More than a year later [1]

Now that we’ve all become aware of log scales I feel like I’m updating my posts logarithmically (sp?), the gap between posts is twice as long as the previous gap between posts. By accepting the reality of this I’m ready to congratulate myself I my next post is written before September 2022.

OK, where to begin. Last summer the highlight was our trip to Walla Walla to visit our friends Hannah & Christian who just moved back after a few years in Brooklyn. Whenever I know someone living somewhere I quickly go visit because the experience is going to be so different than just going alone. And it was great that Markus had a friend to hang out with - Hannah and I got to run around and have fun!

Not only did Markus get to hang out with Christian and his friends, but he got a little cooking lesson from Hannah and he got to teach a youth soccer practice. When the coach heard that Markus played soccer in Madrid there was a lot of excitement from the kids, and somehow playing “in Madrid” evolved into “for Real Madrid” and why correct this minor error? It was all in good fun.

We did some wine tastings and ate at her old restaurant (she’s a local rock star!), and we made cheese with Pierre Louis and had an amazing meal with Pierre Louis & Joan. What a great town Walla Walla is, made that much more special with Hannah & Christian.

We spent a few more days in California after our trip to Walla Walla, and then flew to Madrid on 16AUG to be ready for soccer season to start. Our first weekend we took the train to Barcelona where our great friends Karen & Harry were visiting from New York. We’re usually so busy with soccer that we don’t have time to go anywhere, but the timing was great for us, and it was fun to act like tourists being a little silly. We stayed at Casa Mathilda which was a healthy walk from the train station but we had a really nice time there and I always like staying places where there’s outdoor space.

Markus has a friend from New York, Luca, who plays soccer in Barcelona so he joined us as we toured Montjuïc. I think Luca was near trembling with happiness to see Markus and to let his inner New Yorker fly free. The boys were inseparable that weekend. Just two nights in Barcelona but it was great.

Back in Madrid and life started back in full swing quickly. Markus had lots of soccer practice and lots of “amistosos” (friendlies) with his new team in preparation for the season. Last year he played with CHAMARTIN-VERGARA but this year that team merged with another and he would be playing with ALCOBENDAS SPORT. Lots of driving out to the suburbs with the life-saving Respiro car-sharing service.

Markus started the season well, although he is in a new age group for kids born in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Because he’s December 2003, he’s by far the youngest player. Some of these guys look like they have kids at home. But Markus is holding his own.

The highlight of the fall was when Mathieu came to stay with us. A hundred years ago when I was in high school I spent a summer with the familie Giard in France. I spent a couple of weeks with them in Paris and the rest of the time with them in Ste Maxime which was really fabulous. The summer before their daughter Marie-Pierre spent a month with us, and the summer after their son Olivier spent a month with us, followed by a time in St Louis which sounded unbearably hot & humid but I have no recollection why he went to St Louis. Anywho, Mathieu - Olivier’s son - was studying in Madrid and for some reason needed a place to stay. With Andreas in Brooklyn we have a spare bedroom, and I enjoy having guests. Mathieu spent about a month with us and it was so great to have him here. We talked and talked and talked and it was great to have an adult to talk to. Kids are great but when I think of going out to dinner with Markus I worry that we’re just going to talk about the homework he didn’t do last night. I got to meet and hang out with his girlfriend Marion and really it was special having him stay with us. A new great friend.

Early October Markus had a game and the opposing side was full of giant men. One of them fell on top of Markus and Markus got his first injury. We drove to the hospital and thankfully Mathieu had been with us at the game and helped us navigate the hospital situation, I was a bit lost. Markus was out for 5 weeks but did a bit of physiotherapy and eventually got back into the swing of things. 15-year old boys are like rubber bands. I would have been out indefinitely.

That Saturday I decided to have a big dinner party. I hadn’t done that in a while and I really like having people over in a very casual setting. I bought a whole salmon, marinated it in vodka, sugar and miso, and roasted it in the oven (recipe from America’s Test Kitchen). I was a little ambitious with the guest list but I’ve never had too many people over. There were 27 of us in all, and we still had leftover salmon (I did ask some friends to bring starchy starters to fill people up!). A great evening. My friend Gely insisted that she help with the dishes and then she and her boyfriend took me out after the party ended, and that was really special. We went to Platea which just around the corner, a giant movie theater converted to a nightclub with lots of food options and music, which sounds great, but there’s a giant screen with ads for mobile phones and Iberia, and everyone is sitting at tables staring at their fones. Like a lot of things in Madrid, they almost have it perfect, but not quite.

The rest of the fall was work work work soccer soccer soccer. I took at trip to Addis for work mid-October and a trip to California to visit my dad end of October. I enjoy those trips to California, just living with my dad and cooking for my dad and eating with my dad and watching Jeopardy with my dad (not not Wheel of Fortune, which comes on right after).

There’s lots going on in Madrid culturally, but sometimes I feel like I’m living in another planet when I check websites to see what’s in the nightclubs and theaters. Hundreds of shows by people I’ve never heard of. I don’t know where to start. But end of November my celebrity crush Roberto Fonseca came to town and he was playing just across the street from my apartment. Like a New Yorker worried that things would sell out instantly I practically ran to box office but there wasn’t a crush of people wanting to buy tickets, just me. I got 5 tickets and brought Markus along with Ana, Tina (visiting from NYC) and Claire. We had a great time. I think he is an incredible musician. Easy on the eyes too. Doesn’t play on my team unfortunately.

We rounded out November with a visit from Andreas! This year his birthday fell on Thanksgiving, so we celebrated at Ana’s house a combined birthday/Thanksgiving. It was great to see him again, to hang out with him and hear about his exciting first few months at college.

Summer is over, but I have to start with Spring since I'm so far behind...

OK, well I had intended to update this regularly but you can see where that has gone, down the tubes. There was a lot going on and nothing going on at the same time, with Andreas in his last semester at school. So now its time for an update.

For Christmas we flew home to California to spend the week with my dad and my sister and her family. The highlight was our day in San Francisco to see Cirque de Soleil, something I’d never done before. It was a lot of fun, and the kids enjoyed it. They had a great time.

At Cirque du Soleil…

For Christmas Eve dinner, our big day at home, we like to have dungeness crab, so I drove to New Sang Chong market in downtown Oakland to get some crab, and it was an impressive place, reminded me of Chinatown in NYC. In fact, its a reminder about how much I don’t know about Oakland.

They plucked the crab out of the tank and cleaned them up beautifully. I like to consider myself an adventurous eater but I’m not usually enthusiastic about degutting whatever animal I’m going to eat that day. Dinner was delicious and I’ll definitely do the same next Christmas.

Which one for dinner?

On the 30th we flew to NYC to spend a week there before returning to Madrid. I stayed with my great friends Hannah and Christian in my old stomping ground Fort Greene which was lovely. I basically spent the whole week meeting friends and eating. On the first of the year the boys and I went to visit our great friends Laetitia and Fabien, and their kids Margot and Paul, on the upper west side. On the 3rd I had an amazing lunch at Berber Street Food in the village with my dear friend Yael. I had read a great review of this place in the Times and it seemed to be my kind of place. While we were there, the owner said to me “aren’t you Markus’s father?”. I mean how small is this world? Diana, the owner, remembered Markus from when he played soccer with the Manhattan Kickers with her son. Incredible. We had an amazing meal there and this connection reminded me how much NYC is really my home.

And of course no trip to NYC would be complete for me without an obligatory stop at East Harbor Seafood Palace in Sunset Park with friends Maisa, Carlos, and Karen, plus Hannah and Christian! It was a great week but as usual all I did was eat and eat.

Spring for the three of us….

For Andreas, it was his last semester in high school, and there was a lot of hanging out, which is what I did during the last semester of my senior year as well. He had submitted all of his applications to schools like St Mary’s College in Moraga CA, University of Nevada Reno, and a couple of other places in the West. But I think it was in March where he seemed to just wake up one morning with the epiphany that he absolutely had to be in New York for college. He was desperate to return to the city, so I put him on a plane and he spent a week in April looking at schools in NYC, including Brooklyn College and St Francis College (where he and his brother had played some waterpolo as kids). When he got home he started on the applications all by himself without any prodding from me. He was accepted at St Francis College but was waiting to hear from Brooklyn College. However, he never got into Brooklyn College because he put his application in so late. Looking back I think I was more keen on Brooklyn College than he was because I wanted him to have that campus experience that I had had, and feared that he wouldn’t experience that in downtown Brooklyn, but he’s at St Francis now, happy as a clam, living in dorms at the St George Hotel believe it or not.

School ended for Andreas early May, and graduation wasn’t until the end of May, so he had a lot of time to kill. The highlight for sure was when he and some friends took the train down to Málaga and stayed there for a week. He said he had a great time and I told him that would be a week he would remember for the rest of his life, being on the road with friends and no parents, exploring the world. What a great experience for him.

We had a graduation dinner for Andreas at Arrocería Casa de Valencia in Argüelles and we had a big crowd. Great food and great friends to celebrate a great kid.

Andreas at graduation

Nur, Murat and me at Andreas’s graduation dinner

Markus and Mateo

For Markus, of course, it was soccer soccer soccer. Endless soccer. There is a wonderful mom on his team that takes lots of pictures (sometimes more than 600 in a single game), so I have hundreds of pictures of Markus playing. The team, which started out the season so well, fell apart at the end of the year, which was so disappointing. Markus got frustrated with the team but he kept working hard and he finished the year tied for 11th place in number of goals scored (out of his group of 16 teams). After the season ended he did some practice games with a new team, San Sebastian de los Reyes, so when we come back in the fall we are going to have to decide which team to stay with, his current team or Sanse.

School did not go so well for Markus so he will be switching schools to a much smaller American school. Hopefully he can get the individual attention he needs there to thrive. He knew he would have to switch schools if his grades didn’t improve, which they didn’t, so this will be his last year at Aquinas.

For me it was a lot of working and a lot of driving to soccer fields. Markus had soccer five times per week in the suburbs of Alcobendas so I was in the car constantly. Thankfully, there is a Carrefour and an Ikea nearby, so some days I shop at Carrefour while other days I buy El País and practice my Spanish in the Ikea café. I continued with Spanish classes once a week with Antonio. We meet once a week for 90 minutes at a coffee shop nearby and I do my best to gab about politics and what’s going on in Madrid. I kept up my swimming and also started working with a personal trainer at a nearby gym. My leg still wasn’t ship shape after my fall in the fall so I thought I need to start working out, despite the fact that it is achingly boring for me. I couldn’t possibly do squats on my own, but with a personal trainer it is tolerable, and the prices are tolerable too. I don’t know if I could rationalize such a luxury in NYC.

A highlight was when Christian and Hannah visited us from Brooklyn for their February break. We had a great time with them, and they were great guests venturing out on their own to explore the city. We ate like kings of course, and devoured a meal at La Sanabresa, my favorite menú del dia spot in Madrid.

What was left of our meal at La Sanabresa

Christian and Hannah

In April I went to California to spend a week with my dad, and it is always great to see him. He continues to do well, and seems to wake up every morning with a smile on his face, which is such a blessing.

Me, piggy the dog (hard to see!) and my dad in Piedmont

In May we were lucky to have Dayo, Jeff and Liz visit for Andreas´s graduation. I end up doing the same thing with my guests which is basically letting them explore and eating out with them, at the same set of restaurants which I love. There are really great restaurants in Madrid as I have said before. Adventurous friends are always welcome to visit!

Jeff and Liz did bring me to an exhibit at the Reina Sofia museum of art. It was the art of David Wojnarowicz and it was just spectacular. And the Reina Sofia just a short walk from the apartment, as is the Thyssen and the Prado. I have to be better about taking advantage of the culture that Madrid has to offer. What a great show.

Liz and Jeff at La Sanabresa, with salmorejo and drinking some delicious tinto de verano

Liz and I at the spectacular Wojnarowicz exhibit at the Reina Sofia

In June, out of the clear blue sky I got a message from Olivier, a friend from France. When I was in high school I spent the summer living with their family to try to improve my French (and perhaps for my parents to get rid of me for a while). I believe I was in the outskirts of Paris for a couple of weeks, and 4 weeks at a place near the sea in Ste Maxime. We did a lot of beaching and windsurfing although Olivier was far more sportif than me. Well now Olivier and his wife Nathalie have a son who was graduating from college so they were going to be in Madrid. The 7 of us met for lunch in Plaza Paja and it was wild to catch up with someone I hadn’t seen in like 35 years.

Olivier, myself, and Nathalie in Plaza Paja

My circle is starting to get slightly larger, and I´m going out more. We often meet Ana and Murat at their place in Pozuelo. And now and then I have really nice meals with Claire; we went to a play and although I hardly understood a word (seeing the play “Copenhagen” even in English isn’t that easy to follow, much less Spanish). My neighbor Julia and I meet for wine or lunch sometimes, always great to have a glass of wine with her after a challenging day. My friends David and Ed had an 80s themed party at their apartment where I went as LL Cool J (red Kangol hat and everything), and met some nice people. And I have lunch maybe once a month with Laura, an American living nearby in Goya.

Now its mid-June and Andreas hasn’t really done anything except take a one-week trip to Malaga since school ended. He’s climbing the walls with boredom, and going out now and then at night. The great thing about Madrid is that I don’t have to worry about my kids’ safety. Andreas would go out and come home at 07.30am and I didn’t have to worry at all. I couldn’t have possibly done that in Brooklyn. We did go to a few photo exhibits as part of the FotoEspaña festival which is held every year, and we had lunch every now and then, but he was anxious to start the next phase of his life.

So he’s counting down the hours to return to NYC. He traveled on 13JUN, leaving Markus and me in Madrid until the 23rd when Markus would be done with school. It was of course sad to see him go, but at the same time it was time for him to leave. He needed to get on with his life and be a man. He was desperate for it, and of course I was desperate for it too.

Markus and I had a bit more than a week left before flying to NYC. We had a great meal with Ana and Mateo at Grosso Napoletano in Gaztambide. Like a snotty Brooklynite I had been bemoaning the dearth of decent pizzerias in Madrid, but this place was really great. We´ll have to go back in the fall.

Markus and I flew back to JFK on the 23rd and Dayo picked up Markus and JFK and drove him directly to the Red Bulls Camp in the Bronx. Markus was shaking with anticipation at going to camp, even though he didn’t know anyone going. I think he was really excited to show off his skills, which I understand. He is working so hard at soccer that he has the right to be proud about his accomplishments. We all want to feel proud now and then. Markus spent 4 weeks in NYC, three of them at Red Bulls Camp in the Bronx. He was so happy to be there.

I spent one week in Brooklyn at Yael’s apartment on 4th Avenue. I love Yael to death but she left for Paris the day I arrived and it was secretly luxurious to have her place on my own, terrace and everything. Her apartment is just incredible. As usual I did a lot of eating with friends. The morning I arrived, and before Yael left for Paris, we had brunch at Chez Olivier on 4th Ave which was really nice, and in the evening I went to Fort Greene to catch up with Andreas at Black Forest on Fulton Street. I met Hannah at L’Antangoniste in Bed Stuy which seems to have lost a bit of its shine but still a great meal. I took the train out to Long Island for a day visit with my friends Shoki & Sam which was amazing, such wonderful people. That same evening I met Mookie in Prospect Park for the Chucho Valdes concert and it was so great to see that side of Brooklyn again, I really miss that energy. I had dinner at Drew & Erika’s house where it seems like their children are suddenly as tall as redwood trees. I met Joe for coffee at Celi Cela downtown, absolutely love Joe. And that evening I met Karen on the Upper West Side (of all places) for dinner at Jacob’s Pickles which was very loud and way too trendy for me, but the food was great and I would bring the boys here if there was a reason to be uptown. Good thing I’ve been swimming regularly to make room for all that food for the week.

So now that I’m done with spring I’ll be back in a few days with a summer update… Love to all.

Recovering from jet-lag at Yael’s apartment

What a view!

The start of our 2nd year in Madrid...

After a long summer in the US, we were back in Madrid to start our second year living in Spain. Almost as soon as we arrived we got together with Ana and Murat and Mateo and Nur, it had been a long summer without them! They moved to a new house in Pozuelo, not far from the boys’ school, becasue Mateo would be joining them there. The new house was awesome, close enough to public transport that the boys could get there on their own, but with plenty of space and a community swimming pool. Even though they moved out of the center of Madrid, it is easier for us to get there because the “Cercanias” line runs right near our house. It was great to catch up with them, and I bought Ana a sexy new pot for a housewarming present!

On the 2nd of September, before school got started, I ran down to Addis Ababa to see Ethiopian Airlines for work, and Ana joined me to pitch some marketing work. I really enjoy these trips to Addis, I have been with them for more than 15 years and they are doing very well. Too well! Ana and I were bumped from our flight on the way back to Madrid and we had to travel via Rome.

Ana did a lot of exploring in Addis since she really has the travel bug, while I did a lot of work at the office. We stayed at the Ramada, where I had never stayed before, and they had an outdoor bar area which was really relaxing and fun. We also had a great dinner with Rahel, one of my favorite people in Addis. A great trip.

Soon after coming back from Addis, my first house guest of the season came for a visit, Gretchen! I met Gretchen years ago when Wanda and I were doing boot-camp with Dewayne at Fort Greene Park. We really had a great time working out together, and Dewayne’s dry sense of humor was too much. I still don’t know how he made any money. I think he spent everything we paid him and more on parking tickets! It was great to have a friend visit, I was able to do adult things. Although I was a bit busy with work and the boys, we managed to go out and have some really great meals. Gretchen had done a little research and we wandered down to Calle Cava Baja, which I had never been to before, and we had some great tapas somewhere random and then a great lunch at La Perejilla (Cava Baja 25). The green color pulled me in right away and the place was kooky and fun. I will definitely be going back. We also had a great meal at La Castela in Ibiza, which I have been to before. The place is LOUD and the lighting is oppressive, but the seafood is just great.

School started on the 10th and while this is the first year of high school for Markus, it is the last year for Andreas, and next year this time he will be off to college, which is crazy. Both boys need to work harder in school so I am going to have to keep my thumb on them. Markus is going to be playing a lot of soccer and Andreas a lot of tennis, so that will keep them busy. We have found a great tennis coach for Andreas, and he will be playing at tennis courts in the north of Madrid which is just a stone’s throw from the Cercanias line near our house so it will be easy (in theory) to get there. I really couldn’t get a very good picture the first morning of school becasue the sun rises so late here in Madrid that even in September it is dark at 07.00am. Sunrise on the first day of school was 07.50am! But sunset was 08.32pm, which I’m sure contributes to everything happening later in Madrid. I’m sure I’ve brought this up before but the story goes that Franco changed the Spanish time zone to be in line with Nazi Germany. So because of Franco when the boys leave for school in the morning it is pitch black outside.

Soon after Gretchen left, I flew down to Malabo in Equatorial Guinea with my newest client, CEIBA. Equatorial Guinea is the only country in Africa where they speak Spanish, and the airline has nonstop flights to Madrid, so this will be a good fit. It was a great experience, reminding me of the time I worked in the South Pacific. Malabo is a small, lush, tranquil place. I met some very nice people and I look forward to my new work with them.

The Saturday I got back, Markus’s soccer team, Chamartin Vergara had its first league game, but Markus couldn’t play because he hadn’t been federated yet, so we came to watch and support. But, great news, a few days later Markus was federated! So on the 29th Markus played his first league game. It was so exciting seeing him out on the pitch! Soccer is serious business here in Spain as you can imagine. Markus is playing on the cadete level for kids born in 2003 and 2004. For this age group, there are five divisions. The top division has 2 groups, and each group has 16 teams, and each team probably has 18 players. Markus’s team is in tnd 2nd division, and there are 4 groups, each with 16 teams and each with probably 18 players. The third division has 8 groups, the fourth 16, and the fifth 23. So if I do my math right, there are 53 groups, each with 16 teams (each with 18 players), or more than 15,000 kids born in 2003/2004 playing soccer at the league level in Madrid. Yowza that’s a lot of kids. Once you get out of the center of Madrid there are soccer fields absolutely everywhere becasue each one of those 15,000 kids is playing soccer every Saturday.

In the middle of October my wonderful friend Wanda came for a visit. It was amazing to see her, she has been my oldest friend in Brooklyn, and it was really tough to leave NY because of this even though she lives mostly in Puerto Rico now. We had a great time together. We ate great food, drank great wine (Wanda couldn’t get over the fact that even at the nicest restaurants a glass of wine was €2.50), and did some exploring. I took Wanda to La Castela where we met Claire and had a wondrous meal (this is really my go-to place when people come from out of town). Wanda had a list of restaurants she wanted to check out, and when Ana called to meet for lunch the place Ana recommended was on the list, Fismuler. We had a great meal there. Wanda wanted to go on a littel road trip so we caught the train to Toledo which is a very easy trip. I had been there last year when Karen and Harry visited, but we brought the kids with us and there was a lot of moaning and groaning. Now it was just me and Wanda and we had a great time. We had a stupendous meal at Meson de Orza, and the weather was so great we could sit outside, chatting a bit with other people also impressed with their meals. We also enjoyed a terrific evening at Celso y Manolo, where the tomatos norteños were just stupendous.

Friday I hosted a dinner at home and invited a bunch of people over. I made Thai food and we had a really good time. At the beginning of September in Spanish class I met Quionda, from Chicago, and we had a perfect class for a week. It was just Quionda and me and Antonio, my favorite instructor at the school. We spent every day just talking for three hours and hardly spent any time with grammar lessons. The most telling part of that week was the discussion of courtesy. “What should you do if an old lady cuts in front of you at the supermarket?” My answer: “Excuse me, did you see the line?” The correct answer here in Madrid is do nothing and grumble about it. This definitely isn’t New York.

I was really getting bogged down with work, and after that week the class was cancelled because there were just two of us. I tried another class but it wasn’t a great fit. I’ll try to start classes again when work cools down a bit, but it was great meeting Quionda and she came to the party.

The Sunday Wanda was in town we went over the El Rastro to visit the massive flea market. The market has some great furniture places where I have found some nice things, and a chaotic side which reminds me of the socks-and-funnel-cakes street fairs in New York. I had heard about a restaurant so we met Ana for lunch at El Brote and had another great meal here. We just had great meals wherever we turned. It was so great having Wanda visit, and I can’t wait for her to return.

I’m still swimming regularly, and still annoyed with the swimmers in Madrid. I mean my Spanish is lousy but even I know what rapido means. On Halloween I was at the pool and got so annoyed. Two fast lanes with one old lady swimming breaststroke in each lane slowing everyone down. I tried talking to the lifeguard but she was determined to see me suffer. I was so annoyed I jumped out the pool and marched down the director’s office. I prompty slipped on the floor, nearly hitting the ground, pulling some muscle in the process, and managed to get entangled in spider web decorations for Halloween. Here I am wrihing in agony, dripping wet in just a bathing suit, covered in spider webs. Not my finest moment. Dayo told me I need to keep walking and moving around even in pain, but the very next day I was headed to California to visit my dad. I was in agony and by the time I arrived in Piedmont my leg was black and blue. Gruesome!

I had a great week with my dad, just the two of us and the dog. I cooked a lot, we watched a lot of Jeopardy (I spent much of each episode trying to figure out how to change the channel before the dreaded Wheel of Fortune came on), and played dominos.

Jhubie took a few days off but came back in time to do her best to fatten us up with meals like this.

The day before Thanksgiving, more friends from New York visited, this time Yael and Mookie. I’m getting really good at hosting friends, and it is great to have enthusiastic friends visit. Even our very first meal, a place just around the corner El 26, we had a great lunch and they were oohing and aahing about it. It is the best to have enthusiastic visitors, they were just so positive and adventurous!

The next day was Thanksgiving and we had I think 22 for dinner. Lots of wonderful people were there, including Teda who I just met this year and her daughters Bella and Angelica who are at the same school at Andreas and Markus. There was an insane amount of food, and even though I completely forgot to make the mashed potatoes we were all stuffed by the end of the evening. Teda, Nur and Lola even gave us a little Sevillana dance performance!

Yael and Mookie and I hit the regular places: La Castela, Celso y Manolo, and El Brote. We spent a Sunday afternoon in the Rastro which was fun. I just love these people and it makes being outside of NYC much better when my friends visit.

November ended with a couple of birthdays. Andreas turned 18 on the 28th and me 50-something on the 30th. We celebrated Andreas birthday by ordering burritos and the three of us just sitting at the dining table, talking. It was a nice evening. Dayo arrived from BK on the 1st and Ana had us over for dinner and baked a cake for us which was so nice.

We had a nice time when Dayo visited, again going out to eat a lot. He came to see Andreas play in a tennis tournament and Markus play in a soccer game. We went back to La Castela where i had to learn a little lesson. When we arrived the place was packed and I found a little space at a table where we could set down our food and eat. A few minutes later the ladies at the table passed me a note saying that in Spain one should ask if it is ok to share a table. I was really annoyed and it took me a few days to realize that I was really mad at myself for doing that, not at them for writing the note. I needed to be called out and I was. It was a lesson and taught me that in the heat of the moment maybe I didn’t handle things well but I have learned and won’t be such a jerk next time.

The following weeked we were REALLY busy. First, Markus and I took the train to Ana’s house and we left Andreas at home. He had convinced me somehow to allow him to have a party to celebrate his birthday with a lot of frieds. I keep saying this but I was really hoping that “he has turned a corner” and that I can trust him now. So I crossed my fingers and headed out to Ana’s. We had a great lunch then and then headed out to Getafe to see Mateo play a soccer game. We met Teda and Angelica there, and Mateo had his own rooting section! The game was great and although Getafe lost Mateo played fantastic. After that game, we all piled into our cars and headed to Alcobendas to watch Markus play his soccer game. Markus didn’t come out until near the very end of the first half which was a bummer, and the game wasn’t good at all. Chamartin Vergara lost 5-1, and it was the first loss they had since Markus started playing. Markus was really annoyed but I think it was because he had his fans there and didn’t want to disappoint. Chamartin Vergara is still doing well, and they sit in 2nd place.

Markus and I spent the night at Ana’s house and it was a great little sleepover with friends. Ana made another cake, this time for Markus who turned 15 on the 11th. Ana is getting a lot of practice and her cakes are getting better and better!

For lunch the next day we headed out to Teda’s stomping ground and had a great meal in a loud boisterous place for of families. It was LOUD but fun to hang out. A spectacular weekend, and I am proud to report that upon arriving at home the apartment had not been burnt to the ground.

So tomorrow we are off to California to visit my dad for the holidays. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2019!

Primavera y verano, spring and summer...

I have really dropped the ball here. More than 4 months since my last post. Lots to catch y’all up on.

The big news in the spring was that, unfortunately, we were robbed while we were sleeping in our new apartment. We were really confused until we put the pieces together. School day mornings are chaotic and first thing in the morning Andreas said he couldn’t find his backpack, but we rushed around, the boys running to catch the bus and then me to Spanish class. It was a half day for the boys and then Andreas texted me that he couldn’t find his PlayStation, but I chalked that up to sibling antics. But then we found more and more things missing - Andreas’s camera, an old laptop, and, worse, my laptop. All had been taken in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. 29 years in Brooklyn and never once was I robbed. Two months in a new apartment in Madrid and boom a robbery.

We were a bit freaked out. We didn’t really know how they got inside. The police came and asked questions. The landlord felt absolutely horrible. Two fingerprint experts from the city came by and dusted windows and doors; I really wish I had gotten a picture of them, they were awesome, like Cagney and Lacey, but dressed in a funky art-school kind of way. I was concerned that had the boys gotten up in the middle of the night to get a glass of milk that there would have been a problem, but all the police we spoke to said the robbers would have taken off.

Really, everyone couldn’t have been nicer during the entire ordeal. I did have to file a report with the police which meant waiting in a dank room for hours on end waiting with other sad sacks who had been robbed. But in the end it appers the robbers entered through the front door as we hadn’t double-locked the door and apparently its not so difficult to get in. The guy who lives on the top floor of the building even said he has come out of his apartment as people are trying to break in, which is disconcerting of course. We just have to make sure to double-lock the doors.

Other than the robbery, of course, spring was great. The boys continue to be very content in Madrid. Life is good here. I know I’ve posted pictures of the great barber that we found in the Lavapies neighborhood, but the video below captures the experience even better. Its never quiet, always full of life and children crawling over patrons waiting for their turns in the chair.

Markus finished his soccer year with his high school team losing in the finals, which was ok, it was a great year. The school team became “Getafe International” which is exciting, as Getafe is probably the 3rd or 4th best professional team in Madrid. His coach set up an opportunity for Markus to practice with the federated Getafe team, but he ended up sitting on the bench for 88 of the 90 minutes of practice, which was disappointing.

Andreas continued to play tennis a few times a week at Chamartin. We love the tennis coach he found. Guilhermo is a really great guy and I’m going to try to set up private lessons with him in the fall. Like the soccer field, it is a pain in the neck to get to the tennis courts. I seem to be in a Respiro car nearly every day. I have found a great way to wile away the hours while Andreas is playing tennis, however. Right next to the tennis courts is a restaurant La Terracería where I can enjoy a great evening meal.

Salmorejo, una clara, aceitunas, y El País!

We continue to love our neighborhood - it is very central, we can walk almost everywhere but at the same time it is close to public transportation. Our apartment is also half a block from Paseo de Recoletos, which is where all the big parades happen. This was the celebration when Real Madrid won the Champion’s League in May, just half a block from the apartment.

Markus graduated from Middle School at the end of the school year, and there was a ceremony to salute the achievements of those in 8th grade. We went to El Corte Ingles to get him a suit and he looked sharp. Nice kids in his class - he’s made really nice friends at school. We’re really happy with the decision to come to Madrid and we are going to stay until Markus finishes high school (in 2022, which will be here in the blink of the eye). There is no reason for us to move when the situation for him is so good.

After school was over, but before we went back to the US for the summer, the big news is that Ana and Murat got married. The event was just spectacular, like out of some movie that one couldn’t believe was real. A daughter, Emma, of Ana’s friend Tami from South Carolina came to intern with Ana a month before the wedding and she and Andreas hit it off like a house on fire, they spent a lot of time together. Then Tami came in from Athens GA and she and I hit it off like a house on fire. It was just a great time, hanging out with really good people in Madrid before we drove down to Peñarrubia for the celebration. Ana’s house in Peñarrubia was bursting with summer energy. So beautiful.

Below are just some of the amazing pictures from that weekend. Andreas took a lot of those below and they were very sharp, although he did gravitate towards the youth at the party…

Under the grape vines on Ana’s glorious deck pre-wedding. Idyllic.

Mateo, Markus and Emma at river’s edge in Peñarrubia

An evening of Palomas, overlooking the town, the evening before the wedding.

Que rico! Dinner outside Delfin’s the night before the wedding - good food, good drinks, good people, all good.

Andreas and Emma before the big ceremony!

Las dos guapas, Ana y Gema

Tami and Emma, gorgeous

a friend, Nur (Murat’s daughter), and Emma, all radiant.

Glorious youth

Markus y Mateo

a perfect evening for everyone

Nur y Mateo

what a party

Enrique y Murat

The day after the wedding we drove back to Madrid, spent one night, and then flew to JFK. We met Dayo at JFK and left Markus with him, then Andreas and I continued to SFO. Markus was signed up for a week of soccer camp with the Red Bulls in the Bronx, which he was excited about. Andreas and I spent a few days in Piedmont with bestefar ane then we drove up to Tahoe. Markus flew to Reno the following week.

It was an insanely glorious month I spent at Tahoe. Andreas was a counselor for 4 weeks at a tennis camp so I hardly saw him at all. Markus spent a week in New York, a week with me at the cabin, and a week in overnight camp, so I had two whole weeks with no children! It was incredible. Maybe a few years ago I would have thought “I’m a loser, I have no friends, I’m lonely.” Now I’m thinking how I can keep them in overnight camp even more weeks so I have a little R&R. It was just me and the dog for TWO WHOLE WEEKS. Absolute heaven. I swam in the lake every morning, sat on the deck and read the newspaper, and worked at a leisurely pace. I ate well, not having to fill my active kids with endless pasta and carbs. It was just great.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I’m in awe of the cabin. My dad did such an incredible job on the place. I have never seen another house at Tahoe that is better. And it means even more to me now. People ask me where I am from. Where am I from? What is home? I’m from California, but it doesn’t define me. I lived 29 years in Brooklyn and I feel my years in Brooklyn defined me, but I’m not “from” there. Where is home? To me, Tahoe is home. My parents built the place in 1974 and I have spent my life going there. Tahoe is home.

The only downside to the month was the smoke. There were fires all over California. At first, there was only the fire near Yosemite, so when the wind blew north it filled the basin with smoke. Then we had the Carr fire near Redding in the north, so no matter which way the wind moved the basin was filled with smoke. Some days were really bad, and I didn’t go swimming because the air was so bad.

As in the last few summers, our friends Yael and Itai came from Brooklyn for a week. It is always great having them - they are such great guests. Yael gushes about how beautiful everything is, and its true, just so beautiful. We now have our favorite haunts to hit while in the area: Asian Crawfish Cuisine in Reno, Moe’s Barbecue in Tahoe City, and Tacos Jalisco in Truckee. And we always hit Savers in Reno, the best thrift shop I have ever found. I stocked up on more $5 retro short-sleeved shirts.

Itai and Yael at Moe’s

This year we made a big discovery at Tacos Jalisco! When we arrived everyone seemed to be drinking this weird concoction, so we ordered “one of those.” It was a Michelada, something like a Mexican Bloody Mary that was made with beer instead of vodka. It was kooky to me, but Yael loved them!

Yael and her Michelada!

The boys flew back to New York with Yael and Itai, and spent two weeks with Dayo in Fort Greene. I drove down to Piedmont and spent two weeks with my dad, which was great. He is doing great, 90 and still going strong. His memory isn’t as it was, but he is healthy without any pain. I swam at the pool most mornings and hung out with dad, taking it easy. We had two great meals going out. First, we met Jack, my dad’s amazing accountant, in San Francisco at a place called Fang on Howard Street. We ate like kings and the food was amazing. So great to have real Chinese food.

Then we found another place on Piedmont Ave, just my dad and me. We watch a lot of television together in Piedmont, lots of Jeopardy, and, unfortunately, lots of Wheel of Fortune which I can’t stand, especially in that it comes right after Jeopardy. But a local show I enjoy is called Check Please Bay Area where locals talk about their favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. This is how we found Ba-Bite, an Israeli place. It was probably too casual for my dad, we had to wait in line and order at a counter. But the food was great and I was thrilled to have some good authentic hummus!

After two weeks in Piedmont I flew to JFK to spend a week in Brooklyn. I stayed with Hannah on Carlton and it was so great staying with her. I was running around like crazy seeing friends and eating great food. Maisa and Carlos had the boys and I over for a great dinner one night. Had brunch with Wanda and Lisa at the diner in Fort Greene. Had a great dinner with Julie and Dayo at Speedy Romeo’s in Brooklyn. Dinner with Mookie at Aux Epices in Chinatown. Lunch with Hannah at Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles also in Chinatown. I mean an amazing week with amazing friends and amazing food. It was glorious, seeing all these wonderful people. I managed to combine the things I miss the most when I’m in Madrid - my amazing friends and amazing food in New York.

With Hannah at Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles in Chinatown

With Julie and the Boys outside Speedy Romeo’s

It was just a great summer. But I look forward to the structure of fall!

Getting Settled in our new apartment, and other news

So we moved into our new apartment just days before we left to tour colleges in the US, and now we are finally getting a bit settled.  When we left we had purchased three beds and three chairs, and really that's all we had.  We are really happy with the location.  The street is gorgeous and central, close to the pool, close to Spanish class, and close to the bus stop for the boys.  Spring is here and the view out the living room windows is beautiful.   We are just one floor off the street which I wouldn't have thought would be great, but the trees are practically growing into our windows.

I had also purchased two blow-up beds becausee our great friends from New York, Joe and his boys Justin and Darius, were coming for a visit.  We had a great few days with them, they are adventurous guys and took the city by the horns, while I had to crunch with work having been out of town for nearly two weeks.

I have been spending time in El Rastro finding furniture.  IKEA is a great place, but our apartment on Barbieri was completely IKEA-fied.  I bought one of those Kallax shelving units, but I didn't want to buy anything else at IKEA unless I really was in a pickle.  El Rastro is the flea market area of Madrid, and while it is very crowded on the weekends, things are peaceful during the week.  Apparently, the neighorhood name comes from the Rastro (trail) of blood that would roll down the streets from the slaughterhouses uphill to the river below.  Must have been a great place to hang out on hot August days during those times.

I found an amazing table which fit perfectly and should be great for dinner parties.  I found it at Vintage 4P, just wandering around El Rastro.  Surely I paid too much, but it was exactly what I wanted and I have the great ability to forget about the high priced purchases I make soon after buying things.  Denial!  I had been looking for good chairs but everything was in the €250 range, which was too much when I wanted 10 chairs.  I decided to just march into a store that didn't have fancy lighting or well dressed shopkeepers, and I immediately found a dark and dusty shop with chairs and tables stacked floor to ceiling.  An Argentinian guy, Claudio, showed me around and I found 10 great chairs which matched the table perfectly.  He cleaned them up and polished them for me, and I paid €30 per chair.  The chairs remind me of the chairs my dad would come home with when I was growing up.  My dad was a contractor in San Francisco, doing a lot of work at restaurants that had suffered from kitchen fires.  We had lots of great stuff from restaurants, and my dad had lots of connections with the top restauranteurs of San Francisco.  It feels like home, having these chairs.

Another great find in El Rastro is La Oficial, on a really cute street, Calle de la Ruda.  Here they sell 2nd hand ceramic plates and dishes by the kilo, which is great.  I got all my dishes here for a song:  mugs and dinner plates and sandwich plates and bowls, probably cheaper than IKEA.  Nothing matches and it looks great.  Big score here.

I also needed a big couch, and what I needed I would never find in El Rastro because all the stores are so tiny.  I did find something and I was lucky.  Ana invited me over to her new studio in a part of town I had never been to.  It was great to see her new place.  She did a brilliant job, see picture below.  She took the garage door to the studio, took out the center section, and put in glass to bring light in.  She does her photography work here and I think she can walk there from her apartment.  Also starring in the picture is my Respiro car for the day.  I have mentioned this a hundred times I'm sure but I wouldn't know what to do without Respiro.

Anyway, I wandered around the neigborhood a bit and found a nice furniture store with a great couch, SCV Estudio, so we should have that delivered soon.  The couch wasn't cheap, but I couldn't find anything I wanted anywhere.  I'm really looking forward to relaxing on a nice couch instead of a half deflated air mattress.  This is what our living room looks like now.  Hopefully the tape will be replaced by a big couch soon.

The boys are currently sleeping on air mattresses in the living room because we don't have internet yet.  On 01APR we contacted Vodafone and they told us that within 20 days we would have internet.  7 weeks later and we are still waiting.  In order to work, I signed up for a work-share space just around the corner from the house.  It didn't cost much, just €121/month I had access to a shared space with wifi and printers and scanners.  It worked out for a while.

The trouble was is that this is Spain, and the culture is different.  Repeatedly I would be in the middle of a quiet room with a half-dozen other people working in silence and suddenly a group of people would barge into the room and hold a ridiculously loud conversation.  One thing about the Spanish, they are LOUD.  It didn't seem to occur to them that other people were in in the room enjoying the tranquility.  Another problem is that everyone's internal temperature seems to be 20 degrees colder than mine.  Most of the rooms were achingly hot & stuffy.  When the room emptied out I would open the window, but invariably when people came back they would close the window without even asking anyone.  Strange.  I don't think the Spanish are that considerate or friendly.  They live a good life, but they have their faults.  They are nice, yes, but friendly?  Not really.  Considerate, definitely not.  But they are most certainly enjoying their lives.

I went to the shared space for a month, but didn't renew because Vodafone agreed to give us almost unlimited data with our mobile phones until our service was installed, so I'm using my mobile phone's hotspot even now as I write this  The boys are sleeping in the living room because the phone reception is poor in the bedrooms.  7 weeks waiting!   Hard to imagine.  Every week or two I get an automated text message from Vodafone that someone will be calling within 15 days.  Hilarious.  Never happens.

Mid-April I had a brilliant night with Ana and Murat.  They invited me to attend a concert at a small club within walking distance of my apartment, so I went with an open mind.  In my experience, if you see go to a concert of someone known you end up with nosebleed seats and don't enjoy the experience.  If you see someone unknown you get amazing seats for a song and sometimes the band sucks.  But on the rare occasion I see someone in a small club that is amazing, the experience is unforgettable.  I remember back in the mid-90s, a friend at Varig, where I was working, invited me to join her at a club on West 21st St in NYC to see a show, a show I knew nothing about.  It turned out to be D'angelo, and there couldn't have been more than 100 of us.  It was amazing, the Brown Sugar tour.  What a great night.  I will never forget that.

So I met Ana and Murat at the Wurlitzer Club off Gran Via not knowing what to expect from the band, The Yawpers.  At the very least I would hang out for a few hours with some great friends, but the concert was amazing, loud and punky and gender-bending and nuts.  Again, couldn't have been more than 150 people there and we were nearly touching the stage.  It was an amazing show and I highly recommend their concerts.  The Yawpers, from Denver.  Ana took the amazing picture below.

I'm still taking Spanish 3 hours per day, and some weeks are better than others.  But I still go because I need to hear Spanish, it is convenient, and it doesn't cost that much.  Plus I love learning languages.  I'm still far from being able to meet Spaniards and talk about the weightier things in life, but it will come.  I have been using my middle name, Olav, with a Brazilian twist, Olavo, in Spanish class, because I really am not a fan of "Federico".  Olavo is an unsual name in Brazil, but it isn't completely unknown.  Here, however, they don't know what to make of it, and even when I spell it out at Starbucks I end up with some hilarious drinks.

Ana invited me to the Conde Nast Traveler annual awards dinner, which was a big soiree but I didn't really have anything to wear, so I went to the fancy shops in Salamanca to find a suit.  Unfortunately, Spanish men have completely different bodies than me.  I am built like a luimberjack while Spanish men could be mistaken for oversized pencils.  The suits looked ridiculous on me, but I found a nice shop Hackett where I got slacks and a blazer.  I paired it with a shirt I had had made in Togo and funky shoes I bought up the street from my apartment.  Ana looked hot as always.  The party was in an amazing room at the Casino de Madrid.  It was a great evening.  

My cousin Inger Lill and her friend Ellen came to vist from Norway and we had so much fun together.  It is always great to have guests who are ready to tackle the city on their own.  We had great meals and great walks, and when I was busy the girls went exploring and shoe shopping; I think at one point they had purchased one pair of shoes for each 4 hours they had been in Madrid!  And that wasn't on the first day!  I took them to a few haunts that Ana and Murat had taken me to, places like Sanchis near Retiro Park and El Estragon, a vegetarian restaurant on the beautiful Plaza de la Paja.  It was great having them.  The night before they left we went to a dive bar in the neighorhood to watch the Eurovision finals; the place was empty except for us but it was fun watching the Norwegian getting applause from the Norwegians.

The boys are well and continue to be happy here.  Andreas is really working hard at school and his SATs.  He knows this is the critical year and he is anxious about his grades, which is great.  Hopefully his grades and tests will be strong enough to get accepted to UNR.

Markus is doing fine as well, his grades aren't that great but I have been focusing on Andreas since this year is so important for him.  Markus I think has finally found a soccer team that is working well for him, and it is his school team.  He was practicing a bit with the team in Alcobendas, but he still isn't federated so he was getting frustrated not playing in any games.  Someone else on the team said they would help get him federated but we have to jump through a lot of hoops, providing endless documentation.  In the meantime the Alcobendas team introduced us to a municipal team also in Alcobendas where he could play games, but the level wasn't strong enough and it was a schlep to get to the games and practices.  

While waiting to be federated, Markus is playing on his school team, and by some miracle we seem to have stumbled into something perfect for him.  Apparently, the school where the boys go, Aquinas American School, has a soccer program and there are a handful of kids who have moved to Spain to study at Aquinas and play soccer with their soccer academy.  Markus is only in 8th grade but is playing on the high school team.  His schedule is different so he isn't practicing with the rest of the team, but starting next year he will practice and play.  He is the starting striker for the team in games, and below are some videos from recent games.  He is playing with bigger, stronger kids which is great for him.

The team is a good fit and it is ridiculously convenient for him and me because practices for high school kids is immediately after school, so I won't have to drag him to practice in the boondocks.  On top of this, the Aquinas team has apparently become an international academy team this year for Getafe, a big soccer club in Madrid.  It seems the big clubs want to develop talent locally but there are lots of kids who aren't federated and play in their own league.  So even if he doesn't get federated this may be the best place for him.  He is happy.

Last week I was in Togo for work, and my flight back was via Dakar.  I arrived in Madrid at 03.50am and had to take Markus to the semi-finals in the soccer league at 08.10am, so I was completley wiped out.  I didn't know who we were playing, but it turns out it was the American School of Madrid (ASM).  

So a little background before I continue.  When we decided to move to Spain one of the priorities of course was to find a school for the boys, but I was an ocean away.  I didn't know where to start.  I couldn't dump them in a local school, they are too old for this; they don't speak a lick of Spanish and they couldn't sacrifice a whole year learning Spanish.  I have a great friend in Rio de Janeiro, Sonia, who grew up in Madrid and she recommended that we apply to ASM, where she went to school.  She said the boys would thrive there, so we applied.  After weeks of back and forth, submitting this and that, this was the reply we received:

Thank you for applying to the American School of Madrid.

The Admissions Committee has carefully reviewed your children’s files.   

Based upon their analysis, the Admissions Committee feels that it would not be in their best interest to attend the American School of Madrid. 

We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer enrollment for Markus and Andreas for the fall of 2017. 

We are sorry to disappoint you at this time.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Sincerely,

The Admission Team

I was so angry receiving this.  "... it would not be in their best interest..."  What the hell does that mean?  For a school with nary a black face on their website, how could I not interpret this as being totally based on race.  Talk about tone-deaf.  They could have just replied "we are sorry but this late in the application process we have no seats left".  Instead, they had to give a dig to the fact that the school isn't right for the boys knowing little about them except their race.  In the end we are much better off at Aquinas.  It turns out that ASM is full of kids of diplomats and soccer stars.  We are better off in a different environment.  But still that email stung.

So who is Aquinas playing in the semi-finals?  ASM of course.  I knew I would be emotional as soon as I heard this, but Markus didn't know and that was for the best.  When we arrived the ASM kids were on the field warming up to loud rap music, which is typical, rich white kids appropriating black street music.  Anyway, the game was tight.  I was expecting to lose, assuming that the powerful rich team would persevere, but it was close from start to finish despite the fact the ASM kids looked to be a head taller than the Aquinas kids.  At the end of the first half, it was Aquinas Bears 0 - ASM Racists 0; I didn't know their mascot so I figured the "Racists" was a good a guess as any.  

The second half remained close, but near the end Markus scored a goal and the game ended Bears 1 - Racists 0.  The only black kid on the field, a kid probably 3-4 years younger than most of the ASM kids, had scored.

As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Happy spring to all.

Touring Colleges

Our trip to the US to tour colleges was finally here.  After months of planning and figuring out where to look, we were on our way!

How did we come up with the list?  Well, Andreas really wanted to be in the West.  We have spent most of our summers at Lake Tahoe and Andreas really loves it up there, playing tennis and enjoying the outdoors.  And of course being there in the summer is glorious with the weather always perfect in July.  So he was enamored, which is fine, he doesn't have to be rational to a fault.  I wasn't.

I think about what lured me to Penn.  I remember looking through a guidebook at my high school and saw that Penn was ranked the #1 business school.  I remember touring colleges with my mom.  We went to UC San Diego, Georgetown, Princeton and Penn.  I remember distinctly yawning like crazy at the Princeton tour, my mother scolding me, but it looked so boring.  I couldn't put it into words but pastoral was not what I was looking for.  I got into Penn, Georgetown and UCSD, and I remember classmates being stunned I wasn't going to Georgetown, which was/is better known, probably because of basketball.  Penn?  What's that?  You mean Penn State?  I'm convinced I got in to Penn because I was from California (geographic diversity) and that I was senior class president fall semester of Senior year.  My grades were very good, my SAT meh, but I think I was only the 2nd person from my high school to go to Penn.  Other people were much more accomplished than me at Penn.  I was the unsophisticated suburbanite, not street wise to the ways of West Philly by any definition, the kid who, out of a high school class of 150, had gone to kindergarten with 50 of them.  Tight circle.  Penn had more undergraduates than my entire town.

To me, touring colleges was very important because you are going to spend 4 very important years of your life somewhere, you just can't choose a place from the catalogues if you have the economic means to get on the road and get a real taste of the places.

We flew from Madrid to Los Angeles.  Our flight arrived about midnight and we rented a car and drove to the Venice Suites Hotel.  I hadn't been to Venice before and thought it would be good to stay on the beach, especially as I had built in a recovery day before touring.  The one thing I was worried about was Andreas liking it too much.  I was kind of born with the Northern California bias against Southern California, and I did my best to put on a brave face.  Venice was cool, the hotel was chill.  We spent the morning walking around, having breakfast, and enjoying the sunshine and goofy stores.

In the afternoon we drove to San Pedro to meet family friends I hadn't seen in decades, Anki og Jarl.  It was great catch up with them, and their son, Christian, happened to be in town with his daughter.  Anki has always made me laugh, she is a force to be reckoned with!  We chatted on and on and she whipped up some mean corned beef sandwiches.  Since my mother died I have tried to keep in contact with her friends that meant so much to me, I want them to know what an impact they had on my life.  Unfortunately, one has passed already, Lona Norden in Oslo, and even just typing this brings tears to my eyes.

In the evening we met up with a friend from New York, Elaine, who had recently started working at USC.  We were kind of desperate for good Asian food because we have yet to find really good Asian food in Madrid.  We met Elaine at Yang Chow.  The place was packed and the food was great.  We really over-ordered but it was so good, and it was great to see Elaine, to catch up with a friendly face.  She was really enjoying her time at USC and thought we should visit.  It wasn't on our list, but we would squeeze it in the next day.

Monday morning was here and our first tour, UCLA:

As we would learn on the tours of other schools, we start with an orientation session and then go out on a walking tour.  UCLA's orientation was a bit intimidating.  More than 100,000 applications per year, and a 16% acceptace rate.  Egad.  More than 30,000 undergraduates.  Egad.  This wouldn't be the right place for me, but I'm trying my best to look for the best place for him, and not for me (easier said than done).

The tour was a joke, really.  All I remember from the two extraordinarily perky tour guides was that Modern Family was filmed here, here, and here, and Beyonce had her babies there.  Lots of anecdotes about the rich and famous.  Academics, not so much.  Or it didn't sink in.  The campus is also massive, it seems like there is a football field of grass between each building, and getting from A to B would take ages.  Andreas also noted an almost complete lack of black faces on the campus; he isn't really interested in going to an all-black school, but he doesn't want to be the only black kid on campus either, a good racial mix is important to him.

In the afternoon we toured Cal State-LA.  My sister-in-law Liz really recommended that we look at a wide variety of schools - private, public, community - so we wanted to see all the options.  Cal State-LA was out near Alhambra.  Andreas like the place a lot more than UCLA, the mix of kids was better and it didn't seem so intense.  The tour started out in a dank basement which wasn't great, but the campus is nice and the tour guide was excellent.  

Late in the afternoon we drove to USC to meet Elaine.  We didn't have time for an official tour but Elaine showed us around some buildings and the campus.  Wow.  I was stunned.  When I was applying to colleges the only thing I knew about USC was that it was in a rough neighborhood.  Maybe it isn't rough anymore, or what I consider rough has changed dramatically, or both.  Campus was beautiful and dense and urban, we both really liked it.  There wasn't a great racial balance, but Andreas seemed to like the place.  Being with Elaine was much better than any tour, and not hearing any anecdotes of Modern Family helped a lot too.

After the tour we jumped in the car and drove to Santa Barbara, we had a tour at UC Santa Barbara the next morning.  We stayed at the Harborview Inn.  It was fine for just one night, but it was a blast from the 1980s.  There were bottles in the bathroom labeled "$5", the furniture and carpets needed serious updating, and the bathroom lighting was overwhelming; it felt like a convert nursing home, or a soon to be converted into a nursing home.  I probably wouldn't stay there again, there seemed to be a cuter place, the Hotel Milo, just down the street.  We had dinner at Rusty's Pizza Parlor, pretty much a dump with prices to match, and breakfast the next morning at Sambo's, which was great.  Eggs benedict isn't so easy to find in Madrid.

UC Santa Barbara wasn't what Andreas was looking for.  The orientation session wasn't great and there were more black kids in the catalog than what we saw on campus for two hours; when the catalog said "5% African American" I was sure the percentage sign shouldn't have been there.  I had been told that UCSB was gorgeous from different people, but really it wasn't.  Surely a great school for other kids, but not Andreas.  I think he is also recognizing that he needs some sort of urbanity.  On that note, we have a tour of UC Santa Cruz the next morning...

After the Santa Barbara tour, we drive up to Carmel and spend the night with Jeff and Liz.  It was great to see them, to catch up, and to consume a meal in a kitchen and not in a restaurant.  

Wednesday morning we head out for our tour at UC Santa Cruz and it was pouring rain.  Not a good omen.  It takes a while to find the place, but we arrive and the orientation is great.  We get rain ponchos and jump on a bus to get to campus, which is really spread out.

This isn't what Andreas is looking for either.  It is a beautiful campus, no doubt, but it is the antithesis of urban.  Racial diversity is also sorely lacking.  But a beautiful place. 

After the tour we get into the car and drive to Oakland to leave the car at Hertz, and then Uber to Piedmont and spend the night with my dad, who looks as great as always.  He has a new dog, Piggy, who is absolutely adorable, and is quick to sit with my dad wherever my dad is.  Piggy has the run of the place already, having moved in less than a month ago.  My sister scored big finding Piggy.

Thursday morning we have a tour at UC Berkeley, where my dad went to school and where both Jeff & Liz went.  The rain continues.  The orientation is great, Cal is an amazing school.  But it is huge and intense, too intense for Andreas.  Racial diversity is still a problem.  In the afternoon we get a tour at St. Mary's College in Moraga, and Andreas is really impressed.  Unlike the 30000 undergraduates at both Cal and UCLA, there are fewer than 3000 undergraduates here.  The campus is beautiful, the weather clears up, Andreas likes it a lot.  

That evening we have a great dinner with our amazing friends Anya & Dave, and their kids Zoe and Cleo.  I'm really glad Andreas wants to go to school where we have famliy and friends.

We spend another night in Piedmont and then off on more college tours.  First, we have arranged a visit at Diablo Valley College.  We were encouraged to see some community colleges in case Andreas's grades aren't good enough for 4-year schools.  There was no tour that day, so we were supposed to meet someone to show us around.  When we arrived we went to the information desk and asked for our contact person, but they had never heard of him.  The email said to wait in the commons area, which we did.  We waited and waited and waited, and only one other person was there.  This person might have been our contact but he was more focused on his phone that anything; he didn't seem very interested in us.  We walked around campus a bit and it was fine.  California Community Colleges are great because they are designed to prepare kids to move to the UC system for their junior and senior years.  I think Andreas has the grades and scores to go right to a 4-year college.

From there we drove to UC Davis.  What a great school.  Certainly not as intense as UCLA or Cal.  Not urban, but we didn't feel we were in the woods.  Better racial balance, and the orientation and tour were both great.  It is right on I-80, so getting to the Bay Area or Tahoe would be easy.  Big, but not overwhelming.  Great vibe.

Off we go again, this time to Sacramento.  We spent the night at the Larkspur Landing hotel which was fine, but my expectations weren't very high.  Sacramento seems to be just an endless sprawl of nothing.  We had dinner at a barbecue place, Buckhorn BBQ, which was good.  I don't think personally I could live in Sacramento, but I'm trying to keep my mouth shut and not influece Andreas too much.  In the morning we toured Sacramento State, and we were both impressed.  It was a Saturday so there weren't many kids on campus, but the diversity that we saw was good, the tour was very good, and the facilities were nice.  The gym was amazing.  I think Andreas could see himself going to school here.  

From there we drove up to Tahoe.  As usual on this drive we stopped at Ikeda in Auburn, a killer burger place.  We ate well but it started to snow up the hill and we sat on our hands a bit to see if chains would be required.  We had two nights booked in Reno and we could have spent the first night somewhere else if we had to (I'd rather spend the night at a hotel in the woods than put chains on).  Things looked good and we started driving up, but the snow was really coming down, thankfully no chain requirements.  We stopped to visit my sister Kristen in Truckee, and saw her kids, and my beautiful dog who was very happy to see me!

Kristen also took us to Truckee Roundhouse where they do all sorts of wood- and metal-work.  She showed us how to use this laser gismo to replicate drawings in wood.  It was really cool.  Hopefully we will come back in the summer with Markus as well to explore and learn new things.

We drove over to Reno and spent the night at the Grand Sierra Hotel, an over the top place not in the center of town.  The place is crazy and usually packed with people.  Reno is kind of fun, but I know fun things to do there.  We went to my favorite thrift shop, Savers, where I never fail to find a handful of great shirts for a few dollars each (see below).  We went to the Meadowwood Mall to buy some shoes.  Kristen and her boys came over the mountain in the evening and we had dinner at the Bab Café, which was cool.  Reno seems to be booming, lots happening.

Monday morning we had a tour at University of Nevada-Reno, and Andreas loved it.  The campus is really nice and dense, the racial mix was the best we had seen so far, by far.  We saw the dorms which were good, and the school isn't overwhelmingly big, about 18000 undergradutates.  I think this is the best fit by far for Andreas, and he will be close to Tahoe which will be great.

After the tour we drove back down to Piedmont, spent one night with my dad, and then flew to Philadelphia.  Andreas didn't want to go to school on the East Coast, but for purely selfish reasons which I readily own up to I wanted to see Penn.  We stayed at a beautiful new hotel right near campus, The Study, and wow has West Philadelphia changed a lot.  The tour the next day impressed me a lot.  I kept asking myself how I was ever accepted to such a prestigious place?  I'd never get in now.  Campus was amazing, dense and full of energy, and the best racial mix of any school that we had seen. It reminded me of what an amazing experience I had in college, and how through dumb luck I ended up at Penn and found amazing friends, and myself.  I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything.  Andreas, he wants to be on the West Coast, which is great for him, but Penn for me was the ultimate.

We jumped in the train and spent a couple of nights in Brooklyn.  I had dinner with Yael, and wine with Lisa and Wanda, breakfast with Hannah, visited Drew & Erika, and popped in to see Alan & Randy.  We spent our last day in New York with Sam and Shoki in Oyster Bay.  I really tried to cram as many friends into my two days in Brooklyn as I could - I really miss these wonderful people in my life.  I have amazing friends Ana & Murat here in Madrid, and I'm slowly starting to create a circle of friends in Madrid as well, but man I miss my crew from BK.   Andreas also did something that was very important to him - he got a haircut from Buju at On Point.  

It was a great experience these two weeks, and before I know it I will be doing the same with Markus.  

Resident cards, and other news

Soon after we returned from the US, I met up with Ana on a Sunday and we had a magnificent day.  First we met at La Paloma (Calle de Toledo 85) near the La Latina metro stop.  It is a small bar packed to the gills with people, all stuffing themselves with amazing shrimp and downing lots of beer.  The place was jammed but we managed to eat well; finger lickin' good stuff.  Then we wandered down the street to El Rastro, where the massive flea market is.  I'm not a big flea market fan, and I had stumbled into El Rastro before where I only saw a lot of junk, but Ana took me to the area where the furniture stores are, near the corner of Bastero and Carnero, and that was fun.  We met up with some of Ana's friends, Sara and Enrique and their son, and we walked around for a while.  Then we ended up at Los Caracoles (Calle de Toledo 106) where we slurped snails and drank vermut.  That's Thelmo in the picture below, Sara and Enrique's son, inhaling snails.  Then, to top off an already great afternoon, we meandered over to an area called Los Austrias, where we sat outside at Plaza Paja and had a declicious lunch of tomatoes and other delectables (from Tio Timon, if I recall correctly).  What a great day!  I look foward to doing that same path again on another Sunday:  stroll, eat & drink, stroll, eat & drink, stroll, eat & drink.

We were running around in winter battling Spanish bureacracy.  As I wrote before, in December I had screwed up and was told I needed an appointment to be fingerprinted for residency cards right away, but the first appointment wasn't until 25JAN, so when the day finally rolled around the boys and I took the train to the designated police station to be fingerprinted.  The station is an old jail, about a 10 minute walk from the Aluche station.  It is quite a challege to figure out where to go becasue the address on all written material is "Av. de los Poblados S/N", where "S/N" means sin número, or "no number".  How is anyone supposed to find a place on a huge road without the address?  A little sleuthing online helped.

Our appointment was for 6pm and the place closed at 7pm, and of course it was raining, so we walked in the rain along a long road to get to the station and when we got there I was told that I needed proof of payment, so they handed me a form.  I would have to run back to the train station, find an ATM machine (of course there is no ATM at the police station), enter all sorts of numbers and pay the fee, then bring the receipts back by 7pm.  So I rushed in the rain, madly entered all sorts of information into the machine, and dashed back with everything I needed.  Or so I thought.  The paper with the payment instructions said each fingerprint would be €15.60, but in my haste I had read €15.00, so I had underpaid by a measly €0.60 for each of us.  We would have to come back another day.  AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!  The boys didn't have school that Monday so we came back then, waited in a huge line, but finally got everything taken care of.  We were told to come back in 30 days to pick up our cards.

As luck would have it, the boys were going to Andorra to go skiing with their school before we would get our residency cards, so we would have to go back out to Aluche and pay a different fee for an authorization to travel while the residency cards were getting processed.  Andreas and I went out there one afternoon with all the paperwork and the correct fee receipts, but I was told I would have to come back with Markus because each person has to be present to get the authorization.  The thought did cross my mind to just walk out the door with Andreas, have him turn his shirt inside out, and then come back again pretending he was Markus, but there were more downsides than upsides.  The next day I drove out to Pozuelo to pick him up from school, drove to Aluche, schlepped to the police station (which doesn't have any parking of course), waited in line, submitted the dcoumentation, schlepped back to the car, drove back to Pozuelo, and then home to Chueca.  Good god.  Of course in the end no one asked the boys for any documentation returning from Andorra, but better safe than sorry.

While the boys were in Andorra, I flew up to Oslo to visit family.  I spent a few days with Jack og Gerd, my uncle and aunt, in Oslo and met up with my cousins.  I had a great lunch with Inger Lill at the Bristol Grill (Kristian IV's gate 7), an old fashioned place oozing with history.

The Norwegian's definitely have great flair with their sandwiches.  I also had the chance to have dinner with my cousin Kirsten and her husband Einar and daughter Henrietta at their beautiful home.  It was great to catch up with them.  One thing I really want to take advantage of is my new proximity to Oslo.  It is a great city and I have so many great childhood memories from there.  And Oslo was as beautiful as ever.  Cold, snowy, and beautiful.

I also took the train down to Gøteborg to visit family there.  I stayed with cousin Helene, but had a great meal with Tante Mona og Onkel Rune, and cousin Nina, and her sons Felix og Max.  It is funny but the Olympics were just starting and I remember in 1994 I stayed in Gøteborg during the second week of the Lillehammer Olympics (I was lucky enough to go to a few events in Lillehammer, despite the insanely arctic conditions).  I have fond memories of watching the ice skating with Tante Mona, her uttering "Nei, men Herregud" after each fall.  Now my favorite expression på norsk og på svensk is "Nei, men Herregud."  It was great to see them all again.  I hope all my cousins will come down to visit me in Madrid one of these days...

The boys came back from Andorra and I came back from Oslo on the same day, and soon it was back to the grind.

I am still keeping myself busy with Spanish class every day, 10.00am-01.00pm.  I am really enjoying it and my Spanish is getting great, but at the same time I really know nothing.  I am determined to be strong enough so that I can have some Spanish friends and speak in Spanish.  One day...  I have also continued to have crowds over for dinner.  Bring an appetizer and a stranger, and I'll take care of the rest.  In January I make Momofuku Bo-Ssam and learned new Spanish trying to talk to the butcher.  In February I made a vat of Pad Thai and a vegetable quinoa stew.  I really love having people over for dinner.  

Andreas continues to play tennis, and is doing well at school.  First semester he was in the IB program which ended up being a bit soul-crushing.  We worked an entire weekend to prepare for his math finals and the results were poor.  We decided to "downgrade" to the American program and now his grades are excellent.  It was a good move.  I have him registered now with the Spanish tennis federation so hopefully in April he will start competing.  I had signed him up for a tournament arranged by his current tennis group, but it was much too basic for him - he won the whole tournament.  He needs to play against stronger kids.

Markus is still unable to play in league games, which is getting annoying.  I understand that the teams don't want to have non-Spanish citizens playing when there have been some cases of imported players who were basically abandonned without much education or anything after not making it to the next level, but I am living here with my sons, and we all have residency cards now.  What could the problem be?  Markus dropped out of his school team because we thought he would have conflicts with league games, but he rejoined the school team and has joined a municipal non-league team, so we have gone from 2 practices and no games per week to 7 practices and 2 games on Saturdays.  It is chaos but fun, I love going to the games.  Both teams are much older than Markus but he can hold is own.

OK, so two big pieces of news.  First, we did go back to Aluche (I think that was something like the 8th trip out there) to pick up our residency cards.  We are official!

The second is that since we are going to be in Madrid for a while (how long, who knows?) we needed a new apartment.  We spent months looking and we saw a lot of weird places.  I really wanted a terrace, but in the end a social kitchen was the most important thing for us.  There are a lot of apartments in Madrid where the kitchen is in the back, hidden behind a warren of doors, and that wasn't going to be the place for us.  We also toured two apartments where there was a toilet inside the third bedroom, which was really weird.  My awesome real estate agent/now friend Julia said this was typical for families that have live-in help, but it was alien to me.  I wasn't sure if they were bedrooms with toilets or bathrooms with beds, it was weird.  In the end we found a big place (perhaps too big) on Calle de Almirante, still in Chueca.  The place isn't furnished so right before Easter break we went to Ikea, bought three beds, and spend hours and hours assembling them.  We are all on Easter Break now, out of Madrid, but we have a lot of work to do.  We really have three beds, three chairs, and nothing else.  I'll have to go back to El Rastro to do some furniture shopping!

How does time fly by so quickly???

It seems like I blink and 6 weeks has flown by.

Dayo came to visit the first week of December.  We spent a few days in Madrid, showing him a few of the sights, and we took Respiro to tour the school where the boys spend their day.  We had a nice chat with both the principal of the upper school and lower school.  We are very happy with the school situation, and the boys are happy as well.  It is small and intimate, the kids are nice, and it isn't terribly expensive.  The problem with New York City is that the school system is just so massive.  My favorite statistic about NYC is that there are more kids in the public school system than there are people in Washington DC.  The system is unwieldy.  I was thinking about sending Markus to Poly Prep private school in Brooklyn because it has such an amazing sports program, but here in Madrid I can put both boys in a great private school for half the price of sending just Markus to Poly Prep.  Everything in NYC is nuts, but I love it still.

The boys were off for some random holiday 6-8DEC so we were invited to spend a long weekend in Peñarubbia with Ana and Murat.  We rented a hot car and zoomed down there, unfortunately the speed cameras got me so I had to shell out €50, but it was fun to be on the open road in a sporty BMW.  I have little fantasies about buying a car here, which logically is ridiculous, but they have nice cars here that we don't have in the US.  Maybe one day..., although I'm sure I'll regret it immediately.

Peñarubbia was glorious as it was last year when we were here.  When we arrived Ana and Murat were decorating the tree in front of their house.  Ana's mom and stepdad were visiting from South Carolina and it was really fun hanging out with them.  We had great meals, and lots of laughs and nice walks.  Because of the holiday, Ana's house was full, so the boys and I were invited to stay at Lola and Carlos's house which was fantastic, we had the attic to ourselves and although it was freezing at night all the heat went right up to our aerie; we were snug like bugs in a rug.  Dayo stayed at the local inn, Delfin's, and that worked out great too! 

I wanted to cook one night so Ana sent me on a quest to get some lamb chops which we would barbecue.  I drove through all sorts of twisty roads until I found the butcher and the barbecue turned out great.

I would never have the opportunity to go to such a small place and I am so thankful that Ana is such a good friend.  I mean look at how gorgeous this place is!

We drove back to Madrid on Sunday morning, dropping Dayo and the car off at the airport on the way home.  The next weeks flew by with the normal chaos.  I'm studying Spanish 3 hours a day, and I'm trying to swim 3 times a week, and I have to work of course, and I'm shuttling the boys to and from activities on Mondays and Wednesdays.  I could alleviate some of the insanity by dropping Spanish, but I am really enjoying the class, the time out of the house and learning aobut the language.  I have had great teachers since September, but unfortunately one teacher wasn't so great and by Tuesday I was bored.  I decided I didn't need this so I just didn't go back the rest of the week.  It is one thing to squeeze 30 hours of activity into each 24-hour day, but why sit in class and be bored?  I sent a note to the school saying I wouldn't come back with if that instructor were to return to my group, and Monday I was back with Isabel, who is just outstanding.

Our visas were expiring on 16DEC so on the 13th I went to the local administrative office with a slew of paperwork to have the visas renewed.  In retrospect I should have done this earlier, but to find the time to do these things is a challenge.  I had read online that I would need all sorts of stuff for the renewal, including 2 copies of every page of all the passports, even the blank pages.  I got to the office early and sat down with someone who immediately told me I had done everything completely wrong, that I needed residency cards for all of us and we would have to be fingerprinted.  I would need to go to an obscure website and make an appointment right away to be fingerprinted.  I left there dejected to say the least, but I was worried about timing.  We were leaving for California on the 23rd and I was worried if our visas expired we wouldn't be able to get back into Spain - we had already been here more than 90 days.  Of course, the first appointment available for being fingerprinted was 6 weeks away, so there is a risk, albeit small, that when we come back to Spain we won't be let in.  

At the crack of dawn on the 23rd we headed to the airport for our flight to San Francisco.  We had a connection in Paris and when we passed through passport control the immigration guy saw that we had been in Europe more than 90 days and asked us for our residency cards.  I said we had an appointment to be fingerprinted in January, and I showed him the paperwork, which, of course, was in Spanish.  He looked at the paperwork, and the thousands of people behind us in line 2 days before Christmas, and waved us through.  OK, one hurdle overcome.  Now we just have to get back in.

We spent a week with my dad.  It was great to be there, and my sister and her boys came down from Truckee, but a lot of us ended up with the flu, with my dad spending a day in the emergency room, which, for lack of a better word, sucked.  I spent most of my time in bed.  Anya and Dave came over for a visit which was great, but we all looked like hell.  Only family and very close friends can get together under such circumstances.

New Year's Eve we flew to JFK.  We actually got to SFO early and I don't know what is going on with these boys; they are eating like horses.  We had steak and eggs for breakfast at home, but at 10.30am at the airport they were hungry so they each had eggs benedict, but even that didn't fill them up, so they split another eggs benedict.  Good god.

Our amazing friends from Brooklyn, Shoki and Sam, invited us to ring in the New Year with them in Oyster Bay so we headed straight there from JFK.  They were so sweet they even picked us up at the Syosset station, despite the insane cold.  They were having a fete and we had just a lovely evening with them and their friends.  Such a great way to be welcomed back home to New York.

We took the LIRR to Brooklyn on the 1st and stayed at Shoki and Sam's house, next door to our place in Brooklyn, for a week.  Again, amazing to be in a place that feels like home.

Remember in an earlier post I said I have one boy who hogs the limelight, and another who runs from it?  Case in point, our trip from Syosset to Brooklyn::

Most of our time in NYC was spent running around to doctors appointments.  We had some great meals - Ganso, Not Rays, Walters.  We had an AMAZING brunch at my friend Hannah's - my god it was a feast.  I also had a great evening with Wanda and Lisa chez elles, a fun breakfast with Nina and her boys, and a great dinner with my friend Yael at her amazing new apartment.  That is the thing I miss, just being able to hang out with friends and have a casual glass of wine.  But of course I have been in Spain less than 4 months so this isn't surprising.

Our trip back JFK-MAD was crazy.  Flight was supposed to leave at 07.37pm but the weather was downright glacial, 5F/-15C, and it hadn't been above freezing in two weeks.  I received a text from Delta that the flight would be delayed until 09.30pm, so we arrived later at the airport, and charmed our way into the lounge.  We went downstairs to board, but flight kept getting delayed and delayed and delayed.  We finally boarded at 11.30pm, but they announced that we had a problem:  the lines that normally feed water to the aircraft had frozen.  So we sat in the aircraft on the tarmac until 02.30am when we finally took off.  There was no water in the lavatory sinks, and no coffee or tea were offered due to lack of water, but we were happy to finally take off.  I spent much of the flight watching Patti Cake$ over and over.  I can't get this song out of my head now, but just loved the movie:

When we arrived at Madrid I was concerned about our expired visas, so I had all sorts of paperwork ready to show the guy at immigration.  He took one look at Markus and the Atletico de Madrid jacket Santa had given him for Christmas (pictured above - he practically sleeps with it), and they had some male bonding over the team, showing each other their phones with their Atleti screen savers blah blah blah blah blah.  The guy didn't even scan our passports, he just stamped the pages and sent us on our way.  ¡Fenomenal!  I was thrilled we weren't connecting through Paris to get back to Madrid.  ¡Viva southern Europe!

We had checked in 5 bags but only 4 came with us on the flight.  There was a line of people to fill out forms at the baggage desk, but we were deliriously tired and we didn't really have any urgent need for the missing bag, so I just bailed on the line;  the boys and I jumped in a taxi and headed home to Chueca.  It was a great vacation but time for reality.

Friends visiting Madrid...

On 21NOV, our first guests arrived for a visit, Karen and her son Harry.  Karen and I have known each other since freshman year at Penn and we are family at this point.  When I was in Brooklyn she lived all the way up on 68th Street and Amsterdam.  We rarely saw each other!  The upper west side is so far away from Brooklyn.  Now that I am in Madrid hopefully we can spend more time together.  

I picked them up in a Respiro car from Madrid airport.  First time driving out there to pick someone up.  So easy!  Everything in Madrid is so easy.  But perhaps everything in NYC is so complicated.  I would never schlep out to JFK to pick up someone, but here it is a breeze.  

Thursday was Thanksgiving and I had a lot of preparation to do.  Getting all the ingredients was like a scavenger hunt.  I had brought canned pumpkin and graham crackers from California, but I needed pecans and cranberries and sour cream.  After a lot of hunting I found the first two but the sour cream was a big challenge.  It isn't sold anywhere.  I went to a Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood and asked them how they do it.  The woman there told me that she mixes heavy cream with lemon juice and starts beating it and voilá!  Sour Cream.  I also did a bit of searching online and found this video which made it seem so easy!  Of course when I started to make it it was just heavy cream and lemon juice.  I whipped it up and then it became lemony whipped cream.  Epic fail.  I just put in some yoghurt until the consistency was right.  I needed the sour cream for the bourbon pumpkin cheesecake.  The recipe is crazy delicious.  I make it every year.  In fact my Thanksgiving meal is about the same every year, but it is damn good.  

Everything else was in place for Thanksgiving.  I had ordered a turkey from the butcher next door, and he broke it down so that I didn't have to struggle.  I always use Julia's deconstructed recipe, and it is easy and delicious.  I always watch these videos before cooking, to get me in the mood.  Julia & Jacques are great, and they make everything seem to easy!

After getting the cheesecake baked, Karen Harry and myself took a stroll around town.  Karen had a bucket list of things she wanted to see and it seemed that on the drive from the airport we got half of them out of the way, passing Puerto de Alcalá and Gran Via and all sorts of highlights.  We walked to Plaza Mayor, and Ópera, and had lunch at La Paella Real where we consumed a lot of food and a lot of wine, and even Harry was given a digestif after dinner, one that tasted like concentrated apple juice.  I'm still getting used to having a big lunch and a light dinner.  We were all stuffed.

Wednesdays are a bit crazy so after walking around a bit and giving Karen and Harry the lay of the land we hopped into Respiro and headed out to Alcobendas to pick up Markus.  From there we went to Carrefour to kill time before Andreas's tennis ended.  Carrefour is our go-to place for killing time on Mondays and Wednesdays.  The place is massive and has everything.  I needed a mixer for Thanksgiving baking and found this weird contraption from Kenwood (don't they make speakers?) that is a mixer and a blender and a food processor!  It wasn't as solid as my KitchenAid of course, but I don't need to spend €500 on something I am not going to use that often.  We also always make a point to stop by the olive area where a woman there is happy to give out free samples.  I bought a lot of olives.  They are delicious.  

Thursday was the big day so after the kids left for school (which was great, an American school where the kids have to go to school on Thanksgiving is a blessing for the parents), Karen and Harry went exploring and I started getting the stuffing and turkey going.  The oven is miniscule compared to the beast I had in Brooklyn but the turkey did fit!

It was a lot of work putting Thanksgiving together, but it is a great holiday and I was thrilled with the result.  There were 12 of us for dinner:  the boys & me, Karen & Harry, Claire & Harry, Murat, Ana & Mateo, and Lola & Carlos.  Turkey turned out perfectly, the wine flowed, and we chatted and ate until midnight.  So much fun.  I miss entertaining and having people over, have to do that more.

Friday was a school holiday and since Karen was in town it was our opportunity to do something touristy.  We took the boys to the Prado and had a dedicated tour.  The tour wasn't cheap by any stretch but I didn't want to just wander around aimlessly.  I had never been to the Prado and didn't know much of anything.  The art was beautiful and it was great having a background from an expert, learning about this crazy king or that artist who hides himself in the portaits (I'm looking at you Velazquez!).  I would definitely do a private tour again.  The boys were getting fidgety and bored but I didn't care, they need to be exposed to this.

Post museum we took taxis to Chocolateria San Gines for churros and chocolate, which was also on Karen's bucket list.  There was a line and the place was packed with tourists, but we had a good time, especially watching the waiters descend the stairs with trays full of hot chocolate stacked on top of each other.

Saturday the five of us headed to Toledo for a day trip.  Because I think everything will work in a timely manner we got to the train station with just minutes to spare and then we all had trouble with our credit cards, so we missed the train we wanted to take.  I remember being in Zurich airport buy train tickets to get to Interlakken and the lady at the ticket window said we had plenty of time to get to our train which was leaving in just 4 minutes.  I have to build in more time in case things go wrong.  This isn't Zurich.

We had time to kill before the next train so we went to El Brillante, a tapas bar near the station which had calamare sandwiches, another item on Karen's bucket list.  We were able to sit outside and it was a really nice day.  We took the train to Toledo, maybe an hour away, and spent the day walking around.  Somehow I don't have a single picture from this day, but Toledo is a big walled city and we spent a chunk of the day on an audio tour of the giant Cathedral in Toledo.  

Sunday Karen & Harry were leaving so we had a nice dinner at Bocaito which is quickly becoming my favorite restaurant.  Great food, great drinks, great ambiance.  

It was so great to have Karen & Harry visit.  Can't wait to see them again.

The month rounded out with 2 birthdays, but long gone are the days of baking birthday cakes, arranging parties, and heading to the ice skating rink at Bryant Park.  Andreas turned 17 (17!) on the 28th, and we went to Le Coco across the street for dinner.  I turned 52 (52!) on Thursday the 30th, and the boys and I sat on the couch, under a dyne, watching Super Size me on NetFlix.  

Lots of travel, before school gets into high gear

Well no one is likely to be feeling overindulged with all my posts.  Things have been really busy and I am way behind in my blogging.  Just a few highlights from the past weeks.

The week of 16OCT I found myself driving out to Alcobendas to Markus's soccer practice, over and over.  Three times in one week.  Once to pick up paper work, once to drop off paper work, and once for his medical exam for the team.  Between taking Spanish class in the afternoon and spending most evenings schlepping out to Alcobendas it was rush rush rush.  But the papework has to be submitted before Markus is allowed to play league games, which we hope will happen soon.

Spanish was good, but the class was very big, 9 students.  It takes a lot of time but I am enjoying going to classes and speaking Spanish and learning.  

Saturday night I was invited to celebrate Murat's birthday at his and Ana's apartment.  Ana wanted me to bring a cake so I went to a bakery in my neighborhood to order a large chocolate cake.  It is really challenging to do these things in another language.  When I picked up the cake I was just glad it wasn't purple.  The cake was huge.  I got to talking with one of the women there who was Dominicana and asked her about barbershops for Andreas and Markus, because I had heard there were Dominican barbers somewhere.  She dragged me out on the street and took me to a barber on the same street and talked to him if he could cut black hair, which of course he said he could do, but I doubted.  He was white, the other staff were white, and clientele were white.  Finding a black barber remained on my bucket list.

Back to the huge cake.  It was too big for even a box, so she put strips of thick paper around the cake in a various arcs and then taped paper to cover everything.  It was quite declicate.  Now I had a huge cake purchased at a bakery on a pedestrian street and I had to get a car.  I literally balanced the cake on a parked motorcycle and called Uber.  I arrived unwinded, with the cake unscathed.

The party was a lot of fun.  Thankfully there were enough people who spoke English.  I'm starting to be able to have a pretty good conversation in English, but it is impossible in a loud setting.  I'm far away from achieving the cocktail party phenomenon, a real things for those that don't know it.  There were a bunch of Ana's friends and a bunch of Murat's friends, and a good time was had by all.  Again, I'm amazed all the guys are in such good shape here.  Are Spanish men unusually trim or are American guys unusually heavy?  To see a room full of 40- to 50-year old guys in great shape who aren't gay?  My gay-dar is not working at all in Madrid, although in Chueca it doesn't need to.

Markus isn't able to play in games, as I said, so the coaches set him up in a friendly, but I was traveling late Sunday so we couldn't do an afternoon friendly with his age group.  Instead he played with a U16 group, kids who are 2-3 years older than him, a bit farther away than Alcobendas.  Markus played in the 2nd half and their team won, playing against a visiting team from Ireland or somewhere in the UK; I really wasn't understanding what was going on except for the fact that Markus was in 7th heaven.  The guys he played with were great and I think Markus really enjoyed playing with older, stronger kids.  Markus is a strong boy and I think he relished playing with other strong boys.  Some of these kids had to have been shaving daily, and had tattoos, and big muscled bodies, but they were silly boys all the same.  I think Markus is going to continue to thrive in soccer as he gets older.

Sunday I flew to Addis Ababa to work with Ethiopian Airlines for the week.  I have been working with Ethiopian for maybe 12 years and they have grown and grown and grown.  It is really impressive what they have accomplished and I am lucky to have been part of this growth.  They weren't that big when I started working with them but they have been open to new ideas and now they are huge for Africa.  They have 4 daily flights nonstop to China!  The people at Ethiopian are friendly to a fault and work hard.  Below are some people I have worked with for years and years, great people.  The last day I was in Ethiopia, the first Boeing 787-9 was delivered for Ethiopian and there was a big to-do at the airport.  The captain of the aircraft, 2nd from left below, brought the plane in from Seattle, and there was pomp and circumstance, including the standard water cannons as the aircraft taxied to its stand.  Lots of fun, a representation of how strong Ethiopian is and how much it has grown.

I got back from Ethiopia on the 28th and Markus and I went out to dinner and a old school Spanish place on the block, Restaurante El Bierzo.  We arrived at 8.50pm and the place hadn't even opened for dinner yet!  We still haven't gotten into the rhythm of Spanish dining.  It was good and simple and very old school, with older waiters, some really old, in white jackets shuffling around taking orders.  We'll be back.

By Sunday Markus's hair was starting to look like a rat's nest, as my grandmother would say, so we headed out to find a black barber, come hell or high water.  We took the train to Lavapiés and set out to find a barber.  After asking around we found Andy, a Nigerian guy who runs a salon with a woman who I assume to be his wife.  There are only two chairs, one for women and one for men.  One wall is completely covered with hair extensions, and the other walls are all covered with posters of different hair styles, all hung askew, all with typos ("Afeica Baber Hair").  There were babies in prams and customers waiting for a cut and loud music and it was a great place.  Plus, Andy speaks English so the boys could communicate what they wanted.  The cuts were great and a bargain at only €5.  I brought Andreas the very next day.  Andreas is not a fan of being a guinea pig but is always happy to send Markus to whatever scheme I have cooked up.

I also had the opportunity to talk to a real estate agent.  I love our place, but it is expensive for a 3 bedroom because it is marketed to short-term vacationers.  Now that I have spent some time here I have a better idea what I am looking for.  I would love to stay in Chueca because I love its vibrancy, but I'm sure we can find a 4-bedroom at a lower price, then we have a permanent room for guests!  I would also kill for a terrace.  I really miss outdoor space.  Somehow in the 29 years I lived in Brooklyn I only lived in one place without outdoor space, and I was only there for 9 months.  Pretty remarkable.  I'm not in a hurry to find a new place.  the goal is to find the right place at the right time, not the least worst option right now.

Thursday I was back on the road, heading to San Francisco to hang out with my dad a few days.  I wasn't going to see him until Christmas otherwise so I wanted to take a quick trip to see him before school got really serious; I'm pretty confident less homework gets handed in when I'm out of town.  The trip from Madrid to San Francisco was endless, I think 17 hours door-to-door, but it was worth it to hang out with dad.  He is doing great.  One day one of the ladies who takes care of him took us out to dinner at a Thai place in Orinda, Siam Orchid.  Wasn't that great of her?  We are so blessed to have such amazing women looking after dad.  What would we do without Jhubie and Amy?  We also had a nice dinner with my brother Jeff and his wife Liz at a German place in Alameda, Speisekammer.  That was also great, but more for the company.  I was spoiled with German food in Fort Greene, but spending time with Jeff and Liz is always great.

I got back to Madrid on Wednesday 08NOV and I think I spent Thurday and Friday in bed.  I had been traveling so much I was really wiped out.  Saturday and Sunday we didn't do much either and by Sunday I was getting antsy, thinking I squandered away days when I should have done something.  I mean I haven't done anything touristy yet.  I haven't even been to the Prado!  And I had hoped to take quick trips to Norway to visit family and haven't done that either.  I won't let another weekend disappear like this, especially when Markus isn't playing any soccer games.  Markus and I did go out to dinner (Andreas didn't want to join us), so we tried a new place, El 26, just around the corner.  Our meal was great although a tad expensive.  The salmorejo was delicious, but it is getting a little cold for that.  I'm sure it is gauche to order salmorejo this late in the year.  

Monday came around and it was time to get back into a routine.  I went to swim in the morning after the boys left.  The weather turned quite cold, maybe mid-40s in the morning, and the pool is a lot emptier in the winter which is great.  I started a new round of Spanish classes, now in the morning 10.00am-01.05pm, again everyone is much younger than me.  When everyone was introducing themselves one student said she was 19 and another 18. Good lord.  18?  But everyone is nice and we are having a good time.

With the new schedule I am able to try the "menu del dia" which a lot of restaurants have for lunch to drum up business.  I went back to El 26 and had a large bowl of minestrone soup, chicken skewers and rice, and a yogurt and berry dessert.  Including the drink the bill was just €11.40.  Wow.

The big news of the week was that Murat set up a trial lesson at a new tennis place.  Andreas hasn't really been thrilled with the tennis training he was getting at Fuencarral, so we wanted to try someplace new and Murat plays at Club Tenis de Chamartin.  The trial was set up on Wednesday for 08.00pm-09.30pm.  So after having swum in the morning, and gone to class late morning, and done some work in the afternoon, I got a Respiro car and drove him to the club.  They were expecting us and they couldn't have been nicer.  Alberto, just roll that R to imagine how suave and gorgeous he was, introduced himself and soon Andreas was swept off to play tennis.  I jumped back in the car and drove to Alcobendas, not far away, to pick up Markus, where soccer ends at precissly 08.00pm.  To kill time before Andreas's tennis ended Markus and I drove to a massive Carrefour supermarket to buy things; living in the center of Madrid is great but the supermarkets and understocked and overpriced.  So we got a few things, including cream cheese which I had to track down for a killer Thanksgiving dessert (recipe to follow).  We drove back to Chamartin to pick up Andreas and before I even talked to him I could see he was beaming with happiness.  He loved everything about the new club and they were happy to take him under their wing.  There were 5 other kids, and they had three courts which was great.  The other boys were as big as redwoods.  How do boys get so tall?  

By the time we got home it was 10.00pm and we hadn't even had dinner yet.  So I dropped everything the minute I got in the house and whipped up some Pho Ga.  By the time we were done eating and cleaning up it was 11.00pm and I had been running around so frantically for hours that I couldn't sleep.  But this is what Mondays and Wednesdays will be like from now on, near pandemonium from start to finish.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and my dear friend Karen and her son are coming to visit for Thanksgiving!  Our first guests!

Less Excitement = Fewer Posts

I am way behind in posting.  Apologies if anyone has been waiting with baited breath.  

The week of 02OCT was great because my Spanish class was really outstanding.  There were only 4 students in the class, all 4 of us loud-mouths who were easily sidetracked into all sorts of discussions.  It made a huge difference to be in a smaller class and we really bonded.  Somehow I wasn't the oldest in the class.  There was Gary, early 70s, from British Columbia, and Peter, maybe late 30s, from London, and cute Omar, from Iraqi Kurdistan, all of 30 years old.  The 4 of us took our breaks at the coffee house across the street where we inhaled coffee and pintxos in the 10 minutes we had, chatting about this and that.  Elena was our teacher again and she was cracking up with the rest of us..  A great week..

The big bureaucratic accomplishment of the week was opening a bank account!  The previous week I had gone to two "hip" banks where I waited in long lines only to find out that I had to have a residency card to open an account.  I thought I would try Bankia, which is just around the corner from the house.  The bank was near empty and I think they have a rather stodgy reputation, but they were happy to open an account for me.  It took something like 45 minutes of paperwork filling but I am now the owner of a Spanish bank account!  I don't know why but a lot of places don't accept credit card payments on a monthly basis, and more than one place has told me that Spanish law prevents them from keeping credit cards on file which sounds ridiculous.  So now I can pay for my gym membership and Andreas's tennis lessons with my bank account.

I also got back into the pool this week.  There is a 25m pool about 10 minutes from the house and this is one of the reasons I am in the Chueca neighborhood.  Swimming for me in Brooklyn was a ridiculous ordeal.  Last summer I remember driving to Williamsburg, parking the car, swimming, and driving back to Fort Greene.  But in September (2016) when everyone came back from wherever they were I drove to Williamsburg and couldn't find parking anywhere.  I drove around and around for 20 minutes with no luck.  I gave up and drove home, where I drove around and around for another 20 minutes just to find parking.  The whole ordeal took about 90 minutes and I didn't accomplish anything.  So from then on I decided to take the subway to Chelsea, but that took forever.  I decided then and there in the future I would live within walking distance of a swimming pool.  And the pool here is really nice.  I pay all of €47/month with access to a beautiful pool.  It is a bit crowded, and no one seems to pay any attention to the signs that say "calle rapida" and "calle intermediata", but for now I am very happy having a pool so close.

Friday night the 6th we had Ana and Murat and Mateo over for dinner.  I made a collossal (sp?) amount of Pad Thai and it worked out great.  I am happy to be cooking Asian again!

Saturday night I flew to Togo for business.  I hadn't been in Togo in about 10 months and I needed to make a trip to work with my client ASKY, but the summer had been so chaotic I didn't have any time.  Markus had a soccer game on Sunday, which I missed, but Ana was sweet to go to the game and cheer him on.  What would I do without her?  

I was concerned of course about finding the right person to stay with the boys, and Ana recommended Mery, a very sweet Bolivian woman.  She spent school nights with the boys to make sure they were fed and woken up in the morning.  It worked out extremely well, espeically as Mery speaks not a lick of English and the boys have to suffer with language, which is the only way to learn.  Andreas praised her food and the boys said they would be content with her again in the future.  Which is great because I am going to Ethiopia on the 22nd and I want to squeeze in a trip to San Francisco to see my dad.

I got home the following Saturday, the 14th, after flying from Lomé to Dakar on ASKY (my plane is above), and then Dakar to Madrid on Iberia.  The flight arrived Madrid at 04.30am but it was a quick connection.  Markus had had a soccer game planned, but Thursday and Friday were school holidays and the game was cancelled!  The boys spent most of those days in front of screens which I wasn't happy about but they do a lot of running around so I guess it isn't the worst thing.  I slept most of Saturday but we were getting cabin fever at home by Sunday.  Mateo had a game Sunday evening so I rented a car from Respiro and we headed out to Alcobendas.  It was great to see Ana and Murat again.  Mateo played well, and after the game we went out to dinner at a local Italian place.  It was fantastic to have dinner with them and just hang out.  

Next week back to Spanish class!

La vida cotidiana, y pensando en PR

Life in Madrid is amazing, but maybe it doesn't continually amaze any longer.  The near hourly combination of wonder and putting one's foot in one's mouth seems to have abated.  Maybe my posts will be less frequent.  I mean a lot of the stuff that goes on now is the same stuff that would go on had we been in Brooklyn, and I don't konw if I would be blogging about it because it probably wouldn't be that interesting.

I have to say I have been thinking a lot about my wonderful friends Wanda and LIsa.  They are in Rincón Puerto Rico and I think they really suffered a lot of damage at their inn, Tres Sirenas.  My great friend Yael had visited a couple of years ago with our boys and it was a magical week with magical friends.  I haven't had much information from them but I think I read that the swimming pool ended up in the ocean.  I am thinking about them every day, multiple times.  

Last week started off with a bang.  The boys told me that the new bus schedule allows them to sleep in a little more, so they left the house at 07.30am to arrive at 07.45am at Casa de America.  Lo and behold I get a phone call from them saying that the bus has left already.  My day was already going to be chaotic; this was just the icing on the cake.  I quickly made a reservation with Respiro, met the boys at the garage, and drove out to the school, berating them along the way.  It was bound to happen once, but I was furious.  It took us 45 minutes to get there and I could see heavy traffic heading back to Madrid, which is what I would have to suffer through to get back home in time for my meeting to be empadronado or whatever its called at 09.30am.  On top of all of this gas was running low and I'm supposed to fill up the tank whenever gas is below 1/4 tank, and I really had no idea what to do.  There is a credit card in the glove box to pay for gas so I found the right station after entering it on Waze.  There doesn't seem to be self serve so I waited for the attendant and the tank was locked so he asked for the keys, which are attached to a cord in the car to make sure you don't accidentally walk off with the keys (this is getting boring even as I am typing it.  See, if this is the day's excitement I should blog less frequently).  I called Respiro and they said the key just snaps off the cord.  Duh.  Tank filled, incredibly inefficiently with me having to walk leisurely into the store of the gas station and wait for him to ring me up.  Then back on the road, driving like a bat out of hell to get to the house ASAP.

I raced off to my meeting, took a number and sat down.  I really have no idea what this is for, but Markus needs it to play on the team.  Something like verification of domicile?  No sei.  My number was called, I showed the lease and the passports, but alas the lease was in English and he needed it in Spanish.  Momentary panic.  I had to wait 2 weeks for this appointment and I didn't want to wait another two weeks.  But I was charming enough that the guy asked for his supervisor and the problem suddenly wasn't a problem.  Now I am an official Madrileño, a word I still can't say properly despite a lot of practice.

That afternoon I started Spanish classes, 02.00pm-05.00pm Mon-Fri.  It is a big time commitment but I need to learn.  The school is a 5 minute walk from the house, which is why I chose it; 3 hours a day of Spanish is going to chew up a lot of time, and I'm busy enough already.  They put me in Level A1, week 3, which means the third week after having zero knowledge of Spanish.  I thought that was too low for me but I really need to learn the fundamentals.  There were 7 of us in class:  2 from China, 2 from France, 2 from the US, and 1 from Germany.  Teacher was great but students not so exciting, and some of the accents were akin to fingernails on the chalkboard. 

Some parts of the class were interesting, like verb conjugation.  In Portuguese they combine the 2nd and 3rd person:

falar = to talk, speak
eu falo
você fala
ele fala
nos falamos
vocês falam
eles falam

In Spanish there are six totally different conjugations:

hablar = to talk, speak
yo hablo
tu hablas
el habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros hablais
ellos hablan

I do pretty well in a lot of converstation if I can totally avoid the 2nd person.  "Ola Ana.  Como va Ana?  Que va Ana hacer esa semana?"  It makes for very stilted conversation to talk to everyone in the 3rd person.

So that stuff I like, the things I don't know, but I was about to pass out sometimes from boredom.  How to tell time in Spanish.  How to use the 24-hour clock.  I know all this stuff already.  But better to suffer through this and learn what I need to learn before moving up.

It is interesting to consider the fact that Chinese people must really struggle because the sentence formation in Spanish isn't really so different in English:

Como tomas el café Olavo?
Lo tomo con leche.

The teacher, who is great, made it confusing talking about "direct object pronouns" but I guess she has to do that for the people who don't speak European languages.  Do the Chinese have direct object pronouns?  Actually, scratch that.  I don't really care.

Most of the week was really busy with Spanish and work and life, but on Thursday I jumped on the subway to an Asian market I found online, near the Tetuán station.  It was great and I loaded up.  I really found a lot of stuff that I will use, which I was really happy about.  I love cooking Asian food and we have tried a few Asian places that have been mediocre at best.  This was booty from the trip:  

On the way home I stopped at the market to buy fixings for Pad Thai.  I was aching for Pad Thai and it turned out delicious, although I bought raw shrimp to cook and it was more challenging than I thought.  Each time I removed a head, goop would come out in all directions; is this normal?  I'm not much of a shrimp fan anyway, so next time chicken.  If my airline work goes to hell in a handbasket maybe I will open a Thai restaurant where I only serve Pad Thai.  Next target is to make some Bim Bim Bap and potstickers.

Friday I was invited to Clair's for dinner.  I had met Clair, a friend of Ana's, a couple of weeks ago.  I went to Clair's house where there were about 8 of us, mostly Brits who married into Spanish culture and were living in Madrid.  Lovely evening.  Clair's house reminded me of a brownstone in Fort Greene:  quiet street, small townhouse, lovely garden.  Really great.  Clair made a delicious aubergine dish, asparagus with avocado and orange sections (I need to try that), and couscous.  I brought wine and brussels sprouts because when I met her we were pining for odd vegetables that can't easily be found, and I stumbled across brussels sprouts at the market.  At midnight I had to bow out early - soccer game in the morning.

We had been told that Markus would need to bring white shorts and socks to the game, but Saturday morning comes and he says he doesn't have that, so before picking up the Respiro car we rush down to Gran Via to pay more than we needed to for what I should have gotten last week.  Game was fine, another triangular.  Markus scored a goal in the first half and his team, Alcobendas Sport, won 3-1.  2nd half Markus didn't start and the team fell behind.  He was brought back on late in the half, which must be a good sign, but it was too late and the boys lost.  Just a friendly.  Markus complained that he didn't get enough passes, but that's what center forwards do, complain about lack of opportunity.  Things couldn't be better as far as soccer goes.

After retuning the car, Markus and I went to a restaurant called Chan (Calle de Barbieri, 4) which I walked passed every day to/from Spanish class.  The place bills itself as a purveyor of Chinese street food, and although the interior was cute there is no way we are going back.  The service was tortuously slow.  We order a duck bun, Korean rice, and potstickers, and we were there for an hour and a half.  Good god.  You can get 10 dishes at Republic on Union Square in 20 minutes.  What could possibly take so long?

Sunday the three of us just chilled at home.  So much rushing around.  Markus went out to meet Mateo in the afternoon, they walked around the Real Madrid stadium before the game.  Next week:  gotta start swimming.

Glasses!

Thursday morning I felt like short-order cook at home, between making breakfast and packing up lunch for the boys.  Morning I'm sure for many parents like me is a short burst of pandemonium followed by calm.  It is great once they are out the door. 

After working a bit I ran a couple of errands.  I had to go to Vodafone to figure out what was going on with Andreas's mobile phone since he blew through all the data.  We had paid €20 per month per line with 7GB of data for each of us and within 2 weeks Andreas had used it all.  There is a way to add money to the phone by using an app, but I couldn't figure out how to move that money from my balance to actual data, and of course everything on the app is in Spanish, and every text from Vodafone is in Spanish.  After some struggling it turns out I can add only in increments of €20, and then a new month starts, even if the last month hasn't ended.  To get a better deal I can sign up for monthly non-prepaid service, but for that I need a local bank account, and to keep our current numbers we have to have had them for 3 months.  Why is everything so complicated?

From there I walked nearby to Mercado Barceló.  I had heard there was a good butcher there where I might be able to get some good sausages, but it turns out there are MANY places there to get good sausages and vegetables.  The place I gravitated too was perfect, exactly what I am looking for!  A small butcher that makes its own sausages in the back with an old guy up front grinding meat to order.  I bought a few different sausages from them, they look near Paisano level and I am excited to try it out.  I also found a vegetable guy that has dill!  Wow.  This is what I have been looking for, and it is just a 15 minute walk from the house.

On the way home I made a few stops.  I stopped by a small olive oil store that only sells olive oil and I bought some olive oil.  Next I stoped by a small spice store that only sells spices and I bought a few things to stock up my pantry.  Thankfully the guy there spoke English because I really needed some help with the words.  I needed some coriander and cumin and paprika and red pepper flakes and all sorts of things that I took for granted being in a pantry.  He sold me 30g of each, the minimum he could sell for each, so I took that because I had no visual idea what that meant.  I mean I guess I shouldn't ask for a kilo of Herbes de Provence, right?  He packed up each spice in its own little paper bag and wrote the name of the spice on each bag.  Is this normal?  I feel like Wonka's Chocolate Factory must be just around the corner.  Everything is just too perfect.

Next I stopped at stopped at my corner market, Mercado San Antón, which is really a giant food hall but because it is a market and it is on my corner I'm going to call it my corner market.  I needed some eggs and a very quick bite, and I have a go-to place already for quick bites.  I find this small treat of herring with avocado and a small glass of cider to hit the spot.  €1 for the cider, €1 for the tapas.  Life is really good here..

Later in the afternoon went to El Corte Ingles, the store I find myself going to daily, and discovered they have a whole hardware and electronics section, a little Radio Shack hidden on the top floor.  I'm really tired of using electronic adaptors, and the three of us are fighting of the one adaptor that can be used by weird plugs.  I bought a couple of electronic cords with Spanish plugs, and more hangers!  Finally my closet is starting to look organized.  A vast improvement from where we started out, and I even have hangers to spare!  

On Friday Andreas started telling me he was having trouble seeing the board at school.  He even fessed up that when playing tennis at night he can't really see the ball until it is right in front of him.  I did some research online and after Andreas got home from school we walked over to Optica Toscana (Calle de Hortaleza, 70).  It looked a little swank but Antonio took very good care of us and tested Andreas's eyes.  Yes, he needs glasses.  We spent time picking out frames and they said they would be ready tomorrow.  Muy rapido!

Markus wanted to go see some horror movie "IT" with his friend Pedro which, according to the theater's website, isn't recommeneded for kids under 16, but I called the theater and they said it isn't a restriction, just a recommendation.  So the boys met at the theater nearby and had their wits shaken up.  Hopefully Pedro's parents don't take me to task for my son introducing them to such influeces.  I need to reach out to them, maybe have them over.  Andreas meanwhile went to his party at Teatro Barceló where aparently they have parties for teens early in the evening and then for adults later on.  He had a great time and said he would go back in the future.

Saturday Markus had an early soccer game at Alcobendas so we were out the door at 08.55am.  We had to use a new Respiro garage becasue the 4 cars at our normal place on Calle de Farmacia were taken, but the other garage was also just a 10 minute walk away; they seem to have Respiro garages everywhere.  The American in me wanted to nurse a giant coffee while watching the soccer game so we stopped at Starbucks en route.  Forgot my hat so I had to find some shade in the bleachers for the game.  Markus's team, Alcobendas Sport, played a triangular against two other teams.  Each team played one half with each of the other teams, so that all three teams play a full game, spilt between different opponents.  Markus played in the first game (half) and scored a goal; they won 2-0.  He didn't play in the 2nd game, and they won 3-1.  His team seems to be doing well.  They have played 4 friendlies and have won all four.  

Andreas texted me throughout the morning to see if glasses were ready and as soon as we dropped off the car at the garage  I got the text from the optician, so Andreas met me downstairs and walked over there to pick up the glasses.  They look great.  He wants to play tennis with contacts so they ordered some trial contacts which will be ready next week. 

.We just chilled out at home on Saturday.  There has been a lot of rushing around.  Sunday morning Ana, who had been in Montreal working on a shoot for Cirque de Soleil, was back in town and called to make plans.  Markus and I met up with her, Murat and Mateo at Parque de El Retiro.  It was a warm morning and the park was FULL of people strolling around an enjoying the beautiful day.  Just a glorious day to be outside.  Really the weather here has been amazing.  Maybe two drops of rain since we arrived, warm during the day but chilly overnight and the mornings.  Madrid is dry dry dry.  I can leave a cut apple on the kitchen counter overnight and it looks no worse for the wear in the morning despite some browning.  I definitely do not miss the humidity and fruit flies of New York.  

From the park we walked to a nearby place called Sanchis (Av. de Menéndez Pelayo, 13) which was full of people and had a very old school feel.  We had some claras, and some boquerones, and some chips.  Really great, casual, lively atmosphere.  i will definitely be going back.

The five of us walked home from there, and along the way we saw some beautiful buildings.  I'm kind of fantasizing about finding a new apartment at some point, one with a terrace where maybe I can recreate my barbecue scene from Brooklyn.  I've been looking online at apartments at Idealista, although nothing catches my eye right now.  I know I am paying too much for my current place, but I needed to get settled in something nice and safe, and I will keep my eyes open for other places.  Most of what we saw walking home was beautiful but the streets were too busy.  I like being on a side street even if that street is noisy with people and garbage men and delivery truckes, but I don't want to live on a superhighway. 

Enroute we stopped at Bakery Harina (Plaza de la Independencia, 10) to pick up some bread and pastries, and I made lunch for the six of us, our first meal at home with friends.  Super casual but it turned out great, and we have exactly six chairs so it worked out perfectly.  I made Quinoa and Vegetable Stew and it was really delicious.  After we ate too many pastries and drank some coffee, Ana and Murat took the three boys to play tennis while I put my feet up at home and cleaned up a bit.  I basically said if you take the boys I will clean up!  I was desperate for some peace and quiet!

Tomorrow is a big day!  I have my enpadronado meeting in the morning and my first Spanish class in the afternoon!

Going out and meeting new people

Friday morning I went out to do some errands.  The street we live on is kind of gritty with all sorts of activity in the mornings, lots of trucks dropping off goods for the market.  Below picture is an example of the problem of trucks on a narrow street.  In order to avoid getting hit in the face with the rear view mirror I had to step into the doorway of a house; there was simply no room for me to get passed.  The driver asked what I took the picture for, and when I told him I thought it was crazy he laughed.  Sitting at the dining table I have heard many a side-view mirror get ripped clean off the car from passing trucks.

After squeezing past the truck I went back to the coffee place, Cafés Arrivederci (Calle de Augusto Figueroa, 18), to have them grind the beans I bought yesterday.  I spoke in Spanish and was proud of myself explaining to the guy working there that I had purchased a French press and coffee the day before, but the coffee hadn't been ground so please grind this bag of coffee for a French press.  We talked about the correct grind for a French press and he was very friendly.  I was feeling very pleased about advanced Spanish until he asked as I was leaving if I wanted to buy the French press.

I strolled around the neighborhood a bit and got a little turned around, but rather than retrace my steps I just made a bigger circle and ended up on Calle San Gregorio, which is a great street just two blocks long, close to the house.  It is tranquil with beautiful buildings and a little park with a restaurant, no delivery trucks driving on the sidewalks.  Beautiful.  I filed this street in my memory bank as a possible target for our next apartment..  I picked up some eggs at my chicken guys at Mercado San Anton and came home.

The living room needed rearranging.  The TV was next to the dining table and not the couch, so I moved TV to other side of the room, but couldn't move the internet modem; wireless is really poor in the bedrooms and Andreas somehow managed to blow through 7GB of data in a week.  I didn't even know that was possible.  Of course it was the wireless's fault, and not his.

After school Markus came home with a friend from school, Pedro, and they bounced around for a few minutes before going out to hit the town.  This is what growing up in Brooklyn taught the kids, the confidence to go out on the town without adults.  Thankfully Madrid has fewer traps for young black kids than Brooklyn.  I have given this a lot of thought, with so few black people here.  The only black people I see regularly are the African guys selling knock off purses on the Gran Via, just like they do in New York, on a sheet with string at each corner so with one yank they can hide everything before the cops catch them.  There are just so few black people here that I don't think people have many preconceived ideas of the kids, which is good.  The kids feel very comfortable here and are very happy.

In the evening, I met Ana, Murat and Ana's friend Clair at Cerveceria Santa Barbara (Plaza de Sta. Barbara, 8), an old school beer hall with a mixture of the old (the staff wear white jackets) and the new (terrible flourescent lighting).  Murat introduced me to a Clara, which I guess is like a shandy, beer & soda; it was cold and refrescante.  Clair is cool, she's lived here a long time, originally from Britain.  

From there the four of us went to Makkila (Calle Fernando VI, 2) for another drink and chit chat.  Another nice place to return to.  So many nice casual places in Madrid.  Really this is a great city.

From there we walked to Mad is Mad (Calle Pelayo, 48) a tiny space where Ana's friend Manuel and his partner have a small gallery.  The place was packed with people all chit-chatting away.  All of it of course in Spanish.  It is so tough to follow a foreign language in a place where so many people are talking.  Manuel is a really nice guy and he saved me with conversation in English.  The street is very small and the crowd spilled out.  Lots of fun.  I will be back. 

Then we walked to Frida for a light dinner (Calle San Gregorio, 8), which I had walked past earlier in the day!  Glass of wine, some small plates to share like anchovies and ratatouile.  It got a little chilly, but nothing like chilly in New York.  Weather has been really perfect here, not a drop of rain, warm during the day and cool in the evenings.  I gave my jacket to Ana, and Murat was literally trembling with cold while I sat in there in short-sleeves.  In the little playground in the park homeless people laid out their cardboard and prepared for sleep.  There is quite a bit of homelessness here, but it is a big city with a temperate climate, not unsurprising.

Saturday morning I walked to a bakery I had seen on San Gregorio, Panederia Chueca (Calle San Gregorio, 1).  Boys don't really like seeds in their bread but there wasn't a lot of options.  It was a fine little establishment but I'm sure in one of the capitals of Europe I can find a bakery with a bigger selection.

Later that morning I went to El Corte Ingles with Markus to get new pants for him since he had ripped his school pants and they wouldn't be ready at the tailors until Tuesday.  Surely he will need more than one pair of pants anyway.  I brought my malfunctioning salad spinner and swapped it without any problem.  Markus got some pants that didn't need to be hemmed, thankfully, and I bought one of those Chromecast gizmos so that I could watch some TV in English. The TV here is dreadful, at least the TV that we get.  We have at least 100 channels and at least 25 of them are psychics.  This is what I see on most stations:

Early afternoon I took the subway to Plaza Castilla and Ana and Murat picked me up.  We drove to a friend's house for afternoon lunch.  Beautiful home, great food.  Everyone speaking Spanish but were friendly enough to have one-on-one's with me in English now and then.  Food was really delcious, a lovely afternoon in a garden.  I spoke to a guy named Guilherme who wondered how I would learn Spanish if i wasn't spending much time with Spaniards.  That is true.  If I worked in an office with others I would pick up Spanish a lot faster, but if I worked in an office I wouldn't have been able to move to Madrid.  I need to take Spanish classes somewhere.

Got home and boys were hungry of course.  Thought sushi would hit the spot but at 11.45pm on Saturday night the place around the corner was packed with people and no room for those without reservations.  We found a pizza place, Pizza Artesanas (Calle de Barbieri, 10), picked up slices, and brought them home for the boys to eat.

Sunday morning we all slept in.  Waking up every day at 06.30am is taking its toll.  Markus's soccer coach had recommended that players come watch the official team play a home game, so I rented a car from Respiro.  I got it an hour early so we could go to Ikea, right near the field.  As soon as Markus saw that blue wall he wanted me to take pictures of him.  I have two boys:  one can't stand being photographed and the other is constantly seeking to be photographed.  The ratio of pictures on this blog is going to be heavily skewed towards Markus because of this.

I bought small things, like plates and oven mitts, and I studied bigger things.  Markus needs a desk, and I need a desk, and both of us need desk chairs, and I need a lot more dresser space for sweaters and such, and there is no place to hang coats in the entryway even though there is a wall screaming out for coat hooks, and the kitchen island has a space for bar stools, but no bar stools.  When I got home I emailed links of things that I would want for the apartment to the rental company.  We'll see what happens with that.  I am spending a lot of money on this place and I'm here for 10 months, maybe more.  The apartment is still too much like a hotel suite and not enough like a home.  

Ikea, of course, was exhausing, so we blew off the soccer game and came home.  Markus and I went to the market to get fixings for pasta.  I bought a new type of sausage, hoping it was better than the last.  I really took the Italian sausage at Paisano's for granted; Paisano's oh how I miss thee.  I haven't found the right sausage yet, and as soon as I started cooking this stuff I knew it wasn't right either.  Gotta hunt some more.  I did find broccoli at the supermarket so we had pasta & broccoli for dinner.  Markus konked out early while Andreas and I watched Kimmy Schmidt on NetFlix in the evening.  I called my great friend Yael and we chatted til 3am.

Monday morning I was craving carbs and I headed out in search of a new bakery.  I found it!  Panod (Calle de Prim, 1) is just a short walk from theh ouse and the place is perfect!  Beautiful variety of breads and pastries, which apparently they make onsite because you can see the guys baking in the back (see below).  There is a little cafe there where you can sit and have a coffee and something to eat.  I just picked up some bread today but I will be back to sit and enjoy myself.

On the way home I stopped at the supermarket where I only really needed milk.  I decided today was the day I was going to try the self-check out line since I had only one item.  Thankfully when I got to the screen there was an English option, but it was a curse instead of a blessing.  I am trying to be discreet about my American-ness and the machine is practically yelling at me SWIPE YOUR FIRST ITEM NOW!  SELECT FORM OF PAYMENT!.  Egad.  Does it assume all English speakers are mildly deaf and unable to read?  The whole store could hear it.  And I don't know why but everything in paying for an item is a little bit less efficient here.  In NYC I can put my card in the slot anytime during the check out process, but here I have to wait to be prompted, even when paying with a cashier.  So when the machine yelled at me to select form of payment I just entered my credit card, and then it froze.  But I have to push "credit card" before entering my credit card.  I have to learn to not be in such a constant hurry all the time.  I need to learn to be the guy at the cashier who takes his wallet out only when the cashier tells me how much everything costs, suddenly remembering that, geez, I will have to actually pay for all these items.  I always loved being behind people like this in NYC.

Went home to do some work, and then went to El Corte Ingles for a printer and graphing calculator, which Markus needs for school.  He said if he didn't get a graphing calculator he would fail Algebra.  I love how dramatic and how blatantly manipulative kids are.  I need the printer because on Monday I have an appointment to be "empadrado", or whatever, something like formalizing my presence in Spain, and I need to fill out and print some forms.  I hemmed and hawed about a printer but I ended up buying something small.  If it sucks I will sure to vent about it, taking satisfaction that my powerful blog post will bring down the HP corporation because the instructions are too complicated.

I took the train to Plaza Castilla and met Markus to go to soccer practice.  This was going to be the last trip with him; from now on he would be on his own.  It was relatively easy although it did take some time.  He should have no problem on Wednesday, and this will free up a lot of hours in my day.  I was thinking that Markus only has 2 days of soccer practice a week, and he really needs more activity, but the days when he has soccer are really long.  He leaves the house every day at 07.15am and on soccer days he doesn't get home until 09.30pm.  I asked and he says he plays some sort of soccer informally at school, so at least he is running around a bit.

Got home late with Markus.  I just boiled some potatoes and warmed up leftover chicken, throwing in some halved cherry tomatoes at an attempt to give the kids vegetables.  The future will be easier with Markus going to practice by himself..

The rental company did reply to my request for furniture.  They sent a list of things that the owners were willing to pay for, and it seemed to be the cheapest dresser, the cheapest bar stools, the cheapest coat rack, the cheapest desk, and the cheapest chairs.  This was annoying.  I am paying a small fortune for this apartment, a price that elicits laughter from people who know Madrid, but it is a beautiful place.  I'm not going to have a crap dresser in my swanky bedroom.  I'll probably buy my own stuff and take it with my when I leave.  I love the apartment and I love the location, but maybe there is something better for us out there. 

Tuesday morning I received an email from my dear friend Jessica.  Jessica was a tenant of mine in Brooklyn and now we are great friends.  Hers is an interesting story.  She is Korean and somehow, I don't remember how, she met a Spanish guy from Barcelona living in Tokyo.  So she moved to Tokyo, married Piru, and recently had a baby!  I just love this story.  The boys and I visited them a few years ago and we had the best time.  Tokyo left a huge impression on Andreas, he just loved it.  We went to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama and and ate at wondeful restaurants.  Jessica took such good care of us there. 

Anyway, Jessica and family are in Barcelona with Piru's parents and since we are so close it would have been great to see them.  But already our lives are chaotic.  The weekdays are exhausting, and Markus has soccer games on the weekends.  Saturday Andreas has some sort of dance that he is being a bit cagey about.  If the three of us were to jump on a train Sunday morning and come back Sunday evening it would cost a small fortune.  That's the trouble with kids in school.  The only time you can travel is when everyone else can travel, and the costs are so high.  I was hoping to have a long weekend in Oslo to visit family, but even with low-cost carriers we can only do this on the weekends or on holiday breaks and the cost is just too high.  So maybe I'll pop up for a few days to Oslo mid-week soon.  Ana is helping me find someone who can stay with the boys when I travel.  

Tuesday after working in the morning I wanted to find a place that offers menu del dia.  I remember this in Barcelona.  I found Bar Joan at the Santa Catarina market.  For €10 or something I got a multi-course meal with a bottle of wine plopped in front of me.  I wanted to find something like that here and I had read about this online, but I needed to go out hunting.  One place near me had a board out front promoting braised oxtail menu del dia for €16, but I am not quite Spanish enough to have braised oxtail for lunch; I would need a serious nap after that.  Instead, I found Tuk Tuk (Calle del Barquillo, 26), which I had read about.  It was about 01.00pm, and there was only one other guy in the place.  I ordered the Malaysian curry dish.  Meh.  I've said this a million times but we are so spoiled in NYC.  This place wouldn't survive 10 minutes there.  I need to go out and find an Asian market so I can make my own.  I could do much better than this.

On the way home I stopped by the market to get some more eggs from my chicken guys.  We go through a lot of eggs.  Growing boys.  I asked about ordering a turkey for Thanksgiving, and he didn't seemed phased at all.  I just need to figure out how big of a bird I need (in kg) and I'll be back to order.

Boys came home from school and Markus seemed to be wearing a new school gym shirt, one that looked a little tight.  He was excited because he knew he looked good.  This boy is going to have girls and boys falling all over him when he gets older.  What a ham.

The boys, as usual, were starving.  The amount of food consumed at this age is impressive.  I made a vat of pasta with leftover pasta sauce and the boys practically inhaled the whole thing.  Andreas went to tennis by himself, and he texted us from the subway when he got back so we met him to have a bite to eat.  We went to Kritikos (Calle San Gregorio, 11) for some Greek food.  When we got there it had some sort of weird sliding glass door which I couldn't open and everyone there seemed to gawk as I fumbled; I'm getting very used to looking like a fool.  Although animated all evening Markus started to fall apart and was too tired to eat; I have to figure out a better meal schedule.  Andreas had some sort of gyro meet with French fries (are both F's capitalized?), and I had the spanikopita.  It was ok.  Too many great Greek restaurants in New York.

Wednesday morning I made Makrus and Andreas breakfast and they were out of the house by 07.15am.  I promptly went back to bed.  I have been really busy with work.  My little airline in Togo, ASKY, is taking delivery of a new aircraft in November and we will be starting new flights to Monrovia (Liberia), Freetown (Sierra Leone), and Banjul (the Gambia).  Lots of work to prepare for this, but flights should be good and they will connect Ethiopian's Newark flight to both Accra and Monrovia via Lomé.  Yes, this is all shop talk but it has been a lot of work, a lot of very satisfying work..

In the afternoon went out to do some errands.  Stopped by Friendly Rentals to get a copy of the contract, which I will need for my empadromento meeting on Monday.  Just across the street is Socoratt where I had a pile of paella and a glass of wine for lunch.  From there I walked to Nodriza to pick up Farro and Flaxseed Oil, although no one sells Farro in Spain apparently and she got me Spelt instead; I'm going to figure out how to make Farro Salad with spelt instead of farro.  From there I went to El Corte Ingles for what seems like my daily visit.  They have a post office on the 7th floor and I had to send a check to be deposited in NYC, which I found ridiculous.  I bank with HSBC which markets itself as a global bank and I had to send a paper check in the mail to have it deposited?  What is this, 1997?.  I went to the 4th floor for kitchen goods and I am practically on a first-named basis with the staff there.  I bought drinking glasses (which are is serious short supply at the apartment; either they are being broken or stolen).  I also picked up some weird butcher block for my knives, which of course I brought from NYC..

My last stop was at Inhispania (Calle Marqués de Valdeiglesias, 3) to sign up for Spanish classes next week.  I will be taking Spanish every day next week for 3 hours a day.  My days will be busy, and I have to figure out how to get to the pool still, but the boys can get to and from activities on their own and I need to learn Spanish.  I'm still looking for a tutor who can work with the boys in a private setting.  

When I got home Andreas was there already.  He had taken the 3pm bus from school which drops him off at Moncloa and he got home on the subway with minimal instruction.  The school guidance counselor had recommended we go to a University Fair so we headed off to the Intercontinental Hotel.  There were about 40 schools represented and Andreas and I chatted with a few of them.  He really wants to go to school in California; he really likes it there.  We had a nice talk with someone from UC Santa Cruz, and talked to someone from Hult International School, a place I had never heard of.  I pushed him to the Penn table and I would at least like him to apply to my alma mater.  We'll see. 

I think it is important that he sees where he might be spending 4 years of his life, but the guidance counselor said that most kids in Spain just take online tours.  The boys have a week off for Easter, and the week before both Monday and Friday are holidays, so I'm thinking about going to the US with Andreas to tour colleges during this period, first week in California and second week on the East.  The fair piqued his interest which is great.  He's interested in business and biology.

On way home Andreas had a quick bite at Delinas (Calle Miguel Ángel, 24) which was ok but not great.  Jumped on subway to Chueca from there and then we visited our local gym, which has a big pool (25m) and a small gym.  The pool was filled to the brim with swimmers, but it was peak period.  The cost is only €47/month, €38/month for Andreas and Markus each.  I need to carve out time to get to that pool.  

Andreas and I came home and watched some Kimmy Schmidt on NetFlix.  When Markus came home from soccer I met him downstairs and we went to Granjero for a sandwich for him.  He sat at the dining table doing math homework until he couldn't keep his eyes open a second later and went to bed...

Getting into a routine, and new discoveries

Now just after a few days we are getting into a routing.  Maybe I will blog weekly instead of every two days.  Looking through my pictures I realize now that I have no new pictures of the boys, but the boys are in school all day, doing an activity in the evening, and staring at their phones until bed.  Not terribly exciting.

Wednesday morning I went to get transport cards for the three of us.  The boys are going to be spending a lot of time on public transport and they have a great deal where anyone under 26 can travel in the whole system for 30 days for just €20.  Viva Europe!  But to do this I had to jump through a few bureaucratic hurdles.  I had to go to the local transport office, and when I got there, there was a line of at least 20 people.  I waited and waited with no movement in the line and eventually someone came out and down the line to see what everyone wanted.  When I told him I needed transport tickets for me and my kids, he told me to give him the passports and return the next day after 09.30am.  I was a little dubious, but I handed over my passports and headed off home.

On the way I stopped at Mercado de San Ildefonso.  I had read this was another food hall, and wanted to check it out, but it seemed more of a tourist trap than an actual market.  There were about a dozen tiny food stalls lining the walls, and the food wasn't cheap.  I had a small plate of seafood paella and a glass of sangria.  I don't need to go back there.

Disappointed from that market I went to my Mercado de San Anton before heading home.  I went to the 2nd floor and had one little toast with herring and a squirt of avocado on top (arenques con aguacate) for €1.  Delicious.  I'm starting to like my market more and more.

After some work at the house, I spent plotting my trip for the afternoon.  There is a great app I stumbled upon when trying to figure out how to take public transport to Alcobendas, where Markus plays soccer.  It is called MoovIt.  Google Maps is hopeless in Alcobendas, and the MoovIt app works really well with local bus lines.

I took the #5 train from Chueca to Alonso Martinez, and the #10 from Alonso Martinez to Santiago Bernabeu.  From there I wanted to Celltec to pick up Andreas's phone.  They did a great job.  As I left there I found a key copying place, Copia tu Llave (Calle de Orense, 42) and made copies of the keys (they provided only two sets).  The guy was super nice, worked fast, and the keys actually fit when I got home.  The hardware store I used in Fort Greene was kind of a mess with keys.  They never worked.  Invariably I would have to find some random tool to start filing down the keys to get them to work.  

From there, I walked to Plaza Castilla where I was going to meet Markus.  Markus usually takes the bus to Casa de America, but through the miracle of technology I found a bus on Moovit that takes us right from Plaza Castilla to the field in Alcobendas.  We found each other easily, and went to the subway platform to one of those photo booths to have pictures taken for his team.  €5 for 8 pictures.  Why are passport pictures such a rip-off in the US? 

There are two different lines to Alcobendas, and I chose to try #159 since the platform was above ground (nothing worse than underground bus gates - nightmares of the Port Authority bounced in my head).  We paid €2 each and the bus roared off.  We got there in no time, hustled to the field, and arrived just as practice started.  Next time we will try the #171 since it leaves us closer to the field.

I had thought about going swimming while Markus was in practice but I was wiped out.  I had been hustling all afternoon rushing from this to that, and waking up at 06.30am to get the boys moving was taking its toll.  I had a cup of coffee and watched the game.

After practice we found that the #827 departs across the street from the field, takes us directly to Canillejas where we can take the #5 metro to Chueca.  45 minutes door-to-door.  I'll do this once more with Markus and then he can do it by himself.

We got home around 10pm and I wanted to try the local Vietnamese place, but it looked relatlively fancy and Markus was still in his soccer togs.  We instead whent to Kung Fu Noodle (Costanilla de Capuchinos, 3).  When we arrived there was no one there, no one came in while we ate, and we left the place empty when we left.  Not a great sign.  Food was ok but we can't expect Asian food in Madrid to be as good as it is in NYC.  We just needed something quicky, filling and cheap, and it fit the bill.

There is a little sandwich place with weird hours on our block that I wanted to check out coming home.  It is called Granjero Busca Campero (Calle Barbieri 13).  The place is ridiculously tiny, and we chatted with the couple who works there.  They actually live right on the next block.  They make "deliciosos bocadillos calients en pan de mollete XXL tipicos de Malaga".  The sandwich below that Andreas ordered is nealry the size of a frisbee and costs only €4.50.  They are open most days 12.00pm-04.00pm and 08.00pm to 12.30am, but on Friday and Saturday they are open until 06.00am!  If the boys get hungry in late at night this is where I will be sending them.  

Thursday morning after shipping the boys off I did some work then hustled off to the transport office to get the transport cards and (hopefully) my passports back.  Again, a line of about 20 people.  I waited about 45 minutes and then again someone came to work the line and he recognized me.  He pulled me into the office and I got my transport cards.  Now I have to take them to the metro station to fill them.  The boys wlil be warned not to lose these things.

I did some work at home and stopped by a coffee store just around the corner for the apartment.  I managed to buy a French press and some coffee.  I am sick of the pods and the drip, and this is easy.  I really thought I was doing a great job in Spanish and then when I got home I realized the coffee was whole bean.  OK, partially this is my fault for not speaking Spanish well, but you would think the guy at the store would have offered to grind the beans for me.  I am really having trouble with anything coffee related.

I had leftovers for lunch.  Finally I have enough food in the fridge to eat leftovers for lunch.  Leftover chicken in pepper tomato goop, and I threw in an egg for good measure.  Yum.  Although it was a big production to bring my dutch oven with me, I'm thrilled I have it.  I used it all the time in Brooklyn and I didn't want to have to store mine and then go out and buy one here.  It has been weird cooking on an induction range.  Seems to work fine, and cleanup is easy, but weird nonetheless.  

I haven't attempted to use the oven yet.  It has all sorts of symbols which mean God only knows what.  I have to pull out the manual, and then start thinking in C instead of F.  Even the microwave has a lot of buttons.  There are 5 different power settings, and symbol showing that you should put a metal spoon in drinks before microwaving.  A metal spoon???  I had to look this up it sounded ridiculous.  Apparently because there are no pointy parts of a spoon you can do this and it will prevent the liquid from boiling over, but a fork won't work because something very complicated will happen at the tines.  Was I the only one that didn't know about this?

In the afternoon I explored a bit, heading to a health food store La Nodriza (Calle de los Caños del Peral, 5).  I was looking for Farro and Flaxseed Oil.  In the last few months I was in Brooklyn I found a great Farro Salad Recipe which is amazing, I made it multiple times, but I'm not a good enough cook to make Farro Salad without the farro.  The lady who worked there spoke great English and we had a lively discussion about Farro vs Spelt.  I don't know much but I know these aren't the same thing.  I needed the flaxseed oil to reseason my cast iron pan which got banged up on the trip (you can see why we had 400lbs of luggage).  She didn't have either but said they would be in next week.

From there I went back to El Corte Ingles where I bought more hangers (!), a napkin holder gizmo, a wide pan, and a salad spinner.  All the salad spinners seemed designed for children but I bought my favorite brand Zyliss.  When I got home and tested it however, it didn't work so I have to go back and replace it.  We'll see how easy that is.  It isn't a big inconvenience because I see myself going there at least twice a week for while.

I came home, and the boys came home.  Markus has a massive tear in his school uniform pants, pants he has worn only 4 times.  I went out to the tailor who recognized me; I told her I would be back frequently.  Then Andreas and I went to Fuencarral for a tennis lesson.  We filled up the transport cards at the station and headed off.  His lesson was 07.30pm-09.30pm, and he is set to play Tue & Thu for now.  The trip was easy and once he settled in and found his coach I went home to cook dinner, Smothered Chicken, something that I could do on the stove in my new pan.  This is another easy recipe I like.  I didn't have a lot of time and I didn't want to study the oven manual.  Andreas came home, he was starving, so I whipped up a salad while the chicken was finishing.  I kind of rushed things and the chicken could have spent more time in the pan, but it was good nonetheless.

The boys went to bed and I worked until about 01.30am.  It was REALLY loud outside, between the revelers and the garbage men.  I mean REALLY loud.  But I like it.  People having a good time drinking and carrying on, nothing negative.  All the bedrooms in the apartment are in the interior so you can't hear it when sleeping.

Soon the weekend!

First Day of School

The first day of school is just the best day of the year.  Kids need structure.  Parents need time to get things done.

We had to get up at 06.30am to get ready for school, which was about 6 hours earlier than the boys are used to.  It was still dark outside.  The boys were exhausted, but they were excited too, and excited to wear their new uniforms. 

The bus stop is only about 10 minutes away, an easy walk.  We weren't really sure which corner was the right one, but we eventually found other Aquinas students in uniforms.  I made a crack at another parent, something like, "Hey, now we can go out drinking!" and she looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about.  

I walked home and finally I would be able to get some work done, work that had been piling up for a month.  But I was so tired I indulged in a little nap.

Have I mentioned the coffee situation in the apartment?  There is a small drip coffee machine, and one of those pod things.  I really hate those pod things becasue the waste is so tremendous.  But I didn't want to hunt down filters for the drip machine so the other day I went to get pods at the grocery store.  Of course when I got home the pods were too big for the machine (who knew that pods came in different sizes?).  Great, now I'm stuck with these stupid pods.  So the next day I went back and got different pods and when I got home it turned out that those are even bigger!  What is wrong with me?  This morning I realized that the drip coffee machine has one of those re-usable filters so I don't have to go out and buy paper filters.  Unfortunately, I don't have coffee so I opened up three of the pods with a paring knife to access the coffee. coffee.  One of these days I will surely slice off a finger getting to the coffee in those pods.  Apologies to mother earth about the pods.

I did have to get some errands done that day.  I needed some basics, at least what I would call basics, and the apartment didn't have them:  a Brita filter, food storage containers, dish towels and a salad bowl.  I was feeling a little salad deprived in Spain and the boys and I eat a lot of salads.  I found a little store online and went off to explore.  It was a nice walk, mostly along the Gran Via which was packed with people.  Unfortunately, my little store was too fancy for my mundane shopping list.  They had a clear glass salad bowl that would surely break in no time.  The shopkeeper recommended that I go to El Corte Ingles.  Again the department store!  Am I really going to buy a salad bowl at the same place I bought my kids' socks?  Its like going to Sears in 1968.

Walking there I passed what seemed to be a palace!  It was beautiful, tucked into the back streets below Gran Via.  Just spectacular.  It turned out to be the Gran Meliá Palacio de los Duques, a 5-star hotel.  Wow.  I went online later to find out more about it, and the rooms are hilariously pretentious.  Can you imagine sleeping in the room below with this giant woman awake all night watching your every move?  Too bad.  Building is gorgeous, like the Copacabana Palace, but the interior puts the Trump Hotel to shame.

When I got to El Corte Ingles the staff couldn't have been nicer.  They had a big selection of kitchen supplies and I loaded up.  I'll surely be back to get other things like oven mitts, things the apartment should already have.

Later in the afternoon I rented a Respiro car - for the 6th day in a row - to pick up the kids from school.  There is a bus back to where they started from, but Markus had soccer in Alcobendas, clear on the other side of town, at 06.30pm and he would never get there if he had to come into town.  I would like to avoid this in the future because it is too much driving, and the parking situation at school is tough.  I spoke to the bus coordinator at school and although she was a bit frazzled with a long line of parents on the first day, we did find another bus that Markus can take on his soccer days that will bring him closer to soccer where I can meet him and take public transport from there.  We'll try that on Wednesday.  It should be an adventure.

We were early to soccer, and hungry, so we had a bite to eat at the nice cafeteria there.  We ran into Ana and Murat who were there for Mateo's practice.  I have this sensation that I keep running into people, but in reality I am just running into Ana and Murat all the time.  I don't know how we would do this without them.

Markus found his soccer group and I had brought Andreas's tennis gear and garb to see if I could set up tennis classes for him on the same days as Markus has practice, which would have been a miracle.  It was not to be, however, as classes hadn't started yet and they were having try-outs for different levels the next week.  It is really far to come so we are going to try to find something closer, somewhere Andreas can easily get on his own.  So Andreas and I sat and watched Markus's practice and Andreas promptly fell asleep.

After practice we drove home, I whipped up pasta and a salad (!).  The excitement of the evening was when Andreas tripped over his phone charger, bringing his phone directly to the floor and cracking the screen.  There is almost no carpeting in the apartment and the floors are hard, so even the case didn't help.  So this is what I get to do tomorrow, figure out how to get his phone repaired..  This should sound very familiar to parents.

Tuesday I coaxed the boys out of bed and told them that they would lead me to the bus stop so that I wouldn't have to do that again in the future.  The boys are really independent and that was important living in Brooklyn.  Markus is particularly good at this, having taken the bus by himself from Fort Greene to Maspeth for soccer practice last year, no small feat.

I did some work, and later with help from Ana and doing a little sleuthing I found a repair shop for Andreas's phone.  The screen would cost €129 to fix which is annoying but it was cracked so badly I was worried the glass would just disintigrate.  I got caught up in work and soon it was 01.30pm and, like most other stores, the repair shop would be closed 02.30pm-05.00pm, so I jumped on the subway and headed to CellTec (Calle de Orense, 36).  I got there at 02.25pm, just in the nick of time.  The guy there couldn't have been nicer.  I'll pick up the phone tomorrow.

On the way back to the subway I found a little cafe, Faborit (Calle de Pedro Teixeira, 8) which looked nice and inviting.  Many little coffee houses I've seen are kind of dark and I don't really know what I'm getting into when walking through the door, but this place had big windows, good lighting, and a few empty tables, so I forged in.  It was really good.  And cheap (for New York standards).  I had a big tuna panini sandwich (half of wihch I took to go) and a large cup of carrot soup.  Total cost €6.50.  I spent a few minutes with the woman behind the counter saying "zanahoria" (carrot) with the accent in the right place.  I keep wanting to say za na or EE ah, but it is za na OR ee ah.  

I headed back home and stoped at the Mercado enroute to pick up some chicken breasts for dinner.  I had a fun chat with the chicken guy.  I asked for 4 breasts, and later different looking, more orange breasts, were put on display.  I asked what the difference was and I didn't understand what he was saying.  I struggled to understand him but asked "estes pollos estaban mais felizes?" and he said yes.  Next time I am at the market I will buy happy chicken breasts.

I made an early dinner for the boys, a great recipe in my regular rotation from the NYTimes, Chicken Breasts With Peppers, Tomatoes and Saffron.  It is easy and healthy and makes good leftovers (especially the pepper goop in the morning with scrambled eggs).  Once again in the middle of making it I reallzed I didn't have all the ingredients because my pantry is so bare, so I ran off to the market.  There are 66 steps to get to the apartment so I definitely don't need to find a gym to do the stair climber.

Later in the evening Andreas and I took the train to Fuencarral.  We had set up an appointment at the Madrid Tennis Federation to find classes for him, and he had a level try-out scheduled at 08.15pm.  The courts weren't far from the station, and Andreas played just a few minutes with Carlos, a really friendly guy.  Andreas wanted to play more but Carlos just wanted to see his ability.  Carlos said he can play 2x weekly or 3x weekly, or 5x weekly, and each session seems to be 2 hours of tennis plus 1 hour of fitness, which seems like a lot, but Andreas wants the 3x weekly schedule if it is possible.  This is the year for Andreas to work on not only studies but tennis as well.  If he is strong enough by senior year maybe he can get on a college tennis team which would be tremendous.

Andreas and I took the train home, and he bought an avocado at a small fruit stand near us.  This seems to be the neighborhood for fruit stands and barbers.  There is a barber right across the street, Peluquería David (Calle Barbieri, 25), a small place that is always busy.  When I checked google he has 65 reviews, all of them 5 stars.  I have never seen anything like that. 

Andreas bought an avocado and made guacamole at home.  He remembers the guacamole that our dear friend Yael made and wanted to replicate it.  it was yummy even with our near-empty pantry.

Tomorrow is another day in beautiful Madrid.

The weekend: soccer, friends & soccer, friends

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and started getting a bit organized.  Not only are we suffering from jet lag, but our stomachs are as well.  No one is hungry in the morning.  Around noon we walked around to find a cheap place to eat, but the neighborhood resembles a bit of a war zone on Saturday mornings, with most businesses shuttered, most people recovering at home, and the streets littered with the evidence of the previous night's debauchery.

Socorratt was open, and it has already become our go-to standby.  More paella.  Yum.  Markus had his first soccer game in the afternoon so he needed some sustenance.  From there Andreas walked home and Markus and I walked to the tailor to pick up the pants that were being hemmed; we got there just before closing at 2pm.  Very nice people.  €24 for 3 pairs.  

Markus and I then picked up our Respiro car and headed out to Alcobendas for his game.  We arrived promptly at 3pm and we were the first ones there.  Markus found his teammates and I went off to get a cup of coffee from the cafeteria.  The soccer facliities are a bit in the middle of nowhere, and I am going to have to figure out a way to get to/from by public transportation at some point because the Respiro costs are piling up (€2/hour is cheap, but €0.26/km adds up when traveling long distances).  The upside of the place is that they have a pool, and tennis facilities, and a gym, a vast improvement over what we have in NYC.  I'm hoping to set up Andreas with some tennis there at the same time Markus has soccer.  I'm also going to try to find a way for the bus to drop them off nearby after school on Mon & Wed so I don't have to drive so much on these days.

As I was leaving the cafeteria, Markus and the team were approaching.  I asked him where they were going and he said he had no idea; he was just following everyone.  I laughed, but this is great.  Being dropped into another culture and another language means if you don't go with the flow, if you don't learn to be willing to make mistakes, you will be miserable.  I think this is critical for the boys.

That being said, I saw two fathers waiting near me at the cafeteria and I went up to introduce myself.  They couldn't have been less pleasant.  They were like two truck drivers who only wanted to talk to other truck drivers, they couldn't get away from me fast enough.  I don't even know if they were from our team.  Jerks.

The game went very well.  Markus started the first half and played top center.  The team, I'm not even sure of the name of the team I am so clueless and uninformed, seemed to be a bit weaker than the competing team (if I don't know the name of my own team I certainly don't know the name of the competition).  At the half, all of the players from our team were swapped out, and our team dominated.  I'm not sure if they are in the same age group, or are the "A" team, or whatever, but the level was much stronger.

When we left the game to drive home some asshole parked so close to me I had to climb over the stick from the passenger's side.  Yes Dorothy, there are assholes in Madrid.

Ana called me to say they wanted to see our apartment, so soon after we got back from the game Ana and Murat and Mateo stopped by to tour our place.  We left the kids at home and went around next door to Mercado de San Anton to have some tapas, which were really good.  Great place to have a bite to eat and a glass of Albariño.  I'm not that discerning about wine but I will sound much more impressive if next time I go if I ask for Albariño.  I'm going to have to write that down and put it in my pocket.

We picked up the kids and Ana recommended we try Bocaito (Calle Libertad, 6), just a few minutes away.  The boys had "Huevos fritos o rotos con jamón y patatas cerilla", which is really just a big pile of fries with an egg and some ham on top, ideal for teenaged boys.   

We adults had yummy olives and some sort of fish (sepia?) filled with ink. This is definitely not a dish to order with a date.  We had black ink coating our tongue and lips.  Restaurant was great, highly recommended, old school.  

Sunday morning Markus had a very early soccer match, another friendly.  We left the house at 08.15am and there was nothing on the streets at all.  Everything was shuttered.  We again took Respiro (do they have a frequent driver program?) to the game.  Markus didn't play in the first half.

The second half Markus came out and again played top center.  He played fantastic and scored three goals.  What is a high-five given on the side?  A side-five?  He got side fives from players on his own team, and even once from the ref.  

Mateo was playing in another friendly nearby, so we drove over to see him play and to meet Ana and Murat.  Then we drove home and spent the afternoon getting ready for school the next day.  The boys had some work to do.  We are three Sagittarians, and we are notorious for putting things off to the last minute.  I work much better with a deadline.  As I believe my boys do as well.  Read a book and write a report on it over the summer.  Of course the night before school starts we are finishing it up.  

That evening we walked to an Indian restaurant to meet Ana and Murat and Mateo to celebrate Mateo's birthday.  Swagat (Calle de Núñez de Balboa, 29) was about 20 minutes away walking and the boys moaned about the walk most of the way.  The Uber generation!  Food was really great, especially the chicken tikka masala, we ended up ordering three of those because the boys were inhaling it.  Somehow I ate a pepper in the lentils dish and it was explosively hot!  I started crying, and sneezing, and all sorts of things not becoming in a nice restaurant.  I begged for yoghurt to cool my mouth which was delivered without any urgency.  I'm sure staff at Indian restaurants enjoy watching westerners chomp down unsuspectingly on hot peppers.

Ana baked a cake, and we celebrated Mateo's birthday by embarassing him with a loud rendition of Happy Birthday.  

Another great day in Madrid.  School starts tomorrow!  Boys have to be up at 06.30am!

Running around before school starts

More running around on Thursday and Friday getting ready for school, including our first trip on the subway.

I woke up Thursday to a mild shock.  I had used the Respiro car yesterday to go to Markus's soccer practice, and I expected a bill of €8 because they market themselves as €2/hour.  But my bill was €55.50, which is a lot of money.  I emailed them for a breakdown of costs and they replied saying the bill was €8 + a €47.50 penalty, with no explanation of what the penalty was.  Things like this drive me a bit crazy.  Did they not expect me to reply asking about the penalty?

Turns out at the end of each ride I need to push an "X" button on the box in the car and I hadn't done it properly, so i was dinged €47.50.  I emailed them to say I had tried my best, and taking pity on my lousy Spanish they refunded the penalty.  

Around 10am Nelly from Friendly Rentals stopped by.  The boys were still asleep and the apartment was a disater (due in part to the paucity of hangers).  I showed her some easy fixes and she said everything was logical and would get back to me.  I have been really happy with Friendly Rentals.  They aren't cheap but they are, as the name says, friendly.

Markus and I jumped in another Respiro car to go to his orientation.  We picked up the car at the closest location, Calle de la Farmacia 12, and the street is ridiculously narrow.  To make matters worse one side is blocked for construction, so as we were driving up the street a car was coming the other way.  She drove onto her sidewalk, I drove onto my sidewalk, and someone we got passed each other without ripping off the side mirrors.

Then at the corner traffic was backed up becasue a truck on the next street had to turn onto a street as narrow as Farmacia.  He had to take what seemed like a 20-point turn to get around the bend.  Then he had to do that again at the next corner.  Traffic came to an absolute standstill as we all watched the truck go forward 2 inches and back 2 inches and forward 2 inches and back 2 inches until he got around the corners.  There was minimal honking, minimal frustration, because this is what driving is like in central Madrid.  It took more than 20 minutes and we hadn't gone 2 blocks.

We finally made it, 20 minutes late, to orientation.  After some confusion we found the session, and I begged for a cup of coffee and sat outside until Markus was done.  I met a nice guy named Jose who was there from Ecuador with his wife and three daughters.  His eldest daughter will be Andreas's class, and his middle daughter will be in Markus's class.  They just arrived in mid-August and are also settled in central Madrid to get the whole experience.  I think there are only 50 kids per grade so I will surely be running into them more often.

Markus and I drove home, dropped the car off at Farmacia, and pushed every button on that stupid box to make sure that I wouldn't be dinged again for €47.50.  It was now nearly 2pm and Andreas was still asleep.  The boys have to be at Casa de America at 07.30am on Monday to catch the bus to school - Monday is going to be a challenge.  But the first day of school is really the best day of the year for parents.  

We roused Andreas out of bed and headed out to get things done.  We walked around the corner to Socorratt (Calle San Marcos, 2), which is only open for lunch.  I was told it was a popular place and they often sell out, but when we arrived we were the only ones there except for a guy getting food to go.  There were 4 big paella pans on display and although I had fun trying to translate between the guy at the counter and the boys, he eventually pulled out a menu with English translation, which deflated me a bit; I'm never going to learn this language if people hand me translations!  We ordered three plates of paella, two sparkling waters, and a glass of wine and it was just €30.  Food was plentiful and delicious.  Markus didn't finish his and when we asked for a to-go container he piled more paella on.  We will definitely be coming back.

From there we walked to Sol, the center of town, kind of Times Square-y.  We went to Vodafone to get SIM cards for the boys.  I had bought their phones outright from Verizon in NYC for our trip, and we just needed SIM cards to give them Spanish numbers.  I wanted a separate phone because Verizon's data plan when overseas is crazy.  For $40/month, I would get lots of text time but only 100MB of data, which I would blow through in a day since I need mapping in the car to figure out where I am going.  The system was down at Vodafone, perhaps a bad omen, so we headed to El Corte Ingles nearby.

The boys needed slacks and belts and dress shoes for school.  First we headed to the uniform department on the 7th floor, but most everything was for little kids and Andreas particularly is now man sized.  We went down to the 3rd floor and after a lot of trying on found pants and shoes and socks for him and shoes for Markus.  Then up to the 5th floor for young men where we got a belt for Markus.  Finally to the basement for some coffee as I was about to collapse.  Staff was really friendly and helpful, and the store was crowded with people, which surprised me.  In the US it seems that department stores are dying.  We must have been there three hours.  A necessary evil now out of the way, although the pants would have to be hemmed.

Now back to Vodafone.  I realized that we shouldn't have come to this Vodafone.  I mean if I were to go to Verizon, would I head to the one in Times Square?  No.  They sent us upstairs and although it was quieter up there the staff couldn't have been less pleasant, lots of gruff attitude, but maybe if I worked at Verizon in Times Square I would turn into a jerk too.  We each got SIM cards.  For €20/month, we get 60 minutes talk time + unlimited talk time to Vodafone subscribers (I think), plus 7GB of data.  I thought that was an impressive deal.  He said we would have to come back every month to get new cards, but I may have misunderstood him.  This sounds like a hassle that we should be able to get around.

We were exhaused but when we came home there came a ring on the door bell with a delivery of new hangers and laundry hampers and cereal bowls and more wine glasses!  Viva Friendly Rentals!

I was determined to make dinner at home so I went to Mercado San Anton to buy fixings for pasta.  I got some sausage at the meat guy.  There was a sign there saying something about 14.30-17.00, so I thought he was open only 2.30pm-5.00pm, but it turns out he is closed during these times.  I have to keep that in mind, don't do anything between 2.30pm and 5.00pm. 

There was a vegetable stand and to be honest although they had some nice stuff, some of the produce was really sad.  He picked out a head of celery and it opened up like a flower with the stalks drooping out.  I had fantasies that I would have the best of everything at the market but maybe I had unrealistic expectations.  After buying some grapes and carrots he told me to go downstairs for celery, and I found a grocery store!  I always like going to grocery stores in other countries, they are so weird.  It seemed like everything was covered in plastic.  They had heads of celery, but they were in a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic.  Why so much plastic?  I thought the Europeans were enlightened about the environment.  I guess not.

In the middle of making pasta I realized I didn't have any salt or pepper, this is how sparse the apartment was, so I had to run back to the market to get that, but the market is literally next door so I'll be taking lots of trips there.  Pasta was good, and it was great to eat at home. 

That night at about 01.30am there was a commotion on the street.  Some guy was riding a tricked out motorcycle down the street, blaring Madonna music from the 80s.  It was loud.  And he stopped to talk to some friends, or to pick up a guy, or whatever, and the woman across the street leaned out of her balcony and yelled at him to turn down the music.  I loved it.  I have fond memories of peole walking down Carlton Ave in Brooklyn screaming at each other at 3 in the morning about how this bitch slept with that bastard, and eventually someone yelling out of their window to shut the fuck up.  OK, it didn't happen often but when it did I kind of loved it.  I grew up in the suburbs.  No one yelled out their windows for people on the street to shut the fuck up.  Chueca is a bit crazy.  There are people everywhere at all hours of the night, and it is kind of like the West Village I remember in the 90s, with gay boys coming from the sticks to be in a neighborhood that welcomed them.  There are mom-and-pop places and bodegas and people dressed as they please and older couples and real life.  Maybe I will get sick of it, but right now I am in the right place.

Friday morning at 10.00am Andreas had orientation at school, so back to Respiro.  The high school building is a few blocks from the middle school and it is a brand new building.  Staff was very nice, and after orientation we sat down with the principal to learn more about the school; we really knew nothing before coming here.  Andreas showed interest in something more accelerated so he will be starting an IB program, which I think is great.  If it is too grueling for him he can move down to the regular American High School diploma program, but he can't move up.  I am thrilled that he is showing motivation to work hard.  He is excited to start school.

We picked up Markus and went to Plaza de Chueca to have a meal.  We have already walked through this square a few times and it is just a block away.  We ate outside at Cafeteria Verdoy.  I'm sure it is a tourist trap, and the food was ok, but it was nice to sit outside and watch the neighborhood walk by. 

After asking around we found a tailor nearby, El Apaño del Vestir (Calle de Augusto Figueroa 10) to get the boys' pants hemmed for school.  A nice lady took care of us and there was no menu in English so I got to blather on a bit in Spanish.  She said the pants would be ready on Wednesday, but after a bit of pleading she said we could pick them up the next day.

The boys, after enjoying the life of Respiro and Uber, weren't thrilled about the idea of taking the subway, but they have to be independent here and have to learn the system.  We went to the Chueca system and the whole place is decked out in rainbow colors, a testament to the neighborhood.

We took the train to the Rio Rosas station where we walked to the Canal Isabel II tennis courts.  Our good friend Murat recommended we try this place.  I found someone with information and she said all the group lessons except Fridays 6pm-8pm were full, so that might work for us.  She gave me a number to call for another tennis facility a bit farther away, and we will go there on Tuesday evening after school.  At Canal Isabel II we rented a court for an hour for the boys to play to release some energy.  The hourly rate for the court was only €9.  The boys and I keep laughing about how cheap everything is here.  At Prospect Park, where Andreas played before, the hourly rate to play on a court in the evening is $76.  

Our good friends Ana and Murat had just returned from NYC and I called them while the boys were playing tennis.  They were excited to see us so after tennis the boys jumped in Uber and headed to their apartment.  It was so great to see them.  We had a great meal that Ana whipped up, drank some great wine, and laughed a lot.  We took Uber home at about 11pm, but the boys weren't quite tired yet.  It being Friday, the neighborhood was teaming with people, and we walked to Wok to Walk (Calle de Hortaleza, 7) for the boys to get some noodles to go, which they ate at home.  The place was cheap and easy, and I'm sure they will be back there on their own in no time.

Hola Madrid!

We arrived in Madrid on Tuesday and we have been running around trying to get things organized before school starts on Monday.

Our apartment is in Chueca, right in the center of Madrid.  I am paying way to much for the place, but it is a bargain compared to New York, and I wanted to be comfortable.  I was not going to schlep off to Ikea the moment we arrived and start assembling furniture.  We are going to be here for 10 months so we packed a lot.  We had 8 bags weighing 50 lbs each, and I conveniently forgot to tell the boys that our apartment is a 4th floor walk up, so we had to haul 400 lbs of luggage up the stairs upon our arrival.  

I rented the apartment through "Friendly Rentals".  I could have gone the AirBNB route, but I wanted to communicate with someone about the right apartment and right location for us.  The apartment is very attractive but it looks like it was designed for people who only stay the weekend.  There is no laundry hamper, no ironing board (although there is an iron!), and while there is a washing machine there is no dryer or drying rack.  Clearly no one has ever ironed or washed clothes here.  I brought pictures to remind me of home and family, and books to read, but there is only one shelf in the entire apartment and it is in the kitchen over the sink.  The showers are super luxe, but no shelving anywhere; do I really need to keep my soap on the floor of the shower? Perfect for a glamorous weekend, but not great for longer stays.  It is marketed for 6 people, but there are only 22 hangers; we have a year's worth of clothes with us but we each get 7 1/3 hangers.   This is what my huge closet looks like right now.  I have two hangers to use and I have to decide which shirt or jacket wins the prize of the hanger.  Of course there are no hooks either.

Tuesday we spent unpacking and resting.  We did a little exploring.  The Mercado de San Anton is literally next door, and we had lunch there, which was nice.  It isn't the biggest market but they seem to have nice stalls so I'm sure I'll be getting my meat and fish and veggies there.  We walked to the Vodaphone store to get SIM cards for our phones, but they needed our passports which I didn't have so we will have to go back.  We found a cheap dive where to have dinner, a Turkish place called Bósforos (Calle de Hortaleza, 6) where the staff is nice, the food ok, and the TV blaring.  It was fine for what we wanted.  The boys had pizza, and after Non Ray's I can't imagine why they would order pizza.

Wednesday we needed to get out to the boys school for a uniform fitting.  We called UBER and a Tesla picked us up, which made the boys very happy.  Our driver, Jefferson, said he would wait for us at the school because it is kind of out in the sticks and it might be difficult to get a car back.  This was our first look at the school, and it seemed fine.  I really know nothing about it other than [a] instruction is in English, [b] there is something religious about it but I don't know what, and [c] the boys were accepted.  The school is far away but there is a bus that will pick them up near the apartment at 07.30am and bring them back at 05.30pm. 10 hours a day of solitude for yours truly!

On the ride back Markus sat in the front seat with Jefferson who let Markus pick the music.  The boys played all sorts of stuff that I'm sure Jefferson had never heard of, and the boys were rapping along to whatever it was they were listening to (I was able to recognize Frank Ocean, but alem disso I had never heard the music nor would I want to hear it again).  I'm sure it was the most entertaining ride Jefferson had ever had.  

Jefferson dropped us off at the Respiro offices, which will be a lifesaver for me.  The UBER ride cost us $70 RT and I have to go out there on Thursday (orientation Markus) and Friday (orientation Andreas).  I can't spend $70 every day just on UBER.  My friend Ana told me about Respiro.  Because I am not Spanish with an identity card I had to go to their offices, but Respiro is a ride sharing service.  They have cars littered all over Madrid (and all of Spain).  I can reserve a Fiat 500 for just €2/hour, which is hard to believe.  I had to be ready with a car because in the evening Markus had soccer practice with his new team, which is far away in the opposite direction of school (although far away in Madrid is 30 minutes, and in Brooklyn it seems to take an hour to get anywhere).  Respiro gave me a card the size of a credit card and we headed home.

The walk was about 30 minutes and we got hungry on the way.  I didn't want to go somewhere nice, and the neighborhood we were walking through looked rather posh, so I looked for something cheap.  We found it!  Cafeteria Villalar (Calle Villalar, 4) was a nice little hole in the wall with a filling meal and low prices.  When we arrived there was just one other person there, and they seated us way in the back behind a column, which set a few alarm bells ringing in my head (why would they seat us so far in the back?).  The boys as usual wanted hamburgers and fries but I asked the waitress in my broken Spanish for something typical.  She brought us three huge bowls of lentil soup with sausage that could have been meals themselves.  Really good.  All three of us enjoyed it.  We also had salad and some croquetas which seemed to have been filled will mashed potatoes and specks of ham, but really who knows what it was.  And we had flan for dessert.  It was perfect.  I was really needing a Veselka-esque meal and this hit the spot.

In the late afternoon I went to pick up my cute Fiat 500 and Markus and I drove to soccer practice, in Alcobendas, which is totally on the opposite side of Madrid from the school (of course).  The car was cute and I am thankful my parents taught me how to drive a stick.  Their motivation was that I might meet a cute girl with a hot red sports car that I should be able to drive should the need arrise.  That particular need didn't arise, but I love driving a stick.

Markus has practicre on Mondays and Wednesdays and on those days I will have to pick him up from school and drive him to practice because he won't make it in time if he has to come to the center of the city.  We met the soccer coach and Markus had 90 minutes with his new team.  He liked the team, scored a goal or two during scrimmage, and seems happy.  We have two games this weekend, Saturday at 03.00pm and Sunday morning at 09.00am.  Maybe I would have wanted to go exploring in Sevilla or Granada or San Sebastian on the weekends, but this is more fun, more local.  These cities aren't going anywhere, but Markus will be a kid for only so long.  So I'm quickly in the groove of being a chauffeur for teenaged boys.

It was a long day.  We didn't get home from soccer until 10.00pm, but we are in Spain, so we do as the Spanish do.  We went out to dinner at 10.45pm at Le Coco, right across the street (Calle de Barbieri, 15).  Service was nice, food was good, maybe a bit expensive to be a regular place to have a meal, but we are going to keep exploring.

Adios Brooklyn

We are at JFK, awaiting our flight to start our big adventure in Madrid.  I was fortunate to have 24 wonderful hours to end what was 29 years in Brooklyn.

On Sunday Andreas and I went to get a pedicure from the wonderful Carolina at Mirai Spa on Fulton Street.  It is always great to go with Andreas because he is incredibly ticklish and when Carolina starts scrubbing his feet he goes out of his mind.  It is hysterical to watch.  

Then I went to see Buju my barber at On Point on Hansen.  He has been doing the boys hair for years.  On Point is a boisterous place, with laughter ricocheting off the walls.  Buju has been cutting the boys hair, and what is left of my hair, for years, although to be honest I don't understand a word he says.  Even his texts are cryptic.  I once texted him "When do you get in tomorrow?".  His reply:  "When a get a text u ok let u come."  

Sunday night my wonderful friends Maisa and Carlos joined a gourmand friend of mine, Hannah, to check out a new restaurant in Bed-Stuy, L'antagoniste.  Sunday nights if you prearrange they have Canard a la presse, and it was delicious, totally decadent, really.  The chef presents the duck to you, fillets it in the kitchen, brings the press to the table and presses out the juices from the carcass, and makes a sauce.  Wow.  When I was a kid my dad hunted duck and although we had a duck press I don't remember him ever using it.  It was definitely a conversation piece, however.  I look forward to returning to L'antagoniste in the future.   On Mondays you can pre-order chicken cooked in a pig's bladder! 

More than the food, however, it was amazing to spend my final evening with such good friends.  I have known Maisa and Carlos since I started working at Varig, when I first arrived in NYC.  They are more like family now.  I have spent countless hours with them, the times always punctuated with lots of laughter.  Hannah I just got to know this year as she just moved to the neighborhood, but she is fun and a foodie.  She happily accepted all the crazy kitchen equipment that I parted with when moving out of 353.  I will miss her a lot, but I look forward to seeing everyone in Madrid.

My last meal was at Not Ray's, a spot which has killer pizza.  A Fort Greene institution, the Grandma Pesto slice is crazy good.  The guys who work there are friendly, and the vibe is very Fort Greene.  Dayo joined the boys and I for a casual and delicious send off to Brooklyn.

I will really miss Fort Greene, and Brooklyn, but the boys and I are very excited about the adventure that awaits us...  I'm sure it won't be any difficulty finding great food in Madrid.