Notes on Spanish food and Dining

Breakfast consists of chocolate and churros. And i'm not talking about that weak Swiss Miss. The hot chocolate here really is hot chocolate syrup, just this side of drinkable. No water or milk thank you very much. But, if you are looking for something sweet, this is a good way to go.

Iberian pork is in everything. Accept it. They love their pork. I was half way looking for it in the coffee, but so far no luck.

If I order a drink, and gianna doesn't say anything, she gets the same drink. This is kind of funny to watch, like when they put a pint of beer in front of her. I guess here the man still does a lot of the ordering.

Paella is great, but unlike the US, where we load up on harmless looking shrimp, mussels, and fish, the Spanish enjoy putting large crustaceans in my paella, exoskeletons and all. I didn't mind performing a full tissue biopsy on the prawns, I just wasn't ready for it. It's worth it though, the seafood is delicious.

Cava is a kind of Spanish champagne, but don't say that too loudly, or the table of French people next to you will start to snicker. I like cava; it is smooth and subtle and I believe it comes from this part of Spain (Cataluna).

Tapas are the ubiquitous dish here in Spain. Some restaurants have great tapas, others not so much, but just about everyone has them. I've become a big fan of tapas with mussels. The best I have had so far was in Madrid.

Dinner is a multi-venue event. It starts in a cerveceria, where you have a few glasses of wine or beer and talk as loudly as possible with your friends. Then around 8 or 9 pm, you get up and move to a restaurante, where you have tapas or paella or some dish with Iberian pork. (I love how they never just call it pork, it ALWAYS is Iberian pork - and I highly recommend it.) Finally, you get to move again to postre-shop where dessert, such as tarts, pastries, or cake is served. In other words, from 6 until about midnight, everyone is constantly on the move. An unusual benefit to this is that there are always tables opening up and I haven't seen anyone waiting to be seated.

Barcelona

Wi-Fi has been spotty lately. Luckily that didn't stop me from mailing a lot of postcards :-) But before I continue, I want to say Happy Birthday to my sister Mari. She turned 23 yesterday! I hope you had a great time.

Last night we took the night train to Barcelona. As we were riding along, I thought of all the languages I hear everywhere we go. You really need to have a working understanding of 3 languages to live here. But it would be the same way in the US if we spoke different languages in every state. Imagine if you went to Louisiana and they only spoke French. You would learn the language more everytime you passed through.

I also thought about all the people here who will probably never leave this place. Just like a lot of people in the US, this is their whole world. It's overwhelming to think about all of the places which I have never seen or been a part of. All the people I don't know. All the stories those people could tell. All we can hope for is a glimpse, and even that can be overpowering.

Mission: La Alhambra

So the big thing to do in Grenada is visit La Alhambra. And when I say big I mean BIG. It's a 1300 year old Moorish temple/fortress/palace built on the hills above the fertile plain of Grenada. However, entry can be tricky. Because of the age and delicacy of the complex, only 8100 people are allowed to visit on any given day. We tried to book tickets from Madrid, but all the reservations were full. This meant fighting it out with the other tourists for the remaining spots reserved for day-of purchasers. Gianna, not to be outdone, and wishing to have her name entered into La Alhambra lore, woke up at 5:30 in the morning and treked up the side of a mountain to claim her prize. I don't even know my own name at 5:30 in the morning, much less could I navigate my way up a hillside that foiled many a crusader. Nope. I went at 8:45 and got afternoon tickets.

Inside the complex there are about 43 thousand things to see, but I have a few favorites:

On top of the fortress tower you have an unobstructed view of about 25 to 40 kilometers (that's right, I've gone metric, I'm in Europe) in just about any direction. You would know about an invading force DAYS before it arrived. No wonder Grenada was the last Moor stonghold to fall.

The gardens are stunning, even in winter, and there are mini-aqueducts running along most of the stairs, ramps, and walkways.

Symmetry is evident everywhere, and normally you would things this would make things stale, but somehow the Moors pulled it off. Lots of pictures next week.

Ok, I'm done for now, time to enjoy my Sangria.

On the Train through southern Spain

So we just arrived in Grenada. Thanks to a snafu at the Madrid train station, we were not able to get the train to Lisbon. While this was an unfortunate setback, we were only going to be there for 10 hours, and how much can u see in a city during such a short amount of time? This subtle question was lost on our ticket agent who, after changing all but one of our tickets, had steam coming out of her ears ;-)

Instead, we traveled to Cordoba a day early. The Mezquita is there; it is a huge medieval Islamic mosque that covers a whole city block. I have to say that it was one of the most impressive structures I have ever been in. Lots of pictures.

For those of you following "the saga of raul's bag", it turns out my luggage is on it's own European whirlwind tour. After 3 days with no news, AirFrance finally learned the whereabouts of my backpack, and the pack-that-never-was and I will have a lovely rendevous in Barcelona.

Art Appreciation

So it's day two of "roughing it" in Madrid. I woke up this morning and realized I have no razor, no deoderant, and no gel. I was going to have to take to the streets with a old tshirt, a light beard, wild hair, and no odor protection. In other words, I am slowly turning into a European ;-)

Today we went to see the Prado, a museum in madrid that is home to Velasquez's "las meninas" as well as paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, el Greco, and Caravaggio. We also saw Picasso's "Guernica" and fresco's by Goya. I'm glad gianna is here to explain all the art to me. Tomorrow it is onward to Toledo and Lisbon, Portugal!

I should have known!

So it took some real coordination, a little French and a little more Spanish for me to catch two connecting flights and make it here to Madrid.. My poor bag, without these skills, was not so lucky. Right now my luggage is somewhere in the eastern US or western Europe. That's all the AirFrance people know. I'm not terribly worried, I should have my stuff tomorrow. I actually knew there was a good chance that this would happen, so I put an extra set of clothes in my carry on bag.

Gianna and I just walked around today, taking lots of pictures and otherwise looking like tourists. I wish I could post some, but I am blogging from my iPod, and I can't get photos on it. The city is really beautiful at night, they have a lot of lights up for Christmas. I hope everyone has a wonderful christmas with their families and friends.

Gianna's hilarious quote of the day: "It's just like New York, except everyone is short and Spanish."

Paris

Estoy en Paris. Por los proximo tres horas, soy un 'frenchy' ;-)

T minus 10 hours

Just got to Dallas a few hours ago. True to form, emma was once again an awesome car pool buddy. I stopped by the may's on my way in. Need to look up some info before I pass out. Gianna is probably somewhere over the Atlantic right now, listening to those unforgiving safety videos. U know, I decided to go on this trip as a way of getting away during this very sentimental time of the year. But lately, over the last few days, I now see this trip as more of a milestone. It's kind of a starting place for this new chapter in my life. It helps that it will include new year's of course, but there is more to it than that. Goodnight.

T minus 2 days

Still packing. The apartment looks nice though. And I think a 12" miter saw makes a spectacular living room conversation piece. Hopefully it will have some visitors while I am gone :) Jules, I don't care if Molly and Gabe tear the place up. They are kids, its what they do, LOL :)

As an addendum - Molly and Gabe are the most well behaved 10 month and 2 year old i know :) And it is probably time you met them. Molly is my god-daughter and the oldest child of two of my closest friends, Julie and Kelly. You can check out their blog here.

3 Days to go.

I have 3 days until I jump on a plane and fly to Europe. Oh my god. I will be in Spain and Portugal for 13 days. Yes, I speak spanish. No, not well. I can't even begin to attempt Portugese. I have outfitted myself with everything I think I would need. And it all has to fit in my new backpack from REI. What an adventure. I have a new memory card for the camera. I think it can hold around 4000 pictures. I don't plan on taking that many pictures, but you never know. A wedding photographer will take 700 photos in 4 hours. I am frantically straightening up the apartment and washing clothes. Emma knows something is up, but she's not quite sure yet what it is. From her face, I would say, she thinks we are moving again. Poor thing. Oh well, she gets to spend two weeks with her grandparents in Dallas running amok, so I can't feel too badly.

