Book Club, September

One year of book clubs tonight! Wow.

Here are the books shared:

Bossypants, Tina Fey – Recommended

“Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants is short, messy, and impossibly funny (an apt description of the comedian herself). From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago to her early sketches on Saturday Night Live, Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy with equal doses of wit, candor, and self-deprecation … Bossypants gets to the heart of why Tina Fey remains universally adored: she embodies the hectic, too-many-things-to-juggle lifestyle we all have, but instead of complaining about it, she can just laugh it off.” – Kevin Nguyen

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Aimee Bender – Recommended
“Taking her very personal brand of pessimistic magical realism to new heights (or depths), Bender’s second novel (following An Invisible Sign of My Own) careens splendidly through an obstacle course of pathological, fantastical neuroses. Bender’s narrator is young, needy Rose Edelstein, who can literally taste the emotions of whoever prepares her food, giving her unwanted insight into other people’s secret emotional lives—including her mother’s, whose lemon cake betrays a deep dissatisfaction. Rose’s father and brother also possess odd gifts, the implications of which Bender explores with a loving and detailed eye while following Rose from third grade through adulthood … this coming-of-age story makes a bittersweet dish, brimming with a zesty, beguiling talent.” – Publishers Weekly
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Home Sweet Home

We took a quick trip to Aurora/Chicago in August to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Volkswagen car club Joe started when he was 17. These days Joe’s parents are running things and the club has become quite successful. The car show had more than 125 registered cars, thousands of people in attendance and raised more than $36,000 for Gigi’s Playhouse a charity for children with Downs syndrome.

But before all the car show festivities, we got to spend time with our nephew Ayden. Hard to believe this was only the second time Ayden and Joe had spent together (the first being our wedding when Ayden was only six months old) because they were instantly the best of friends. I snuck in some play time with Ayden while Joe slept in our first morning which was good because otherwise, it was all about Uncle Joe.

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A Wonderful Life

Tomorrow marks the fourth year of my Grandpa Phil’s passing at the age of 91. He was a gentle, polite, loyal man who loved his wife, served his country, worked hard, walked everywhere, was greatly disciplined, and raised seven children; including the baby and only girl, my Momma, who is the kind of mother everyone wishes they had and who I don’t know how I got so lucky to have as mine.

These days always make me want to look at old family photos, so I wanted to share.

Grandpa Phil and Grandma Ruth on their wedding day. Grandpa snuck out of a quarantined base to marry Grandma. The happiness and love in their eyes makes my heart swell. 
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Honeymoon in Spain – Barcelona

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May 12
Barcelona, Spain 

I’ll be honest. By the time we got to Barcelona, I’d given up speaking Spanish. Really, there was no point speaking the little Spanish I know (Castilian) because they speak a different sort of Spanish (Catalan) in Barcelona – a mix of French and Spanish. But it didn’t matter, because everyone seemed to speak English. Also, I trained myself to use the lisp (Barcelona as “Barthelona”), but it’s not as prominent as I’d expected.

The thing about Barcelona for me is that there are so many languages, and so many tourists, I really had no concept of where I was. I could have been anywhere in terms of the people. But the architecture is all Barcelona, thanks to Antoni Gaudi.

First on the agenda for Barcelona was to take in Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Segrada Familia. The story is quite interesting. Construction of the cathedral began in the 1880s – regarding the timeline, Gaudi said, “Don’t worry, my client isn’t in a hurry.” The project stopped in the 1920s when Gaudi was killed by a tram outside the cathedral (Gaudi was actually living in the building). He looked so disheveled, that the rescue workers didn’t recognize Gaudi and he was almost buried as a John Doe. Someone recognized him eventually and he was buried in the Segrada Familia. After his death, the project stopped. Construction picked up again in the 1950s and the structure is expected to be complete in 2026.

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Overnight Train to Barcelona

After an entire day at the Alhambra, we headed to the Granada train station for our overnight train to Barcelona. We got there early since we had already checked out of our hotel. Fortunately there was free entertainment – the woman across from us in the lobby was apparently under extreme duress – crying, yelling, pounding – while on her phone. I think I preferred not being able to understand her.

