Marty Kaplan's Blog

ESCAPE FROM VALENCIA – AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 20

Valencia is traditionally hot in August, but this year it has been hot since the beginning of July. Fortunately, a while back, we had planned a two week escape from Valencia that would take us to, hopefully, cooler temperatures and less humidity. Our plans include a week in Northern Portugal with time in both Porto and Caminha and a week in Galicia with time spent in Ourense and Combarro.

Our flight to Porto left on Sunday, August 6, at 4:20 PM. We arrived at the airport two hours ahead of time and, although the line for check in for Ryan Air flights was long, the desk personnel were very efficient and some fifteen minutes later we were on our way to Security. The crowds were medium size and the two people directing traffic were doing an excellent job. I grabbed my little blue tray and emptied my pockets and put all my electronics and my belt in there two. I walked through the metal detector when I was told to and the buzzer went off.

I was puzzled because I had made it a point to put both my watch and my keys in the tray. What had set off the alarm? A security guard signaled me to wait and then took me to an area where he swipes the back of my hands and my palms with a small piece of cloth, which he then had the machine read. It tested positive. A different security guard repeated the same procedure and it tested positive once again. My question was positive for what, since the only things that had touched my hands earlier were soap, shampoo and shaving gel.

I was told to wait until a Guardia Civil came and had me accompany him to a small room that had two-way mirrors. He once again swabbed the palms and the backs of my hands. He then took all my data including my passport number, phone number and address. He asked me if I had packed my bag and if I had checked it in. I replied in the affirmative. He told me to go and board my flight and had a nice vacation. Before I got up and left he asked me if I had used hand cream because sometimes hand cream gives a false positive for some sort of explosive. I had not used hand cream, so I suspect that it was the last thing I used…the shaving gel.

The flight was smooth and uneventful and we arrived twenty minutes ahead of schedule. There was a fifteen-minute delay until the final luggage cart emptied its contents on the carousel and, of course, my bag was one of the last ones to make the circuit. The delay gave me time to wonder if, for some reason or other, they had taken my bag off the plane. Such was not the case.

It took us about twenty-five minutes to get to our hotel by taxi. Last year when we visited Porto we stayed at the Sheraton, which was some twenty minutes from the center of town. This year we wanted a hotel that was closer to the action and an acquaintance of our suggested the NH Collection Hotel in the Prada de Battalha. It was the old post office, among other things and it was renovated and turned into a modern hotel. Our room is lovely with a queen-sized bed, ample storage space and a modern bathroom. Our room overlooks the plaza and the windows are sound proofed so you do not hear the sounds of the city when the windows are closed.

After we unpacked, we went in search of something to eat. We had a couple of appetizers at the Cafe Java that is directly across the street. The clams and the shrimp were okay, but we knew that we would have better in the upcoming days. Afterwards we went for a little stroll to become familiar with the area around the hotel and we somehow managed to find a gelateria called La Copa. Outstanding! As an added treat the have an outdoor patio with all kinds of flowers.

We made our way back to the hotel and it was a little after 10:00 and we were done in by the vents of the day. We read for a while and then went to sleep around 11:30 that was 12:30 Valencia time.

 

MONDAY, AUGUST 7

 

We slept in and, by the time were were showered and dressed, it was 11:00. We headed for the Café Tropical, which is a few steps from the hotel. We were in search of a good coffee, some juice and a bread substance. The Café Tropical filled the bill perfectly. It was now time to explore.

We headed to the bookstore that J K Rowling used as inspiration for the Hogwart’s Library. As we approached, we were amazed and dismayed by the size of the line. There probably was a good hour’s wait to get in. Since I am not the world’s biggest Harry Potter fan and since you cannot take pictures once inside, we decided to pass and just went exploring.

We walked into a couple of shops and, in the course of things, Susan shot a number of pictures. We eventually made our way to the river where we sat and watch the tourist boats that ply the river and at 1:30 we headed for a restaurant that our friend, Brian Oberle, had recommended.

It is called Vinha D’Alhos and it overlooks the water. It is a popular spot and we made sure to make a reservation. We enjoyed some olives and some sheep’s cheese with a variety of breads while we waited for our mains. I had sea bream and Susan had sea bass, both of which were perfectly prepared. We shared a lovely bottle of Vinho Verde. We indulged in a molten chocolate cake dessert, as well as coffee and a glass of port.

After lunch we took the fifty-minute cruise that passes under the six bridges of Porto and its surroundings. It had been overcast for most of the day, but at 3:00 the sun was brightly shining. The cruise was as enjoyable as it was last year. It is a great way to see some of the historic buildings of Porto. Since we had done a goodly bit of walking in the morning, we opted to take a taxi back to the hotel and rest up for a little while.

We took to the streets again at eight o’clock in search of a drink and a nibble. We discovered a number of restaurants and cafe about ten minutes from the hotel. We decided to give Café Ribeiro a try and we were not disappointed. We tried their pizza bites stuffed with suckling pig and their shrimp in a butter and garlic sauce. A beer, a glass of wine, an orange and a slice of pineapple for dessert and the bill came to 29€. While we were there the place filled up and at 9:00 0’clock they were turning people away. There were a dozen or so hearty souls who were dining al fresco and it was really fresco,

Back to the hotel at 10:00 and an hours worth of mindless entertainment and then off to bed.

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8

 

I took my time this. Morning getting showered and dressed and while I dawdled Susan explored the neighborhood around the hotel a bit more. We went across the street to Cafe Battalha and had a very light breakfast – coffee, juice and a toasted roll. We hailed a cab at 10:30 and had him take us to Matosinhos.

Matosinhos is the actual port of Porto. It’s where the big cruise liners dock and commercial ships load and unload. It is also has the reputation for having the best and freshest fish in town. It is a well-deserved reputation.

We strolled through a park on our way to the beach. The sky was blue and the temperature was in the high 60’s. It was also quite windy. The beach was well populated and it seemed that almost everyone had some sort of a windbreak to protect them from the strong breezes. We got in a good walk and stopped off at a seaside bar for a drink. When we finished we decided that we would explore a different part of town.

We wended our way through the streets and passed a number of interesting shops and buildings. There are newer apartments that overlook the shore, but once you get away from the beach the buildings are more traditional. Since we were close to the “mercado” we decided that we would investigate.

The market in Matosinhos consists of two floors. The ground floor is where one finds the stalls selling fish, as well as a restaurant or two. On the first floor there are a few butchers, but most of the stalls feature fruit and vegetables. We did not see any stalls that sold ham and other deli products. Nor did we see a stall that sold cheese.

There are a number of supermarkets and specialty stores and you can probably find just about anything you need in the downtown area of the town. Street signs are few and far between, but the natives were very helpful and they understood my Spanish and I their Portuguese. Gestures were helpful, also. After our market exploration we headed for S Valentim where we had a 2:00 PM reservation.

The Avenida de Heroes de Francia is where there is the greatest concentration of fish restaurants. Most restaurants have their grills set up on the sidewalk out side the restaurant. The display of the catch of the day is always close by. Our restaurant was about halfway down the longish street and when we arrived there were a goodly number of people without reservations who were waiting for a table. We walked in, gave our name to the hostess and were immediately seated.

The decor of the restaurant is not fancy, but we did not come to eat the decor. It is a tablecloth restaurant, but, for the most past, the walls are bare. The indoor space is quite large and every table was full. We had discovered the restaurant last year when our cab driver recommended the place, telling us that he and his wife ate their every Sunday. We had a great experience last year and we were hoping to have another great one today. We were not disappointed.

It is the custom in Porto restaurants to offer you olives, bread and cheese as appetizers. Some restaurants ask if you would like the trio of goodies, others just put them on the table. The appetizers are not free and you pay for what you eat. You can ask your waiter to remove them from the table if you do not want them. We always do want them. Our waiter placed the appetizers on the table and told us that he would return shortly to take our order.

We knew that we wanted to start with some sausage and a pepper salad that consisted of red and green peppers and onion. The peppers had been charred and they were as delicious as the sausage. Two links were on the plate and our waiter sliced both of them for us. Our main dish was to be fish and the waiter brought a tray with three possibilities. We decided on the sea bass and asked our waiter to suggest a good bottle of Albariño to accompany the fish.

