Team NZ went tuning up against Alinghi today which is causing a bit of a stir in sailing circles...a) because traditionally a challenger doesn't race against the defender prior to the Cup, and b) because reportedly Alinghi won.
This past weekend was a long weekend here in the US, being Memorial Day on Monday - a day of remembrance for those who have lost their lives in war.
We traveled across to Michigan, our neighboring state directly across Lake Michigan, taking the 2 1/2 hour fast car ferry that travels from Milwaukee to Muskegon (click on the pictures to enlarge the map) and headed to the small but handsome town of Holland.
With its rich Dutch heritage and culture (funny that) the small town of 35,000 residents features more than 43 religious denominations with 145 churches (only 3 of them Catholic!).
No doubt due to these rather interesting statistics, it's a dry town on Sundays (and many business and restaurants were closed) but funnily enough at the one restaurant we did have dinner on Sunday night they said we couldn't buy beer or wine, but we could buy hard liquor...??!
That aside, it's a very picturesque town, built on the edge of Lake Michigan, with oak lined quiet avenues, a thriving Saturday Farmers' Market (this weekend featuring new season's asparagus and rhubarb), and front porches groaning with hanging flower baskets. Holland's proximity to Chicago (it's only a two and a half hour drive) has meant it's been a popular destination for weekend getaways, and many houses like the above were established as "cottages" or weekend retreats for the city folks escaping the skyscrapers and heat of summer. Nice gig if you can get it...
Robbie had some work to do putting a mast in a maxi boat there, so I had two full days to explore, and luckily for me, as well as being one of the furniture-making capitals of America (home to such brands as Herman Miller, Steelcase, Baker and Haworth) it also has a thriving trail of antique malls. I was twice lucky - I had the car...! There were a number of malls - large barn-like buildings covering 1-2 acres where dealers rent small unmanned booths to display their wares. I originally went in search of vintage Herman Miller but lucked out. Obviously most is now sold on eBay...I did see a couple of Eames moulded plastic chairs, but sadly no LCW moulded plywood lounge chairs which is what I was really after!). I did manage to score a rather cute retro brushed aluminum desk fan for Robbie...
At nearby Allegan they were hosting the monthly antique fair which featured over 400 dealers under the shade of more oak and walnut trees at the local fairground.
It took three hours to just get round all the stalls and after spotting a pair of rather lovely ice cream chairs at the ones of the first stands I visited, I spent the rest of the three hours looking for better, cheaper ones.
You know the ending of the story....I went back to get the first ones I saw, only to find one had already sold. However I got a good deal on the final one - $20! This weekend's restoration project is in the same style as the ones in the photo, but has a wooden seat.
I first learnt about the American classic ice cream chair, typical of the 1950s ice cream parlors, when I flicked one afternoon onto the Martha Stewart show on TV (yes, I know - cringe!) when she was restoring one (click on video on this link) - in preparation for "the onset of Summer and the need to lay out ones outdoor furniture"....bla bla bla..
I'll post before and afters - it will motivate me to get the job done!
I also couldn't resist visiting nearby Grand Rapids - home of Amway - and nearby Zeeland (Old Zeeland?), home of Herman Miller. Buying liquor in Zeeland on a Sunday isn't a problem there either - there isn't even a pub or bar in the town - it's completely dry...
How on earth did all those great furniture manufacturers fuel their creative juices???
I think things improved by the time they got to New Zeeland..
Well, today's my last day: - as a lady of leisure - of unemployment - as a full time cleaning lady - using Robbie as an ATM ...however you want to put it!
Tomorrow I start work as a Senior Account Manager at Upshot, a integrated marketing services agency, based in Chicago, but with an office here in Milwaukee which takes care of their major client, SAB Miller - or Miller Brewing Company.
I'll be working primarily on some of their major sponsorship projects - including Nascar (they sponsor Penske Racing - "go Kurt Busch"), basketball and their summer promotions - all in the area of consumer promotions.
Our office is based at the Miller campus which is a massive complex and home of their Milwaukee brewing operation...so any visitors to Milwaukee - free tours!
Wish me luck. It's a little daunting to be returning to a) the workforce; and b) an agency after an absence of 12 years, but they like my event marketing background and they seem a great group of people - so here goes....
Expect that the volume of blogging - and travel stories! - will decrease.
P.S I think I could have made a great Nascar promo girl...I look great in dress-up...
Avid readers (are there any???!) will remember a recent post about my visit to the Central Market in Valencia's Old Town...turns out Prada recently hosted a VIP function at the market for invited media and guests to celebrate their link with the America's Cup being hosted in Valencia. Check out the story here. (Coolhunter is an awesome website for those not familiar with it).
New Zealand has more computer hackers per head of population than anywhere else apart from Britain, a new report on "cybervandalism" across 10 countries has found.
Cool. Another great stat about NZers I can use...!
The morning started with the headline on the America's Cup website - Dickson Steps off USA98 - and ended with BMW Oracle eliminated from the 32nd America's Cup, Emirates Team NZ losing a close race with the Spanish to force them into at least one more race in the best of nine semifinals, and Luna Rosa into the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals of what could turn out to be a rematch of the 2000 America's Cup.
