I’m so far behind on updates that I’ve decided to collect everything into a mega update. Brace yourselves for a long one 🙂
First, a note on school: We have a much-needed Thanksgiving Break (Thursday and Friday off) this week. I would say that things are settling into a new version of stable chaos. Monday begins Trimester 2, and I have a few scheduling changes – my combined 7th and 8th grade science class splits into two, and PE will concentrate into one long period mid-week instead of two 30-minute blocks. Beyond that, I am in the process of an official promotion from Teaching Assistant to Teacher. My workload will actually decrease (they are passing Upper School PE off to another teacher, sorry Ricardo!), and I won’t have any additional official responsibilities. This change reflects over a month of advocacy, and I’m pleased that my position will reflect the work that I am already doing.
Asturias (Nov 14-16)! Hannah and I planned a trip to Asturias about a week before, which turned out to have been an excellent decision on our part. Asturias is in the north of Spain (between Galicia and the Basque Country along the Bay of Biscay). It is nestled between the Picos de Europa (Peaks of Europe) mountain range and the ocean and is absolutely stunning. We did some quick math to decide that driving up from Madrid was our best option, and on Friday night, after work, we met up at the rental car kiosk. We began the long (and sadly somewhat rainy) drive north from Madrid a little later than expected. We stopped for hamburgers in a small town (classic American road trip moment). Arriving around midnight, we met our lovely Airbnb host on the street, and she helped us get into the garage and her home for the weekend. The Airbnb was called Casa de las Flores (House of Flowers), and we stayed in the meticulously decorated third-floor apartment.
The first morning, we had breakfast at a cafe-bar nearby, which was some tasty pastries and two of the largest pieces of tortilla española I have ever seen served to one person. We hopped in the car and began the trek to the Lagos de Cavadonga, about an hour and a half away. Driving along the coast, we took a right up into the mountains and eventually found ourselves on a windy, one-lane-two-way mountain road climbing up about 4000 feet in about 10 miles. We saw cows, horses, and lots of rocks. At the top, we had a lovely walk around the Lagos (lakes) before stopping for some (scarily) blue cheese at the mountain hut. I was brave, but did not finish all of my cheese. It was quite cold and windy, generating the quote of our trip.
Let me paint the scene. Hannah and I have a platter of the bluest blue cheese (can I just call it a plate of mold!?) sitting outside the small hut restaurant. We’re bundled in all of our layers, and I am enjoying a hot coffee. The wind picks up, and Hannah contemplates bringing cheese to go in her pocket wrapped in a napkin. I initially laugh at the idea before remembering that Hannah does bring food to go wrapped in a napkin in her pocket quite frequently, and she is quite serious. Suddenly, a big gust whips about half of our leftover mass of cheese into airborne crumbs, generating a mini moldy cheese-y tornado, which makes landfall right in Hannah’s lap. I exclaim, “There is cheese flying everywhere.” Quote of the trip selected.
Continuing down the mountain, we return to the car and make the drive towards the beach. We walked around one of the points before heading back into town for dinner. We ate at a local Sidrería (Cidery – like a brewery but cider). We ordered cachopo – the classic Andalusian meat dish, which is two pieces of pounded flat beef layered with cheese and cecina (cow bacon), then battered and fried, and topped with more cheese. Eating this was our second most American-feeling moment of the trip. It was HUGE – and I tapped out not even halfway through. Hannah braved more than her fair share of the cachopo. We also enjoyed cider, which is poured in shot-sized amounts called culines. The waiter holds the cup as low as he can and raises the bottle with the other hand as high as possible to deliver perfectly airated cider. You’re supposed to drink the culín right away. Then they come back and refill your glass whenever you want.
On our last morning, we had another lovely breakfast and walked around Gijón. On our drive back, we stopped in Oviedo for about an hour to visit two churches (one ninth-century church!). The drive out of Oviedo was stunningly beautiful through tunnels and fall foliage-covered mountains. There was a snow-capped peak, and the few photos I have don’t even begin to do justice to the beauty of that road.
During the week after the trip, I saw the new Wicked movie with the sons of my mom’s Madrid work friend for one of their birthdays! It was a back-to-back Wicked marathon of both movies, but even after an early morning at work, I managed to stay awake 🙂
On Friday, I left work a little early to head to the airport to go to Paris! I was joining my grandparents at the tail end of their week-long trip with friends. Arriving at a forgotten terminal at Charles de Gaulle, I walked a good ways to get to the train terminal and head into the city. I met my grandparents for dinner at a really lovely French restaurant near our hotel. I had delicious wild duck, and Pop tried the hare special, which looked more like chocolate cake when it came out (it was in fact not chocolate, but still delicious!). We walked around in the evening before heading to sleep.