The fish was simply prepared. It had been butterflied and salted and was cooked to perfection on the sidewalk grill. Our waiter brought the fish to the table and deboned it and served it. He was dismayed that we were unable to finish all of it. To be fair, it was a big fish and it came with potatoes and Portuguese cabbage. We had melon for dessert and finished our meal with a coffee. We discovered once again that a quality product, simply prepared to show off its best features is definitely the way to go. We have had enough of liquid nitrogen and painted plates. We prefer good food, good wine and good company.

We took a cab back to the hotel. The twenty-minute cab ride cost us 15€. Our meal cost less that 70€, including tip. The next time we visit Porto S Valentim will be on our list of must visits.

When we got back tot he hotel we took life easy. We read a little and we rested a lot. In the early evening we headed to La Copa for some of their wonderful gelato. When we returned to the hotel, we set aside our clothing needs for Caminha where we would spend Wednesday and Thursday night and return to Porto on Friday. We went to sleep around 11:30.

 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9

 

We will head to Caminha later today. We decided that we would travel with our backpacks and leave our suitcases at the hotel until we returned on Friday. We had breakfast again at Café Battalha and then finished our packing and checked out. The hotel will keep our suitcases until we return on Friday.

We took a cab to the Campanha train station. Local traffic is intense in Porto and our trip to the station cost almost as much as our trip to Matosinhos. The good news is we arrived in plenty of time to catch the 12:46 to Nine where we would catch the 1:40 connection to Caminha. We reached our destination a little after 2:30 and we certainly enjoyed the scenery along the way.

Our hotel, Design & Wine is a five-minute walk from the train station. Each room in the hotel has a unique theme and we are in the Paint Room with its Picassoesque design theme. The rooms are quite modern. Our room looks out onto a small garden-like area and the natural light just floods into the room. We unpacked and then went in search of a late lunch.

Our destination was Solar do Pescado and we chose it because of its excellent rating on Trip Advisor. We arrived at 4:00 and most of the diners had finished their meal. We were shown to a table for two and we studied the menu. We opted to start with an ensalada mixta    with lettuce, tomato, onion, hard-boiled eggs and white asparagus. What a difference fresh ingredients make for such a simple combination of elements. For our main course we chose an arroz de mariscos best described as a soupy rice with assorted shellfish.

The version one gets in Valencia has an abundance of squid and any other shellfish that you find are few and far between. Today’s version could have easily fed four. The dish was replete with shrimp, mussels, clams, cockles and little bits of lobster. With the exception of the lobster there were at least eighteen pieces of each variety. Surprise, surprise! We could not finish the dish although we each had four or five servings. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of wine with our main course and passed on dessert. We did have coffee and the house invited us to a chupito. The bill for such a sumptuous meal was less than 70€.

After lunch we took a little walk and while Susan continued her exploration of the town, I opted for my usual afternoon siesta. We took it easy for the rest of the day. After all, this is a vacation and rest and relaxation are part of the plan. We were in bed by 11:00 and in dreamland soon after.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10

 

Breakfast is included with our room, so we made our way to the dining room around 10:00. The offerings include toast, rolls, pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, cheese and cold cereals plus juices and assorted breakfast beverages. The plan for today was to visit beaches and so we set off with Foz do Minho as our first goal.

Foz is about a mile and a half away from the hotel. You essentially follow the shoreline on a paved road and at a certain point there is a wooden walkway that takes you to the beach. It was low tide and there were not many swimmers and sunbathers on the beach. We stopped at the bar and had a Coke and then began the second part of our journey to the Playa de Moledo.

We followed a path through the woods that was some three miles long. While it was windy by the shore, there was little wind as we walked through the pine forest. We encountered very few people along the way and eventually we reached the beach. We stopped again to have a drink and then we continued on to the town.

Moledo is Caminha’s beach and it was well populated, but far from crowded. We explored various dining options and then decided that we would be better off returning to Caminha where there are many more dining options. We found a cab and in fifteen minutes we were back at out hotel.

We had lunch at Baptista, which is right next to our hotel. It has about a dozen tables and most were taken up by families. We had no problem getting a table for two and we sat down and studied the menu. I opted for grilled octopus and Susan chose the grilled cod. Boiled potatoes and Portuguese cabbage accompanied the entrees. We also had a bottle of the house white. Dessert was melon and that was followed by coffee. We then headed back to the hotel for some R and R. I had walked 5 miles and Susan, who had taken a walk on her own in the morning, was up to 6.5 miles.

Not surprisingly, we stool the rest of the afternoon off and spent time reading and catching up on correspondence. We made our way to the Plaza around 8:30 and had a rather forgettable pizza along with a beer for me and a gin and tonic for Susan. We then went back to the hotel and dozed off.

 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11

 

I woke up this morning a little under the weather. I think it was a combination of too much sun coupled with too much exercise for one day. I didn’t feel that I was up to a long train ride with two changes of train so we decided that a taxi back to Porto was a costly, but intelligent alternate mode of transportation. Our driver spoke Spanish and we had an animated conversation during the 75 minute trip. It cost us 90 €, but I made the trip in one piece and that was the good news.

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and since it would be a while before our room was ready. We went across the street and had a light breakfast. We then took a brief stroll, but it was really hot, so we decided to return to the hotel and wait in the air-conditioned lobby until our room was ready. We are now on the fourth floor and our room is equally attractive as the one that we had on the second floor at the beginning of our stay.

I decided to take a nap since I did not sleep well the night before and Susan read her book while I slept. Susan has gone out for a bite to eat, but, in truth, I am not very hungry, so I have decided to lay low for a little bit longer.

We left our room at 7:00 in search of a snack and found a nice place a few blocks away. I had a sandwich and Susan had a gin and tonic and we watched the world go by. We strolled for a bit afterwards and then headed back to the hotel. We watched a little TV and read a bit and, once again, we turned in early.

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11

 

I finally got a good night’s sleep. I showered and dressed and at 10:30 had a light breakfast across the street. Our destination today was the Vila Nova di Gaia where the major port wineries have their warehouses. Perhaps a tour would be in order or perhaps not.

We headed out form the hotel and in less than fifteen minutes we were descending the staircases that would lead us to the bridge that would take us to Gaia. I can’t remember the last time that I saw so many stairs. I would wager there were close to 200 by the time we got to the level of the bridge. It took around ten minutes to cross the bridge and there we were in Gaia.

The streets were filled with tourists and that was not surprising. We decided to explore beyond the tourist area and strolled along the banks of the Douro. There were very few people and a nice breeze. There were also a goodly number of benches along the way. It turned out to be an unexpected opportunity to chill out. On our way back we stopped at a small restaurant for a bit of refreshment. The place was called Antigua Casa Ze da Guida, There were a few indoor tables and a few outdoor tables. The outdoor grill was fired up as they awaited diners in search of lunch.

We originally stopped with the intent of having a glass of wine, but after our first glass we opted for a second and then ordered a plate of clams and some cried croquets to go along with the wine. When we made our way back into town, we stopped at an ice cream parlor and we each enjoyed a scoop of ice cream. After our ambitious morning walk, we decided that a taxi back to the hotel would be the wisest decision to make.

We rested and relaxed during the afternoon hours. We left the hotel in search of a bite to eat. W ended up at Café Ribeiro again and we both had a sandwich, along with a plate of fries. When we finished we headed back to the hotel to pack our bags, since tomorrow is a travel day. We are heading to Ourense in Galicia.

 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 13

 

The trip from Porto to Ourense is not a rapid one. You have to go by way of Vigo. The Intercity leaves Porto at 8:15 so we were up early and checked out of the hotel at 7:30. The streets were deserted and that is to be expected at 7:30 on a Sunday. We made it to the station in plenty of time to catch the 8:15 Intercity to Vigo.

The train is an older version and our car was quite noisy. The good news is that seats were relatively comfortable. We were schedule to arrive in Vigo at 11:40 allowing for the change of an hour when moving from Portugal to Spain. The fastest train from Vigo to Ourense leaves at 11:15 and the next fastest at 2:35. No problem we thought. We will just leave our luggage in the Consigna and take a stroll through Vigo. Who knew that the station did not have the usual lockers where one can leave their baggage?

I watched the bags while Susan went on a scouting mission. She found a small restaurant about a block away from the station and we made our way there. We enjoyed a hefty portion of tortilla española, a revuelto of mushrooms and cheese and a plate of pimientos de Padrón. Since we were in Galicia we downed our food with a glass of Albariño. We sat in the comfort of the restaurant a while longer before we made our way back to the train station. As soon as we arrived, they announced our train.

The 2:34 train out of Vigo that is bound for Ourense makes many stops along the way and the train really does not reach speed until the final leg between Ribadavia and Ourense. We arrived at 4:40 and only had to wait a few minutes for a cab. We are staying at yet another NH Hotel that has proven to be a very reliable hotel chain. They room they gave us was rather small and to make matters interesting the bathroom had no door. I went back down to the desk and asked if they could switch us to a room where the bathroom had a door.

The receptionist was very apologetic and moved us to a suite that has a sitting area, an. Enormous bed, ample closet space and a bathroom door. We will most certainly enjoy our four days here in Ourense.

After unpacking we decided to go out and explore a bit. Given that it was Sunday no stores were open and, although a goodly number of bars and cafes were closed, there were a goodly number that were open. We headed for old town and that had a familiar feel to it. To a certain extent, it was like walking through the streets of Toledo or San Sebastián. There is a comfortable mix of businesses, houses and restaurants. We stopped for a drink and a bit later we stopped for ice cream. Although it was late in the day, it was still hot.

We were back at the hotel around 9:00. We took life easy for a couple of hours and then we shut off the lights and went to bed.

 

MONDAY, AUGUST 14

 

We were out and about around 10:00. The first thing we needed to do was to find a laundromat so that we would have enough clean clothes to last for the rest of the trip. We discovered an Autoservicio close to the hotel. It is called OSO BLANCO and it turned out to be the perfect choice.

All the machines are modern and depending on the size washer you choose the cost is 4€, 5€ or 6€. The machine automatically adds detergent and softener so you do not have to bring any of that along. The dryers run 3€. In less than an hour we returned to the hotel with clean clothes.

We did a bit of housekeeping when we got back to the hotel and we caught up on correspondence and other internet tasks. We decided that we would try LA ROMÁNTICA for lunch, but when I called to make a reservation I was told they don’t take reservations. Who needs reservations when there are long lines of people waiting to get in?

We arrived at 1:30 and the place was packed. However, we did manage to get seated immediately. LA ROMÁNTICA is an Italian restaurant, that also offers a lot of meat options and after a week of fish we were ready for a good steak. Susan and I both ordered half servings of steak. The steak came with salad and a never-ending plate of fries. We did not need to order an appetizer. When the steaks came, the literally filled the plate. In addition to the steak we had ordered water, a beer and a bottle of good wine. The bill came to 29€. What’s not to love about Spain?

We took a long walk after lunch and got as far as the Roman Bridge. We even spent some time in a mall because we were both curious and hot. When we were all mailed up, we set out again and returned to the hotel. I took my afternoon nap and Susan returned to the casco viejo to shoot some pictures.

 

Around 9:00 PM we took the elevator up to the bar that is located on the roof of the hotel. The panoramic view that it affords is very, very nice. He had a few drinks and a couple of tostas – one with anchovies the other with salmon – and lingered until 10:30 or so. We then went back to the room and read a bit before calling it a day.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15

 

After a late breakfast we hung out in the room until 11:30 at which point we called a cab to take us to the railroad station. Our destination was Ribadavia, a small town some 20 minutes away by train. Ribadavia had a vibrant Jewish community until the Order of Expulsion and the ensuing Inquisition. In addition to its Jewish Quarter, there are the remains of a castle and a Sephardic Museum.

The trip was uneventful. The station at Ribadavia is unattended, and the trains to and from Vigo make only a few stops everyday. There are only to trains back to Ourense, one at 4:15 and the last one at 11:40 PM. Obviously, that meant we had a limited amount of time to spend there.

We walked into town from the station. It turned out that Tuesday was a día festivo, The Day of Assumption, so all businesses were closed. Most of the bars and restaurants, however, were open, as was a farmacia. I happened to notice that there was a restaurant next to the farmacia that was called Barmacia. It gave us a giggle as we continued on our way. It took us about twenty-five minutes to reach the castle and the museum.

We paid our admission and started at the museum, which had on exhibit a number of books and documents, as well as explanations of the history of the Jews, all written in gallego, the second language of Galicia. If one reads or understands Spanish then the gallego is not a challenge. After our museum visit we inspected the remains of the castle.

From the castle we made our way to the Plaza Mayor where the entrance to the judería was located. We made our way through the narrow streets and returned to the plaza. Since it was close to lunchtime we looked for a place to eat and decided on a space called Taberna Papuxa. In a former life it was a Jewish bodega where wine and spirits were made and sold. The irony is that in its current iteration it serves a limited number of dishes among them octopus, ham and other pork products. You order at the bar, find a seat – there is an outdoor terrace as well as the original indoor space – and someone delivers the food to your table. The food was good and enjoying it in an historic tavern made it all the more enjoyable.

One of the attractions of Ribadavia is a bakery called Tahona de Herminia that sells pastries made according to the original Jewish recipes. We were unsuccessful in sampling some of these pastries because when we first walked by they were closing to have their lunch and when we cam by again at 3:30 they did not answer a knock on their door. We needed to begin our way back to the train station if we were going to make the 4:15 train back to Ourense, so we began the trek back.

The train was on time and twenty minutes later we were back in Ourense. We went back to the hotel and rested for a while. At 8:30 we headed to the casco viejo in search of refreshment. We ended up at a restaurant called Barallete. We ordered some mejillones a la vinagreta and some albóndigas de pescado y langostino, both of which were excellent. What was unique about this place is that they went from table to table with tapas and pinchos that had just come out of the kitchen. We tried a couple and they were excellent. For dessert, we went across the street and had an ice cream.

It had been a full day and we wearily made our way back to the hotel. There was nothing on TV, so we gave up the ghost and went to bed.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16

We were in the Plaza Mayor at 10:30 because we wanted to take the tren turístico that makes its way around Ourense in a 45-minute circuit. We stopped off at one of the cafés in the Plaza to have breakfast and to say that our waiter was slow almost begs one to define that adjective. We did manage to down our breakfast and get our tickets for the 11:00 AM departure.

The train is the yore that one sees making its way through amusement parks in the USA and truly is not up to the challenge of the varying surfaces it traverses. Physically the train makes it up all the hills, but the ride is bone rattling and uncomfortable. It turns out that most people use the train to get to one of the two thermal baths for which Ourense is renowned. The one-way trip costs 85 céntimos.

The train stops at Termas Chervasquiera that are about two miles outside of town. They are located on the banks on the Miño River and there are seven or eight different pools. As you pass you can see that there are a number of people enjoying the pools and there are a goodly number sunning themselves on the surrounding decks.

The end of the line is where the Termas de Outariz are located. They are five miles from the center of town and are located in a very nice natural setting. In addition to the spa – the baths – massages are also available and there is a sushi bar for those who get hungry. When we reached Outariz we got out of the train to stretch our legs and at noon we began the return trip to the Plaza Mayor where we had a cold drink and watched the world go by.

Rested and refreshed we then made our way to Nova where we would have our lunch. Nova is famous for being a one star Michelin restaurant that has a reasonably priced tasting menu. There are three different tasting menus and the price varies according to the number of dishes that there are in each menu. We opted for the Menú Nova with its nine dishes and we also opted for the wine pairings. The menu was priced at 35€ and the wine pairing was an additional 25€,

This was one of the better meals that we have ever had. The setting, the service, the food and the wine were all outstanding. The first plate consisted of octopus in a seafood foam and topped with trout eggs. Understand that we are talking about a tasting menu here so the portions are appropriate to a nine-course meal. We then sampled some salmon sashimi on a bed of pumpkin with green peas. Third was a slow cooked egg in a broth of truffle and potato. Fourth on the list was a bouillabaisse with scallops. Next came a ravioli filled with crab served with a crab broth. The fish dish was a perfectly steamed piece of cod and the meat dish was stuffed veal cheek with shiitake mushrooms and braised endive. Our first dessert was a mint foam covering a small scoop of nectarine ice cream. Our second dessert was a take on vanilla ice cream. After the meal the chef came and visited our table and brought with him a few more sweet goodies. We finished our coffee, paid our bill and left knowing, that if the occasion presents itself, we will definitely pay a return visit.

It was back to the hotel and a brief pause in our day. Later this afternoon, Susan is heading out to the Termas de Outariz for a soak and a massage. My plan is to use her absence to update my blog.

