Dinner with classmates, Becky from both our original immersion in 2023 and Phil's zoom class, and Sue from Phil's zoom class. Both are in town for more immersion. We chose the other outpost of La Cayetana as it was close to where Becky is staying but the place had chaotic service and was up for grabs. The food was all good. We shared matrimonio and arroz Ibericos, and they shared a white bean soup with clams and shrimp and then the solomillo. Phil added the gambas in garlic oil. It was great to catch up. We decided that Sunday dinner works for all of us so we have a standing date for the next five weeks or so while they are in Sevilla.
I recently came across what to me is a treasure trove. One of my favorite authors as a teenager is now back "in print" and available digitally.
Mary Stewart:"Mary, Lady Stewart was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children's books and poetry, but may be best known for her Merlin series, which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and fantasy."
"Stewart was the best-selling author of many romantic suspense and historical fiction novels. They were well received by critics, especially due to her skilful story-telling and elegant prose. Her novels are also known for their well-crafted settings, many in England but also in such locations as Damascus and the Greek islands, as well as Spain, France, and Austria.
Stewart herself said that her pleasure was to take "conventionally bizarre situations (the car chase, the closed-room murder, the wicked uncle tale) and send real people into them, normal, everyday people with normal, everyday reactions to violence and fear; people not 'heroic' in the conventional sense, but averagely intelligent men and women who could be shocked or outraged into defending, if necessary, with great physical bravery, what they held to be right".
She was at the height of her popularity from the late 1950s to the 1980s, when many of her novels were translated into other languages. The Moon-Spinners, one of her most popular novels, was also made into a Walt Disney live-action movie." (Starring a favorite actress of my preteen years - Haley Mills). (Wikipedia).
Fairly certain I read every one of her books. So I downloaded one with a familiar title to see how it held up. And despite it clearly being a period piece (telephone party lines, and telegrams) her prose is elegant in its descriptions of Corfu (the setting of this one) and literary references (here to The Tempest) a cut above today's hectic action driven tales. Paced differently than what we generally read today, I am enjoying it immensely and find myself thinking of the plot while not reading.
I did not, by the way, remember any of this story from roughly 60 years ago but I do remember the impression it left me of Corfu. A lovely island I was lucky enough to visit decades later while traveling down the Adriatic's eastern shore from Croatia to Montenegro to Albania (which was communist in the book's setting) to Corfu and then on to Athens.
I can recommend the book to those who are seeking a respite from today's villains and events. The pacing itself creates its own getaway from today's world.
It is the birthday of my friend Michael Ragan who has now hit 75! We have known each other for decades (photo from the early to mid 90s sometime) I am happy to say that we have both made it (now) well into our 70s and still fighting the good fight. It is also the birthday of my oldest nephew Nick Flessa who has FB page for the Nick Flessa Band - who has only reached the ripe old age of 38.
Oddly enough that was about how old I was when I met Michael at a dinner at Cafe L'Europe on St Armand's Key near Sarasota. We were dining to meet with a doctor for a mediation the next morning. The rest is history. Many great memories of times together mostly in a context of business meetings we both attended but managed to have time off from duties as well. Milkshakes in Boulder City on the way to Hoover Dam, the Liberace Museum, NC light house climbing, Dixie Boy Truck stop shopping, Oysters oysters and more oysters in SFO, City Lights bookstore finds, many Star Top dinners with buddy Richard. All long, long ago and far, far away but we are still in touch.
One of my most touching memories of Michael was his offer to meet me in Cincinnati, when we watched my mother's blood numbers drop toward a "number not compatible with life" during treatment for her metastatic cancer. It has been years since we have seen each other in person but that means nothing - he is still a part of my life.
My nephew Nick (photo of him at five weeks.) My first babysitting job in his life was his parents anniversary. I had offered to watch him while my sister and brother in law went out for dinner. I was holding him a little of an hour later when my sister rushed in and over to the baby - picked him out of my arms and said "Nick I've missed YOU!"
So a very happy birthday to the two men in my life born on January 29!
Dinner that night at Afuego Brasas the restaurant in the back of El Pinton tapas. The food is a bit more upscale and most of it is prepared on a wood fire. I had the salad and carpaccio and Phil had the Jamon Bellota and the costilla with a side of truffled whipped potatoes. They also have a nice cocktail list.
So that brings us to Sunday - our brunch day. If we have them, we have bagels and some choice of protein. pastrami today but frequently Salmon. Today I have a roll from Carrefour that they call ciabatta cristal. so it's sort of a small square pan cristal. We will see how that works as a substitute for our bagels (brought back from Paris in December.)
