Mike and Alice

new blog

2009-02-07T16:30:00.003Z

I'm not sure if anyone out there is still looking at this page, but just in case, here's to let you know I'm moving on. You can now find me at http://caplowsparks.tumblr.com/
thanks, see you there!

De la Soul

2008-12-14T13:05:00.003Z

Alright! I finally got to see De La Soul live! In Lisbon of all places. I've been listening to this group since about 1989 when they first started and my dad had a cassette of their album, 3 Feet High and Rising. I got back into them in college, we would listen to De la Soul is Dead while making pizza every Friday night at the Asia House Co-op. And now we got to experience their positive energy and groovy beats, live and for free at the Lisbon Casino. I was curious as to who would show up to this concert, since none of my friends here are into hip-hop music. But the place was packed, mostly young student types, and quite a few foreigners as well, Brits, Germans, etc.
It was one of the funnest nights out I've had in awhile.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T18:13:00.002Z

This was the third Lisboa Thanksgiving that Mike and I have hosted here in our apartment. They've all been a little different and a lot of fun. This year we picked up our 7 kilo turkey on Saturday morning, went shopping and then spent all afternoon cooking up a storm. Alice made home-made cornbread stuffing from a recipe vaguely passed down from Flora and Mike made two pumpkin pies from a recipe vaguely based on one of his mom's. We stuffed the bird, surrounded it with hearty veggies and stuck it in the oven. Several hours, mashed potatoes and gravy later we were ready to surve, buffet style to our 12 guests. We pulled out all our desks and side tables, borrowed five chairs from our neighbors and moved our living room furniture to fit everyone in. The effect was a bit more formal than previous years when we've had people purched on sofas and sitting on the floor, but I'm not sure which is better in the end. Our Portuguese friends are always very excited by this holiday because the idea of traditional American food confuses them, since all they know about is hamburgers and hotdogs. Our guests all brought wine and deserts and we had a blast. Click here or on the photo above to see more pictures.

Fall in Lisboa

2008-11-28T16:22:00.003Z

Election Experience + a video

2008-11-14T16:44:00.003Z

Click here to see the video of my friend Andre on the morning after the election. (then click on "veja o video da entrevista")

Mike and I contemplated going out but the only parties we knew about were at the Sharaton and the Marriott hotel bars and we didn't know anyone who was going. In fact, other than my work colleagues we don't have any American friends here. And I had to get up early the next morning for rehearsals all day. Needless to say, we were having our own party at home, me with a bottle (or more) of red wine and Mike with his beer. Unfortunately I passed out around midnight before any of the results came in. I slept horribly and was so nervous when I woke up the next morning, but when we turned on the tv, I just started jumping up and down and screaming. It was a euphoric moment, a euphoric few days actually.

When I got to work my friend Andre, an African-American viola player from North Carolina who has been living in Europe for the last 30 years (he was the first black person to join the Scala Opera in Milan, if not any orchestra on this continent...or anywhere? I'm not sure....about 30 years ago) Anyways, Andre was there on stage with an enormous American flag, Obama shirts and hats and long red, white and blue ribbons streaming down from under his hat. He grabbed me and hugged me and we jumped up and down. We even had a solumn moment when he operatically sang the national hymn in his rich tenor voice. He hadn't slept a wink and had actually walked all the way to the orchestra waving the flag. He said that everyone on the street here in Lisbon were congratulating him and giving him support.
For me too, all of my friends here, (and some people I don't know!) have been congratulating me for the past two days. The conductor this week (and Australian woman who lives in Germany) said at the beginning of rehearsal yesterday "Goodmorning everyone, I think we all have something to celebrate today, especially Andre" and then she went and gave him a big hug.

I'd like to share a text message that we got from our good friends and neighbors, Claudia and Ricardo (in English, which is not our usual language with them) "Congratulations to our dear friends for the victory of your president Obama. We hope that this could bring a new light to America and the World. Kisses from the heart,..."

It's been a burden at times in the last five years living in Europe as an American with the administration that we've had. It's such a relief to see people finally supporting my country abroad. I know that nothing can literally change that fast, but I think that the atmosphere and spirit of America and the attitude towards America around the world changed dramatically on Tuesday night.