In the morning, we got an early start and headed with Nana and Pop’s friends Ann and Jim to Sainte Chapelle to see the stained glass. It was stunning! Luckily, Pop brought his binoculars so we could look close up at the window panes. We split off from Ann and Jim and made an attempt to get into Notre Dame (the very long line and freezing drizzle sent us across the way for coffee instead). Then we went to the Monnaie Museum, which hosted an M.C. Escher exhibit and the Museum of the Mint of France. Initially turned away from the Escher exhibit due to a lack of tickets, we enjoyed the Mint Museum. We made one more attempt to get into the Escher, and by the grace of Nana, we got in! I had seen a lot of his work before, but never knew his name!
That evening, we had a fascinating culinary experience. With a little warning, I joined Ann, Jim, Nana, Pop, and Louie for dinner at Dans le Noir (in the dark). And in the dark it was! We left all of our belongings in a locker and were led to a table by one of the blind waiters. It was completely pitch black. We were served a surprise menu and spent dinner trying to figure out what we were eating. It was delicious and definitely a unique experience! I would go back, but I’m not sure if I need to go frequently 🙂 I did feel like I focused more on what I was eating, though dinner was quite quick compared to my experience of meal pacing in general in Europe so far.
We made the tail end of the Harvard-Yale watch party at a Canadian Bar near our hotel, and Yale won! 4 years in a row (and counting 🙂 ). We ended the night with a Nutella crepe on the walk back.
The next morning, we went bright and early to Notre Dame. Nana and Pop had a detailed insider tour earlier in the week, and I benefited from their new knowledge of the reconstruction. It was stunning, inside and out, and fascinating to learn more about the processes behind restoration as well as see the global contributions to rebuilding the monument. We made another coffee stop before I split off to see my mom for a few hours, who was on the way back to the US from Germany. We had a lovely lunch at a Brasserie – steak frites!! We skipped the long line at L’Orangiere and instead popped into D’Orsay to see some art (apparently they have that there!). I gave her a big hug before heading back to rejoin Nana and Pop and get myself back to Madrid before work the next day.
We had another walk around the neighborhood, replete with another coffee and croissant at a tasty bakery. Then, I hopped in an Uber and headed out to Orly Airport for my flight home. The trip can best be described as a lovely whirlwind in freezing Paris. It was a great way to spend the weekend, and I loved seeing everyone after so long away!
Almost there! I spent my few days back in Madrid shopping like crazy for Friendsgiving! I found pumpkin and cranberry sauce at Taste of America, the American grocery store. Then made a long walk of purchases home on Wednesday to get everything else. By the time I arrived at the gym on the way back from work, I was carrying potatoes, bread, sweetened condensed milk, sweet potatoes, veggies, pecans, and puff pastry rolls in my gym bag. Somehow it survived the locker.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, I prepped and baked pies, boiled and roasted potatoes, dried out two loaves of bread for stuffing, and mentally prepared myself for Thanksgiving! On Thursday, Paula and I made a trip to the mall before meeting up with two of our work colleagues to meet their kids (who are about our age and visiting from their respective universities in Europe). I booked it home to fire up the oven and cooked up a storm.
Hannah, Paula, Pheline (Paula’s roommate), Devon (another Brewster teacher), my roommates, and I sat down for an early Spanish dinner around 8:45pm. My goal: traditional American Thanksgiving – no substitutions. My only consolation was that I made roasted turkey breast instead of a whole turkey – I think it was better! And I think it was a great success. We ate incredibly well, everyone helped set up and clean up, and there were LEFTOVERS!! Just the right amount. Paula brought festive decorations and name tags. I read some of the Thanksgiving history, and we Americans recounted our “traditional” Thanksgiving story with a few Gen-Z edits and commentary.
It made me so happy to host everyone, and I hope we have more dinner parties this year. As I write, I am approaching Cádiz in the south of Spain to visit Victoria for my remaining long weekend days. I have time blocked out on the train back on Sunday to write my next update, so get ready for another blog soon. Wishing you all a Happy (belated) Thanksgiving and sending my best from Spain!
Abe Tolkoff 