A Night at the Fort

Denise and I enjoyed a lovely evening out, last night. A local hotel and restaurant in nearby Fortin Santa Rosa (please excuse the quality of the photo, but since it was so late, I just scanned a picture from the bookmark they gave us on the way out) was the site for a night of food and Flamenco music and dancing.

The restaurant is actually a converted fort, complete with large wooden entry doors and a couple of defunct cannons outside. It overlooks the water, but all of the action takes place inside. When you arrive at about 9:30 in the evening, there is seating in the open courtyard, and they served us some Sangria, while waiting for the musicians to set up. The flamenco guitarist was spectacular. He was really something and after a short set, including several songs and a couple of dances by the two girls, we were served some hors d'oeuvres and then ushered inside to our table. It was nicely set and the room had lovely paneling and with the open windows and a nice breeze on the warm night- the setting was perfect.

We had a choice of a rice dish (closer to risotto with some ingredients than the advertised paella) and pork chops. We each tried one. The food would be a disappointment for some (it was the thought that counted), but went very nicely with the bottle of wine provided.

Then the musicians came inside and did another set, this time getting as many as possible to get up and do a little flamenco dancing of their own. We were persuaded and while I am no dancer, Denise, with her decided Latin heritage, put on a pretty good show.

A little dessert and a small glass of cognac (remind me to pass on the cognac, next time) and we were were off for home. Before we left, one of the dancers came over and talked with Denise about her "day job". She is helping a local yarn dealer set up distribution in the US and so enjoyed using her English with us.

We walked home under beautiful starry skies and got back at about 3 in the morning, wondering where the time had gone. While the food was nothing to get excited about, the whole experience was well worth it. Next week is a Tango show- we're going to try and attend.