The bad news is that our video didn't win an award. However, the winning video was so good that we didn't feel cheated at all. The winner depicted a family completely in a car, with the driver (presumably the dad) trying to make conversation with everyone in the car, but unable to because they are all so wired into their personal devices (iPods, iPads, etc). He finally brings everyone together with some very catchy beats from the great Ford Focus stereo. The thing is, this video was practically like a professionally done video, all story boarded and shot really well, and edited really well.  Since we only had about 40 minutes to do the whole exercise I have to take my hat off to the producers. They really knew their way around iMovie! I hear there will be links to all of the videos at some point so if we get one I will send it to you and you can have a look at the movie for yourself  And you can see our opus as well maybe.  

After the awards were given out a flamenco dancer and guitarist performed. They were really impressive. Here's a photo for you: 

They say that it's impossible to dance flamenco properly unless you are of gypsy descent. I don't know if our dancer was gypsy, but she was very good indeed.  She brought one of our more outgoing winners, Tyler, onto the floor for a duet, which was not quite as successful artistically but pretty amusing: 

Here we are with the guest dancer himself: 

After flamenco a DJ started spinning records and we all got a chance to visit with each other and talk over the day's events. Servers walked through the crowd carrying trays of tapas (Spanish Serrano ham, lobster, cheeses, even desserts later on). It was a perfect way to dine, giving everyone a chance to mingle and visit.  I did tweak one of our hosts, Christian, by telling him that I was getting so full on hors d'oeuvres  that I wasn't sure if I'd have room for dinner; he had to let me know this was dinner. The party went very late into the night. Cath and I decided to go downstairs to the bar and enjoy a nightcap there. I got a not that great picture of the bar so here it is: 

We finally gave up around 1:00 a.m. and got to bed, which was a good thing because we needed to be sharp for our class this morning where we are going to learn tips on how to use our new equipment to make interesting videos when we get home.  Then we are off to Toledo, an ancient and very beautiful city which is about an hour away from here by bus.  We will check in with you later and let you know how that went.  

Hasta luego.  

Jim S., reporting from Spain.