https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv BY MARIBEL ARDITE C1 PIA en-us 2018-11-18 18:56:09 UTC 2023-03-29 21:32:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Ornamenttree.png miao9804 https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/305698266 One year ago,  I spent part of my Christmas holidays in this lovely city, since  December 27th until January 3rd, welcoming then the New Year 2017.  I went with my children Arnau and Eva and we fell in love with it instantaneously.
From the first second we spent there, we realized that it would become one of our favourite places in the world.
The truth is that in one year I have come back to Edimburgh three times more. I wanted to show it to everyone! Last time in May with a friend of mine.
But now I want to talk about Hogmanay. In Edimburgh the last days of the year are very important and  there  is one of the world's greatest New Year celebrations.
On December 30th thousands of people walk along Princes Street until Carlton Hill bearing firelit torches while celtic music is playing. It is really impressive.
Also, on December 31st at 12 pm when year changes with the beautiful watch in Balmoral Hotel facade (where Rowling ended Harry Potter last words), everyone  in North Bridge starts singing in celtic language Auld Lang Syne joining hands with friends and unknown. It gives you goosebumps when at the end of the song you can see the spectacular fireworks in Edimburgh Castle.
Definitely, Edimburgh is wonderful. If you haven't been there, do not miss it.
You will not regret.



]]> 2018-11-18 19:09:42 UTC https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/305698266 miao9804 https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/307427624 Last Tuesday November 20th 2018 some of the C1 PIA level students went to watch this film about Freddie Mercury`s life.
We enjoyed it a lot and personally the most impressive was the performance  that main character did as Queen band leader. I was absolutely thrilled with Rami Malek. I have read that he studied hundreds of recordings to prepare to the role, acquire Freddie`s gestures and the way he had to step on stage. The part of Live Aid Concert was amazing. There were moments that I thought it was really happening.
Although there have been complaints from Queen's fans about some mistakes in the film such as Freddie Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS two years after Live Aid Concert not before it and that Mercury never left the band,  I consider that it is very difficult to summarize the life of this huge star of music in something more than two hours and also reflect his overwhelming personality.
The truth is that I had a good time and realized how much I miss him. If it had not been because of that horrible disease... how much music we have lost?

Here is a tasting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fna56a_r41s

]]> 2018-11-24 19:16:44 UTC https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/307427624 miao9804 https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/316201783 I never had read neither one word of these famous Rowling's books. Not even after visiting the city where were most of them written, Edimburgh.
There is a cafe near National Museum in this city called the Elephant House where the author wrote the first books. You can visit the table where she were sitting near the window and watching a school that inspired her Hogwarts.
Furthermore, in one of the suites of Balmoral Hotel was were Rowling finished the last book and she did and autograph right on the shade of a lamp inside the room she was accomodated. I think you can book this room to stay not for a very low price.
So, my son told me to watch Harry Potter's films in original version with subtitles in English and I could not stop. I watched all of the eight films in only one week.
I really enjoyed..]]> 2018-12-20 16:01:33 UTC https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/316201783 miao9804 https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/317901958 I have spent this Christmas holidays in New York with my kids since December 24th until January 1st.
We have been very lucky with the weather, except one day that rained but not enough to prevent us walking around the city with an umbrella. 
It was a pleasure getting up early and taking a stroll through Central Park on Christmas Day, It was sunny and there were ice rinks everywhere. We explored along Fifth Avenue admiring Tiffany's shop window decorations and other magnificent  stores you can find there. We entered into St. Patrick's Church. It was really gorgeus with the Christmas ornaments.
When we arrived to Times Square we felt really overwhelmed. It was too much advertising and spam for us.
The following days we explored the city by different suburbs in Manhattan like Midtown, Chelsea, Soho, Tribeca, Greenwich Village, Wall Street ... One day in the afternoon we took the Staten Island Ferry to look up The Liberty Statue during the sunset and we were coming back we could see the skyline  starting to turn on the lights. It was mazing. Then we went to visit Dyker Heights in Brooklyn on the underground. The houses were incredibly beautiful with so many lighting on the façades and also in the whole gardens.
The morning we visited the ground zero it was very special for me because I was there in 1993 and climbed up in one of the Twin Towers. I really got excited there and I had tear-filled eyes.
All in all, we have enjoyed a lot and it has been an unusual experience to change the year flying at an altitude of thousands feet while the world is celebrating and welcoming the New Year 2019.

]]> 2019-01-07 15:24:52 UTC https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/317901958 miao9804 https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/324680010 A friend of mine suggested me to go to a very special theatre play. It was different and new for me because it was English spoken.
The main actor was NIgel Planer, only accompanied by a piano player and an assistant who occasionally translated something to Catalan.
Do you know who is he? I did not watch it but it was one of the characters in a  very famous TV serie called "The young Ones".
In Catalunya as many other countries it became very known.
But as this is not the only Nigel's work, one day, he decided to make an exhibition showing his versatile and multifaceted stage and movie career.
I really had fun with him, he is really a very charismatic person although the most which made happy to me was that I understood ease virtually everything.

]]> 2019-01-27 14:42:20 UTC https://padlet.com/miao9804/1c3ncunvcmxv/wish/324680010