Jazzaldia 2020 – A Jazz Festival Reworked for a Pandemic

This past week San Sebastian celebrated the 55^th edition of Jazzaldia, the city’s jazz festival (22-26 July). As you can imagine, nearly every public event has been cancelled in the city and around the country, which is especially disappointing during the summer season. But somehow the organizers of Jazzaldia figured out a way to put on this year’s event – albeit in a highly modified way.

We love Jazzaldia and look forward to it every year, so I kept a close eye on the program as it was developed and revised. The first thing they did was cancel all the free, outdoor concerts. You might recall that last year we saw Joan Baez in concert on the beach. Well, that venue, and artists traveling to San Sebastian from outside Europe had to be jettisoned. Instead, they used four main indoor venues, determined that capacity would be limited to about 50%, invited local artists to perform, and cut ticket prices. As the event got closer, they added a few free outdoor concerts with seating at tables spaced wide apart.

Two concerts caught my eye. The first was a recreation of a famous Charlie Parker concert at Massey Hall (Toronto) in 1953, featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus y Max Roach. 2020 is the centennial of Parker’s birth, and this was a rousing tribute. Listening to “Salt Peanut,” in an ornate Victorian opera house built in 1912 was amazing. The quintet did justice to many jazz classics. About half of the seats were blocked off, so we were spaced apart from other guests. They even organized the post-concert exit to avoid crowding. And, of course, everyone wore their masks and used hand sanitizer.

The second concert was a piano soloist, Paul San Martin, who is from San Sebastian. This concert took place at the San Telmo museum, in the former church cloister, so it was outside. The piano was set at one juncture of the cloister and the crowd sat in two of the cloister halls facing the piano, with seats spaced apart in a zig-zag pattern. The vaulted ceilings created wonderful acoustics and the program included many easily recognizable pieces, including Edelweiss (a bluesy-jazzy version), Georgia, and Swanee River.

Both concerts were quite a treat, especially because we paid less than $20 for both. It was a terrific opportunity to do something “normal.” Whether going forward with the concerts was the best idea considering there are small outbreaks here and there in our area, but none in San Sebastian itself, remains to be seen. Life is about choices and in these times all we can do is hope that the decisions we make, and the authorities make, don’t have calamitous results.

Stay healthy and safe,

Shana & Jeff

“A Hotelcation”

Earlier this month we took a short “hotelcation.” Surely you’ve heard of a “staycation,” a vacation taken while staying home or close to home. A “hotelcation” is a vacation taken while staying in a hotel in your own city. On July 7 we checked in to the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra, which is located right on the La Concha Beach, for 2 nights and a change of scenery. It is nice to go to sleep and wake up to amazing views:

Our friend Ploy who worked at the hotel until it closed for the lockdown alerted us to an amazing “locals only” deal to be offered when the hotel reopened. The room rate was incredibly cheap for a 4-star hotel, especially for July and August with an ocean view and breakfast included, so we decided, why not? While it seemed silly to book a room in a hotel that is 15 minutes walking distance from our apartment, it also seemed like a good way to contribute to the local economy.

It turns out that a change of scenery was something we needed. We spent the first afternoon on the beach relaxing, had drinks at the patio bar, and then went out for pizza with Ploy & Carlos. We felt refreshed and relaxed by the time we sat down to enjoy our pizza. The next day we spent several hours on the beach – something we rarely do – and then acted like tourists in our own town walking through the old city before lunch. After kicking back during the afternoon, we headed out to dinner at Xarma Cook & Culture, a restaurant we had yet to try but that had been on our list for a while. It was a great meal, with terrific service since the place was almost empty. The waiter even guessed we were from LA! We especially enjoyed the most amazing grilled vegetables, and the pork sirloin tataki with cream of carrot, vanilla, and celery root with pearls of wasabi – a house specialty.

All in all, it was a nice little getaway. While the hotel was not even one-third full, it was good to see the hotel’s high level of attention to the sanitation measures required. which also made us feel that much more confident in our decision to visit. It was a good way to test out how we will experience travel from now on.

No regrets,

Shana & Jeff

Our Visit to a Basque Food Society

Basque food societies ("sociedades") are private clubs where people (usually men) meet to cook and share food. Traditionally, the societies were a place for men to get together because their wives did not want them in the kitchen at home (Basque culture is matriarchal). In addition, most societies include groups that perform in the annual Tamborrada drum festival, also celebrated with large celebratory meals. Today, almost all of the societies admit both men and women, but the more traditional do not permit women in the kitchens -- cooking is for men only.

We had known about these food societies, but have never known anyone who was a member, at least not well enough, to get an invite. That changed last week. Our friends Carlos and Ploy joined a food society called Euskal Billera just before the start of the coronavirus-related lockdown in March. With the lifting of the lockdown, and the re-opening of the food societies, they invited us to join them for their first meal at their new club.

