Moving on....

Margy had a WordPress project to do, so she moved the blog to http://YoungsInCornwall.Wordpress.com Follow us there now, including a post on our visit to Occupy Wall Street.

News from the Middlebury Open Fencing Tournament

In his first foil event of the season on Saturday, Zac finished a respectable 9th. But that was just a warm up for his main event. He went undefeated through his epee pool and seeded 1st into DEs. He beat Ben 15-12 in the round of 8 (with the motto "any touch against Ben is a good touch..."), which brought him up against a B-rated fencer with a fast, smooth fleche attack. In order to pre-empt this dangerous fleche, Zac kept the pace of the bout fast and furious, with relentless false attacks and remises, pushing his opponent into the warning zone time after time. His opponent was not prepared for this level of pressure and made errors which Zac was able to exploit. Zac had a narrow lead through most of the bout. When the score got to 14-11, Zac relaxed a little (keeping your intensity right through to the finish is a hard thing to do) while his opponent was emboldened by knowing it was now or never (as often happens at the end of a bout), and he made 3 quick attacks to tie the score at 14. However, Zac was somehow able to dodge his opponent's final attack and get his point on to score the winning touch. It was a physically and mentally exhausting bout, and Zac looked a little drained in the gold medal bout while his opponent was very sharp, so Zac didn't get his B this time around, but proved he can play with the big boys.

- Viveka Fox, Zac's coach

Margy broke her wrist

As if breaking my toe in December were just a warmup, I broke my wrist last Monday, walking in the icy streets of Boston with Meg. We were on our way to her roommate's favorite Italian restaurant in the North End and I fell down. Nothing spectacular -- I was stepping back out of the street, caught my heel on the curb, and went down into a dirty urban snowdrifts. If I hadn't put my hand out, I'd be fine.

After six hours in the Mass General ER, where Meg faithfully kept me company, I left with a reset broken bone, a CD of X-rays, the worst pain of my life, and a single Percocet. I took the bus home the next day, Jordan picked me up, and our friends Lindi and Jerry drove my stick-shift car home.

It turns out that when you break the wrist end off the thicker bone in your arm, and that little end cracks in half, they can stick a small titanium plate in your wrist to screw the pieces into. The surgery was last Friday. It went well and I have no cast, just a bloody line of steristrips that will fall off soon, and a plastic splint I can put on with vecro. Very space age.

Downsides: It hurts all the time unless I take tons of Ibuprofin and Tylenol and the occasional Percocet. Typing doesn't work yet. I can't pick up anything heavier than my clothes. I can hold a fork but can't angle it into my mouth. It's going to be a long haul.

Upside: I can report that a small piece of titanium in your arm does not set off the airport metal detector. We are in South Beach (Miami) for a long weekend of doing nothing. We had planned this short vacation weeks ago because Jordan has been working so hard, and the timing is perfect, since I'm not setting any productivity records at work, between typing one-handed and training the speech recognition software. Since I have no cast, I can even go swimming this afternoon!

Margy

Location:South Beach, FL

At last, the Mezquita in Cordoba!

Friday - Corboda - Finally, we got to see the mosque! (This was the one thing that we ended up missing during our trip three years ago, because we had to return early to get replacement passports after getting robbed.) We walked into the Juderia to find a place for coffee and croissants (inside, because it was chilly). Then into the Mesquita, with its hundreds (thousands?) of pillars and striped arches surrounding a small cathedral.

Afterwards we walked to the Alcazar, where a crowd in fancy dress was waiting to enter, so we figured that we'd better come back later. The Fiesta de Los Patios started today, meaning that people opened their private courtyards for viewing, competing for prizes for the beauty and variety of the potted flowers on display. By the time peole were closing (2pm), the crowd at the Alcazar had dispersed so we could see the palace and gorgeous gardens. Who do you have to be to have your wedding in the Alcazar's chapel? Whoever they were, her dress was lovely.

We made it to the train station in time to catch the 16:29 bullet train back to Madrid, where we went back to the same comfortable hotel. We got to the Finca de Susana restaurant, the place we discovered three years ago with Lauren, in time to make their first sitting, and Monica treated us to a wonderful farewell (to Margy, anyway) meal.

Paleolithic cave paintings!

Thursday - Benaojan to Cordoba - We were very sorry to leave the lovely little Molina del Santo, with a terrace overlooking a pool, gardens, and brook with a waterfall. Their breakfast was the best ever. We drove the few miles to the Cueva de la Pileta, arriving to find 25 school kids ready to enter. The guide kindly let us go at the front of the group and guided in English as well as Spanish. The Paleolithic and Neolithic cave paintings were incredible - the real thing!

When we drove north to Acipino, the road to the Roman ruins was washed out, so we had a long walk in. The amphitheater overlooked piles of rubble where buildings had been, and then a gorgeous view of hills and olive groves. During the walk back to the car we talked to a young American who was living in Ronda, teaching English, who said that it had rained for three months this winter, which is why everything looks unusually green.

The drive to Cordoba was uneventful, with the help of GPS Jack, including and uninspired lunch at a roadside cafe and seeing flamingos in a marsh. We only had to circle the train station three times before we found the rental car return -- not bad. Meg and I took a walk around the mosque and across the newly restored Roman Bridge while the sun set. Monica went sleep early after all that driving!

Off to the mountains!

Wednesday - Sevilla to Benaojan - We packed up and taxied to the Seville train station where we had breakfast and rented a car from an adorable trainee. She was very nervous, and had to run after us twice to have Monica sign additional papers.

We managed to find our way out of town and drove south on the highway to Arcos de la Frontera, our first White Town. We walked its narrow streets, had lunch outside, and looked out over the valley from the miradors. Meg stood in the stone circle where Christians used to exorcize their children before baptizing them -- better late than never.

We followed the narrow road through the mountains, over a pass at 1,100 meters. When we arrived in the tiny town of Benaojan, we couldn't find the hotel. A local gave us confusing instructions and we ended up almost stuck at the end of a dirt road. Thank goodness Monica is a great driver and was able to turn around in someone's driveway, avoiding a tree and a stone wall! When the locals saw us again, still searching, they led us to the inn. We figured they thought we were absolute idiots! We hope they are still laughing about us.

After getting settled in the gireous inn, with gardens, a swimming pool, and little brook with a waterfall, we drove into Ronda to see the incredible 18th century bridge over the gorge that splits the village. After walking along the cliff edge and across the bridge, we had light dinner at the parador, scoring the corner table with a view and loving the duck pate, grilled veggies, goat cheese in puff pastry, and wonderful service.

The GPS ("Jack") took us home, past about 30 construction workers at the spot where made out earlier wrong turn near the inn. More laughter, we assume!

Last day in Seville

Tuesday - Sevilla - We took a taxi to the Plaza de Espagna, the outrageous huge tiled semicircular space built for the 1926 exhibition. Unfortunately, it was under construction, so we couldn't rent rowboats in the little moat. But the tilework was incredible. Each of Spain's 50 states has a tilework picture. The day was gorgeous -- apparently when the weather report predicts rain, they are only kidding.

We walked to the Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and climbed the 34 ramps up the Giralda tower to get a view of the city. The place is so big that it has all the spiritual feeling of a bus station. The architecture has a little bit of everything Gothic -- enormous and impressive.

Lunch was a wonderful Morrocan feast in a restaurant that turned out to be around the corner from our hotel. In the evening, we walked along the Guadalquivir and watch the crowds over a truly inferior caipirinha, which Meg purchased for the three of us. Maybe Meg or Monica will remember what we did for dinner!