AntiJenNora's Excellent Adventures

2009-10-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Been hitting the road quite a bit. Had to shut down the Baraboo plant so anyone who wanted a Circus World souvenir, too late for that.

I shipped the production lines to Tijuana because I could not find any people in the US that would work for 15 bucks per hour. Seems as though it is more fun to collect 240 bucks a week and spend most of it on beer and cigarettes (because milk, cheese, juice, cereal, and frozen pizza and hot wings can be paid for with food stamps).

I have five or six guys following me around thinking that girls should not touch things like an extruder a cut off saw, or maybe a lathe. The bathroom is decorated in total “oblivious guy”, meaning it looks like the step above the minimum a guy needs to pee (which would be an empty beer can). I am just happy to have running water, even though I have to reach down around the toilet and turn it on to flush. There is even a shower!! With a non absorbent t-shirt that has been hanging there for months for a towel!!

I tried to accommodate the machismos and not step on the guys toes when I pushed them aside to make adjustments to the equipment. Otherwise it would take several days to do instead of 2 hours. I just tell them that if they knew how to use the equipment with more skill than I, then I would be happy to relinquish the position. But in broken techno-spanglish. I have two guys who speak English very well, but they happen to be the less senior, so the macho older guys don’t pay any attention to them. We got all the equipment hooked up and running because I had to get spanky with them, otherwise it would have taken many many more days.

We have way cool electrical hook ups, but the best is where I stop for breakfast every day. I drive to the Otay Mesa border crossing, walk across the border, get a taco from this taco stand, (owned by Marco) for forty cents, then I wait for my driver to pick me up and then drive 3 miles to the factory. Another taco truck comes by to serve me lunch. I am happy.

AZ Travels

2009-07-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

Kyson was kind enough to head up to Washington to drive with me back to Arizona. I would have flown, but Elsie is scared to fly. That is probably why she trys to take down birds every chance she gets. The drive was not too bad when we were out of cell range and Kyson unplugged him self from his cell addiction. Really though, it was nice for him to still be able to handle the business he needed to, or I would have been driving alone. We especially had fun on the Rez trying to get Elsie to "do her business" as Mom would say. Here is a shot of the weather on the Rez, just out of Chinle and our navigator.

Elsie has been enjoying Pinedale right up till Uncle Boyd accused her of tearing up his garbage every night. (HA, does this look like a dog that even knows what a dumpster is???) Finally today we figured out who was doing the garbage run every night. The Dumpster was totally caved in, had teeth mark punctures all the way through and had to be disassembled to get the lids out. Boyd fixed it up and then still decided that Elsie was to blame because he couldn't find any bear tracks around the dumpster. Except he forgot to mention that right on the lids were big bear paw smears. Then all he would say was, "it still could have been a really big dog".

Speaking of wild life, I had to go to San Diego for a few days and saw Ivanna Trump doing time at the Phoenix airport(I think it is part of her 18 hours of community service, don't you have to wear those vests when you pick up trash on the road as recompense for things like drunk driving?) and then when I landed I ran into Betty Broderick, which was a surprise because I thought she was still in prison. Looks like she soon will be again. (you kids can google the names if you don't know of whom I speak)

Airplane "Celebs"

2009-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

So I sit down in my usual airplane aisle seat 2D, and this very hyper, skinny, rode-hard-put-away-wet woman starts throwing stuff over me into the window seat. She only hit me in the head a couple of times so it wasn't that big of a deal. Then she starts timing everything . When I looked at her, she leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, "when you get to be in our age category you can get things for free". First I was appalled that she thought I was in her age category, (she said she was 55)second I didn't really understand what she meant. She proceeds to tell me that she was in town for a dog and pony show. Asking her to expound was a big risk, but I had another 3 hours of sitting next to her and it seemed the polite thing to do. Turns out she was on a book tour of her photo collection. I took a sneaky undetected picture of her with my IPhone.

There's more:

During takeoff she starts a running commentary about what the pilot is doing and what all the parts of the plan were, etc., and sounding quite authoritative, then she starts freaking out because the flight attendants have not brought her wine. Or a blanket. Or a pillow. She jots all this down in a note book and then says "all this lack of service should be good for a free ticket" . OK, so now I get where she is going with all the timing and note taking.

There's more:

She FINALLY gets her wine and settles down with a DVD player, her own, which she does not have a clue how to operate The Rolling Stones Live in Concert DVD goes blasting throughout the cabin. I grab it and plug her head phones in the right jack and it is still so loud that I can hear everything through the headphones on her head. She tosses them off and starts trying to figure out the volume, people behind us are visibly irritated, the flight attendant comes over just as I get the volume turned down and gives me a dirty look. I really wanted to say "It wasn't me!!", but my hyper, slightly drunk seat mate is looking right at me and I am more scared of her than the flight attendant, so I just said (very quietly) "why don't you just not serve any more alcoholic drinks in this row???" The attendant leaves after finally getting the hint that I do not know this person sitting next to me. Who, just at that moment starts to sing loudly with the sound track and cry at the same time.

Then finally:

During the next crying lull, I ask if she is OK. I then am treated to stories about the Rolling Stones and how Keith Richards wife was the first person to every get her drunk, and how Mick Jagger used to call her apartment in the middle of the night, since her room mate was Jerri Hall, and how when she answered the phone and Jerri didn't want to talk, my seat mate would tell Mick to (*&^%***%#! off (she was very proud of this) and all about the tour parties, and on and on... Then I said something stupid. "Wasn't that a long time ago?" She starts crying again and now I am obligated to care take of her the rest of the flight My usual bury my head in a book strategy is not going to work.

She finally stops crying and tells me all about her Hobby Farm in Montana and that she was the last woman to be married to Steve McQueen and so got to keep the farm and all her book photos are of him and his last few years, and of course she used to be a super model. I looked her up on Google and this is her photo. Wow, I guess we better eat right and get a little exercise (oh and knock off the drugs)

"Celebs" I have accidently sat next to in planes, are Barbie Mintz (above), Joe Mantenga, Tom Skerrit, and a couple of big huge football players (they all look a like so I can't remember their names) who squished me into the corner.

How my ribs got broken, you choose.

2009-05-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

VERSION A:

So there I was pal-ing around with Palin, and I started in on why Alaska isn't more proactive in recycling. Next thing I know she crosses her arms in a secret, obviously pre-arranged signal and one of her big burly state trooper bodyguards snuck up behind me and sucker punched me in the ribs with some brass knuckles. As I fell to the ground, John, who was my backup and photog, dropped his cell phone in a cup of water or he would have totally taken the guy out. Good news is the Xrays only show one shattered rib, one cracked rib and a few contusions that give the northern lights a run for their money.

VERSION B:

So there I was hanging around with John, when he gets the Great Idea to run up this little trail to the top of Rainbow Falls. Usually a leisurly hike of 5 hours round trip, we cut it back to just over two hours, so had a solid hour and a half of running up stairs, then 45 minutes of hopping down. These are out of code stairs built by some sadistic conservation corp engineer. After that we ran down to the boat yard and proceeded to tarp and tape off the top of the "Fidelia" 45 feet in the air, build scaffolding, scrape paint, then to top it off, use sledge hammers and grinders to replace some bolts and zincs up under the hull, repaint the rudder, and remove and replace the prop zinc (using cement to hold it in) on the propeller nut. When you have wobbly legs in the first place, it is not a good idea to climb all around, jumping from one creaky scaffolding to another, you are bound to fall down at some point.

How to have an unusual birthday

2009-05-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

First, you get on a plane and fly to Wrangell, Alaska. When you pack, you must bring things to trade with the locals. Know your audience. In this case I chose 2 pounds of freshly roasted Caffe Vita, packets of exotic spices, 1 lb of fresh pepper corns, 1 lb of 25 year aged Parmesan reggiano, 1 lb of Spanish Manchego, MacBook software and miscellaneous forklift parts, including extra sparkplugs.

Get up the next morning to beautiful weather and John's special CheesyEgg breakfast. From there on out you just wing it. For example, you could go to Svensens boat building business and get them to weld new zincs on the jet boat "Kraken", then drop the boat in the water and zip all around the harbor testing out the boat for your upcoming fishing trip.

When you dock the boat, look around as something might be going on near by, like all the sudden Sarah Palin shows up to do a publicity tour "bill signing", because she got nailed by the press for never visiting Southeast Alaska. Wandering into these situations can be either fun or hazardous, but concentrate on the fun part because you never know when you might get to ask the future president of the free world her views on the pathetic state of Alaska recycling. Wherein she says: "I didn't know we had any bike races here, is that when all the bikers have to turn around and go to the lower 48?" I said "no, it means when you turn the washer on for a second time when all the grease doesn't come out of Todd's shirts". But she just sniffs and says she doesn't do that anymore because she is busy doing Gods work and doesn't have time. Not happy with the exchange, I pressed and she looked at me with bored glazed eyes and a photogenic smile while saying "uh... that could be a good thing, or not, I'll look intoit fer sure" .

Of course after that and the fact that you have been working out, go to the local diner with a view, for the biggest cheeseburger you can find. It is OK to eat this as long as it substitutes for your cake, and you don't eat it that too. At this point put a candle on the burger to seal the deal.

Time for birthday presents means a new fishing pole!! Sylvia calls my gear on the island "halibut sticks" and says they are too stiff. I picked them up at The Exchange by the dump for ten bucks so what can you expect? I am now set up with an 8' medium action rod and reel with 20 lb test. Time to learn a new craft.

Back to Seattle Gloom

2009-04-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

After taking Elsie to the Spa at SageCliff (after we sprung her from Jail), we headed back to Seattle. John, Sylvia and Jennifer decide to go see Carrie Fisher in her one woman show "Wishful Drinking", all about her train wreck of a life ever since she was Princess Lea in the original Star Wars. It made all of us feel like we were not so dysfunctional after all. We were in the front row, so were called on to verify things and answer rhetorical questions. I was embarrassed, so when she asked me my name, I said "Sylvia", of course that makes one a bit more brave when anonymous. She wanted to smoke on stage, but it is illegal, so compromised with clove cigarettes. When I identified her clove cigarette as "most certainly BC bud", she stuck it down my shirt. The coolest thing about Carrie Fisher is she has her likeness forever immortalized as a Pez dispenser.

Visit to the Farm

2009-04-20T17:26:00.001-07:00

So, ElsieCoyote goes on a trip to see her country cousins in Royal City. Upon arriving at the farm, cousins Chinook, Zeus, and Shania, all who weight 90-120 pounds each, pack mob her and push her off the lounging deck. There were 6-7 cats hanging around and so Elsie spent the next hour trying to figure out how to get the cats without going on the deck. She finally figured there was nothing to do but go on the deck in order to get the cats (MUST GET CATS was all she could think) she got up to a cat and then all the other dogs held back and waited until she started chasing the cat (stray) and then they all joined in the game, cats all got away every which way. The only cat that did not scatter was George (not a stray) so Elsie turns her attention to George. Just as she has stalked within 5 feet, Chinook comes tearing around the corner and gets between Elsie and the cat and just takes Elsie to task for trying to get George. Evidently George is the dogs' cat. George also never runs away and very nearly succeeded in poking Elsie's eye out. Afterwords Elsie went to Jail.

2009-03-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a rough few months. Nora Lea passed away unexpectedly just after Christmas. For some reason I think it has been hard on her, too, where ever she is. I am sure she is in a great place, but she left so many friends and people close to her behind. I miss her always.

I have decided to continue blogging, not only for family and friends, but also because Nora always wanted us to get into writing and this is an excellent playground for honing the skills. I figure no one is interested in my inability to get out of bed in the morning and how sad things are, so I am going to concentrate on travel and excellent and not so excellent adventures that I wish I could share with Nora Lea.

The travel in 2009, so far, has taken me from Phoenix to Seattle, back to the island, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Nebraska, Laramie, Wyoming, Burley, Idaho, back to the island and then Phoenix. And Yes, I do have a few adventures to share later...

Bordeaux - Nora

2008-12-02T16:28:00.001-08:00

We said a sad farewell to Spain and boarded a train in San Sebastian. This farewell was doubly sad as we had lost a dear companion at the train station.

We crossed the border into France, and immediately our pathetic, halting Spanish seemed like a comfortable old friend as neither one of us has any French (and I thought trying to figure out Basque was a challenge!). But we got to the station, found a taxi, and with the help of some written directions – in French, that Jenn was clever enough to print out – made our way to the 19th century Chateau where we were staying.

The Chateau was about 10 miles out of the city along the banks of the Garonne, and was once a large wine-producing estate. But, French inheritance laws being what they are, most of the parcels were sold off one-by-one, until our hosts and the present owners bought the house and about 12 acres and run it as the base for their wine country tours. These people are really proud of their wines and their history and heritage. I’ll let Jennifer fill you in a little on the history angle as she was reading up on it, but wine has been produced in this region for a thousand years, so they feel that they’ve pretty much “gotten it right”.

We had a private driver who took us to six different wineries in two days. His name was Marc, he is a business student, and a more charming young man there never was. And apparently we were lucky to have him (or anyone at all) as there was a general transportation strike beginning Wednesday afternoon (we arrived Wed. a.m.) and ending Friday afternoon (we left Sat. a.m.). We also dodged a bullet on the Air France strike. To be honest, we were very lucky in many of our adventures this trip. Don’t get me wrong, Ms Jennifer is the most accomplished travel agent a girl could ever want, but sometimes the universe just steps in, and that can go either way. Luckily for us, it went the best way.So I’ll let Jenn give you the low-down on making wine in the Medoc and St. Emillion regions. Let me just say that our trip to Europe was not only fun (and fattening), but very informative. We learned how sherry is made, saw olive oil being pressed, visited some of the most prestigious wineries in the world and, best of all, got to get outside of our comfort zone and mingle with different people, cultures and histories. Except for one day of rain, the weather was perfect (well, it was bitter cold the one night we were in Paris, but who cares?! We were in Paris!) and except for one snotty French chef (could there be a bigger cliché?), the people were all marvelous. All in all, I’d have to say that this was Jenn and Nora’s Most Excellent Adventure!

In Memorium

2008-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

So our last day in San Sebastian, I had been scouting around trying to figure out the most efficient way to get to Hendaye, just on the other side of the Spain/France border. That would get us hooked into the French train system and on to Bordeaux. You can go with the national rail and take a few hours, or take the completely confusing Basque train, the Eusko-tren, for 1.45 euros and it only takes 30 minutes. We took the Basque train. Unfortunately HoneyCrisp was eavesdropping on my plans. She had fallen in love with Spain and did not want to go to France. She was also suffering severe depressions, vapors, water on the brain, a distinct lack of firmness and was terribly worried about her wrinkled skin. Not to shock everyone, but bottom line is, she jumped. Right down on to the train tracks and try as we might we could not coax her to safety. Well, the train was on a schedule, and pulled out.

As you can see there were many many signs for and about safety and what not to do posted about, which she ignored. I think she just decided it was time for a brave stand to finish her day(s) in Spain. Nora was inconsolable. I did not push her.

The Grocery Store in Spain

2008-11-29T17:08:00.001-08:00

While walking around the streets of San Sebastian, we saw a big glass roof covering an escalator and decided to see where it went. We found the best grocery store. Everything you could possibly want, except maybe gummi bears.

Ok, so these are not Alaska spot prawns but at least they don't come from Thailand's depleted mangroves. Plenty of Iberico pork to go around too!

I don't know what these sort of foot/snailsnout looking things are, but they are really fresh.

Bread and Pastry anyone??

Nora is mentally calculating how much this Spanish beef costs in US dollars. You know that great "entrecote" cut can set you back a euro or two.

San Sebastian

2008-11-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

San Sebastian is the western world capital of cuisine. It has more top rated restaurants per capita than any other place. Of course we get here in November when everyone takes a vacation and the world famous chefs are in Seattle for a food conference. I still had the best meal ever. The language and signs are unrecognizable in Basque, so we had to just stumble on things and did a very good job of it. There are the obligatory churches under repair and the scenic alleys and streets. But the added bonus is the beach plus a river that runs through the middle of the city. Here is a shot of the city hall and the surrounding tamarind trees. Since San Sebastian is in the Pyrenees mountains, it has been a hot bed of terrorist activities by a group called the ETA. While we were here the French and Spanish government had a combined group activity which resulted in the arrest of the head of the group. We also have been lucky in that there was a transportation strike last Friday and Air France, our ride home, is on strike.

There are lots of surfers even though the water has to be 5 Celsius. The only rain we have seen has been here, and it is only a cheepy-cheepy drizzle.

HoneyCrisp went out to make new friends and found a playful cupid that seemed friendly enough initially. Little did HC know, but the cupid already had a friend and tried to push HC into the river. Nora saved her, even though she is going through that phase of life with depression, wrinkling, bad smells and skin discoloration (HC, not Nora).

Nora and HC decided to go to the beach. HC demanded an umbrella so her skin didn't burn and then headed out to catch a wave. Unfortunately she washed back up.

I, in the mean time, wanted to follow Dad's admonition that you can always survive anything if you have clean dry socks. We have been traveling for almost three weeks and the strange thing about Spain is there are no laundromats. Everyone just looks at me with a blank stare when I ask, and try and send me to the tintoria (dry cleaners). The hotels all offer to send laundry out but it is 5-10 euros for a pair of socks. I finally got desperate and sent out 3 pair of socks, 3 undies, one shirt and two pair of pants. They did a lovely job and delivered it back to the room, tissue wrapped and in a basket. All for a mere $97.75. I am buying new stuff next time.

More Bilbao Art

2008-11-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

So hanging out all over Spain, we noticed that the dogs are off leash and go everywhere with their owners, and here in Bilbao, even imitating the hands behind the back stroll. I can't figure out how they don't get hit by cars in all the heavy traffic. When we were in Seville, and a car would come up the tiny roads, we would have to slam our backs to the wall and hold our breath in order not to get sideswiped and the little dogs just sort of scooted to the side and managed not to get smooshed, but of course all dogs do seem to have the marking instinct world wide.

Some of the art INSIDE the Guggenheim is of the "what the *^*%$#@? is that supposed to be?" variety. But there was a very cool exhibit by Richard Serra, an American minimalist sculptor. It had 8 parts that were from 12' - 14' high and each weighed between 44 and 276 tons. They were huge shaped sheets of steel that reminded me of the canyons in
Southern Utah. You can walk around in these and get very disoriented. One is like a Nautilus shell, another like varying canyon walls. The steel is variegated and streaky which makes it look like windswept sandstone. They took years to shape and were made in a shipyard in Baltimore then shipped and installed in Bilbao. They are free standing, though I would not want to be wandering inside them during an earthquake.

I really wish Nora would learn to take pictures with my cell phone in under 6 minutes. She probably couldn't think straight because she had been traumatized by Momma minutes earlier. Momma even has a very realistic looking an egg sack ready to drop, but Nora would not even get underneath for the thousand euros I offered.
The workers that are all hanging around arranging things at the museum, even have to use plastic bags and duct tape to wrap their wheels so they don't mar the travertine sidewalks.

We had to go across the river to get far enough away from the main building to take pictures. The smoke puff on the left side by the water is a "fog sculpture that shoots off every hour and then floats away in an 'artistic manner' reflecting the natural environment and wind" (looked like a puff of smoke to me) There are all sorts of little surprises about, including some shooting fire that we did not get to see because we had to go home at dark to check on HoneyCrisp. She was fine, but had pushed Heimi into the profundo desfiladero between the beds and it took me 30 minutes to find and rescue him.

The Guggenheim serves as not only a museum with art exhibits, but a city icon with itself being a huge installation of art and makes for an impressive experience.

Espana Xtra - Bilbao

2008-11-18T10:04:00.001-08:00

More Bilbao...HoneyCrisp pretty much stayed in the 5 star hotel room with her friends Sombra and Heimi, and looked out the window at Puppy in front of the Guggenheim, taking baths and ordering room service. (the little white-ish figure by Puppy's foot is the groomer)

The city is on a great river and has a "new city" and an old quarter with small winding streets and not too many churches. There are lots of arts and theatre and if Nora and I get stuck in Europe, we are going to live in Bilbao.

We had the hotel make reservations for us at the fabulous restaurant in the museum. The world famous chef Martin Berasategui really hooked us up with Cream of Cara Negra cheese and sauteed Ballobar capers, roast Aubergine with olive oil made from 1000 year old olive trees, pasta in Joselito ham stock with parmigiano reggiano foam, and roasted leg of suckling veal, lamb with lemon jalapeno broth, creamy chocolate with coffee ice cream on hot marzipan sand, and to finish, a coffee-salty yogurt drink (Sylvia, you would have loved this one!!) Dad modified his saying "eat right and get a little exercise" to keep up with the French. It is now "eat less, move more", so here are some of my portions, with my fingers included for scale.

This last photo is my finger bowl that the waiter poured hot lemon water over and it turned into a bath towel. (don't forget to bring a towel!!) ...jah

Fried or Scrambled?

2008-11-16T01:33:00.000-08:00

My 120/220v converter melted Nora´s curling iron in about 10 seconds a week ago. I chalked it up to her iron being 15 years old. Yesterday it seems to have fried my laptop, so we will have fewer photos coming up in the blogs.

HoneyCrisp is out of control

2008-11-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

HoneyCrisp got all petulant when she found out we went to Grazalema without her. She is getting hard to handle. Trying to find ways to punish us like stinking up the room while we are gone.
Nora gave in and got HoneyCrisp her own seat on the plane. HC pitched a fit at the isle seat and made me change so she could have the window. Then She makes a scene at the check in desk at the Bilbao hotel, Gran Domine, so everyone knows She is there, the staff bring her two cuddlies for her sleep as well as a special pillow. She likes the cat, which she names Sombra. Nora thinks that she will settle down if she gives her a bath.

Nora called me an abuser when HC jumped off the statue and rolled down the street, she called me a kidnapper when I was trying to lighten the weight in Nora’s purse and took HC out prior to going to Grazalema. So: What do I get to call Nora when she POACHED HoneyCrisp, I ask you????

Espana 8-Grazalema

2008-11-14T10:53:00.001-08:00

This post happened before we went to Bilbao, but I was disorented and posted out of order...

But on to another day’s adventures. We had originally planned on taking the train over to Granada for another day trip, but it turns out the trip was too long and would have required an overnight stay, so we found ourselves with an extra day on our hands. Once again Jennifer’s amazing research skills came to the rescue. She wanted to see an olive oil plant (you know how she is about factories), so she found someone who specializes in three kinds of guided tours: wine, olive oil and pigs! Roger picked us up and drove us 52 miles out of the city to a little mountain town called Zahara. Let me just say that the drive alone might have been worth it, it was so beautiful. In Zahara we visited two “molinas” that pressed the local olives into oil. I’ll let Jennifer give you the details, but we got to taste some of the oil that was being pressed at the moment and man! was it good! So fruity, so green, so grassy, so GOOD! Then we drove over the mountain to Grazalema for lunch.
This over-the-mountain road was a serious ascent, I’d give you the statistics, but my grasp of the metric system sucks. On the way we picked acorns off the Holm oak. These are the acorns that the Iberico pigs eat that give the meat its unique qualities. Until I put one of those acorns in my mouth and bit it in half, I was feeling sorry for those poor pigs, but these are not anything like the acorns I’m familiar with. They’re oily and nutty, a bit like an almond or maybe a chestnut. Apparently the contain a lot of good nutrients that pass into the flesh of the pig and make Iberian pork a healthier choice. I hope that’s true as I’ve eaten more than my share on this trip.
Anyway, lunch was good, the trip was beautiful and informative and I got two birds on my life list. It was a good day . . .nll

Today Nora had glasses of olive oil for breakfast instead of sherry or cafe irlandes.

Most of the times of year, to olive oil producers are just growing olives. We luckily ended up visiting just at harvest time and the mills were just starting up. We went to a small family owned molina that was very high tech, and very clean. They do only first press extra virgin and make oil from the mazanilla and the lechina olives. The oil is centrifuged not pressed, so there are never any old or moldy bits stuck in the press mats.
Most places blend the oil, but this molina makes the pure varieties, as well as some blend of both olives. One of the owners got us a cup of manzanilla oil coming out just as it was finished and we compared that to the lechina that had been made the day before. OMineGatto, as John would say. The other thing they do is store in stainless steel vats with a nitrogen blanket taking up any headroom until it is bottled so no oxidation. Aging is not olive oils friend.

The second place we visited was old school, with the water used in the initial mixing heated by the corner olive wood and olive pit burning stove, olives crushed in a really old mill, churned in a rusty looking vat, pumped up and layered by hand on mat after mat, stacked together like a really big layer cake then put in a big press that slowly screws itself shut for 4-6 hours, all the while dumping out oil into a trough on the floor that drains into barrels and then is bottled. It was very good also, but of course I liked the little high tech place.
The very scenic drive included white villages nestled in the rough hills, goats, cows, sheep (we had local made sheep and goat milk cheeses that were fantastico!!) and a griffin vulture standing in the middle of the road…jah

Civilization returns to air travel

2008-11-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

We are headed to Bilbao, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 kilometers north of Sevilla. I decided sitting on a train for 9 hours with two changes of train was not matching my mood, so we are taking a 1hr 20 minute flight.

HOLY COW…you walk into the airport, check your overweight luggage, and no one yells at you, you walk up to security, take your computer out and jacket off and NOTHING ELSE!! I walked through security fully clothed and with my shoes on for the first time in years.
They even have a big space with tables so you can re-pack the computer and put your jacket on in comfort, no rushing or trying to lean on the wall to tie your shoes.

Once past security you can buy a haunch of Iberico pork to take on the plane with you. Or if you prefer, have a chef grill you a new york steak or a whole fish to eat while you wait (this counter is where you make your selections) You can purchase any beverage of choice and wander around. The seating by the gates consists of regular seats or café tables with service to order a café solo or tapas tipica.
It only took 20 minutes to board the jet. We took off 10 minutes early. They served fresh squeezed juices in real glasses. They give everyone a moist toweled. We landed 20 minutes early. My luggage came out of the baggage claim first...jah

I am so disoriented.

Espana 7- Seville

2008-11-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

So, here we are in Seville, the land of kings, conquest , oranges, culture, flamenco, and commerce. The locals think of themselves as “Andalucian” almost before being Spanish. There are two football (soccer) teams, one is Seville and the other is Betas, which is the team of the people who are Andalucian first. The river that runs through is called Quadalquiver by the entire rest of the world except the Andalutheans, which call it Betas. (my new personal waiter at a tapas bar that specializes in eggplant explained that to me during a televised game of one of the national cup games).
Nora also artfully told a very young shy bartender that since he was sick and had a fever, he should go home and be in bed. What she really said in Spanish is… well ask me when we get home as it is hysterical and everyone at the counter was laughing for at least 15 minutes. He was beet red... jah

I toyed briefly with the idea of doing a little hotel review, but decided that would be boring. I will say a few words about our first two hotels, however. Las Meninas in Madrid was a nice, modern little hotel in a great location (thanks to Jennifer’s diligent research) that only lacked two things - a hook to hang your hat on and a clock. I hate waking up at 4:30 a.m. and not knowing what time it is. So we arrive in Seville and our hotel was once the house of “Nino Ricardo”, one of the great innovators of flamenco guitar music. The rooms are charming and happily have a few hooks but, alas, still no clock. Then we go to bed and BONG! what the hell was that? Thirty minutes later we get ten bongs, and these bongs sound like Big Ben was right outside our window. I look at Jennifer and laugh, but she is seriously not happy. It took two Tylenol P.M. and a set of earplugs for her to sleep through the night. So for the last six nights we have had to hear (one) of the neighborhood cathedrals ring the hour and every half-hour as well. Truth be told, I’m going to miss my big “clock”...nll

OK, so how would you like a big gong-ing clock right next to you head reminding you all night how much time it is that you are not sleeping? Do you know how long it takes for 10-12 bongs to go off????…jah

We did the tour of the Alcazar (castle) today. So Pretend you have a big family estate or Duchy that has been though Carthaginians, the Romans and the Visagoths, the Moors, the Iberian re-conquest, the Golden Age, the Casa de Contratacion (which is the equivalent of Spains rise to commerce as all the goods from the new world had to be funneled through Seville), then the Decline and the 20th century.
You take this house or REALLY BIG PALACE and everyone to whom it is handed down or takes it by force, remodels it during every era and TA DA!!!! you get the palace that spans from Carthaginians to now, in all its styles. It is the oldest still in use palace by a monarchy: The Alcazar. It also has these Moorish walls and Baroque ceilings, wierd reniasanuce touches, etc...jah

JenN's tip del dia

2008-11-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

Life is too short to be grumpy, so the next time you get a stick up your rear end, don't forget to push the red button.

Espana 6 - Jerez

2008-11-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

We went to, and are staying in, Seville, but took a side trip the 2nd day to Jerez. More on Seville later.

This morning we got up at the ungodly hour of 7:30 and took the train to Jerez. We didn’t really have a plan, and just our little green guidebook (thanks Sylvia) for reference, so we just picked a point and started walking. Happily, our meandering led us into one of the smaller but more upscale (boutique?) bodegas just as a tour was beginning. Jenn asked if we could get a tour in English and - voila - there appeared before us a charming young woman from Germany who had come to Spain to perfect her Spanish but who coincidentally spoke very good English. She gave us a private tour of the bodega. We learned more than we’ll probably ever need to know about the making of sherry. It must be a pretty lucrative business, because the owner, who is also an art collector, installed one of the acclimatized rooms to display “some” of his paintings. Holy crap! (no, literally), if you’re into medieval religious works - especially ones of the Annunciation (you know, where a dove whispers in Mary’s ear & the poor girl gets pregnant), you’d be impressed with this man’s private collection.
The tour ended with a sherry tasting, of course. Did I mention that we had gotten up early and dashed to the train station? Yeah, well, nothing makes the morning brighter than a breakfast of fortified wine. (See Nora's breakfast photo above)
The rest of the day was Christian cathedrals & Moorish fortresses, Jerez being one of the important cities of the Al-Andalus portion of Spain’s history. The weather down here has been gorgeous. We pass street vendors roasting chestnuts on open fires occasionally, and Jennifer slugs me every time I break into that song. I suppose it is a little incongruous when its 70 degrees and you’re getting a sunburn. Anyway, on that note, ladies and germs, I wish you all a good night as its time for Jennifer’s 8:00 feeding. Blogging off . . . nll

Nora tried to sneak HoneyCrisp into the satchel to our trip to Jerez de la Fronterra. At the last minute, she decided to have a quick pre trip bathroom break. I pulled stinky apple out of the satchel and hid her behind the art/bookcase area in out room. Nora did not notice until we were in Jerez. I am now a kidnapper.
Jerez, the city of sherry and horses. It is a cliché, but true. The other thing is you have to watch where you step or it dog poop for you. Seville is actually worse in the dog poo department, but Nora hit the big time in Jerez…
Jerez has a big tower on the Alcazar (Moorish fortress) with a “camera obscura”, a device perfected by Leonardo de Vinci, which has a mirror that rotates 360 degrees and projects the reflection onto a lens that focuses on a surface in the room. So if you were in a tower, you could look into the distance, real time, and see what was going on as far away as beyond the city walls. Totally great for military applications, but was mostly used for artists to "copy" landscapes. We toured the tower and watched cars, birds, and the comings and goings of the residents. At the alcazar they also have horse parade grounds that they use for festivals and parades. All these palaces/churches/fortresses here in Andalusia have a fascinating mix of Moorish/Christian architectural styles.
PS: there are some horses in the main square of Seville that take touristas around. They look sort of hungry, wouldn’t that be a fitting end to HoneyCrisp???…jah

Jenn's Tip of the Day

2008-11-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I just wanted to remind you to read by the numbers, # 1 being the first post, and subsequenst posts may not make sense as they refer to previous posts so quit complaining and read bottom up. This is not my tip of the day though. Kodi, the time diff. is 9 hours, and we are ahead of you. Please comment, we are far far away and like hearing from you...jah

Tip of the Day: When the security people at a museum tell you no photos allowed, you should listen.

In My Head: "this looks like an interesting piece of art, I think I will take a photo". RESULT= "hey!! so this is what the inside of the cells look like at that cool jail!"

Espana 5 - Seville

2008-11-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning found us arising early (well, early for this trip) to catch the train to Sevilla. Let me just tell you that the train is a sweet ride. We arrived in Seville relaxed and ready to go, despite the fact that we had some trouble finding our hotel. Seems street names are “just a suggestion” round here. Nevertheless, we got checked to our charming old world hotel and set off to find the center of town.
We were told it was really easy to walk to the main plaza, and were handed a map with the route highlighted. Trouble is, all the streets are narrow, winding cobblestone medieval alleyways and, oh yeah, there is that street-names-are-just-a-suggestion thing. It took us several tries and more than one bout of asking directions to find our way there and, she was right, it is easy to get there once you know the way! So we had to stop and refresh ourselves with tuna belly and duck liver. Nope, no fat here (and did I mention that everything is swimming in olive oil?)!!! Anyway, I think we’ll spend the evening mapping out our itinerary for the next few days. Blogging off . . . nll

I think Nora would like to dedicate this lunch to Sylvia: Seriously, ½ lb of seared foie gras in a reduction of Jimenez Perez and another ½ lb of tuna belly in green olive oil over roasted pimentos, That was just what she ordered. I had a green salad. This photo is JUST the foi gras and that is a full size plate, not some little saucer.

The symbol of Sevilla is the Girlda (from the word "to turn") which has a huge weather vane on top which very cleverly turns. The Catherdral is the third largest in the world and has lots of ornate windows, but Nora wouldn't go in because we only had half an hour before it closed and she needed more time to be able to go to confessional. We will do that tomorrow. Nora hauled her bad apple HoneyCrisp along on the high speed (120 mph) train and when we got to the hotel in Sevilla, the little fruit promply took over the room and would not get off the bed. I am sleeping on the couch…jah

Espana 4

2008-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

On our last day in Madrid, Jennifer put on her tour guide hat and took us on a walking tour of the city. Little did we know, however, that it was a holy day and none of the cathedrals were open. We did take a very enjoyable and informative tour of the Royal Palace. And for our farewell pub crawl, we ate tapas dedicated entirely to Kodi - squid, octopus and fried peppers. Yum!…nll

I was trying to do the tour of the Medieval Madrid, and then, go up to the time of the the reign of the Hapsburgs, both eras include numerous cathedrals and lots of artwork, culminating with the Cathedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudenas which is where the royal weddings take place and is adjacent to the palace. After wandering around the oldest quarter of the city and having lunch, we had no luck with being able to check out the acoustics in the vaulted church ceilings with my elk bugle. Nor did we get to see the sarcophagus of Columbus. What is up closing the churches on holy days?? At least I got a good look at this huge bias relief bronze door, (see photo). We were so hungry we ate a whole Octopus swimming around in olive oil, Patron peppers, which are rare and only available one time a year (now), and calamari…jah

Espana 3

2008-11-06T09:40:00.000-08:00

So Nora is now taking her apple every where. She decided to photograph her new best friend HoneyCrisp sitting on a statue of Velasquez, and asked me to hold it, or as she said, "her". I plopped "her" down and walked away. "She" decided to escape and landed on the sidewalk, rolling ten feet away. Of course this was my fault, and I now was responsible for making Nora's HoneyCrisp just some "applesauce in a skin". Boy am I in trouble. To make up for this, I agreed to let HC see the real Royal Palace, as seen here.