Euskal Billera is one of the oldest societies in San Sebastian, founded in 1901, and it continues the tradition of only allowing men in the kitchen. So, even though our meal was Thai food, mostly organized and prepared by Ploy in their home, Carlos did all of the cooking. We had egg rolls, fried chicken wings with fish sauce and a pork dish with garlic, all accompanied by sticky rice and salad.  Because we cannot get good Asian food here, we were thrilled with this delicious meal:

The society is in a two-story building on the edge of the old city of San Sebastian (and near the main beach and port). There are separate kitchens and eating areas upstairs and down. The society maintains refrigerators with all types of drinks including soft drinks, wine, beer, cider and hard liquor. At the end of dinner, we entered what we used on a computer and each member gets a monthly bill. Members do the cooking, but the society does the cleaning.

Overall, we had a lovely evening but, to be honest, we are a bit unsure about the value of belonging to a food society, which requires a significant membership fee. Other than the traditional point of getting men out of the kitchen, it seems to us that it is a difficult way to entertain friends since you have to bring all of the food from home to be cooked there. On the other hand, it has the advantage of space, which many people do not have in their homes here, and you don't have to clean up any mess.

In any event, it was a really cool, traditional thing for us to experience in San Sebastian. And we are probably some of the only people to have eaten Asian food for their first meal in a Basque sociedad.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana

Birthday Celebrations Amid the Pandemic

Last weekend we had a great time celebrating my birthday. Fortunately, Spain was about to complete the “de-escalation” process, which allowed us to enjoy it in an almost “normal” way: eating out and strolling outside.

Although my birthday was Sunday the 21st, we made reservations to have a special lunch on Friday the 19th in Getaria, a small fishing village that is about 11 miles from San Sebastian. We chose Txoko Getaria, a highly regarded fish restaurant, based on its reputation, it’s large patio with views of the harbor, and because we saw it in a scene in “The Trip to Spain,” the Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon movie that played at the 2017 SS Film Festival. During Steve and Rob’s lunch at Txoko, it starts to pour rain, which was very typical for the area and amusing to us. Thankfully, we had a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky.

Getting to Txoko Getaria was part of the adventure. We took the local train (masks on!), for the first time since the start of the state of emergency, from San Sebastian to Zarautz, another beautiful beach town. From there we headed west, walking along the malecon (promenade) and then on to the coastal path towards Getaria. As you can see, the coastline is amazing:

The view from Zarautz, where we started, to Getaria:

The stunning shoreline:

The approach to Getaria:

The entire walk is about 4 miles. Just the right amount to work up a good appetite. We had the best table, with an unobstructed view of the little fishing port. As we sat down and noticed the other restaurant patios and diners around us, we couldn’t help but feel that this was no different from any other summer terrace dining experience … until the waitress approached to take our order with her mask on – that omnipresent reminder that nothing is quite normal. We started with grilled, local white asparagus (from Navarra) and tempura style prawns (Jeff’s choice, but I even ate two, they were so beautiful), and then we shared a delicious whole red seabream with a side of piquillo peppers, and, of course, a wonderful bottle of a white wine. Everything was amazing and we were too full for dessert, or to walk all the way back to Zarautz. Instead we took the bus back from Getaria and then had ice cream on our way home. It was a perfect afternoon out, with no need for any dinner since we started lunch at 2 p.m., a very Spanish time.

On my actual birthday we went out for brunch at La Madame. Brunch is not really a Spanish thing, but La Madame does it right. Before lunch we took a nice long walk on the La Concha beach:

You need to be hungry for brunch at La Madame, where brunch includes 3 courses. First, juice and coffee with either a bruschetta or a muffin. Second, a savory course; for us, huevos rancheros. Finally, a sweet course of pancakes or French toast. Of course, we added a cocktail.

As everyone should on their birthday, we overindulged and left feeling stuffed and ready to relax for the afternoon, which is exactly what we did. I especially enjoyed all my birthday calls from the US.

I’m lucky to have a June birthday, when the weather is pleasant and summer is in the air. Since we didn’t make it to Germany in April to celebrate Jeff’s January birthday, we’ve made reservations for another lunch on his half birthday next month. It’s always good to have something to look forward to, especially when it’s steak at one of the best places in the country!

Hasta pronto,

Shana & Jeff 

Pasapalabra Returns

A bit over a year ago, we wrote about our favorite Spanish game show, Pasapalabra. We did not write in October when it was taken off the air because the channel that had been showing it did not actually own the rights to the show (oops). Well, now it is back, with a new host on a different channel.

