Marty Kaplan's Blog

Monday, October 21, 2013

            We are back in Valencia after spending a fantastic week in Las Palmas.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Juliet, Stephanie, Lola and Lucy.  Juliet’s willingness to be our driver and guide made it an unforgettable visit.  The week went by all too fast and I guess that’s a good sign.

            Saturday was a beach day and Juliet picked us up and transported us to Melinara, a small beach located five minutes away from their home by car.  We had a drink at a seaside café while Juliet went and picked up the rest of the family.  When they returned we staked out our turf on the beach and I read while everyone else frolicked in the surf.  We had a reservation for 2:15 at Venecia, one of the restaurants that border the beach area.  It was a good thing that we did because the terrace was full when we got there and the only open table was ours.

            After studying the menu we decided to order a number of dishes for sharing.  In no particular order we had a salad, pimientos de Padrón, papas arrugadas, gofio (a grain that is mixed into a paste and spread on onions, lettuce or bread), a pizza, brochetas de carne and a whole fish.  We also managed to empty two bottle of Ramón Bilbao, a lovely crianza from La Rioja.  The girls went to a nearby ice cream stand for their dessert.  Lucy’s ice cream met an untimely death when it fell to the ground.  I went back to the store with her and the young woman behind the counter replaced the fallen ice cream at no charge.  Yet another reason to like Las Palmas.  I lingered on at the café while the crew went back to the beach for more fun in the sun.  Juliet then drove us back to the hotel and we stayed put for most of the evening except for a brief escape for ice cream.

            Sunday was the first cloudy day that we experienced.  In spite of that the beach was packed.  It is obviously a family day and when you add the tourists in search of the sun to the many natives you get a cheek-to-cheek situation on the beach.  Since we were not planning to go to the beach, it was not a problem for us.  We had a late breakfast after checking out of the hotel and we busied ourselves until 2:30 when Juliet came by to take us to the airport.

            We stopped off at one of the cafés in the airport and had a sandwich while we waited for our gate to be announced.  We then made our way to the gate and waited while the incoming flight dispersed its passengers and the plane was readied for its new occupants.  The flight was a smooth one, but the flight attendants were an absolute disaster.  They spent the whole flight commiserating with a fellow attendant who had been called on the carpet for not following some sort of a procedure, followed by another discussion regarding unpaid leave.  All of the attendants did an outstanding job of ignoring the passengers.

            We were back home a little before 10:00.  We unpacked and hung up those things that were in need of a hanger, cleared off the bed and went to bed.  It’s good to be back home!  Later this week we have a convention in Cuenca.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Our one week escape is winding down and we are more than pleased to have discovered more of Las Palmas than we had anticipated.  Our friend, guide and chauffeur, Juliet, has made it easy for us to discover aspects of the island that would have remained unknown to us.

Yesterday was a day to relax, rest, and recover.  After our breakfast at La Panaderia Real we went back to the room and got ready to attack the beach.  You can rent a chaise longue and a beach umbrella for 5 Euros and your rental is good for the entire day.  You can leave the beach and return without having to pay an additional fee.  The beach is spotless and, unlike the beaches of Mexico, there is no one trying to sell you anything.  As a result you can do whatever you are doing without interruption.  However, unlike Mexico, there are no beach restaurants where a waiter will bring you whatever you desire to eat or drink.  The solution here would be to bring your goodies with you and that is not a bad solution.

I lasted all of 75 minutes on the beach and headed back to the room to write a blog post.  Susan stayed on the beach until 2:30 and then came back to the room to change for lunch.  We were heading to La Tabla Caliente, a restaurant that Zhava had recommended and we were in search of one of their specialties – langostinos al champan.

The restaurant has been in existence for 14 years and after dining there I can well understand why it is a favorite spot for both tourists and locals.  The proprietor is most charming and he loves to flirt with the ladies, but it is clear from the outset that it is all in fun.  We started our meal with some piquillo peppers stuffed with shrimp and served in a lovely cream sauce.  Next came the langoustines which we saw him prepare in the center of the dining room.  The flambé of the finished dish was most impressive, but even more impressive was the taste of the dish.  For dessert Susan chose fig ice cream with a dark chocolate sauce and I chose the bananas flambé because I had never experienced them.  By this time the proprietor had left to have his lunch and his daughter had taken over the cooking chores.  The bananas were perfect.  We finished the meal with coffee and our chupito this time was one called Pamplamousse – a grapefruit and vodka liqueur. I believe it is native to the Canaries and might be available at the Corte Ingles.  It was delicious so we will have to investigate,

Our original plan for the late afternoon was to take a cab to La Garita and catch up with Juliet and Stephanie.  However, we received a call from Juliet telling us that Lucy had injured herself playing jumprope snd the school had insisted that she be taken to Urgencias to make sure that nothing serious had transpired.  Nothing had although Lucy has a fat lip and a shiner as a memento of the evnt.

We caught up with Juliet at the hospital parking lot and from there we headed out to La Garita.  Our first stop was the ice cream shop where we all partook of some delicious homemade gelato.  We then made a stop at a seaside cafe for some liquid refreshment and then it was on to El Buly, the neighborhood pizza place where we enjoyed a couple of salads a killer focaccia and a pizza margherita.  When we waddled out we headed for Juliet’s car and twenty minutes later we were back at the hotel.

We were in for the night.  Susan read and i fiddled around on my iPad.  It was a little after midnight when we shut off the lights.

Friday, October 17, 2013

It’s another sunny day here in The Canaries.  Talking with our waiter last night it seems that we picked an excellent week to be here since tourism really starts to kick in next week.  As a result the beaches and walkways are not crowded and one does not need to make a reservation for a restaurant.  I just spent an hour or so on the beach and left Susan there to bask in the sun.  We will get a bite to eat at 2:30 and at 5:30 we will head to Telde to catch up with Juliet and family for a swim at the local beach followed by a pizza dinner.

Yesterday Juliet took us to Teror, a hill town that is about 25 minutes away from the center of town.  The ride out there was quite scenic and the highway system here in Las Palmas is second to none.  I imagine that the quality of the roads decline when you get further out where the pueblos are, but I am only guessing.           Teror is the source for most of the bottled water that is sold here in Las Palmas.  It is part of a conscious effort to encourage people to buy local.  Being so far from the mainland, one gets the impression thatLas Palmas, and perhaps the other islands, like to think of themselves a self-sufficient,although like all autonomias – they are dependent on the national government for funding all services.

Teror is a small city with a main square and the streets that lead you to it dating from the 16th century.  The balconies of the houses that line the street are part of its fame and so is the chorizo and morcilla that are produced in that area.  The chorizo, both red and white is more pate-like as opposed to its usual resemblance to pepperoni.  The morcilla is both sweet and spreadable, too.

We wended our way through the streets and stopped here and there to look into a shop or two.  I could not resist and I picked up a T shirt to add to my collection.  Heeding the suggestion of a local we stopped at Bar Inma and had some lunch.  We shared everything including a bocadillo de chorizo,  a chickpea stew, and some fried fish.  The fish was so go with its green mojo that we ordered a second plate.  We passed on dessert, but we all had coffee and a chupito.  The meal that also included two steins of beer and ywo glasses of wine came to a grand total of 27 Euros.  When we finished our meal we headed back to town and Juliet dropped us off a block away from the hotel.

We stayed in the room for a while and at 9:00 we ventured forth in search of a bite to eat.  We ended up at Madrid II where we had enjoyed a pleasant lunch on Monday.  Our waiter, who had celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, was back to work and he greeted us warmly.  Susan and I shared a salad and a palte of steak filets.  Susan wanted some papas arrugadas and I was in the mood for fries and that posed no problem for our waiter.  Dessert consisted of coffee and a chupito.  We then headed back to our room and read for a while before we turned off the lights.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

I am sitting on the balcony this morning looking at a sunny sky populated by a few wispy clouds and the Canarian hills in the background.  Were I to sit in the right hand corner of the balcony, I could have a view of the ocean, as well.  Our room at the NH Imperial Playa hotel does not have a sea view.  There is a convention of pediatricians in town and they have booked all sea view rooms, as well as many others.  Given the fact that the ocean is almost at the foot of the hotel’s front door, we do not feel deprived.

It turns out that we chose a well positioned hotel, even though our intention was not to stay in a hotel, but rather to rent a place for a week.  I had found a penthouse apartment right on the beach with a jacuzzi on the terrace, as well as a barbecue.  I had founf it on Holiday Lettings, which is owned by TripAdvisor.  I reserved the place in June and sent in the deposit.  In July I contacted the owner asking for the exact address of the unit and the way in which we would get the keys to the apartment.  Since we would be arriving close to midnight I wanted to be sure that there would be no problem getting into the place.  I did not receive a response. 

