Merce Cunningham, Ryanair and AC Hotel Avenida de America, Madrid
Apr 12th, 2009, 10:20 AM
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Merce Cunningham, Ryanair and AC Hotel Avenida de America, Madrid
Just a note as I will take an overnight to Madrid with a friend to see Merce Cunningham's European opening of his new Ballet "Nearly Ninety". (It will open this month in Brooklyn first)
We got tickets on Ryanair for 3 euros/person each way, have booked us into the AC Hotel, practically across the street from my favorite 1 euro BUS from the airport into Madrid .
This hotel is kind of at the edge of Barrio Salamanca, although quite a busy area. Four metro lines at the door, and several buses. The hotel has a wonderful offer with breakfast for 85 euros.
If a better hotel option comes up before the end of April, we can cancel this reservation. I am still checking things out, but I do like this chain, and it is fairly convenient for what we are going to be doing.
For Dance lovers, there is a festival in Madrid soon:
http://www.madrid.org/madridendanza/2009/index.html
I will be sure to post my impressions.
We got tickets on Ryanair for 3 euros/person each way, have booked us into the AC Hotel, practically across the street from my favorite 1 euro BUS from the airport into Madrid .
This hotel is kind of at the edge of Barrio Salamanca, although quite a busy area. Four metro lines at the door, and several buses. The hotel has a wonderful offer with breakfast for 85 euros.
If a better hotel option comes up before the end of April, we can cancel this reservation. I am still checking things out, but I do like this chain, and it is fairly convenient for what we are going to be doing.
For Dance lovers, there is a festival in Madrid soon:
http://www.madrid.org/madridendanza/2009/index.html
I will be sure to post my impressions.
May 6th, 2009, 02:14 PM
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Our hotel let us check in round 9 a.m, after a quick trip on the 1 euro bus from the airport to the Intercambiador. We walked the two blocks to our hotel, the AC Avenida de America, passing the Abba Hotel on our way.
This was well accepted as having gotten up super early for the flight, it was nice to be able to rest a bit while waiting for the museums to open at 10.
The AC Hotels is a very nice chain. I know parts of Madrid fairly well and do not mind being out of the lively downtown area. But I am familiar with this area so it does not feel out of the way for what I was doing this trip. And the price was right, so .. that swayed my decision.
We bought a ten ride pass and took the metro to Banco de España to visit Casa de America, which it turns out is no longer open to the public except on the weekends for private tours. (And only if there is a group of 10). This was a major disappointment, as I had not noticed this in any of my information. It is open, but you can't go in.
We enjoyed the true Spring weather and walked along the Castellana to the Caixa Forum where we toured the building and had an early lunch.
One place I would NOT go back for more than a coffee and pastry is the Caixa Forum. I was very excited to eat here, but the menu of the day was poorly presented and poorly executed.
EX: Sautéed artichokes.
What really came were boiled artichoke hearts floating in green WATER. Yes, WATER. No tasty broth. No oil. Just undrained chokes.
Second plate was better, but my friend's cod was FLOATING in oil. Not a few tablespoons.. actually in a soup bowl, and about an inch and a half of oil. However, that oil was tasty with the bread, but a bit unpleasant to look at when the fish and veggies were in it.
The tiramisú redeemed the other plates. We had coffee elsewhere.
I was surprised at this, too, as I had read it here as a recommendation. Maybe a bad day for them, or we chose the wrong food that day.
A Madrid friend was able to join us, so the company could not have been better. Our second choice was Cubik, but that will have to wait til next time!
The café is trendy and sparsely decorated with comfy swivel chairs. I love the architecture of the buildng and the vegetation mural outside.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for the theater and rest before going off to another museum.
We walked to the Sorolla Museum, toured it and finally to the Teatro Canals, in the now sprinkling but penetrating soft rain.
After so many trips I had not been able to visit Sorolla's home/studio. So that was a priority. It is very well preserved and has a lovely garden.
It is so representative of the villas that used to line Madrid's avenues and streets. Imagine what the Castellana USED to look like! The remaining gems are jaw dropping. One of my favorite palatial homes is the Italian Embassy on Juan Bravo. (I forget which corner crossroad). Now that is a building!
Scattered around Madrid, those who like to stroll will be able to see these villas now flanked by skyscrapers and other modern replacements of the past elite residential housing.
Teatro Canals. This is a newly inaugurated theater. The modern concept is well executed with excellent visibility from all seats on the sloped first floor. I did not go up to other floors. The metro stops at the door as do several buses.
Impressions of Merce Cunningham's "Nearly Ninety".
The announcement of this dance program coinciding with Ryan air's 3 euro tickets was what had spurred the trip to Madrid.
I asked a friend to come along.
We went early to the theater café. There was an exciting pre-theater buzz. TV cameras. Interviews going on outside since the rain had stopped. Lots of dance students milling around. Several bohemian older dancers receiving reverences from admirers, students and friends. The "art crowd" was definitely here tonight.
