Luke and Emily

   Our nephew, Luke, and his wife, Emily, came to see us in October. They were married last April and decided to honeymoon in Spain. I picked them up in the morning at BCN and we went touring the Priorat in the afternoon.

   We started at the vineyards and showed them around. Then we took them to La Figuera to taste the wine from 2016. From there, we wound our way around to Scala Dei for lunch. There were a few amusing moments as we ordered lunch but the waitress was very understanding. The meal and wine were excellent. The restaurant serves Scala Dei as their house wine. We had crema catalan (crème brulée) for dessert. Really good!

   After lunch, we went to the tasting room at Celler Scala Dei. It's now a Codornui property and they make some nice wines. We toured the ruins at the old priory of Scala Dei afterward. The Catalan government continues to excavate and renew the project. It's fascinating and has been much improved over the years.

   We made our way to Siurana and, when we were almost there, we were flagged down by some local hillbilly who wanted us to pay €2 to park in a parking lot that doesn't belong to either him or the town of Siurana. I declined his request with considerable satisfaction.

   The next day (Monday) we drove to Tarragona and had lunch at a seafood restaurant at the marina. We walked up to the old town and went through the cathedral. I'd never been through the cathedral before and was amazed. It's as vast and beautiful as any I've ever seen. There are several galleries attached which contain an interesting collection of Catalan artifacts. There's also a courtyard similar to the one at Poblet.

   On Tuesday morning, Susan took Emily and Luke out to the Ermita while I went back to Tarragona on business. When I got home, we went to Miravet and made a stop at one of the ceramic workshops outside of town. Susan prepared us a great dinner that night.

   Luke and Emily had tickets for the futbol game at Camp Nou on Wednesday so we put them on the train in Falset. Barça prevailed against Man City by 4-0. Visca Barça! They went on to San Sebastian for a few days and then went back to Barcelona.

         We're so happy Luke and Emily came to visit and enjoyed their honeymoon in Spain! 

 

What's in a name?

   Those of you who know me understand that I like to take an interest in the folks around me. When we were staying at the apartment in Venice, I looked at the nameplates outside our building just to get an idea of the neighbors. What I learned was surprising.
   Let's begin at the top, left name. Obviously, one of Vanotti's distant ancestors invented that improbable, ingenious music making machine without which no proper jazz band would be complete. I can't count the number of hours I spent in front of a trombone section with my hair being blown forward and my back being prodded by an errant slide. Many happy memories there, Vanotti, and a tip of the fedora to your great-great-great-etc.-granddaddy. At the same time, I can't help wondering what you might have up your sleeve, Vanotti. Sometimes these things take a few generations to manifest themselves.
   What startled me most about the neighbors was the Pagans. In my wanderings, I've met a few self-professed pagans. They tend to be a rugged crowd even when you discount the piercings, implants and tattoos. Pagans generally keep to themselves. They're not interested in meeting your Momma. Who would chance pressing either of those buttons other than pre-teenage boys that can run like the wind?
   Additionally, just try to imagine drifting around Texas for a few days while introducing yourself as Sambo Pagan. Even better, introduce yourself as Sambo Pagan and wear a name tag. I dare you. I double-dog dare you. This isn't to suggest you couldn't get away with it as long as you carried a putty knife with which to scrape the eyebrows off the ceilings.
   Now, let's talk about Pearl Gem. Hey, come on. As far as artless aliases are concerned, Pearl Gem takes the cake. Is she a stripper? Is she an international jewel fence? Is she both? The important question is; why bother to advertise any of this stuff on a principle street in Venice? Actually, I shouldn't call it a street. It's more like an eight foot wide path between a canal and apartment buildings but it's still wider than a lot of other public thoroughfares in Venice.
   The bottom right button was our apartment. It's a full time rental. Our landlady was a petit, professional, energetic lady who speaks pretty good English. She appeared to be of indeterminate eastern Asian descent. Upon researching her unusual name, I discovered she's Ukrainian.
   So, how about Roberto? Poor Roberto. His last name suggests part of his family originated in Spain so I felt immediate sympathy for him. Unfortunately, he's stuck in a building with pagans, jazz maniacs, strippers and excitable tourists. Life can be so cruel.
   Of course, I expressed my concerns to Susan. She told me she saw a couple of people enter the building who looked pretty normal. To which I thought "Ha! Looking pretty normal is pretty easy."
Human history is littered with the shattered remains of civilizations that trusted people who looked pretty normal. Nevertheless, we didn't have a minute's trouble with anybody except the guy who charged us €8 for a beer.
   There's a big, crazy, mixed-up world out there and that's why we travel! Thanks for keeping in touch.
  