 

Susan returned to the hotel at 10:30 and we went to the bar/cafe on the corner and had a drink and a nibble. We then headed back to the hotel. We decided that we would pack in the morning when we were to leave for Combarro.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17

 

We took a rather circuitous route to get to Combarro. Our first leg was a train from Ourense to Santiago de Compostela. It’s a 25-minute trip. The next leg was from Santiago to Pontevedra. We had to wait 30 minutes for the connecting train, but once it arrived we made the journey in less than half an hour. From Pontevedra we took a cab to Combarro and we reached the hotel at 2:30.

The Stella Maris is a hotel that has been around a long time and it shows its age. The bathrooms have been updated and that certainly was a plus. The room was a little tired. Our bed was a double bed in which the two of us just fit. The wifi signal did not reach our room. I think it had to do with distance away from the router since the signal was very strong in the lobby. The best part was the view from our room was outstanding. Combarro is on a ría, a river that is fed with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean.

We unpacked and went in search of lunch. A few steps away from the hotel is the Segunda Parada that, in addition to its upstairs dining room, has a terrace that overlooks the water. We ordered a fish stew that came with two different types of fish and an abundance of potatoes. Servings in Galicia are generous and it was impossible to finish the stew. We had dessert and coffee and then we took a walk to get a general idea of the town.

Combarro is a summer town where, I am certain, many families spend their summer. The hotels there are few and far between, but there are a number of places for rent and I imagine many families own their own summer residence. At one time Combarro was a lazy fishing village, but know its primary business is tourism.

In the evening we stopped at the hotel bar and had a drink. Afterwards we returned to the room and called it an early night.

 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18

 

We had breakfast at the hotel and then we headed out to explore Combarro in depth. We took the route along the ría and the process came across several beaches and a number of shops and restaurants. We moved at a slow, leisurely pace and after about two hours we stopped for a cold drink. We then made our way to Bar Chousa where we had a lunch reservation. The meal was disappointing. I had ordered a filet and Susan had ordered lamb chops and both were quite overdone. We passed on dessert and headed back to the hotel to rest and relax.

In the evening we made our way to Tinta Negra, which was jammed to the rafters. It was Friday night and the weekend visitors were our in force, along with the regulars. We had a drink and then went back to the hotel. We read for a while and then turned in.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19

 

Today was another travel day. We needed to get from Combarro to Vigo because our Sunday flight back to Valencia leaves from Vigo. Looking at the various options we decided that a cab was the best way to get from point A to point B. By the time we paid for a cab to get to Pontevedra, took the train and then got a cab to the hotel for a few Euros more we could just take a cab directly to the hotel and that is what we did.

The only room available at the NH Collection in Vigo was a junior suite. There is a soccer game tomorrow between the Vigo team, Celta and a team from the Basque Provinces, Real Sociedad. A number of fans had made the journey to Vigo and had reserved most of the rooms at the hotel. Since it was noon and the room was not yet ready en dropped off our bags and went exploring.

The last time I had spent significant time in Vigo was in the summer of 1990. The city has grown and expanded significantly. It is now Galicia´s largest city. A lot of what we saw during the day simply was not here 37 years ago.

We made our way to the casco viejo and looked around to see what there was to see…mainly lots of tourists. We stopped for a drink and then went on to visit the Museum of Modern Art that was too modern for my taste. We then headed back to the hotel where our room was ready, so we took our bags up to the room and investigated lunch options.

O Portón is highly rated on Trip Advisor so we headed there. As it turned out, it is very close to the casco viejo and so we returned to the scene of the crime. The place was jammed and we got the last indoor table where we were fenced in by two different families with children and parents who were inattentive to the needs of other diners. There were small kids all over the floor playing with a variety of toys and blocks and making it impossible for the waiters to deliver what the families had ordered. The noise level was as close to unbearable as it can get.

We decided to order a number of appetizers. On our list were empanada gallega, shrimp, squid, clams and mussels. We ordered a bottle of Albariño, Martín Códax, finished our meal and escaped. We found a small, QUIET cafe on our way back to the hotel and had dessert and coffee there in blissful silence. When we got back to the hotel it was close to 6:30.

We rested up and relaxed a bit and then around 9:30 went to a small bar called Porto Santo where we had a drink. Afterwards we returned to the hotel, read for a while and then called it a day.

 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20

 

The phone rang around 8:30 and I was still asleep so I missed the call. When I got up I saw that Matthew had called. When I called back I got his answering machine. I tries to call Rachel and got her answering machined We then decided to give Melissa, Rachel’s former sister-in-law a call and we found out that Rachel was in the hospital having had a reaction to one of the medications she is taking. We were able to get in touch with the hospital and she was resting comfortably with a slight fever and a headache. They were waiting for the results of various tests, but the consensus was that she would be in the hospital for a couple of more days until they figures out what the source of the problem was.

We got showered and dressed and went back to Porto Santo to have some breakfast. We then made our way back to the hotel where I updated this blog and Susan read for a while. We have to be out of the room by 1:00 and we do not leave for the airport until 8:00 so we will need to be creative to fill up those seven hours.

We managed to creatively kill the necessary hours before heading to the airport for our 10:40 flight. The plane was delayed for fifteen minutes on the runway because of heavy air traffic in the Spanish skies. We arrived in Valencia a little after midnight, caught a cab and walked back into our home. We left unpacking for tomorrow and went to bed.

 

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Yesterday we celebrated an early Thanksgiving due to the fact that on Wednesday we had to Granada for the Hocus Pocus Festival. Since we will not return until after Thanksgiving, before seemed a better option than after. There were fourteen of us around the table and they represented friendships that began anywhere from twenty years ago to two years ago. There were several other invitees who were unable to attend because Saturday was a workday for them.

The meal had all the traditional ingredients and there were a number of things to munch on before we got down to the real business of the day. We enjoyed chopped liver, mixed nuts, olives, and pickles, as well as ajo arriero, a dish made from potatoes and salt cod. There was a cranberry cocktail with a Prosecco base, as well as beer and wine. The meal ended with two homemade pies – pumpkin and pecan – thanks to the talents of Brian Oberle and a round of after dinner liqueurs. So who all was around the table beside Susan and myself?

Going counter-clockwise we start with Emma, Juanjo and Vilma. We met Vilma some five years ago when she was waitressing at a restaurant called El Molinón. Originally from Honduras Vilma had been living here in Valencia for a number of years. She wanted to learn English, so Susan offered her services. A friendship blossomed from those linguistic exchanges. Juanjo came upon the scene a bit later and the two were married in Honduras and celebrated here a month later with an outstanding celebration. Recently Juanjo has realized his lifelong ambition to become a pilot and now works for a firm that specialized in private flights for executives. Emma, the latest addition, turns one year old on December 20.

Next to Vilma is Paquita, Pepe’s mother, who lives in Pedreguer, a small town located in the province of Alicante. We have spent Christmas day with her and her family for the last five years. She prepares a traditional cocido and after that filling meal all the men gather around the TV and enjoy a siesta.

By now, you all must know Pepe. We met almost twenty years ago via an e-mail exchange. Magic was the link. Pepe at the time was very much involved in mentalism and had published a number of articles in very important publications. Our first project that was, in essence, an English translation of one of his effects was published in Genii magazine. I made my first trip to Pedreguer some nineteen summers ago when I was the guest of honor at a weekend session of La Cuchara Mágica. Pepe keeps himself quite busy these days between work, fun and an online Masters Degree that he is working on.

Next to Pepe are Carol and Joana, but you will have to look carefully to see Joana who is mostly blocked by the flowers. Carol is Jordi’s wife. Jordi is missing from the photo because he came late. We met Jordi in 2009 when he gave a class on various rice dishes at the nearby Food and Fun. The following Monday we visited with him at Seu Xerea, where he was working at the time. It was our first experience with cocido, and a memorable one at that. Jordi then went on to his own restaurant, Carosel, where we enjoyed many a fine meal. Carol frequently helped Jordi out at the restaurant and that is how we came to know her. Joana was born some five years ago. I am sure you have seen many photos of Joana and me. Recently they moved to the countryside where they bought a house and Carol, among other things, keeps busy overseeing the education of her daughter.

Next come Miguel and Mari Paz, two of our newer friends. They are Juanjo’s parents and we met them at a surprise party for Vilma a couple of years ago. Miguel is a barber and Mari Paz is a publisher and they are very active in the Falla Plaza Jesus. They were the ones who invited us to become falleros de honor for the 2014 Fallas. It was their first visit to our place and we were pleased to finally have an opportunity to reciprocate for all their kindnesses.

