On the train trying to do this via a hotspot on my phone. I am horrible at this sort of stuff.
I give up. Had to resume once we got to our place in Madrid. Too many tunnels and a bad signal kept interrupting and defiling my discovery of the HOTSPOT.
Love San Sebastian. Not even the modern world and Spain's obsession with being European could damage the place. I spent many years there as a child, and as a callow youth. Hadn't been there in years and the first big change I noticed was a lot less interest in politics, and Basque nationalism. No more long conversations into the night on the history of Euskadi and how it is not a part of Spain. The kids speak a mix of Basque, Spanish, and English and nobody seems to get excited about it any more. ETA and the violence of those years is just a dim memory, and nobody wants to talk about it.
What do they talk about? Football (soccer) and food. The people here love their soccer team, and live and die with its ups-and-downs. The folks in Euskadi also love food, and love their farmers and cooks. They have tremendous respect for the people who produce food; that food, as I have said many times, is probably the best in the world. Amazing what they can do with basic ingredients. I won't bore you with the meals we had, but they were tremendous.Woe to the restauranteur who becomes known for catering to foreign tourists; the locals won't go there.
Spent a wonderful day in Hendaye, France, the border town famous for the meeting between Franco and Hitler. Hung out with some relatives and--horrors!--watched the Eurovision musical competition. Europeans do many things well, but Eurovision is just about the tackiest, most stupid, but still fun competition I have seen. Watch the Will Ferrel movie about it on Netflix. It's spot on. As expected, Ukraine won with a weird sort of copy of American hip-hop/rap etc. Lot of fun over some great food.
We leave on Wednesday for North Carolina, and reality. We will be returning to Spain in July to continue with the legal process for my wife's inheritance. The bureaucracy here is amazing. There is always one more piece of paper or stamp needed.
I will try to be more interesting in future posts.
Yup. My wife’s inheritance process is in its fourth year. Maybe mañana doesn’t have the same sense of urgency in Galicia as in Vascongadas.
ReplyDeleteI trust the new chess set is now secure?
ReplyDeleteSafe in North Carolina. Never to be played with under penalty of death.
DeleteI am glad you have had an enjoyable trip!
ReplyDeleteDon't keep me in suspense about how great the food is in Spain!
ReplyDeleteWhat did you order?
No hurry getting home, it's not getting any better this week
ReplyDelete..."won't bore you with the meals we had, but they were tremendous. Woe to the restauranteur who becomes known for catering to foreign tourists..."
ReplyDeleteHas Been times over the last, 30 plus years, that I wondered, what made McDonalds such a success in Russia? Guess, I won't have to 'wonder' anymore, about what I was missing at those unique eateries... Now that the U.S. Oligarkus has moved to either silence the innocent burger & fries workers or disenfranchise them ... not very much unlike BIG Coka~Cola shuting down the all-star game in the faces of the Fans in Atlanta!
If I may, I would like to take a moment for the Intl. Fluck em all cheer, the long the short and the tall, fluck every one of them... well I'll leave it there for now.
And simply declare: My official boycott of Mickey D's,
both Foreign & Domestic!
No more will I consume those sickly looking patties, so thin,
it only has 1 side, and the bun more sugary than a glazed donut, not to mention, those so-called French Fries, which look, and taste like, stale wood-chips!~~~
Free at last Free at Last!, Thank G-d almighty~~~
Gonna Have a home-made Grilled Cheese sandwich w/home grown tomatoes, and a cup of Warroom Coffee for dinner~~~
On Watch~~~
https://jewishbusinessnews.com/2022/05/16/mcdonalds-quits-russia-after-32-years/
P.S.
Good to hear that the
DiploFam Leadership
are on their final leg
toward stateside~~~
aka misery loves Co.
just joshing~~~
"Let's Roll"
You could skip the burger at Mickey D's and instead get the Cicken McNuggets, also known as the McBeak and Feathers.
DeleteGood to know you are having fun. Safe travels home. While my ardor to visit Spain is not tremendous, I do want to visit two locations in that particular country and was wondering if you had visited Gibraltar and Alhambra and if they are worth the visit.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Alhambra:
ReplyDeleteHere's THE tune!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-5weyHVC2U
Thank You Bruce,
ReplyDeleteMagnifico, ignited memories
of an overnight stay in Rota, with
Flamenco Dancers, Guitarists, and
Jugglers too...
Ow~~~
Francisco Tárrega
Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega (November 21, 1852 – December 15, 1909) is widely considered the most iconic and popular guitar composer of all time. Tárrega composed in the Romantic period, which one can hear clearly in his swooping, melancholy melodies that seem to just ‘sing’ with passionate emotion, longing, and at times, tragedy.
With frequent melodic slides up the neck, his ability to utilize the full range of the guitar sets him apart from other composers. Needless to say, Tárrega is a brilliant composer and arranger that any fan of guitar can love and appreciate.
Bio
Allegedly, Tárrega’s father played some flamenco guitar, as well as other musical styles. After Tárrega suffered an eye injury at childhood, his family decided to enroll him in music classes so that he would still have some form of employment even if he went fully blind.~~~
https://richterguitar.com/classical-guitar/composers/francisco-tarrega/
~~~
“ ETA and the violence of those years is just a dim memory, and nobody wants to talk about it.”
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely wonderful to hear! Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe travels back to NC. Need to get down there to pick up the rest of my late father-in-law’s Navy memorabilia (first posting was the Cuban Missile Crisis, last was recruiting after Gulf War I).
Visited my wife’s hometown for our second anniversary. The place has been destroyed by liberals, NY NJ CA transplants, human trafficking, and Google…
"Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe
Deletetravels back to NC." -ÜPCatGrass
Ay, caramba!
Senor DipLoMadico, has only a brief time
to pack-up his, 'old kit bag' & chess set...
and now I am torn - shall I report the latest
Tarheel news viz-his newest 'favorite' son
of a gun's headlong dive, from his pinacle
of familial political grace? OK. here goes,
~~~From: The Populist Press~~~
"CAWTHORN IS ONE AND DONE"
Too Bad, Let's hope he'll get some wise
counsel, and a kick-in his self concept
theory, if there's a chance it might help,
w/ his damaged goods...a time-out
for reflection & recovery, at 26,
he's entitled to another season
since he hasn't Master'd the
Art of the Chair, yet~~~
On Watch~~~
Safe Flight~~~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEp_IAfyldo
"Let's Roll"