It's a tough day for all - for those eliminated, those who have to go out and face another race day on Tuesday, and those who now have to prepare for the Finals starting June 1.
So who's happy - for sure, the Spanish. It's a Sunday in Spain so the spectator fleet was massive and the locals are going crazy - and who could blame them. What a result. No doubt there will be plenty of fireworks going off in the pyrotechnic-crazy city throughout the rest of the day. What a perfect way to end the week. And what a sad finish to a incredibly long four year slog for the BMWO team.
We're currently being bombarded with two TV commercials from two different cellular companies, both with a similar message - and it's sick. See for yourself...
In a similar vein is competitor Verizon's latest commercial featuring a Dad who says he's put the family on a new plan from Verizon that will mean everyone can have unlimited texting per month etc etc. The kid says, "But Dad, we do that already". Dad replies "yes but now your Mum won't need to stick to her second job to pay for it"....
While we were in Valencia, when I wasn't at the America's Cup village I spent the rest of my time in the city's Old Town - the heart and soul of this growing Spanish city.
Famous for their oranges, paella, the unrelenting fireworks set off during any festival or celebration, and the modern architecture of Santiago Calatrava (the architect of Milwaukee's Art Museum), while the city groans from recent development Valencians have maintained their cultural centre and have plenty to be proud of.
The weekend we were there was Mother's Day and the feast of the city's patron saint, Nuestra Senora de los Desamparados - Our Lady of the Foresaken. Her statue is kept in a special chapel behind the cathedral and on the Friday night I happened upon it - filled with priests and a choir of young children in what I was to learn was the beginning of a weekend of festivities.
They had started to decorate the plaza outside with a massive wall-hanging of her image on the side of the chapel, baskets of flowers, and a huge shade cover over the plaza.
I later met someone who told me the festival would include an open air mass early on the Sunday morning, followed by the parade of her statue from the chapel through the plaza to the cathedral so I went back to check it out on Sunday . The square was packed with devotees hanging from all the balconies surround the square. Here are some pictures of the spectacle, including scenes as she come out of the chapel and circles the square on the shoulders of men, with a trail of rose petals thrown by the people in her wake.
The crowd erupted as she emerged from the chapel. The statue was leaned into the crowd so the people could touch her.
Later in the day the Old Town started to fill with women and young girls dressed in extraordinarily beautiful gowns, with their hair embellished with hair pieces and jewellery and wearing hand made lace. They would later parade through the city streets with the statue, in temperatures around 30C.
One of the other highlights of the weekend was visiting the Mercato Central - the Central Market housed in an impressive vaulted ceilinged, ironwork building.
I only wish I had done a little more jambon (ham) research before I went, or had taken a local who could have led me through the array of options on display. There was row upon row of stall-holders selling every type - Serrano, Aragon, jamon de Teruel, and the most expensive - jabugo or Iberico abugo ham which is made only from pure-bred black Iberian pigs. They are fed almost exclusively on acorns at the end of their growing season – which give the meat its unique sweet and nutty essence – and have a curious metabolism which allows their fat to integrate into the muscles, marbling the meat and resulting in a distinctive flavour and juiciness.
After being reared indoors, the pigs are left to run free and to gorge themselves on acorns (eating up to 10kg each a day) during the montanera – the three-month period when the nuts abound. On reaching 160kg, the pigs are first put to sleep then slaughtered. The ham isn't even available in America due to USDA regulation about processing of meats (it's that good!).
Although a little hard to see in this photo, the fat on all of the the hams on display glistens...a glorious sight!
Some other highlights of the market - the mountains of fresh strawberries coming into season, anchovies, the shellfish, and the snail seller with more than 20 varieties of snails.
shelling the fava beans
the bacaiao - or salt cod which we commonly had during tapas
anchovies, anchovies and more anchovies
even a little piece of New Zealand was represented...
cutting up the tripe...
Mary keeps an eye on everyone.
The temperatures rose the week we were in Valencia - upwards of 30C every day - peeking at 38C. In Spain, one of the typical ways to seek a refreshing cool drink during the heat of summer is to head to a Horchateria.
Originally from Valencia horchata is a drink made from tigernuts, water and sugar. It looks rather milky, tastes a little like almonds and is always freshly made, and served ice cold. It even has a regulating council to ensure the quality of the product and the villages where it can come from, with the Denomination of Origin (as wine is important to the French, so too is horchata to the Spanish!). This ancient drink was first made by the Muslins who were present in Valencia from the 8th to 13th century.
Unfortunately we didn't get to try the local paella (which is made with meat - typically chicken and rabbit - and vegetables as opposed to the more common seafood paella in the rest of Spain). Most nights we were invited to functions or to friends' houses, but I made sure we came away with a steel pan, and some terracotta dishes for our tapas evenings to come!
There is an excellent "house of paella" that sells everything you need to make paella, except the ingredients, right next to the Mercato Central. The pans and pots were ridiculously cheap - a steel pan for making 6 portions of paella was 3.50 euros, the dishes ranging in price from 2.25 upwards - for a decent salad sized bowl.
Team NZ went tuning up against Alinghi today which is causing a bit of a stir in sailing circles...a) because traditionally a challenger doesn't race against the defender prior to the Cup, and b) because reportedly Alinghi won.
