Who Says "There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch"?

A few weeks ago, we signed up to potentially attend a lunch at the Basque Culinary Center that would showcase the talents of the first-year class. Last week we got a call giving us the details of the lunch, which we barely remembered signing up for. Oops! 

The lunch took place this past Wednesday. It was a contest among teams made up of the first-year students, and was indeed completely free (even including wine pairings). We were overall very impressed with the food prepared by the students.

It was a beautiful day as we made our way up to the Basque Culinary Center, and noticed a new statue that had been installed since our last visit.

When we entered, we were directed to a particular table, which had the menu prepared by "our" team. It was a four-course meal consisting of a cold appetizer, a hot appetizer, an entree and dessert. As I said, we were impressed by the dishes overall, as well as the bread. The cold appertizer was a tomato tartare in an agridulce salsa; the hot appetizer a choux filled with liver (essentially a pate), which I thought was fantastic; the entree was an impressive entrecote with a demiglace; and the dessert was a combination of apple, brioche soaked in cider (yummy) and a soft cheese (somehow we failed to take a picture of dessert). As you can see, even the platings were impressive.

As for the wine pairings, they were interesting, and included a good local Txaikoli, a Basque orange wine and a white wine pairing with the steak. We felt the last was a bold choice that worked, but we would have preferred red.

Unfortunately, our team did not win any of the four awards that were given out, and we were feeling a bit of FOMO wondering about the meals prepared by the other teams. Nonetheless, it was hard to feel too bad about a free four-course lunch.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana

 

An Immersion in Art & Architecture & Spanish in Galicia – My First Solo Trip (April 24-28)

As members of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, we have taken part in several special events. Among the recent options, we noticed a trip focused on art and architecture that looked interesting, “Contemporary Galicia, Peering at the Atlantic.” The trip was 4 days and 3 nights with a super ambitious itinerary, which led Jeff to decide to skip it. I decided it was time to make my first solo trip.

The group included 22 people, plus our guide Mikel, who has led trips all over the world and is a true Renaissance man. There were 5 couples, 1 mother/daughter pair, and 10 women traveling solo or as friends. I estimate the average age of the group at 70+.

After a quick flight from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela, we headed south to Pontevedra to visit the RAC Foundation, hosted by founders Carlos Roson and Julieta Rojo. They showed us their current exhibition, and the parts of their collection displayed in their residence above the foundation space.

Later that day, we viewed the private home collection of Marianela Saez Silva in A Coruña. It included a fabulous Hockney, among many other notable pieces, and even a large garden sculpture.

Both hosts shared the philosophy that art should be communal and not hidden away. While I agree with this concept, walking through their homes was somewhat awkward, especially due to the size of our group. These were the nicest residences I have visited in Spain by far.

We also had a guided tour of the sculpture exhibition at the headquarters of Afundacion Obra Social Abanca in A Coruña, a cultural center in a stunning building designed to look like a wave, which my photo attempts failed to show.

After that full day, which included a lovely lunch, we finally checked into our hotel in A Coruña, which is a beautiful seaside city. It was clear that Jeff had made the right decision for him, and that I would be very tired when this trip ended.

Friday included 5 stops and a lot of time on the bus. We had a guided tour of the private collection at the Maria Jose Jove Foundation, which was displayed in a museum setting. The art was diverse and extensive.

Those small balls are made from a South American tree nut with carved messages, some are in protest and others inspirational.

We then saw the Irving Penn Centennial exhibition at the MOP Foundation, located in the A Coruña port. Penn is best known as a Vogue fashion photographer, but he explored many other subject matters. Our guide was a tremendous storyteller and shared some fascinating tales.

We ventured down to Corrubedo to see works by British architect David Chipperfield, including eating lunch at a local bar he designed.

Afterwards we met two sculptors at their studios. First we stopped at the Manolo Paz Contemporary Art Foundation in Cambados, where Paz led us through his outdoor estate. His sculptures are predominantly nature based and the setting was peaceful.

Paz is standing next to me in the group photo.

Francisco Leiro’s studio was an amazing lesson in how giant wooden sculptures are made. I can attest that the artist has all 10 fingers. He was incredibly patient with our questions.

Leiro is the tall man in the center of the group photo.

Saturday, we spent the day in Santiago de Compostela for an architectural journey. We explored the complex of buildings that constitute the Galicia City of Culture, including the Library, Archive and Museum, designed by Peter Eisenman. Their design and materials are intended to reflect the local geography, archaeology, and history. It is one of those projects that never fully came to fruition due to significant cost overruns.

The views down to the famous cathedral were most impressive. An added bonus were the Manolo Paz sculptures that look like donuts.

We next saw an odd mix of buildings in a city park, none of which I found particularly attractive or photo-worthy but certainly made for an interesting study in contrast. We moved on to David Chipperfield’s RIA Foundation, where he showed us around personally and explained their mission of sustainability … in English, which was nice for me.

