Accompanied by live musicians in the background of the stage, Maria Pagés and company gave us a breathtaking performance and left us foot-tapping in our seats with their one-and-a-half hour flamenco adaptation of the famous opera, Carmen. Pagés, who grew up in Seville, Spain and is famous for her modern interpretation of flamenco, not only choreographed the performance by was also the principal dancer in Yo, Carmen.

Stomp, (clap, clap, clap) stomp, (clap, clap) stomp, stomp,….olé! “Have we been transported to sunny Spain?” I asked myself. Unfortunately, no.

When you come across a person who uses the words: “summertime in Charleston” and “bugs” in their conversation, you are quick to assume that they are talking about undesirable pests. Admittedly, there are lots of mosquitoes, no-see-ums, or, even worse, the dreaded Palmetto bugs here. Your first thought probably wasn't “ladybugs”… “Wait, ladybugs?” Yes, ladybugs (and to be fair to the ladybug population, there are male ladybugs too…man-bugs.) All bad jokes aside, you can find the biggest gathering of ladybugs that Charleston, SC has to offer on a hot, summer day at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, America’s Oldest Romantic Garden.