I have a confession to make. I have been skittish around customs officials since the time my dad wore his Pablo Escobar costume to the canadian border and got us detained. I keep practing what I am going to say to the customs officials. "No tengo drugas." "No tengo frutas." "Soy un americano." "dos semanas" "No, no hablas espanol." Or I can be like Kelly and confess up-front about my oregano: "It's just herbs! Just herbs!!"

My plan is to blog once a day while I am overseas. Even now that seems like a tall order. I will not have my computer, but I will have my Ipod Touch, and we will see if that works in the WiFi cafes. I hope to get pictures on here as well, but at the moment, I have no plan on how to do that. Check back here during the next couple of days :)

Mari graduates Summa Cum Laude

I am very proud of you.

Happy Birthday Emma :)

You are officially 28 dog years old. That means you are a year older than me! You've matured so much in the last couple of years. I know things have been crazy for quite some time, but you have been such a trooper. You always come to the door to say hello when I get home. And you usually bring me one of your toys to welcome me back. You have been my daily companion through all this madness. You have your grumpy days, yes, but you know which nights to come lay at my feet. You watch Sunday AND Monday night football with me. You still beg for bananas. And you are still a messy eater. I love you pooch, and I know you have a lot of great years to come. Happy Birthday Emma.

Driving down I-35

Today, as I was making my way through countless trucks, trailers, and minivans, I reflected on the many times I have traveled this unique stretch of road between Dallas and San Antonio. When I was growing up, we used to make a couple of trips every year to see family in San Antonio - usually for Christmas or Thanksgiving. As a kid, I used to look out the window for the four hours it took to get from Ennis, Texas to San Antonio and I would just think about everything. About why the wires sagged between the telephone poles. About why the exit signs were green and not blue. About why the road was two lanes sometimes, and 3 other times. I used to look at buildings and wonder what went on inside of them. I would enjoy the stretches of prairie grass and open sky. You can see clouds for miles. You can see where it is raining and where it is sunny. If you are lucky you'll catch a rainbow or one of those times where the sun breaks through the clouds and it looks like heaven has a spot light pointed at the earth.

Today, as I was making my way back to Austin, I listened to the road and it sounded like such a familiar friend. At this point, its like a long commute that I've been doing for 27 years. I don't even pay attention to the signs any more. Mesquite, Desoto, Hillsborough, Waco, Temple, Austin. When I would drive to Duke every year, it was a time for me to reflect. Two days on the open road and twenty hours behind the wheel gave me a chance to find where I was in my journey. I would think about friends, contemplate the choices ahead, and dream about future possibilities. I have to say that recently - unlike then - one topic seems to dominate my thoughts. Because of this, I have dreaded long drives lately. But this Thanksgiving was different. I was able to really think about the future. I was able to recognize new goals, new dreams, new opportunities. I don't feel like I am running from my pain anymore. For me, it just takes a couple hundred miles of asphalt to take that single step.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

Apparently golden retrievers are an "active breed"...

But this one is out for the count. Emma usually stays up with me for Sunday Night Football, but today she spent some time in the dog park with her new boyfriend. He's a strapping 4 year old, 40 lb, bulldog with a lovable face and a forgivable slobber problem. Emma usually barks at the boys, but this one she took to almost immediately. As her owner though, I think the relationship got physical a little too soon. Can't blame the guy for trying though, she's one pretty girl!

Grand Opening

So last wednesday was the Grand Opening of the apartment building I now live in. On the invitation it said that there would be "food and refreshments" and a "drawing will be held". In my mind I see cookies and some punch, with a couple of gift cards to Chili's.

When I got home from work on wednesday, there was a line around the block to get into my building. And these were not starving college students looking for some free food. These people were dressed like they were going to swank club and they were arriving in cars I might be able to afford in 10 years if I don't have kids. There was a bouncer at the door. I was like, "What the hell is going on?" I had to sign in and get a drink bracelet to get to my mailbox. Once I got to my apartment, I looked out from the balconey and saw no less than 400 people hanging out by the pool, sipping cocktails and enjoying the live DJ. Not only was there a DJ, but there was a light show going on with at least 2 dozen projector lenses bouncing patterns off the building walls. There were two photographers, walking through the crowd, taking pictures. I was like, "what in the world did I move into?" I was convinced I was going to see an a camera crew soon, shooting a music video.

Once I made it downstairs I learned that there was catered food from 4 different restaurants and two open bars. The open bars explained the mass of humanity, but this was still an invitation-only crowd. I was finally able to find some people from my hall and I even met some new neighbors. But mostly I was amazed at this culture that I never really knew existed. I mean, who has the free time to go party on a wednesday night and the money to look that good? You'd almost think that people with that kind of cash have better things to do with their time. Maybe they all were involved with the building developer somehow, but 600 people? It was a little surreal.

Yours truly took home second prize during the raffle drawing. The grand prize was a Vespa (see http://www.vespausa.com/), but I took home a $400 gift card to the Apple store. Yup - I'm the new owner of an IPod Touch. Mwahahaha

Agree to Disagree

I've been struggling with my sense of the world lately. In some ways I feel like I have lost my compass to getting through life. Everyone says that things like this divorce are a life lesson. That you need to learn from it and move on. What do you learn though? Was I young and naive? Was I being silly to think that my marriage would work, when so many others have failed? Occasionally, life bites you in the butt and you see the inexperience and misconceptions you had been operating under. When I was a kid, I found out that life isn't always fair. When I was in high school I learned that not everyone wants to be your friend. When I was in college, I discovered that I wasn't as smart as I thought I was.

Now, I am hearing a lot of things that just don't seem to agree with my old views and choices. Am I supposed to stick with what I have been doing or is it time to wake up? Is it time to rip the proverbial beard off of Santa Claus? Was I too idealistic in my hopes and dreams? Are we simply not meant to be with one person our whole life? Is marriage just too much to ask of people?

I used to know my answers to all of these questions. But I find myself really revisiting them in depth. Right now I can't say that I know for sure. I know I still have hope that someone could come along and stick it out through the good and the bad. But I am trying to find out where I was naive and where I was on the right track.

This whole experience is a journey and it can get messy.

the weekend in review

Turns out that the dog IS allergic to her own shedding. What a riot. I know this because I took her to get a bath at the Dirty Dog and she hasn't sneezed or snored since. Her shedding is legendary right now. She goes running through the dog park and leaves a fur trail in the air. I swear. I also bought her a toy duck (to replace the toy squirrel), which makes this great *hoooooonk* sound when you squeeze it. Emma squeezed it once, just right, and it made the sound. She freaked out, cause now she thinks its alive, and she dropped it out of her mouth. She doesn't know what to do with it at this point, I'm sure tomorrow she will give it another chance.

I went to see Los Lonely Boys and Blues Traveler at Stubbs on saturday. That was fun, though I must say that a lot of the songs carry a special meaning for me, and it's not easy to listen to them alone. To be totally honest, I have to say that Blues Traveler put on the better show, which is hard for me to admit, considering how much I love LLB. But any night at Stubbs is a good night, and I love how it is approximately 45 steps from my apartment.

Turning a Corner

Its just a little past midnight tonight, and I'm about to go to sleep. The dog is snoring in the other room, I think either she is tired or her allergies are getting the best of her. I wonder if she is allergic to her own shedding. That would be ironic.

A remarkable thing happened to me this past week. I turned a corner. On Sunday I found something that I had been looking for during these past two months. I didn't even know I was looking for it. I found myself. Not the person that was entwined with his wife and marriage. I found me. The me who went on my own to Duke. The me that loved soccer all those years. The me that thought he could do anything if given enough time and luck. I think that when you are truly with someone - when you completely trust them and allow yourself to be vunerable - you tend to define yourself as a partner, a teamate, a lover, and a friend. When that person leaves you suddenly, it takes sometime to see yourself in your own light, your own space, your own thoughts. That is what happened to me on Sunday. I found that part of me that cannot be broken. It cannot be damaged or stolen. It had been my foundation for so long, and once again I can rest on it. If you are on my post-divorce speedial, you'll notice that I haven't called much the last couple of days. The truth is that the panic has passed. I can drive around on my own and not worry about the empty passenger's seat. I can cook at home and not be bothered by the quiet. I can go to sleep without someone wishing me goodnight. These seem like silly things, but when you are unwinding yourself from someone else, they are huge victories. All oddly enough, they all came at about the same time.

I realize that I am by no means healed. I have some really rough days ahead. But I have turned a corner. I was in a very dark place, but I feel like I have touched bottom and now am on my way out of the darkness. I feel incredibly strong.

Texas Prairie Grass and Prickly Pear Cactus

I took these pictures during one of my site visits to Salado, Texas. It's amazing how beautiful such ordinary landscapes can be.

Me and Raul Senior

This past weekend was one of the most fun I have had in a long time. My dad came into town to retrieve the BEAST of a truck I've been borrowing to move apartments. That was his cover anyway. He was really here to see Texas beat the crap out of Missouri. We even went to a tailgate before the game. He watched me down like 48 ounces of coors light in about as many minutes. He looked worried until I reminded him that you didn't have to be sober to ride a rickshaw halfway across downtown Austin. At any rate, we made it to the game and our seats without incident.

That's when I learned that there are two versions of almost every UT longhorn cheer. This was my first time sitting in the non-student section. I don't which cheers are the originals, and which ones evolved out of necessity, but lets just say that they both get the job done. From our seats we also had a clear view of Bevo 14, the most beloved walking piece of steak in all of Texas I think. Actually i have been informed that Longhorn meat is rather tough and not used by butchers. Did you know that? The game wasn't even close. I think it was like 35-0 in the fist half. I was enjoying my pretzel too much to care about the bet I (unwisely) made on the spread.

It reminded me of when I was a kid, and I would look forward to Rangers games almost completely because of the food. Seriously, when you were like 8 or 10 years old, weren't you excited about a place that had nachos, hot dogs, M&Ms, ice cream, cotton candy, pretzels, peanuts and corndogs. ALL IN ONE PLACE! It wasn't like I could get everything... it was just the selection that was overwhelming. I don't know how many stolen bases or diving catches I missed because of a mouthful of hot dog. I'll tell you what I never missed though. Homeruns and foul balls. Why? Because I was terrified of getting hit by one. Everytime we went to a game I was sure the day had come for Rafael Palmeiro to hit the one-that-was-coming-for-my-nose. I realize now what an irrational fear it was, but I was just a kid. Plus I saw a guy get nailed by a foul ball at Fenway once. They had something like a bed sheet behind the plate. At Fenway, no one was safe.

My dad and I spent Sunday getting the washer and dryer loaded into his truck to take back to Dallas. The dryer was easy, but the washer was no joke. I don't know if front-end loaders weigh more than top-loaders do, but this thing put my table saw to shame. I guess it didn't help that the Toyota's tailgate was a good 4 feet off the ground, but eventually we managed to flip the appliance into the truck bed. My hat is off to the guys that deliver those things daily. I have to admit it was hard watching the truck get loaded up with pieces of my past, but I guess the new apartment just has no room for those kinds of things. The hardest part was watching my old man leave. It was nice to have him here, even if just for a few days.

The Table of Contents to My Life

If I were to write an autobiography of my life up until this point, these would be my chapters; one chapter for every year.

1. Glue
2. Faded Photographs
3. No Running
4. Escape from Daycare!
5. Soccer
6. Reading books and Hershey's Kisses
7. Legos
8. Braces
9. Tolkien
10. Driving the Golf Cart
11. Farewell Ennis, Texas
12. Tony
13. My first Razor
14. Rosie
15. Friends
16. Nighttime with the window down
17. Mary
18. The Peak
19. Burnout
20. Good Stories
21. El Jefe
22. Campus Walk Apartments
23. Jenny
24. Bliss & Boredom
25. The House in Madison Heights
26. Moving Mountains
27. Pain, Sadness and Hope

More of Emma

The dog took some convincing

So I have moved Emma to the new apartment. For about 15 minutes she thought it was a cool place to visit. Nice floors, cool view, smells like Lysol. Then she wanted to go home. How do I know? Because she proceeded to stick her nose on the doorknob and kept it there. When I didn't get the hint, she would come find me, lead me to the door and repeat. I've only seen this trick when she's had stomach pains, so I know she wanted out. But I just patted her head and told her this was going to be her home for a little bit.

