In the land of the Spanish

Cinematic flapper

By: Anna Nguyen

Posted: 9/8/08

I've only been in Spain for a fleeting moment. I passed a few hours in the Basque country, during a weekend trip away from Pau. The very few hours spent were dedicated to visits to the castles and churches. As we left Basque, the next destination was San Sebastian. Another two hours of traveling passed.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful, I thought, as we finally boarded off the bus into our hotel. I could see the beach nearby, a brightly lit carousel, and an infinite amount of restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, we arrived quite late in the afternoon and my friends and I were not able to do as much sightseeing as we would have liked. We were only in San Sebastian for less than 24 hours. With such an allotted amount of time, I dined with my friends, took a stroll around the shops and wandered aimlessly at the beach before the next day came. ??

Occasionally, nostalgic thoughts about Spain would occur as I pondered what I had missed when I lost two opportunities to go back. Before our extensive French language courses began, my three friends decided to embark on a weekend trip to San Sebastian. Although I easily get a bit restless on train and other traveling methods, the distance from Pau to San Sebastian is reasonable. About four or five hours, I calculated. The idea was alluring, but I decided to stay at my host parents' house and relax while exploring the town of Pau.??

The second chance to go to Spain came up when my friends and I were trying to decide where to go during the school holiday in November. Some friends decided to go back to Spain, specifically to visit Madrid and Barcelona. As I, once again, contemplated on the idea, another friend researched about an inexpensive trip to Brussels, which I chose for the holiday break. Brussels, which is comparable to Paris, was a lovely city and I was happy that I was able to visit it. Art was everywhere. Murals on the walls of aging buildings, vintage-like film posters on walls on the streets, color advertisements. It was an incredible city. But as I recently reread Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," I often speculate about the possibility of seeing a bullfighter at his most glorious moments. ??

Such passing moments of regrets didn't occur until I watched "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" in the theatres during last holiday week. Although I did enjoy "Match Point," other recent Woody Allen films did not hold my interest. My sister and I decided to catch an early show of the picture. We did not have any high expectations about "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," but the film was captivating, especially the Barcelona setting, the music of the Spanish guitar, and of the enthralling performances by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. While I found the plot to be rather contrived and the film obviously isn't Allen's best, I found it to be charming. It was then that I continuously dwelled in my thoughts of Spain and my lost opportunities to have further experienced the country. Although I was amazed to see the brilliant, contemporary art in Brussels, the Spanish old ruins and historical architecture would have been just as lovely to see.??

Needless to say, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" fueled my interest in watching Spanish films, and I rented Pedro Almodovar's exquisite "Volver" for my weekend film. It was even better than Allen's film, which might not be a complete surprise as Almodovar is a better storyteller and has more strength as a director. The manner in which he sets his tales in Spain is reminiscent of the way Haruki Murakami is able to effortlessly describe Tokyo that allows the readers to feel as if they are in the bustling, noisy city.

As I watched "Volver," I've never felt so seduced in learning the Spanish language.?

Anna Nguyen is the Lifestyles editor for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears every other Monday.