Marty Kaplan's Blog

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Tim Wright

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a former Westridge colleague and friend, Tim Wright.  Tim directed almost all of Westridge School’s plays and musicals and helped direct the transition from the Braun Center to the then new Performing Arts Center.  Tim had worked as a stand-up comedian until a serious altercation with a drunken audience member put an early end to that career choice.  Tim wrote a number of movie scripts, directed a few films and also wrote several plays.  Tim and I saw each other almost on a daily basis when I was teaching at Westridge and we would frequently trade jokes, many of which could not be told in polite company.  At one point we had planned to work together on an English adaptation of one of García Lorca’s play, but that project got shelved.  When I last visited Westridge on November 14, I discovered that Tim had been hospitalized having been diagnosed with cancer.  His passing yesterday was unexpected and the only consolation is that he did not have to suffer a long illness.  The many posts on Facebook are an indicator of how many lives he touched.

Yesterday morning we headed for the Central Market to replenish our supply of fruits, vegetables, herbs, pine nuts, ham and cheese.  The most expensive item were the pine nuts, which cost 10 Euros.  The good news is we now have a supply of them that will last until the end of July.  The list of fruits and vegetables that we needed was quite long – lettuce, tomatoes, a red pepper, a green pepper, cucumbers, green beans, garlic, oranges, apples and bananas – and the total for all those goodies was eight Euros.  The blue rolling cart was filled to the brim when we made our way home.  When everything had been put away, I left for the gym.

Today was a workout day and for the first time I expanded my routine by doing a number of exercises using rubber resistance and a Fitball.  I also did a number of exercises using the machines.  My workout lasted a full fifty minutes and it started and ended with ten minutes of cardio.  I have been tracking the distances I walk on a daily basis and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that last week I walked 45.9 miles and that on Saturday last I walked more than 8 miles.

We ate lunch at home since Susan had an Aqua Fitness class at 3:30.  Susan made a salad and sliced up the remaining breast from the roast chicken we had bought on Sunday.  It was very tasty.  Susan left soon after lunch for her class and that was when I worked on yesterday’s blog.  Later in the afternoon I passed by Miguel’s office because a package had arrived for me.  It turns out that it was the blood pressure monitor that I had ordered from Amazon here in Spain.  The monitor I use at home is quite large and that was why I did not take it with me to Spain.  The new one is a wrist model and works perfectly.

There was no topic for last night’s CIVAC meeting and since it was the eve of a holiday there were not many in attendance.  I showed Juan Luis an effect with ESP cards hoping that I had reconstructed an effect that had us puzzled last July.  As it turns out, I had come up with a good effect, but it was not the one we were trying to reconstruct.  Pepe arrived a little after 9:00 having just returned from a day in Barcelona.  At 9:30 we left in search of a sandwich and a beer.

After several changes of direction we ended up a new spot called Shaley where instead of sandwiches we feasted on a variety of tapas.  As best as I can recall we had tortilla española, pulpo, croquetas de pollo, patatas bravas, and a plate of jamón y queso.  The conversation at the table was lively and by the time we paid our bill it was close to 11:30.  Pepe, Juan Luis, Paquito and Gioco were talking about having a nightcap, but I was done in so I took my leave and went home.

When I got there Susan was already in bed deeply engrossed in the novel she is currently reading.  I gave Rachel a call on FaceTime and the three of us spent a good fifteen minutes schmoozing.  She was in the process of cleaning the coffee roaster and is going to try her hand at roasting coffee tomorrow.  It was little after midnight when we finally went to bed.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day weather-wise.  The sky was absolutely cloudless and temperatures reached the low 70’s.  After breakfast wedecided to walk to Carrefour to return a lightbulb that was dead on arrival and also to allow Susan to take a look around this enormous hipermercado.

It took us about twenty-five minutes to walk there and our jackets were absolutely unnecessary and they were removed fifteen minutes into our trek.  The store was not overly crowded because it was a little after noon on a Sunday and it was too early for most valencianos to have their act together.  The comparison to a Super Target is, for the most part, quite accurate, but the section that is the supermarket is much more extensive with large counters devoted to cheeses, bread, pastry, fish, fresh meat, hams and other assorted goodies.  The center of the supermarket was occupied by two of the largest paella pans that I have ever seen.  Each pan probably contained hundreds of servings and people were lined up to purchase individual or multiple servings.  Our shopping list was mercifully short given how long the walk home would be.  We purchased a lamp for the study, a spray can of a temporary adhesive, a jar of English mustard and a can of silicone spray to waterproof Susan’s new boots.

