The Out-of-Towners

As I mentioned in my Saturday posting, last week was hectic. The week started with Flamenco Dad going out of town for a concert, which meant Mom was on duty 24/7. Then we got to spend lots of time with several out-of-town guests, which was great fun. The concert Dad went to was to see Pepe Romero, who is one of the greatest guitarists of our time. He is the gentleman chatting on the phone in the first photo (I'll get to that in a minute). My husband has been fortunate to study with Pepe in master classes in the past; and we've had the pleasure of getting time to socialize with him whenever he's come into town. When my husband returned home, we went out for dinner and drinks with Pepe and some of our other friends that are part of the "guitar circle" in this area.

Pepe came back to our city to perform a benefit concert with The Romeros, which is a guitar quartet comprised of Pepe, his brother Celin, and his nephews Celino and Angelito. Celin and Angelito are the other two men in the top photo (Celino was a bit camera shy that evening). The concert was excellent--no surprise there--and afterwards we retreated to the home of some friends for a late evening of partying. As is true to form with musicians, they like to have fun. We stayed up till about three hangin' with the Romeros and friends.

The next day, my college roommate came over for dinner. She was in town for a conference (she lives in Virginia), and she stopped by for some home-cooked food after the last day of her event. Eunice and I hadn't seen each other in years. In fact, the last time we saw each other, Zoe was just a baby! We've kept in touch on a pretty regular basis over the years, but it was great having her here in person. I made her some Puerto Rican food, which she hadn't had since the last time I had her over. We talked for hours; she played with the kids; we gave her a brief flamenco demonstration. It was just like old times. We're planning a girls' getaway weekend with another friend of ours from UM; I'm so excited! I'm going to have to rest up--all this staying up late has worn me out!