Look what I got in the mail today! It is a postcard outlining the Commencement Weekend festivities at Duke University. It is hard to believe that it has been almost 4 years since my son, Taylor, went off to attend Duke. Now, in a few shorts months, he will be a college graduate. On the […]
Buon Giorno! In my last post about hunting for wild mushrooms I told you that in the mid 1980’s I owned a country house in northern Italy. That got me thinking about a habit I formed during my days living in Italy: a Cappuccino habit. In those days the only people who had heard of Starbucks Coffee […]
My son, Taylor, is a devil, a BLUE DEVIL that is! So come basketball season we all get a little wild and crazy around here. We don Duke T shirts, or in Taylor’s case, he dons blue paint…… Megaphones are used to proclaim our excitement. We want to make sure that the entire mountain knows […]
Hi There! It’s winter up in these hills. My son, Austin, just left town with his Rim of the World High School Ski Team for a race in Mammoth. And the Winter Olympics are a few short weeks away. So, I’ve got winter sports on my mind and that set me to thinkin’ that, as […]
OK folks, I know it’s the dead of winter and it’s not really time to think about gardening and all, but I’m on a roll here, so please bear with me. Remember how I told you in a previous post that I got a greenhouse for Christmas? Well, now that I am the proud owner of my […]
“HOLY TOLEDO” – A VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL OF TOLEDO, SPAIN “Holy Toledo” isn’t just an expression! The historic walled city in central Spain known as Toledo is positively packed with religious sites. The city is often compared to Jerusalem and its historical landscape has been called biblical. That is because this very unique and richly diverse […]
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT WALLED CITY OF TOLEDO, SPAIN When people ask me for advice about where to go in Spain, I always say, “Start in Madrid.” Madrid is centrally located geographically in the center of Spain and is a major airline hub. But more importantly, beyond the attractions and beauty of Madrid is the […]
Just up the street from Botin lies another of Madrid’s famous restaurants, Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas. http://www.lascuevasdeluiscandelas.com/ Las Cuevas means “the caves” in Spanish and this restaurant is actually housed in caves located under the Arco de Cuchilleros. In the early 1800’s these caves were a hideout for a famous bandit known as Luis Candelas. The legend of Luis Candelas lived on when in 1949 the caves were purchased by a famous Spanish Bullfighter named Felix Colomo Diez and turned into the restaurant it is today. I have vivid memories of enjoying delicious meals here too when I was a young girl visiting Madrid with my dad. At that time the bullfighter himself greeted the guests and meeting him left a lasting impression in my memories of Spain. I remember the walls of the restaurant being decorated with bullfighting paraphernalia which was impressive to a wide eyed 11 year old. I returned here many times on subsequent visits to Spain but did not have time for a visit on this trip.
After Orange County is a publication dedicated to living life in the slow lane. I escaped The OC for life at a higher elevation. Leaving suburbia behind, I now live in the beautiful mountain resort of Lake Arrowhead. Join me at 5,000 feet above and beyond as I cook, garden, renovate, entertain, travel and live life After Orange County.
