Sophie's New Brother

Spenser Sorensen-Wald. He's two weeks old now. Sophie seems to like him just fine.

Introducing Clayton Sears

A.K.A. Clay. He's a month old in these pictures--I think he's going to have a lot of personality when he gets a little older.

November 2005 Book Reviews

This is a pathetic list--I'll try harder next month. I've got a new friend at work that has made some interesting recommendations.

1. Stolen Figs and Other Adventures in Calabria, Mark Rotella, Rating: 1.7
I really wanted to like this. I had an email recently from Sandra, a lovely Canadian woman I met in Brugges, who is in the midst of planning her wedding and honeymoon. She's taking Italian lessons, and they're planning on spending time in Calabria (in Italy). She mentioned that she was reading this to learn more about the area. Mark Rotella is an editor at Publishers Weekly, and, despite that credential, just can't write very well. The book reads like he took the contents of a guidebook to the region, moved things around about, and inserted a few personal details--often the same details, over and over again. A big reason that I only got through two books this month was the fact that I was determined to finish this, and found it extremely difficult to care about. It did, however, make me interested in Calabria.
2. Three Junes, Julia Glass, Rating: 4.2
Everyone seems to be reading this these days. The first 100 pages are slow going, but it really picks up after that. There are multiple narrators (all connected through blood or friendship) with distinct voices and points of view. There's a plot, but the book really isn't about that--I felt that it was more about exploring relationships and emotions and feelings. Definitely worth checking out.

October 2005 Book Reviews

This was a successful reading month. No promises for November, though--I've taken up crocheting full-time on the BART, and my book volume is definitely suffering.

1. American Gods, Neil Gaiman, Rating: 4.7
I really liked this. I think Good Omens (one of his previous novels) might be better, but this is a close second. It's very clever and well-researched (the subject matter deals with gods from numerous time periods and religions). Definitely check it out.
2. Y The Last Man, Volume 5 (comic book), Rating: 4.8
I've recommended this series to many of my friends already--it and Fables are the only series I keep up on. The plot deals with the journey of a young man trying to find his girlfriend and stay alive. He's (as far as we know) the only man alive on earth, after a virus wipes out everything with a Y chromosome. The art is gorgeous, the story gripping and very easy to follow. If you're interested in reading comic books, this is a perfect series to start with.
3. Julie & Julia, Julie Powell, Rating: 4.0
I'm sure you've read a review of this--it seems to be getting attention everywhere. It's one of those blog spin-offs (which are suddenly everywhere; is this the latest publishing trend?), a narration of a woman's efforts to cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. I found the story tedious initially, but got into it when the author stopped complaining so much about her life and started talking more about her cooking. Frequent Buffy references helped, too. If you like food writing, you'll probably enjoy this.
4. Thinking in Pictures, Temple Grandin, Rating: 2.8
This is an interesting, important book that I completely failed to respond to. It's written by an autistic woman, and deals with what's it like to be autistic (as well as what's it's like to be a cow--the author really likes cows). I definitely learned a lot, but finishing it was painful.
5. I'm Not the New Me, Wendy McClure, Rating: 2.8
The was an interesting counterpoint to Julie & Julia. It's also a blog spin-off, this time about weight loss. I would frankly rather read about eating food than not doing so.
6. Welcome to My Planet, Where English is Sometimes Spoken, Shannon Olson, Rating: 2.3
I should have held off on reading this for a few weeks. It was the third book this month (after #3 and #5) about a whiny woman approaching 30 who is dissatisfied (reasonably so) with her life. At least the author of Julie & Julia did something interesting; this woman just complains. Frankly, she's not that good of a writer and it felt like a waste of time to read about her pathetic life. (Wow, did I just write that? A little harsh, but I'm going to leave it there.)
7. Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho, Rating: 3.5
Beautifully written, extremely insightful. The rating is a little lower because I find the subject matter--suicide--depressing to read about, but I'll check out other books by this author.
8. Round the Bend, Nevil Shute, Rating: 4.2
Like his other novels, this is very interesting, epic in scope, and a pleasure to read. It deals with airplanes, life, love, and religion--you could say that it's got it all. I prefer A Town Like Alice, but this is a close second.
9. Wickett's Remedy, Myla Goldberg, Rating: 3.8
Not nearly as good as Bee Season (her previous novel), but fun nevertheless. I particularly enjoyed the layout of the book--the text flows in the traditional way, but there are funny little comments (from "US," people in heaven) in the margins about where the story's narrator is making a mistake, or embellishing the truth.

Halloween

I think Charlotte may win the prize for having the cutest Halloween costume. Can you stand it?

Life Changes

It's been quite a while since the last post--I've gone from almost total inactivity to 110% in the last few weeks. It's great, if a bit tiring. I started a new job three weeks ago at a San Francisco design firm. I'm struggling to find good lunch spots, but other than that can't complain. The people are great, the office easy to get to, I have an awesome, huge computer, and--best of all--they actually pay me to organize things! I think there really is a perfect job for everyone.

I'm also writing a crochet book for chronicle--Crochet to Go, due in SP07. If you know how to crochet (or live near me and want to learn), let me know! I'd love to have some people test my patterns. The project list isn't final yet, so email if you have any great ideas for stuff.

My friend Brooks asked me a few weeks ago what was going to take the biggest hit from the new job--reading or tv/movie watching. TV viewership is definitely way down (though thanks to the crochet, I'm still logging in about an hour a day on the couch). Books are suffering, but not as much as I'd feared. So don't worry--it looks like I'll have at least 6 titles to review this month, maybe more.

September 2005 Book Reviews

I made it through a fairly substantial list this month. Next month's will be shorter (more on why in a post later this week). I've bolded titles of particular interest.

1. Finding Fish, Antwone Fisher, Rating 2.4
Don't bother with this book--rent the movie instead. While I generally think books tend to be better than the movies that are made of them, this is definitely an exception to the rule. Another one that comes to mind is Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.
2. A Widow for One year, John Irving, Rating: 3.7
Irving is usually a sure thing--he writes well, and knows how to tell a story. That said, the subject of this book gets tedious. Try The Cider House Rules instead (which is better than the movie made of it).
3. Emily's Reasons Why Not, Carrie Gerlach, Rating: 2.1
Why do I continue to read chic lit? It's so rarely worthwhile.
4. My Year of Meats, Ruth Ozeki, Rating: 4.9
Probably the sixth time I've read this, and it's still amazing. For why I like it, see my top 10 list.
5. The Inner Circle, T.C. Boyle, Rating: 3.8
I read my first Boyle book late last year (Drop City; it's on Elese's top 10 and is definitely worth reading), and was excited to dive into this one. I frankly didn't love it, but I think it's my fault--I had just finished Kinsey and PBS's documentary on Kinsey, and had already had my fill on the subject (this book is a fictionalized version of Alfred Kinsey's life).
6. Mary After All, Bill Gordon, Rating: 3.0
A story of a New Jersey housewife. Decent writing, but I had trouble caring about the plot.
7. Skinny Dip, Carl Hiaasen, Rating: 3.7
This is my first Hiaasen book. I'll definitely read more--they're not earthshaking, but he's a funny writer and perfect for reading on vacation.
8. Complications, Atul Gawande, Rating: 4.3
Very good--Gawande is a surgical resident who writes with surprising clarity and depth about issues facing modern medicine. If you read The New Yorker, you're probably familiar with him--he writes for them regularly.
9. The Horse Whisperer, Nicolas Evans, Rating: 3.0
I'm not a horse girl, and this book just didn't do it for me. It's similar to The Smoke Jumper, but less interesting.
10. The Baby Trail, Sinead Moriarty, Rating: 2.9
More chic lit. Again, why do I bother?
11. The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, Jane Smiley, Rating: 2.1
I've read Jane Smiley's novels in the past, and have liked them for the most part. This book, unfortunately, falls far short of the mark--it's just plain bad.
12. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares, Rating: 4.1
I'm a bit embarrassed to even admit that I read this, let alone give it such a high rating. It's very well done, though, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
13. Look at Me, Jennifer Egan, Rating: 2.8
This was a random library pick--it has pages of glowing reviews. I was drawn to the subject matter (identity; it's the story of a model who becomes unrecognizable after a major car accident). The plot, however, goes in strange directions--terrorism, the internet, lots of bad guys--and ultimately lost my interest.
14. The Amateurs, David Halberstam, Rating: 3.8
Halberstam is an exceptional writer. This book covers the lives of 4 world-class rowers, and their struggle to make it to and win in the Olympics. While I'm not particularly interested in rowing, but if you are (or even if you're interested in underappreciated Olympic sports or athletes in general), this is worth checking out.

Blog Maintenance

I've spent large chunks of time the last few days trying to figure out all the "high-tech" aspects of blogging. You'll now see that I've figured out how to post a picture in the profile section, and also have new links on the side of the page for book reviews and babies. Both are sparse right now, but will hopefully grow with time. I want to thank all of you readers who responded to the new book review section--I have a nice, growing list of books to read, and a few ideas for future columns. I think the first is going to be a top ten list, and then I'll tackle thematic lists. Please keep the recommendations coming--I've figured out the reservation system at the Berkeley library, and promise to try get to everything you're interested in.

I think it's been awhile since my last "pro-Oakland" rant. I went into the city this afternoon to water my aunt's plants, and got stuck in traffic for two hours trying to get home (a big rig full of beer lit on fire--it looked like parts of it actually imploded--and they shut the entire lower deck of the Bay Bridge down. The driver and his dog made it out safe.). I'm really happy to be back on the traffic-free side of the Bay. I think I'm going to stick to Bart from now on. [As an aside, as I drove past the wreck, pondering whether or not to listen to Bush's speech tonight--I've decided not to; I've already been frustrated enough for one day--I noticed several news vans recording the action. One of the reporters had set up a lawn chair and was catching some sun. For some reason, this made me really happy. I'm glad that see that people have the ability to keep everything in perspective.]