I sent in the remainder of our rental price in mid-September once gain requesting the address and the way in which we would get the keys.  Again there was no answer.  I contacted Holiday Lettings.  I did not receive an answer from them, either.  I went on the web to see what kind of reputation Holiday Lettings had.  Pre-TripAdvisor it had a sterling reputation, but since the takeover it had turned into an absolute disaster.

There was a contact phone number for the owner. I called it and listened to a recorded message that said that no such number existed. I hung up and canceled our reservation.  I then lodged a complaint with PayPal and elevated it to a dispute.  On Saturday I learned that my rental minus the booking fee had been refunded.  On Tuesday I learned that the booking fee had been refunded.  We booke dour hotel last week and we chose well.

The hotel is modern.  Our room has two twin beds, a sitting area and a balcony,  There is free Wi-Fi that works well for our purposes, although the bandwidth is somewhat limited.  There is a premium option for 6 Euros a day that seems rather reasonable compared to what other hotels tend to charge.  The hotel is quiet and all outside noise tends to evaporate around 11:30.

Yesterday we met Juliet for breakfast at Panaderia Real and from there we headed off to La Cueva Pintada located in the nearby town of Galdar. The cave dates from the 12th century and was discovered by accident in the 19th century.  Time had covered it with a layer of volcanic soil that had been used in turn to plant bananas and during the harvest season, a worker fell through a hole and discovered the caves.  The owner of the property and the caves ceded ownership of the caves to the city and it was not until 1986 that a true archeological dig and restoration began.

The caves are housed in a modern building and tours are offered in four different languages.  The most modern technology co-exists in this building with the remnants of the Canaries aboriginal past.  The tour begins with a short film explaining the discovery of the caves and things that one will note during the tour.  The film is projected on a screen wider than most I have seen in movie theaters here.  When the film is over, the screen rises to reveal a wide window through which one gets a first view of the caves. The guide then assembles the group and off you go.

Most of what one sees are the remants of the original caves and one can appreciate the form and function of these dwellings.  At the end of the tour you visit two dwellings that have been constructed to allow one to appreciate what it was like to live in those dwellings.  A final video explains the hierarchical structure of the tribe and the elements that they used in order to paint the walls of the caves.  Most of the red color of the walls have disappeared with time and the presence of humans viewing the caves.  A good 50% of the wall painting in a ceremonial room remains.  That portion of the caves ia enclosed in glass and temperature and humidity are constantly monitored with state of the art instruments.  The tour takes less than an hour and I found it to be fascinating.

When the tour was over we spent some time and money in the museum shop and we then went in search of a cafe where we could have a drink before we made our way back to Las Palmas.  Juliet teaches one Spanish class a week and yesterday was her teaching day so we needed to be back in town before 2:00.  We made it without any problem.

We freshened up in our room and at 2:30 we decided it was time to go in search of lunch.  Close by the hotel is a restaurant that Zahava and Klaus had recommended and given that the place is always full the locals must share their opinion.  The restaurant is called La Marinera and it sits on the water.  The menu features more than a dozen varieties of fish all of which are fished locally and all of which are delivered fresh caught in the morning.  The fish can be prepared in a variety of ways and you can ask them to bone the fish for you or, if you prefer, you can do it yourself.

When we walked by the other day I noticed that they had arroz con bogavante on the menu and since we were on vacation and rarely order it when we encounter it in Valencia we already knew what we were going to order.  We were shown to our table and our waiter, Momo, suggested a bottle of a Canary white wine.  He offered us a taste, telling us that if we did not like it, he would gladly offer us a different bottle of wine.  The wine was perfectly crisp and refreshing so there was no need to make a change.

While we sipped the wine we studied the menu and decided to start with an ensalada marinera with smoked salmon and then to follow it with the rice and lobster dish.  Momo suggested we order half a portion of salad and his suggestion was spot on.  Had we ordered and finished the full size there would have been no room for the main course. While we were working on our salad Momo introduced us to our lobster and when we gave our approval Mom walked him to the kitchen to meet his destiny.

In due course our rice with lobster arrived.  It could have easily fed four.  As requested, Momo had shelled the lobster and we could appreciate the large pieces of lobster meat that populated the rice.  This arroz con bogavante was different than otherversions we have tried.  The Asturian version of this dish is made with olive oil and lots of garlic.  This version was a cousin to the arroz meloso that we have in Valencia.  It is made with a fish stock, tomatoes and a generous amount of saffron.  Although we tried our best, we could not even come close to finishing all the rice, although we did manage to eat all the lobster meat.

For dessert Momo suggested something that would be muy digestivo and he served us a dish of his own invention.  It is made with papaya, orange juice, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a generous dash of Gran Manier.  It had the consistency of a thick milkshake  and we made it disappear quickly.  After our coffee we were offered a chupito of Ronmiel and when we pushed our chairs away from the table to make our escape, somehow it had magically become 4:30.  As you can tell, we had an outstanding meal with outstanding service.  If time permits we will pay a second visit.

We went back to our room and did a little bit of this and that.  I used my time to write yesterday’s blog post.  At 9:00 we went in search of an ice cream and find one with little difficulty.  When we got back to our room, we read for a while and shut off the lights a little before 11:00.  Juliet will be coming by in about an hour and we will head out to the mountain town of Teror for a visit and a spot of lunch.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Having friends who are spending the year in Las Palmas makes exploring this island infinitely easier. The added bonus in addition to their knowledge is the fact that they have a car.
Monday morning we got up around 9:00 and went in search of breakfast. We found a small bakery with seaside tables and we had our morning coffee and a roll while we watched the world go by. When we finished we decided that we would take a stroll along El Paseo de las Canteras, a walkway that goes the length of the beach. You have the Atlantic on your right and a series of shops, restaurants, apartments and hotels on your left. We had been walking for a couple of hours when Juliet called and proposed meeting us to search out a place for lunch. The idea was that we would meet up a little before 1:00 and then call Stephanie who got out of class at 1:00 and have her join us.
We settled in at a restaurant that Stephanie’s Spanish teacher had recommended and while we waited fr Stephanie to make her appearance, we had a drink and nibbled on some bar snacks. When Stephanie came by we decided to have some lunch and while Stephanie dove into a steak, Susan, Juliet and I ordered a specialty of the island, vieja or parrot fish. It is a mild, white fish that was prepared on the grill with an abundance of garlic. It was served with papas arrugadas, a specialty of the Canaries that consists of small potatoes that are coated with an abundance of sea salt and served with a tomato based mojo that adds the perfect touch. We enjoyed a lovely Riojan red, Ramon de Bilbao, and were very pleased with our choices. We passed on dessert and had our coffee and along with the coffee our waiter placed four shot glasses on the table, along with a bottle of ronmiel. Ronmiel is another specialty of the Canaries and it is a liqueur made with rum and honey. This particular brand, Artemi, is smoother than most and goes down pretty easily. In the course of our after-lunch conversation we managed to polish off half the bottle.
Stephanie and Juliet left around 4:00 to pick up the kids and Susan and I made our way back to the hotel. We rested up a bit and then went out again at 7:30 to take brief walk and find a light bite. We stopped off at a cafe near the hotel and had a very tasty salpicon de mariscos that went down very easily with the local beer. We were back in our room by 9:30 and after puttering around a bit we opted for an early bedtime.
Juliet called around 10:00 Tuesday morning and we agreed to meet in the old part of town that is known as La Vagueta. We took the Guagua Municipal that is the local bs system that plies the main thoroughfares of the city. An interesting footnote that is a peek into the mind of the local who are extremely polite took place when, at one of our stops, a pregnant woman entered the bus. A minute or two later the bus driver calls back and inquires if the regnant woman has found a seat. When he receives a positive reply, he sets the bus in motion again.
The bus dropped us off right in front of the Mercado Central and Jukiet met up with us a few minutes later. We began our exploration with a visit to the market. It is laid out a bit differently than the one we re used to in Valencia and there is a greater separation between the stalls of the purveyors. The stalls are also more enclosed. In a rather quick visit we saw an abundance of fruit and vegetable stands and a rather healthy number of stalls selling freshly caught fish.
Our next stop was the Columbus Museum that is small in size, but extremely interesting. There are a number of models of his sailing ships, maps, portraits, furniture and sculptures. There are even two macaws in the courtyard, one of which had attacked Juliet during a previous visit. When we finished our tour of the museum we made our way to the Cathedral.
The Cathedral is Gothic in style, relatively large and simple in design. It lacks all the excesses that one tends to find in Spain’s larger cathedrals. It looks like a space where one comes to find God, as opposed to a space that is meant to impress with its excesses of statuary, stained glass, gold and silver.
It was a short walk to the Triana neighborhood where we parked ourselves t an outdoor cafe and waited for Stephanie’s arrival. When she came we ordered lunch from the menu of the day and we were all pleased with our choices. I had the albondigas caseras, Susan had arroz a la cubana and Juliet had ropa vieja, which in the Canaries is a stew made with potatoes, garbanzos and octopus. Dessert and coffee followed and we then parted ways. Stephanie and Juliet went to pick up the kids and we headed back to the hotel for a brief respite.
At 4:40 we hopped a cab and headed out to Telde, the neighborhood where Juliet and Stephanie live. We were to meet up in nearby La Garita to catch up with adults and kids and to explore the walkway that goes along the beach area there. It was sunny and not to hot and the sun played continuously on the clear blue waters of the Atlantic. The sandy beach is replaced by outcroppings of volcanic rock making one wish they had paid more attention during geology class. Juliet took us to her happy place and that involved a bit of climbing that posed a challenge to my creaky knees, but I managed to be equal to the challenge.
We found ourselves on an outcropping of rock with a perfect view of the water as it kicked up an impressive spray as it crashed against the outcroppings of rock. There were small craters in the rocks that were filled with salt deposited there when the pools of water were dried up by the sun. We made our way back up the incline and stopped off at a nearby cafe for refreshments. From there we walked to Juliet and Stephanie’s house.
They have rented a small two bedroom apartment that overlooks the water. The view is spectacular. The building in which they live used to be part of a hotel and the main building of the hotel sits in a state of decomposition. The apartments that were chiseled out from the old rooms and suites are as modern as can be and in excellent condition.
I had brought a number of goodies for Lola and Lucy and the four of us sat around the table for a session of show and tell. In a short period of time the table was filled with personalized business cards, crazy bands, flashlight pigs, flying butterflies, jumping origami frogs and pearl poodles. While we played we snacked on cheeses. chorizo, nuts and other goodies. As 8:00 o’clock approached I did a magic trick for the kids and then Juliet drove us back to our hotel.
It had been a long and tiring day and it turned out that we had walked close to eight miles and had climbed the equivalent of twenty-five flights of stairs. My knees and ankles were not too happy. We puttered around for a while and were in bed by 11:00 already knowing what tomorrow’s adventure would be.
There are no pictures attached because I am working on my iPad and WordPress is not as friendly as the computer version. However, I will share Susan’s Facebook pictures and I will leave it to you to combine the two.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

            It has been more than a year since we said goodbye to Los Angeles and returned to Valencia with the intent of being here on a permanent basis.  All in all, it has been a good decision.  We have improved our quality of life.  Having most things in walking distance means that we are certainly more active in all aspects f our life.  We walk a great deal and we probably average a good 20 miles a week as we make our way around town.  We do take the occasional taxi, but I have not been behind the wheel of a car since last July. 

            Having the Central market a block away from the house has been a gift.  There is no fresher source for fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and charcuterie that what one finds at the 900+ stalls at the market.  We have, in our opinion, discovered the best vendors and they are the ones we consistently patronize.  We visit with Solaz for charcuterie and cheeses, Concha for the most amazing fruit I have ever tasted, Amparo for vegetables, Basilio for meat, Javi for fish and the ever-popular chicken lady whom we tend to visit twice a week.  Our diet is a much healthier one and I can’t remember the last time that we ate a prepared product.  The microwave’s main function is popping corn.  We are not warming up the equivalent of Trader Joe’s prepared specialties.

            We are visiting restaurants less frequently that before and part of the reason is that I have been on a diet since the end of July.  Dieting is easier when you eat at home.  I have lost fourteen pounds and I have many more to go.  The good news is that I have not set a goal for myself other than to continue to eat sensibly.  My alcohol consumption is reversed for those times I or we eat out and sweets are rarely part of our meals.  When we do go out, we tend to frequent The Ginger Loft, La Fórcola and Carosel.  We also try and discover new places and those include Mood Food, a small 24-seat restaurant on Calle Comedias, and Zen, an Asian restaurant where we had lunch today.  Sunday we had lunch at Appetite, which happens to be the highest rated Valencian restaurant on Trip Advisor.  The food is Asian influenced and it reflects Bonnie’s time in a number of cities around the world.

            Sunday’s menu included a soft tortilla filled with grilled chicken and other goodies, clochinas, a shellfish that resembles cockles and are native to Galicia, duck in a curry sauce, grilled Galician veal served with a salad with Korean spices, Malaysian-style fish baked in a banana leaf and for dessert a butterscotch trifle made with cocoanut.  As it turned out, that was the meal of the day and supper was simply a piece of fruit.

            We continue to take advantage of Valencia’s cultural offerings.  We get our classical music fix at the Palau de Música where Valencia’s symphony orchestra offers two programs a month.  There are also a number of concerts held in that space that run the gamut from visiting orchestras, to world-famous soloists to the stars of jazz.  Jimmy Glass is Valencia’s preeminent jazz club and attracts some prestigious jazz artists.  There are a number of theaters in town that range from 99 seat theaters to those large enough to accommodate a well-attended opera.  We saw the Spanish production of GREASE last month and have tickets to see the Spanish version of LES MIS in December.  November will afford us the opportunity to see our friend, Rebeca Valls, in Ibsen’s THE DOLL HOUSE.  We do catch the occasional movie, but most of them arrived here in their dubbed version and that is always a disappointment.  There is one theater that shows all films in their original version and the Yelmo multiplex has a reduced number of showings of films in their original language.  The good news is that we have Apple TV here and we can catch up on those films that do not make it to these shores.

            Exercise has become part of our weekly routine.  Susan does Pilates twice a week and will add swimming to her exercise routine in the near future.  I have found a new gym, Health City that is a good fifteen-minute walk from the house.  I do my cardio there, as well as those exercises that I cannot do at our in-home Dynamic Strength Training circuit.  Susan and I both work out three times a week at home.

            There is no lack of magic activity both here and nearby.  I have my weekly Monday and Thursday get-togethers.  Last month we were in Vitoria for a magic weekend and at the end of this month we will be in Cuenca for three days attending a convention that focuses on magic for children. We will travel to Granada the week before thanksgiving for the Hocus Pocus Festival.  There is a national convention in June and I am sure that there will be other magic opportunities that will pop up here and there.

            I continue to do translations for Genii magazine and EL MANUSCRITO.  This spring will see me doing proof reading for two books that will be published towards the end of 2014.  One of them is the long anticipated revised and expanded version of Juan Tamariz’s THE MAGIC WAY. I continue to work on developing my magic and I end up doing something for friends over dinner on a weekly basis.  I have not set up any performances of my kids show as of yet.  I think that will have to wait until December when we will be home for an extended spell.

            Non-magic travel is also part of the bill of fare here.  Next week we head to the Canary Islands to visit with Juliet Henderson and her family.  Juliet is a former Westridge colleague who is currently on a year’s sabbatical courtesy of the Hotchkiss School.  We will be spending a week and we are looking forward to discovering what Las Palmas has to offer.  This past weekend Susan did a quick trip to Guadalest and points east along with Zahava and Klaus and Celeste, a friend of theirs from Toronto.

            Health-wise we are doing well.  We have medical insurance through a company called Sanitas.  It costs us close to 1,000 Euros a month and it covers everything except prescription medicine.  The process here is very simple.  You show your card.  They swipe it and that’s it.  There are no bills that arrive later.  Prescription drugs are piece-controlled here so my blood pressure medication, which cost $60 in California, costs me 11 Euros here.  The Spanish health care system is one of the top three in Europe and Sanitas is a private health care organization and that means that there is no long wait to get an appointment.

            We are still adapting to what has been a dramatic change in our life. It is a given that we miss friends and family, but Skype is somewhat helpful in that respect.  We have made a number of friends here, but there is a lack of history with these friends.  We are newcomers to friendships and we have not been privy to their past history.  We have not celebrated their past successes with them nor have we comforted them when sadness was a part of their life.  We understand that our friendships here will deepen with time, but, at the moment, we feel that we are on the surface of the culture and the passage of time is one of the only ways that will allow us to settle more deeply into relationships.

Today’s photos include some food shots from Appetite where I also did some magic and Susan’s weekend trip.  Enjoy them!!