Arzak - A Taste of Heaven

We've all eaten on average about three times a day every day of our lives thus far. So to have a single meal stand out in your memory for the rest of your life is a pretty big deal. And last night, for Wilbert and I, Jose Mari Arzak (pictured with us above) and his amazing staff accomplished this feat. Our dinner at Arzak in San Sebastian will go down in our memories as one of the most special and outstanding meals we've ever had.

Every detail from beginning to end was painstakingly thought out and well-executed (as one would hope from a restaurant with THREE well-deserved Michelin stars!). From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we were treated like royalty. The atmosphere was friendly, elegantly casual, and while sophisticated, not at all ostentatious. We were approached in English (by a member of staff who had accurately judged us not to be Spanish or French like the majority of guests), but were accommodated when we chose to speak Spanish instead. We were expertly helped through our choice of menu items and wines.

The food was nothing less than edible art. We ordered the five course "Tasting Menu", and were proactively offered seconds (and thirds) of individual courses at no additional charge, giving us a chance to try as many as twenty separate dishes over the course of the evening (including complementary hors d'oeuvres and various desserts). We finished off the evening with cofee and a delightful "copita" of thier homemade pacharan, an anis-based Basque liqueur far better than any one we've ever had from a bottle.

We paid by far the biggest price we've ever paid for a meal, but in retrospect it was worth it for a unique experience that we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

Hondarribia Christopher - Felling a bit under the weather (think I'm coming down with a cold), so I look a bit grumpy. But all in all, it was a nice day in Hondarribia!

Hondarribia Airport - Hondarribia is also the site of San Sebastian's regional airport. Here, one of the regional Iberia flights from Madrid or Barcelona lands at the local airstrip. Local residents are strongly against the addition of more runways, but the provincial government considers it important for economic growth in the region. Where else have I heard this story?

Hondarribia Port - Wilbert gets some sun and smiles for the camera on a sunny day across the bay from the French Basque Country.

Hondarribia Market/Hotel - Wilbert poses in front of a hotel in Hondarribia with a decidedly un-Basque color scheme. But it matches his outfit.

Hondarribia Parador - One of the many "Paradores" in Spain - historic old buildings converted into tourist hotels. This one is in a beautiful old building (probably about 17th century).

Hondarribia - Another one of the typical Basque stone homes, beautifully decorated for summer.

Hondarribia - Today's outing took us to the beautiful border town of Hondarribia; the last outpost of the Spanish Basque Country across the bay from France. The town was celebrating a festival today, so there was an open-air market, art fairs and Basque dance and music demonstrations. The weather cooperated nicely as well. The town has lots of historic buildings like the one Wilbert is standing in front of.

At the old port is this beautiful tiled house. The tiles aren't actually different colors as it appears in the photo. They're made using a coloring and glazing technique akin to an oil slick, where they reflect light at different wavelengths in a rainbow-like fashion. Wilbert has gotten me a few pieces of pottery from Ibiza that use the same technique. Easily the most beautiful house in the port.

The old port of San Sebastian. Today the weather is really spotty, so we walked to the acquarium and took a tour. Afterwards we had lunch at "Old Dutch", a former Dutch pub that is now a restaurant, but hasn't yet changed its decor.

Amigos/Amis/Lagunak Elsa & Erramun

El Pupo con Producto Tipico

Plaza de Guipuzkoa - Renovated & Fixer Upper

A Song of Peace

I recently rediscovered some 22-year old recordings of my high school church choir and have been listening to them for the last week. One that continues to be one of my favorites is called "A Song of Peace", done to the traditional tune called Finlandia by Jean Sibelius (ca. 1899).

I love it both for the amazing, powerful crescendo it reaches in the section I've italicized below, as well as its subtle but firm call not to let patriotism and national pride blind one to the fact that people in other parts of the world feel the same about their own countries - and that no one country is inherently superior to another - a thought that I fear is far too prevalent these days.

Note that I've seen alternate texts to this one, but this is the text we always used. Click on the title to download/stream the MP3 of this 1983 recording (levels are a little low).

"Song of Peace" (Finlandia), text by Lloyd Stone
Matins Choir, Plymouth United Church of Christ
Des Moines, Iowa - June 1983

This is my song, O God of all the nations
A song of peace, for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is.
This is my hope, my dream, my shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating
With hopes and dreams the same as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the oceans
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover
And skies are sometimes blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, thou God of all the nations
A song of peace for their land and mine.

May truth and freedom come to every nation,
May peace abound where strife has reigned so long
That all may seek to love and build together
A world united, righting every wrong;
A world united in its love for freedom,
Proclaiming peace together in one song.