The show is basically the same as it was, but we miss the old host who was funnier and in Shana's opinion, better looking. Still, we are happy to have it back and usually watch 3 or 4 times a week. We have definitely noticed that our improved language skills have made it easier to follow along and, now we even get some of the correct answers during the final game of each episode, El Rosco.

Right before Pasapalabra airs we often will catch an episode of The Big Bang Theory, which is dubbed. We are finally getting used to the Spanish voices for the characters and can even recognize them if we are listening from afar now. We barely need the Spanish subtitles anymore, but they are helpful when the dialogue is moving fast.

Hopefully, we will have something more interesting to write about soon, but given the state of the world, who knows? The fact that our lock-down has been lifted enough so we can go to restaurants and even the gym hardly seems like exciting news, but we have certainly enjoyed our bit of regained freedom.

Stay well,

Jeff and Shana

Running in Place

When we last wrote, we were in the middle of week 8 of our confinement, and now we are starting week 12 -- not necessarily confined, but there is an ongoing "state of emergency." While things have changed a lot over the past 3 weeks here, they have not changed that much for us overall. We are in the second week of Phase 2 of the de-escalation process, and we should enter Phase 3 next week. All that really means is that we can go out whenever we want, can go wherever we want within the city (and province), and that we are required to wear a mask indoors in any public place, and outside if we cannot maintain the required distance from others. People here do not seem to mind the mask requirement.

Still, our day-to-day lives and routines have not changed hardly at all. Yes, we can go outside, but there aren’t that many more compelling reasons to venture too far from home than there were 3 weeks ago. Our main destinations remain the grocery markets and newspaper stand. We are enjoying the freedom to go for walks, and so far, our greatest pleasure has been eating an ice cream cone while walking through the city. The weather has been beautiful, and we love being able to re-experience the beauty of San Sebastian. Included in these photos is a sign of the times – face masks hanging out to be dried.

This week we will finally go out to eat at a restaurant – to celebrate our 24^th wedding anniversary. It will be nice to visit with our friends, the owners of the restaurant, and have our first meal since March 14 not prepared in our kitchen. My yoga studio is re-opening as well, with a limited offering of classes at about 50% capacity. That will be interesting. We have run a few errands here and there and will continue to do so. But, on the whole, we feel like we’re running in place. Our gym has not reopened yet, and whenever it does, we won’t be the first in line to get in. Surprisingly, our home workouts have met most of our fitness needs. Starting this week, we will try to go out once a week to restaurants to support our favorite places. Yet we are still spending most of our time at home and maintaining a low profile. We don’t want to make any new travel plans yet because things remain so uncertain. So, like all of you, we continue to take it one day at a time.

That’s it for now. We’ll see what June brings to our corner of the world.

Take care,

Shana & Jeff

Coronavirus Update Part 3

Well, here we are in the middle of week 8 of our “Coronovirus Confinement” and there is not much to report because every day is pretty much like all the others. It gives new meaning to “lather, rinse, and repeat.” Still, things are starting to change slowly as we enter the desescalation phases.

As you may know, Spain has had one of the stricter stay-at-home regimes. Up until this week, we could not even go outside to exercise. Also, there have been extensive efforts to enforce the lockdown rules, with citations being issued and roadblocks set up to monitor travel in and out of the city. They really mean business here. And, it has worked. The number of cases have gone down, and they have increased testing efforts significantly.

Overall, our existence has not been that different from yours. Other than the fact that the decisions here appear to be being made based on the accumulated statistics and the recommendations of experts. The loosening of the confinement did not start until the curve had truly flattened, and before Phase 1 starts on Monday, May 11, each province and autonomous community must establish they meet four criteria regarding healthcare and containment of the virus. So, as of now, it appears that Madrid and Barcelona will not enter that phase with most of the rest of the county.

Although small hair salons are now open, by appointment only and with sanitation measures in place, we are not in a huge hurry to get our hair cut. We are, however, looking forward to eating out again, but that is also a couple of weeks away, assuming we can get a table in the limited capacity patio of restaurants that choose to reopen. Having cooked and eaten every meal at home since March 15, we are ready for some takeout and to eat out. Takeout is not as prevalent here as it is in the US, so we have not even done that yet!

What has probably been hardest for us is the impact this has had on our ability to travel. We should have been in Seattle this week and next, with a stop in Dublin on the way back. Because our lives here are so focused on travel, not knowing when our next trip will be is frustrating. And we have/had so many plans for the latter part of 2020 and into 2021, many of which will likely change. But we have our health and are fortunate to have many other blessings in our lives.

This morning we were up early and walked farther from home than we are allowed to see the beach and the La Concha Bay. We are supposed to stay within a 1 km radius of our home, and the beach is just a bit farther than that, but how are they going to enforce that within the city itself? Some risks are just worth taking.

That’s it for now, and perhaps for a while as there is not much to tell. Stay safe and healthy!

Shana & Jeff