In other news, as of yesterday I'm one year closer to 30. I'm pleased to report that I didn't feel noticeably older this morning.

August Book Reviews

I've decided that the best way to do book reviews is on a monthly basis--I just can't see myself motivating to write after finishing each one. I'm also not sure that I'm up to adding comments for every title--in my journal, I use a rating system to differentiate titles, and just comment on the books I like. I think I'll stick to this system for now, though do let me know if it would be helpful to have more information.

Rating System:**
1 Barely Readable
2 Readable, with major flaws
3 Decent
4 Recommended
5 Excellent

**I'm not pretending to be the New York Times here. I used to rate books in terms of "quality," but have since come to terms with the fact that my taste often tends to be a little low-brow (my favorite book is Steven King's The Stand). My ratings are based entirely on whether or not a book was fun or interesting to read. Therefore, if you're in the market for a new book, stick with 3.5 and above ratings.

Another note: this list is long; I apologize for future short lists. I just have a little extra time on my hands these days.

1. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., by Sandra Gullard. Rating: 3.9
I blame Elese for getting me on this historical fiction kick. This series is a bit girly (though surprisingly chaste), and highly readable. The 3-volume set covers, with fairly well-researched details, the entire life of Napolean's first wife.
2. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe, By Sandra Gullard. Rating: 3.9
Volume 2 of the series.
3. The Last Great Dance on Earth, By Sandra Gullard. Rating: 3.9
Volume 3.
4. Princess, By Jean Sasson, Rating: 3.7
Not very well-written, but a well-intentioned (if oddly structured) look at the life of upper class Saudi women in the 1980s.
5. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, By Alexander McCall Smith. Rating: 2.8
What's the deal with this series? It's predictable and often downright boring.
6. Away From You, By Melanie Finn, Rating: 3.2
Memoir; story of a woman that returns to her childhood home in Africa to deal with unresolved father issues. Good descriptions of Africa in the 1960s and today, otherwise skipable.
7. Or Give Me Death, Ann Rinaldi, Rating: 2.9
I realized half-way through this book that it must be written for teens. It's more historical fiction, this time about the wife of Patrick Henry. The author takes major liberties with the story.
8. The Twins of Tribeca, Rachel Pine, Rating: 3.1
Chic-lit, but of the better variety. Whiny (they all are), but has decent insights into what it's like to be a movie publicist.
9. Losing It, Alan Cumyn, Rating 3.0
I read this three weeks ago, and the plot has already skipped my mind. I guess it wasn't that good. All I wrote down was "dark, formulaic, readable."
10. Snowed In, Christina Bartolomeo, Rating: 3.8
This poor book is actually quite good, and cursed with a chic-lit cover. I grabbed it at the library thinking I'd get something really light and fluffy for the weekend, and instead got genuine literary fiction. The author isn't quite there yet, but I'll watch for her future books. The plot is somewhat complicated, but it boils down to finding out who you are.
11. Population: 485, Michael Perry, Rating: 3.0
Another library book, with yet another misleading cover. The jacket claims it's about finding entrance into a community by being a volunteer firefighter. It is about being a volunteer firefighter, but this guy never finds a community. You get the distinct feeling that he wrote this book so that people would think he has friends. It's weird.
12. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute, Rating: 4.7
I mentioned this in a previous post--please read it. Ignore everything else on this list. It's really, really good.
13. On the Beach, Nevil Shute, Rating: 4.2
Decent, but read A Town Like Alice instead.
14. The Smoke Jumper, Nicolas Evans, Rating: 4.1
I really liked this, probably because it was a book on tape. I've been painting the living room and dining room, and it passed the time well.

Book Reviews

Meet Finn

Here's the latest addition to team Oakland--a very big, beautiful, healthy little boy. His parents Shawn and Lisa Hazen are happy to have him home at last. His full name is Finian Lucas Hazen, he weighed in at 9lbs. 1oz., and his birthday is September 8th (see? another Virgo!).

Hannah's Birthday

I've been thinking a lot about ways to repurpose this blog. My life really isn't all that interesting these days, so it's a bit difficult to write. I also don't have a camera anymore, although I plan to correct that issue soon. I'm thinking about perhaps starting to post a few book reviews, as soon as I can figure out how to do sidebars on the site--I'd like to take advantage of that book journal I started a few years ago and post a few lists (top 10 titles, best books on Africa, etc.). The best book I've read in the past few fews is A Town Like Alice (thanks to Hayden's dad Wib for the recommendation). It covers a lot of ground--prisoners of war, losing loved ones, building a town, romance--and is extremely well written. The author, Nevil Shute, is better known for On the Beach, but A Town Like Alice is much better.

Other than reading, I've been painting the house, watching way too much TV (I'm hooked on Scrubs right now), interviewing for jobs, and seeing friends. Hannah, pictured above with her husband Gabe, is a friend from college who has kindly agreed to be my workout partner. We've only gone once so far, but I think with two people we're a bit more likely to motivate ourselves to go.

Also thinking of Hannah, I've realized that nearly half of my friends have birthdays in August or September (Hannah's was a few weeks ago). What does that say about me? I'm not sure.

The Great Pie-Off

I think many of you will remember my victorious turn in the 6th annual Oakland Pie-Off two years ago--my Ginger Peach (my second pie effort ever, I should add) came in 9th in a pool of over 90 pies. I regard this as one of my greatest accomplishments. I missed the 2004 contest, but this year's was yesterday. I'd like to thank the contributors to this year's pie--Matthew Africa (graphic designer, pie baker) and Brooks and Autumn (official taste testers).

Flavor? Banana cream.

How to make the perfect pie? Bake, bake, and bake again. We tried four variations on Saturday:
-Cook's Illustrated Vanilla Cream with bananas, traditional flake crust with graham cracker crumbs baked in.
-New York Times Cookbook sour cream banana filling, graham cracker crust
-Pie Every Day graham cracker crust and oreo crust (this second was a failure; apparently you're supposed to scrape out the cream filling before grinding the cookies); berry-cheese cake filling (I was in the mood for cheesecake)

The winner: Cook's Illustrated crust, NYT sour cream banana filling. The filling really is exceptional--I loved it and I don't even like banana pies.

The verdict? Nothing! There are 5 official pie categories, of which banana falls into "other." Apparently the judges this year decided that they would only advance "other" pies that were entirely non-traditional. Mango made it to the final round.

While both Matt and I are taking this loss hard, I'm determined to try again and crack the top five. Any votes for next year's flavor? Post a comment.

Camping on Mount Tam

Well, I'm back. I've ignored the blog for a few weeks--it's harder to write these things when you're not going to a new city every few days. I have been to a number of interesting places, however. Zac and Eliza Sorenson-Wald (my former nieghbors) were kind enough to take me in for the first two weeks. They have a beautiful daughter, Sophie, who's learning to talk and is a lot of fun to be around. She calls me "A-Gee-Sha."

Liza, Sophie, Walker (Sophie's best friend), and Walker's parents Kiera & Steve and I spent a night last week up at the West Point Inn on Mount Tam. It's a hike-in hotel (2-3 miles each way, which is rather hard with two toddlers in tow) with incredible views. There's a fully equipped kitchen and a fun common room. I'd definitely do it again. While it's not exactly a romantic getaway--you share the common space with all the other guests--it's perfect for an outting with a group of friends.

Beaches in Oakland?

Yes, they do exist. I had never visited Lake Temescal before, but I had clearly been missing out. The water is clean (much cleaner than Lake Anza, the lifeguards are proud to say), there's a great area for laps, and it's just two exits off the freeway from my house. Sophie likes it too.

The beach in Alameda

There are beaches in Alameda, too--who knew? Zac and Eliza's favorite stretch is right by the MacDonald's--there's tons of parking, very few crowds, and a Trader Joe's for shopping when you're done.

Sophie, aspiring blogger

Boston-Nonquitt-New York City

I'm stateside at last! I flew back 9 days ago and have been enjoying summer in New York and New England. I never thought I'd say this, but east coast weather is a major relief. The last week I spent in Paris was humid and extremely hot. It never cools down--it's 90 degrees at 8 am, at noon, and at midnight. I don't think I've ever sweated so much.

Boston was a great place to return to. I stayed with Hayden's parents in Brookline, and was able to relax and slowly recover from my jet lag. We took a trip down to Nonquitt (just west of cape cod) to visit Anne and Charlie Alexander. It's a gorgeous place. There are marshlands, beaches, forests, and beautiful homes. It felt like a great place to go to unwind. I particularly enjoyed sitting in their backyard and watching birds and squirrels competing for the best food from the bird feeder.

I've picked up the pace in New York. I'm staying on the lower east side with friends Gabe and Lisa. Lisa's apartment is next door to the Hell's Angels headquarters, which was jumping on the fourth of July. Generally speaking, I think they're good neighbors to have--new recruits are posted outside 24 hours a day to watch the bikes, so there's always some burly man around keeping an eye out for trouble. I met Kevin this morning, who politely introduced himself and asked if I was a new neighbor. On the fourth, however, they were less than ideal neighbors--there's nothing like 100 Harleys racing the block to keep you up all night.

I watched the fireworks from a rooftop in Tudor Village, a fancy collection of highrises on 42nd street near the east river. While I've heard several people complain that the show was disappointing this year, I loved it. We (Jessica, Colin, baby Charlotte, and I) were nearly at eye level with the display, and so close that we could smell the smoke.

I've spent a lot of time with little Charlotte the last few days--she's absolutely beautiful and wonderfully well behaved. Jessica and I took her to the new MoMA yesterday (which is wonderful, by the way) and she just gazed thoughtfully at the Pissarro/Cezanne exhibit, then slept for an hour while we toured the rest of the museum. We're thinking about tackling the Guggenheim this afternoon.

I've also seen the City Museum of New York (mediocre) and hope to get to the Jewish History Museum (big exhibit of Maurice Sendak's art) and the Tenement Museum. That should hopefully fill my art quota for the rest of the year.

I'm flying home on Tuesday. While I'm a little reluctant to get back to my real life (read: get a job), it will be great to be home.

Where I Actually Went

Jeanne in Figeac

Jeanne on the trail.

Have you ever thought about the goats that goat cheese comes from? Check out those udders!

Jeanne above Cajarc

The river in Cajarc

A prehistoric burial site.

Abandoned building along the trail.

Cahors

The famous bridge in Cahors

Carcassonne

Avignon's famous bridge.

Southern France

I'm having technical difficulties, and unfortunately am having troubles getting my photos up. I'll try again later this week--some of them look spectacular.

I loved southern France. Avignon wins the prize for city that I'd most like to live in.

After leaving Figeac, we hiked for three days through tiny little towns until we reached Cahors. I'd definitely recommend the hike that we did, or even a drive through the area. The first two days were very tough, the third almost impossible, largely because of the weather--it was 75 degrees the first 2 days, and over 100 on the third. We wandered along dirt trails and old roman roads past churches, hamlets, hundreds of cows, prehistoric burial mounds, and field after field of the most beautiful wildflowers I've ever seen.

My favorite quotes from my sister:
"This is more intense than I expected"
"I've never had a workout that made my legs this sore"

Both are quite apt. Oddly, what hurt the most for me were my hips, I think because of the weight of my pack. I also have blistered feet, abrasions on my back from the pack rubbing, and bruises on my sternum from the pack as well. It was definitely a very physical experience! I'm really glad we made it as far as we did. I feel quite proud of our efforts.

Favorite places along the way:

Faycelles: a "town of flowers." It consists of about 20 homes positively overflowing with flowers.

Grealou: about 10 houses with a stunning graveyard.

Cajarc: average town with a way-above-average river view. There's a campground right next to the river with canoe rentals, and mountain climbing right behind it. It would be a great place to spend a few days.

Varaire: possibly my favorite town along the route. It's a small farming community with 1 hostel and a great restaurant. We had dinner family style with a dozen other hikers from Germany, Spain, Holland, France, and Switzerland, all of whom had hiked other areas of the trail before. I really enjoyed talking to them. Useful pieces of information: after three days, your muscles adjust to the walking, and the spanish portion of the trail is much easier.

Cahors: the obvious highlight of Cahors is Pont Valentre, a massive bridge built in the 14th century. It's remarkably well preserved. I particularly enjoyed walking through the medieval quarter, a maze of narrow streets and ancient homes. We learned a bit about local history from a young Frenchman eager to practice his English. It was the first time that I've been told that I have a strong accent, which I suppose I do if you're used to hearing the queen's english.

On Saturday we caught a train to Carcassonne, one of the best preserved walled towns in all of europe. It's breath-taking, and extremely hard to take at the same time. After several days of being away from the tourist track, I was completely overwhelmed by the crowds. The best way to do Carcassonne? Spend the day exploring the countryside and arrive in the town after 5. The church and museum are skipable, and you could easily explore the town by night.

Below the walled city is the living town of Carcassonne, which deserves a visit as well. It's missing the castle and walls, but is equally old--the central market has existed in the same location for nearly 1000 years.

From Carcassonne, we took another train to Avignon, the city of my dreams. It has the elegance and history of Paris--it was the seat of the catholic church in the 13th century--all the charm and friendliness of a small town, and is in the curve of a spectacular river. I didn't see anyone practicing water sports, but it looked ideal for waterskiing. It's also were Cote du Rhone wine comes from, and a lot of amazing cheese.

I'm back in Paris now, and plan to stay put until my flight home on the 28th. I can't believe the journey is almost over!

The Chemin de St. Jacques, Days 1-3

I just finished the three most intense hiking days of my life. I'm a swollen, bruised mess, but am very proud of myself for making it this far.

My sister (I'll post pictures next week for those of you that don't know her) arrived in Paris on Sunday, and we took a long train ride to Figeac (it's near Cahors in southern France, if you'd like to look it up) on Tuesday. It's an ancient town--many of the buildings are over 800 years old. If you're into medieval architecture, Figeac is the place to go. The plan: hike from Figeac to Mossaic in six days along the traditional pilgrimage route. The Chemin de St. Jacques has multiple routes throughout europe, culminating at the northwesternmost tip of Spain. The route (especially the Spanish portion) has gained a lot of popularity in recent years.

We've survived the first three days, traveling from Figeac to Cahors.
Day 1: 31 km
Day 2: 27 km
Day 3: 31 km

Jeanne and I are completely exhausted. I'm actually too tired to write for long, but promise a complete update in a few days. The countryside is gorgeous beyond belief, and we've made numerous friends along the way. I think we're throwing in the towel tomorrow, and plan to take the train to Avignon for a few days to let the blisters heal.

More to come...