Wilbert surveys La Concha from our lunch spot on the terrace of La Perla.

The beautiful architecture of San Sebastian, which I love. Details are everything...

Wilbert's into bears...

Three kids with the biggest teddy they'd ever seen

La Concha beach as viewed from La Perla, a luxurious restaurant and spa.

Traditional old Basque houses right next to San Sebastian's bay, La Concha.

The barandilla, the symbol of San Sebastian.

Semana Grande Fireworks

El Buen Pastor behind the ginko trees

The Bay of Biscay

Reminding us where we are...

Wilbert sees La Concha in San Sebastian for the first time.

Ahh... vacation!

Believe it or not, for the more than eight years that I've lived in Europe, I've never really ever taken a proper two or three week holiday. I've almost always smacked a week of holiday on the beginning or end of a business trip (often with Wilbert). That's been nice (and especially economical), but this year we decided to do the "European Thang" and have a proper two-week holiday. We're sitting on a long layover in Charles de Gaulle's Air France Lounge on our way to Biarritz in France, where a car is waiting to whisk us away to San Sebastian in The Basque Country, where I spent one year going to school and learning the Basque language in 1990-91. It will be the first time I've spend such a long time there on vacation, but more importantly it will be the first time that Wilbert has gone with me, and I'm really looking forward to that. When you travel with someone who's never been somewhere you've already been, it almost forces you to see it with new eyes, so that will be fun.

We got a cushy deal at San Sebastian's finest hotel, the Maria Cristina, partially because I'm a platinum member of Starwood Preferred Guest (the world's best frequent guest program!), and partially because I'm renting out the entire hotel for four days next month for a company meeting. :-) So we'll be getting a Junior Suite with a balcony overlooking ocean and sea. It's Aste Nagusia/Semana Grande/The Big Week (the Basque Country means by definition linguistic complexity), so we'll be enjoying the many musical performances, nightly fireworks competition, and generally jolliness in the streets for the next week.

This holiday couldn't have come at a better time. I'm loving my job but reaching burn-out because of the huge proejcts we've bitten off as a team this summer. It's normally our busiest time of year already, but we've complicated it further by choosing to do a major rebranding of the company as a whole, all of which has to be ready for our fall events. I just feel lucky to be working with a good crew of professional, cool people who will take care of everything just fine while I'm gone.

So the timing of this holiday is both good and bad. Guess I'll really get to see what my staff is made of while I'm gone. I think they're up for the job! Besides, it's not every day you get to spend 12 days in the junior suite of a five-star hotel and eat at a restaurant with three Michelin stars (Arzak)!

For 10 years he was the sweetest and most loving cat in the world. In the last four years his behavior has slowly spiralled out of control to the point where we just couldn't deal with him anymore. He was my oldest and dearest friend in this country, and the decision to have him put to sleep was one of the most difficult I've ever made. I shed many a tear today (and suspect there are more to come), and I will miss his sweet soul dearly. And at the same time I'm glad our home life can go back to some semblance of normalcy. I love you and I'll miss you Inaki. Holding you in my arms as you slipped away was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life. And at the same time, I'm glad you left this world without pain and in the arms of the parent you've known your entire life, and not of some stranger. God bless you and goodbye.

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2005

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2005

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2005

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2005

Expatriation

I still sometimes have trouble really imagining the enormity of what it means not to be an American citizen anymore. It also at the same time seems so completely trivial to me. Its really far more emotional than anything that impacts me in the here and now. Being American hasn't meant anything to me from a practical standpoint for the last 8+ years other than having a double tax burden. My life is in Europe, and it was primarily my desire to stabilize that life long-term that lead me to make the decision to become Dutch. But every once in a while, I get that slightly freaked out feeling one gets when you've solidly and consciously closed the door to a particular path in your life, burned the bridges behind you, and know there's no going back. But I've been lucky in life with those kind of decisions, so I assume this decision (which still feels right) will prove correct in the long term as well.

Digital Photography Podcast

I never bothered to listen to podcasts (though I was aware of them) until iTunes 4.9 came out and made it so darn easy. One of the first ones I came across was a thrice weekly digital photography tutorial from a guy in Southern Germany called "Tips From The Top Floor". In a very accessible, easy way to learn about working with digital camera's, and he always seems to manage to come up with at least a few winning topics per week. For more information, click on the logo above, or look for his podcast in the iTunes directory.

On a slightly more pessimistic Apple note, my 60GB color iPod died - looks like a hard drive glitch. At least Apple is good about dispatching a box to return it f0r repair. I understand they usually just swap them for a refurbished model. It arrived there on Friday, so we'll see how long it takes. It's trackable online, which at least gives me the confidence they're working on it. Good system.

