Saturday, April 15
We arrived at Miami International early for a 5pm flight to Newark feeling lucky to have clear skies after four days of downpours so severe that the Fort Lauderdale Airport, 20 miles away from our apartment, closed. Seven hours later, we weren’t so happy.
Weather in Newark had delayed the incoming plane. No biggie. After finally boarding, we sat on the tarmac for three hours after Newark imposed a full ground stop. Then the crew timed out so we returned to the gate. We sat in the boarding area for an hour while United tried to figure out what to do. Finally, we were told to collect our baggage and return the next morning.
Not an auspicious start to a three-month European vacation.
Sunday, April 16
I’d been looking forward to seeing friends in New York that I hadn’t seen in several years. We had plans to see our son, newly installed in an apartment in Connecticut. We were also squeezing in a visit with Dave’s sister. Cancelled everything…
Sunday’s flight was delayed 45 minutes. For some reason the airport refused to cater the two planes that couldn’t fly to Newark the night before. Last night’s leftover snacks and drinks would have to suffice. Fortunately, the onboard stash included snack boxes. We selected the Tapas snack box. Perfectly acceptable, but not what one expects in first class.
We arrived in Newark early, but troubles started anew. Our luggage arrived 11⁄2 hours later. It took 11⁄4 hours to get into Manhattan. Our limo driver blamed it on rush hour…on a Sunday…at 3:30pm. All told, 281⁄2 hours to fly from Miami to Manhattan.
Finally arrived at the Yale Club, our Manhattan home-away-from-home. It’s a great location: Vanderbilt Avenue midtown, across the street from Grand Central Terminal. Dave needed exercise; I needed to clean up. That accomplished, we both needed comfort food. What does that mean to us? Mexican food!
Rosa Mexicano used to be a NY institution. Over the years, it expanded across the U.S. The food got pricier and deteriorated in quality. Then Covid came. The owners closed remote locations and got back to basics. They opened a new location at 52nd and 2nd, and we decided to give it a go. It was phenomenal. The salsa rocked: fresh, piquant, and smoky. The Roasted Mushroom Huarache was a sublime combination of shiitake, oyster, and trumpet mushrooms cooked with spinach and a delicate mole sauce, served over an oval corn tortilla in the shape of the eponymous Mexican sandal. My order was less ambitious: Chopped Salad: romaine, corn, beans, roasted jalapeños, cilantro, and crunchy tortilla strips. We shared a bottle of Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay
Wandering home, we stopped at Cipriani Dolci in Grand Central for a nightcap. Dave asked to try the Italian chardonnay – too sweet. We then tried two cabernets and a cab/merlot/sangiovese blend. Not one tasted compelling.
Undecided, I perused the bar display, and my heart jumped. “Was that a Patrón XO”? The bartender had to go look. Apparently, few people drink XO at Italian restaurants. We switched tack and ordered two XOs over ice. A bargain at $17 each.
For those not familiar with it, XO is a tasty liqueur made with Patrón Silver tequila, coffee, and vanilla. If you like an espresso martini, you’ll flip for XO. Unfortunately, Patrón stopped production last year. We thought we’d never have it again, which saddened me as it’s my favorite liqueur. Inspired, we pulled out our iphones to see if any liquor stores still have it in stock. We bought every single bottle we could find. We now have a stash to last through Armageddon.
Monday, April 17
A perfect day. Workout at the Yale Club gym, great machines, not full, an hour with my audiobook. Hot shower back in the room. Heaven.
My friend, Deb, came over. We haven’t seen each other in years. It was so great to catch up! Two hours flew by, and I realized we’d be late to our lunch reservation at SoHo House. Luckily, they held our table, and I enjoyed a glass of rosé and Sunchoke Soup. Dave had Roasted Cauliflower with curried rice, lentils, and cilantro, washed down with a Montauk IPA. We shared the Roasted Rosemary Parmesan Potatoes.
An hour later we were in the American Airlines Flagship lounge enjoying a glass of Piper Heidsick and a Session Stonewall Inn IPA. Oh, and a cheese plate, bien sûr!
The AA flight was flawless and fast. 6 hours in the air. The service was excellent. We started with a glass (or two) of chardonnay, followed by a lovely cheese plate. The salad of mixed lettuces, red bell peppers, and pomegranate seeds was light and fresh. Our entrée was a delicate rollotini filled with soft, herbed cheese, sitting on a bed of basil-tinged, fresh tomato sauce. I rarely eat dessert, but who can resist vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge and caramel?
Then a lie-flat bed and night-night.
Tuesday, April 18
We landed in Madrid an hour early. Fortunately, our gracious apartment host rushed to meet us so we didn’t have to wait, wandering around Madrid, or worse, sitting in one place with all of our luggage. We hopped into bed immediately.
Refreshed, we headed out. We ate at a casual Vietnamese restaurant, sharing My Xao Chay, a dish of crunchy wheat noodles with mushrooms, carrots, green beans, and tofu in a light peanut
sauce, and Ca-Ri Chay, a yellow curry with market vegetables served with jasmine rice. We walked it all off in Madrid’s Retiro park.
On the way home, we stopped at a supermarket to pick up wine and cava, cheese, crackers, coffee, milk, and other essentials. By 8pm we were on our private roof terrace with a cheese board and cava. Bliss.
Wednesday, April 19
The day after arriving in Europe is always the toughest for me. I don’t sleep well the night of arrival, often waking up at around 2am local time and, after tossing and turning for an hour or so, finally get up and read or work for a couple of hours. Last night and today were no different. After finally getting some sleep, I awoke at almost 9am, groggy and ready for coffee.
At 11:45 we were on our way back to El Retiro to take our “morning constitutional”. The day couldn’t have been nicer, sunny, a slight breeze, 70° F. Lunch on our terrace consisted of a spinach salad with mixed cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and crisped onions, lightly dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
At 4pm we hopped in an Uber to go visit the Royal Palace. The guided tour is a must. Some interesting facts on the Palace:
- Construction began 1735 and ended 1755.
- At 1,450,000 sq. ft. and 3,418 rooms, it is the largest royal palace in Europe. (2x the size of Versailles and 1,100 more rooms. To be fair, more of Versailles has been preserved and is open to the public. But given the current crisis in France caused by the extension of the state-guaranteed retirement age, I have to ask, “Could the French have avoided the extension if so much public money wasn’t going to Versailles???)
- Artists represented include Caravaggio, Juan de Flandes, Francisco de Goya, Velázquez, Giovanni Battista Tiépolo, Corrado Giaquinto, and Antón Raphael Mengs.
- The most impressive pieces include:
o Two Tiépolo ceiling frescos, the largest of which was painted when the artist was
68 years old, lying on his back some 30+ feet in the air and working quickly
before the plaster dried. The result is stunning.
o The largest collection of 16th century Flemish tapestries in the world. Some
former king, recognizing their importance, designated them as part of the Spanish national heritage and required future kings not only to ensure their conservation but also to enlarge the collection.
o Five Stradivarius string instruments, including four of the eleven instruments, unique in the world, where the artist carved designs into the ribs (sides) of the instrument and inlaid them with Chinese ink. These pieces are even more beautiful than your “standard” Stradivarius.
• The Armory is also outstanding.
At 5:30 we headed over to the Templo de Debod, a gift from the Egyptians to the Spanish government, which I was really excited to show Dave as it is normally a place of serene contemplation among towering trees and a zen-like temple and reflecting pool. Alas, the temple is undergoing renovation, the pools empty, and the site awash with construction vehicles. Aargh! On the other hand, a new traffic recirculation project has been completed rendering the Plaza de España much more tranquil and pedestrian friendly.
Passing through the Plaza de España we reached our next destination: Vega Àlamo. Vega is a 5vegetarian hotspot in Madrid’s right now. We booked a table on the terrace (which in Spain entitles you to pay a 10% surcharge). Arriving early by Spanish standards, we ordered a rosado (rosé) and a Cibeles Imperial IPA. Instead of waiting for the drinks and the goodies that usually accompany them, Dave jumped the gun and ordered Mushroom Croquetas (a Spanish standard) with a kimchi crema (not so standard). Turned out to be a great call!
The Grilled Artichokes with balsamic vinegar, crispy “bacon” and Chinese scallions were equally awesome:
As was the Risotto Verde with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pesto Genovese, asparagus, and Parmesan Petits Fours:
A great day in Madrid.
Thursday, April 20
Our usual morning: coffee and a walk in the park. Another sunny day, brisk in the morning and heading to 80° F.
Lunch was in the garden at Arzábal, the restaurant at the Reina Sofía museum. The ambiance, presentation, and service were excellent. The amuse bouche, a demi-tasse of Salmorejo, a tomato soup similar to gazpacho but made with bread, was outstanding. As a first course we shared traditional Patatas Bravas, cubes of potatoes, lightly fried, and served with a spicy sauce. They, too, were wonderful. The main courses, a plate of White Asparagus with Aioli and Grilled Artichoke Hearts with a Hollandaise-y sauce were okay. When restaurants don’t specialize in vegetarian cuisine, their vegetarian options are often just so-so.
At the Thyssen-Bournemiza Museum we saw the Lucian Freud exhibit. Lucian was Sigmund Freud’s grandson, but his painting stands on its own merits. The exhibit was a survey of his work from earliest days to last works. Mostly self-portraits and portraits, his subject matter didn’t really change, but as he matured, his style did. In his youth, he was very precise in his rendering and colorings. As he aged, he started to use broader brush strokes and a stronger color palette. The resulting work was both more nuanced and more complex. While his work is not really to my taste, I could certainly appreciate his talent, and I enjoyed his later pieces, such as the self-portrait with his children below.
We also caught the exhibit called “In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930. This exhibit covered the modernist and futurist styles during the period when Ukraine was trying to establish its own existence while being contested by neighboring powers. The painters of the period tried to use painting to create a recognizable national style. The earliest works clearly depicted Ukrainian patterns, palettes, and imagery. As the artists explored modernism and the avant-garde, they came up with their own style: cubo-futurism. Throughout this period, they
retained the exuberant color palettes of earlier periods. In the 20’s artists became in involved in theater design.
When it became clear that Stalin’s Russia would dominate the country’s future, the paintings became more muted and somber. Artists were executed and many of their works destroyed. Social Realism, reflecting the class consciousness that became the only acceptable lens through which to practice art in the Soviet Union, dominated.
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