Welcome Charlotte Claire Stokes

I think many of you have met, or heard of, Hayden's sister Jessica. She just had a beautiful baby girl on June 7th--7 lbs, 8 oz., 19.5 inches.

Bordeaux

I didn't love Bordeaux--it's very similar in appearance to Paris, just a bit more run down and with three times the dog poop on the street. I got the impression that the Bordeaux region is the place to visit, not the city itself.

I did like visiting the belfry of the Basilique St-Michel. At one time, it was a notorious prison--after the criminals died, their bodies were placed outside, for all to see. The pictures were disturbing, to say the least--dozens of rotting corpses propped against the wall. Now it's just a bell tower, but one that includes access to the inner workings of the bells. I enjoyed watching how everything works.

El Escorial

I really enjoyed seeing El Escorial. In addition to holding one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, it has amazing art, a massive series of burial chambers, and a spectacular cathedral (including a crucifix of Jesus with real hair, which I don't think I've ever seen before). It goes on and on. There's a carefully marked path that visitors have to follow, and for good reason--it's quite possible that you could get lost and never find your way out. Oddly, there were hardly any other tourists at all. Everything is thoughtfully labeled in English.

El Escorial

Inside the Hall of Battles. I carefully planned my outfit to match the walls.

Alicante

Alicante

The beach to the left is where we spent our days. Alicante is on a major shipping line--I enjoyed watching the freighters pass by, like the one in the back of this picture.

Toledo

The entire town looks just like this--ancient, well-maintained 2-4 story buildings, narrow passageways, and huge tarps overhead. It's a smart idea--it was over 100 degrees the day we visited, and the shade really helped.

Toledo

Toledo, the old town, is atop a hill surrounded by medieval walls. Immediately outside the walls in every direction there's a fair amount of modern construction, as you can see here.

Night view of the Alhambra

This is taken from the San Nicolas viewpoint that I mentioned earlier--it's well worth the climb to see.

The Generalife, Granada

This section (the gardens) the Alhambra was by far the most attractive, in my opinion. Everything else is incredibly dry and dusty. Doesn't "generalife" sound like the name of an insurance company?

Granada

Inside the Alhambra.

Switzerland

Sun Hee, Elese, and Alicia on the Thun See.

Grindelwald

I don't know if Heidi was actually supposed to be from Grindelwald (they do have a Heidi museum), but doesn't this look exactly how the story describes?

Innsbruck

If you can believe it, this isn't even the top. We took yet another cable car after this point.

Innsbruck

This is about 2/3s of the way up the mountain. Austria, like Switzerland, is a country that believes any place worth visiting deserves a bar. I'm sitting on the balcony of one.

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is stunning. Elese is standing at the base of the cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain. As you can tell from what Elese is wearing, the valley itself manages to stay quite warm while the Alps retain much of their snow layer.

Salzberg

Salzberg--it rained the entire time. This picture pretty much sums up the experience there.

Hallstatt

Directly across the lake from Hallstatt--much flatter terrain. There are year-round ice caves in the mountains right behind me.

Hallstatt

Here's Elese on one of our numerous hikes in the area. We actually went much higher, but there gives you a good idea of what the views were like. The church below is next to the 12th century chapel with skulls that I mentioned earlier, and surrounded by beautifully maintained, contemporary gravesites. The whole skull thing came about as a practicality--the graveyard was too small to accomodate new bodies. After twelve years, you were dug up and added to the collection in the chapel. These days (the population is much smaller), you need to specifically request in your will do be placed there.

Madrid (Museums)-Toledo-Alicante

The art in Madrid is amazing. Mind-blowing. Spectacular. I´m actually struggling for adjectives here--let´s just say that I´ve seen some of the best art of my trip. I´d recommend spending at least 3-4 days in the city, and doing one museum a day, rather than packing them all in and risking brain overload.

My favorite is the Thyssen Bornemisza, recommended by my friend Jessica Walling-Stokes. I was initially skeptical when she told me it was one of her top three of all time, but I have to agree. It covers art from about 1600 to the present (earlier work from the collection is at the MNAC in Barcelona) and includes more than 800 paintings. The collection is arranged in such a way that it´s possible to see the development of numerous art styles. The audioguide explains why changes occurred, and also goes into considerable depth about the contributions and talents of individual artists. I´m proud to say that I finally understand Rothko.

I also visited the Prado, which was overwhelming in size (here´s a staggering fact for you: the Prado only has room to display about 1,700 of the 19,000 plus works in its collection. Plans are underway to make a space large enough for it all. Can you imagine trying to see all of that in one day?). The Prado is much more specific in scope and artists (I think there were 8 rooms devoted to El Greco, for example), and much more crowded. If forced to choose, I´d definitely say that the Thyssen collection is better, but why choose? Any trip to Madrid is worth seeing both.

I´ve noticed over the years that people generally have a strong preference for Madrid or Barcelona. I´m definitely in the Madrid camp. The city is organized, easy to explore (really good public transportation system), and full of interesting people. Elese and I spent a lot of time wandering and discovering new things--a large music market outside the Prado, numerous squares filled with cafes, foreign language movie theaters (we saw Star Wars, which was quite watchable).