I was really happy to have taken this spontaneous jaunt.
However, my excitement soon turned into "confusion"... Questioning... Trying to figure out what "his message" was.
I have never in my life sat through such obnoxious music (?), actually, electronic noise. I didn't care that one of Led Zepellin's members participated.
At one point in the second half, some additional "sounds" were made by one of the musicians ( we were able to watch via a video) by carefully tilting a metal tray so the items he had placed on it rolled around making clinking noises.. also he put a rubber band to good use, as someone else made electronic water gurgling (think of a bathtub emptying). Followed by screeching, scraping, guitar twanging,hard-on the-ears noise.
This so distracted from the figures and movement on the stage, I really found it unpleasant and boring.
I do not profess to be an expert, however Mr. Cunningham is considered the best coreographer in the world, so I guess i was expecting an AMAZING experience more likeable to a larger crowd.
We took the metro after the function directly to Sol for some night life. It was refreshing to overhear some YOUNG dancer-silouhette patrons voicing the same criticism we had about the music and the function in general stating they saw several people nodding off to sleep n the second half..(I was one of them, a first for me during anything to do with dance ).
From Sol we walked to the famed newly renovated Plaza Santa Ana and its ME Hotel Penthouse open air terrace on the top floor. Just look for the purple/mauve lights on the upper façade.. that is the signature ME Hotel.
What a lovely place. Next trip I will go to Hotel Urban and will be able to say I have visited two of the coolest after- dinner places in Madrid.
May 1st I met with a Canadian teacher's (teacherincanada's) students who had flown into Madrid that morning. The three girls came to our hotel and we went over some suggestions, and then we helped them get their metro pass. We put them on the right metro and arranged to meet them later on their trip in Valencia.
My friend and I checked out of the hotel, left our luggage and walked to the Fundación Juan March to see an exhibit. Later we slowly strolled the Salamanca area. We worked our way to El Séptmo for a DELCIOUS lunch that totally made up for the medicore one the day before!
We had a great time in spite of a few quirks here and there (I was denied boarding in Valencia on Ryanair as I hadn't gotten my online boarding pass STAMPED at their office ahead of time... heads up on that one guys!)
I had to sprint thorugh the security and airport, get an office person to come out of the back office cubicle where she was chatting on the phone with a friend, and take care of me. She made up a new boarding pass and charged me 21.40E without guaranteeing they were holding the plane.
It was quite frustrating. The return trip was a breeze. No new boarding pass. Stamp only. And no fee.
I only was not thinking when I bought our exchange student a Toledo letter opener which was quickly confiscated, gift wrapped and all, at securty.
These quick trips are always fun, though, and a delightful way to spend 36 hours door to door.
This was well accepted as having gotten up super early for the flight, it was nice to be able to rest a bit while waiting for the museums to open at 10.
The AC Hotels is a very nice chain. I know parts of Madrid fairly well and do not mind being out of the lively downtown area. But I am familiar with this area so it does not feel out of the way for what I was doing this trip. And the price was right, so .. that swayed my decision.
We bought a ten ride pass and took the metro to Banco de España to visit Casa de America, which it turns out is no longer open to the public except on the weekends for private tours. (And only if there is a group of 10). This was a major disappointment, as I had not noticed this in any of my information. It is open, but you can't go in.
We enjoyed the true Spring weather and walked along the Castellana to the Caixa Forum where we toured the building and had an early lunch.
One place I would NOT go back for more than a coffee and pastry is the Caixa Forum. I was very excited to eat here, but the menu of the day was poorly presented and poorly executed.
EX: Sautéed artichokes.
What really came were boiled artichoke hearts floating in green WATER. Yes, WATER. No tasty broth. No oil. Just undrained chokes.
Second plate was better, but my friend's cod was FLOATING in oil. Not a few tablespoons.. actually in a soup bowl, and about an inch and a half of oil. However, that oil was tasty with the bread, but a bit unpleasant to look at when the fish and veggies were in it.
The tiramisú redeemed the other plates. We had coffee elsewhere.
I was surprised at this, too, as I had read it here as a recommendation. Maybe a bad day for them, or we chose the wrong food that day.
A Madrid friend was able to join us, so the company could not have been better. Our second choice was Cubik, but that will have to wait til next time!
The café is trendy and sparsely decorated with comfy swivel chairs. I love the architecture of the buildng and the vegetation mural outside.
We went back to the hotel to get ready for the theater and rest before going off to another museum.
We walked to the Sorolla Museum, toured it and finally to the Teatro Canals, in the now sprinkling but penetrating soft rain.
After so many trips I had not been able to visit Sorolla's home/studio. So that was a priority. It is very well preserved and has a lovely garden.
It is so representative of the villas that used to line Madrid's avenues and streets. Imagine what the Castellana USED to look like! The remaining gems are jaw dropping. One of my favorite palatial homes is the Italian Embassy on Juan Bravo. (I forget which corner crossroad). Now that is a building!