We decided to walk home through the Turia and the park was filled with families taking advantage of the playgrounds, guys playing soccer and loads of people either biking or taking an early afternoon stroll.  The walk home seemed shorter and as soon as we entered we put things in their place and tried out the new lamp.  With the addition of an extension cord it will be perfect.

I headed out again to pick up a roast chicken that I had ordered at the new deli down at the end of the street.  The proprietor took it off the spit and proceeded to cut it into its component parts, added some of the basting juices to the container and sealed the container.  As soon as I returned home, Susan began preparations for our Sunday lunch.  She made a salad to go along with the chicken, as well as some green beans.  We opened a bag of chips, sliced some bread and opened a bottle of Albariño.  It was the perfect Sunday lunch.  Around 5:00 we headed out again in search of the ever-elusive gelato.

Linares has three display cases and in the summer two of them are devoted to a variety of flavors and the third showcase displays a variety of candies and baked goods.  These days there is only one display case filled with gelato and the flavors tend to be the most popular choices.  I always choice a combination of chocolate and pistachio, which are two of the forever flavors.  We found an empty bench in the plaza and watched the world go by.  We then headed home.

We spent the evening on the sofa.  We read for a while and watched some TV.  Thanks to our Apple TV we were able to see the Mashup episode of Glee and have left the I Kissed a Girl episode for later this week.  Supper consisted of some eggs scrambled with ham, onion and cheese.  I had a beer and Susan a cup of tea. I gave up the ghost at 10:30 and went to bed.

Here are a few shots that Susan took on Saturday night.  Things are beginning to look a bit more festive.

Mercado Central

Street Scene

Street Scene 2

Mercado Central 2

Mercado Central 3

Sunday, December 4, 2011

In spite of the fact that it is Sunday and most stores are usually closed on Sundays, many stores will be open today because there are two holidays this upcoming week on Tuesday and Thursday.  That means that a lot of people will take Monday off to have a four-day weekend and then there are those who will take Friday off and enjoy their four-day weekend at the end of next week.  We plan to take a walk this morning over to Carrefour to do some exploring over there.

Yesterday Susan went shopping for boots and I took advantage of her absence to do some cardio at the gym.  When you add in the trip to and from the gym I got in a good hour’s worth of cardio.  When I got home I worked on the blog and a little after 2:00 Susan called to tell me that she had found a pair of boots and to ask me if I wanted to join her at Refugio for lunch.  We agreed to meet in fifteen minutes.

It turns out that Refugio is the most recommended restaurant in Valencia having entered first place last week.  Here is a link to the restaurant with some newsy articles and some shots of the interior.  It is a small restaurant and between its two rooms has space for forty-five diners.  When we entered there were two empty tables.  We were told that we could sit at either one and we chose the one further from the wall and sat down.  They did have a menu of the day and Susan and I chose the same appetizer and entrée.  We started with a salad that in addition to the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots and sprouts hid a surprising number of chopped nuts that gave the salad a nice crunch.  Our entrée was a tuna loin steak that was the thickest piece of tuna I have ever seen and had a bit of heat to it.  It was accompanied by a modest serving of soba noodles.  The tune went well with the bottle of Albariño that we had ordered.  For dessert Susan ordered the vanilla ice cream and I chose the brownie.  We combined the two and had a most tasty dessert.  We finished our meal with a coffee, paid our bill and headed back home.

We spent a lazy afternoon and around 6:30 we got dressed up because we would be attending a guitar concert in the Instituto Luis Vives auditorium.  The concert was to begin at 7:30 and was sponsored by Los Amigos de la Guitarra here in Valencia.  On our way Susan took several photos of the decorations that adorn the Mercado Central as well as some of the decorations that the city has hung to celebrate the upcoming holidays.

We reached the auditorium at 7:15 and the President of the organization, as usual, was at the door.  We had made the decision to become members of the group and we had brought a completed application with us.  For the price of 40 Euros, a discounted price for those over 65, I became a member and that entitles me to attend all the 2012 concerts and, if that weren’t enough of a bargain, I get to bring a guest to every concert and my guest is admitted free.  We are looking forward to attending many guitar concerts during the upcoming year.

Tonight’s soloist was the Chilean guitarist, Esteban Espinoza, had recently returned from Granada where he took Second Prize in the annual Andrés Segovia competition.  His program featured Latin American composers and we had the pleasure of hearing works by Sánchez and Ginestera, among others.  The most ambitious piece was Ginestera’s “Sonata for Guitar” and for me the most melodic was Sánchez’s “Tonada por Despedida”.  Here is a video of the composer playing the piece http://www.refugiorestaurante.com/ and here is Espinoza playing the same composition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2xno4a0n_s . After the concert we went in search of a bite to eat.

