“The Routine” vs. “On the Road”

Having spent the past 3+ months in San Sebastian, we’ve had the chance to reflect on what it means to be at home and in our routine, as opposed to on the road and living moment to moment. Clearly there are benefits and advantages to both. If we had to choose, seeing as we love to travel, being on the move would likely win out.

Our routine here is simple – we’re at the gym 6 days a week, at yoga 4 or 5 days a week (Shana), cooking and eating most meals at home, reading a lot, keeping in touch with family and friends, going out with friends here, enjoying local events, planning next trips, and watching whatever might catch our fancy, which for the next several months will be baseball. Sleeping in your own bed and being in your own space are a pleasure.

But the road is calling. We are about to embark on a 17-day trip to Bratislava, Budapest, two smaller destinations in Hungary, and La Rioja, Spain. And then I’ll be going to Galicia for a 4-day art and architecture tour with the Guggenheim Museum. April will be full of adventure, and we are looking forward to it. While there will be several long travel days involved, the planning process has made us excited and hungry. (Budapest is quite the foodie destination.) There will be lots of posts coming about what we encounter.

In the meantime, March was not dull. I was in Bilbao for an introductory meeting for the Galicia trip and saw two exhibits that were interesting. The first was “Master Works on Paper from Budapest,” an assembly of drawings, etchings, etc. from the extensive collection at the Fine Arts Museum in Budapest, which we will be visiting. It included works by da Vinci and Raphael, as well as Van Gogh and Degas (seen below).

The exhibit detailed the history and evolution of drawing through several centuries. Drawings can be a final product but may be a draft for a future work. There were some reals gems, and I enjoyed the lavender display background, which was an unusual choice but worked for me.

The second exhibit, “Tarsila do Amaral. Painting Modern Brazil,” featured a female artist who is considered one of Brazil’s finest artists. She led an interesting life, partially in exile during the Brazilian dictatorship, and is beloved. Her works were colorful – a nice contrast to the drawings.

I also went to a Real Sociedad game, our local La Liga team. Their season has been a bit frustrating, but at least they won. Of course they were playing the last place team. Still, there are certain invitations that should not be declined.

Finally, we had the pleasure of meeting and hosting Oliva, a very cute dachshund, one evening. She will be spending a few days with us in April. We can’t wait to enjoy her company.

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff