I’m off this afternoon for a bit more than two weeks. I’ll be giving a biology seminar at the University of Valencia in Spain (where I’m also promised the best paella in town), and then a plenary talk at the Third Congress of the Spanish Society for Evolutionary Biology (Sociedad Española de Biología Evolutiva) in Madrid. And of course I’ll have a few days of vacation as well: why go all that way and not have some fun?
While I’ll attempt to check in from time to time, I suspect I won’t have much time to write here. I’ll start regular posting again at the beginning of December. In the meantime, pinch-bloggers Greg Mayer and Matthew Cobb will be filling in when they can.
Hasta la proxima!
Well, then — happy Thanksgiving!
Cheers,
b&
Have a good trip, Jerry. Bring back lots of pics and in the words of Dylan, some “Spanish boots of Spanish leather”.
Vaya con la evolución!
Both cities are really nice, as I recall.
You do get around! Look out for the Spanish Lynx…
Will they have Q&A sessions?
….No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition…
I saw what you did there…
DON’T miss the Rastro street market in Madrid!
I’ll second that
I’ll third that….
Weird! I’m in Barcelona this week.
[Insert Twilight Zone theme]
…it must be a sign from god! 🙂
Me, too — but in 2 weeks.
¡Paella!
And you’re going to be right in its birthplace. Have some for me.
Check our Sorolla’s house while you are there. We lived nearby earlier this year. He’s an excellent painter!
“Pinch-bloggers?” I’m sure you meant “pinch-websiters.”
Good catch! Hoist by his own petard!
Jerry websites (what kind of a verb is that??), Greg and I blog, I guess.
How many times do they have to tell you? Nouns hate it when somebody verbs them!
b&
Which makes it even more fun for us to verb ahead. The squealing they make whilst being verbed is hilarious.
Why…why…why — you noun-verber! I bet you even adverbialize gerundistic participlizations! Disgusting!
b&
(I’m a nounverber, me, Iyam) But I’d NEVER touch a participlization with a ten-foot-pole! Or should I say: I’d never pole a participlization with a …. (nevermind) I might bottle it though.
I haven’t tried bottling participlizations yet; I’ve preferred to simply crush them and drink them fresh. You should try it with a sprig of interjectionating! Quite refreshing on a summer afternoon.
Cheers,
b&
I have a suspicion that verbs evolved from nouns.
Haha, beat me to it 😛
Have a great trip! I was there for a conference a few years ago and had a very nice restaurant at a place called La Taberna de Marisa (I can dig up the address if you’re interested).
Have a great time.
Oh my gosh, Jerry — this first letter from one of Andrew Sullivan’s “readers” sounds precisely like you. At any rate, it’s an excellent observation that Andrew invents his own religion as he goes along.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/11/what-is-god.html
Interesting – Sullivan does not want us to believe in a bearded discrete god (does god not shave? Is there no cosmic razor?) yet the bible is full of god as a discrete being separate from creation – so he moves over the face of the waters, therefore must have a body.
Oh, that food looks soooo good. Yeah, I bet you’ll get new boots! Will miss your posts.
toni
A great book to read before or after visiting Spain would be The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean, by David Abulafia.
Great paella in the picture, but that’s not an actual valencian paella. The valencian paella nowadays known as that has not any seafood, but rabitt and chicken, amongnst some vegetables. Seafood paella uses (not surprise here) seafood, and in a mixed paella you would find a combination of both. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella#Valencian_paella
Most probably you will find you are offered a mixed paella, which have the most fame amongst tourist. Well, is great, you should try it. But don’t miss the chance if you can to try a genuine valencian paella.
And anyway, paella has a complex cooking procedure, so you will have to wait a bit since you order it; at least forty minutes. It’s not a guarantee, but less time and you are probably tasting a re-heated one.
I hope your hosts will take you to a good place, but take note on my advice.
And yes, I’m a spanish living in spain. Good luck here!!
No sabía yo que al arroz con conejo lo llamaban paella en Valencia!
You can have rice cooked with rabitt that is not a paella. Paella is defined by the pan you use to do it, the cooking procedure (very specific) and the ingredients, of course.
BTW that http://www.lacocinadejuanry.es/imagenes/paella.jpg would look more like it. Less great in the eye, but a great experience to the taste.
I haven’t been to Spain, but everyone I know who has loved it. Enjoy!
When in Madrid, don’t miss…
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d795258-Reviews-El_Bogavante_de_Almirante-Madrid.html
I love paella! That look delightful; happy travels, one and all.
I was going to say the same thing – that paella has my mouth watering! Have Fun, Jerry!
¡Qué tenga un buen viaje!
I hope you enjoy your trip.
With regard to the Velázquez painting: if you happen to have time to see Barcelona, check out the several dozen interpretations of ‘Las Meninas’ that Picasso painted in 1957, on display at the Museu Picasso. Wonderful.
¡Buen provecho, profesor!
Make sure you schedule plenty of time for the Prado and the Reina Sofía. And there are two very cool day trips from Madrid you might try.
The Valle de los Caídos is an interesting visit in the beautiful Sierra de Guadarrama. It’s mainly fascinating for the glimpse into the monumental extravagance of a fascist state.
The other great day trip I’d suggest is to visit Toledo. The picturesque walled city is cool enough on its own. Throw in works by El Greco, great metalwork, and good food and it’s an essential visit.
Yay! And when you come back, you can post a travelblog with your pics and comments. Looking forward to it. I loved Spain when I was there.
Paella! You cannot get an authentic one in the U.S. Enjoy it!
Well, maybe either one of my sisters living there could help. (joking there, they don’t have a restaunrant1)
Besides, it’s complex, but it’s not a hard recipe. The worst part would be getting some ingredients. Anyone dares to try it and tell us how did it go?
Miss not el Museo del Prado, my favorite museum in Europe!*
I love Velásquez.
(* Right up there with the Van Gogh, the Orsay, the Rodin museum, L’Orangerie, Galleria degli Uffizi, and Galleria dell’ Accademia)
That painting in this post is Sister Wendy’s favorite painting. She is the cloistered Roman Catholic nun who became a self-styled art expert. Just thought you might like to know that you and a nun have one thing in common. :^)
Jerry, You deserve every paid vacation that comes your way. You are cordially invited to lecture at CFI Indiana if you pay your own way.
I wish we could afford a visit from you.