Springtime in Mendoza

View from Catena Zapata bodega

A mid-November visit from Judy and Claes, Linda's sister and brother-in-law from Stockholm, was an excellent excuse to return to Mendoza Province for five days of bodega touring and wine tasting. Once again we stayed at Quinta Anabtawi just outside the small town of Lujan de Cuyo. Photos from the quinta here.

At the quinta, cherry, pear, apple, fig, almond and walnut trees plus rose, magnolia, and other flowering bushes testify to Mendoza's fertile soils and the transformative power of an irrigation system that brings snow melt from the Andes to a desert where rainfall averages less than six inches per year.

Great nose at Achaval Ferrer

 Of course, the trifecta of water, soil, and climate produces world-class wines, the underlying reason for our trip. Although Mendoza is home to literally hundreds of wineries, we concentrated on five bodegas.

Dining in style at Ruca Malen

Some were favorites from past visits - Carinae, Tempus Alba, and Ruca Malen, where we again enjoyed the 2.5 hour 5-course meal with wine pairings, complete with a wonderful view of the Andes to the west. Others - Achaval Ferrer and Catena Zapata - are now new friends. And with coaching from wine expert Claes, our wine tasting and appreciation skills are enhanced . . . though we still need to practice! More photos from the bodegas here.

Not quite to the summit!

We took a day off from bodega visits to head further into the Andes, to the base of Aconcagua. At 6,962 meters above sea level, this is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia. The name means "Stone Sentinal" in the indigenous Quechua. Our short hike on the visitors trail was enough to make Kurt vow to return for an overnight trek in the future. And more mountain photos here.

Egg production control at the quinta

Back at the quinta, down-time daylight hours were devoted to soaking up the sun, exploring the grounds, and - especially in Judy's case - encouraging egg production from resident hens Thelma and Louise. Not to mention visiting with Homero, canine director par excellence of pr and marketing. Evenings invariably featured new experiments on the parilla - all successful by both human and canine standards.

 

  Grill master at work & play

 Adios y hasta pronto

Censo 2010: We Count in Argentina

We arrived home yesterday after our wonderful trip to Fort Worth just in time to be counted in Argentina's decadal census, which took place today. Refusing to succumb to jet lag, Kurt made some speedy runs to our neighborhood grocery store, produce vendor, and bakery to replenish provisions: almost all businesses, including grocery stores and restaurants, were ordered shuttered until 8 pm on census day so that everyone in the country could be counted. The penalty for failure to comply: 5,000 Argentine pesos. The order also applied to public transportation, schools, events, just about everything except emergency facilities. For some reason, kiosks catering to the Argentine fondness for sweets also seemed to be immune to the penalty.

We woke this morning to a strange silence. No diesel-fume belching buses nor the near constant parade of yellow taxis roared down our street. Linda checked the scene from our dining room balcony: one older lady walking a small black dog. Nada mas.

Linda had to attend to the famous rental apartment, so Kurt stayed at home to wait for the censista. A nice young woman named Silvina, one of some 680,000 deployed across the nation, showed up at our apartment about 10:30 with the "short" 35-question version of the census (versus the 67-question list). How many people live in the apartment? What are our names? Where were we born? What level of education did we reach? How recently had we worked or studied? How many rooms in our apartment? They covered the 35 questions in about 4 minutes. As Kurt let Silvina out the front door, she gave him the typical Argentine beso to the cheek. Kurt loves that stuff.

In the afternoon, we hooked up with Lorenzo, our pretend dog from across the street, for a reunion walk after our 5-week absence. Usually our "walks" entail heading to a nearby cafe, where the humans have a copita de vino while Lolo chews on a rawhide bone. Alas, nothing was open. Poor Lorenzo was puzzled. We've promised to make it up to him this weekend.

Sadly, Censo 2010 will be remembered for the passing early this morning of former president Nestor Kirchner. Although we have different opinions about his political tactics, we agree on the fact that he and his wife - current president Cristina Fernandez - have done much to bring to justice those guilty of violating the human rights of tens of thousands of people during the "Guerra Sucia" of the 1970s.

For the curious: a Q&A on Censo 2010.

Water: Blog Action Day 2010

Today is Blog Action Day and this year's topic is water. It's hard to think of a subject that is more crucial to life. Yet, as organizers note, almost a billion people on the planet lack access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in every eight people.

"Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation."

Furhermore, according to the United States Fund of UNICEF, about 4,500 children worldwide die each day from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation facilities. Over 90% of deaths from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and sanitation occur in chidlren under 5 years of age. "The poor are especially hard hit. An infant born in sub-Saharan Africa is 520 times more likely to die from disease than a child born in Europe or the United States."

What can you do? An easy first step is to support the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinking water to the world's poorest populations by signing this petition.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

¡Felicidades Joey y Lauren!

Los novios se casaron el 25 de septiembre en Fort Worth, Texas.

It was a wonderful wedding, followed by a fun reception, full of happiness and joy. We parents of the groom are ecstatic.

The newlyweds just returned late last night from their honeymoon in the Bahamas, and today returned to their home in Tyler.

More candid photos of the Adkins and Fernandez families and the attendants here.

Photos of the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner here.

Suited to a T

First item on the agenda upon returning to Buenos Aires from Spain: getting Kurt fitted for a suit at "Sastreria Fabio," the tailor around the corner from our apartment. Fabio, a spry gentleman who looks at least a decade younger than his 70 years, learned how to create made-to-measure suits and handle other tailoring chores in his native Naples, Italy, where he apprenticed before immigrating to Argentina.

Fabio explained that when he turned 13 his father gave him two options to roaming the streets with his friends: continuing his schooling or learning a trade. He apprenticed with a tailor for four years, earning knowledge and the occasional monetary tip from his mentor when his capabilities expanded. Lamentablemente, he says, he has had no luck recruiting his own apprentice to carry on the trade.

Kurt was measured for the suit on August 9. For the jacket, a two-button front, three functioning buttons on the sleeves, and two side vents. For the pants, two coin pockets and no cuffs. European style sensibilities prevailed; Fabio dismissed the American predilection for center vents, for example, on the grounds that they rumple too easily.

The first fitting (above right) was August 24. Second fitting was September 1. We picked up the finished suit today (left).  ¡Muy elegante! And just in time for the wedding of favorite son Joey to adorable Lauren on September 25.

Barcelona the Beautiful: A Fitting End to Our 2010 Tour of Spain

We left Haro on July 23, heading east to Barcelona for the final five nights of our tour of Spain. Our drive took us through numerous wind farms, with turbines whirling as far as the eye could see. They reminded us of the storks we had to leave behind in Haro.

We made an unscheduled stop at Lleida, prompted by an article favorite daughter Belén had spotted in the day's edition of El País. Citing fire concerns, the city council had ordered a mosque (actually a garage converted into a prayer hall) closed. The city had earlier prohibited the wearing of full veils in public. Check out Belén's article on the controversy here.

Once in Barcelona, we were able to navigate fairly easily to the Eixample neighborhood, where we had rented a two-bedroom apartment full of Modernista architectural charm but also plagued by a few problems with the hot water heater. Fortunately, another apartment became available . . .

We fell in the love with the neighborhood. Incredible architecture (photos here) was all around us, thanks to Gaudi and his peers. We were reminded of Buenos Aires, but with a thorough steam cleaning and some expansion of sidewalks and streets. We were close to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia (photos here), whose trademark spires we could see from our window, and to the Barcelona city park, or, as it's called in Catalan, "parc de la ciutadella." (Park photos here.) This gem of a green space also houses the Catalan parliament (photos here).

Unlike the Basque language, Catalan is a romance language and similar enough to Spanish that we could understand at least the written version. Try your hand at deciphering this important billboard. Twenty extra points for naming the event it celebrates!

We walked and walked and walked and walked some more. A memorable excursion was our long walk down La Rambla (which quickly became NOT our favorite part of the city) to the port and then over to the Barceloneta neighborhood and the beach. Photos of the port here; photos of the beach here.

And, of course, we made plenty of excursions to restaurants. Our favorite was de Tapa Madre, where we spent one evening catching up with Kurt's niece Sofia and her boyfriend William, who happened to be enjoying their own memorable vacation in Spain before starting college. (Politico Buck Dean also stopped by the table, trying to round up a few votes, but this wasn't a "lock and load" crowd.) In addition to great dishes, de Tapa Madre serves Blanc Pescador, our favorite Spanish white wine and a product of Catalunya. Just a little fizzy, thanks to a short second fermentation. You gotta try it.

El Pais Vasco, or What Do Kurt and St. Ignatius Loyola Have in Common?

Halfway through our stay in Haro, favorite daughter Belén finally recovered from the nasty bug that tagged along with her from London, and all three of us made a day trip to the Basque Country, up higher in the hills and toward the coast, where the fog and cool temperatures set a different mood that complemented the Euskara (Basque) language on highway directions and street signs.

Our first stop was Azpeitia, an incredibly picturesque little burg that was the birthplace of Kurt's great-great-grandmother on his mother's mother's side. Doña Vicenta Azpiazu was the paternal grandmother of Belén Arocena (mother of Kurt's mom Jeanette and namesake of favorite daughter).

Upon our arrival in Azpeitia, we quickly realized that the town was perhaps better known as the birthplace of San Ignatius of Loyola, whose remains are interred in the small yet elegant cathedral built around his family home. Ignatius experienced his famous conversion here as well as he recovered from life-threatening battle wounds. He went on to  establish the Society of Jesus to serve as an army of God. Not surprisingly, Ignatius is the patron saint of soldiers.

The cathedral and its grounds (photos here) are like a mini-Vatican, a jurisdiction unto itself. Directions to the town (photos here) right across the street are provided just in case. There we had a great meal in Kirkuri, a restaurant with no menus: the waitress recites the litany of options, starting with the appetizer, then progressing to main course, and culminating with dessert. Self-serve wine also provided. Total cost: 12 euros per person.

Well provisioned, we headed off to Guernica, ancient capital of the Basques and the target of a devastating bombing attack by German aircraft at the behest of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Following Franco's death many years later, the Basque Country regained some of its autonomy, including use of the Basque language. Many still call for complete autonomy, as demonstrated by this highway overpass sign. It's hard to argue with them. Photos of Guernica here.