We spent two months together in Buenos Aires, and during that time realized it would be much more fun to be gypsies together! So, here we are! The Le Tango around the World Blog is not only mine anymore, but Josh’s as well, we’ll be relating our adventures traveling, seeing friends, dancing and teaching tango …
So, here we go: after the Marathon, we spent a few days in NYC. It was Josh’s first trip north of Baltimore! We were both exited about the trip. At the beginning the idea was to go to NYC with the teachers of the Marathon. Well, it did not work out that well, as all of them got into their groove and went ahead with their plans. So, we worked it out for ourselves and decided to go to Providence for Jaimes’ weekend of classes.
On the way to Providence, we stopped in NYC to drop-off a friend of ours at Columbia U. So, it was Josh’s first encounter with NYC…. The “ohhh” and the “ahhh”s and the “New York New York” blasting on the Ipod when we entered the city, made it quite for me as well!! To complete this first impression of NYC, we had a great Burger at Tom’s… the dinner where Seinfeld was shot at! What else could we ask for!
Providence turned out to be quite nice as well. It felt good to be out of the city for a while… and Providence is quite out of the way! Eheheh… It was quite amazing to see many of the same people who were at the Marathon!! We are just way to obsessed… So we danced, took some classes and went back to NYC. We were staying at some friend’s house in Nyak, just outside of NYC. I would not have gone to that small town if it hadn’t been for this house, and it would have been a shame. It’s a very nice place, right on the water, and just about 30 min outside of NYC. So, we went and visited the city: Central Park, Strawberry field, 5th avenue, the Rockefeller Center and of course Time Square. We were ready to go on top of the Empire State Building to have THE View of the city… but the wait was about 1 hour and we had tickets to see “the Perfect Crime” a show off-Broadway.
The Marathon 2008
It’s been quite a while since I wrote anything on this blog. I guess being on vacation, or retired or not having a regular job doesn’t mean having lots of time. There is always something to do!
So, after spending some time in Europe and two months in Buenos Aires I am back in DC to organize the Tango Marathon. It’s already the 7th year of this festival and this year I was wondering how well it would go. It was the first festival that I organized without being in the city. I just arrived about 10 days before the start, to finalize a few things, but otherwise the whole festival was done remote! Maybe next year I should organize a multi location, video streaming festival! Eh eh eh
It is really amazing… every time I organize something like that, I am exited to do it about 6 months in advance. Then, when the time comes closer I think that I am totally out of my mind to want to put such a big thing together; with teachers, room locations, organizing schedule etc etc… A week before cannot eat anymore because I am wondering what will go wrong, what did I forget and hoping all would work well. The the fun begins… I go and pick up the teachers, some dancers are already coming to town, the excitement is getting bigger and bigger… and then the fun really begins at the first milonga. This year again I joined forces with Bill at the Eastern Market Milonga. The space is just wonderful, great atmosphere… and when you fill it with about 100 great dancers… it becomes magical.
Then, seeing friends, realizing how many visitors are already in town and most of all, being very happy that people appreciate the dancers/teachers I brought this year, was like the icing on the cake! It’s always quite a challenge to figure out who I will invite as teachers. The States has a wonderful group of teachers, some of them travel the world to teach and are extremely well respected. But what I am looking for is to bring new people and be the link between Europe and the States. I have been lucky to travel and dance through Europe for the last few years, and met and became friends with some of the best dancers and teachers Europe has to offer… so, I am taking advantage of the fact that I organize a big tango festival to bring them over and give them the opportunity to visit the States and to be known here, and at the same time, I am bringing new ideas and new energy to the States… I am really happy that that has worked well. Now, there is more exchange …. Too bad the $ exchange is not better, so that we could go to Europe a little more!!! Oh well..
At the end, all was good at the festival. Pictures are online at http://www.unmomento.net and at http://www.SamsSnapshots.com
Enjoy