Chipperfield is dead center in the photo. Lunch at A Cantina RIA was so good that I’m taking Jeff back when we return to Galicia in June for a wine trip. Afterwards we had a tour of the Galician Center for Contemporary Art, another architectural wonder. Finally we made our way to the cathedral to consider the classical Portico de la Gloria, where we also witnessed part of the service in honor of the Pope’s funeral, which was that day.

Sunday began with a coastal walk in A Coruña, where we saw more sculptures by Manolo Paz and others as we enjoyed the views towards Hercules Tower and the sea and sunshine.

The views from the exterior of the Casa del Hombre-DOMUS science museum on such a sunny day were spectacular.

Our last stop, before our farewell lunch, was a guided tour of the Belles Artes Museum, whose collection of Galician artists was impressive, including works by our new friends Paz and Leiro.

As you can see, it was an exhilarating, edifying, yet exhausting trip. I only ate dinner one of the three nights, and not because I was hungry, but more because I wanted to walk around the area near the hotel before leaving. Otherwise, I was too tired and needed a break from listening to and speaking Spanish all day. I understood almost everything but noticed that if I lost concentration for a moment, I would be lost for a few minutes before refocusing. 

Overall, it was a fabulous trip. Everything was well-organized and executed with precision, which was key considering all the stops we made. The group was highly sociable and pleasant. I learned a lot and made some friends. And traveling without having to make many decisions was a delight. If another interesting trip was offered, I would certainly consider it.

Hasta pronto,

Shana

Dog Sitting

As soon as we returned from our trip to Slovakia, Hungary, and La Rioja, we had a visitor for four nights. Fortunately, this visitor only weighs about nine pounds. Unfortunately, she is a bundle of energy (despite the impression from the first picture below).

Oliva belongs to a friend of our friend Maje; and, while her owner was in Brazil over Semana Santa, Maje was dog-sitting. But, she also had plans to travel during that time, so she outsourced four nights to us. 

As most of our readers know, we are huge dog fans, so we thought this would be no problem and loads of fun. Unfortunately, several factors made this more difficult than we expected. First, we had not had a dog in 8 years, and we hadn't had a young, active dog (Oliva is not yet two) in even more years. Second, having a dog in an apartment, especially one on the fifth floor, is much more complicated than in a house with a yard. Third, it rained a good amount and Oliva doesn't like the rain much.

Fortunately, Oliva is extremely sweet, and is so cute that when we walked her, we could see people on the street notice her. She was particularly adorable when we took her to the beach, which she loves, although she is not a dog that will go in the ocean (which is a good thing because we did not want to have to give her a bath).

So, we learned that we will not be getting another dog anytime soon, if ever. Frankly, we're not even sure  we would take Oliva overnight again, although we would gladly watch her during the day.

Hasta pronto.

Jeff and Shana

La Rioja: Friends, Vineyards & Bikes

We always try to meet up with friends who are visiting Spain or other nearby destinations. Thus, we were disappointed when we couldn’t see our dear friends Jill & Peter in October, when they were in Madrid helping their daughter settle into a teaching position, because we were in the US. So, when they planned another visit, we knew we would not miss seeing them in Spain again – even if it meant meeting them directly upon our return from Hungary.

Upon landing in Bilbao from Vienna, we took a bus into the city to then catch a bus to Logroño where we arrived around 1 pm. Jill & Peter were waiting for us there, having driven from Zaragoza where they got to witness a traditional Spanish Semana Santa celebration the night before – something we´ve never seen despite living here more than 7 years.

We hadn't been in Logroño since February 2019, so we were overdue for a visit. We explored the city a bit and then took them on a pintxo crawl on Laurel Street, where there are numerous well-known pintxo bars. We tried whatever looked best and we were not disappointed. The last place we visited only served 1 thing – sauteed mushrooms with butter and garlic and topped with shrimp. The place was packed!

Our main adventure was a full day self-guided bike ride that included 2 winery stops. It was a beautiful day that started out cool but eventually warmed up.

We rode more than 30 miles – thankfully we were smart enough to rent e-bikes! There were several hills that made having the power assist essential. We could see snow in the distance, and the vines were just starting to bloom. A portion of where we rode is part of the Camino del Santiago, so we passed a number of pilgrims.

We enjoyed the two tastings at Don Jacobo/Bodegas Corral and Bodega Finca Valpiedra. Thankfully both wineries were very understanding regarding our tardy arrival. It took us a bit longer than expected to make it to each.

We did make it nearly on time to meet Jill & Peter’s daughter back in Logrono and then enjoyed a fabulous dinner that we had earned.

On our last day in La Rioja we visited the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture, which was as good as we remember from our visit in 2011.

We took a bus back to San Sebastian and Jill, Peter & Hailey headed to Burgos, before returning to Madrid.

It was a great visit – good friends, good wine, good food, good scenery. Can you ask for anything more?

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff