If you can't be at the burn....

After four years of attending Burning Man, we were missing our friends on the playa this week.  But events and friends came together to make sure we didn't feel lonely.  Our friends Marcos and Monica invited us to a party at their beautiful country house in Costa Brava.  As soon as we walked in, we saw our hosts and others from our Burning Man camp - a Bojon reunion.  What a great party - we ate delicious food, met wonderful people, and danced till 2 AM (and we left early....).

At Marcos and Monica's party.

At Marcos' recommendation, we stayed at the Hotel Trias in Palamos. In 1960 Truman Capote decamped at this hotel when he moved to Spain to write In Cold Blood.  Great beachfront (so many topless women we felt like we were at Critical Tits), pool, restaurant, and views from the balcony.  Kids and adults very happy.

View from our deck at the Hotel Trias.

Back from Norway

We've just returned from a week in Norway. A beautiful country - we spent two days in Oslo, one day climbing a glacier, and three days kayaking and biking through the fjords.  We also got to see our old business school friends Steiner Paulsrud and Thomas Pulpan at their amazing house in Oslo.

I'll post pictures later when I've had a chance to go through them, but here are two:

 

The Magic Fountain

We went on our first tourist excursion on our second night in Barcelona - to The Magic Fountain at the base of Montjuic.  It was both beautiful and cheesy - gorgeous setting, glowing lights reminiscent of the playa, jampacked with people, and music that would have been at home in a 1980s roller skating rink.  It did give me a chance to play with my camera; I had fun making more and more abstract compositions as the lighting changed.

For those who never tire of this sort of thing, full photos are here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomstahl/sets/72157646866010102

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The kids are learning spanish

One of my children entered the text below on the "find products" terminal at IKEA.  Good to see they are making progress with the language.

We've Arrived

Our overseas stay in Barcelona began this week - we arrived to our beautiful apartment overlooking Turo Parc on Tuesday night.  Before we left, lots of friends asked whether we would be keeping a blog - this is an experiment to see whether we collectively have the time and interest (and whether anyone else is interested...)

For now, three observations after less than a week:

1) It's hot!  As San Franciscans, we aren't mentally equipped for muggy tropical climates.  However, we've been enjoying the upside - we can sit outside!  at night!  on our balcony!  We probably sit outside SF less than five nights a year.  Here, we've had dinner and/or drinks on the balcony every night, and plan to continue as long as the weather allows.

Sunset from our balcony

2) It's amazing how a great subway shrinks a city.  I forget this in San Francisco, where most of the city isn't easily accessible by subway.  Getting around is so convenient,and there is much less need to drive.  When San Francisco limited BART to one corridor through the city, we gave up a lot.

3) The internet and iphone sure do change travel.  I know this isn't a particularly profound observation, but it has been evident to me this week.  The first order of business when we got into our apartment wasn't unpacking or buying food - it was finding adapters so we could plug our computers, phones, and tablets into the Spanish outlets.  

I love the convenience of the internet and Google maps.  It's made getting settled into our new city so easy - less time pouring over subway maps or wondering where to buy adapters; more time getting out and getting things done.  It's also made it much easier to stay in touch with friends at home. What's App and iMessage and email and an IP phone with a 415 area code make the world a small place.

I do sometimes regret that all this technology takes some of the adventure out of travel, and reduces the opportunity to learn self reliance and shut off the world.  There's nothing like arriving at Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong at 1 AM with no place to sleep to teach you how to cope.  In 1988 I spent four weeks in Tibet and six weeks in Kashmir with NO ability to make an international phone call or read a headline, and the sense of removal from the rest of the world was exhilarating.  I don't know if my kids will ever have that experience.