  
  
  
  

Susan's birthday in Venice





   We celebrated Susan's birthday this year in Venice. It's only a two hour flight from Barcelona. I rented an apartment that had a fabulous view of the Ca Frari church. A canal ran right in front of the apartment. It was a great location with shopping, restaurants and cafes nearby. Please contact me if you want information about the apartment.

  We started out with an early dinner just around the corner and then went for an evening stroll over the Rialto bridge. We ended up in Piazza San Marco just after dark. There were still throngs of people in the piazza. On the way home, we managed to get lost and had to ask directions several times. People were helpful and everyone we talked to told us we were only two minutes away from the apartment. We finally found it after half an hour. When you go to Venice, plan on getting lost for the first day or so.

   You should also plan on having lots of company. The whole world goes to Venice and I think we heard every language spoken by man or beast. In spite of the crowds, people are polite and we were able to see everything without waiting. Please make sure to get RESERVATIONS FOR BASILICA SAN MARCO!!! Most of the other popular sights are not too crowded in late September.

   We spent the entire three days walking around. Rather than go into excruciating detail about everything we saw, here is a list of places that are really worth seeing:

Ca Frari church

Rialto Bridge

Piazza San Marco

Basilica San Marco

Doge's Palace

Isola San Michele

Guggenheim Museum

Accademia Museum

Any church you walk by

The streets and canals

   I don't know how many hundreds of books have been written about Venice but it's really impossible to describe. The art, architecture and way of life are unlike anyplace else on our planet. For one thing, there are no motorized vehicles. Everything from toilet paper to $5000 Gucci handbags is brought in gondolas and then transferred to push carts for final delivery. The trash is picked up in gondolas. If you get sick, an ambulance gondola will take you to the hospital. Just to give you an idea of the scale of this undertaking, there are 60,000 permanent residents and 50,000 tourists A DAY in Venice!

   When you go, plan to stay at least three days. Spend some time in your neighborhood and try to get to know a few people. English is widely spoken and most of the people you meet are happy to talk to you. We found a great little café just a few steps from the apartment (see below). It's run by some cool and groovy guys who are groovy and cool in the way only young Italians can be cool and groovy. The wine selection is good and they serve excellent tapas. It's called Caffé dei Frari.

   Venice, in many way, is like a Disneyland for adults. The shops are filled with everything from deep-fried kitsch to some of the most exquisite stuff you've ever seen. Around every corner is a fresh surprise. I hope to go back.

                                                            Happy birthday, Babycita!

  

 

                                               

Stephanie and Brian

    My longtime friend, Stephanie with RNDC, and her husband, Brian, came to see me early in September. Stephanie is a true wine professional and was interested in seeing Montsant and Priorat. I picked them up in Reus and we headed straight to the beach. After a typical Catalan afternoon lunch by the marina in Hospitalet, we spent a couple of hours chillin' on the beach. After we got home, Francesc Masdeu dropped by and they got to enjoy his stimulating conversation and pick up some local color.

    Stephanie and Brian were able to sleep in after almost 48 hours without sleeping.  It's a long trip from south Texas but they held up well! We went to my vineyards Monday morning. In the afternoon, we drove over to Scala Dei and we tasted some excellent wines there. We dove back through Gratallops and Falset and took some pictures.

   On Tuesday, Stephanie had two appointments set up. The first was at Vall Llach in Porrera. We were met by Roger and he drove us up to a vineyard where they were harvesting fruit for rosado. The view from Ermita Sant Antoni is spectacular. Roger was a pointed out the various important vineyards around Porrera, including the ones his family owns. Roger showed us the winery and we tasted some vineyard designated wines. He opened a rare bottle of Viognier for us and we finished it at a restaurant named Cooperativa in Porrera for lunch. 

We had an appointment at Celler Capçanes in the afternoon. Celler Capçanes is Eric Solomon's project in Montsant. We were met by Jürgen, the winemaker and marketing manager. He gave us a great tour of the winery. Jürgen treated us to a tasting of four Garnachas that were made from different soil types in Montsant. They were from sand, limestone, clay and slate. The differences among the wines were remarkable and it was a lesson for even an experienced winemaker like me.

    We got up early Wednesday morning for an appointment at Can Blau. They are my neighbors in El Molar and have built a gold-plated winery just south of my vineyards. I've known the winemaker, Nuria, for several years and she's quite talented and gracious.  Nuria is expecting her second child in November so, as you can imagine, she's a very busy lady. We tasted through the lineup at Can Blau and, as always, the wines were superb. 

Stephanie and Brian planned to spend a few days in Barcelona. They also wanted to visit some wineries in Penedes. They boarded a train north at Marça just before noon on Wednesday. It was great to be able to visit with Stephanie about mutual acquaintances in the Austin wine business. It was also great to meet Brian who is bringing a lot of innovative ideas to the restaurant scene in south Texas. Thanks for coming, y'all!!!