Following is an excerpt of an email that I sent to some close friends...
Dearest Girls,
Sorry that it has taken me so long to write but it has been hard to sit at the computer and take a moment to consider the move, the moving in, my new home and city. I just finished laundry, with another load in the washer. They don’t use drying machines here so I’ve hung our clothes on the line that I share with my neighbor across the hall. How much my life has changed. I took a quick walk this late morning. I like the city and I’m trying to create some new relationships so it feels like home. I purchased some bread for dinner at the local gourmet store and the shopkeeper recognized me and asked me how long I was staying. Para siempre, I told him. Forever.
Often, I feel stupid as I can’t even communicate some basic things with the locals here and A's friends do not speak english. Everyone has been patient and kind with me but I’m frustrated with myself. Not only is the language difficult, I’m struggling with the accent, intonation, pronunciation. At the gym, I listen to Earworms from Berlitz. It is Spanish language learning set to music. Not bad. I’ve purchased 5 levels of Rosetta Stone and started educating myself but I need to be more patient with myself. School starts in a couple of weeks; 15-20 hours a week of grammar, language, culture and history. I need time. However, with preparation and hard work, I’m certain that I’ll be fine.
All in all, everything is going well. I’ve almost lived here a month and I was most concerned about the first month. I had some moments where I felt some anxiety about the full gravity of my move. Now with these weeks in perspective, I feel more certain that I’ve made the right decision but it will definitely be challenge at times. You went through it. The next year will be tough.
My new schedule here takes some acclimation. Lunch is at 14:00 and dinner at 21:00 or later. I was having some serious stomach problems in the second week but I’m feeling better this week after adding yogurt, fruit and veggies to my diet.
Last week, I saw my friend Marko from New York for lunch at the Ferran Adria restaurant called Las Terrazas de Casino in Madrid. It was so nice to speak English and have a friend. I saw Sonia, a friend who lived with me in NY, for dinner. She lives in Madrid so hopefully, I’ll see her more.
All my furniture from New York arrived last week. There was one missing box and some dented goods, but overall, the move went smoothly. Some of the furniture went to storage at the winery. The house is looking good and alas, feels like our home. The window treatments will all be finished this week and yesterday, we hung a good number of paintings and prints.
I don’t have any new friends yet but I am sure that some will come with time. I have a MW candidate tasting group set up with 2 winemakers in the area starting in December when the harvest is finished. I’m also doing an intensive monthly MW practice tasting in the Languedoc for long weekends so it an opportunity to meet more people. I’m hoping to participate in some wine panels here, in France or in London, so let me know if you know of anything.
Next week will get busier as the Toro winery starts harvest and I want to learn as much as possible about the properties. Ribera will not start until the middle of October or so. Is Napa still delayed? How much?
I miss you all. We’ll have to coordinate Skype schedules so we can actually talk.
 |
| One of my moving boxes. New York to Valladolid. |
Dearest Girls,
Sorry that it has taken me so long to write but it has been hard to sit at the computer and take a moment to consider the move, the moving in, my new home and city. I just finished laundry, with another load in the washer. They don’t use drying machines here so I’ve hung our clothes on the line that I share with my neighbor across the hall. How much my life has changed. I took a quick walk this late morning. I like the city and I’m trying to create some new relationships so it feels like home. I purchased some bread for dinner at the local gourmet store and the shopkeeper recognized me and asked me how long I was staying. Para siempre, I told him. Forever.
 |
| Special wine from my first dinner in our new apartment |
All in all, everything is going well. I’ve almost lived here a month and I was most concerned about the first month. I had some moments where I felt some anxiety about the full gravity of my move. Now with these weeks in perspective, I feel more certain that I’ve made the right decision but it will definitely be challenge at times. You went through it. The next year will be tough.
 |
Wines from the lunch at Can Roca. 96 Salon, 02 DRC Montrachet, 02 DRC Richebourg, 96 Guigal Landonne & 96 Vega Unico hit the sweet spot. |
Last week, I saw my friend Marko from New York for lunch at the Ferran Adria restaurant called Las Terrazas de Casino in Madrid. It was so nice to speak English and have a friend. I saw Sonia, a friend who lived with me in NY, for dinner. She lives in Madrid so hopefully, I’ll see her more.
All my furniture from New York arrived last week. There was one missing box and some dented goods, but overall, the move went smoothly. Some of the furniture went to storage at the winery. The house is looking good and alas, feels like our home. The window treatments will all be finished this week and yesterday, we hung a good number of paintings and prints.
I don’t have any new friends yet but I am sure that some will come with time. I have a MW candidate tasting group set up with 2 winemakers in the area starting in December when the harvest is finished. I’m also doing an intensive monthly MW practice tasting in the Languedoc for long weekends so it an opportunity to meet more people. I’m hoping to participate in some wine panels here, in France or in London, so let me know if you know of anything.
Next week will get busier as the Toro winery starts harvest and I want to learn as much as possible about the properties. Ribera will not start until the middle of October or so. Is Napa still delayed? How much?
I miss you all. We’ll have to coordinate Skype schedules so we can actually talk.