Next to Mari Paz are Klaus and Zahava. Susan met Zahava at High Holiday Services here in Valencia in 2009. Zahava is a practicing homeopath and Klaus is heavily involved in homeopathic research. She and Susan frequently get together for coffee or movies and Zahava has frequently invited us to celebrate Jewish holidays with them.

Brian is next to Zahava. We met Brian at Food and Fun the day that Jordi did his workshop. Brian is currently overseeing the US Consular Agency here in Valencia after having spent many years in the Foreign Service. His wife, Ofelia, is an artist, and unfortunately was a bit under the weather yesterday. The four of us frequently get together dining at home or at a variety of restaurants. Brian and Ofelia have a daughter, Olivia, who currently lives and works in Berlin.

The festivities began at 2:30 and ended close to 7:00. Susan did an amazing job putting everything together and all the elements of our Thanksgiving were absolutely spectacular!

 

 

Saturday, August 29, 2015

A week has past since Susan and I celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary. We decided to do something special and that involved returning to the city and the restaurant where we celebrated our 25^th.

In making our plans we discovered that getting to San Sebastian was going to be a difficult task. Connections from Valencia either through Madrid or Barcelona via rail were a bit complicated. Airfares were obscenely expensive. Putting our thinking caps on we came up with a solution that, in the end, worked out well.

Thursday at 10:30 we boarded a train bound for Barcelona. When we arrived we took a cab to the Ayre Gran Vía Hotel and checked in. Since we had a 3:00 PM reservation at a nearby restaurant we left our bags with the front desk and had a taxi take us to a fusion restaurant called Pacífico y Sur that combines Peruvian cuisine with Asian influences. It was one of ten restaurants featured in an article that appeared in the newspaper ABC.

The space itself is rather spare with very few wall decorations. It is in an older building as evidenced by a toiler that has the flush tank suspended from above. The quality of the food and its presentation is in stark contrast to the plainness of the restaurant. The restaurant is owned by Paco Toledo who is originally from Chile, but has lived in Spain for a number of years.

We had our choice of the menu of the day or a tasting menu and we opted for the 20 Euro tasting menu. We started with a croqueta, that was followed by a causa Nikkei (a base of cold mashed potatoes with a center well filled with raw tuna and avocado), ensalada de escabeche Nikkei (a lettuce salad with small pieces of pickled fish), ceviche, a Japanese style beef and noodle dish and a small wedge of lemon pie for dessert. We opted to have coffee elsewhere and left very satisfied with our new discovery.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Barcelona’s bullfighting ring that has been converted into a mall. It has four different levels and includes a multiplex cinema, the usual suspects that one finds at a mall and a number of restaurants. Architecturally it is quite interesting, but since I am not a great fan of malls I just enjoyed the architecture.

When we returned to the hotel we rested for a while and in the early evening we went for a walk. Along the way we stopped for a tapa or two and were back at the hotel by 9:30. Since we needed to get up early the next day to catch the 7:30 train to San Sebastián we made an early night of it.

On Friday we arrived at the train station in time to have a quick cup of coffee. We boarded the train and five and a half hours later we arrived. There were no taxis outside the station and we had to wait a good twenty minutes before we got one. It took some fifteen minutes to get to our hotel, the Codina, and after finishing the details of registration we headed up to our room.

As part of our planning for this weekend I had written the hotel far in advance and had asked them for the best room in the house. I was not disappointed when I walked into the room. We were on the top floor in a triangular shaped room that had a raised sitting area and an enormous terrace that offered vistas of both the mountains and the sea. There were floor to ceiling windows and that made the room light and airy. Anniversary weekend was off to a good start.

That evening we caught up with two friends from Valencia who are now living in San Sebastián and will be opening their new restaurant in some four to six weeks. Arif and Alex were the former owners of Basílico in Valencia and were two of the pioneer restaurateurs in the Ruzafa neighborhood. They took us to one of their favorite bars where we found an outdoor table. We ate, drank and chatted for a good three hours and rather than walk back to the hotel we flagged down a cab.

We slept in on Saturday and after a light breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to get showered and dressed for our anniversary meal. The forecast was for rain, however it was only overcast when we headed out. As many of you know we had celebrated our 25^th anniversary at Akelare and had an unforgettable dinner replete with wine and champagne. In the intervening 25 years it has become a three star Michelin restaurant and it features tasting menus.

A reservation at Akelare in August is almost impossible unless you have reserved in advance. We had and, as expected, the restaurant was full. Susan and I chose different tasting menus. There is a scan of the menus among the pictures. In honor of our celebration we ordered a bottle of a 2005 Remelluri Gran Reserva. We finished of our meal with champagne and chocolate. We spent a memorable four hours at the restaurant and before we left we had a chance to chat with the owner chef, Pedro Subijana.

The rain held off until 10:00 that night at which time all hell broke loose. It was a spectacular storm with thunder and lightning and from out vantage point in the hotel we got to witness the storm close-up and personal. We went to bed a little after midnight hoping that the weather forecast for morning rain would be wrong. It was.

Sunday was a brilliantly sunny day with temperatures in the low 80’s. We decided to walk the length of the beach and that took a good half hour. We stopped off at one of the bars in the old part of town and enjoyed a number of tapas. That turned out to be our lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking leisurely back to the hotel.

In the evening we visited Bar Pepe that was a short distance from the hotel. We had a few tapas and a glass of wine or two. We then returned to the hotel to pack our bags and to get ready for another early morning with a 7:30 train.

The train ride from San Sebastián to Barcelona was close to six hours and after a quick lunch we boarded the 3:00 PM train to Valencia. We unpacked and collapsed having enjoyed a spectacular 50^th anniversary four-day weekend.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

We made it back home last night around 9:00 after a seven-day road trip to the south of Spain. We divided our time evenly between Seville and Granada and in the process did some touristy activities, caught up with old friends and attended a couple of concerts. The average temperature for those seven days was 104 degrees and I, who has a tendency to sweat when it is merely warm, constantly felt like I had taken a shower with my clothes on.

It is not easy to get to Granada from Valencia. There is one direct train a day and it leaves late at night and gets to Granada at 6:00 AM. It is a sleeper train and if you can sleep in a smallish couchette all the more power to you. The alternative is to find a cheap flight to either Malaga or Seville and to continue on from there. Wednesday afternoon we flew to Seville and from the airport we made our way to the NH Plaza de Armas Hotel that, according to descriptions, was close to all major tourist attractions.

The hotel was a plain vanilla hotel that was comfortable and quiet. It was a good fifteen-minute walk away from the Cathedral and the Giralda and normally that wouldn’t be an issue. However in 104-degree weather it is. We unpacked and then went in search of lunch. We ate at a restaurant called El Cairo and had an enjoyable meal. I thought it was rather expensive for what it was and I find prices, in general, to be higher in Seville in comparison with other cities it size. Seville is a tourist destination and I think that probable explains its higher prices.

On Thursday we caught up with ex-colleagues Andrew Handelsman and Melanie Boswell Handelsman. I taught Melanie my first year at Westridge. She was a 7^th grader back then and our paths have always crossed since then. Andrew taught Spanish at Westridge for a number of years before heading off to Woodberry Forest twelve years ago. He is the director of the Woodberry in Spain program and the group was half way through their Seville experience.

We ate at a Moroccan restaurant called Al Medina. While we worked our way through an excellent meal we caught up with the goings on in our respective lives. Andrew and Melanie invited us to join them later that evening on the rooftop terrace of their hotel, the Doña María. We split up around 5:00 and at 10:00 we joined them on the terrace.

The Giralda is so close to the hotel that you feel that you could reach out and touch it. Susan took a number of photos and we then sat down for a round of drinks and some more conversation. I normally catch up with Andrew and his kids in Valencia. For the past few years we have arranged a dinner and magic show for him and his kids. They reach Valencia the 8^th and that is the very same day when we head back to the States. As fate would have it, we managed to connect in Seville. Around midnight we headed back to our hotel, having agreed to meet for lunch the next day.

Susan and I visited La Casa de las Indias on Thursday morning. It houses all the original documents related to the discovery and the conquest of the New World. We received a guided tour of the current exposition and learned quite a bit about the life and times of one Antonio Ulloa. It was a morning well spent. Around 1:30 we took a cab and had it leave us on the doorstep of a very popular restaurant called Eslava.

When we arrived we discovered that all the outdoor tables and the indoor tables were filled and the bar area was jam-packed. We put our name on the waiting list for a table and found an empty corner of the bar. We had a drink while we waited for Andrew and Melanie to arrive.