A note on the food in Spain: how do people survive on it? I´m ready to eat some fruit and veggies--everything here is fried or a starch. It´s quite good, but leaves you feeling very vitamin deprived. I´m reading ¨The New Spaniards,¨which talks about how the Spanish diet has actually dramatically improved in the last two decades--it used to be almost entirely potato and bread based. I´ve also found that Spain is a three drink a day place (at least)--most people have their first cocktail at lunch and continue on through the small hours of the night.

Elese and I took a day trip to Toledo on the 4th. The town is charming, very medieval, and incredibly hot. For the first time in our trip, it topped 100 degrees. I loved being there, and was glad to just be there for the day, if that makes sense. It´s actually the first town in Spain I´ve been in that I thought I could tolerate studying abroad in. The tourist sights are limited and disappointing, but the place itself could be fun to live in.

The highlight of our day there? We stumbled across an art opening for Donovan Wylie and Art Chantry. Chantry wasn´t there, but I did get up the nerve to talk to Wylie (he´s an Irish photographer). I´ve really had a hard time finding new people to relate to in Spain, and this opening was packed with ¨our people.¨Finally people over 20! That care about art! They even served free food and drinks.

We´re now in Alicante for three days, and will return to Madrid for a final trip to El Escorial before Elese flies out. Alicante is on the Costa Blanca, near Valencia. It´s clearly a tourist destination, but more of a place that Spanish people vacation, not foreigners. I feel incredibly relaxed here. The food has been wonderful (we ate at an upscale restaurant called Entre Tapas y Vino last night and had local cheese, local wine, and several delicious fish dishes), and the beach is clean, sandy, and full of interesting people to look at. Both of us are sporting odd red spots from the places we missed covering with sunscreen, but we´re pretty happy.

Elese says she´s very happy and loves the beach here. She´s hoping she´s not too sunburned...

Granada-Madrid

I mentioned in my last post that my initial impression of Granada was quite favorable. I´ve decided that Ronda is still holding the top Spain position, but Granada is a close second. It´s very different from the other cities I´ve been in--gritty, full of life, a bit untamed. I frequently felt that something--anything--could happen there. Elese and I witnessed our first bag snatching (Elese was actually pushed out of the way by the sprinting thief), saw homes built in caves, wandered through a gypsy neighborhood, and had numerous other unique experiences.

Tourists (lots of them) go to Granada to see the Alhambra. I´d highly recommend going there, but don´t make it your primary reason for visiting--the city itself is more interesting. The Alhambra, like the Alcazar in Seville, is a massive palace complex inMoorish style (in the case of the Alhambra, it´s authentic; at the Alcazar it´s someone´s idea of what Moorish style should look like). All you see is the physical structure. I wish that someone would put some time into bringing the place to life, either through the audioguide or through some furnishings or pictures. It´s very hard to visualize what the place looked like when occupied. The gardens are lovely, and have great views of the city.

This isn´t to say that I didn´t like the Alhambra; I just was a bit bored by it. I definitely preferred the two walks Elese and I took up into Sacromonte (the gypsy neighborhood with cave houses) and the Albayzin (an ancient Moorish neighborhood with winding streets and a phenomenal view of the Alhambra. We watched the sunset from the San Nicolas viewpoint, a view made famous by President Clinton´s visit while he was in office. Sacromonte was fascinating--it didn´t exactly feel unsafe, just unpredictable. I didn´t see many gypsies living there (Granada apparently has a population of 50,000 gypsies, the largest in Spain)--the area has been taken over by ¨drop-outs¨, for lack of a better term. Granada teemed with these people--a youngish, international crowd of unwashed, dreadlocked, haven´t-called-home-in-several-years crew. I definitely got the feeling that the city is a place you can disappear in.

Another reason to love Granada: free food. Bars serve a dish (we had fried fish, paella, and numerous small sandwiches) with every drink you order. It´s awesome--the beers cost about $1.50, and you can nibble all night.

The weather is still coolish (though rapidly getting hotter), which has actually worked in our favor. It´s much easier to tour cities this way (I can´t imagine how tourists normally deal with the Alhambra--we were in the direct sun for 6 hours there, which is hard enough to take when the weather is below 80, let alone 100). We´ve changed our plans yet again to take advantage--Madrid, Toledo, the beach on Sunday and Monday, then back to Madrid.

We´re touring Madrid at a leisurely place. Last night we visited the Reina Sofia (modern art) Museum. I really enjoyed it, despite the fact that I only liked 2 sculptures and 3 paintings out of the entire collection. Odd. I can´t quite put my finger on why it was still a good experience--maybe the setting? The lighting was great, and the crowds were minimal.

So far today we´ve walked from el centro (where we´re staying) through the various famous plazas to the plaza de espana and back along the gran via, the main shopping street. We stopped at the Palacio Real (royal palace) for a brief tour. If you´re into palaces, it´s a painless one to visit, and is quite attractive (it´s the third best in Europe, after Versailles and the Schonbrunn in Vienna). The crowds were nothing like those I battled at Versailles.

