lululu

When we uploaded our final batch of Spain vacation pictures and realized our grand total was approaching 600, it seemed like whittling the number down to a few dozen for a highlights reel was the friendly thing to do. We have finally managed this feat, and captioned the pictures to boot. These may not be the 36 best shots, but they sum up our time pretty well.

I am about 4 hours and 400 pictures into the much more daunting task of labeling our comprehensive albums. I hope to complete this exercise in minutiae before I forget why on earth I took seven pictures of blurry olive groves out the window of a moving car.

Our road trip came to an unceremonious close last night when we busted a tire on a sharp Cordoban curb. So we turned in our hot little ride for a couple of sensible train tickets to cover our final leg to Seville. Despite its tragic finale, the drive on the whole was beautiful and lots of fun. We do enjoy a good road trip.

We procured an adorable Eurocar rental yesterday and have wound our way through Basque country and into La Rioja. What an adventure.

They are not joking about it being huge, splendid, and still in progress. Remind me to come visit when it’s finished in 2040.

Some nice pictures from Laurel’s 30th birthday celebration in Bodega Bay last weekend.

That is all.

[Update: gritted teeth.]

[Update: sigh.]

Before I get on yet another airplane, this time headed for Atlanta, I managed to post our pictures from Oktoberfest and our fabulous, impromptu Texas trip.

The costume-level this year was really impressive.

Big Tex, a corny dog, and a beer: what more could a girl need?

The New York Times review of Thomas Keller’s Per Se is actually a great description of our French Laundry experience. The dishes described differ, with the exception of a few signatures like the oysters and pearls and the end-of-meal doughnuts, but the experience sounds exactly the same.

“No restaurant…does a better job than Per Se of making personal and revelatory the process of spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on food and drink.”

Yuuup.