Return

I got back from my trip to Spain last night. The whole return trip was an ordeal. I took a bus at 2AM from Zaragoza to the airport in Madrid, about three and a half hours. The entire time a very large person who was sitting next to me was sprawled all over me, asleep. I had to carry my backpack on my lap while this person leaned on me--my legs hurt. I arrived at the airport at 5:30 AM, then had to wait half an hour for the bus from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1, then had to wait two hours for the check-in location to open up. I waited with a huge group of Cubans who were each carting six or seven bags wrapped in plastic. So glad I only had my one little bag. Luckily my check-in line was not theirs! I answered all the security questions, showed my very expensive covid test papers and got my bag checked. Then it was a long hike to the next security line. Then another line to have the police check my passport while looking at me sternly. Spanish security felt much more real than the TSA theater which always makes me resentful that they don't do a better job. Then there was another long hike to the gate where I had to wait two more hours for the flight. I was glad there was a Starbucks automatic kiosk so I could get a mocha because I was hungry. The flight to JFK was uneventful.  At least the food was decent this time. I couldn't sleep so I read for almost the entire seven hours of the flight. Once in JFK, we had to retrieve our bags and go through customs. My Global Entry card paid off--I got to join the fast line and was through quickly, rechecked the bag, and then waited another three hours. I ended up at a bar having a beer and listening to a couple flirting loudly. When they left the guy next to me struck up a conversation and we ended up chatting about our kids and his wife's upcoming culinary school course in Barcelona. He picked up my tab--what a nice thing to do! More waiting. The flight was full and I had watched all the movies so I finished my book, and found myself still unable to sleep but nodding off and waking up over and over.  I'm so grateful that my brother-in-law came to pick me up so I didn't have to take BART back from SFO. The whole trip took over 24 hours and involved too much anxiety about lines and checkpoints, but the alternative would have been not having enough time between stages and being freaked out about missing a connection.  I won't say it wasn't worth it but it was so much more taxing than any previous trip I've ever made, more than the one on the way over. I really felt my age. I'm glad I went, but it was hard. There's another family wedding in the fall--I wonder how far along Spain will be with their vaccination efforts by then? It was interesting getting the news from Europe. We really are so fortunate that the Biden administration got vaccination efforts on track because it makes such a huge difference to feel safer. 

The wedding was wonderful. Being with my family was wonderful. I experienced so many memories of my previous times in Zaragoza over the years. I was able to see my daughter's grandparents one more time before I left. They are frail. He is hardly able to see or walk, and his mind wanders, but he was lucid and recognized me and he loves seeing his granddaughter. She is much diminished but still sharp. It is really hard for her to take care of him, but there are social workers who come to visit on weekdays to help take him out in his wheelchair or help with the grocery shopping, and Blas goes to see them every day. I hope the situation here at home evolves in a more positive way. I'm not looking forward to trying to deal with it in the coming weeks.

To Spain

I am going to Spain for two weeks for a family visit. The last time I was there was in 2015 --parece mentira. Spain has just opened up for tourism from the US for people with vaccinations. There's conflicting information out there about the requirements for entry. Up until June 7, US citizens were barred, and you could only enter with a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of departure. Now, supposedly, we can enter if we have proof of vaccination. But the flimsy little CDC card I have does not state in print the country of vaccination, so I've been flailing around, trying to find a site I could reach without a car that would give me test results within that period, but every place I found said it would send the test out to a lab and results would not be available for days. Finally, I found a site at SFO which will give the rapid test for a hefty fee. I also found a statement on the Delta Airlines site, (only available through the app I downloaded because Delta's web site is the absolute worst) that said it was a negative test OR proof of vaccination. That syncs up with what I understood from the Spanish Health department site. But I don't want to show up to JFK and be refused boarding by some random gate agent who is confused about the requirement, so I'm going to pay the fee and get the test. Anyway. I used my frequent flyer miles to get a discount on my airfare, and that about covers the cost of the Covid test. I'll have to go to the airport to get the test the day before, on BART, and then I'll go to my sister's place in Daly City because my flight leaves at the crack of dawn the next day, and it's a lot easier to get to the airport from her place than from mine. If all goes well, I'll have the test results as well as the document the Spanish government is requiring.  I'm trying really hard not to stress about all the ways this can go wrong. It's going to be a long trip since I'll essentially have to start the day before.

We were supposed to go to France and Spain last May and we all know how that worked out. I am sitting on a coupon for a flight with United and another one with Alaska Airlines from trips I had to cancel last year. When the government gave us all Covid money, I broke even on the airfare expenditures. For this flight,  I was not able to use those coupons because I'm flying Delta in order to get on the same flight as my daughter and her dad. We'll convene at the boarding area of JFK and arrive in Madrid the next morning. From there, we have train tickets to Zaragoza. I haven't been to Spain for years now, and my daughter's grandparents are getting very frail. This will probably be the last time I'll get to see them so I really want to go. Her cousin is getting married and I want to be there. Things in Spain are still semi-locked down, so I understand that this trip will not involve any tourism, just hanging out with family, but that is fine with me.

trip to New York!

I am about to go get my second dose of the vaccine! Yesterday I bought a ticket to New York to visit my daughter in Brooklyn. I had bought a ticket to visit her in March of 2020, so I'm thrilled to finally get to see her new apartment, her studio, and her neighborhood. There are so many things we want to do together; even with pandemic restrictions, we'll be busy. We each are making a wish list. Here are ten things I want to do that I haven't been able to do on all my previous trips to New York:

1. Ride the Staten Island ferry and maybe visit the Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor

2. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

3. See the Yayoi Kusama show at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx.

4. Do a walking tour of the Bushwick street art.

5. See the formal Conservatory Garden at the North End of Central Park and walk the length of the park.

6. Check out chef José Andrés' Little Spain market, in the Hudson Yards under the High Line.

7.  check out tacos from Los Hermanos and try out some of the Mexican food here or here in Bushwick.

8. maybe we could try this bakery crawl (although we might keel over) or we could try a different one every day.

9. view the Statue of Liberty from the gardens in Battery Park.

10. traipse around the Green-Wood Cemetary. 

Anthony Bourdain goes to Sapporo, in northern Japan, to eat miso ramen (from his show No Reservations).


Another NHK video on ramen, this time a serious ramen shop tasting tour:

All about ramen (ラーメン) Journeys in Japan documentary

All you want to know about Japanese ramen in this documentary by NHK World.

Riviera Nayarit: flora

 

Ti plant ("Muñeca") 

 

Plumeria by the beach

 

 Fan Palm

 

 

Two stages of palm fruit

The landscaping of the place we stayed used plants that were not all native, but they were beautiful.

On the threshold

Some scenes from the FDR memorial we saw this summer. Can we turn this moment around?



From his first inauguration speech, which my daughter's class read in school this week:

And yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered, because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.

Primarily, this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True, they have tried. But their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Ian Walsh at FireDogLake has some very concrete and specific ideas about how we could rebuild without caving in to bailout hysteria. Follow his links.

My Amtrak adventure

I just got back from spending a few days with friends who live in New Buffalo, Michigan, about an hour's drive (or two hour's drive, if you're unlucky!) from Chicago.
I decided to go on Amtrak, taking the Empire Builder from the Twin Cities Midway station to Chicago's Union Station, where my friends would meet me. The train was scheduled to depart at about 7:30 AM, but when I got there, a bus was idling outside; it turned out that the train had been delayed in Montana (fire? derailment? rumors abounded) so we were offered the choice of waiting another four hours, or taking the bus if we had a connection in Chicago. I opted for the bus because I knew my friends were going to have to drive in to meet me, and I didn't want to leave them hanging; if the train was 4 hours late now, how much later would it be in 4 hours? Nuh-uh.

I had a thoroughly marvelous time with them (subject of another post).

On our drive back to Chicago on Sunday so I could catch the train, we got stuck in traffic and there were a few tense moments at the end when we were watching the minutes tick by as we inched our way along the freeway, exiting by the station, but not exactly sure how to get there with all the one way streets. We ended up ditching the car and sprinting a block to the station, then to the track inside the station, where I boarded with exactly one minute to spare before the train started to move. And when I say "sprint," I really mean a pathetic jog. I have previously dashed across O'Hare, Schipol, and through various European train stations carrying the same red canvas bag, but this time I had no oomph.

All's well that ends well, and the train trip itself was fun. I have traveled by train a lot in Europe but much less in the U.S, and I really enjoyed the leg of the trip along the Mississippi as night was falling.
Leo was ecstatic to see me back, and tomorrow my lovely child and her lovely dad are returning to town! yay!

Outside the Smithsonian

Thomas Jefferson memorial

Pillars of the Thomas Jefferson memorial in Washington DC. My brother is named after him, as were our father and grandfather. Inside is inscribed: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
As this story shows, all the public pomp and patriotic display are good for the tourists, but don't try to actually assert your right to assemble or pursue happiness by dancing at midnight with 20 friends to the music of your ipods, even though the memorial is open 24 hours a day, because because we live in a police state now and the police can order you to disperse and then arrest you for asking, "why?"

Camping at Cape Henlopen

We walked out along this rocky pier and watched a pod of dolphins swimming in circles, probably eating some tasty fishies. I learned that dolphins and porpoises are technically groups as "toothed whales." This lovely quiet park is just a few miles up the coast from the crowded boardwalks of Rehoboth.

A horsehoe crab that got washed up on the beach, belly up. These creatures predate the dinosaurs and have been around for 300,000 years! take that, creationists! Unfortunately, industrial fishing is making a serious dent in their population, which in turn affects the migratig birds that feed on them. A substance in their blood is useed to test for various deadly diseases. Who knew?

Sunset on the beach at Cape Henlopen.

Maryland and the Eastern Shore

We are off on an excursion to the east coast to visit my brother and his family. They moved from the Annapolis area to the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay a few years ago.

I haven't had time yet to find and read books set in Annapolis or the Eastern Shore, but I am intrigued by Song Yet Sung by James McBride (author of a memoir I loved, The Color of Water). Harriet Tubman was born on the Eastern Shore, and much of her activity in the Underground Railroad took place in that area. Frederick Douglass was also born on the Eastern Shore, and this 7th grader's history project connects his writings with the place he was born.
We will go camping for a night at Cape Henlopen in Delaware,

Fresh Irish Thighs

trip to Ireland: a note

By aggressively enforcing a steep tax on plastic bags, Ireland has almost eliminated their use. People use cloth bags, and it's not a big deal. but it took an aggressive Minister for the Environment who threatened to tax paper bags as well.
By the way, who speaks Irish ? The kids.

Leaving Cork

I return to Minneapolis today, accompanied by my new friend Mr. Belly. Four weeks of holiday feasting will do that to you. I enjoyed every minute of it. It's about 4:45 Am and I'm about to wait for a shuttle to the airport. Then it's Cork city-Amsterday, wait wait wait wait, then Amsterdam Minneapolis. Somewhere in the air I will live those seven hours difference in time zone, so even though I return ths evening, I'm rather sure my eyes will be spinning in my head. I must ransom my car from airport parking (a story, that one) and return to salute my furry friend, whose fur will have been deposited in a fine layer over every surface in my house.
Tomorrow is teaching day, so vaccuuming will probably have to wait. The conference was a total blast. I had such a good time, and feel refreshed and inspired.At the last minute I was able to join some folks on a little excursion to Blarney Castle, set in lovely grounds, and semi-ruined. yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone, not that I needed to, but hey. It was surprisingly scary! But I also saw snowdrops, daffodils, and azaleas, along with a huge Cedar tree. I cannot wait to return to Ireland. Our hosts Nuala and Jane were fantastic. I have eaten enough scones to last a lifetime.

On the road

My last night in Zaragoza. Tomorrow I'll take the train to Madrid and spend the night with some lovely friends who will be kind enough to help me get to the airport on time the next day.
I'll hang out in the Amsterdam airport for a few hours, then I'm off to Cork City, Ireland for four days, two of them for a conference. I am so thrilled to be visiting Ireland for the first time. It's had such a large place in my imagination all my life since my father's family is Irish, even though I never really knew them well.

Then it's back to Minneapolis, the snow, and a house that will surely be coated with a deep layer of cat hair.

Street market in Amsterdam

I have a lot of pictures from the last several months that I haven't labeled or organized. Here are a few from my summer trip to Amsterdam--the street market had a combination of food, clothes, and oddities. I had never seen cabbages this pointy before, and I was highly tempted to get that blue wig in the middle.

Alcatraz

We look at the Golden Gate bridge in the fog and at a group of cormorants hanging out on the western edge of Alcatraz.

The prison on Alcatraz is an amazing part of a visit there, but I was equally interested in the stories about the American Indian occupation of the island and its place in the struggles for Native American rights.

One year bloggiversary

I have had limited access to internet over the last week or so, due to travel and having too much fun. I found myself at times thinking, "Oh, I must blog about this!" and started wondering about why some events or experiences fall into that category and others don't. I certainly want to write about the wild parrots of Barcelona and how they are like the tourists, extremely picturesque and also an invasive species that is causing great concern to the locals. I have, however, realized that Safari is not the best browser for posting to Blogger for various reasons, so I'll have to do that later.

I started this blog just a little over a year ago, to learn how to do it and about blogging for teaching and by writers. One of the things I've learned is about why I'll still use Mozilla instead of Safari, even though I've switched to Mac.

I have been to Barcelona four or five times since 1975. I always enjoy myself, and I always remember that Barcelona often smells like a port city: the salt air, and the whiff of sewage, urine and vomit.

Je m'en vais!

First stop Amsterdam. Then on to Barcelona, Zaragoza, possibly Valencia.
Mr. Meow will be comfortably lodged in Northfield.
ETA: Leo at the farm. Is he not handsome?