Espana & Mi Mama.

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad sign that I'm finding less and less time to put these little diddies up on the interweb... life keeps on chugging along with work, the day to day routines, and the occasional adventure.  Our first family visit came to pass just in time for my birthday at the end of February.  Mom & Ken took an epic trek from all the way over there in Seattle and stuck around for 2 fantastic weeks.  In that time we took advantage of our "carnival" break from school to head on into Spain, where we visited roman ruins in Merida, got lost for hours in Sevilla (in a bad way), and later got lost for days in Sevilla (in a good way).  We played games, ate well, drank often, and marveled at the beauty of the old Andalusian city.

My 6 highlights included:
First, climbing the towering Giralda which reached above one of the largest cathedrals in Europe and allowed us to look out over the world (it's always nice to see things from up high).
Second, going on a night time stroll over the rolling contours of the Metropol Parasol, the world's largest wooden structure, and a bargain at 3 Euros with a glass of wine included.  I do have to say... is it really the best idea to give people alcoholic beverages when they are several stories up on an undulating open sculpture?  No matter... we didn't fall.
Third, wandering the twisting streets.  Despite the ridiculous amount of trouble we had driving in to the city, I soon came to love getting lost in the narrow alleyways.  After a few days of walking every which way, I started to feel like I had a sense for the place, and loved the chance to encounter.
Fourth, the tapas.  We sampled and dabbled across the city, and ran into a lot of tasty bites.  I love to eat... and Seville obliged me, little plate after little plate.
Fifth, although it wasn't a huge focus of the trip, it's always great to find a place that caters to my tastes.  Ceverceria International was that in spades.  Great atmosphere, delicious tapas, and a beer list that could take months to properly explore. 
Finally, Flamenco.  Oh boy, Flamenco.  I went into the Casa de Flamenco expecting to be whelmed; not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, but somewhere right in the middle.  It's so great to be wrong.  I was flush with goose-bumps from the start of the performance to the end.  It was passionate, vibrant, bold, and so perfectly executed.  That night, after mom & Ken retired, Jyl and I decided to stroll down to the old corner bar, where we found an impromptu flamenco performance every bit as passionate and impressive as what we had just paid to see.  We sipped 1 euro beers, tapped our feet, and smiled the irrepressible smiles of people that have just hit the jackpot, but are trying not to gloat. 

Straight off the plane, it's time to try some Portuguese pastries!

Lisbon street art.  Awesome! 

Pouring my birthday beer: Westvleteren 12, the alleged "Best Beer in the World."

Checking out the fish auction in Cascais

No trip to Portugal is complete without a trip to Santini's!

Enjoying our favorite restaurant in Portugal

Enjoying roman ruins in Merida

Roman bridge

hand-carved stone cannon balls.  Couldn't have been an easy job. 

The bones of Columbus.  Grrr.

The view from the top.

Cerveceria International

View from the Metropol Parasol

Casa de la Flamenco

We stopped at the Castle in Beja, Portugal while driving the winding way home. 

So happy to have shared these things with my mum!

Run Away, Return, and the Rhythm of Routine

hibachi with family!

I learned a new word tonight from my unofficial Portuguese teacher (the loveliest owner of a beer store that you could ever imagine).  The word is "saudoso," and it seems to roughly describe homesickness, or missing loved ones.  Our first season in Portugal brought a lot more of this feeling than I expected... especially since in the past decade I have lived in 7 different states all across the US.  I manifested home in the books and articles I read, the movies I watched, and even the beer I brewed (although the latter was out of necessity more than nostalgia... there's just no good living without good cerveja).  Needless to say, a trip home for the winter holidays was heavenly.  We stuffed ourselves to the gills with good food and drink, hitting up a Hibachi restaurant, lots of Mexican, and of course some good home-cooking.   It was a breath of fresh (freezing) air to see good friends and family... the best holiday trip home I can remember.   

American microbrews! ahh...