Now that we know where King Carlos and Queen Sofie live, what, we wondered, do they do all day? Turns out they are pretty busy, and we went to see one of the great cultural works the city of Madrid enjoys courtesy of the good works of Queen Sofia. I know that usually someone of this type would do something like open a hospital for the poor. But no, our Reina Sofia took a hospital for the poor and turned it into arguably one of the worlds finest museums of modern art. If you like Picasso, Miro, Salvador Dali, Magritte, and a multitude of like minded artists, this place is for you. The space is great, now that they have cleaned out all of those messy hospital beds and operating rooms.

The museum houses Guernica, the massive painting by Picasso which was commisioned for the 1937 Paris World Fair, during the Spanish civil war, and some consider the prelude to WW2. It depicts his view of the straffing and bombing of Guernica by the Fascists, who were supported by the Nazi party. They used the small basque village as target practice, just to target in their skills. Nora started worrying that the maids would throw out HoneyCrisp, so we came back to check on the bad apple...jah

So Jennifer was in hog-heaven today as MNCARS (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia) had a large collection of two of Jenn's three favorite artists. We spent a very pleasant morning in the large, light-filled galleries. Then we lunched at a little place nearby that was recommended on Mirabel's website.

Jennifer keeps telling me that I need to do a better job of restaurant review, so here goes. . .yesterday we lunched at a "chic" (that was, in fact, the name) cafe near our hotel. Many restaurants have a "menu del dia" or set lunch menu with primero (1st), secundo (2nd) and postre (dessert) for a set price. We tried this yesterday, much to our disappointment. In fact, I can say the food was nasty. Last night we walked around the corner to a little taberna and were greeted warmly by a woman who was delighted at the chance to use her English, talk politics and show off her native cuisine. We weren't even given the chance to order, really. She recommended a lovely wine from the Duero, insisted that we try several versions of Iberico Pork (for those of you who don't know, this is a local free-range pig that eats only acorns), brought us lovely acetunas (olives), and generally kept us relaxed and entertained - a lovely experience. It was called Taberna la Jerezana and,oh yes, for dessert she brought us a housemade anise-infused sherry. Yum!

My only complaint is that we're eating at 9 or 10 at night. That means bed after midnight, rising late (the hotel offers a breakfast buffet, but J doesn't like the coffee, so she dragged me out to elbow my way to a crowded counter where people were shouting at me for my oder over the heads of dozens of other coffee-drinkers - very unsettling), a late start, a late lunch and so on and so forth. I guess we're in step with the Madrilenos, but my biorhythms are way off. Oh well. When in Rome. . .

So, having said all that - its 8:30 and I have to get dressed so we can go out and try yet another recommended tapas bar. Buen Provecho! . . .nll

Espana 2

2008-11-05T10:09:00.001-08:00

Mom, just note that those violent video games have nothing on Rembrandt, seen here with HoneyCrisp, our new traveling companion, checking out Samson getting his eyes poked out...jah

Weather has been just excellent, around 12-14 C, and the Euro is has been selling for 1.20 usd, but got much better today as the us dollar surged on "internationally exuberant" political news. We are staying right in the city center, within walking distance of everything, so we can just head out to the Plaza Mayor for lunch or a stroll, pop over to the Prado or Reina Sofia Museo, or if they would allow, the Palacio Real is a couple of blocks away and Queen Sofia could invite us for tea or tapas. Here is Nora and HoneyCrisp angling for an invite at the Palace, or I should say in front of the buildings in front of the palace. They wouldn't live in such a urbane looking building...jah

Espana 1

2008-11-05T07:59:00.000-08:00

Oh Mein Gato! It was almost 24 hrs. pillow-to-pillow, but the trip over was relatively painless thanks to International 1st class. Of course, the first thing we had to do (after settling into our hotel), was to tromp all over looking for a bocadillo de calamari for lunch. Dinner consisted of some very excellent tapas at the Cava Blanca (the white cave), and then bed. By-the-way, Sylvia, if you see Becky, tell her we ate some killer liver-butter in her honor... nll Nora packed us leftovers incase we got hungry on the plane, noodles from Monsoon, honeycrisp apple, cougar cheddar cheese, nuts and chocolate. But, they started stuffing food in us from wheels up to wheels down, so we are still packing them around... jah

Jennifer and I woke up at 6 a.m. to Obama's acceptance speech (hooray!!), and then jet lag hit one of us - hard. So while I slept it off, Missy J went for cafe con leche and another reconoiter. We spent the afternoon soaking up some culture at the Prado Museum, where i was asked to coat check a honeycrisp apple I was carrying around in my purse - more on that later. All-in-all we're having a great time and falling back into the local customs without too much difficulty. If only we had spent more time practising our Spanish! ...nll

Its a little bit more of an international world today than it was yesterday, so from this little piece of the globe to the one where you're standing, HAPPY TRAILS! nll & jah

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hope the little goblins didn't scare anyone too much!!

2008-10-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends and Neighbors,

We haven't left Seattle yet In fact, we haven't even finished packing, but Jennifer is so excited about this whole blog thing that she made me sit down and make an entry right away. So this is me telling you nothing. We'll keep you posted if anything happens. Anything at all. Reallly.

2008-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

We are off to Spain and France for our November adventure! We leave on November 3rd, just in time to get out of town for the elections. Nora's goal is to see lots of Flamenco and write restaurant reviews, and my goal is to eat at the restaurants and write reviews of the pillows in the hotels. Elsie will be vacationing at the Valhund ranch and herding puppies.