We much preferred an art exhibit we stumbled into across the street. The new cathedral (a spectacular work of modern architecture) had been completely turned into a museum space dedicated to works about the Virgin Mary (pretty much just her--no pictures of her holding the baby Jesus). They were grouped thematically--Mary with Saint Anne, Mary standing on top of a snake, Mary in dark blue, Mary in light blue, Mary with angels, etc. It was fascinating. Each piece listed where it was from--whoever curated the show really pillaged the churches of Spain. These weren´t small works--many were 20 foot statues or 40 foot paintings.

We also more-or-less stumbled into a publishing exhibit on Don Quixote at the National Library (Elese likes libraries, so we went a bit out of our way to see this one). The lower level was dedicated to first editions of the book--over 300 of them. The first printing ever, the first illustrated edition, the first Africaans edition, the first edition in two parts, etc., plus numerous hand printed and bound copies. Oddly, they didn´t have the edition illustrated by Picasso, the art from which is plastered all over Spain.

This afternoon: the Thyssen Museum. We´re saving a day next week for the Prado.

Elese´s comments:
As usual Alicia sums things up very well. I agree with Alicia that the Alhambra wasn´t all I was expecting it to be - the gardens at the Alcazar in Seville were definitely more stunning - but I don´t want to give short shrift to the beautiful tile work and ceilings in the actual palace (Palacio Nazaries) in the Alhambra. I loved Granada in general. It felt very "other" and exotic.

Alicia has been very game to trek to see libraries so far on this trip & I would like to thank her for that. The last library on the list is in El Escorial (a day trip away from Madrid) ...

A few more unordered thoughts about Spain:
- The big male hairstyle here, and in Austria & Switzerland, is the Duck - a mix of mullet, faux-hawk & rat-tail. It´s awful and it´s everywhere.
- There appear to be no paper products in Spain, outside of toilet paper.
- After a full day of sightseeing, it´s difficult to stay up late enough to take advantage of the Spanish nightlife.

Oh and I´m adding these comments to the post after we visited the Thyssen-Bornemizsa Museum & I know that Alicia will have a lot to say about it but I give it two thumbs way up. I was overwhelmed. It was inspiring.

Nerja

The "Balcony of Europe." Even on a gray day, Nerja is a very pretty place. The balcony juts out over the cliffs, with beaches on either side.

Ronda

Ronda's famed medieval view--it's worth visiting just to see this in person.

Ronda--the bullfighting ring

I'm in my bullfighting stance, ready for action.

Ronda-Nerja

Ronda is my favorite city in Spain (I made it to Granada this afternoon, and just love it so far, so this impression may change). It is a tiny hill town in southern Spain, famed for its bullring, gorge-spanning bridge, and 13th century walls. Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway both frequented it (A Death in the Afternoon is based on experiences he had there). This quote from Hemingway sums up the experience well:

¨There is a place in Spain that is the ideal spot to watch a bullfight for the first time...I am referring to the town of Ronda...the perfect place to visit with a girlfriend or to spend a honeymoon.¨

It is quite romantic; it´s a perfect place to wander and feel like you´re really Spanish. We had lunch in the garden of a moorish palace, walked along the top of the wall on the north end of down, and hiked down into a ravine to view an incredibly dramatic bridge. We both sweated buckets on the trail (which is paved and not really all that long, but it´s in full sun and the weather was about 90 degrees). The path was created around 1200 for Spanish slaves to bring water up to the town--I can´t imagine how grueling that experience was in August.

Next stop: Nerja. Elese and I are both fans of Rick Steves, and are visiting the towns that he recommends. They often tend to be off the beaten tourist track, which was quite apparent in Nerja. We´ve found that the average Rick Steves reader is 50, part of a couple, and middle class--definitely not many young people. Rick finds most of the Costa del Sol unpleasant, and Nerja is the only place that he considers still relatively authentic. It is a lovely place to visit. We planned to spend several days sunning on the beach (or rather the multiple beaches--you can walk to several in either direction). Unfortunately, the weather immediately turned and started raining. We did get into our swimsuits, but it was way too cold to last long.

I would recommend Nerja as a destination, however. Despite the weather we enjoyed wandering and watching the scene (primarily couples or families from Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands, with a healthy sampling of aging British expats). The food is plentiful and decent, the drinks flowing. We´re planning to try to make it to another beach town (one on the Costa Blanca) in a few days, once the weather improves.

Elese would like to let her friends and family know that she´s nearly over her cold and having a very nice time. We´re both excited to be in Granada, and will be touring the Alhambra tomorrow.

Enjoying a drink in Sevilla, part 1

Elese doesn't like this picture, so it may not last. I think it's great, though--doesn't it look like she's having fun? We're near the cathedral. As you can tell, it stays hot well into the evening.

Enjoying a drink in Sevilla, part 2