Scattered around Madrid, those who like to stroll will be able to see these villas now flanked by skyscrapers and other modern replacements of the past elite residential housing.
Teatro Canals. This is a newly inaugurated theater. The modern concept is well executed with excellent visibility from all seats on the sloped first floor. I did not go up to other floors. The metro stops at the door as do several buses.
Impressions of Merce Cunningham's "Nearly Ninety".
The announcement of this dance program coinciding with Ryan air's 3 euro tickets was what had spurred the trip to Madrid.
I asked a friend to come along.
We went early to the theater café. There was an exciting pre-theater buzz. TV cameras. Interviews going on outside since the rain had stopped. Lots of dance students milling around. Several bohemian older dancers receiving reverences from admirers, students and friends. The "art crowd" was definitely here tonight.
I was really happy to have taken this spontaneous jaunt.
However, my excitement soon turned into "confusion"... Questioning... Trying to figure out what "his message" was.
I have never in my life sat through such obnoxious music (?), actually, electronic noise. I didn't care that one of Led Zepellin's members participated.
At one point in the second half, some additional "sounds" were made by one of the musicians ( we were able to watch via a video) by carefully tilting a metal tray so the items he had placed on it rolled around making clinking noises.. also he put a rubber band to good use, as someone else made electronic water gurgling (think of a bathtub emptying). Followed by screeching, scraping, guitar twanging,hard-on the-ears noise.
This so distracted from the figures and movement on the stage, I really found it unpleasant and boring.
I do not profess to be an expert, however Mr. Cunningham is considered the best coreographer in the world, so I guess i was expecting an AMAZING experience more likeable to a larger crowd.
We took the metro after the function directly to Sol for some night life. It was refreshing to overhear some YOUNG dancer-silouhette patrons voicing the same criticism we had about the music and the function in general stating they saw several people nodding off to sleep n the second half..(I was one of them, a first for me during anything to do with dance ).
From Sol we walked to the famed newly renovated Plaza Santa Ana and its ME Hotel Penthouse open air terrace on the top floor. Just look for the purple/mauve lights on the upper façade.. that is the signature ME Hotel.
What a lovely place. Next trip I will go to Hotel Urban and will be able to say I have visited two of the coolest after- dinner places in Madrid.
May 1st I met with a Canadian teacher's (teacherincanada's) students who had flown into Madrid that morning. The three girls came to our hotel and we went over some suggestions, and then we helped them get their metro pass. We put them on the right metro and arranged to meet them later on their trip in Valencia.
My friend and I checked out of the hotel, left our luggage and walked to the Fundación Juan March to see an exhibit. Later we slowly strolled the Salamanca area. We worked our way to El Séptmo for a DELCIOUS lunch that totally made up for the medicore one the day before!
We had a great time in spite of a few quirks here and there (I was denied boarding in Valencia on Ryanair as I hadn't gotten my online boarding pass STAMPED at their office ahead of time... heads up on that one guys!)
I had to sprint thorugh the security and airport, get an office person to come out of the back office cubicle where she was chatting on the phone with a friend, and take care of me. She made up a new boarding pass and charged me 21.40E without guaranteeing they were holding the plane.
It was quite frustrating. The return trip was a breeze. No new boarding pass. Stamp only. And no fee.
I only was not thinking when I bought our exchange student a Toledo letter opener which was quickly confiscated, gift wrapped and all, at securty.
These quick trips are always fun, though, and a delightful way to spend 36 hours door to door.
May 6th, 2009, 07:48 PM
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Hi Lin thanks for the report!
I will have the Sorolla on the list I mean to go before.
You peaked my interest & I found a small sample of the dance concert on You Tube....Yikes!
Genius & legendary Cunningham may be & I do not dispute that but I cannot deal with stressful sounds in the world we live in these days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-UpJziweJQ
I will have the Sorolla on the list I mean to go before.
You peaked my interest & I found a small sample of the dance concert on You Tube....Yikes!
Genius & legendary Cunningham may be & I do not dispute that but I cannot deal with stressful sounds in the world we live in these days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-UpJziweJQ
May 6th, 2009, 10:13 PM
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After reading more about this dance performance AFTER the fact, seems the musicians do improvise every evening. When the progrm starts there are at least 5-10 minutes of just MUSIC/NOISE. Finally the dancers come out and start froming theri positions and holding them. Maybe it is a gap for them to get used to it.
In fact, at one short moment there was NO music.. and it was much more pleasant.
There has been some crticism of C.'s use of musicians. I don't doubt he is a great man, however, I am still shocked I felt almost nothing after watching his program.
In fact, at one short moment there was NO music.. and it was much more pleasant.
There has been some crticism of C.'s use of musicians. I don't doubt he is a great man, however, I am still shocked I felt almost nothing after watching his program.
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