Home in Ashland

Hola familia y amigos!

We are now home from Spain - what an amazing trip! I cannot believe how fast the month there went by. It seems like just last week we were packing to go...

Our final days were busy with taking in some more music and getting ready to go. My cajón arrived the day before we left and it is amazing. Here is a pic of Juan Carlos and I with our Ocaña cajones and Sergio between us (he has one as well).

The sound of these instruments is truly incredible.








So, our last night we enjoyed a final tapas dinner, some churros con chocolates for dessert, and a stroll through Plaza Mayor and our neighborhood. This month has been wonderful, and we definitely want to return to Spain as soon as we can work it out.

Un abrazo and a heartfelt thanks to all of the wonderful friends we made in Madrid - Juan Carlos, Tina, and Sergio - you are some of the best friends anyone could hope for anywhere! Also to Andres, Maria Isabel, Alejandro, Isabel, Andy and family, David and family, Pedro, Laura & Momo, Manuel, Germán, and Rosario. You all touched us deeply! Ian - so sorry we didn't connect in Spain - next time!

And finally - everyone always asks me, "What was your favorite food?" Or, "What was your favorite place?" Spain was full of wonderful discoveries and it's always hard for me to narrow down favorites, but I thought it might be fun to try. If I left anything out - let me know!

• Favorite place: Madrid, Sevilla, and Barcelona
• Favorite food: Wow - this is tough. Here's a partial list: jamón iberico pata negra, Spanish tortilla, churros con chocolates, Andres's lamb, pan jamón, napolitana chocolate, salmorejo, asparagus casserole (can't remember the Spanish name), egg/potato/ham casserole (also can't remember the Spanish), polvorones, and of course paella. I'm sure I forgot something but...
  
• Favorite drink: cafe con leche - this has converted me from a die-hard "double, tall, non-fat, wet cappuccino with 2 raw sugars" drinker (yes, that was embarrassing to admit)
• Favorite wine: Rioja tinto (red)
• Favorite restaurant: Taberna Miranda in Madrid, Taberna Salinas in Córdoba, Cerveceria Cruz Blanca in Madrid
  
• Favorite museum: Reina Sofía in Madrid, Joán Miró in Barcelona
• Favorite piece of art: Guernica by Picasso
• Favorite cathedral: Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (Gaudí)
  
• Favorite palace: Alcázar in Sevilla
  
• Favorite outdoor place: Parque Retiro in Madrid
• Favorite garden: Alcázar garden in Sevilla
• Favorite musical experience: jamming and hanging with Juan Carlos and Sergio, Flamenco show at La Casa de la Memoria in Sevilla, Sergio's ensemble and Mayte Martín in Madrid
• Favorite transportation: Ave train, Madrid Metro
• Favorite shop: El Flamenco Vive in Madrid, Kukuxumusu, Objetos de Arte Toledano
  
• Favorite market: La Boqueria in Barcelona
• Favorite tour guide: Top 10 Madrid
• Favorite CD store: El Flamenco Vive, FNAC
• Favorite thing brought home: my cajón!
  
• Favorite landmark: Plaza Mayor in Madrid
  
• Favorite activity with the kids: Real Madrid soccer game, Retiro park, goofing everywhere
• Favorite memory: sharing this experience with my beautiful wife and children, making new and wonderful friends

Many new adventures to come in 2008!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year from Madrid! We celebrated New Year's Eve last night with Juan Carlos and Tina at their house, and their friends Andres, Mari Isabel and their two children Alejandro and Isabel. It was a great night, celebrated Madrid-style with touches of Venezuela, Denmark, and the U.S. Here we are on our way to the house on Puerta del Sol sporting our Madrileño New Year's wigs!


Puerta del Sol is the equivalent of Times Square in New York City on New Year's Eve. It was pretty crazy! This picture is at 9 PM before things really get going!

Wonderful dinner of lamb, Catalunyan spinach, rice, pan jamón, and much more. Andres, the master chef, prepared quite a delicious feast!

















The Madrileño custom is to eat 12 grapes, 1 each second during the last 12 seconds of the year. The bells on Puerta del Sol count down the final 12 seconds and everyone eats a grape at each toll. Then of course champagne, toasts, kisses, etc.

Andres and Mari Isabel, who live in Toronto but are from Venezuela, taught us their custom which was fun. At midnight, they also partake in the grapes and champagne, but custom is to hold in your hand your passport, some cash, and some gold for prosperity and travel in the new year. Then you must take all of that along with a suitcase and go out the door. They did all of this which was very funny. As we were all kissing they were dashing out the front door with their suitcase and clutching their passports, cash, and gold. Very cute! You are also supposed to discard of something old, as in toss it over the balcony. Very complicated!

We had a great evening and as always, Juan Carlos and Tina were the most gracious of hosts. We could not be more lucky in our experience here!

Happy New Year to all - we miss you and look forward to seeing you in 2008! We have a few more days here and we return home to Ashland on January 4. Hope to see you soon!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Today (Dec. 30) is Jen's birthday! We had a very relaxing day. Here is Max singing her happy birthday in the park with his "magic whistle".


Juan Carlos and his wife, Tina, took us out for a delicious lunch at Taberna Miranda, one of their favorite places. Muy delicioso!



We had a delicious late dinner of paella. Tomorrow - New Year's Eve!

Cajón!!!

My cajón, custom-built for me by Germán Ocaña in Barcelona, is finished! He sent this picture and I will get it just before we leave. After completion, he keeps the instruments for a week or more to monitor acclimation, fine-tuning, etc. It looks absolutely beautiful. The artwork is an image of one of Picasso's guitar sculptures, and my name is written around it. The wood on the sides and top is African mongoy, and the face is cherry.

A very, very special thanks to Juan Carlos Melián for introducing me to these beautiful instruments and for arranging to have Germán build one for me while I am here!

A Day in Córdoba

We stopped for the day in Córdoba on our train trip home from Sevilla. Córdoba is famous for its Mezquita, shown here in the background. La Mezquita was a mosque built between 785 and 987. Formerly on the same site existed the Roman Temple of Janus and the Visigoth Christian church of San Vicente. When the Moors (no, not the Moops-for you Seinfeld fans) conquered Córdoba they purchased and destroyed the Visigoth church and erected the original mosque in 784-786 and it was expanded over the next 200 years by 4 different rulers. When the Christians re-took Córdoba in 1236, they left the Mezquita in place, and erected a cathedral right in the center of it. 150 of the 1,000 columns (constructed from Roman and Visigothic ruins) were removed to make room for the ornate cathedral.

The mihrab, or prayer niche where the imam would lead prayer in the mosque.














The juxtaposition of the mosque and cathedral was truly bizarre. To walk from the Moorish architecture of the Mezquita and step into a cathedral, turn around and step back, was a very unusual feeling. I found myself being very thankful that the mosque was not torn down by the Christians, but at the same time being disturbed by man's need to "conquer" and erect mosque over cathedral, cathedral inside mosque. A pattern we see repeating itself much too often in our world.

We enjoyed the rest of our day in Córdoba. We had a delicious lunch and enjoyed a local specialty, salmorejo, a creamier version of gazpacho that was delicious.

When we arrived back in Madrid that night, I went straight to a flamenco concert that my friend Sergio arranged for me to attend. His ensemble opened the show and consisted of cantaor (singer), bailaora (dancer), 2 guitarristas, 2 palmeras (clapping) and batteria (percussion). They were amazing - great performers all and they rocked. Their dancer, Rocío Molina, is one of the most respected up and coming young dancers (only 23) and she was amazing. So expressive - very modern.

The main act of the concert was a cantaora from Barcelona, Mayte Martín, with guitarrista Juan Ramón Caro. She has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard in any music. The music was quite a contrast - also very modern but very slow, expressive, and full of breath-oriented phrasing. It was a great night. We went out after to celebrate and enjoyed food and wine until 3:00 - very fun.