We gave some thought to stopping in at the Taberna de Antonio Manuel, but the first show at the Teatro Olympia had just broken and the Taberna was full to overflowing. We decided to stop at The Ginger Loft in the hopes that we would finally catch up with Santi.  The restaurant was quiet, although it would fill up while we were there.  Santi was out shopping, but he returned ten minutes after we sat down.  I had my usual beer and Santi prepared his Ho, Ho, Ho Cocktail for Susan that was made with an orange vodka base.  Mike made us a lovely chicken quesadilla using Manchego cheese.  He served it with an aioli sauce and a hot sauce on the side.  Delicious!  We then tried an interesting fusion dish that could best be described as taquitos filled with chicken satay served with a homemade peanut sauce. Yum! We chatted for a while longer and around 10:30 we headed back home and after such a very busy day we decided to turn in early.

Luncheon salad at Refugio

Tuna loin entree

Tuna loin 2

Vanilla Ice Cream

Warm brownie!

Warm brownie + cold ice cream = Yummy!

Our lunchtime wine

Ho, Ho, Ho Cocktail

Quesdailla de Pollo

Chicken Satay Taquitos

Saturday, December 3, 2011

It is a cold and gray morning here in Valencia.  Susan is about to head out with Zahava in search of a pair of boots and, as soon as I finish this entry, I will head to the gym for a bit of cardio.  This evening we will go to a guitar concert sponsored by Los Amigos de la Guitarra.

Yesterday I went to the gym a little before noon.   Susan was meeting Zahava for lunch at 1:30 and I would not be back home until much later than that.  At the gym I did my new routine, which I supplemented with some of the exercises I have learned at the Dynamic Advantage.  I warmed up with ten minutes of cardio and I finished my exercise routine with another ten minutes of cardio.  Neo Gym was a good choice for me and I know that I will take maximum advantage of my membership there.

When I finished at Neo Gym I went in search of Carrefour, a superstore much like the Super Targets that we have in California.  The one I discovered on the Avenida Manuel de Falla occupies a full city block and carries just about everything one might need.  I was in search of some led candles that we had seen at Brian’s house when we had dinner with him last week.  We had seen something similar in one of the display windows on the Gran Vía, but the asking price for the five candles was over $100.  The candles that Brian has purchased were 10 Euros and the box held three candles.  The difference was that the $100 candles use rechargeable batteries and the 10 Euro version uses AAA batteries.

I found the candles and also found a pair of headphones that were perfect for my iTouch.  Speaking of Apple products, the Apple Store in Valencia opens today and they are giving away a free T-shirt to the first 1,000 customers.  The store occupies all three stories of a newly renovated building on Calle Colón.  It will be a good place to stay away from for the next few days since it will be a zoo.  Also, I do not need anything, but I would love to take a look around.  Up until now, if you wanted to buy an Apple product other than a phone you had to go to either FNAC or El Corte Inglés.  The iPhone is available at all the major carriers here in Spain.  I imagine that the department store will phase out their sale of Apple products now that the mother ship has landed.

As I left Carrefourit was starting to rain and since I was a good twenty-five minute walk from home I decided to hop a cab.  I set up the candles as my first order of business and I then picked at some ham and cheese and called it lunch.  While I ate I continued reading Riña de gatos, the new Eduardo Mendoza novel.  I am halfway through it and I am finding it to be an interesting read.  It is set during the Spanish Civil War and involves an Englishman who is an expert in Velázquez.  He has been invited to Madrid to evaluate a painting and, in the process, discovers an unknown Velázquez canvas.  The family who owns it has two daughter and Paquita, the older daughter, is being courted by José Primo de Rivera, one of the leaders of the Spanish Falangist movement.  The Englishman has fallen for her and the intertwining of the two main plots is very well done.

Susan returned home a bit after 4:00 having had lunch at a restaurant called El Refugio, which is located on Calle Alta in the Carmen.  She took some pictures of their main course and dessert and I will share those photos with you.  We read for most of the afternoon and a little after 6:00 we changed clothes because we were going to the symphony.  This evening’s conductor was Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and there was a world premiere piece that was part of the program.  Because it was raining we decided that a cab was in order.

The Spaniards have devised a clever system to deal with the hundreds of wet umbrellas that will enter the concert hall.  They provide you with a plastic bag in which you store your umbrella so that it does not drip all over you and all over the rug.  Since we were early we stopped at the bar and had a glass of champagne and then we headed up to our seats.  Once again we were in the first balcony, but we had moved up a row.  The seats were perfect.  We noticed the presence of TV cameras that were most probably taping the concert for later viewing.

