When we arrived at the Ambassador’s house, his housekeeper greeted us to open the big wrought iron gates. She was confused at first and said to us in perfect Spanish, “There is only one bed?” and we said “Great!” Till that moment we had been sleeping in the typical European king which is two twins pushed together and a crack the size of the Grand Canyon in between. In Lisbon, the front desk clerk had…
We got a call about a potential baby while we were on our way back to Spain. Another family had dropped out and the woman is due in a month. Our hearts swelled and then before we could respond she had chosen another family. I read a Saramago book on the way over – All the Names – he’s a Portuguese author and I’ve missed his other books that I’ve been meaning to read. I…
Down here in New Orleans we used to have Hurricane Parties – these were when a hurricane was approaching, everyone would bring all the food from their refrigerator and eat and drink and make merry. We don’t do that much anymore. In England, I heard while traveling, they are having Swine Flu parties – where everyone comes and someone who has it comes and they all get infected so they can build up immunities.
There are more Spanish visiting Spain’s coast this summer than ever! 300,000 Brits stayed behind. The recession is the reason. Hail hail the recession!
I met a woman who was thrilled to meet me. She’d never met a Jew she told me. She said she heard we don’t go out at night. I assured her we do.
Tatjana tells me a shortcut to get back to our town. She is a backseat driver. We are 8 kilometers away and I pull off to her shortcut. She’s proud of herself since she can’t read a map and is geographically challenged. (I am too, but she makes me look good.) An hour and a half later through an overgrown tree-covered winding road up and down and around a mountain we arrive to our town…
Upoznaj svoju zemlju da bije vise volio. In other words, learn about your country so you can love it more.
In the square in Caminha, we sat having a beer and a glass of vinho verde at a cafe at dusk and watched people and read. Two girls of around eight were chasing pigeons near the fountain. They looked almost like twins as they both had waterfall ponytails in the top of their head. One picked up a feather and stuck it in her hair and the other followed. Then they marched all around the…
Sitting at a cafe in Ceivera, north of Caminha. I was enjoying a glass of vinho verde made by the owners brought to me in a small glass carafe. It was crisp and delicious the way all wine should be that is young and of the region. All around me were families eating – Portuguese both local and from other parts. They all drank from cans of Lipton Iced Tea.
I left New Orleans after mom had been in ICU for a month because the prognosis was she was going to have to go into a long-term care facility and that was only after she had been on the acute floor, the skilled nursing floor, the whatever floor and I knew that it was going to be a long haul. Wow, I still can’t believe I left, but it was so good I went. For…