Later in the day, as I was getting out of the shower, I turned the corner, and my dog, my furry companion for the last 6 months, my walking buddy, my wrestling partner .... was glaring at me like she wanted me dead and buried. Its funny to see a dog glare, and Emma can do it with the best of them. No panting. It was hard to tell if she was even breathing. Just sitting there in front of the door, eyes lowered like she was pissed beyond all canine comprehension, and motionless. I really wished I had my camera, but it was in the truck and that would involve getting around the dog and through the door. And that wasn't going to happen.

So I pulled up a stool and proceeded to explain to my dog that this was our new home. That there were good things about this place, even if it was different. True there were far less squirrels and cats to bark at. Her nemesis, the old dog with the limp, was gone. The deer would no longer flee at her approach. Small children, on which she would bestow life-long phobias, were nowhere to be found. But we do have a nice view. At night, she sits on our 4th floor balcony and listens to all the sounds of downtown life. She enjoys her two daily trips to the dog park. She likes stopping by every apartment door and doing a smell-check to see if she has dog neighbors. No, no, yes, no, yes, no is the order of my hall i think. She hasn't quite figured out the elevator yet and gets upset when we get out on a different floor than the one we got on from. We've been taking the stairs. But she's adjusted for the most part. Dogs are incredible animals and they have a love and devotion that any of us would struggle to maintain. Even when they glare. ;)

Thats a toy squirrel I bought her to replace the real life variety. She just carries it around everywhere in the apartment.

Strength

You think you are strong. People tell you the same. But sometimes you feel like you just want to rest on someone else. But you're alone. It's just you and an 80 lb funny-smelling, furry pillow with 4 paws and a grouchy, don't-touch-me, late-night mood. I guess you take what you can get.

Life as a Pitcher

Sometimes Life throws you a curve ball. And then sometimes you get beaned. By a fastball. In the head. But I'd like to think that I have another at-bat in me. I have gotten up off the ground and have opened my eyes. My swing isn't the same. I might look a little cross-eyed. My knees are a little shaky. But I will not go back to the dugout.

New Diggs

I know what it is to be the 'wrong man'

Though I did so many things right and with love.

I know what it is to be abandoned,

Though I did everything to support and protect you.

I know what it is to be discarded and lost,

Though you still haunt my every moment

Is it possible to weep and curse in the same breath?

My mornings are slow and my nights bring pain.

I still feel your fingers between mine,

And the scent of your hair lingers.

My face used to rest on the back of your neck,

And I can't replace your warmth.

O God, give me the strength to overcome

Dreams lost and love unrequited.

I will never stop loving with all my heart

I will never stop working with all my strength

I will never stop believing in those I love.

Bring me peace tonight.

meet Emma

Meet my dog Emma. She's a 3 and a half year old golden retriever with quite the personality. This is her after we took a swim in Lake Travis on Saturday. She can swim pretty well, but she gets winded after about 10 minutes.

and I entered the void..

So this will be my first of many posts. Until now I have hesitated exposing my inner thoughts on such a wide and scary medium as the internet. But I really think that no one is going to find this blog without my explicit directions anyway, so I'm not too worried. I feel like we have become a culture of exhibitionists, putting up information about ourselves for no one and anyone. In this regard, I have decided to make a concerted effort to write this in a way that would be clear to those who know me, and might be confusing to those who do not. If you are in the latter catagory, I apologize; I might simply suggest you follow along long enough to put the pieces together.

First and foremost I think this space will be occupied with photos. I guess you could call it a photo blog. One of my newest interests is photography, and I have just acquired a camera that, god-willing, will help me capture those moments that linger in my mind but lack physical evidence. We'll see how it all goes...

I took these photos in St. Louis this past weekend;

'keith' by Chuck Close