If Flamenco is the soul of traditional Andalucia, and bullfighting its heart then, undoubtedly, manzanilla sherry is the blood that courses through its veins. And if you've never had manzanilla from the barrel, you've never REALLY had manzanilla. That's why, even after more than three months have passed, I feel compelled to write about our visit to manzanilla country, or rather city: Sanlucar de Barrameda.
Flor in your wine?
(ed. ~ Shauna, guest restaurant reviewer, chimes in under Jeff's name. Going forward, she'll be posting under her own. Welcome, Shosho!)
We ended up going to Hier et Aujourd’hui twice in four days (actually, we went three times in five days, but I’ll get to that later). Pudlo Paris gave the restaurant “This year’s value for money award” and after being denied entrance on Monday night (full, or we got there too late…that whole language barrier thing), we couldn’t wait to go back Tuesday, this time with a reservation.
Shauna and I have arrived, and my surprise worked! Instead of going straight to Italy, I surprised her this morning and we are staying in Paris for the week. I strung her along all the way to us looking at the departures monitor for a flight to Milan that did not exist. When I asked her if she want to stay in Paris for a week she did not believe me and was a bit dumbstruck. I have been planning this for almost 9 months with my father and it has been so tough keeping it a secret from Shauna but I am glad we did. To see her smile made it worth it.
After 8 months of marital bliss, Shauna and I are off on our honeymoon. After a seemingly never-ending month of working weekends and late into the evening, we packed our bags, turned off our phones, and hit the skies. Last night we completed our first leg, San Francisco to Dallas. After a lovely flight on the new and improved MD-80 of American Airlines, we were greeted by my Dad and stepmother, Karen. They took us to our hotel and watched us eat dinner. My family gets face time whenever they can and it is always a pleasure to see them and set foot in BIG-D!
Do you genuflect to the coffee gods every morning? Are you a different person before you have that first cup of "joe"? I am and I also thought I knew how coffee was harvested and made, but I was wrong. I recently returned from one of the most amazing experiences I have had in my professional life. On March 27th, 2008 I flew off to Puetro Vallarta to meet up with Tony's Coffees and Teas.
If you haven't been following the haps over at Wet Laundry, you've probably wondered where I've fallen off to. Many thanks to Jeff for keeping the flame going strong. (Please, no protests! We want a free Tibet, too!) I'm not going to bore you with excuses, but rather intrigue you with hints of upcoming posts and happenings.
Valentine’s Day is a day that I don’t pay much attention to. When I was in middle school and had my first girlfriend I did but now Shauna and I are more concerned about what is happening on Lost and who the next survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 is. It is not that I don’t want to express my love to my wife or how much better my life is with her but it is the fact that there is a whole ad campaign telling me that my love wants the diamond circle necklace or roses or chocolate. I guess I just don’t like being told what to do…
Our first week of travel has been harried but beautiful. There are more pictures at our Flickr site, and more travel stories at El Camino Viejo, my travel blog. I will post soon about some of our food experiences along the way... Stay tuned!
Yesterday was a very difficult day for me. Today has not been a cake walk, but I'm trying to come to peace with what my body is going through. I am a VERY lucky person. I work in an industry where I am able to taste wine from all over the world, travel to different parts of the world, eat at amazing restaurants and, above all, meet really amazing people.
In our six months of operation, we have been getting a steadily increasing readership, and I want to say welcome and provide a little roadmap.
As you can tell from our About page, this is a collaborative blog by Jeff and me. Jeff is studying for his MS, and has been posting quite a bit about that, and I'm in the process of moving to Spain with my wife, Amberly. Posts from me might be less frequent as we are getting ready to go, and in transition, but here are some of my favorites, for you to get caught up on:
Snack Break
Old Books, Wine Trends
Wine For Your Ears
And a continuing Wine Primer, to which I need to add installments.
These may not be your favorites, so take a look around, write a comment, and keep in touch!