We tried a variety of tapas many of which are unique to this space. One of them is called el cigarro para Bécquer and the other dish was a plate of honey coated pork spare ribs. It is a dish that took third place in a nationwide tapas contest a few years ago and is one of the seven finalists in a rib competition that is being held in Asia.

We made our way back to the hotel after lunch and basically vegged out for the rest of the day. We did mange to get out for a while and have some ice cream and when we returned we packed our bags in preparation for our Saturday trip to Granada.

The train trip to Granada is currently complicated by the fact that they are working on the tracks between Antequera and Granada getting them ready for the fast train, the AVE. They are supposed to finish by the end of the December. That means that in 2016 it will be easier to get to Granada from Valencia. For the moment it means that the train takes you as far as Antequera. You then got off the train and get on the bus that takes you to the Granada train station. The trip lasts about an hour and a quarter and the scenery along the way is quite pleasant. From the train station it was a short trip to our hotel, the Vincci Albaycín.

Since it was a little bit after 3:30 we looked for a place where we could have some tapas and call that lunch. We found a spot near the hotel called Platos and we had a little bit of this and that. We left filled, but secure in the knowledge that it was not worth a return visit. When we returned to the hotel we unpacked and rested up a bit for our evening excursion.

Granada has hosted an international festival of music and dance for 64 years. Most of the events take place on the grounds of the Alhambra. There is a theater located in the lower gardens of the Genralife that accommodates larger audiences and the patio of the Palacio de Carlos V is also a performance space. Here is a link that will help you visualize the space http://granadafestival.org/fileadmin/360/generalife/flash/visita%20virtual_GENERALIFE.html

Saturday night we saw the National Ballet of Norway in their performance of the ballet version of Carmen. They debuted the ballet in March of 2015 and this was its second performance. It was a privilege to be seated in such a historical space watching a moving performance on a stage that was surrounded by trees that dated back centuries. The performance began at 10:30 and ended a little after 1:00. Getting back to the hotel was a challenge. Taxis were few and far between. One would think that there would be an abundance of taxis at the end of the event knowing that hundreds of people needed transportation. We did finally manage to get one, but it was a little after 2:00 when we returned to the hotel.

We did some sightseeing Sunday morning and had a rather noisy lunch at Restaurante Carmela. The food was excellent, but since it is a rather small space the noise level was close to unbearable and with all the waiters scurrying past to deliver the food it was difficult to focus on the food. We had eaten there before and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but it was in November and it was not the height of the tourist season.

Sunday night we had the pleasure of seeing Vicente Amigo, a flamenco guitarist, in concert in the patio of the Palacio de Carlos V. Rather than pure flamenco, I would say that he is clearly part of the flamenco fusion movement. In addition to himself, his group consisted of a percussionist, a bass player, a singer and another guitar player. The group played for two hours without a break. They also played two encores, much to the delight of the audience. Getting back to the hotel we experienced the same problem as Saturday night.

Drained from the heat we decided that Monday we would take things easy. We found a nearby Galician restaurant for lunch and were satisfied with a bowl of salmorejo, a heartier version of gazpacho and a seafood platter featuring octopus, mussels, and clams.

At 4:00 we caught up with an old friend of mine, Amador Javier García Piñeiro. We met sometime in the 90’s in Madrid, but neither of us can remember the exact date. I think we first made contact via e-mail and then we caught up with each other in Madrid. He now lives in Valencia and in addition to his work with computers he is a co-founder of a non-profit that is building schools in Ghana and Uganda. He needed to be at work at 5:00, but we had a good long chat about a variety of things.

The impetus for visiting Granada was the fact that a good friend and fellow magician, Miguel Puga, was going to debut a new work entitled El Brujo Amor which is a rewording of Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo. The title is appropriate since it is a tour of de Falla’s life using music and magic. There are seven projection screens used in the telling of the story and six musicians interpret the score. While rehearsing earlier in June, Miguel suffered a fracture to his right leg and as a result had to cancel all his appearances for two months. Since there was no performance Monday night we thought this would be the perfect time to visit with Miguel and Ana and at 8:15 that evening we rang their bell.

We spent a little more than four hours together talking about his new production and magic in general. We had a lengthy discussion about magic as an art form. It was an enlightening and enjoyable experience. We were back at the hotel at 12:30 and we did a little packing in preparation for our return to Valencia.

It took a bus, a train a plane and three taxis to get us back home. We left the hotel at 10:30 and we were back in our house at 9:00 PM. It is Thursday as I write this section and Susan’s brother, Saul, and family will arrive at 7:00 tonight to spend four days with us before they head south. Next Wednesday we board a plane for the States to help my niece celebrate her 50^th birthday.

 

 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT SUSAN V KAPLAN 2014

Last Thursday at this time we were boarding a train for Barcelona to spend a few days there. In spite of the fact that we returned Sunday, we managed to accomplish all that we had set out to do.

The main objective was to afford Susan the opportunity to update her photos of the Sagrada Familia. It is a project that she began in 1974 and has continued to the present day. 1974 was the date of our first visit to Spain and way back then there was no intention of there being a photo project. However, repeated visits to Barcelona turned it into a project.

We reached our hotel, the Ayre Caspe, a little before 3:00. After unpacking we went in search of a Chinese restaurant that is highly recommended by Trip Advisor. It is called Chen Ji and was a quick ten-minute walk from the hotel. The restaurant itself is rather non-descript. The décor is minimal and the tables and chairs serve their intended purpose.

The menu is rather extensive and we chose four items from the menu – bao, steamed dumplings, hot and sour soup, and a shrimp dish. When our dishes arrived we were surprised by the quantity of bao and dumplings that covered their respective plate. There was a dozen of each. Both dishes were very tasty and, I am pleased to say, authentic in taste. Finding a Chinese restaurant in Valencia is a herculean effort because most of the restaurants tend to dumb down their food to appeal to the Spanish palate. The Spanish palate does not tolerate spicy very well.

The hot and sour soup needed the addition of a little vinegar and the shrimp dish was quite good. The only surprise and disappointment was the white rice, which was rather soggy and clumpy. Our lunch cost less than 20 Euros and that included a beer and a bottle of water.

Thursday evening we walked to the Sagrada Familia from our hotel hoping that they were illuminating the building at night. That turned out not to be the case. Susan, however, was able to get a few night shots and we were happy to discover that the chapel was open and there was a mass going on. After the shoot, we headed back to the hotel for a nightcap.

Susan was at the entrance of the Sagrada Familia at 9:00 with the entrance we had purchased on line in hand. She shot interiors and took the elevator up to one of the towers for some interiors and exteriors. I caught up with her at 11:30 and we headed over to Calle Córcega to catch up with two friends from Valencia, Vik and Carlos.

Vik was a waitress at Carosel for several years. Carlos cooked at a number of places that we frequent here in Valencia. He worked at Seu-Xerea, Carosel and La Comisaría to name a few. He and Vik moved to Valencia when he was offered a contract at Granados 83. Granados 83 is a hotel that belongs to the Derby Chain and features a restaurant with the same name. Vik was finishing up a one-year contract at the Barceló Hotel that is located on the beach. She was tending bar there.

We had a lovely visit and as we left we told Vik that we would visit her at her hotel that night in hopes of taking some roof shots of the city at night. We told Carlos that we would see him tomorrow at his restaurant where we were going to have lunch.

The nighttime shots of Barcelona did not materialize. We had hoped that Vik would be able to find an empty room on the top floor that would afford Susan the opportunity to take some pictures. That was not to happen. We had a drink at the bar and then we headed back home.

Saturday morning saw Susan in line at the Sagrada Familia at 9:00 to take a few more interior shots and to explore the second tower. When she returned to the hotel we headed to the old quarter of Barcelona with the intent of visiting the oldest magic store in Barcelona, El Rey de la Magia. We found the shop rather easily. It gets a lot of tourist traffic and, in this day and age, that determines the type of product that it carries. I was looking for a couple of things, neither of which they had. The owner explained to me that these days their focus was on the theater that own and operate. The theater features local and visiting magicians.

At 2:30 we met up with Jaime Monfort who is studying at a circus school in Barcelona. The restaurant has a lovely outdoor terrace and Carlos had reserved a table for us. No sooner had we sat down than he emerged from the kitchen to greet us and to help us decide what to have for lunch. Our menu consisted of cod croquets, gourmet Iberian ham and cheese, a salad and a wild mushroom dish. Jaime and Susan ordered the fish of the day, which was corvine and I opted for the tuna tataki. Of course dessert was a necessity and it was outstanding. We took our coffee on the roof terrace and thoroughly sated we left the restaurant around 5:00.

That evening we attended a guitar concert at the Palau de Música, an Art Nouveau building that is a favorite of visitors to Barcelona. We heard a very engaging concert performed by the Barcelona Guitar Trio. There were works by Piazolla, Albéniz, de Falla and Chick Corea. We ended our evening at the hotel bar and afterwards we packed our bags in preparation for an early morning departure having accomplished our mission.

 

 

Sunday. September 14, 2014

The heat is still making its presence known here in Valencia. Temperatures are staying in the high 90’s with an occasional foray into three-digit territory. The humidity has been high and that makes it a special treat for those of us who tend to sweat excessively in those climatic conditions. The good news is that there is no lack of people who call to your attention the fact that you are sweating profusely. As if the puddles at my feet weren’t notice enough.

For the most part summer has been uneventful. We did make it to Cáceres in June for the Spanish National Magic Convention and we managed to sneak in a visit to Mérida and Trujillo. The convention was enjoyable, as was the city itself. Unfortunately all the ups and downs occasioned by stairs and hilly cities did in my right knee. I am still in the recovery stage and that has limited my daily activities. The heat is certainly not conducive to long walks and I manage to get to those places where I either want to or need to be. The doctor says another month of not overdoing physical activity should return things to normal. The good news is that I have made great progress since the original diagnosis.

On a sad note, my friend in magic, Jerito, passed away in late August. He was 94 years old and one of the founding fathers of magic here in Valencia. He was a professor of economics by profession, but he also dedicated a great deal of his time and effort to performing and writing about magic. A group of us would meet at his house every Thursday to talk about tricks and magic history. The group will continue to meet and so his memory will continue to be part of our lives.

As some of you already know, Rachel moved from Boulder to Seattle almost a month ago. She found herself a small apartment that is close to the University of Washington. The neighborhood is ideal for her with lots of shops and cafes within easy walking distance. Susan joined her on August 27 to help her with the unpacking process. After ten days Susan headed to San Francisco to spend some time with her brothers and arrived back in Valencia on September 10.

I took advantage of my two weeks of bachelorhood to finish up my proofreading of a magic book by Miguel Gómez that is being prepared for publication this fall. I also had an opportunity to work on some of my effects and to do a performance at the local Ronald McDonald House with my partner in crime, Juan Gurrea.

With the arrival of September the pace of the city has returned to its normal state. Monday night I attended a meeting of the CIVAC where eight candidates audition for membership in the organization and all were successful. The level of magic of the candidates was most impressive.

We had a lovely lunch on Friday in the company of Yuen and Jim Butler. Jim is a professor at the University of Kansas and spent a few months here recently as a guest lecturer at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. He and Yuen are celebrating their 25^th anniversary with a mini-tour of Europe. Carosel seemed like the best place to get together and, as usual, we had a spectacular meal.

Yesterday was the first concert of the season of Los Amigos de la Guitarra. The artist was Kokichi Akasaka and, to be honest, this was not one of our favorite concerts. The music last night seemed to lack soul. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was jet lag. I guess we will never know.

There was a vacant seat next to Susan and it was occupied by a woman named Linda. She did mention her last name, but that seems to have gone with the wind. Linda is currently visiting Europe and having sent some time in Madrid is here in Valencia until November. She currently lives in St Kitts, but is thinking of moving in the near future.

After the concert we ended up at Macellum http://restaurantemacellum.com/ and we opted for a selection of shared appetizers. We were supposed to get 5 and dessert, but somehow we ended up with 7 and dessert. The appetizers ranged from the traditional to the exotic and all were delightful.

At the moment there is nothing on today’s agenda, but life here is always filled with surprises. I imagine we will give some thought to packing for Vitoria.

 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

 

It really comes as no surprise that Foxcroft is on my mind. Given the fact that the school celebrated its 100^th anniversary a few weeks ago and the daily posts from former students, my Foxcroft memories are alive and well. I have no doubt whatsoever that Foxcroft was a very important stop on my lifelong journey and, ironically, it was an experience that almost never happened.

In the spring of 1972 I was an instructor at Buffalo State teaching both Italian and Spanish. I was working on my Doctorate, but was a long ways away from finishing it given my involvement with students during what was the Vietnam era. I received a letter telling me that I was not to be granted tenure and that the main reason was my lack of a PhD and the abundance of candidates with one on the market. The academic year 1972-73 was to be my last one and in the course of that year I needed to find a new job.

Susan was teaching at Buffalo Seminary, a private all girls school that, in spite of its name, had no religious affiliation. Back then the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) published a list of vacancies. There were a number of opportunities at boarding schools, which was an unknown world to me. The process was at times puzzling because I would get a letter saying there was no vacancy and Susan would get a letter from the same school saying there was a vacancy. We finally figured out that the successful candidate would also serve as a dorm mother and that certainly left me out of the picture.

I had applied to Foxcroft in February and had heard nothing in return. The position was still open in April and I had heard nothing. Then came a phone call in May from Bob Leipheimer who was the Assistant Head back then. He invited us to come to Virginia and visit Foxcroft. We made our plane reservations and the following week we landed at Dulles.

I believe we stayed with my brother and sister-in-law who were living in Silver Spring. I still remember the drive to the school. We made use of the Dulles Access Road and did the turnaround when we got to the airport and took the first exit. We traveled along Route 50 where there was the occasional house and a Dart Drug Plaza. We found Route 626 and began the torturous drive up the hill until we arrived at the gates of Foxcroft.

We parked outside of Brick House and gave our name to the receptionist and were invited to wait in the sitting room until Bob Leipheimer would come and meet us. So there we sat in this very colonial and very formal sitting room. Susan and I looked at each other and exchanged glances that said that this was not the place for us. It was way too formal for who we were back then. Susan said, “I feel like I should be wearing white gloves.” We were quite uncomfortable, to say the least.

Our spirits brightened when we met Bob Leipheimer and he accompanies us to his office that was decorated with Danish Modern furniture. In the course of our discussion he explained that the reticence to get in touch with us had to do with the housing situation and not my qualifications for the job. The only available housing for the 1973-74 school year was Dillon Apartment, which was still in the process of construction. The school did not know if we would be willing to accept a two -bedroom apartment as our residence. It turned out to be a non-issue.

We later met with Alex Uhle, who was the Headmaster at that time. After a tour of the campus we met with Diana Dearth, who was the Chair of the Language Department and the last item on our agenda was a meeting with a student committee. I remember Carla Somoza asking me searching questions about my teaching methodology. At the end of the day we had a very good impression of Foxcroft and the feeling was mutual because shortly thereafter a contract came in the mail.

We arrived on campus in late August and moved into our new apartment. We actually lived in four different spaces on campus. After a year in Dillon Apartment we moved to Applegate Cottage. Our next move was to one of the two brick houses on the road to the dump, which we affectionately called the dump house. Our last move was to Lodge where we spent the last three of our ten Foxcroft years.

There was a number of new faculty that year, as you can see from the attached photo. Larry Achilles was still teaching English, Adelaide Winstead was teaching art, Frosty was teaching history and the Hems were teaching math and art history respectively. I was to teach four Spanish classes and Susan was contracted to teach one. That one class magically expanded to three once the school year began. In 1973 enrollment in French far outnumbered enrollment in Spanish, but that would change gradually until Spanish students outnumbered French students.

I enjoyed all my classes, but my favorite was the class in AP Spanish Literature. It gave me the chance to work with our native Spanish speakers and I think they enjoyed our frequent philosophical discussions as much as I did. In addition to the new experience of teaching at the high school level, I, like all other faculty members, became an advisor. I recall many lengthy discussions that were both serious and fun. Popcorn was the snack of choice for those visitors who frequented our home after study hall. Many of my students, advisees and acquaintances are Facebook friends today and, needless to say, I enjoy keeping up with the events in their lives.

Mini-Term was already in existence our first year and Mini-Term in France was one of the offerings. I remember offering a class in beginning guitar and I am sure I taught something else on the afternoons. At one point in time we were called into Bob Leipheimer’s office and he told us that Foxcroft wanted us to set up a Mini-Term in Spain program and that the school was going to send us to Spain, all expenses paid, to investigate possible locations for the program. That turned out to be one of many life-changing experiences for us courtesy of Foxcroft.