The first piece of the evening was Schumann’s Symphony Number 3, Renana.  There was an intermission after the first piece of the evening was played.  During that break the seats on stage were rearranged to accommodate the two soloists for the world premiere presentation of a piece entitled Fulgores, composed by Lorenzo Palomo.  The two soloists for the evening were Alexandre Da Costa on violin and Pablo Sáinz Villegas on guitar.  The piece was Stravinskyesque that alternated soft romantic-like passages with bombastic orchestral settings.  Susan enjoyed the piece more than I did since I am more a friend of the traditional style of classical music.  The third piece of the evening was Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe 2^nd Suite.  We had heard the LA Phil play the exact same piece last month at the Disney Concert Hall.  The Dudamel conducted piece sounded much brighter than this version, but I found this treatment to be very pleasing, also.

We were lucky to find a cab as soon as we exited the building.  He dropped us off at the corner of Borrull and Gran Vía and we decided that a pizza was in order.  La Fórcola was full with only one empty table by the door.  It was reserved for 11:00, but since we only wanted a pizza and a beer Antón was happy to let us have it.  The pizza, as usual, was delicious.  When we finished we made our way home and caught up with Rachel via Skype.  As soon as we hung up we got ready for bed and called it a day.

The flickering LED candles

Outdoor cafe scene 1 Brrrrrrrrrr!

Outdoor cafe scene 2 Brrrrrrrrr!

Lenguado at El Refugio

Dessert at El Refugio

Dessert 2

Friday, December 2, 2011

Even though we have entered the month of December, the assault of Christmas decorations here in Valencia is noticeably lacking.  The Corte Inglés is all dolled up for Christmas, but most display windows at other establishments either have made no changes or, at most, have a string of lights in their window.  While walking home last night I noticed that one balcony on Calle Borrull had been decorated with a string of lights.

Yesterday I visited with Miguel to pay December’s rent.  We chatted for a while and I then headed off to the gym to do some cardio. While I was at the gym, Susan was having her nails done.  On my way home from the gym I passed by two stores that sold lamps and saw some possible candidates for Susan’s nightstand.  When we caught up with each other it was a little after 2:00.  We decided that we would head to El Molinón for lunch.  When we walked in we were warmly greeted by Quique, the owner.  This was the first time we had seen him in spite of the fact that we had stopped by to say hello four or five times.

We ordered three items for lunch.  Our salad for today was a dish of sliced tomatoes topped with tuna.  We had ordered that salad last week, but this one seemed to have doubled in size since our last visit.  We also ordered a revuelto de morcilla, scrambled eggs with blood sausage mixed in.  Our third dish was a plate of albóndigas, which, in my opinion, are still some of the best I have ever tasted.  I had a beer and Susan had a glass of wine.  We were so full that we passed on coffee and turned down an offer for a complimentary liqueur.  When we left the restaurant, Susan and I parted ways.  She headed for Zara Home to purchase two more throw pillows for the sofa and I headed home hoping to take a nap.

Susan arrived home a little after 5:00 with throw pillows in hand.  After catching her breath, she and I headed out again in search of the elusive nightstand lamp.  We ended up at a store called Prácticas and found the perfect lamp.  It is very simple and was very inexpensive, but it is perfect for the bedroom.  We brought it home, plugged it in and it turned out to be as good a fit at home as we thought it would be in the store.

A little before 8:00 I left the house bound for my regular Thursday meeting with los veteranos.  Tonight’s meeting was at La Cuchara Mágica because Paco d’Andrés is in the hospital having a growth from his cheek removed.  The usual suspects showed up, Pepe, Paquito, Juan Luis, Gurrea and Gioco.  When I walked in, Pepe was in the process of getting the potatoes and onions ready for one of his famous tortillas españolas.  Gurrea showed us some of the new silks he had purchased.  He had received a couple of free effects with his purchase and since the explanations were in English he asked me to show him how they worked.  One of the tricks was of little magical value and the other one – a pseudo mental effect – was cute.  I showed him how to do it and he performed it himself a couple of times to make sure that he had the working down.  Gioco had to leave early, but he had enough time to show us a four Ace assembly that he had been working on.  We chatted for a bit more and then we set the table and devoured the tortilla española that Pepe had made.  I left at 10:30 and when I got home Susan was already in bed.  I joined her and called it a day.

Tomates con bonito

Revuelto de morcilla

Albóndigas

One of the few Christmas displays

The Lamp!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

The past two weeks have just flown by and it is hard to believe that today is the first day of December.  The weather has been typical fall weather and the fact that it is cool has not diminished the desire of the valencianos to sit outdoors on the terrace of some café or restaurant and have a coffee or a beer and a snack.  Being a wuss from Los Angeles, I prefer to be indoors.

I was at Neo Gym yesterday at 10:00 to get my routine and instruction on how to use the various machines that head been prescribed for me on my first round of exercises.  I have been reluctant to use machines in Spain because, in the past, I found that they would not accommodate someone of my height very well.  The good news is that the machines here easily accommodate my height and weight.  My routine will be ten minutes of cardio followed by a series of ten exercises that I will do twice.  I will end my workout with another ten minutes of cardio and five stretching exercises.  Here is a link to some of the photos of Neo Gym.  As you will see it is very modern and kept in excellent shape. http://www.neogymcenter.com/fotosinstalacion.htm I will need to supplement my gym exercises with several exercises at home using the rubber resistance that we brought here from LA.  I was back home at 11:15, in time to accompany Susan on her search for a place to get her nails done.

We had passed by a nail place last week and on our way we stopped off at a lamp store in search of a lamp for Susan’s nightstand.  We saw a couple of possibilities, but the prices were more than we wanted to spend on what should be a utilitarian lamp rather than a piece of art.  We continued on our way, found the nail place and Susan made an appointment for today, Thursday.  We walked a bit more and then headed home where Susan would be preparing lunch.

Susan made us a salad that was studded with walnuts, dried cranberries and blue cheese.  After such a great beginning we turned our attention to two steaks that we grilled on top of the stove, some sautéed mushrooms and some over crisped potatoes.  What a great meal.  It was so great that it deserved a siesta afterwards.

We headed out again to get some exercise and continue our search for a lamp.  We stopped off at the Nespresso store and picked up some more coffee.  From there we made our way to the Corte Inglés.  The Corte Inglés occupies three separate building on Calle Colón and we entered the one that is furthest away from City Hall.  We learned that lamps were sold at the store that was next in line.  When we exited the store we took a look at the square that sits outside the department store.  As it turns out, it is a very historic space.

It is historic because there is a remnant of a column that was part of an arch that was the entrance to the judería here in Valencia.  Off in a corner there is a plaque with no words to describe what you are looking at, but it is a representation, map-like in nature, of the area that was occupied by the judería.  This plaza is also historic because it was one of the two spaces that the Inquisition used for their auto de Fe where heretics would be burned at the stake for all to see.  Susan took a couple of photos and we continued on our way.

We did see a couple of lamps that were interesting, but we decided that we would continue our search elsewhere.  Having made that decision we headed back home and stopped off near the house to get a cup of coffee.  We passed up the outdoor terrace and opted to sit at the counter.  The rest of our day was uneventful.  We read, watched some TV and had a very light supper.  Susan had cooked up some lentils earlier in the day and added them to the turkey soup that she had made and frozen last week.  I had a yoghurt because earlier in the evening I had snacked on some pistachios and a beer.  We were in bed by 11:00.

Super Salad 11/30/11

Super Salad 2

Your basic meat and potatoes

The remnants of one of the columns that supported the arch that marked the entrance to the Judería

This is where the old Jewish cemetery was.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Yesterday turned out to be a very busy day.  I was up early so that I could be at Neo Gym for my evaluation.  I was introduced to one of the trainers, Enrique, and he did my take-in evaluation.  After ascertaining my height and weight, he took my blood pressure and then proceeded to do a thorough evaluation of my joints to assess if I had any physical limitations when it came to exercise.  We finished the hour session with me doing a gentle ten minute ride on the reclining bike and his taking my blood pressure at several different intervals during the exercise and, finally, after two minutes of rest.  He will use the information he has gathered to design an exercise program for me.

I had breakfast when I got home and soon thereafter Susan and I headed out to the market.  We picked up a few vegetables, some ham and a couple of filets that we would have for lunch on Wednesday.  From the market we went in search of curtains for the living room and found a lovely pair of gray and white striped curtains and added them to our shopping bag.  When we got home we put away the food and then proceeded to take down the old curtains in the bedroom and the living room and put up the new ones.  Thankfully, it was a rather easy task.  With our mission accomplished it was time for lunch.

Our destination was La Fórcola because when we passed by on our way home from the market we liked the menu of the day.  Susan and I both chose the salad with mussels and the pasta Bolognese.  The salad with mussels was made up of a variety of lettuces, cherry tomatoes and green pepper with three mejillones a la vinagreta.  Mejillones a la vinagreta are mussels that have been steamed and then covered with a mixture of chopped onions, tomatoes and green pepper that have been marinated for a while in vinaigrette.  The pasta was cooked perfectly and the meat sauce was quite tasty.  I had a glass of wine with my meal and Susan opted for water.  For dessert Susan had cheesecake and I had the tiramisu.  We finished the meal with a coffee and went back home.

It was a little after 5:00 when I headed out again to look for a store called Kosher Tov to see what they had available so that Rachel would have lots of food options when she comes to visit in the spring.  The store itself is quite small and is about a fifteen-minute walk from our place.  I found the street – Calle del Doctor Gil y Morte – and then I found number 11.  I entered and met the owner, José Estrugo, known to his friends as Yossi.  Little did I realize how much I was about to learn about the Jews of Valencia from him.

The Jews were expelled from Valencia in 1382.  The Jewish ghetto was attacked and in the process 450 Jews were killed and 5,000 Jews were forcibly converted to Catholicism.  The church took control of all the properties that belonged to the Jews and, to this day, retains ownership of 75% of them.  In addition to houses being confiscated all the contents of the synagogues were confiscated, too.  The church still retains ownership of all scrolls, books and adornments that were part and parcel of any synagogue.  Before the expulsion the number of Jews approached 30,000 and made up ten percent of the population.  Today in the area of the province of Valencia and its surroundings there are some 2,000 Jews.

The Jews controlled the salt trade.  That privilege was given to them by King Jaime I and they set up shop in the plaza in front of the cathedral.  If you look carefully at the stained glass windows of the cathedral you will see one with the Star of David placed there so that the merchants could see it on their way to and from work.  The judería was located in an area that is comprised today of the Calle del Mar and the Jewish cemetery was located in front of what is now the Corte Inglés on Calle Colón. There is one remaining Jewish house standing from that era and the Lubavitch Jews are attempting to buy it to turn it into a museum and a study center.  They are in the process of looking for a generous donor to foot the bill.

I spent close to an hour with Yossi and he offered to give Rachel a tour of Jewish Valencia when she gets here.  I took a last look around the store and bought four bagels that would end up being today’s breakfast.  Before I left he gave me his business card and the names and addresses of the Rabbi, the Chabad House and the synagogue.  My walk back home was rather leisurely and it was about 7:30 when I walked through the door.

The evening was very relaxed.  We had a light supper around 9:30 and spent the remainder of the evening reading and relaxing.  I was in bed by 11:00 because I had a 10:00 AM appointment at Neo Gym to begin my training and I did not want to be rushed in the morning.

The nwe living room curtains

The new bedroom curtains

Ensalada de mejillones

Pasta a la bolognesa

Tiramisu and cheesecake

Yours truly!

Mrs Yours truly

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I have just returned from Neo Gym where they did my take-in evaluation that lasted an hour.  They will be designing an exercise program for me and I return tomorrow at 10:00 AM to have them walk me through the program.

Yesterday we had a busy morning running errands.  First, Susan had some of her pictures printed so that they could be framed.  Having done that we went to the frames store that we used last year and picked out frames for the pictures that Susan had printed and we are having them print a larger image of the “fish” at the Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias on linen, which will be mounted on stretchers.  The total cost for everything will be 85 Euros.  From the frame store we went to La Petxina, which is the municipal gym.  Susan signed up for two aquafitness classes and a Pilates class.  Our next stop was at a nearby store that sells curtains and bedding.  We are looking for room-darkening curtains for the bedroom.  Susan looked at various options and said that she would study the matter.  Our next stop was at Doapobor to chat with Miguel and to arrange for him to pick up those items that were taking up space in the drawers and that we would not use.  He also needed to pick up the old TV set and DVD player.

We spent close to a half an hour chatting with Miguel.  He informed us of the slow progress that their request for permission to re-do the façade of our building was making.  They have been waiting for close to two years to get permission to actually begin the work.  The contractor was hired long ago.  In addition to redoing the façade the intent is to do major work on the terrace that is located behind the now defunct ice cream shop that occupies the ground floor of the building.  By installing a door in the trastero and adding a few steps this unit will then have access to the terrace.  The plan is also to construct a shed that will adjoin the side wall and use it for storage of cleaning supplies and as a home for the washer and dryer.  That would free up the trastero to become an additional space that would be perfect for an office.

When we finished our conversation with Miguel we headed home to drop off a picture that I had purchased for the den and the shopping bag that Susan was carrying.  We caught our breath and then began to think about where to have lunch.  I looked at several options on the Web and did some research on a restaurant called La Pitanza that is located on Calle Quart and just around the corner from El Molinón.  Here is a link so that you can check the space out http://www.lapitanza.com/ .

We have passed by this restaurant many times and were truly unaware of the fact that it was a restaurant.  The only portion of the restaurant we had seen consisted of the four tables on the sidewalk and a small ground floor bar.  As soon as we walked in, we realized that the dining room was upstairs and it would probably accommodate some fifty diners.  We opted for the menu of the day and we chose a bottle of a Ribera de Duero to accompany the meal.  After the wine had been poured the offered us some complimentary appetizers that included olives, chorizo and some pickled vegetables.  There was also a plate of Melba toast and a basket of bread.

Our first appetizer was a rather large meatball that was floating in a sea of a rather delicate beef broth.  The next dish was a canelón that had been stuffed with oxtail and was delightfully sauced.  For our main course we enjoyed the house specialty, garbanzos con langostinos, a hearty stew made with chickpeas, langoustines, squid and other goodies.  It was the perfect antidote for a chilly day.  Dessert was a chocolate cake whose consistency was more like fudge.  It was served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  We ended our meal with a coffee and a complimentary chupito of mistela.

On our way to FNAC we passed by El Molinón and said hello to Vilma. As we continued on we passed by a Taberna and whom should we spy sitting at a window table?  It was none other than Pepe Monfort, himself, who was enjoying a mid-afternoon snack with Salvador Pellicer who is one of the founders of Magic Agora.  We chatted briefly and then continued on our way to FNAC where I purchased a Wi-Fi repeater so that we would have a strong signal no matter where we were in the house.  It is an issue since we each have an iPad and a MacBook and I have an iPod Touch.  I headed home to set up the repeater and Susan headed off in search of curtains.

It was close to 7:00 by the time Susan came home loaded down with curtains and throw pillows.  A short while later Miguel came by to pick up all the things we had set aside from him and some twenty minutes later I headed to the CIVAC meeting.  There were probably fifteen of us there and there was some discussion of Okito Boxes and after that we settled in for a beer and a sandwich.  I left at 10:30 and was in bed soon after arriving home since I had a 9:00 AM date at Neo Gym.

The Elephant

Menu of the Day

Our wine

Complimentary Appetizers

Our first course

The canelón stuffed with oxtail

Garbanzos con Langostinos

Just Desserts!

Chupitos de Mistela

Monday. November 28, 2011

The forecast for today is cloudy and that will end the string of five consecutive sunny days.  The temperatures have hovered in the 60’s and that has made walking very pleasant.  Susan has headed off to rune some errands and, as soon as I finish this blog entry, I will take care of a few things.  No grand plans for today, but I will attend tonight’s CIVAC meeting.

Yesterday was a kickback day.  It was so kickback that Susan did not get out of her pajamas until 4:00 PM.  I was out at 9:00 to pick up some bread and pastry at El Parisien.  Everything looks especially good when you have not had breakfast.  I picked up a couple of caracolas, an almond croissant and two loaves of bread.  On the way home I picked up a Sunday paper since Susan likes to read the Sunday paper.  When I arrived home the table was already set, so I unpacked the breakfast sweets and made myself a cup of coffee.

We made short work of one of the caracolas and the almond croissant.  The fruit plate that Susan had prepared was simply irresistible and I dug in.  After breakfast we put the dishes in the sink and each went about our morning tasks.  While I worked on the blog Susan read the paper.  In addition to writing the blog, I edited two articles for the Magic Agora website.  I am supposed to begin writing the script for my course by December 1, but the guts have yet to decided whether I am teaching this course in English or Spanish.  I will just sit tight until I get the word.

We had an early lunch at 1:30 and we feasted on the Thanksgiving leftovers some of which are even tastier the day after.  After lunch I took my traditional siesta and Susan read her book.  At 4:30 we decided to get a bit of exercise and we ended up at a sweet shop called Nibs where they sell pastry and chocolates.  We each chose a pastry and ordered a coffee to go along with them.  It was already growing dark when we started on our way home.

The evening was uneventful.  We watched some TV and read.  We snacked on the remaining turkey and opened up a bag of chips.  That ended up being supper. Around 10:30 I gave up the ghost and went to bed.

The newest Kaplan acquisition - a 32 inch Samsung

Sunday morning's fruit plate

2 caracolas y un croisan de almendras

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Given the fact that we put an end to our visa marathon on Friday, I find it most appropriate that a marathon is being run today in Valencia.  On my way to El Parisien bakery I saw them setting up the water stations, but there was no sign of any runners.

After Friday’s long wait in line, we decided that we would enter into Saturday very gently.  We got up at 9:00 and after breakfast we either worked on the computer or did some reading.  A little after 1:00 I headed to Neo Gym to set up a time for my evaluation, which they require before they allow you to use the gym’s facilities.  I scheduled an appointment for this coming Tuesday at 9:00 AM and we shall see where we go from there.  I will definitely use the gym for cardio exercise and I will see how much weight training I will do there versus at home with rubber resistance.  On the way back home I decided to make a stop at one of the mini-casinos that have a variety of slot machines.  One of my favorites is a machine called Gnomos (Gnomes).  On my 20^th spin I hit a small jackpot that was worth 160 Euros.  That was an excellent return on my 5 Euro investment.

When I got back home Susan was putting the finishing touches on the stock she was making from Thursday’s turkey leftovers.  While she was finishing up, I worked a bit on my blog.  As 3:00 o’clock approached we decided it was time for lunch and we thought that this would be a good day to visit with Jordi and eat at Carusel.

When we arrived we were pleased to see that all the tables on the terrace were occupied and that there were only two vacant tables inside.  We were seated at the only round table in the restaurant and studied today’s offerings.  As you may remember from previous posts, the menu is what is called a closed menu.  You get all of the day’s appetizers – which change daily – delivered to your table on a rather large wooden board.  You then get your choice of one of two main dishes.  Today’s choices were a vegetarian arroz meloso made with turnips and white beans or a paella with squid and artichokes.  We chose the paella.  We also ordered a bottle of “F”, a very good red especially given its price.

The appetizers arrived and once they bore testimony to Jordi’s skill as a chef who realizes that presentation is equally important as the quality of your ingredients and your imagination in combining them.  Today’s appetizers were a stew that featured a cabbage roll that instead of being filled with hamburger meat was filled with ground wild boar meat; a mushroom and rosemary broth with a hard boiled quail egg; mussels that were encased in a velvety and spicy sauce, a variety of smoked fish, and home made bread. Incredibly delicious!  A treat for the eyes and the taste buds!  Our paella was cooked to perfection, also.  Our dessert was a white chocolate cream that featured fresh mango and pineapple along with a peach and mint sorbet.  We finished our meal with an after-dinner coffee.  Our bill for this extravaganza was 45 Euros.

From Carusel we headed to FNAC with a two-fold purpose in mind.  Firstly we wanted to get a tarjeta de socio, which, for 15 Euros, gives you a 5% discount on every purchase you make.  Secondly we wanted to take a look at TV sets.  With the tarjeta in hand we went over to the TV displays.  We had been thinking of a 32-inch LG, but as we did a side-by-side comparison of picture quality the 32-inch Samsung LCD TV really stood out.  We decided to buy it, but when the clerk checked for stock all they had was the floor model.  They agreed to take 10% off the price and given the special promotion that was going on in the month of November we got an additional 12% discount.  We got the TV for a 100 Euros less than the asking price.  There was no box, so they wrapped it up carefully in bubble wrap and, given the fact that these flat scree TV’s weigh very little, I carried it out of the store.  We hailed a cab and brought the set upstairs.

We did a little rearranging of furniture so that we could put the TV in a corner so that it would get accidently bumped by someone going into or coming out of the “office”.  We then proceeded to hook up the cable TV connector and plugged in our DVD player and the Apple TV unit we had brought from home.  The TV was on store display, which meant that it showed an on-screen display of all the features of the TV that disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared.  It took us a while to figure out how to remove that particular feature, as well as set up the clock and language.  Working together we solved the mystery.

We checked out the DVD and when turned on the TV reads it automatically without any need to switch the source.  We bought a Blue Ray disc to get an idea of how it would play on the new HD TV and the picture was unbelievable.  We next checked out the Apple TV.  There was no problem connecting, but we discovered that Netflix films cannot be shown outside of the US.  The good news is that iTunes movies are available to us here in Spain so we rented a copy of “Mad, Crazy Love” and settled back on the sofa to enjoy it.  We opened up the bottle of champagne that Pepe had brought on Thursday and we toasted to finally having everything literally and figuratively in place so that we could now focus on just being here.

The appetizers!

Smoked fish

Mussels

Rosemary Mushroom Broth with Quali Egg

The kettle for the rosemary and mushroom broth

The small casserole with the traditional wild boar stew

Paella with squid and artichokes

White chocolate cream with fresh seasonal fruit and peach and mint sorbet