Weekend

2008-11-14T12:18:00.005Z

Last Saturday afternoon we got out of the house and took a walk through Alfama. We passed the tail end of thieves market, packing and cleaning up, up to the monastery of St. Vincent and then to St. Lucia's lookout, where we hung out in a crowd of turists and marveled at the light. Fall is really here, the sun stays on the south side of the sky and the days are filled with change. Rain to sun to clouds all in a heartbeat. The other day Mike and I were in the living room when we noticed dry leaves out above our skylight. They were blowing and swirling into the sky like confetti. The trees behind our building our turning golden yellow. Click here to see more photos on Picasa.

Remembrance (Armistice and Veteran's) Day

2008-11-11T11:35:00.001Z

Let's remember the pain of war to help us avoid them in the future. A day to reflect...

Little Leonor

2008-11-11T10:50:00.002Z

Leonor was born October 27th to our dear neighbors Claudia and Ricardo. Here she is at the hospital two days later. They should be coming home soon! We are very excited to have a baby in the building. Welcome little Leo!

Coming home

2008-11-10T23:56:00.003Z

click here for more photos

A Wedding

2008-10-20T17:08:00.003+01:00

Casamento de Vitor e Iva

click on photo to view album

Opus Number Zoo

2008-10-07T22:28:00.003+01:00

Etienne Lamaison, clarinet click here for more photos

Berio Quintet

2008-10-07T21:39:00.002+01:00

David Harrison and Janete Santos portraying the mice in Opus Number Zoo

Performance

2008-10-04T19:18:00.002+01:00

This is so far out from what us "classically trained" musicians have been taught to do, it was such a learning experience to prepare and perform this piece. We created characters, learned to dance, speak and play all at once and generally had an incredible, creative collaboration.

Preparing

2008-10-04T19:07:00.002+01:00

Today we performed Luciano Berio's woodwind quintet "Opus Number Zoo". My quintet (still un-named) developed this piece into a memorized, staged and characterized performance last year and was invited to repeat the performance four times for the opening of the 2008-2009 Season of the Gulbenkian Educational Program. We played in the main lobby of the Contemporary Art Center at the Gulbenkian Foundation to a very eager and excited (often noisy) audience. It was great opportunity for us to really internalize the piece.

Boca do Inferno

2008-09-27T11:51:00.002+01:00

Deborah came to spend two weeks with us here in Lisboa. We had a great time going to the beach, cafes and museums. Here we are at one of her favorite spots, the "Mouth of Hell" near Cascais.

Cote d'Azure

2008-09-22T20:34:00.001+01:00

Isle de Poquerolles, very pure island off the cost of southern france...

Travels and more

2008-09-21T21:23:00.001+01:00

Travels

2008-09-21T21:14:00.001+01:00

salamanca, spain

Petit Train in French Alps 2000m altitude

Family

2008-07-28T02:40:00.003+01:00

Mike and I drove down to North Carolina to visit his parents and amazingly enough, Susan moved to town this weekend! It's great that we now have yet another reason to come to Chapel Hill. We had a fun night with Susan and James on Franklin St. and today she came over to the in-laws for lunch. Is there such a thing as cousins-in-law?

Sta. Apolonia

2008-07-14T10:52:00.001+01:00

Thursday, July 10th, 2008
9:30pm, on our way.
NY Times will tell you
all about it.

A Night out in LX

2008-07-14T10:47:00.000+01:00

O Terreno

2008-06-29T19:41:00.005+01:00

We just spent the weekend camping on my colleagues' land near Colares (Sintra.) They have put in a natural pool and done some amazing landscaping and gardening. The plants are really amazing, considering that the land is almost entirely sand. It's very close to the beach, in fact Denise told me that 1000 years ago it was beach front property!
We had a wonderful time, thank you Jon and Denise!

Cool Lisboa Website

2008-06-24T21:26:00.004+01:00

Here is a typical view of Lisbon that I took from Miradouro de Senhora de Monte in Grac,a.

and here is an awesome website about alternative Lisbon. There post about the Tasca Jaime is dead on! It's a very authentic little cafe bar in our neighborhood. The fado heard there can sound like dying cats or divine song.

The Lisbon Connection

A Lisbon guide from the inside

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-23T17:15:00.000+01:00

The Colin Family

2008-06-23T10:48:00.002+01:00

Alice had a great trip to Paris, staying with Katherine, Pascal and little Thomas. Her last morning was just right, coffee and croissant at Place de Vosges, playing in the park and a trip to the Bastille Sunday Market for cheese. (click on picture to see web album)