Susan and I had never been to Spain and if the school had not sent us I really have no idea when we would have made our first visit. I think that it is safe to say that if we had not made that first visit on the school’s dime and subsequent visits as chaperones for the a number of Foxcroft young women, we probably would not be living in Spain today. During that summer we paid a visit to Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona and Granada and decided that Madrid was the most logical site for the program and that there would be a travel component. That summer I met Alberto Sampere, the founder and director of the Estudio Internacional Sampere and for the past forty years the Estudio has always hosted student groups that I have led and the Sampere children and grandchildren have remained fast friends for all those years.

The first year at any new position is a year of adjustment. It takes a full year to begin to understand the rhythm of a workplace. I remember Mary Lou Leipheimer counseling me to take it a bit easy and not to volunteer so much because I would be totally exhausted before Thanksgiving. That certainly was not the last good piece of advice she gave me. With Mini-Term over and having had a refreshing Spring Break life was just humming along. All that was to change when Alex Uhle stood up at Morning Meeting, which was held in the Fox-Hound Auditorium then, and announced that the following year would be his last at Foxcroft. It was obvious that more changes were to come.

My sharpest memory of Alex Uhle’s last year was being called into his office because he needed to discuss something with me. I did a mental check trying to see if I could figure out what I had done wrong, but nothing came to mind. When the time came for our meeting, I must confess that I nervously walked into his office. After asking how I was doing, he asked, “Am I correct that you play a little tennis?” In truth I did, although I was not very good. I had been playing only a few years and had never had a lesson. When I answered in the affirmative he replied, “That’s good because I would like you to coach tennis this year.” I was not really in any position to say no and so in the spring of that year Lee Lockhart and I became good friends as he drove us hither and yon for a series of away matches.

According to Alex Uhle the tennis team had not had a winning season in a long time. I was sure that, with my lack of experience, I would see to it that the tradition continued. However, that was not to be. We had some very strong players that year all of whom had been playing for a number of years. In terms of stroke production, form and style there was really nothing that I could teach them. Where I thought I could help was making their mental game a bit more solid so that they could be very focused in hopes of causing their opponent to become less focused and less confident. I just did a drawer search for a photo of the team to help me remember names, but the photo has gotten lost in the shuffle.

I remember that a redhead named Stewart Chapman was our best singles player and some of her teammates were Pammy Washburn, Story Jones, Eleanor Rhangos and Jan Zaccanini. We played a total of 13 teams that year and we ended the season at home. Going into that match the team had a record of 5 and 6 with 1 tie. We had to wait until the last match was done and the good news was we won the match and the tennis team had one of its best seasons ever. And that was the first and last time I ever coached an athletic team.

Alex Uhle’s successor was Coit Johnson. It was Coit who moved Morning Meeting to the library Audrey Bruce Currier Library and that was a move that helped increase school spirit because now everyone could see everyone else and the feeling was different than sitting in a theater setting. A new year, a new boss meant that we were all in for a year of change. When Coit Johnson suffered a stroke the winds of change were to blow stronger than anyone had ever anticipated.

Bob Leipheimer was to take over as Acting Head and we were all asked to step up our game and do more than was expected of us so that things could run as smoothly as possible. It was about this time that I became the school’s liaison for the A Better Chance Program and the students they sent to Foxcroft. That afforded me the chance to get to know Jimmy Williams, as well as the chance to get to know some very exceptional women of color. Every single one of them earned my admiration for not only surviving, but also thriving in a setting that was nothing like all their previous experiences.

It was also a time when my relationship with our international students became formalized. At the time we had students from South America, Central America, Mexico, Japan and Thailand. We also had a goodly number of Aramco students who were getting their first taste of schooling in the United States. As I mentioned before, a number of these students were in my AP Lit class, but there were also many who were not. I remember Hiruko Ishii who came to Foxcroft speaking almost no English and I remember Susan teaching her English. It was the first time I heard anyone voice the frustration of a second language learner living abroad. Haruko said that here greatest frustration was that she did not have the vocabulary to talk about her feelings.

I remember a trip we all took to Charlottesville at the invitation of Anne McGuire who was a trustee at that time. We all piled onto a bus and had an outstanding day. My other memory is when we performed at Covert on what must have been a Parents Weekend. We sang “Dona Nobis Pacem” and I still get chills when I think of those beautiful voices raised in song.

That summer the school sent me to the Northfield Mount Hermon Counseling Institute run by Stanley King and a number of others from the Harvard School of Mental Health. It was a weeklong intensive experience where we learned how to listen since good listening is the essential part of a relationship that one has with an advisee. The goal was not to make us mini-psychologists. Truth be told, good listening is a crucial part of any relationship. All people have stories to tell and all of us want to and need to know that we are being heard. I returned to Foxcroft that September as a much better advisor and my good listening skills have been part and parcel of my set of behaviors ever since. I am a good listener and people trust in me to the point that they will tell me their stories.

Foxcroft underwrote another summer experience that was a turning point in both Susan’s life and my life. While attending a language convention we struck up a conversation with representatives from The School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. SIT was the degree-granting arm of The Experience in International Living and in addition to a Masters program offered summer workshops. As I recall, we took classes there for two summers. It was there we were introduced to methodologies such as The Silent Way and Counsel Learning. The term “student centered education” had not been invented yet, but that is what was at the heart of those two methodologies. When we returned after the first summer we asked permission from the administration to radically change the way we taught Spanish. They said yes and desks were pushed aside and the floor became our workspace. Cuisenaire Rods, newsprint and a tape recorder replaced textbooks to a certain degree.

The last experience that Foxcroft financed for us was a weeklong seminar put on by the Society for International Education and Research (SIETAR). It was held at Georgetown University and its focus was helping us to work with foreign students or those who were about to leave the US for an in-country experience. As a result of that conference, the direction of Susan’s life changed. Soon thereafter she was to leave teaching to become a trainer for Americans who were getting ready to spend significant time in Saudi Arabia working on a joint project of the Saudi Government and the department of the Navy.

I have fond memories of the Dining Hall experience. I remember Mr. Frank who ran the place and I can still see Johnny’s face as clear as can be. I remember Sara Thompson and Miss Sally. Most of all I remember the opportunity to sit with students and share the events of their day. There were those times we sat with other faculty and that allowed us to catch up on what was going on in their lives. One of the selling points for a boarding school is the fact that you have instant community and that meant that Rachel had a group of friends who played in the room off of the dining hall. I know that was an important part of her growth as a person. My favorite Dining Hall story has to do with an encounter at Sunday brunch between Kirsten McBride and Rachel. Rachel was all enthused about being a Fox and included in Fox activities. When Kirsten and her parents showed up for brunch, Rachel rushed to her and breathlessly asked, “Are you a Fox or a Hound?” Kirsten thought it over for a minute and then replied, “Neither. I’m a Christian!

I added to my acting experiences while at Foxcroft. Hilary Deely snagged me early on to appear in a production of To Blush Unseen. The good news is that it allowed me to tell people that I had appeared on stage with Stephanie Zimbalist. I also recall being in a production of The Boyfriend and my last appearance on the Foxcroft stage was in Guys and Dolls in which Wendy Mingst starred as Adelaide. One Mini-Term I worked with Eric VanderVoort in a production of Godspelland Angus Thuermer convinced me to appear in the Middleburg Players production of The Good Doctor.

Mr Mac did a term or two as Interim Head until Coit Johnson returned. Dick Wheeler came to campus as an Interim Head and was eventually named Headmaster. Dick asked me to take on more administrative responsibilities and I accepted. When my ninth year at Foxcroft came to an end, I knew in my heart it was time to move on. Susan and Rachel were ready to move on, too. As a family we decided that our next stop would be California and that is where I lived out the rest of my teaching life.

There is one more thing that I did take away from my Foxcroft experience and that was my friendship with Biff Smith. It was Biff who introduced me to the world of magic and he played the role of my teacher during the years he taught at Foxcroft. Little did I suspect that magic would play such an important role in my future.

When people ask what I took away from my Foxcroft experience I tell them that in addition to good friends, I got to experience Spain a number of times. I became a better teacher, I became a better listener, I was introduced to magic and I developed a taste for the finer things in life. I would not be who I am today without my Foxcroft experience and I like to think that Foxcroft would not be what it is today had I not shared ten years of my life with it.