Arriving tomorrow: bluetooth audio headphones for use with iPod (which is now in the shop!) or any other bluetooth device. Look forward to finding out the quality. Will report back after I've given them a spin!

Our little Angel(us)...

Angelus (or just Angel) is one of my very best frinds in the whole world. He's named after the character in the TV show Angel, who was one of the world's fiercest and most brutal vampires - a killing machine - until he was cursed by gypsies to receive his lost soul back so he could feel the guilt and the horror of all he had done with his life. He chose to make it up by being a foce for good and fighting evil. I think all cats are a bizarre combination of incredible brutality and unconditional love, so I thought the name fit well. Of our three cats, he is by far the friendliest and most well-behaved. He's quiet, obedient, incredibly affectionate, social with the other cats, but doesn't beg for attention too much unless it's offered, in which case he's there in an instant! In short, we couldn't ask for a better kitty!

first psp blog entry

this is one of the world's first blog entries made with the sony psp's new web browser! not easy to do! sony should have added some kind of T9 functionality, because it's way too difficult to type. takes me 5 minutes to get into my e-mail! but the picture is sharp and it renders websites fairly well (in normal or squashed modes). once there are more PSP-friendly sites, it will be a lot better!

Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona

Citizen of the World - Weekend in Barcelona

Because of a fun trick (called "cross-ticketing") that my travel agent plays when I have to go on short business trips, I ended up with a free plane ticket to Barcelona this weekend. Yes, believe it or not, two round trips are cheaper than one when arranged this way! Sucks, doesn't it? :-) The same has happened to me in the past with tickets to Milan (took the trip but ended up actually working) and Budapest (passed on that one for some reason). Found a really cheap hotel that I'd stayed in a few years ago and was satisfied with (Barceló Sants right above the train station), so off I went. No plans other than a desire to take some photos with my new D-SLR and maybe go out to some of the bars I've been to before.

Had a great flight yesterday afternoon, met some charming Dutch lesbians on the flight, shared a taxi into town, and had a nice dinner at the hotel before going to bed with Harry Potter, calling Wilbert and then calling it an early night (had a bit of a headache).

Got up this morning, had a nice breakfast, then hit the road (via Metro, where I saw a very nervous Pakistani/Indian-looking guy who was fussing constantly with a taped-up cardboard box. Considering revent events in London, I decided to move as far to the front of the train as I could - I feel bad about saying this, but it's true). I safely arrived at my first stop, La Sagrada Familia, a photographer's dream - for two reasons. The first is obviously Gaudí's amazing work of architecture (and a total project management nightmare). I played with a couple different lenses to try to get optimal effects. I still need to learn how to take good pictures of things like spires against a bright sky - but give me time. The second reason is that there were lots of very attractive guys from all over the world there. It made sitting under a tree with a zoom lens a very relaxing and productive break. :-)

After making the most of my zoom lens, I moved to a sidewalk café next to the cathedral for some much needed food and drink. After my steak arrived, I was approached by two young men who put newspapers on my table as if they were trying to sell me something. My guard was already up when I saw both of them coming at me - I was very aware that it is a typical distraction technique for theives. So when the one on the right put the paper on top of my phone, I immediately threw it back at him and pocketed my phone. He was damn lucky I didn't chuck the steak-knife I was using to eat my chuletón at him. The waiter and neighboring tables witnessed the episode and joined me in shouting various Spanish and Catalonian epithets at the two boys as they ran off, after which I got an earfull about how I shouldn't have left my mobile on the table (I had been reading an e-book on my phone right before lunch arrived).

I was never really in that much danger, though, because since living and working in Washington D.C., and now especially that I travel the world so much, I always have my guard up for this kind of stuff. I've only ever been pickpocketed once during an insanely crowded Queen's Day celebration in Amsterdam the first time my father visited Holland. In retrospect it was stupid to have taken my wallet with me, and I now always modify my behavior according to the situation I'm in (for instance putting my wallet in the deepest reaches of my backpack instead of in my shorts, and leaving a few credit cards in the hotel room so I still have money available if I do lose my wallet).

After a pleasant lunch and some good natured comiseration from my fellow diners, I moved on to the Plaza de Catalunya, where I stopped by the local Starbucks, read some more, visited El Corte Inglés (bought nothing), and then walked down Las Ramblas. stopping now and again on a terrace for a drink. It's been really nice not to have any agenda and just to wander where my fancy takes me. Have no idea what I will do tonight, but I sense there might be Basque food somewhere in my future. The bars will have to wait for a final verdict around opening time (23.00 at the earliest). Perhaps I'll take a disco nap.

The moral of this story pretty much comes down to how much I love my life. Had you told me when I was in college (even after living in Spain for a year on a foreign exchange program) that I would be bouncing around Europe like a pinball pretty much whenever I felt like it, I would have laughed at you. As well as the fact that I would do so with a great feeling of comfort, relaxation, ease and "at home-ness". I love just going and hanging out in a city without any agenda and just feeling like I belong there. I think my dad might have some of that spirit in him (but doesn't get to exercise it very often), but it is the complete and utter antithesis of everything my dear mother stands for. Perhaps it's in reaction to her homebodyness that I'm this way. At the same time, I can stay home and love it too, so I guess I got the best of both worlds.

So yes, I am unbelievably lucky and priveledged to live the life I do. And at the same time it's a life of my own making, so I get some of the credit too! :-)

Now back to Las Ramblas to see where life takes me for the rest of the day. Miss you, Wilbert, and hope everything at the store went fantastic today!

Exploring my ancestry

A fascinating peek at my ancestry through the 1920 & 30 census forms for several sets of my great grandparents and their families at the time. I was really pleased to find this stuff, as this is the information that you start to lose track of as everyone of that generation passes on. On my father's side I have actually tracked the male line all the way back to pre-Revolutionary War!

Expatriation

It was a bittersweet day when I got word of my official expatriation (loss of citizenship) from the U.S. State Department a few weeks ago (see picture of cancelled passport).

In the long run, I think it will be the right decision. Though U.S. politics will change in time, I see the culture going in directions that I find dangerous and counter to my values. I much prefer to more pluralistic and human rights-focused European society. At least as a gay man, my life is much better off here than it was in the U.S. And the opportunities afforded to me as a European citizen of being to live anywhere on this continent are exciting.

Phlox paniculata - Fuchsia

A close-up of the fuchsia phlox on the other side of the garden from the white phlox. The butterflies, desperate for some nectar action this late in the summer, love the phlox and phlock to my garden to sample its delights. And every once in a while I'll get a humming bird dropping by as well.

Day Lillies & Hydrangeas

The day lillies and hydrangeas make a shocking and beautiful color combination. The funny thing about the hydrangeas is that you can get them to change color. They like an acidic soil - especially if you want the blue blooms. You can use any of the following to turn them blue: aluminum sulfate , egg shells, coffee grounds, or ground up orange or grapefruit peels. If you want pink blooms, use less acidic fertilizer.

Phlox paniculata - White

Phlox paniculata is native in the eastern third of the United States. In the 1700s, Europeans settling in that area found these plants growing wild in damp meadows, along forest edges, and in the rich soils of flood plains, and saw their potential as garden plants. Their showy, fragrant flowers quickly became a hit throughout Europe and, by the mid-1800s, were commonly available in the nursery trade. By the 1950s, hundreds of varieties were available, thanks to breeding programs in England, Russia, Germany and Holland. As a result, many varieties were planted throughout Europe and North America, but in the intervening years, many of these have disappeared from the commercial trade.

Peachy Roses

A close-up of one of the MANY branches of my dfl2.95 rose bush I bought 8 years ago at a budget grocery store. The thing has turned into a monster 2m tall and 2 wide, and has an average of about 50 buds at any given moment and blooms consistently from May through about September every year. The colors range from dark to very pale peach.

Watery Willow

I love how the long branches of giant willow weeping willow near my house (if that's what it really is) fall into the Herengracht ("gentleman's canal").

Flowering Sempervivum 3

Now THAT's a close-up! Wow!

Flowering Sempervivum 2

And closer...

Flowering Sempervivum 1

Here's a follow-up to one of the ones I took last month. The semper viva (a.k.a. succulents a.k.a. chicks and hens, etc.) in my garden are blooming right now and have these crazy flowers. I'll crow a blow-up of the flower as well, because it is fascinating in it's intricacy!

Pewter & Candle Closeup

Photo Saturday again! This week I did some shooting in town and (surprise!) in the garden, and with one exception, it was the macro garden shots that came out the best again. But I really liked this melted candle and pewter candlestick at my favorite caf� in town. And I love the perspective you can play with with Digital SLR cameras (see identical candlestick out of focus behind).

De Hertenkamp

We have this crazy thing in Holland called a "hertenkamp". It literally means "deerfield" and is usually about 1 square block of land with deer, ducks, goats, geese, peacocks, sheep and the like. Ours is right up the street and we love it because it's a little piece of the countryside right in the middle of town. It gives our growing city a bit of a rural character. It's also great for getting rid of stale bread or vegetables, because the goats there will eat anything. :-)