Upon deciding we would go to the train station hours early, I said to Joe, “Let’s be sure not to wait for hours and then miss the train.” … it’s happened before. Oh, foreshadowing.

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Honeymoon in Spain – Granada

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May 10 
Granada, Spain 

Granada, Spanish for pomegranate.

I had heard the gypsies living in Granada are magical pickpockets living in caves, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Alas, we made it out with our wallets. The whole trip I’d been nervous about pickpockets (note how I am clutching my bag in almost all our photos), but on one particular adventure to a lookout point in Granada, I was overwhelmed by the thought that here, walking through the residential alleyways with tucked in doorways, that they (whoever “they” are) were just going to beat me and steal my bag, shoes, and fake ring (yes, I wore a fake wedding ring … and yes, it was ridiculously huge). And like most of the trip, my fears never came to fruition (although I won’t discredit the importance of being aware of your surroundings, I may have been a bit overzealous). We made it to the lookout and it was spectacular. It looks out over the city, the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevadas. We got smoothies, took in the view, hung out with the hippies and admired Saint Nick’s tomb before heading back down.

Enjoying the view. Worth risking your life for. 

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Honeymoon in Spain – Cordoba

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May 8
Cordoba, Spain 

After a quick bullet train ride from Sevilla, we were in Cordoba. Having learned from the long walk in Sevilla (and finding out that a taxi would be about 8E), we took a taxi to the hotel. We must’ve said the address incorrectly because the poor guy had no idea where we wanted to go – even stopping in the middle of intersections to confer with other drivers – and eventually turned off the meter. Finally I showed him the address in my trusty planner and he knew right where to go. He was given a nice tip.

Our hostal was right in the middle of things. First we toured the Alcazar of the Royal Christians … where the Spanish Inquisition was headquartered. There were two primary rooms to visit and many more ruins of the building. It had beautiful gardens and pools, but the real attraction was the rooftop lookout.

View from the rooftop lookout

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Honeymoon in Spain – Sevilla

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May 6
Sevilla, Spain

We took a bullet train from Madrid to Spain (after waiting in the train station for four hours) and got to Sevilla in the late afternoon. Sevilla doesn’t have public transportation like Madrid, so we decided to walk to the hostal … with our 40 pound backpacks. May have been the longest walk of my life. And of course, when we got to the hostal they didn’t have our name in the book … odd because this was the only hotel that we paid beforehand. Keep in mind, this was during the Sevilla Fair, so it would have been difficult to find a room elsewhere (they were turning people away while we were in the lobby) … alas, they found us a room, but we’re pretty sure they just converted the broom closet to a room so we wouldn’t throw a fit. Literally, this room had no windows, except a window to the hallway with white, sheer curtains, so our room was lit up all night. Weirdest nights sleep of my life.

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Spain Observations

• A ham sandwich for breakfast is totally acceptable
• Ham (jamon) is more like our idea of prosciutto or pancetta
• Foods do not come with dipping sauces – don’t even ask for ketchup
• Red wine is by far the preferred wine
• Restaurants charge you one Euro per person for “bread service” … basically if the bread touches your table, even if you don’t eat it, you’re paying for it
• Waiters are far less attentive than they are in the States – you have to wave them over to get something – however, there is usually only one waiter at each restaurant, so they don’t have time to baby you

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Honeymoon in Spain – Madrid

May 4, 2011
Madrid

I have to laugh at myself because for whatever reason I didn’t realize the emersion into Spanish language would start on the plane. Since the flight attendants were  fluent in English, it was fun to say the Spanish words I knew, but default to English when needed. The flight wasn’t as intense as I was expecting. For some reason I thought international flights were more “rustic,” but it was the same as any other flight. Unsure how much sleep I got. The flight was the equivalent of one day with the time change, meaning we landed in Madrid at seven something in the morning and then had a full day ahead of us. But we were excited to be in Spain and feeling good.

Oh, and one note about the flight that I’ve never experienced before. On the tv screen, they showed – from a camera apparently strapped to the top of the plane – us taking off and landing. It was pretty surreal. And also a little terrifying.

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