It went quickly, as most good things in life tend to, and before we knew it we were headed back to our exotic adventure in the old world.  The forces at work did their best to get us to stay, cancelling our flight from MKE to Chicago, causing us to miss our original flight and nearly delaying us 6 days.  Some late night phone calls, and we managed to run back to Portugal without too much damage done.

Since then we have been getting back into the rhythm of routine... trying not to be so firmly entrenched in our homeland.  After a summer and fall without, we were ready to give up our recent experiment with car-lessness so that we could get out and see Portugal from the backroads.  A little frenchy Peugeot 206 did the trick.  Since then we have been able to take trips out into the nearby nature: Guincho... the Sintra hills... with plans for a trip to Seville coming up! 

We have also been trying to enjoy the good people that surround us here.  We've enjoyed theater out in old Lisbon... played music until the wee hours... and watched the most one-sided superbowl in recent history.  We even hosted our first poker party, which was just as fun as one back in the good old days (although it would have been nice to have some CA peeps).

We're exercising regularly, eating well, drinking heartily, and doing what we can to enjoy all of the benefits of living in this beautiful place!

People we miss.  Lots. 

NYE with the fam! 

Walks in sub-zero temperatures is par for the course

Our first poker night in Portugal, a rousing success!

Sequoia!  Like finding an old friend.

Our new wheels!

The waves have been huge!

 

 

I've gone all grain! 

It has been one of the wettest winters in the past century (or so I'm told), which is a bummer... but it seems worth it when one of these pops out after it stops...

I've seen more rainbows this winter than I have in the past 10 years. 

With Love, to Paris. (or something like that)

Our first vacation since starting our school year was a 4 day weekend for thanksgiving (no, they don't celebrate it here, but we're working at American school, so... there you go).   The way we saw it, this was enough time to go somewhere that might feel "autumny" to which we could get a direct flight for a reasonable fare.  The short list included London, Paris, and/or somewhere in Spain.  Paris won out as the best on all fronts.  

Before heading there, I honestly didn't think I would like it all that much.  When you've been to one big city, you've been to them all, right?  They've got traffic... big buildings... lots of people... crime... a few attractions... and probably some good food, if you can find it.  And as one of the most iconic and romanticized cities in the world, I had no expectations that "Pear-ee" could live up to the hype.  

Sometimes it's so nice to be wrong.  Paris swept me up; the amazing food, the rich history, the stunning art and architecture, and the romance did me in, and I came out a Paris-lover like all the rest.  Some pictures below chronicle the affair.

You've got to start with a crepe, right?  Delic. 

Honestly, I don't know how this became widescreen style.  I didn't modify it in the least.  Apparently Paris decides how it wants its pictures taken. 

The metro was simple, fast, and reasonably priced. 

We took a great walking tour the first full day, starting here. 

Big ole' church.

We chose to visit the Museu d'Orsay (impressionist art) instead of the Louvre, but couldn't pass up the photo op. 

Joan.

What's that off in the distance there?

After a 4 hour walking tour in the chill, warm mulled wine was in order. 

Our digs.  Very nice, but not cheap (not  that much was)

I was so swept up by the ambience I even drank coffee. 

a bomb shwarma. 

"What's that sound?" says Jyl?  Oh, it's just an accordian player weaving romantic melodies on the bridge.

Word of advice: take the stairs!  It was way cheaper and no lines! 

We liked our walking tour so much that we took another the next night in the Montmarte district, up above old Paris.  Great views ensued. 

While waiting for our tour to start in Montmarte we stepped in to a cafe for a late afternoon snack.  Turned out to be the cafe where Amelie worked in the movie of the same name.  Awesome. 

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This seems to be a trend on our trips around Europe... but I again had one of the best meals of my life.  This time we ate in a place called Vivant.  Pricey, but worth it for 7 courses of organic culinary excellence.

In our tenacious quest for high quality refreshment, we found a local brewpup: frog & rosbif.  They should stick to wine.